baby penguins

When a wedding comes around, it makes me think fondly of ours . Of course, I recall all the highlights of planning and of the day (and none of the stress!). Lenny and Tini are planning their wedding right now and I'm excited for them! I don't know whether they are excited or stressed, but I'm sure they will also look back at this time fondly.

They just asked us today for Josh to be their ringbearer! Josh will be around 2, so we warned them of the usual "may-not-walk-down-the-aisle" caveats, but they are OK with it and we are honoured and thrilled! Lenny is the last of mine and Brian's siblings to be married, so we never thought Josh would get to participate in a wedding party. So now, we are not only excited for Lenny and Tini, but we are also excited for Josh!

I imagine him in a cute little tux and I am reminded of penguins (of course!). Now, I know that Josh won't be wearing an "actual" penguin suit, but somehow, I can't get this image out of my head...

start them young

I'm not sure what possessed us to take Josh to the Wiggles concert today. I think it was a combination of the fact that he loves watching the Wiggles and we wanted to see his reaction when he saw them live.

For a kids show, they were quite entertaining! Brian is pretty creeped out by fully grown adult men singing kids songs, but he laughed at some funny moments that I think they cater specifically towards the parents. They are pretty laid back in the performance.

Josh LOVED it. When the Wiggles first came on stage he just stared, not really understanding/believing what he was seeing. It was one of those indescribable moments that made the show for us. Of course, he won't remember ever watching the show, so we made sure we took photos to remind him when he's older...

Josh has NO idea what he's about to see

Josh and thousands of kids enjoying the Wiggles

Dad is having a good time too!

shoe horse

Josh's big thing these days (besides saying "Mommy!" everytime he wants something!) is to put on shoes. He is fascinated by the act of putting them on. Auntie Caroline and Uncle Jon bought him a pair of mammoth crocs and the other day, Brian watched him put them on all by himself! It took about 2 minutes to get the slip-on shoes on, but he did it!

Here is a photo of him trying on my shoes. He LOVES to wear my shoes.
And here is a photo of him in honour of Northwest Profile #56. I'm not kidding, he WANTED me to help him put these on like this...

congratulations to lipgloss!

My co-worker, Derek, is super techno-savvy. In fact, he's just an all around wealth of knowledge! I can usually ask him anything about anything (especially technology) and he can give me an answer or tell me where I can find the answer.

A couple of years ago, Derek posted on his blog that his wife and her friend started a podcast called Lipgloss and Laptops, "a blog and podcast about beauty culture, beauty products and the cosmetic industry.

At that time, I had my first generation iPod Shuffle (that Navarik gave us in December 2004) and I was using it occasionally to listen to music. I thought, "what are podcasts for and why would I download them?". Also, I didn't really think a podcast about cosmetics and the beauty industry would appeal to me. Those of you that know me know I am a woman of little cosmetics.

Last October, when Brian gave me an iPod Classic, I suddenly had 160 GB of space and decided I needed to do more with my iPod! I finally decided it was time to see what podcasting was all about. And Lipgloss and Laptops was a good place to start!

Firstly, podcasts are great! It's like a radio talk show, but better. You don't have to listen to them at any specific time. I download podcasts from my laptop to my iPod and I listen to them in the car or on the Skytrain. I find it much more stimulating than just listening to music.

Secondly, I am really enjoying Lipgloss and Laptops! Like I said, I'm not much into cosmetics, but the podcast is more than just cosmetic reviews. The hosts, Kerry Anne and Airdrie (Derek's wife), are just 2 girlfriends having conversations mostly about cosmetics, but they touch into movies, current events, health and many other topics. It's like having a conversation with your girlfriends (but they do all the talking! hahaha...).

Also, the podcast gives me an idea of what kinds of products are out there. I occasionally think to myself, "I'm going to try that stuff out!". Now, I haven't gone out and tried anything they've recommended yet (finances are still too tight for that kind of splurging). But I know the next time I decide to change one of my current beauty products, I will try one of their recommendations.

Kerry Anne and Airdrie just celebrated their 100th podcast of Lipgloss and Laptops. It's quite a milestone! Congratulations, ladies - I love listening to you guys!

the stink on stink

This is my rant for the day. If you are one of those people who likes to make sure that dog owners pick up after their dog everytime they squat, then PLEASE make sure you actually see the dog take a sh!t before you open your mouth.

Yes, I was a victim yet again of the dog poo nazi. Luckily, he was disguised as a father and had his pre-schooler with him or else I think I would have tore him a new a$$hole.

I mean, I understand that people are just being vigilant. I, too, hate it when I see dog poo on the ground. But it's bad enough that I feel like I'm being scrutinized everytime people see my dog squat (she's a GIRL - she squats to poo AND pee!), PLEASE have some respect that I will be responsible and hold your tongue until you see otherwise.

Furthermore, I'm not stupid. If I'm going to choose NOT to pick up my dog's poo, do you think I'd do it in a public park at lunchtime with lots of people around?!

a father-son moment

Father and son moments warm my heart. Josh and Brian were having a bit of a cookie-sharing moment this weekend and I snapped a few shots of it. SO cute...

i'm a dog person?! i'm a dog person.

Who would have thought in a million years that I would consider myself a dog person?! Before Nikita, I've never had a dog. Furthermore, I'm ALLERGIC to dogs!

But here I am now. A dog person. What is a dog person? I'm not sure, but this is me:
* I believe that there are no bad dogs, just bad dog owners
* I cry everytime I see the SPCA commercial with Sarah McLachlan
* I am constantly asking Brian if we can rescue a dog so Nikita can have a sibling
* We started with Nikita sleeping in her crate in the laundry room and now Nikita sleeping on our bed - between us!
* I put Nikita on PuppyWar.com
* I absolutely love the book Marley and Me and recommend it to any dog lover, especially if you own a Labrador Retreiver
* I bawl everytime we go on vacation and have to leave Nikita with someone else
* I feel the lump forming in the back of my throat everytime I think that we will one day have to put Nikita down
* I truly believe that Nikita is part of our family

Today's episode of Oprah was on puppy mills in the US. I wasn't sure if I could watch the show, but, being a dog owner, I felt I should. I was surprised that I didn't cry very much when Lisa Ling took her undercover cameras into several puppy mills in Pennsylvania. But when they did the segment on euthanizing dogs in a Fort Worth animal shelter, I was devastated. I'm tearing up just writing this.

If there are any messages that I got from the show it's to let people know that they should never buy an animal from a pet store. There is absolutely nothing wrong with the one you are buying, but it's their parents that are being treated inhumanely. And this doesn't just happen in the US. It happens here in Canada, too.

Also, if you have ever considered owning a dog, please adopt from a shelter. We didn't adopt Nikita from a shelter, but we were lucky to have a friend who bred their dog once. If we ever get another dog, though, it will surely be a rescue dog. There are so many dogs out there that need a loving home...

I get it now. I understand. All you dog lovers out there know what I mean.