I phoned the Canadian Consulate in Dallas a few days ago about renewing my Canadian passport in the US. Specifically, I require certain papers because I do not have a 'guarantor' that has known me for 2yrs in the US. Anyway, the woman rushed me through and when it came to my name I spelled it out for her -- as I always do as people always get my given name wrong. Over the phone she had problems with my last name, which is a very common surname in North America. When I received the papers today my surname was spelled correctly, but my given name was spelled incorrectly. In fact, I've never seen it spelled that way...it's not even the common way of spelling it. Guess I was blown away because the most common/accepted first letter of my name is 'C', and the person put a 'K' instead. Plus she got the last three letters wrong, which is a common mistake. I'm just ticked off because I spelled my name for her and asked if I should repeat it, and she said "no, I've got it." Just had to vent about it.

PS: Those crazy barristas at Starbuck's always spell my name in wacky ways. The most bizarre spelling was in San Francisco...they spelled my name as a mountain range and inserted a 'K' at the beginning...

I can't believe I'm going to admit this, but Hubby and I went to see Kenny Rogers perform with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra last night at the Myerson...and we weren't the youngest people in attendance. Kenny put on a wonderful show and he really interacts well with the audience; he is quite the entertainer. We went early and had a buffet dinner at Allegro. When we received the bill we realized we had the 'early bird special'...guess that's why we felt like we were the youngest there, but we did see more people our age in the audience. Perhaps they grew up with Kenny Rogers songs as kids, much like Hubby and I did. I can remember elementary school trips where we would be singing The Gambler and Coward of the County on the school bus. Guess I am aging myself. Just wish that Kenny hadn't had the plastic surgery.

Bloomingdale's in Dallas?

Just heard the news that Bloomingdale's may expand to Dallas. Apparently the store was in Dallas at Valley View Mall in the 80s, but closed in 1990. Here's hoping with fingers crossed.

Last Saturday night, as Hubby and I sat on the beach at Carmel to watch the sun set, we saw four dolphins in the water. They put on quite the show for us. Everyone at the beach congregated to the water's edge to watch them swim around. One or two dolphins did a couple of 'jumps'. It was really special to see them frolic in the twilight.

To Big Sur, With Love

Hubby and I returned to Dallas late last Sunday evening from California. Had a wonderful time in San Francisco. Love that city. I climbed one of the big hills, California Street up to Nob Hill, and found more admiration for early settlers of the city after I made it to the top. The reason for the mad dash up the gigantic hill was to visit Grace Cathedral, an absolutely stunning church. I was hoping to walk the labyrinth, but they were working on it that day. Another discovery on this trip was Bloomingdale's...and Bloomingdale's sales. New favorite restaurant(since Hawthorne Lane is now closed is Jeanty at Jack's . We also took in a San Francisco Giants game. What a great ballpark!! Love how it opens to the water.

After Hubby was finished and packed up at the trade show/conference we visited the California Palace of the Legion of Honor to take in some culture. What a gorgeous museum of art set on a hill overlooking the Golden Gate bridge and San Francisco. Highly recommend their cafe for lunch.

The last three days of our trip were spent in Carmel. Ahhhh, Carmel. Of course, no trip to Carmel is complete without a drive down Hwy 1 to Big Sur and lunch at Nepenthe. Highly recommend the ambrosia burger and triple berry pie. There's something about Big Sur that soothes me and stirs my soul. I feel at home although I've never lived there. I love Big Sur. If I had all the money in the world I would live in Carmel/Big Sur.

Owen Needs to Unearth His Inner Beatnik

Was shocked this morning to hear that funnyman Owen Wilson supposedly attempted suicide this past weekend. He must be going through some major dark stuff to try to end it all. Who knows what inner demons must be eating away at his soul. He needs to drop the acting gig, move far from Hollywood and focus on writing, perhaps unearth his inner beatnik. Can't you see Owen Wilson as an eccentric English Lit prof at a small liberal arts college? Okay, perhaps that is a bit far-fetched since he is a couple credits short of a degree...but, writing screenplays and the odd novel may just save his soul.

Hubby just phoned and he's surprised that I haven't packed for the trip on Sunday...Oh my, better start thinking about it.

Just saw an Allied moving truck take a sharp right turn and mow down a stop sign. Yikes! This is what is written on the truck: "Allied, The Careful Movers."

It's Friday and we're leaving for San Francisco Sunday morning. Guess I should start thinking about packing. Have started laundry...that's a start, right? Very excited about trip to the cool coast of central California. Will be happy to escape this hot city. Have I mentioned how much I love Sweet Leaf tea? Yummy. It's helping me through the heatwave.

Three days until San Francisco trip!! Very excited...guess I should start thinking about packing...

The Fashionista Diaries

I started watching The Fashionista Diaries last week and now I'm hooked. Okay, I have a weak spot for reality tv, so it really shouldn't be a surprise. The show follows six young assistants, straight out of college, finding their way in the fashion world of NYC with Jane magazine, Flirt! cosmetics, and 7th House PR. I was rooting for the girl from Queens, Nicole, as she tried to make it in PR, but she really was a fish out of water. Bridget's incessant whining is annoying and I so want to slap her and tell her to quit whining. Remember, no one likes a whiner. Ughhhh. There's some chemistry with Rachel and Andrew at Jane magazine, but Bridget may have her whiney claws hooked into him as they are now flatmates. Janjay is really mature for her age. Hate that Nicole resigned this week, but not before she told them how shallow they are. Bravo Nicole!!! As she put it: "I'm from Queens and as real as they come." What's with this snotty PR company? Something is wrong if you favour a well-dressed, stuck-up chick who speaks in an annoying voice. Oh, wait, it's okay because the boss also speaks with the whine...Ughhhh....get thee to a voice/dialect coach asap!!! How can your clients stand to listen to you?