Way too much sitting last weekend. Played badminton on Sunday. Haven't been able to play for the rest of the week as my back has been killing me. Hurts when I bend or sit up straight. Went to massage and physio today. Massage didn't help much but boy oh boy did physio ever feel good!

Had the Maids come over on Monday. The 4 of them did in an hour and a half what it would take me eons and eons and eons to do. The strange thing is they like to clean. The woman who cleaned our bathrooms said cleaning was relaxing. Well, at least she's in the right job. She used to have her own cleaning business in Richmond but when gas prices went up decided it wasn't worth it. Another woman did the vacuuming, another the dusting (Melissa the team leader) and another the kitchen. This team was quite thorough and I will request them next time as I like them better than the team I had the past 2 years.

Last Sunday I went to see Disney's Nemo on Ice again. I've posted new pics of the show. It was at the Pacific Colisseum. I saw the show earlier in the year when I was in Houston but was in the cheap seats higher up. Last week I was on the ice level right in the middle! It was excellent! So much better up close! Didn't realize there was an acrobat in the jellyfish scene before. I loved the movie so loved the show. They used the soundtrack voices from the movie and the skaters lip-sync'd. Great costumes and set design as well as skating. I was very impressed although my photos from Houston turned out better as I didn't use the flash then. Bought another t-shirt to add to my collection. This one was fushia though instead of lilac and had Nemo and Dory instead of Nemo, Marlin and Dory. I'm surprised kids' t-shirts fit me. Kids must be big these days.

Last Saturday night watched Ray play hockey for about an hour. Then went to my friend's place for some brownies :) until Ray finished playing.

Mom came over on the 10:30 am boat and went back at 7:00 pm today. I picked her up at the bus depot shortly after 1:00 and then we went and watched Disney's Beauty and the Beast at the Stanley Theatre. I haven't been there since it was a movie theatre. Now they have live plays there. It was excellent. Awesome singers. Made me shiver and get tears in my eyes at times. Their voices were so powerful. The show was very entertaining and funny too and all the costumes were great. All that could were transferred from the cartoon to the stage: the talking tea-cup, clock, candlestick, spoon, fork, napkin etc. Here's the description from the Arts Club Theatre's website:

"Winner of the 1994 Tony Award for Best Musical, the most beautiful love story ever told comes to life on stage. Brilliantly adapted from the Academy Award-winning animated film, this much-loved spectacle will thrill you with its show-stopping musical numbers, astonishing sets, and lavish costumes."

Had a splitting headache and neck and back pain on Wednesday. The splitting headache went away by Wednesday night but I had head, neck and back pain still. Was such a relief to go to physio and massage yesterday.

Haven't played badminton for a few weeks. Hoping to play tomorrow. Had a Tupperware Fundraising Showcase at work on Tuesday. There's a new type of Tupperware bowl called Flatouts - they're neat as they are like an accordian bowl that you can squish down and flatten out for storage.

Had an enjoyable afternoon downtown today. Ugh, got up by 11::00 am and was at the volunteer orientation for the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship by 12:45 at the UBC Robson Square Theatre. Never been down there even though I pass it all the time.

I think the last time I was at Robson Square it was when my cousin was working at that taco place in the late 80's. Ahhh TACO DON, that's it! Forgot to see if that's even there now. Don't think there are fast food chains there. Wow, that was a long time ago.

Have spent a lot of time this weekend cleaning up my clutter. Man, I can sure cover every square inch of available counter and table space quickly with layers upon layers of paper. After much recycling, shredding and scanning - have put the papers into small manageable piles so that a lot of table and counter space is showing now. I've got other places of clutter to attack, will hopefully be able to do more recycling and shredding tomorrow.

Ahh, was nice to have that extra day off at the end of the week. Got to crash one day earlier. Think I got about 15 hours of sleep with a 2 hour state of consciousness in between when I got up to eat.

Played badminton 2x last week and had both physio and massage yesterday. My back and neck are getting a lot better.

Had dinner at Swiss Chalet last night for a belated double birthday celebration. Mine and one sister-in-law's b'day was Oct. 27. Nope, I didn't have chicken. Had a vegetable stir fry on noodles. It was really good. Dropped off 25 bags of Kernels popped popcorn to one of my customers. The popcorn is one of my fundraisers I'm doing for the Arthritis Society's Joints in Motion Marathon.

Went to the 2005 House of Stars Gala tonight. It was a fundraiser for the Ronald McDonald House held at the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel. Fortunately we didn't have to pay as it was $250 per person/$2000 per table. I think there were over 30 tables. Made use of one of my evening gowns. It's been a few years since I've had to wear one. It was quite an enjoyable evening. The reception was first with a large silent auction. I bid $25 for the $100 gift certificate from Brentwood Mall but didn't get it. The Nanaimo hotel/dinner package as well as the Campbell River golf didn't get any bids.

The salads, little cupcakes and buns were already on each table when we went into the ballrooom. Dinner was really good with filet mignon and salmon. Desert was a mousecake with a strawberry, raspberry and chocolate thing. An edible dusting of the Ronald McDonald House was on the plate. Zack Spencer and Steve Darling from BCTV Global News were the MC's. Some kids with cancer and their families who have been staying at the Ronald McDonald House were there. There were different raffles and fundraising going on during the night. We bought 2 balloons but didn't win anything when we were told to pop them. But I was pleasantly surprised when they said to look under the tablecloth for a Park and Fly gift certificate as there was one at every table. I looked under the tablecloth in front of me and voila! A Park and Fly gift certificate good for a week's worth ($80) of parking at the airport. Cool! We can use that when we go to Vegas - won't have to cab it to the airport. All the women got a sterling silver Ronald McDonald House necklace and all the men got a money clip.

There were dancers and stiltwalkers, also a show where 2 long curtains hung from the ceiling and 2 women did synchronized acrobatics on it. There was a live auction after dinner. Lots of different stuff including jewelry and a Gretzky jersey and print. There were 3 West Van Firemen there. They were auctioning off dinner at the station as well as a tour, pole demo etc. The bidding went over $3000 then they ended up auctioning off 2 dinners at $3400 each! Then they noted that it might be adult-oriented! Wow! $6800 was defintely the highest anything sold for. The chef of the hotel only fetched a measley $1000 or $1500 for a catered dinner and clean-up!!! After the live auction a live band came and there was dancing. Some guitarist from the Guess Who. Can't remember his name - before my time. As we were leaving we each got a gift bag, one with Eveline Charles body lotion and the other with Eveline Charles Body Goat Butter - interesting. Both bags had a $25 gift certificate for their salon and spa with a minimum $50 purchase as well as other discount coupons and samples for other places. There was also a Ronald McDonaldhouse pin - nice gold colour.

YUMMMY! What a week of chocolate! My sister-in-law dipped into her Halloween stash when we were over there Oct. 29. Gave me a bunch of Reese Peanut Butter Cups and a few Oh Henrys'. Then at work on Monday a co-worker gave me 3 more! Anyways I ate 12 in 3 days! Haven't been as bad the rest of the week but have been having at least 2 of those little mini chocolate bars each day. Snickers, Mars Bars, Oh Henry, another Reese PB Cup. My co-worker who sits right beside me has a huge ziplock bag - must be close to 1 foot x 1 foot! It's stuffed full of her leftover little Snickers, Mars Bars etc and she's got more at home! Cool! Bring on the leftover Halloween chocolates! Yee ha! I've had some tonight so am flyiing high on a buzzzzz! Oh yeah, had some little orange foiled chocolate balls.