Cold Shots Day

Yesterday was flu shot day - today we're making it a Molson Canadian 6.0 Cold Shots Day...much more enjoyable for sure! Let me take a step back. You can't purchase alcohol at the grocery store here - crazy I know. To get beer, wine or liquor you have to go to the local liquor store called NB's. They have a wide variety of all adult beverages. Anyway, Ray came home the other night with a few bottles of wine and these Molson Canadian Cold Shots - and consequently, my new favorite beer. As you can see, they come in a little can that's the same size as a Red Bull. The problem I tend to run into with drinking beer is that I don't drink it quite fast enough and it gets warm by the last few sips. That's not the case with these little guys! Plus the flavor is great; like a good, strong beer and is 6% alcohol. I've only sampled one - but figure that 3 of them will get me right where I'd want to go. I checked out the Cold Shots website - if you're a fan of guitar hero then check it out because there is a fun interactive guitar game you can play on your keyboard. If you see the Cold Shot in your local grocery store - I HIGHLY recommend you picking up an 8-pack...although I'm pretty sure you can only find them here in Canada...sorry. Yet another product to add to the list that I'm going to be smuggling back to the States at some point.

Flu Shot Day

This morning Ray and I went and got our flu shots. I was totally shocked that I was able to talk him into it (at first he was quite against the entire concept). I've actually been getting a flu shot every fall for the past 10 years and I (cross my fingers) haven't been down with a bad flu since before that and am hopeful that trend will continue. I'm not sure if it's because of the flu shot, or if it's all in my head, but I feel a bit queasy right now and just want to put my pj's back on and crawl into bed. Not to mention that my arm feels a bit heavy. I don't know about you but I totally buy into the whole flu shot thing - although it is kinda scary being injected - you just never know... I have heard that there is now a flu mist that is just like a nose spray. Hope y'all stay healthy this cold & flu season!!!

My New Love

Seriously, I can't get enough of this stuff! Before I moved here to Canada, I heard over and over again how great Tim Hortons coffee & donuts taste. Being very much the Starbucks girl, I was very skeptical right out of the hop. At first I didn't really see what all the hype was about...but that was before I got it with the right amount of cream & sugar. I swear they put crack in their coffee because I'm TOTALLY hooked. Oh and the Apple Fritter that Tim makes is to die for! I don't want to become 200 lbs so I really have to limit my fritter intake. It's hard though when there is a Tim's on every corner. Moncton is like the Tim Hortons capital of the world. There are more Tim's per capita here than any other city. I love Tim! He really is the man for getting me my caffeine since Mr. Dew doesn't do it for me here. These days I'll have a cup of Tim's and team it up with a coffee crisp for breakfast...it gets me right where I need to go in the morning.

Special Guest Writer - "Uncle Ray"

I have been asked to prepare a special guest post by our famed creator, Charlie. I have held out for several days, but have finally succumbed to her wish...here goes! I thought it would be appropriate to touch on a few of the previous topics:

Where we live...as many of you know, I have lived all over the country. Though, I am a "Sun Belt" kinda guy, I am also a "hockey guy" as well. This is complicated as there are only a handful of southern markets that qualify as excellent hockey markets (but I am on the lookout for the perfect arrangement!). That being said, despite the climate (which you should know, I DESPISE) Moncton is a nice Canadian city...virtually crime-free, more to do than some places I have lived in the past, and hockey crazy. The latter, coupled with the chance to work for, arguably, the most prominent family in Canada & become the only US-born GM in the Canadian Hockey League was all the motivation I needed to pack up the "wild animals" & bounce (Charlie-term). All this being said, having Charlie here has really made this experience SUPER, ULTRA, MEGA (ask Charlie for that definition)!!

Speaking of the "Wild Animals"...are not wild at all! They are the BEST pets a guy could ask for...they have been through the pro sports grind with me! They are quickly becoming "Charlie's Angels" though...she loves these guys & they love her...I am quickly becoming their second option for human affection! In spite of the last post on this blog, I love these guys & would take a bullet for either of them if I had to, but sometimes Champ (Forrest Gump) can wear on even the most patient of people...ugh! We've all had those in our lives that were cute, but just not smart...unfortunately, this is the story of Champ's life...a life I am responsible for and who brings Heather & I a lot of happiness & laughs...but it can be pricey as the last post so eloquently detailed! BIG NEWS - I have a commitment from Charlie to express Champ's anal gland for $125 the next time it's required...two words, CAN'T WAIT!! This from a girl who's never touched a garbage bag!!! LMAO! We'll try to include video on this blog!

Charlie has only scratched the surface on Canadian quirks...I am still coming to grips with the garbage (which as many of you know is my chore because Heather doesn't touch the trash) and bags of milk (which is just crazy, but quite "green"). There are several things we have found that we will need to "smuggle" back to the US when that day comes...of course, we will have a ton of explaining to Border Patrol about the trunk load of Coffee Crisps & "kegs" of Tim Horton's coffee (you should see this woman drink this stuff...UNREAL!!!) Unfortunately, we cannot take Hockey Night in Canada (Saturday night) along with us; it's bigger than Monday Night Football in the states...for a hockey guy its truly awesome to experience hockey in Canada.

Well, it's Sunday & thankfully satellite TV keeps us tuned into America's pastime, the NFL! Also, today is the Grey Cup (Canada's Super Bowl)...Winnipeg Blue Bombers vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders. Until the next time Charlie calls me to guest post, au revoir (Moncton is bilingual) & enjoy Charlie's Adventures! By the way, we are on banana bread, version 7.0...she'll figure it out before winter is over...promise!!!

PS - The correct answer to the poll question is 1...

Don't Bite the Hand that Feeds You...

Champ, Champ, Champ! This morning marked the 6th visit to a vet for Champ since August 1st. Can you say tool bag?!?! He cost Uncle Ray another $175 today. It's always something with this guy. He almost died two times on the drive from Arizona to Canada. This time he snagged a nail and needed to have it removed. He snagged it on Tuesday and got blood EVERYWHERE. Plus he has a couple blisters on the same paw (he probably stepped on something). I've never met a dog like this before!!! Here's the breakdown of his vet bills.

$100 Check-up for medical clearance into Canada
$500 Emergency after hours stop in Camp Verde, Az
$300 Emergency stop in Springfield, Missouri
$100 Consultation in Peotone, Il
$125 Anal gland expressed here in Moncton
$175 Toe nail removal
Total cost of a Champ...Priceless

Yummmmmy!!!!

The Coffee Crisp is my new favorite candy bar. It tastes much like a Kit-Kat but with a coffee twist. They do come as a regular size candy bar but our preference is the mini "bite-size" bars. Luckily, we only got one Trick-or-Treater this Halloween...more candy for me!!! I TRY to limit myself to having one a day, typically it's my "breakfast" with a cup of coffee.

I love finding things like this that are found here in Canada. I just hate to think about how I'm going to get my fix when we move back to the States.

Banana Bread Take 5

Since arriving here in Moncton, I've had more time on my hands than I know what to do with. Ray and I have been sharing his car (don't get me started, that's a whole different post that I'm too worked up to write about right now) and I have access to it when he doesn't have meetings. This means that I'm home quite a bit during the week. I absolutely LOVE banana bread and have been on a quest to make a great loaf. If you don't already know, I'm not all that great in the kitchen. I can get by, but tend to make a huge mess and nothing ever turns out exactly as it should. A few weeks ago I asked Ray to get me a receipe for banana bread and he got one from his mom. The next day I was excited to get baking since I thought we already had all the ingredients. You see, none of this stuff here is mine. Ray has four canisters on the counter.

I assumed that the largest one with the white stuff in it was the flour. So I got 2 cups and put it in the badder. I noticed a cardboard square in this flour and thought it was just one of Ray's weird things to keep the flour fresh or last longer (it's not that unusual for me to think that since he keeps his bread in the fridge to make it last longer). Well, the banana bread didn't turn out...at all. When Ray got home he kinda laughed and I blamed the failed bread on the receipe. I asked him why he kept cardboard in the flour and he asked me to point out where the "flour" came from. He pulled the piece of cardboard out and said that it was waffle mix...not flour. OK, so the receipe wasn't bad...I had just made waffle bread.

I decided to give it another go, using actual flour this time. I ended up trying this receipt a total of 4 times. It said to bake for 1 hour or until the top was brown and cracked. Every time the top would be brown but the middle wasn't cooked all the way through. I called my mom on Sunday and she gave me her receipe for banana bread. So I made loaf number 5 yesterday...yet again a failed loaf! The same old story, it was all brown on top except the middle wasn't cooked AND I left it in longer than the receipt called for. Look, I'm not THAT bad of a cook!!! I know how to follow a receipe.

That brings us to last night. We were making a turkey fillet (looks just like a boneless chicken breast) in the oven. It really should only take 20-25 minutes to cook...it took 45 minutes and I still wasn't convinced that it was cooked all the way. I conclude that we've got a bad oven, NOT a bad cook.

Let Me See Your Happy Dance

Before you read on, you MUST start playing this song!



The Atlantic Lottery's marketing campaign right now asks Canadians...let me see your 6/49 Happy Dance and plays this song while people dance like they've just won the lottery. I love this! I've got my Happy Dance set and ready to go!!! I think I've had it in me my entire life really. I can't wait to break it out and break it down with my Uncle Ray. I've got my ticket (they pick 6 numbers out of 49...hence the name) and am more than ready to do my $10,000,000 Happy Dance. The crazy thing about the lottery here is that all the winnings are TAX FREE!!! If you want to receive a $50,000 cut of the money when I win, then post your comment to this blog posting!!! Make sure to replay the song and get your HAPPY DANCE on!


I'm ready to do the 6/49 Happy Dance...are you?!?!

Got Bags?

I'm going to do my best to educate you on some of the differences of living in Maritime Canada while I'm here. I realize that this phenomenon is found throughout Canada, but I feel it is worth discussing because it is pretty crazy. Milk comes in a bag!


You do have the option to purchase it in a 4Liter (around a gallon) plastic container, but it's more affordable to purchase it by the bag and put it in your own recyclable container. Smart really, but it creeps me out a bit. Check out this website to learn more about the Canadian milk bag.

Speaking of recycling, lets talk garbage for a minute. I've never had so much stress regarding trash in my life. I've always purchased either white or black garbage bags and thrown whatever I want in them. WRONG! At least in these parts. We learned that the garbage men will not pick up your trash unless it is separated into Green ("wet" waste) and Blue ("dry" waste) transparent bags.


Our landlord handed us an 8x11 laminated card that is a guide to what garbage goes in what bag. Basically the green "wet" bags are for anything that is not recyclable or items that could contaminate the recyclables. Everything else goes in the blue "dry" bag to be recycled. Good to know they're enviormentally friendly. You can go to this website if you want to read more about our garbage.

Who Knew?!?!

I'm a big fan of caffeine. I've been known to get my day started with a can of soda or lately a cup or two of coffee. Mountain Dew has always been a good friend of mine because he's a bit higher in caffeine than some of his cola buddy's. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the picture above depicts the same Mountain Dew packaging as in the States (minus the French on the box and milliliters instead of ounces). I bought the about pictured 12 pack of The Dew during a recent trip to the grocery store. You can imagine my surprise when I was closely reading the can (yes Dad, I need to get a life) and it reads "CAFFEINE FREE BEVERAGE, BOISSON SAN CAFEINE"!


What?!?!? They can just take the caffeine out and not put it on the package! I'm totally blown away by this. I did a bit of research on the matter and found this website regarding the matter. It states that Mountain Dew with caffeine is a US thing! Good news if you're concerned, it actually tastes exactly the same as regular Dew...shocking really since I never think any diet or caffeine free drinks tastes the same as the original.

Wild Animals

Although I'm highly allergic, I have always been very much a cat lover. Growing up we really only had cats. (Unless you count the time that we got a golden retriever mix puppy. We had 6 people in our house and kept her in the kitchen of our small house on Glen Ave. in Peoria Heights. She was a puppy that needed space to run and play, my mom ultimately ended up giving her away to our eye doctor. I think that last two weeks at the most.) Cats are great little creatures. They require little to no maintenance. Just make sure they have food, water and a clean liter box and they're happy. You can leave them for days at a time and it doesn't faze them much.

Like I said, I've never really been around dogs. To be honest with you, dogs kinda freak me out a bit. I guess it started when I was a kid and I was chased around the neighborhood by a Great Dane and then bit by a German Shepard at a friends house in high school. Dogs tend to be pretty intelligent animals and they really can smell fear. I tend to feel that they're wild animals and may attack whenever they see fit.

Some of you probably know that Ray has 2 beloved dogs - Sally (brindle) and Champ (white). Since I've moved here I've made the comment several times that I can't believe that I live with two wild animals. With all that said, I really don't know what I'd do during the day without these two wild animals around. I absolutely love Champ & Sally - I never thought I'd see the day that I'd say that! They're so much fun to be around and since I'm home A LOT when Ray is at work, they really do keep me company.

So...

OK here's the deal, I'm totally against getting a MySpace page. I can't give a REAL good reason why - I guess the thought of it just makes me feel a bit dirty. It seems like "everyone" has one and I just don't want to get caught up in the whole thing. A girlfriend of mine from college (what's up Joanna!) started a blog a few years back. I saved it under my favorites and check it out every couple of days (just like I do to Perez Hilton religiously) to see what's going on in her life. I figured that since I've moved so far away this will be a great way for everyone to stay up to date. That and the fact that I've been out of work now for 5 weeks and have plenty of time to kill on my hands...

In case anyone is wondering, I'm living a small city in New Brunswick, Canada named Moncton. It's a quaint place and if you're interested in learning more you can check out their city website at http://www.moncton.org/ I've got to admit that I've been in denial since I got here about the snow...but sure enough we got our first snowfall last night! This picture was taken right outside our back door...thank God that Ray took me shopping yesterday for a real winter coat, gloves, mittens, scarf and toque (winter hat for you Americans!)...just in time really!

Some of you may be asking yourself...WHY IN THE HELL WOULD SHE MOVE FROM BEAUTIFUL, SUNNY ARIZONA TO THE FREEZING COLD OF CANADA?!?!?! Well the answer my friend is Love. I'm pretty sure most of you have heard the story of how Ray and I met and I ended up moving here. If you're interested in hearing more, send me a comment or e-mail and I'll fill you in on all the juicy details.

Some of you may be asking yourself...WHY IN THE WORLD IS THIS BLOG CALLED CHARLIE'S ADVENTURE?!?!??!?! Well, to eliminate the suspense that's what Ray calls me and it seemed appropriate for the time being...that and I'm not totally creative when it comes to that sort of thing.

I'm excited to be starting this blog. A warning to all...as my parents would confirm, I not the best speller...it's like a bad gift...it's the thought that counts. If you should have any comments or would like to elaborate on any of my writings - just publish a comment and I'll do my best to accommodate your requests:)