VIRTUALLY, A SECOND LIFE

Some of my friends have heard me speak about Second Life (SL) but most have no idea what it looks like. Photo's really don't give it justice but you get a pretty good idea. I finally uploaded a bunch of pics to share our SL with anyone interested out there.

I have only posted a few on here directly but if u want to see more, just click HERE to see more.

When Chris and I started in SL, only last Oct/2006 there were aprox 1,500,000 members. ....YES, thats 1.5 million members from all over the world. We fell inlove with the concept and it also gave me and Chris a fun hobby to play together in. The other very attractive thing about SL is although we have met ppl of all ages and countries , we have mostly met ppl of in our age range. It is a world that has many ppl from 30 to 60....There are very young ofcourse but the average we have been meeting are as I stated above. It's part of the reason we and others enjoy it as much.Since Oct..SL has grown from 1.5 million members to .....aprox 8.5 million members! Brand names have started to take notice and have been putting their own products and services in SL themselves. It's becoming a very interesting market.

This pic below is of Chris and I sitting on our chaise longe in the bedroom of our hut. Chris looks alot like himself in SL, it's uncanny really. I however don't really lol. I have red streaks in my hair for real but they don't have that option in SL, so I like just being a red head...and well, let's face it, my body ROCKS in SL. LOL Do I ever love shopping in there lol.

This is us on a comfy rug infront of a stream. Behind us you see some of the rental huts. Since we have been in SL...we have learned alot about how it works. There is so much to do if u chose to. Chris and I decided to venture into having out own island in SL. It's an investment but because business is so good...it ends up costing us nothing and we even make abit of money each month. Many are in it for the bucks. We are in it to enjoy and break even. Many are in it just to play and check stuff out. Or u can get a job that pays money...or create your own objects that u can sell. Like clothing, furniture, houses...no limits.

A good friend of mine named Trinity and I, even have a small second hand store in SL. It's true lol. We sell some furniture, clothes, pose balls or all sorts of odds and ends. Our store is called TRINITY MOON TREASURES... has a nice ring to it eh lol. We will soon be selling out own jewelry line. She is a programmer in real life and I have always been abit of an artist. So we have pooled out talents and together with time, we will open a jewelry store. I have already designed a few collections so I look forward to selling some. Trinity is one of my yahoo chat buddies. We met online atleast 6 yrs ago. I got her into SL and she loved it also.

We have met ppl from all walks of life in SL. Business ppl, lawyers, architects, programmers. You can see typing in many languages also. It' s very cool.

Below is an over view of just one part of our island. You can see some of our rental huts. Yes, ppl actually rent out huts to live in. Our island has many amenities for everyone living on it. It's a SL paradise. The other side of the island has larger land plots for ppl who want to pay abit more to put down their own house and landscape it the way they want. For the most part, except for 3 plots on the island, I landscaped everything myself. I planted most that u see and furnished all the huts and areas myself. Like the house we live in, the tiki bar area, all the little details from the koi fish in the pond to the champagne and chocolates in the Romantic Gazibo. The shopping for all the things I used was as much fun as the placing. It's all tedious work but rewarding. Chris is the tech half of our partnership lol...I would be lost without him. He does the stuff like make the signs...set u the rental boards that ppl click on to pay the rent, or to teleport dirctly to any given hut. So we can show a potential renter any hut. He manages the surf waves and the terraforming (land changes needed....digging, or smoothing the sand out when building etc) He deals with different scripts and stuff like that.

All in all, we are very proud of the island paradise we have built. Many ppl who found it, have yet to leave lol. We often have a waiting list of ppl wanting to rent a place with us here. This may all sound very odd or silly to many and thats ok lol. The important thing is that we enjoy it. We meet alot of very interesting ppl. It's another form of chat, all be it very differnent and Chris and I can do it together....given I am home for my job, this is one activity we can do together, that isn't just watching tv.

Have a look at the SL photostream to get a better look at what I am talking about. Next time we go ballroom dancing or see some interesting new places...(because there are hundreds!) I will try to remember to take more pics to add to this folder.

I am curious to hear what u think.....OR ...have u been in SL yourself??

BLAST FROM THE PAST and FRIENDS FOR THE FUTURE

Do you ever wonder about what happened to the ppl you grew up with or dated from your highschool days? Or on a related topic. Family members you never really knew well except for a few get togethers as kids for family funtions. I come from a big family, so we have cousins all over Canada.

Well, 2 very cool things happened to me recently.

A blast from the past.... I got a message though classmates.com from an old bf because he saw that I had a profile in there. When I was 16 I dated a 19 yr old Hockey Player. Great guy, gentle giant at 6'4'' and my mom actually liked him! He had to move to another province to play more hockey eventually so we went our own ways.

It was very cool to hear from him and we have since exchanged our stories catching up on our families and lives. He is the proud dad of 4...yes FOUR children. Is a granddad of one and still looks great. Why is it that men age gracefully as they mature and women...(most of us) just get old? LOL

Secondly...I recieved an email from one of my cousin's wives. She happened on my blog and started reading it. My cousin Bob, (her husband) I had only met a few times growing up. On the other side of the country. Although we didn't know them very well, they were cousins I liked very much. Big group, 8 kids, so alot of fun. Very smart and funny. The word SmartAsses comes to mind but in a good way lol. I wished we lived closer together but that never happened. So it was such a pleasant surprise that the wife of one of these cousins should write me. Yet another good thing about blogging lol. We have now exchanged a few long winded emails, trying to cram in a bunch of information about our families and lives. It's great to hear about what's been happening in their lives and I can't help but feel that I may have made a friend for the future with Bonnie.

Here's to Blasts from the Past and

Friends for the Future.

Both of these stories can wear both of these titles.

Tell me....do u have similar stories to share?

3 YEARS OF BLOGGING

WOW, Already 3 years of blogging. It doesn't seem that long ago but at the same time so much can happened in our lives.

I have been fortunate to have made many friends through chat, many of which have their own blogs. I think we learn so much about people through their writting. It seems different or deeper when it comes from their thoughts, through to their fingertips onto the page. I also think of it as a precious privilege. To be invited into ones writtings...ones life.

I went back to read some of my archives. I was reminded of stuff that happened over these 3 yrs. Some made me laugh while others made me groan. But all made me glad I had it written down to go back to and remember.

I have also been lucky enough to find some wonderful people just through their blog. Over the years, reading a few here and there that intrique enough to go back to...or they hit a cord of recognition in ones own life and experiences. The connections I have made through the yrs are precious to me. They have become part of my reading routine each week. My blog list grows while others are either stop blogging or go on to other things.

I think many can relate that although more often then not, we have never met many of our blog friends, we still feel real happiness or sadness when we read about what's going on in their lives.

It's also a positive testiment to humans in a world of much termoil. We can get comfort from perfect strangers regardless of distance and time. To feel compelled to write a comment to cheer someone up on a particularly hard day or just encourage them for whatever reason. To know, ''hey I was here to read your blog'' always causes a smile. How powerful is that.

You know that expression, ''How do we change the world?---One good deed at at time''. I think blogging is kind of like that also. One good blog or comment at a time.

Thank you...to all the great blogs out there and all the people who have taken a moment to comment. I hope 3 yrs from now I will have even more great blog friends and many more experiences to write about.

NEW TORTURE TOOL

NO! We are not into BDSM..but we did add a new torture tool to our dungeon LOL..

We decided to invest in another piece of excersize equipment. We both love the treadmill and it has been getting alot of miliage in the last few months. The thing is, Chris and I couldn't work out together. It's not such a big deal but we had been kicking around the idea of getting something that will be a different workout to add to what we already do. The bonus is that with 2 machines, we can do it together. Each alternating which one we use each day. Although we both did our 30 mins on the new machine today...while figuring out the programs on it.

One thing we have both learned in the past yrs..during different periods of working out in our lives..whether it be home or in a gym...if u work on cheap equipment...u won't do it for very long...if u pay abit more, for something that is built well...it makes your workout so much better. Cheap stuff makes u fight against the equiptment, Quality makes u fight only against yourself.

Have u seen that toothbrush commercial...that actually says...it has an ONBOARD COMPUTER! Everytime I see that commercial I want to roll my eyes. Now THIS is an onboard computer!....We didn't buy this model for this reason, but for its mechanics...the bonus with a good model is that it gives u alot of programs to work with built in.

I do believe though, if we go fast enough...this sucker has TIME TRAVEL options. I will let u know once I get in shape enough test it out lmao!

I took it easy my first go on this thing, I could feel the new muscles working within 2 minutes compared to the fast walk I do on the treadmill. I am really pleased we got this one. Will target alot more muscles and just be a much better overall workout.

We have a gym less then a block away from us... I would love to be able to go...get a trainer to set us up with a good plan, use all the equiptment, the pool etc. Although we would be working out, it would be time we spent together away from the house. We worked out what a membership would cost...plus the 10$ hr for the sitter to come over...she asks for a 3 hr minimum but even if we degonciated 2 hrs...and made it worth while at 3 or 4 times a week...it would end up costing us a bloody fortune...SO....adding a machine was the smart thing to do. Had we not been a foster family ...with a client like our blind guy...we would have been going to the gym ages ago.

Chris goes all out when working out...no half measures at all lol. He can't wait to test himself with the hardest programs in the machines..he does it with the treadmill...it has really difficult up hill challenges and he does them all. This new machine is a new mountain for him to climb for sure lol.

I am a whimp...I take it easy...and do very gradual work. I know me..and if it's too hard to fast...I will just NOT do it at all. Slow and steady is my motto...as long as I get on the damn thing ...I applaud myself lol.

Feeling good after I put in my time, is the payoff for me. I am so glad I am doing this..and been consistant for the last few months...except for the brief pause after the hump from hunchback hell was removed from my back..but hey, doctors orders lol.

I have already decided that one day when we have a bigger house, we will add a good weight excersise machine...as it is now, we have no other room downstairs...it's cramped ...and the ceiling is low, Chris barely has a cpl inches clearance when he is on both machines..had he been just abit taller, he wouldn't be able to use either one lol.

CRYSTAL BEAUTY AND BAD DOGGY FRILLS

Imagine our surprise to be presented with this beautiful crystal bowl as an anniversary gift from Anna and John. We were both so touched by their generosity and thoughtfullness. This, as they welcomed us with opened arms for a week.
What an exquisit way to display the perfection of one or 2 beautiful flowers. What is in there now are from my front yard...it's a perennial called Lilium (lollypop colour). I have since changed the flowers to a bright yellow Lilium. As long as I have blooms, they will be displayed on my kitchen table in this bowl.
Thanks so much Anna and John..I have gotten comments from everyone who has entered and seen this bowl with the flowers.



For some sillyness, I had to throw in some picks of the babies. I got these matching clothes for the dogs in Chicago lol. Yes they get something from our trips too.
I saw a dog section of clothes in a department store, which always perks me up..and makes Chris roll his eyes. There was nothing I liked..to my disappointment and Chris' relief. BUT then ..as we are walking by the baby clothes section, the lightbulb over my head lit up. To my joy and Chris' shagrin...I figured some baby clothes would easily adapt to the dogs..so humming and awing to all the adorable clothes...and trying to figure out what could work..while Chris to his credit...was patient while endulging my silly whim.
I got these cute little tops, that were actually a baby one piece..I cut off the bottoms and sewed the edges all around, to make them a top or dress. I have figured out that Shinoo is a 9 months and Clochette is a Newborn size lmao!




I realize that Shinoo looks rediculous in this. Clochette pulls it off cause she is little and more girly looking lol. I had to take a few pics to show my friend but I won't be putting this on Shinoo again lol. They both actually love having clothes, they both come running when I pull out some of their few pieces of clothing. Tails wagging they can't wait till I put it on. Unlike bath time, they both try to hide lol.



So just to assure u all, I am not torturing my babies out of a silly indulgance on my part. I do however realize that this frilly stuff does NOTHING for Shinoo lmao! Poor thing...I swear it's being put away.