570News Blog: Lisa Drew

We are freezing.
John Wilson is calling for another 7 cm of snow tomorrow.  And that groundhog is sooo wrong.
Wiarton Willie promised us an early spring.  ( FYI:  Of the ten weather predicting groundhogs in North America… eight called for an early spring!)
Environment Canada’s senior climatologist says forget it.
Dave Phillips says we are not rushing into spring this time.
In fact.. he says March will likely be cooler than normal and we won’t be putting away our shovel anytime soon.

Thanks.

lisa

You gotta love your neighbour..and your irritating workmate.
An Angus Reid survey done this month finds more than half of office workers asked take issue with negative co-workers.  You know.. the whiners.
46-percent lose it when their co-worker constantly whines.
39-percent struggle with bad breath or body odour at the next desk.

The other biggie?  Incompetent managers.
Some 30-percent of us hate it when the boss points out our flaws in front of others. 

The BlackBerry makes the list too.
22-percent of workers get really irritated when the boss checks.. and checks… and checks….that personal handheld device during meetings.

Happy work-free weekend..

lisa

A very lovely writer.. by the name of Budge Wilson has messed with my beloved Anne.

A prequel to Anne of Green Gables has hit the shelves,
one hundred years after L.M. Montgomery’s story was first published.
This new book has been okayed by Ms. Montgomery’s
grandchildren.

Before Green Gables documents Anne’s early days.
The National Post ran excerpts of the book last week.
I tried.. but I had to stop reading.
It’s just not the same.

Like so many Canadian girls.. and girls worldwide.. Anne truly became a part of me and her spirit has stayed with me.

I pulled my torn copy of Anne from my grandma’s basement over the weekend.  I plan to read it with fresh.. and grown up eyes this week.
Maybe then I can finally move and.. and move back in time.. and read about Anne’s earlier years.

Here’s what you have to read if you love Anne.
Head to the library and take home the
the Selected Journals of L.M Montgomery.

I go over them every few years.
The selected diaries run from 1889.. up to 1942.
and were edited by two University of Guelph professors..
The journals document her early years in PEI, a move to Ontario, becoming a mother.. and her life as a minister’s wife and her husband’s struggles.. and his stay at Homewood in Guelph.
It also showcases her writing and her battles with a U-S publisher..

Her words are honest..and are still powerful today.

That’s my Anne.

lisa
   
 

On this day of everything pink hearts and red roses..I put this out there.
I want a brother-in-law.
 
I have a 30-something sister who has not been able to find “The One”.
Yes, she’s got a “great personality”..she’s also cute  (really).. and a real blonde.
She can ski and golf..and is a devoted aunt.

She has a fabulous job..owns real estate in Toronto…
and she travels.

She also spends weekends with the same university crowd.. ( most of them are married off and having babies).
She’s not out there meeting a lot of new people.

Can you help me out?

Are you single?..Do you have a job?  Are you somewhat funny? ( I’m thinking in a Monty Python, Simpsons kind of way.)
Do you still talk to your mother?
Do you want children?
Could you cope with having me as a sister-in-law ?
(Yeah.. I realize this might be part of the problem!)

Simply forward references.. and a recent police check. You know where to find me.

Don’t tell my sister about this… okay?

Happy Valentine’s Day!

lisa

The National Post along with the romance novel people at Harlequin are out with another Sexiest Torontonian contest.
It kinda gets you thinking.
We don’t need to hike it an hour down the 401.
We are a sexy bunch right here in the Waterloo region, right?
We don lederhosen and dirndls in cold weather.
We have the most intelligent people in the universe living within our borders - that’s sexy right?
The Blue Box was born here.   That’s downright sexy in a granola-type way.

So, go ahead… name the sexiest person in the region.. in honour of St Valentine’s.
Politician?  Local billionaire? ..Or could it be the guy who dug your  car out of the snowbank last week?

Maybe the region’s sexiest person can be found at the local coffee shop?
 
Email your picks lisa.drew@570news.rogers.com

lisa
 

The 570 News Storm Centre has been a busy place the last two days.  It also got quite the workout last week.

What it means here in the newsroom
can be quite different to what it means
to you at home or in the car..we know so many are just waiting to hear that one magical cancellation!
That magical cancellation would be a school closure announcement.
Our soon to be eleven-year-old came home last week saying his teachers were practicing their snow day dance.. convinced that Friday would indeed be a snow day.  They were right.  Schools were shut down.
( Maybe we should get them on retainer here.. along with our weather specialist John Wilson.  They are good!)

Yesterday, another blast of snow and ice brought with it in-town school bus cancellations for both boards, but not school closures.
Key word here: bus cancellations.
That did not stop one cute, resourceful grade five student
(mine) from emailing me every five minutes during the 570 Morning News..asking if.. he… indeed had to go to school.  He takes the bus.  Despite many pleading emails later, along with those annoying happy face icons, I responded .
I suggested he get his boots and backpack on, and get into the truck to get to school with his brother.
His dad was going to work.. they were going to school.

His final email.. included.. ” you are the worst mom ever”.. along with a final pitch to stay at home.
He threw in another happy face for good measure.

I am.. and I’m proud of it.

Happy back to school day!

lisa

We are being ruled by animals this weekend.

Tomorrow is Groundhog Day.
Tomorrow is Groundhog Day.
Tomorrow is Groundhog Day.

Sunday is Superbowl Sunday. ( 570 News has the action for you starting at 5pm.)
Forget Wiarton Willie’s call for spring - A New Jersey Camel called Princess has picked  the Giants to win.

And….something to think about as you head to a bash at the neighbour’s to cheer on the Giants ( they are going to win.. remember Princess?)…
Keep a eye on the snack table and those evil
Double-Dippers.
A prof from a South Carolina university actually spent a lot of time researching those who take a bite then dip again.
(It’s all based on that famous Seinfeld episode where George is caught going back again and again…)

The professor found the actual risks of double dipping are debatable but on average researchers found three to six double dips transferred about ten thousand bacteria from the dipper’s mouth.. into the dip.  The dip type makes all the difference too.. acidic salsa… picks up more bugs because it was runny… while a thick cheese dip didn’t leave as much behind. 
Professor Paul Dawson is quoted in the New York Times as saying..” look around and ask yourself, would I be willing to kiss everyone here?”

Look for the study in the Journal of Food Safety later this year.

Stick with the wings.

lisa