Owwwie.

The Begining of the End

...of Lost. I will try and contain my sobbing and refrain from turning into a giant mass of sobbing emotional goo - for now. I make no promises for Sunday. As of 5pm (CST) it's fair game... bring out the Kleenex and keep heavy things that could break the TV out of my reach.

We've pretty much planned our entire weekend (by "we" I mean "I") around the series finale on Sunday so I thought I would post a little retro-post about the journey that has been my Lost ramblings...

May 2009 - Lost ramblings...

[...] my theory on the rocks Jack takes from "Adam and Eve" in the caves in Season 1. He never makes mention of them again and no one knows he's got them. That's too shady even for this show to not come back and bite us in the ass. My guess is, if it hasn't come back this far into the series... it has something to do with the conclusion.

I guess I wasn't too far off... :)

January 2010 - Beginning of the end

Not knowing what the heck is going on is what makes this show so captivating. If they answer all the questions, it won't be anything more than what people thought it was in the beginning : plane crash survivors on an island. *bore* What makes it so exciting is that it's so messed up - I don't want the thrills to go away.

Oh but they will... they will go away. *sob*

February 2010 - Lost again...

It started as a show about a bunch of exceptional strangers who landed on this random island. Now (to the untrained eye) it looks like a bunch of random people landed on an exceptional island.

Awh! I think if you listen carefully, you may hear my brain 'ssploding in the distance...

March 2010 - The Substitute

I was very much entertained by the names on the walls and spent countless hours online piecing together who's name was on there and who's was crossed out. Sure, I still want to know more and I had figured out they were all there for a reason... I was just very intrigued by how they were listed and where.

Now the fun begins... or ends rather.

And that's the last time I blogged about Lost. I've been trying to piece some thoughts together with regards to the finale and the last couple episodes to no avail. I'm not sure if it's denial or simply because I don't know what to think anymore. Nick did a pretty good job at putting down some (somewhat) coherent words that expressed very well how I feel about the whole thing.

I don't want to keep digging at stuff because I want to get some closure (HA!) from Sunday's episode. ... but I don't want it to end! I'm confuzzled.

Either way, with the episodes leading up to now, I'm pretty sure Sunday's finale will be nothing short of awesomesauce.

Learn more about Women's Cancers

In my efforts to support my cousins France and Aimelie in raising funds and awareness of women's cancers, here's some useful information. Remember to click here to donate on behalf of France and click here to donate on behalf of Aimelie.

Breast Cancer
Among Canadian women, breast cancer continues to be the most frequently diagnosed cancer with 22,700 new cases expected in 2009, nearly twice as many as lung cancer. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer mortality among women, and is expected to take the lives of 5,400 Canadian women in 2009.
Click here to find out more information about signs, symptoms, screening, risk factors, treatment and the latest research.

Ovarian Cancer
2,500 new cases of ovarian cancer are expected to be diagnosed in Canadian women this year, with an estimated 1,750 deaths attributed to the disease.
Click here to find out more information about signs, symptoms, screening, risk factors, treatment and the latest research.

Cervical Cancer
1,300 new cases of cervical cancer are expected to be diagnosed in Canadian women this year, with an estimated 380 deaths attributed to the disease.
Click here to find out more information about signs, symptoms, screening, risk factors, treatment and the latest research.

Uterine Cancer
4,400 new cases of uterine cancer are expected to be diagnosed in Canadian women this year, with an estimated 800 deaths attributed to the disease.
Click here to find out more information about signs, symptoms, screening, risk factors, treatment and the latest research.

Vaginal Cancer
There is no early detection for vaginal cancer; however, sometimes doctors are able to detect vaginal changes during pap tests and pelvic exams.
Click here to find out more information about signs, symptoms, screening, risk factors, treatment and the latest research.

Vulvar Cancer
Through research, scientists are learning more about genes and cancerous vulvar cells. They are also studying the ability to prevent cancer through vaccinations.
Click here to find out more information about signs, symptoms, screening, risk factors, treatment and the latest research.

I didn't even know there were this many different kinds of women's cancer - one thing's for sure though, it's all in our best interest to be aware and informed. By supporting France and Aimelie, you'll be raising funds and awareness for each of those different types of cancer and most importantly, you'll be joining hands with Canada’s biggest difference-making endeavours for all women.

Home Stuff - Another challenge!

I like challenges (because being a military spouse isn't enough!) and I'm always trying to find ways to grow, learn and discover new things. I don't like to stand still.

I thought I would share my efforts, problems, solutions and adventures as I try to convert this house into our home.

Truth is, we currently live in Military Housing and it's the first place that we have that's "ours" as opposed to "mine and then he moved in". We've been here for a bit over a year and we haven't done much to the place to be quite honest. We were lucky to be assigned to a recently renovated MQ (Married Quarters - though they are called Housing Units now, they are still referred to as MQs or Qs) and we kinda got lazy because everything was good and functional and looked okay.

We both lived in rental apartments for quite some time before we moved in together. When you live in an apartment by yourself or with roommates, simply painting the walls is a huge task. Because you don't know how long you'll be living there for and because you have to paint everything back to the standard white or eggshell paint before you vacate, you tend to just leave it be.

That's what we've been telling ourselves over the last year and I'm sick and tired of looking at beige walls, box upon box of unpacked clutter due to lack of organizational space. Ugh.

My challenge will be to make this place a little bite more ours and to convince Js to let me. He doesn't see how it affects me that the downstairs bathroom is a total disaster and all those white walls blind me. There's also the challenge of saving a buck or two - because we don't own the place, we can't tear down a wall or anything so I have to find creative ways for people to look away from the ugly carpet. I also don't want to pay someone else to do the work and I don't want it to cost us our first born. It's just not worth spending too much money when we have so many other priorities and we'll get nothing in return.

I have a certificate in Interior Decorating that I've never used for anything else but plant my butt firmly in front of TV shows like 'Take this house and sell it' or 'Color Confidential'. I figure it's time to put it to a bit more productive use.

I'll post some "Home Stuff" updates, tips, progress reports as I face my challenge head on... Stay tuned...

No-Eating-Out Dealio - PMSing is not cool. Ever.

I would step over a box of kitties to get a fry right now... with salt.

When I PMS, I get massive cravings for junk food (who doesn't?) and it's like my mind goes blank on all things that are not covered in salt or gravy. It's like in those cartoons when everyone turns into a walking turkey.

It's been especially difficult with our N0-Eating-Out dealio. I've tried to make some fries at home to kill the craving to no avail. Tonight it's burgers on the BBQ and nachos - let's hope it helps!

I'm trying to think of salty-junky style food we can make at home that will help sooth my need for greasy goodness.

On the menu over the next 14ish days :
- Fish and chips
- Mac and Cheese
- Poutine with real poutine sauce
- Chicken burgers

Any other suggestions or recipes are welcome! :)

Offbeat Bride - How are you judged for your last name choice?

An interesting post I read today on OffbeatBride.com about changing your name when you get married vs keeping your maiden name. Some folks at a Dutch university published a paper showing that women who took their husband's last names were less likely to be hired for jobs, and made significantly less money.

As Ariel puts it :

The shifts and trends in last names over the last 40 year have coincided with significant cultural shifts in women's societal roles, so I think it's understandable that people would use the heavily politicized issue of last names as an indicator. I don't think these assumptions are accurate, of course. But it seems reasonable to me that in the shifting cultural landscape of gender roles, people will cling to whatever clues they can get when making judgments.

I've blogged about my decision to take Js' name before and even though I think the results to the study are total bullcrap (not the study itself, I just think what the results show about society sucks balls.) I think the post by Ariel is very interesting including comments from someone who's read the entire study.

Thoughts?

Weekend to End Women's Cancer

I'm not one to beg... but here's my begging for the next little while.

My cousins are participating in the Weekend to end Women's Cancer in Ottawa this year and if it weren't for 3000kms, I'd be right there with them. I want to support them as much as I can in their efforts so click here to donate on behalf of Aimelie and click here to donate on behalf of France. One or the other or both will do just fine! ;o)

France and Aimelie have seen the devastating effects of cancer from way too close and way too many times. It seems unfair sometimes how undeserving people get struck by this terrifying disease. It's with the support of family, friends and the entire world that men and women fight cancer each day.

Without your help we all lose the fight.