Hot Summer Day

We decided that we would be smart and go for a walk at the hottest point in the day. Smrt. :) Here is the route we took. It was 1.61 miles and hit almost all of the little trails near us.

Clearly this satellite image was taken prior to our development! Our house is the checkered flag. Right above  'Robert' there is a pond full of geese. At the end of Doon Creek Street there is a new parkette. I'm hoping my sister and nephews will do a Canadian Edition park review for us. =P 

Here is a shot of some flowers along the trail. Beautiful~

You Can Find Me, In St. Louis Rolling On Dubs (Mug #40)

This is our 40th mug! Brought to us by one of the founders of Ian's company, Eve. Since it's a milestone, it deserves a song. Bounce with me!

London Baby! (Mug #39)

Ian's Aunt Judi, the world traveler, hopped over to London and was able to pass along this mug! London baby! (Friends Reference~)

Ok, This Is Awesome

Where do I sign? Zoo animals make paw-print pledge to protect elephants:

Cameron Spencer / Getty Images

'Tuka' the komodo dragon leaves a paw print on a canvas at Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia on June 27, 2012.

Cameron Spencer / Getty Images

'Tukta' the female elephant prepares to make her mark.

Cameron Spencer / Getty Images

'Mr Munro', a Fiordland penguin, jumps to the side after leaving his prints on a canvas.

Animals at an Australian zoo created a Hollywood-style Walk of Fame on Wednesday as they signed up to a worthy cause.

Taronga and Western Plains Zoo announced a new elephant conservation project in Thailand, Getty Images reports, and animals at the zoo made their own pledges by dipping their paws in paint and smudging them on canvas.

It's Mine... ALLLL MINE!!!!

My.... precious................. :P

Stinky Day

I've had a stinky day. Brain is fried. Maybe it's because it's Monday... or because the summer time is crazy at work because of the prep work for our Semester 2 meeting. Anyway, who wouldn't want these little stinkers hanging around?

Landscaping Plans

We've decided to have some landscaping done this year. It would be so nice to have full use of the backyard. The fence on our neighbour's side will start in a few weeks. With the help of Ian's uncle, we came up with the idea to have a stone patio extending from the sliding glass door to the back of the yard. Then the rest can be grass and planters. 


We brought in Heritage Stoneworks to design and quote on it.  The plan is a big pdf. I've had to break it up into 2 images. Click on them to view full size. I should note that just because it's in the plan... doesn't mean we're going to do it now or maybe ever. It's just a plan to start with! Also, the big wavy-ish circles you see on the plans represent potential shade coverage of a tree.


This is the backyard. The big empty space at the bottoms is the house. There is a barbecue area near the sliding glass door, a firepit and then directly to the left of it is a pondless waterfall. What's a pondless waterfall? Click here to find out. The firepit won't look like the one in the picture.. it will probably be at least 3 rows high and have some sort of 'topper' around the edge. The patio will be made of interlocking stone. The 3 black dots next to the patio represent a focal tree. There are planters to the left and wrap around the yard.

The biggest thing.. and probably hardest to describe is the fence. Ian was adamant that the fence somehow be open. I agreed with him.. Our backyard isn't that big... and it would be a shame to lose the view from the living room and have a "closed in" feeling. Heritage came up with a great idea - a wood and wrought iron fence. Here is the view of the fence from the street side.

So basically the trees and wrought iron are indentations into our yard. This keeps the backyard feeling open while maximizing our privacy. We love the idea.

This is the front yard. The driveway is probably on our list to do another year.. but I don't know.. maybe it will only be $5... who knows. =P We really wanted something on the corner because people are lazy. They feel the need to walk across the 1 or 2 feet of the grass on the corner. It's been very hard to keep it alive. Heritage's idea was to put down river rock and some grasses, move our existing maple tree over and surround it with big rocks. We wanted to keep as much grass as possible... but that corner grass has been hopeless.

The only other potential dream/wish thing is sprinklers. I'm so over the watering of the lawn. Maybe it will be different with the reduced amount of grass... Anyway, hope you like our plans. Clearly we haven't got the quote back... Ian hasn't had a heart attack yet. Once we get the itemized quote back, we will start picking and choosing what we want to do this year. I think we will have at least a fence and patio by the end of September. :)

My Office Visitor

Can you see the birdy? I'm not sure why.. but occasionally I'll be sitting in the office and a bird will fly and cling to the brick near the window. It seems so random. Today I had a bright yellow and black bird visit me. Cute. Still odd. =P Bye bye birdy!

So Soothing

    

Mark & Brian :(

A piece of California for me... Mark of Mark & Brian is retiring. Sad :(

Article: 95.5 KLOS Southern California's Best Rock

Michael Bay’s TMNT Reboot Gets Shut Down

YAY. This was getting pretty ridiculous. Michael Bay wanted to change the back story for TMNT. Seriously?? Change a story that every kid of that generation knows?? They were going to be aliens. Aliens. REALLY? Thankfully the TMNT fanboys can settle down. It's cancelled... hopefully for forever.

---

Michael Bay’s TMNT Reboot Gets Shut Down:

If you were dreading Michael Bay’s alien, non-mutant interpretation of TMNT, you may be in luck, because Paramount has just shut down production, and the problem is apparently the script. The film was in pre-production in Vancouver, and was set for release in December 2013. That date has reportedly been pushed to May 2014. However, other reports indicate that the studio is temporarily laying off pre-production staff and informing those prepping the film that the work stoppage is “indefinite”.

It seems Paramount has listened to fans of the franchise. Hopefully this will result in a complete script makeover that will be more pleasing to die-hards (or the death of the project).

(THR via i09)

My Gaming Past

Summed up in a single image.

So true it hurts.

Sand & Surf (Mug #37 & #38)

Ian and I started collecting mugs when we went to the original Starbucks in Seattle. It exploded from there. I posted on it and got an email from a friend in California. She collected mugs too. Her husband is a world traveler and I believe she is way more advanced then us (50+ I think). Anyway, I got a package yesterday of 2 mugs!! Shannon and her husband Geoff went on this dream vacation to Hawaii and picked us up Hawaii and Waikiki. :)

Farmer Bill & Judi (Mug #36)

Ian has an Uncle named Bill. Everyone calls him Clancy (his last name). But Ian has so many aunts and uncles that it's really hard to keep them all straight. So I've taken to naming them stuff I can actually remember. Bill is now Farmer Bill since he is a landscape architect... I know makes no sense but it works. His wife is Judi and she works for Fairmont hotels. She travels A LOT. So naturally we've gotten her on board with our Great Global Mug Hunt. Thankfully she likes Starbucks. :) They brought us back Arizona!

New Record (Mug #35)

My farthest away mug was from Athens. But this one has knocked it off the throne. Dubai! My colleague Nadine has a friend who is working there and she brought back the mug on a recent visit. :) 

It's Raining Mugs (Mugs #33 & 34)

I have 4 posts to make about mugs I've received in the last week or so. Pretty awesome. 

This set comes from Eric at work. He traveled to Germany for a conference.

Time For Some Good Stuff

Crappy week. Ian's late grandmother's husband, Walsh Bryson passed away on Sunday. RIP.

Anyway, I found this ad today. There is some good in the world. :)

Pixar vs. Marvel

Wish I Could Scream

Scream. Dance. Jump around. I just saw this:

"Now announced: #JustDanceGreatestHits! Available June 26 for BOTH Wii and Kinect!"

And then I went to the track list and saw this:

·    (In the Style of Irene Cara) – "Fame"

·    A R Rahman, The Pussycat Dolls Featuring Nicole Scherzinger – "Jai Ho! (You Are My Destiny)"

·    Anita Ward – "Ring My Bell"

·    Anja – “Baby Don’t Stop Now”

·    Avril Lavigne – "Girlfriend"

·    B.o.B (feat. Hayley Williams of Paramore) – “Airplanes”

·    Beastie Boys – "Body Movin’ (Fatboy Slim Remix)"

·    Benny Benassi presents “The Biz” – "Satisfaction (Isak Original Extended)"

·    Boney M. – "Rasputin"

·    Calvin Harris – "Acceptable in the 80s"

·    Carl Douglas – "Kung Fu Fighting (Dave Ruffy / Mark Wallis Remix)"

·    Countdown Dee’s Hit Explosion – "Barbie Girl"

·    Elvis Presley – "Viva Las Vegas"

·    Fatboy Slim – "Jin Go Lo Ba"

·    Gorillaz – "Dare"

·    Groove Century – “U Can't Touch This”

·    Ike & Tina Turner – "Proud Mary"

·    Katy Perry – "Firework"

·    Katy Perry – "Hot N Cold (Rock Version)"

·    Ke$ha – "TiK ToK"

·    New Kids On The Block – "Step By Step"

·    Outkast – "Hey Ya!"

·    Reel 2 Real feat. The Mad Stuntman – "I Like to Move It (Radio Mix)"

·    Rihanna – “Only Girl (In The World)”

·    Rihanna – "Pon De Replay"

·    Snap! – "The Power"

·    Sorcerer – "Dagomba"

·    Studio Allstars – "Jump"

·    Studio Musicians – "Crazy In Love"

·    Supergrass – "Alright"

·    Survivor – "Eye of the Tiger"

·    The Hit Crew – "Toxic"

·    The Sunlight Shakers – “Jump In The Line”

·    The Sunlight Shakers– "Who Let the Dogs Out"

·    The Weather Girls – "It’s Raining Men"

I. Can't. Wait. Two. Weeks. Oh poor Ian.... poor poor poor Ian... /wearsholeinlivingroomcarpet

Start the Day With A Cup Of Bun

Seriously Awesome Chewbacca iPhone Case

Chewbacca Case Turns Your iPhone Into a Walking Carpet

Next time someone tells you to get that walking carpet out of the way, they just may be talking about your phone. PowerA debuted a great line of new iPhone cases at E3 last week, including a Chewbacca case that comes complete with bandolier and wookiee fur. If wookiees aren’t your thing, then how about R2D2, Threepio or Vader? The cases aren’t out yet, but they’re coming soon!
See the rest of the cases after the jump…


Product Page ($39.99 via iLounge via Gizmodo)

All I Want For Christmas Is My Frakking BSG DVDs

It still surprises me how much I loved this series. I think that's why I've never watched the last few episodes. By now I know what happens but I can't bring myself to watch it because I know I will cry. I also can't believe that I've fully accepted frak as a replacement for f---. The actors pull it off with such conviction.  /sigh <3 Battlestar Galactica.

Save 67% On Battlestar Galactica: The Complete 2004 Series Blu-ray Set (With Collectible Cylon) – Only $115.99! [Deals]:

We’ve seen some deals on the Battlestar Galactica Blu-ray boxed before, but this one is definitely the best thus far. For a limited time, you can get the complete 2004 series in a 20-disc Blu-ray set with a collectible Cylon figure for only $115.99. That’s 67% off the list price!

Battlestar Galactica: The Complete 2004 Series (with Collectible Cylon) [Blu-ray]—$349.98 $115.99 (67% off)

Is It October Yet?

Scrappy Seattle Seahawks

Pete Carroll likes the scrappy players... 

Man cleared of rape gets NFL tryout today: Brian Banks will participate in a tryout with the NFL's Seattle Seahawks Thursday, two weeks after the Long Beach high school football standout was cleared of a rape charge for which he served five years in prison.

Cue The Screaming

This is the start of the Ubisoft press conference that caused me to started running around the living room and screaming. Then when Flo Rida came out I started jumping around in circles. Yes, that's a shield on his microphone. The audience is 99% nerdy game journalists... so it was mostly lost on them. Ian told me to bring it down a few levels. I'm SO excited. This game makes me look forward to October even more. Just Dance 4. My family is coming to visit. My stupid 30th birthday. Plus it's fall!

On a side note... many of the articles that came out on the gaming sites stated that the dancers are "scantily clad". Normally I would agree, but in this case I honestly don't. They're dressed kind of  dorky... their tops may be a little low cut but I wouldn't exactly call it "scantily clad". Am I wrong? 

Just Changed Mine (LinkedIn... NOT eHarmony :P)

LinkedIn confirms password leak, eHarmony has one, too:
LinkedIn confirmed Wednesday afternoon via its blog that user passwords had been compromised and eHarmony said the same thing.

Awww Marriage...

Not saying this is Ian and I... but yeah. It is. Lol. :)

Max Quacks: Getting My Hair Did

Big boys need big boy haircuts. Max is a big boy now! 

Let The Landscaping Begin!

I just received an email from our builder... Our lot has finally had its grading certified! This means we are free to put up a fence or have the backyard landscaping done without fear of it getting ripped up (at our expense)!

The first step that will begin very shortly is the land survey. We are going in with 4 other neighbours so it won't cost much. It will give us peace of mind that anything we do won't cause us property dispute trouble in the future. After that post holes will be done. We've agreed to have our carpenter neighbour do the fence work - at least on the side that we share. The fence will tie in to our rear neighbour's fence, come out to the property line (since the rear neighbour's does not) and then extend back between our houses. One panel or so will divide them and then be open since the space between is pretty much useless. The fence will look somewhat like this:

The basic idea is to have close fitting boards with an open square lattice at the top. There will be two gates, we think, at the front of the houses. I'm to the point where I don't care what it looks like. I just want a fence on that side. People walk through like it's no big deal. Seriously. I'm like this little dude.

We are going to be looking into landscaping very shortly. Ian's uncle, who I call Farmer Bill, is a landscape architect. He popped by for a visit a few months ago and gave us some great ideas. Expense but great. :) We really want a stone patio for the back. Our dreams were dashed of having a fire pit - we are missing about 4 feet in our backyard to be able to do it and comply with the by-law. But who would want to do that............. :P Anyway, whatever we go with, I am sure it will look fantastic. It will be so nice to move the barbecue out of the garage and be able to sit out there. We hope to have it done in the fall.

Beyond Excited - New Just Dance Game!

Ubisoft just had their press conference at E3. Just Dance 4 was announced. It started with music... "Ooooh sometimes... I get a good feeling... yeah....." Cue Brittany running around the room screaming. Here is part of the 40 track-song list *squeal*:

• Call Me Maybe – Carly Rae Jepsen
• Disturbia – Rihanna
• Good Feeling – Flo Rida
• Maneater – Nelly Furtado
• Moves Like Jagger – Maroon 5 ft. Christina Aguilera
• Never Gonna Give You Up – Rick Astley
• Rock Lobster– The B-52's
• So What – Pink
• Super Bass – Nicki Minaj
• You're The First, The Last, My Everything – Barry White
• What Makes You Beautiful – One Direction
• Wild Wild West – Will Smith

It is being released October 9th and, as Ian will probably tell you, I'm annoyingly ECSTATIC. 

Blag Renovation

Yes, things have changed around here. Back to simple. People apparently like simple. (/waits for incoming flood of complaints)

Tack För Mugg (Mug #32)

My colleague, Bridget, went to a conference in Sweden. Annat europeiskt rånar! (Another European Mug!)