The other day, Canine asked me what a 'tuque' was. Here you go :)

This is what my face looked like when Mom made me wear a tuque to go outside when I was a kid! LOL

The photos used were taken from Google Images and are not my own photos.

Well, my previous post was just me venting about how I can't figure out my new blog template and links. I figure I'd better end the evening with a positive blog entry- not because I'm superstitious about projecting negative vibes or anything. I just don't like negativity period.

Seeing that our farm is a gorgeous, picturesque portrait of a Winter Wonderland, and reading Dylon's blog, I was thinking of things that are on my "Necessary to survive the Winter" list. It looks something like this:

1) Good, warm, high boots. I do have a few pairs of "good" boots for going out, but I find it is imperative to have boots that keep you warm...especially if you have to go out and shovel mountains of snow or dig your car out from under a pile of snow. Luckily I haven't had to do that...yet!

2) A tuque! How Canadian, eh? J/K! Sure, when I was a kid I absolutely refused to wear any type of hat. I would cry when my mom made me leave for school with that stupid looking thing on my head. As a teenager, I'd rather freeze my buns off than be caught wearing a hat! "That is soooo uncool, Ma!" Now, I don't care! I'm 30 (31 in 11 days!) and would rather look ridiculous than freeze! My, how times have changed. Anyway, now there are all kinds of cool, unique, fun types of Winter stuff and it doesn't have to look nerdy.

3) Hot apple cider to warm you up when you come in from the cold. Either that or a nice mug of hot chocolate!

4) Flannel or fleece bed sheets and a heavy quilt or duvet Keeps you toasty warm at night. Only drawback is you won't want to get out of bed in the morning.

5) A bed buddy I've got three! My trick is to get into bed after Hubby's fallen asleep. I do the dishes later on in the evening before bed, and by the time I get to bed, the bed's all nice and warm because Hubby's been sleeping already! The kittens, George and Fred keep my feet warm.

6) The Internet! I rely on the internet to be able to communicate with friends, family, students, etc. I need it for activities and curriculum development. I need it for general research. I don't know how I survived without it. What did we do before the internet was invented? LOL!

7) Mi familia True, most of my family members are in Montreal, Toronto, Kingston, New York, Wisconsin, Florida, the Philippines, the Dominican Republic (and in other places around the globe), my parents live a few minutes from us and my mother-in-law is on the farm next to our farm. One of Hubby's sisters lives near my parents' (and her hubby and 2 girls). It's comforting to have family close-by.

What's on your Winter survival list?

Okay, I still can't seem to figure out what's wrong with my blog! I went into my template and tried to put links into categories and everything looks fine on my template...but then when I publish, the links aren't there!!! *sigh* If I can't figure it out, I may just end up not putting categories like friends' links , family links, etc. I may just lump them all in together if it's too much of a hassle! LOL! Grrrr.

PS. I still can't get my bloglog back! Where did it go? LOL!

Still getting used to the new Blogger Beta. So far, I think it's easier in some ways, but complicated in others. I can't get my brain wrapped around certain things like"

a) How to get back MyBlogLog . I thought that was such a cool little feature, but I can't seem to get it to stay on my blog! I thought I added it when I updated, but alas, it is no longer there.

b) How to sort my links into Friends, Family, My Links and Cool Links. Right now they're all lumped together. Hey, at least they're in alphabetical order. *sigh*

Other than that, I think the new Blogger Beta is better than the older version. I like the idea of having labels and categories for posts.

Jill or CuriosityKiller, a little help here? Pleeeeease? LOL

People frequently ask me about my life abroad and my experience teaching in Japan. I always tell them how I fell in love with the Japanese culture and how rich in history, art and spirit the country is. I just love Japan! I could go on and on about tea ceremonies, calligraphy, kimonos, geisha, the language, the people, the beautiful countryside, the crazy busy big cities, the advanced technology and all my crazy everyday experiences.

One of my friends asked me about vending machines. "Is it true you can buy used school girl panties in vending machines there?" Surprisingly, the answer is "yes"! You can purchase almost anything in vending machines there. Why one would even want a pair of used panties is beyond me! There are so many different types of machines to cater to your every whim. From hot or cold tea, chocolate milk and coffee, beer, beer, and BEER...sake (Japanese alcoholic beverage that seemed to me as strong as tequila!), toilet paper, food items...and yes, even porn. I was shocked to see men buying everything from magazines to other unmentionables from the machines. There are vending machines everywhere. I'd never seen so many in my life. You can even choose from dozens of brands of cigarettes and they're super cheap in Japan. I don't smoke, but when my mom came to visit me when I was teaching in Japan, she just thought it was so cool to get her smokes, Coke, disposable camera, and stamps for her postcards all from vending machines. *sigh* That's one of the cool things I miss about Japan. Very convenient!

Here's a site I found where a guy named PhotoMann has pics of all the neat vending machines you can find in Japan. http://www.photomann.com/japan/machines/

WikyLion proposed a challenge of listing the Top 10 Movies on your list. This was quite a difficult feat, because I have sooooooooo many favourite movies!!! ARGH!

Here's my Top 10

1. West Side Story
2. Romeo and Juliet (Franco Zefirelli version, 1969)
3. Forrest Gump
4. Shawshank Redemption
5. The Notebook
6. I am Sam
7. The Lover
8. Stand By Me
9. The Sound of Music
10. Amores Perros

Now for the runners up (sorry, WikyLion...this was just too hard!!!)
Lunch With Charles (Canadian/Hong Kong film) and Betty Blue (French film) are right up there too! Oh, also Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (though I know many people who have HATED that movie). I also loved Dead Poets Society, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Bride and Prejudice (I love all the Bollywood movies), Love Story, House of Flying Daggers.

So, what's your Top 10?

It's 2AM, we just got home, my puppy is snoring at my feet, the kittens are going nuts (they seriously look like they're on speed or something- they're CRAZY! One's hanging off the curtains and the other one's taking running jumps from the sofa to the table near the window and plucking all my aloe plants out of the pot!!!). Hubby's playing a video game that a friend lent him tonight and I'm blogging because I can't seem to fall asleep.

This morning was a lovely day. Blue skies, fresh snow, crisp air and a little excursion to the Snow Flake Fair with my mother-in-law. It's so nice to see all the vendors selling their crafts and creations. I walked right pass the freshly baked breads and preserves from Maja's Bounty. She always has wonderful, delectable treats that are organic and of the best quality ingredients. Maja takes special care as to what goes into her products. (The reason I walked right past this time is because I ALWAYS end up getting something and right now I don't neeeeed anything!)

I was very happy because I got to see Dylon there. Everyone who knows him says that he is such a wonderful guy. I know this firsthand, because there were a bunch of really cute old ladies at our table for lunch who were all gushing over him! LOL! "Dylon's amazing at computer stuff!", "Dylon's a talented artist!" "Dylon, Dylon, Dylon!" They were too cute! I kind of chuckled because I glanced over at him while he was concentrating on a piece of jewelry, totally unaware of the chatter taking place at our table. So, this is what a "hen party" is like! LOL! They were the cutest little hens though! Dylon, if you're reading this, you've got heaps of fans :) I was happy to find out that I can wear Dylon's jewelry because the earrings are made of hypo-allergenic material. Yippeeeeee!!! I took special note of this beautiful pair of earrings with bluish/turquoise accents (Dylon, were they handblown glass beads? I'm not sure what they were, but they were gorgeous).I've been dropping not so subtle hints to Hubby that my birthday is two weeks away!

I was also very happy to see Wiky Lion and his wife. They were selling their Watkins products. I did get their black pepper, but was seriously tempted to buy sooooooooo much more! Very bad! At least I've got my very own dealer if I ever need a Watkins fix! LOL! Seriously, if you're reading this, Wiky Lion, it was great seeing you and your lovely wife! She's awesome!

Now, this brings me to the old fart thing. In the afternoon I made some white chocolate/dark chocolate swirly bark and put them in plastic baggies and tied them up with a card and ribbon for all of our friends. Plus, I needed a nice gift to bring tonight since Hubby, my parents and I were invited to an early Christmas party tonight at our friends' house. It was an awesome party- great food, great people, great conversation, lots of laughs...We got there at 6PM but supper only began around 9PM (and Hubby and I are used to eating around 6PM because I don't like to eat after 7). The food was amazing- a grand 'ol Trinidadian feast. Cheers to the host and hostess for a wonderful evening. One of our friends plays Caribbean music in a band and was up here for the weekend and sang and played the quatro for us. Good times. I think I mentioned that Hubby and I RARELY go out because we're always up early to work. By 10PM I felt myself getting very, VERY tired. I resisted sleep because I didn't want to be a party pooper. We ended up leaving a few hours later and just got home at 2PM. I used to be able to go out and have a good time with friends until the wee hours of the morning, but it seems that now I just need more sleep! Yikes! Am I becoming an old fart???

...this time by Jill AND Dina :)

The ABC meme...

A - Available/single? Married 6 months...still a newly wed!
B - Best Friend? I'm going to be sappy and say my husband!
C- Cake or Pie? Keylime Pie!!
D - Drink Of Choice? mango juice or chocolate flavoured soy milk
E - Essential Item You Use Everyday? toothpaste
F - Favorite Color? Indigo Blue
G - Gummy Bears Or Worms? Neither
H - Hometown? Toronto (okay, Scarborough!)
I - Indulgence? the occassional white hot chocolate from Tim Horton's
J - January Or February? January.
K - Kids & Their Names? No human babies YET! But 3 felines and 1
canine (Nala, Fred, George and Chance)
L - Life Is Incomplete Without? love
M - Marriage Date? June 17, 2006.
N - Number Of Siblings? 2 brothers.
O - Oranges Or Apples? depends on my mood- usually apples (Royal
Gala)
P - Phobias/Fears? heights, snakes, fear of losing my family
Q - Favorite Quote? "Everwhere is walking distance if you have the
time."
R - Reason to Smile - watching my husband while he's sound asleep.
Too cute!!
S - Season? Spring
T - Tag Three or Four People? MsMamma, Curiosity Killer, Northern Mom
U - Unknown Fact About Me? I'm allergic to green apples and cheap
jewelry (seriously, I can only wear real gold or silver and
nothing else and green apples make me break out in hives and
make my lips look like a platypus!)
V - Vegetable you don’t like? Kolrabi (I don't even know how to
spell it!)
W - Worst Habit? getting mad at stupid things
X - X-rays You’ve Had? Teeth, uterus, skull
Y - Your Favorite Food? pad thai
Z - Zodiac Sign? Sagittarius

Well, it's not reeeeally a blizzard. I just looked outside to see lots and lots of snow! Crazy! We haven't had snow and it's been pretty mild and all of a sudden....WHACK! All I can see is white outside. Everything is white!!! I feel like I'm in one of those snow globes and someone's turned it upside down and shaken it! Weeeeeeeeee!!!

I guess I'd better get back to work! LOL! Lots of paperwork and organizing to do. I've got a student coming for 8 months. Hubby and I are skipping babyhood, the terrible twos, the tweens...and going right into having a teenager! Since the student will be studying here from overseas and is a minor, we've had to become his legal guardians. Should be fun!

PS. Jill, thanks for helping me sort out my blogging issues! You're the best! Oh, and I finally switched over to Beta! Thanks a bunch!

The other night, I was driving home from my parents' house and enjoying the quiet, peaceful drive. The Island is such a magical place. I was thinking of how lucky I am to be living here. Three years ago, I never even knew this place existed. I was a Torontian (but Montrealer in my heart), an ESL teacher, a world traveler...and now fate has brought me to this wonderful place.

My thoughts were interrupted, and I thought I was going to die. Two very large deer appeared a few feet in front of my vehicle. I honestly didn't know if I could stop in time. I don't even know if I was more worried about wrecking my vehicle or dying than hurting those beautiful creatures. I felt my heart jump into my throat and panicked. *phew* My SUV stopped two feet in front of the deer. They looked into my headlights, stayed a moment and sauntered away into the woods. They were beautiful. They were probably really hungry because they were in hiding from the hunters for a week or so.

Anyway, I'm okay :)