We're 5-0!

Final Score: 25-12 Yay Flash!

I'm glad we beat Red...the captain of that team (who I will call Big Red) is a very cocky lady. She seems to think that her team will beat everyone cause she plays on that team and she's awesome. We watched Red play in previous games and noticed that their offensive drive always involved Big Red who would get about 10 yard gains. About 2/3 of their complete passes involved her so she needed to be taken out of the equation.

So, my coach (whos very smart) created a defence in which I am to man-up on Big Red and deny her the ball. It worked wickedly! She only caught it once for a gain of 3 yards...and that happened cause she set a pick on me and jabbed her ass into my gut. The ref almost dropped the flag to give me a defensive foul...but I explained to him that she jabbed her ass in my gut and he smiled and told me to watch for that.

We're going to Regina this weekend for a touch football tournament...its gonna be a gong show! I can't stress that enough.

And yes, I wore the pigtails in my game...she doesn't like me as it is...but she hated that!

And I didn't loose any teeth :)

Love it!

I stand, remote and alone,
I’m Frightened and windblown,
My feelings are unknown,
To the one who cares,
The one friend I’ve known.

You reach out for my hand
I pull back, and turn away;
Mistaken, forsaken,
It’s me that feels this way.
What is it I fear?
is it letting you near?

My arms are wrapped around me,
My hair in my own face,
Night’s velvet hands caress me
Caressing me like lace;
And I can’t help but think of
Your lips, my face.

And a reminder to me
That you’ve been right here,
Always waiting for me,
Wanting to draw me near.
I love you, you say
Tomorrow, today.

Your words in my mind
My hair on own my face
I look and turn towards you
And fall into your embrace.
Forgive me, I say,
Forgive me today.

Heather's dream shoes

Behold! My dream shoe!

I'm very excited...I've been meaning to go to www.nikeid.com and design a cool new shoe for my up and coming team handball season. My new team I'm playing on is the Wildcats...each one of us even has a cat name...(mine's Tiger) :) Our team colors are Brown and Gold, so I'm thinking a snazzy shoe with gold would be really wicked.

Its easy to get carried away when designing your own shoe...I'm still thinking I might change the coloring of it again and put more yellow in it, but I think this looks pretty sharp.

It doesn't start for two months, but I have already started training every day and sharpening my skills. The only problem is that I don't have anyone to pass to...so I have to use my imagination and go 'through the motions'. Last year I was in the top 5 of high scorers with over 50 goals in the season and it was my first year playing my new position...so I can only get better.

Have no idea what team handball is? Click here. Kinda gives you a general abstract without going into detail.

This year I also plan on getting my level 2 in coaching (I currently coach a B league team) and I would like to start reffing...I'm the development coordinator so its best to educate myself as much as possible.

Excited!

I am me.

I am me. I wouldn't want to be anyone or anything else. I was born with a purpose and when I die, I will rest in peace knowing I did everything I ever wanted to do in my life. I love to live, I love to learn, I love to love.

I'm told by most that I'm too nice, too sexy, too successful...I'm sorry, but I will intimidate each and every single one of you. It is not on purpose, I didn't wake up one day and say "I'm going to be the sexiest, nicest and most successful person I can be for the rest of my life!" It comes from my genetic code, my upbringing, from surviving all the growing pains that life has to offer, and being stronger because of them. Its who I am, its me so don't hold it against me.

I strive therefore I succeed; but I pick and choose my spots. I've had days where all I do is sit around in my PJs and play video games, I've had days where I wished it would be my last day, and I've had days where I stop and think about how lucky I am for living.

I have my hangups, we're all human...everyone does. I bury mine deep within the recesses of my mind. There they dwell along with a life time of hurt and sorrow from years past. In time I forget that they are there. Every once in a while they emerge and I give them new life as a song so that they have a chance to be perceived as beautiful.

I have fears. I do not fear bugs or rodents or darkness. I fear things that I cannot control, things that I cannot see. I fear failure. To have something you put effort and time into not work out is a devistating situation for me. I fear being misunderstood. I have a hard time being open. As a result, people draw their own conclusions which are always incorrect. I fear being alone, and I will be alone till someone takes the time to 'see me' and not my lifestyle.

See me. I am me.

Dark state of affairs...

Now, I don't get down often...(and by 'down' I mean 'depressed' people!) I like to surpress my emotions until about every 4 months, they erupt in a beautiful display of pyrotechnics and anger.

Well, today was that lucky, lucky day people. I knew it was coming, but there is nothing I could do about it....PLUS, I didn't eat this morning and I'm always a little pissy if I'm hungry.

I was a cynical jerk. When I get like this, I really tend to speak my mind and criticize everything. For example, the trade show I’m now in is such a shitty show and it sucked major bag last year…but being the nice girl that I am, I gave this trade show another chance… I signed the contract on the basis that I was going to see some out-of-province buyers. They also said they were going to change some dynamics and make it better.

Apparently ‘better’ means getting some man with an annoying ‘Kermit the Frog’ voice to scream a count down over the intercom at the beginning of the trade show…

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 THE SHOW IS OPEN?!?!? WOOOO YAYAYA YIPPEE! (the 5 buyers waiting in line walk in)

Did that just happen?…you’ve GOT to be kidding me…normally I bite my tongue but today I didn’t, I went off:

“What the HELL was that?!?! Is it New Years?!? Holy shit! I can’t believe that just happened?!? That was the most annoying thing I ever heard! (as I walk straight to the organizers table to tell them how I felt about that)…”what is this? Walmart? Do we need a pep-rally? That was extremely unprofessional for a trade show…how do you guys expect to be taken seriously?”

Yeah, Bit-chy! I hate when I get like this, but really this show deserves every bit of Angry Heather it gets. You see, I found out this year that its a 'politically funded' show...which means its basically a political pep rally with crafters. For the last two hours of the show today, we had MLAs talking on the intercom giving other MLAs and organizers pats on the back for all their effort on this show...Meanwhile, I'm having to talk at the top of my lungs to the customers who are trying to make an order with me...once again, very 'tacky' to have that going on during the show...but don't worry, Angry Heather wrote a nice long email to the organizers.

I needed someone to pull me out of this in a major way....someone to say 'screw your stupid mood Heather!' But I don't really have anyone that involved in my life to even care that this was transpiring...so I did what I always do to make me feel better, I play sports and due to the time of year, my sport is touch football.

A good game or practice always jerks me out of my mood. The moment the adrenaline starts pumping, your mind begins to focus on the game and not on the craptastic day that just transpired. PLUS, I was given a 'special task' for next game which made me even more focused on doing it well.

Whats this task you ask? Well, its sweet! I get to man-up on the opposing teams best receiver and make sure she never touches the ball! Better yet, I know the receiver and this is gonna totally piss her off! I LOVE IT! I LIVE to piss people off in sport! This match-up between me and her is going to be so good that a few guy teams are going to come watch me school her ass. (cause she will be schooled! I'm gonna be all over her like stink on a monkey!)

In conclusion, by the end of practice I was in a much lighter mood...I even started slapping peoples asses (always a sign of Content Heather)...I'm glad I went to play before I wrote this cause the stuff I was going to write earlier was really, really dark...and I wouldn't want to bother you with all that tripe!

I really should have bought this!

I'm having regrets for not buying this fur hat in Anchorage, Alaska. I would have had such good times walking around wearing this retarded hat...Oh well, I'm sure there are many fur hats out there just waiting for me to buy them.

Look into my eyes
Then maybe you’ll...see
Why can’t things be
The way they use to...be
I want you to know
That you were meant for...me
Not asking for much
All I really need

Just a little more time from you
Just a little more time to prove
Just a little more touch from you
Then maybe you’ll know what to do
When I show you my heart and my soul
When I show you I care for you the most
Please
Just give me more

If love is a crime
I’m guilty as charged
I’ll put in my time
Just to win your heart
You turn to me
I can barely breathe
I don’t ask for much
All I really need


Just a little more time from you
Just a little more time to prove
Just a little more touch from you
Then maybe you’ll know what to do
When I show you my heart and my soul
When I show you I love you the most
Please( x 3)
Just give me more

I'm Home!

We woke up early so that we could do a stop over in Roblin - (my dads hometown) and say hi to my Baba and Gigi (aka my grandparents).
There are a lot of things I remember about Roblin. When I was little, we would come out and visit the farm on Easter weekend. I remember making Pysanka and decorating my easter basket all nice (it was a bright pink one). We'd wake up at 5am to go to the morning mass at this beautiful church, and this is where I learned to sing in Ukrainian.
Now a days the farm looks a little run down. In its prime, my baba would take care of everything. Unfortunately, she had a stroke a few years ago and lost functionality in the left side of her body. It really makes me sad to see her in the state she is in now, her eyes once a sparkling green, full of energy and life have now turned to dull and grey. She breathes only to exist and I feel like I should help her in some way, but the only thing I can do is give her my company and make her feel loved....I feel useless.

I talked to her for what must have been 4 hours. I was always her favorite and still am :) My uncle and his wife and kids were given the farm and live in the house next to my grandparents. My cousins sure have grown up! Frank, the eldest son bears a striking similarity to my brother Chris - they even have the same facial expressions and mannerisms - funny how genetics work.

After 5 more hours of driving we were HOME! yay! hurrrah! I love travelling, but I also love and missed the following:

My friends: Hey all my fellow goof ball friends! I can't wait to get rowdy once more!

My cats: I missed having my furry little bed buddies and waking up to them laying all over me every morning.
I've been neglecting my fur kids all summer...good thing I don't have or plan on having any actual kids anytime soon cause for starters...they'd probably be sleeping in my sock drawer.

My bed: He-llooo Beeeed! I missed you and your downy softness and your millions of pillows and your softness and sleeping on you! (and yes, I like leopard print ok?!? haha)

My guitar: I love my guitar so I was happy to play it again!

My family: I'm very close with my brothers and my cousins. (which are all female) We act more like sisters than anything...I'm in definete need of a good weekend at the lake with all of them. I have this desire to pick saskatoon berries and make some pies and I want to go into the bush and pick some morels and chanterelles.

Ok, I'm going to bed...ahhh bed!

Yee-ha! Moosejaw!!

So, we didn't quite make it home yet...we stopped in the booming town of Moosejaw Saskatchewan for the nite.

First and foremost...I went to Kalidoscope glass gallery (the one I'm contemplating buying) and after much deliberation, I'm leaning towards not jumping into that...yet. Maybe its the tagging on the door next to the shop, maybe its the transiants sleeping in the park across the street but its just not in the location that I would want it to be and for the price asking, its best I start up what I want on the turf of my choice.

And this is Timmy, he's the bird I was feeding my carrot cake to. Timmy was the the fiestiest of all his little bird friends cause he'd scare away all his buddies and get my carrot cake crumbs.
So...on the road again! Apparently, southern Saskatchewan ONLY has ONE music station and to my dismay, its country...Now, I'm not a big fan of country but I thought I'd humour it...

Lyrics from first song I hear:
"I don't know what was pounding more,
My heart...or the hood of that ford"
Classy! Of course I'm laughing my ass off to the point of tears...this was being sung in a country balad type of song and it was all about screwing on a truck.

So, on goes my Jack Johnson CD...for about the 10 time this trip. (at least I know all the songs now)

Me and my mom decide its best that we stop in Moosejaw...we can grab a bite to eat and leave early in the morning to make it to my grandparents farm.

First thing I notice...all the little boys in their suped up coups...and this yokel in his 'duo exhaust' purple beast:

I also notice that there are signs to remind you of what lane you are in.

No Saskatchewan trip would be complete without a trip to a Bonanza! *que the theme music* We use to have Bonanzas in Winnipeg, one on St.Marys as a matter of fact...and I use to like them as a kid (probably because of the ice cream bar). So we went to the one here in Moosejaw. Needless to say, it was a bit of a dive...but the good news: I don't have food poisioning! (well, so far so good...) The one in Regina is much more cleanly as my handball girls usually try and stop by there when we take Regina road trips.
And here is another pic of me and my mom back at the hotel. She was mocking the fact that my boobs are always everywhere (I wanted to wear just the shirt under this orange zipper thing, but she wouldn't let me). So, she was unbuttoning her shirt and throwing her boobs everywhere. Here is the conversation that followed:

Heather: "Oh mom, you're such a dork, we have to take a photo of this!"
Mom: "What?!?? Oh no, you're gonna put it on that blog of yours!"
Heather: "Well, of course I am, someone has to take note of all your dorkyness"
Mom: "..."
Heather: "oh, just do it!"

So here is the photo, I am laughing my ass off (and actually look like I have a problem with my face...lol...baad photo!) and my mom is being modest...she was much more raunchy before I opted for a photo shoot. In all truth here...mom is a painfully modest lady, so I don' t know where I adopted my exhibitionist ways.
Speak of such, see the photo below...I took the liberty of cropping a lot off here, so ya'll can focus on the pendant. I designed a necklace and matching bracelet set and this pendant style on the way to Moosejaw. I'm on a creative role! Don't you love it when that happens?!?! Same with when I'm writing songs...I'll usually have a huge creative spree and write 3 in one week...then nothing for a month or so.

And now back to watching terrible B movies...they're actually pretty hilarious! I just finished watching one with killer mosquitoes on the Space Channel and now I'm watching one that has the exact same tacky cinematography as you would see in porn...all its missing is, well, porn!

One last nite!

Yay! My mom's here! Its nice to have company cause I really was getting lonely earlier this week...and now I don't have to set my camera up on a garbage can and run like mad to where I want to pose! heehee! My mom is my best friend so hanging out with her is like hanging out with a girlfriend and I'm glad she decided to come down.

We have a lot of common interests. She is the one who inspired me into starting a business by always allowing me to be involved in craft sales that she use to do. She's the computer 'techie' for the school in our town so her an I always get into the 'tech talks'.

There are a few things that are quirky about my mom, I'm going to list a few of her 'momism's'

Momism 1: She doesn't like to deal with people. Whether its ordering room service or telling off someone, I'm usually the 'go to' person in our duo.

Momism 2: For some reason, if we order room service and the guy comes to the door...she always 'high tails' it into the bathroom...leaving me looking like I"m all by myself, and I'm obviously hungry...

Momism 3: She asks a lot of questions, about everything, all the time...which is good except for when I'm in deep thought mode...then I don't like questions cause even I don't know the answers at this time.

Momism 4: She cries at everything...Not like the wussy crying...but if there is a TV show thats sad, or a commercial thats sad, or a song thats sad, or a puppy that looks sad...well you get the idea...I just kinda smirk at her and tell her she's a dork.

But I love my mom...she lets me be me and puts up with my retarditivity...sometimes I can convince her to be one too:

Me with my metal plate boobs...and my mom, obviously confused with the task I gave her.

I also went to a new wholesaler today...Beadworld in Edmonton! I definetly had a beadgasm or two! Ooooooh! I was in there for 2 hours and I got some sweet digs! I've had this design in my head and I finally was able to buy some cool beads so that I could put my bead design into action....and here is the final product (note: we're looking at the pendant here...)

I'd zoom in on the pendant...but I'm trying to save my intellectual property. I have to corner the market before I show everyone how simple it was to make. :-D

Alrite, ciao for now! I should be home tomorrow...or saturday...actually, saturday for sure cause my next trade show starts on monday...yay for being busy!

I'm Outta Here!

Today and yesterday were very slow days...but I didn't care!!! I have exceeded my expectations and am as happy as a clam!

Thanks to my mom coming in...I got to go around the last couple days and play 'buyer'.

After visiting other exhibitors, I now know why people are always happy to deal with me:

1. Its like a freaken used car lot out there! - I'm guessing a lot of these 'big time' booths pay their employees and give them commision based on the sales they make at the show. I rarely buy anything at trade shows, I like to take the material home and go over EVERYTHING all together over a glass of wine or a cup of tea. That way I don't make any impulse buys and freak out when I get my mastercard bill. Well, these employees don't like buyers like me and will basically snub me when I ask for a catalog or a URL.
2. I'm a happy girl with zero expectations - Hell, I was happy just to pay for my trip and my shopping binge at lulu lemon! You can only afford to buy 200 bucks worth of stuff?!?! Thats great! No worries! Lemmie help you pick out colors...
3. I don't think I'm the best thing in the world - I'm just a girl, a girl who makes things out of appartment, a girl who has two cats and sometimes eats cereal for supper...
4. I leave you alone - Despite everything I was ever told about 'selling'...I like to take the 'you want my stuff...you can approach me'. I generally say 'Hi' when someone walks in and tell them that if they have any questions...just ask. Then I piss off and let them look around cause no one feels comfortable when you're being watched like a hawk.

Bush Report:
I had some guy feeling up my bush today...I think I made him feel awkward:
(note: this actually transpired, I have no shame and I think I was at the end of my bush acknowledging days)
Me: "My bush feels nice doesn't it?"
Guy: "uh..."
Me: "Yeah, everyone has wanted it this show...but I don't want to share it with anyone else"
Guy: (walks away...)
Me and Ladies in the booth next to me: (silent for about a minute...then just burst out laughing)

A lot of people asked about my shoes today too...I wear these shoes called Crocs and I LOVE them! They are the best shoes you'll ever buy and they are a unisex design so both guys and gals can wear them!
They're light weight, they can be a sling back or a slip on, they mold to your feet...I was on my feet for at least 48 hours this show and my feet aren't the least bit sore...The ones in the photo are the beach model...so you can wear them on the beach and in the water as well! I'm treating myself to a pair of pink ones (and maybe green ones) after I write this!

Today was also a great day because I GOT TO BARTER! I love getting (basically) free schwag! I got a really cool ring, a obsidian wind chime, a purse, my cat hat (both purse and cat hat seen later on in this blog) and a whole whack of other stuff! Everyone wanted my jewerly so it made bartering really easy for me :)

I also placed an order at the show with an importer that brings in this really nifty jewelry...it would sell really well in Winnipeg so I'm excited to get my order!

The show ended at 3:00...I made 200 bucks cash on top of my free barter shwag and I was ready to pack er up!
Yay! So tomorrow, I check out, visit beadworld - a wholesaler here in Edmonton, and then head to Calgary to check out the art gallery I've been looking into...I then plan on driving to Roblin to visit my grandparents on the farm and then I'm gonna crash at Lisa's (a buyer of mine) house in Wasagaming...I love my buyers, they let me crash at their homes! hahaha!

Ok, now to think about what I'm gonna do for HNT...I think I have some here in my nekkid archives...

I'll leave you with a parting shot of me, my new bag, my new 'cat hat', my crocs and 'the great one' :)

I love my bush!

Today's closing numbers are (drumroll...) I have over 20 new customers in total from two days! I got my first Ontario customer (from Kenora) and I think I've really cornered the Alberta market. I'm thinking after this show, I won't need to come back for a year and I'm going to head on east instead...anyone up for a trip to Toronto?

More stupid people...I can't even call them customers...here we go:

Stupid girl who copied my idea: So this woman who owns Beadalon (I think thats the name..I don't really care) was being all friendly during my first show in Vancouver 3 years ago. The next year, she shows up at the Vancouver show and she has copied my large glob pendants and she's selling them at the show! Now, imitation is the best form of flattery and I know that but if you're going to copy my idea...at least do A: better quality work B: a larger variety of colors or C: a lower price. She has done none of that. This year I meet her again in Alberta and I've had buyers cancel orders with her and come buy from me...she's a joke, seriously!
More stupid people: This happened to me more than a few times today:
person 1: "I'm not looking to buy your stuff...but uh, how did you make this?"
person 2: "I make stuff similar to this, where do you get your glass?"
person 3: (standing right in front of me and figuring out how to make my stuff)
You're not SERIOUSLY asking me this....are you!?!?! Thats pretty ballsy..but also pretty stupid and rude....do you honestly think I'm going to tell you? The way I see it, if you are not smart enough to figure out everything that I have already figured out on your own..then you can just bite my ass cause theres no way in HELL I'm gonna tell you...(or I will tell you, but its all a lie)

Bush Lovers: Yep, I have more people who love my bush...I told at least 60 people today where to get my bush and how much it costs...but I didn't let them have my bush..I still need it for display purposes.

My Pizza Man: Ew...no, you can stay right at the door please, you don't need to come inside and that wink you did when you left made me double bolt my door...oh, and your pizza was gross! It totally ruined my vision of beer, pizza and sports nite! I opted out of the pizza (it was burnt and tasted like someone had tossed their cookies on my pizza and then burnt it) and decided to make myself some home-made onion soup instead:
Annoying Laugh Lady: So, for some reason the bus was SUPER packed today...we were squished like sardines and who did I get squished beside? The lady from yesterday! Yeah, the one whos laugh sounds like a colicky baby! I'm pretty sure any guy whos ever fooled around with this chick would immediately loose his erection...yep! Its that much of a turn off! If you're ever around me when I'm drunk...ask for an imitation! hahah!
Girl who gave me the fat lip: I got an elbow to the face during my football game before I left and it was swollen for the longest time...finally today, it split open...ew! Perfect timing! I look like some kinda thug!
See it?!?! Lower lip...ugh! You should also note that I have a crooked smile...lol

Okie dokie, thats all for me tonite! One more full day! (and then a half day...) man, do I have my work cut out for me when I get home...busy busy!

Happy Birthday Pops!

Well, its my dads birthday today so I thought I'd honor him with some fun facts:
When I was a little girl, my dad never let me call him 'daddy'..he said 'thats for babies!'
Rumour has it that he's A: Part of the Hell's Angels biker gang, B: a druglord, C: A mob boss (apparently us Ukrainians have a mafia)...and so many more...oh you stupid small town rumours!
He's from Roblin Manitoba...once a farm boy, always a farm boy...as a result..we have a hobby farm and own all sorts of tractors and farm equipment.
My dad actually has great taste in music...if anyone has ever seen our juke box in our bar, take note that my dad picked out all that music in there! His favorite though is Bruce Springsteen...which is my favorite as well...its one of the only interests me and my dad share so its special.
He loves animals and often is the reason why we're adopting that stray kitten, puppy, rabbit, etc. He also has a special lookout on our hobby farm that he climbs to sit and watch the deer.
He's a University of Manitoba alumni...he graduated with a Sociology degree, which actually suits him to a T because he is one of the best judges of character I know. What did he do with that degree? Well, he bought a bar...which I guess is a sociology experiment in itself.
He's fallen out of: A cherry picker(x2..once with a chain saw), the roof of our house (x2), the roof of our pool (during my birthday party when I was 8), multiple trees...And he's still kickin! Yay dad! May you fall from many more tall places and live to tell us about it! :D

The day before...

Ah, so once again...green tea in hand and I'm gonna share the greatness that is my second 'probably not-so-exciting' day in Edmonton! Yeah, I'm a wild one! Roar!

My booth...idea courtesy of my brain. Lighting courtesy of Ikea :)
Some close ups of my rock candy cuffs and pendants.

More pendants and my barrettes...I know you guys are all on the edge of your seats with these photos! hahaha!

I was done by noon...so I decided to try and find West Edmonton Mall. For my American readers...West Edmonton Mall is Canadas version of the Mall of America...its freaken huge! It took me 6 hours to go through! And I happened to pass by a kid talent show while walking through one part of West Ed...some of these kids had some pretty mad skills...others, well...they tried. :)

Oh, I'm such a tourist! Never travel with me! LOL!

Me, Burn...uh...I mean cooking my dinner.

And my meal! Which may not look so good...but it tasted faaantastic! Oh, and thats NOT wine, its a wine SPRITZER! Geez...don't want you guys thinking I'm a wino or something...:P

Ok, I need sleep now so I can eat my wheaties in the morning cause I'm a grumpy girl when I don't have breakfast!

Here's to biznazz!

Oh, my trials and tribulations!

Yep yep! I'm sittin here in my hotel room watchin the space channel with a nice cup of green tea and decided I'm going to share the my 'ever-so-exciting' trip in Edmonton thus far...

Ok, maybe its not so exciting...but humour me here.

After a wonderous 14 hour drive though 'Mountainous Manitoba' and 'Scenic Saskatchewan', I arrived in Edmonton, Alberta at around 7pm. On my trip I've never seen so many Silver coloured Grand AMs in my life...(I'm thinkin its the prairie car of choice) and I did NOT get lost in Saskatoon this time!
I decided to stay at the Chateau Nova, my reasoning for booking this hotel is that it only opened a month ago, which means that the staff is fresh, happy and are not hating their job or humanity yet.

I arrive...and realize...oh SHIT, I'm a day early! hahahaha! Blonde! So thaaats what happens when you don't sleep for a whole bunch of days!?!

I talk to the clerk and manage to get my first nite for free (they felt sorry for my dumb blonde self...but this dumb blonde got a free nites stay!) boo-ya! yay negotiating skills!

I get into my suite and its, well...sweet! I love it! It has a kitchen! When I travel, I'm all about cooking my own meals because:
A: I love cooking for myself, that way I know what exactly what I'm putting into my system...and its cheaper than eating out.
B: I only like going out for food if its something I myself can't cook well...like Eithiopian, Thai or Japanese.

I drive to Rexall Center (home of the Oilers) so that I can set up my booth. I get there, there is NO carpet, NO draping, NOTHING! I decide to talk to the By Hand organizers (who are in charge of vendors like me) and they inform me that By Hand Edmonton is run differently than By Hand Vancouver. I argue that there is something to be said for consistency, because Vancouver gave us carpeting and draping as part of our fee and for some dumbass reason they want to rip into our pocket books here in Edmonton.

There was also NO reference to bringing your own draping/carpeting in my show guide so I managed to get free draping. The carpeting I was required to get on my own though so I inquire at the rental service...148 BUCKS!?!?! Bullshit! I'm going to Ikea.

Ah, I heart Ikea! We don't have one at home in Winnipeg cause our population is too small. I decide to buy my rug (for 50 bucks!) and some new electical stuff for my booth...the coolest thing I discovered though is that the carts move laterally (note, me pushing the cart...laterally!) I have no shame, I'm such a dork...

Alas, I'm a sushi whore! I found this really nice japanese restaurant called Mikado where they had some nice blush (which tasted like my wine box wine...so much for waiting two weeks before drinking again) and a bento box that was delicious but too big for me to finish.

Then I got to drive through Edmontons 'nitty gritty' area and saw some of Edmonton's finest nite folk!

Alrite, I'm off to watch the rest of my space channel movie...I think its Species. Stay tuned for photos of my wonderful booth...its lookin kick ass!

Improvise!

"I'm always doing things I can't do...Thats how I get to do them" - Pablo Picasso

What do you do when nothing goes the way you want it to go? I do what I like to call 'flying by the seat of my pants' aka 'improvisation'.

wrong thing #1 - My plater went A-Wall.
Today, I went to drop off a whole whack of jewelry at my platers..and hes GONE on holidays till next week?!?!?! Ack! I don't have half my stock finished now (my regular trade show displays usually have a lot of each of my items...I currently can 'squeak' out only one piece of each color)

So, what am I to do? Well, I go into 'plan B' mode and immediately think of an alternative solution. In this case, I had to drastically change my display so that it has more of a showcase feel.

My poor mom was with me, and when I say poor I mean she had to be subjected to me in 'deep thought' mode....When I'm in this mode, you don't ask me questions about what I'm thinking cause I don't even know what I'm thinking...my brain seriously goes off on a tangent while my body just goes through the motions, grabbing supplies for whatever idea is forming in my head.

Of course she begins being her typical mom self and asking questions about everything! After one too many 'whats this for? why do you need that?' questions, I lost my patience, but then quickly appologized cause I hate it when I loose my temper like that.

wrong thing #2 - painfully slow service
I then stopped off at QuikX (a transport company) to give them the display pieces that I can't fit into my car so that they can ship it to Edmonton for me...I don't know why, but they're always really REALLY slow. How hard is it to put my stuff on a skid, weight it and bill me? I intentionally asked the time of day that they are not busy, had all the documents pre-done but still it needs to take an hour when it only should take about 10 minutes. Don't get me wrong...nice people...just slow.

wrong thing #3 - heathers priorities
I then had football tonite, which takes 3 hours out of my action packed schedule..not that I'm complaining, I LOVE playing sports cause its a fantastic and right now a much needed stress relief. So no matter how busy I am or even if I have two final exams the next day...I always make it out to my sports.

wrong thing #4 - hyper hyper heather
So of course, after every practice/game...I'm super hyped up and want to do more physical activity...but I have to simmer down and focus on my 'to do' list..but I decided to procratinate and write this post :)

Anyways, its midnite, I took this pic to document my physical state right now...looking a little grubby..hahahha, too bad you can't see all my jewelry crap scattered everywhere behind me!

Now I'm coming up with a new display...here's to seeing how creative I can be!

Sandball

Here are some pics from my Sandball weekend. Me and R headed out after he got off work and we arrived at our camp site (to a group of very drunk team mates) at around 3am.

We played all sorts of sexy drinking games...can't say much though...whatever happens at Grand Beach STAYS at Grand Beach...but by 5am we were just juiced (and apparently loud).

So loud in fact, that we got kicked out of the Grand Beach camp sites.

The Sandball tournament was fantastic! Its Team Handball..but played on a with a smaller sand court and two points are given for 'alyoops' and when the goalie scored.

Our team's name was Team Give'r. Our Uniforms were white wife beaters with retarded stuff written on them such as "Your mom f#(@s like a champ!", "I love da Foo Foo", "I love penis"...you get the idea :P

We came in 3rd even though our team was stacked...I believe being hungover/still drunk probably led to our 3rd place finish. We had a lot of fun though and thats all that really matters.
First place was settled in a shootout...which was really neat.
Here is the team that won: Congrats to team "I love the cock!"

We went to a steak, spud and bud dinner after the tournament and I decided it would be fun to get up and do a drunken singing routine...apparently I did a good job...but we have to remember it was a group of my drunken peers so my audience might have been slightly biased.
Keith and Di also went up to display their musical talents. Keith sang 'the gambler' and Di played some mean Forks and even did a Fork Solo.

In conclusion, I'm NOT drinking for at least two weeks now..I have to re-coop...I'm such a light weight as it is! :)

P.S. Oh, and heres R getting sexed up by Stone and Dreggs in his hot wife beater...I drew the breasts on the shirt using my great artisitc skills.