570News Blog: Lisa Drew

Every single year I say this!  Where did I put it at the end of winter?  Every year I make a point of putting the brush in a spot in the garage ( I think!) in an obvious spot, to store for the warm months.
It would be a spot easy enough to find and grab on that first snow day.. in the wee hours.
It happened Wednesday morning.  A layer of snow mixed with ice on my windshield.  And no idea where the brush went.

I spent yesterday afternoon going through our garage, back shed, and mudroom.  No sign. 

Today, I will go out and buy another two snow brushes for our vehicles. 

Beats a plastic bag over a woolen mitt.    

Somewhere, some little critter has a stockpile of my snowbrushes.

Have a safe and spooky weekend!

lisa

Halloween lands on Friday.

Will kids notice a cutback in goodies at the door this year?
The Retail Council of Canada estimates we will spend
over a billion dollars on candy, pumpkins, costumes and decorations.  But the price is down per household..
from 60 dollars in 2006… to 59 dollars this year..

The two big candymakers in North America hiked chocolate prices last week, and anything made in China is out these days.  It could be laced with melamine.
In the past, parents were checking for signs of tampering or  for a razor blade in an apple.   We still do the candy lookover..but who gives out apples anymore?   My grandfather was a dentist and used to hand them out at the door.  Some definitely got tossed.
Now we’re checking for country of origin.

I’m not expecting a big line up at our door.
In the past.. we’ve averaged maybe 20 -25 kids.
Blame the long driveway, and the pre-teens getting too “cool”,  or just growing up on us.

I still love the night..
Our neighbours do it up right.
We don’t have many street lights around us, so all you see  is the orange glow of the pumpkins.. and hear the laughter and the lawn tractors down the lane.
The kids get pulled around in trailers, then jump off.. and scurry up the driveways.

Watch out for the little police officer  and Indiana Jones in my neck of the woods. One of my guys is still putting the finishing touches on his Indy look.

lisa
     

Really.   I went online last Wednesday to order birth certificates for the kids.
On Monday, the courier missed me and left a note on our door.
Yesterday, I picked up two envelopes from the Ontario
government.  That took just days… even better then the new two-week guarantee.
( I know what you are really thinking -  I did register their births.. never finished up the last step.  Now we want to travel, and I’m finally getting my bad mother act together!)

Next step… to get our boys passports before the end of the year.  

See you in line.

lisa

Thanks to Gary Doyle for this one..( who is really more of an at work dad…and that’s not a shot at age but more a nod to his support and guidance over the years.  He was brave enough to hire me way back then!)

CareerBuilder.com is out with its list of signs that you have a work spouse.
You know… a co-worker of the opposite sex with whom you have a close platonic relationship with.
I have.. many.. at work hubbies.

Here are the signs:
You depend on a particular co-worker for office supplies, snacks and aspirin.  This would be me…I’m always armed with cough drops and Tylenol, but I see it more of a mom-thing.

There are inside jokes that you share with a specific co-worker.  ( Don’t we all?  You can just give them the “look” and they know what you are thinking..good or bad?)

You can be bluntly honest…especially on the appearance front.    We’re talking bad hair days,  and good jean days.
(Umm…..check hair before you do those Rogers TV updates. )
My work hubbies are good enough to acknowledge time at the hairdresser, and my new shoes..and my other new shoes.. and they do tell me when something is not working for me.

When something at work goes down.. this co-worker is the first person you de-brief with.
( Guess which one calls when a late-day memo goes out ..or has  the latest ” who said what… to who” ?)

Another sign:   your co-worker knows what to order for you at breakfast or lunch.
(Glenn gets the special : Toasted brown, over easy with sausage most times, and Joe gets the toasted western with mushrooms not onions.).
And never call it “brekkie”.  My work husband Glenn hates when you say ”brekkie” and “veggie”. 

You and your co-worker can finish each other’s sentences.
(Just listen most mornings.. we do that..and sometimes take each other’s lines too!)

And finally…the work hubby or wife knows almost as much about your personal life.. as your best buddy or real life spouse.
These guys and their families  spend time with our family on weekends and holidays.  We are a close knit bunch here.

What do you expect? I share a newsroom in the wee hours with at least three work husbands.  We’ve been together for a long time.
Glenn and I have been work spouses on and off for some 18-years.  Paul and Joe provide the extra back up when I need the ear, or zucchini muffin from their lunch bag.
They are all available and do know me well.. maybe too well some days.

I love them all.  I think my real husband appreciates their roles in our lives too.   I start talking at 4am every day!

I also love my at work wives/sisters!  Tara has always been there, through thick and thin.  I’d be lost without her..and she’s always just down the hall.

And Kate just brought in some low-fat.. still warm..banana bread!  

lisa 

As the market roller coaster continues and Canadian investors pull billions out of mutual funds to park in their bank accounts… some thoughts: just go dancing, or
rent Saturday Night Fever this weekend.
We need to think about something that is not bottom-line related these days.

Turns out the John Travolta character from the 1977 film got it all right.
Researchers spent a lot of time on a study to figure out which dance moves are most likely to impress the female onlooker.

They studied the freestyle dancing techniques commonly deployed by men in nightclubs, and found highly-co-ordinated and complex dance moves
employed by Travolta’s character were deemed the most attractive.
The “shuffle” is a move that includes the shifting from foot to foot technique (often seen at weddngs and school dances) and it did not score high at all.

A psychologist at Hertfordshire University tells The Times of India that dancing in nightclubs is really the modern human equivalent of courtship displays used by birds and other animals.

Being like Tony can be cheap in today’s economy too.
Grab the white suit at the thrift store.

lisa

Thank you to eight thousand of you who stood in line (I’m told it was a fast moving line!) and ate some 17-thousand pancakes…on King street in Uptown Waterloo on Saturday.

Thank you for the two thousand pounds
of food that collected at our annual family breakfast.
It was great to meet so many of you, and catch up with some old friends as well.

And for those catching the parade yesterday:
The Food Bank of Waterloo Region and the Kitchener-Waterloo Oktoberfest collected over 21-thousand
pounds of food along the parade route..18-thousand dollars in cash.. was also raised.

And here’s something you don’t see everyday.. or every Oktoberfest.  Spotted Saturday night at the Concordia:
a line up for the men’s washroom.  It was a long line up too!  Longer than the women’s .

lisa

Here’s what you  need to know before you go to the festhalls…

First: Make plans for the ride home NOW!
GRT , taxi.. or non-drinking friend.
Leave the car at home.

Next…what are you wearing?
Some advice for those donning leather hotpants:
Don’t try so hard.
The experts say lederhosen shouldn’t look new ..They say
a few stains or even a repair on them make the wearer look a little more rugged.
Go ahead..spill during the polka.
Maybe burst a seam trying to ring the bell.

So, why do we wear these things?
A European ethnologist by the name of Simone Egger tells a Munich newspaper that the “Oktoberfest Tracht Phenomenon” (– you know, folks dressing up in “traditional” costume for Oktoberfest) … is all about our strong desire for a sense of identity within the urban society.
The cultural scientist says values such as homeland and tradition become that much more important at times when uncertainty and flexibility increase worldwide.”

We hope to see you tomorrow (Saturday) morning Uptown Waterloo for our annual free  570 News Oktoberfest Family Breakfast..

Please bring a donation for the Food Bank.

Happy Thanksgiving!

lisa
 

Google is going to save all those late night text messagers as they head home from the festhalls over the next two weekends.
Google Labs is out with something called Mail Goggles today..and it could save you some embarrassment the next day (if you know what I mean)…

The new Gmail feature features a few math questions to see if you are fit enough to really be sending that email to that certain someone.. or your entire work team.

Mail Goggles is active for those late nights on the weekend. (10pm to 4am)

lisa

Quick!…   Name the first politician that comes to mind.
Let me guess: It’s not a Canadian..or a man.

Yahoo! is out with its Canada Buzz Index search today, and it finds American vice-presidential hopeful Sarah Palin gets the most hits.

The Alaskan Governor picked up the most searches last week on debate day.  That was the same day our leaders squared off in the English debate. Yahoo! finds searches on Prime Minister Harper actually dropped eight percent on debate day.  He is still the most searched Canadian leader though!

The top searched Canadian leaders:  Harper at 35 percent, Jack Layton at 22 percent and Elizabeth May and Stephane Dion both come in at 17 percent.

Yahoo! says their results tend to show a trend that Canadians are perhaps more interested in the race stateside.
(Blame Tina Fey, great liners about Joe Six-Pack and dogs and lipstick….)
Get ready for Palin to play Tina Fey on SNL next..possibly spoofing  the 30 Rock star’s American Express ads.

We vote in one week.  Americans have their say in four weeks.

lisa

Today is World Smile Day…we’re supposed to grin and bear it to all…and do something nice for someone else.
Here in Waterloo Region, both school boards are pushing “Say Hi” day today to get kids connected. 

Turns out  not many insurance people are smiling.
The original Happy Face from the 60’s…came about as part of  campaign to improve worker morale at an insurance firm.

Health experts say smiling boosts the immune system, lowers blood pressure and releases endorphins to make us feel good.

Chocolate does that too.

lisa