Elvis in the House

On Tuesday night I had to go to the Capitol Theatre in beautiful downtown Moncton. It was for the "Tribute to Elvis - Aloha from Hawaii, 35th Anniversary Show. " No, I did not purchase a ticket for the event - Elvis (Thane Dunn) had scheduled to have a representive from the Canadian Cancer Society at each of his shows in the province of New Brunswick. We had a table set up in the lobby and took donations. "Elvis" announced that we were there and said he would make a thousand dollar donation himself. We received over $500 in donations on top of that. "Elvis" stopped into the office yesterday with his check for $1,000 and wanted to find out about being a spokesperson for CCS. Even Elvis has been affected by cancer.

Snowed In

Yesterday was the Cancer Society's monthly revenue development meeting in St. John. Basically it gets all of us together from around New Brunswick to talk about how our events (mostly the Relay For Life) are coming along. My boss and I had to leave our office at 7:15am to make it on time to the 9:30 meeting. I was planning to return to Moncton with a woman who works in my office but got a call from her at 9am saying that due to weather she was not making the trip (my boss had to stay in St. John all week for training). Long story short is that I ended up having to stay the night because of yet another snow storm that brought 2 more feet of snow to Moncton. Needless to say I didn't have a change of clothes, contact case or solution, or anything else with me besides my purse. I made a stop at Shoppers, the local drug store, to purchase the essentials - socks, contact lens stuff, comb, toothbrush - they had everything I needed except for underwear - grrrr. There was a dollar store next door and I had a feeling that they may sell them. I walked in and found three women in the bright green smocks who worked there. I strolled up to them and asked if they sold underwear - they looked at me like I had 3 heads! I said, "you know, underpants." Still no response from any of them. I said, "panties, underwear, underpants...Do you sell them." All three women busted up laughing at me (the nerve). Finally one of them offered to point me in the right direction. So yes ladies, if you ever get in a bind, the dollar store does carry panties. Anyway, I left St. John this morning with a woman who had to drive by Moncton on her way home and went straight to work at the office here in Moncton until about 3. Uncle Ray was nice enough to stop by my office (where my car had been parked since yesterday morning) on his way to work to uncover my car as it had been completely buried by snow because of the plow. I've survived yet another Maritime snowstorm!

Almost Famous

I've been very busy this week promoting my first event with the Canadian Cancer Society - Strike Out Cancer 2008 - our annual bowling event that will take place on February 16th. I made my radio debut this week on K94.5 during the morning show with Scotty & Kate. It's funny because Ray has been on the radio several time since moving here and now me - WE'RE FAMOUS. Miranda Lambert's country song is sooooo right on - "Everybody dies famous in a small town." (Follow the link to see the video)

Major Wildlife

No, I did not take this picture. My boss e-mailed it to me today. It was taken by one of his friends last week at his house in Douglas. I couldn't imagine if I walked to the door and saw a bunch of deer this close! There is so much wildlife here in the Great White North. Word on the street is that there are wild cats in this neck of the woods - both Bobcats and Lynx have been sighted! Check out this article from our local paper from this past Saturday - it shows a Bobcats just strolling down a street in our neighboring town of Riverview. Who knew? Just another reason why I won't be seen going for a run outside here this winter.

Where am I?

The first time I was here in Moncton, New Brunswick, the weather was very nice. Back in September it was beautiful here, the days were quite sunny and warm. When Ray was taking me around town I saw that all of the fire hydrants had these 6 foot red poles next to them. I asked Ray what they were for, he just kinda laughed and said that it's how they locate the hydrants in the winter because they get so much snow. I must've been in total denial because I never thought there would be this much snow. Now I know why they need to use these hydrant markers! This is the hydrant located right outside our place (that's my Buick in the driveway - the heat just went out in it yesterday - the blower just stopped working...always something I tell you). Nearly every time it snows the city has to come out and un-bury it. I am quite impressed with the way that life still goes on here even during snow storms - they rarely have "snow days." I am told that schools close down when it gets -39 Celsius for a "cold day." I've been asking myself on a daily basis this winter, "Where am I?"

Bad Review...

In past posts I have wrote about different meals or restaurants that have been so unbelievably good they deserved mentioning. Well, todays post is dedicated to the worst meal I've had in years! Last night I was really in the mood to try a new restaurant - there are so many here that we haven't tried. There is a seafood restaurant right on Main Street that always has caught my eye, Pisces by Gaston. You can tell by the picture that it's a semi-upscalejoint and Uncle Ray had been there once and had a decent experience. After last night, neither of us will be returning. I ordered one of the specials. It was a pasta dish with shrimp, scallops, lobster, broccoli, fettuccine and curry. I was thinking it was going to have a white Alfredo type sauce with curry sprinkled - but I was way off the pace. It was an actual curry sauce that was totally overpowering. I could barely choke enough down to get full. Ray had the Greek Islands Haddock that was topped with tomatoes, calamata olives, herbs, feta cheese and backed with a side of garlic mashed potatoes...sounds delightful - you'd be so wrong. It was very bland and really lacked any flavor. Ray also remarked that "these are the worst garlic mashed potatoes I've ever had." It's really a shame when the best part of a dinner are the warm rolls...

St. John

I thought that I would post a few pictures I took while I was in St. John. It has a very European feel to it. It was great to visit but I would never want to live there. The streets are narrow and mostly of one-way streets and they're VERY steep. Luckily there there wasn't a lot of snow or ice on the ground while I was there, otherwise I would've surely fallen and busted my ass.
The city is located right on the Bay of Fundy. While I was there I enjoyed some snow crab legs that came from the cold waters - they were the biggest and best snow crab legs that I've ever had! Yummy!

Come On Down!!!

I'm so excited to be writing this particular post. It has always been a dream of mine to be a part of the Price is Right...well one of my best friends, Lesley has done just that! I did obtain her permission in writing to go to print with her story (most of what's below are in her words from an e-mail she sent) and permission to use her likeness in the photograph.

This picture is the only proof that Lesley actually was on the Price Is Right in Las Vegas and won. They won't let you take pictures/video or even buy a copy of the video afterwards...what a bummer! But she REALLY did WIN!

"It was a blast, I was super excited and nervous, acted like a crazy person, and I never thought I would get picked as a contestant...and win! Most of you know the details but if not here ya go:

I was called to "come on down" in the first contestants row, won the bid on the item up for bid which was a telescope (winning bid of $210). I then got to go up on stage to play the pricing game which was the "Race Game" This is the one where you have 45 seconds to put price tags on the right prizes, go back, pull the lever and it tells you how many you have right, you can back and switch until your time is out. The items were a personal sauna, a fitness machine, a chimnea (outdoor chimney), and a hammock chair. The first time I put the price tags on and pulled the lever I had a big fat 0 correct, so I had to run back and switch them. Then when I pulled the lever I had gotten ALL 4 right! With only 7 seconds left to spare! Ryan (her husband) said I looked hysterical running around on stage, and I really thought I was going to bust my ass because I had on high heel boots!"

"So, I came away with all of the prizes (took cash value on some of them instead).

And to top it off later that night I won $200 on a penny slot machine! I guess I should have bought a lotto ticket that day or splurged on a Roulette or Craps Bet, but I decided not to Press my Luck and go home well ahead :)"

"That's not me below..but this is the game I played, and I pretty much looked like her jumping up and down with my arms in the air"

Hilarious! I wish I could've been there to see it all go down!!! I found out that she kept the telescope and hammock chair. Since it was in Vegas the host was Todd Newton, not Drew Carey. Newton has hosted several other game shows like the new Press your Luck, he is on E! Entertainment News, etc.. The MC was the guy from Supermarket Sweep! Too fun.

Unreal

Remember the post, "Old Dog, New Trick"? I was so excited that I was able to teach Champ a trick...or so I thought I'd taught him. That crazy dog forgot his trick!!! I know, the nerve. He was on point for a solid two weeks. When I would say "up" and raise both hands palms facing up, he would jump up and dance on his hind legs. Typically I would reward him with a treat (Sally would get one too for cheering him on). Well this past week he hasn't done it once! I'm truly amazed by this dog...

Ewwww

This is a total self diagnosis, but I think I've got a stye on my eye...I know, gross eh! It all started yesterday in the afternoon when I was at work. My eye started to hurt when I would blink and there's a red bump on the lower lid near the inner crease (this may be TMI, sorry). I cleaned the area very well and put some stye cream on it. When I got up this morning it felt ok, but then got progressively worse during the day. The drive from Moncton to St. John this morning pretty much sucked because it was super foggy the entire way, which meant I really had to concentrate on the road which put more of a strain on my eye. On the radio they kept saying that the foggy weather makes the moose come out and a few were hit today...thank God I didn't see one! Well I'm getting off the computer because it's really putting strain on my eye. I'm hoping that I'll wake up in the morning and it will be gone.

Fresh Start

It's official! I am a working woman again. Today marks my second day as the Community Resource Coordinator - Special Events for the Canadian Cancer Society (talk about a title that's a mouth full). This is the first job I've had that I get an office, I've always worked in the cube environment. The office will definitely need some personal touches to make it more comfortable, but all-in-all it's a great position working for a tremendous organization. The office I work in has 3 other people (two girls and a guy) who have been nothing but friendly and outgoing. My first event I'm in charge of is called Strike Out Cancer 2008 (a bowling event) and takes place in about 5 weeks and the goal is to raise $10,000. It's worth noting that bowling around here involves a much smaller ball than in the States, should be interesting to give it a try. Tomorrow I'm heading down to St. John (about 2 hours south of Moncton) to the CCS head office for training the rest of the week. I'll be staying at the Holiday Inn Express there and will be bringing my laptop along...stay tuned for more to come...

Some Clarification

I've received several e-mails as to why the blog is called "Charlie's Adventures" and where the names Charlie and Uncle Ray came from. Well readers, I'm here to help. Apparently, Ray has nicknames for a good number of people in his life. When we first started dating he said that he would come up with the perfect name for me...and he did just that. Early on we had talked about our favorite movies and "Top Gun" was among each of our top favorites. I have to admit that Tom Cruise was one of my first major crushes (along with first baseman Mark Grace, which is a whole post in itself) and I LOVED that movie - I've probably seen it 100 times. Anyway, long story short is that Ray sent me a text message that said he thought he'd call me "Charlie." I immediately knew that it was because of Top Gun - the chick who was "Maverick's" girlfriend (Kelly McGillis) name was Charlie in the movie. Ray has called me Charlie ever since. In fact, the only time that Ray even says Heather is when he's talking about me to other people. It makes me smile every time I hear him says it too. Side note - Ray has often gone by the alias Pete Mitchell throughout his life - which is Maverick's "real name" in Top Gun! Classic.

That brings us to the other name I've been questioned about - "Uncle Ray" - and no, it doesn't have anything to do with him being any sort of sugar daddy. Back when I was working for Ray, I received a call from a guy that I had worked with when I worked for the Phoenix Coyotes. He asked where I was working and I told him with the RoadRunners - he immediately said "Oh, with Uncle Ray" and I've called him Uncle Ray ever since. Small world, this guy had worked with Ray over 10 years before! "Uncle Ray" has been a nickname that many of his employees have affectionately called him over the years, and continue to call him to this day.

Always Something

These last few days really have been nuts with all the snow that has come down. We got right around 55 centimeters this week! I knew that it was going to be cold here, but I had NO IDEA it was going to be anything like this. Click here to check out the front page of the newspaper today! In case you don't, here's a couple of interesting tidbits: "Metro Moncton received 131 centimetres (52 inches) of snow last month, making it the fourth snowiest December recorded in the city's history." and "By the end of yesterday, the total accumulation to date this winter was somewhere in the 125 to 135 centimeter (49-53 inches) range. That breaks the record set in 1971, a year when Metro Monctonians thought a mere 109 cm was a lot of snow to have lying around this early in the year." and "Winter is technically only in its second week." By the way, the average snowfall in Illinois for the entire winter is 42 inches! This is more snow than Ray or I have ever seen at one time.

Needless to say, running errands today wasn't a ton of fun for me. I made a trip to the grocery store, only to get the cart stuck in snow on the way back out to the car. The snow banks, where the city plow has come through, are so high that they're very difficult and dangerous to see around. My haircut this afternoon went great, until the trip to the car when the parts that weren't completely dry froze.

That brings me to tonight when I got home from the gym. I pull up to the house right around 5pm, it's already dark outside. I tried to put my key into the deadbolt and IT WAS FROZEN!!! Ray had a hockey game tonight, so he wasn't around for the show. Our next door neighbor was outside shoveling and saw that I was having troubles getting inside - mind you it's -20 Celsius (right around -8 Fahrenheit) with a wind chill of -32 Celsius. He stopped by but wasn't able to open the door either. I remembered the owner of the house telling me that the back door has the same deadbolt if I ever needed to use that door. I trekked myself around to the back of the house (through the 6 feet snow drift) and the key didn't work!!! At that point I was freezing and called Ray. I told him I was going to the store to get some lock de-icer - I ended up buying 3 of them for future use. I used a full bottle and that damn door still wouldn't open (but I could finally get the key inside the lock). Ray ended up running home right at the start of his hockey game with an industrial heat gun (like a high power hair dryer) that apparently the team uses to heat up the titanium hockey sticks in order to bend the blade. Uncle Ray warmed up the lock and was able to open the door. Words really can't describe how cold it is outside. It makes the most mundane of tasks complicated. After 4 hours inside and a warm shower, I'm FINALLY warming up. I'm liking this weather less and less everyday!!!

Snow Snakes?!?!?!

This is the most snow I've ever seen on the ground in my entire life. I don't know where it all is coming from, or where it's all going to go, but it just keeps coming down. It's another snow day for Ray too (which I'm a big fan of). There has to be more than 4 feet of snow on the ground and more than 6 feet where the snow has drifted! My car was totally buried this morning. The way it looks right now we'll be getting another foot EASY.

I've found this topic to be quite funny to discuss. Last week as we were driving down the road (yes, it was snowing a bit during this drive) and there was snow a blowin' all over the road. Ray said, "wouldn't it be crazy if there were snakes that only came out when it was snowing?" This comment really intrigued both of us and we've been thinking about and discussing the concept ever since. That night I had a dream about the "snow snakes" and since have come up with a full description of these evil creatures. The "snow snake" only comes out when there is snow on the ground and can only travel where there is snow, so if it is falling they can go wherever they want. They're very mean, predatory creatures and all animals are prey to them, including humans. They're pure white with white beady eyes. You can't see them coming because they camouflage completely in the snow. When snow isn't falling they live in the snow banks. Be careful when wading through snow, these truly evil creatures will get you! I've actually had a dream about this...and Ray has thought about them when scraping his car. What's even funnier is that I said we should look snow snakes up on the internet to see if anything came up - THERE REALLY ARE SNOW SNAKES (they actually have red eyes)! Here's a picture of one and check out this website for more details.

Happy New Year from Canadia!

Ok, to start if all off, this is a tag team post composed by myself & Ray (I'm typing & editing, he's dictating). He wants me to start if off by saying: Bowl games, bowl games and more bowl games - that idea was vetoed right outta the hop. For the first time in memory, we (Uncle Ray) is excited about not a football game on New Years Day but a hockey game. You really can't live in Canada and not talk hockey, I mean come on, that's totally un-American - err - un-Canadian?!?! The NHL is staging their winter classic today which is an outdoor game, where 75,000 fans will gather in Orchard Park, New York to watch Sid the Kid and the Pittsburgh Penguins (our team along with the Senators) take on the Buffalo Sabres. Go Pens!!! Nothing like seeing hockey played the way everyone grew up playing, outside, in the cold with snow falling and the wind a blowin'. (That reminds me, some people around these parts actually have homemade rinks in their yards! Seriously, I've seen people skating around on ice skates in their yards up here - quite a sight. They don't do that in Arizona.) It will be great to watch on CBC in beautiful high definition.

In case you're wondering, we had our own winter classic AGAIN! Another foot of snow fell yesterday and we'll be getting another foot starting tonight. Will it ever end? That means there'll be about 4 feet of snow down by the end of the week. Crazy I tell you! Ray and I have become as efficient as a NASCAR pit crew when it comes to scurrying out of the house, clearing the snow from the cars, and backing the cars out of the driveway at first sound of the "plow guy"...anything to avoid shoveling the entire drive....torture!

Go ILLINI - beat the University of Spoiled Children (USC) today in the Rose Bowl!!!!!!!