Xmas List 2021

* Used items are always welcome!!

Sweeton-Woods Family

- IKEA Gift Cards (For Pax closet in porch)

- Forks

- Plastic or silicone spatula, bowl scraping kind

- Window cling winter decorations

- Large wood cutting board

- Combination lock (Locker at pool)

- Vector cereal

Me

- Sims 4 expansion packs (PC)

- Travel bags for toiletries

- Pajamas (Women's XL)

- Boardgame: Cartographers

- Soap and Glory Flake Away Body Scrub

- Masks, wire at nose

- Cheap Sunglasses

- Waterproof waist pouch for phone, swimming

- Arm pouch for phone, jogging

- Small garden snips, pruner 

- Work gloves (Tight, bit stronger than garden gloves)

- Honey roasted peanuts

- Dried Mango

Jason

- Gift Cards: MEC, Amazon for Kindle books

- UV Swim Shirts (Men's Medium)

- Long stick-style umbrella

- Coffee Beans

- Sour Candy

- Coke, in glass bottles

- Craft Beer (Anything but wheat)

Cigi

- Beach towel

- UV Swim Shirts/Suits (18m)

- Bath toys

- Baby hair brush

- Baby toothbrushes

- Nut butters (No sugar added)

- Burt's Bees Baby Shampoo

- Thinkbaby Sunscreen

- Gerber Baby Cereal

- All/Any Books (Duplicates sent to Edmonton cousins)

--- Indistructibles

--- Classic Bernstein Bears (new ones are religious)

--- Bath books

--- Audrey and Don Woods

--- Munch

--- Dr. Suess

Two

- Small pet bed

- Stick with string toy

Xmas List 2020

Fetus

Not yet born, not celebrating Christmas, no presents please.

(If you have a gift that really really must be given, please do so through Jason.)
 

Me
- Gift Cards
--- Dollerama, Ricki's, Chapters

- Pixel 4a case

- Pixel 4a screen protector
- Epsom salts
- Soap and Glory: Flake Away body scrub
- Bath bombs, no glitter

- Plastic or silicon spatulas (flipper of pancakes kind)

- Stick with string toy for Two

- Running socks

- Easy crockpot cooking cook book

- Tank tops, any style, LRG

- Brown sugar bear (for freshness)

- Ivy, succulent, or cactus plants

- Cloth face masks with wire at nose

Jason
- Gift cards
--- Amazon (for Kindle Books), MEC

- Sweat pants, Med

- Socks
- Coffee beans (not flavoured)
- Sour candy
- Coke in glass bottles
- Craft Beer (not wheaty)
- Cheap Sunglasses
- Spray sunscreen

- iPhone charging cord

- Drill bit set (for holes, not for screws)

- AAA batteries

Joint
- Gift cards
--- Home Depo (for new lawn mower)

--- IKEA (for a dresser and bookcases)

--- Michael's (for frames)
- Boardgames
--- Ticket to Ride: Expansion Maps
--- Trivial Pursuit: Bet You Know It
- Large plastic cutting boards
- Soup pot with lid, roughly 8qt

- Baby Yoda tree ornament

- Large winter/Christmas window cling decorations

A Depressing Flowchart

So, in an effort to feel more control, or something, I have been mentally going through a flowchart of events for the next few weeks of this pregnancy.
------

Heartbeat - Is there still a heartbeat? - I say 'still' because there was one at the last ultrasound at Week 7, but we know from last time, where we saw the heartbeat twice before the eventual fetal demise, and that while seeing it early lowers the chance of miscarriage, it doesn't eliminate it. After days (weeks?) of worry, we will get this answer tomorrow (Thursday) at an early early hospital ultrasound arranged by my doctor.

-- Heartbeat - No - I should know right away during the ultrasound if there has been another 'silent miscarriage' the behaviour of the technician is quite different when things are fine vs. not. Though they sometimes stick really hard to the "technician can't say anything" and I will need to wait for the doctor at the hospital or my own doctor later in the day to give me the sad news. If this is the case then all further steps stop and I will get a reference to the Early Pregnancy Loss clinic to deal with another miscarriage that will be devastatingly similar to the last one. The following weeks going through that process will be awful and annoying and I am trying not to build out that branch of the flowchart except to know that this time I would like to go through the processes at the hospital so that I can be put under general anesthetic and that the tissue can be tested afterwards.

------

-- Heartbeat - Yes - As mentioned above, I should (hopefully) find this out during the actual ultrasound. If everything is still developing properly, not only with a heartbeat but proper size for 12 weeks then I move onto the next step.

Prenatal Testing - When will I get my Enhanced First Trimester Screen (eFTS) done? - My original hope was to not have to do the eFTS because the results are much later than the NIPT (Non-invasive Prenatal Testing, or the blood only paid-for DNA test that I needed to get a redraw for that started this whole emotionally challenging spiral.) The eFTS is also not as accurate so having to rely on those results instead of the NIPT means that we aren't out of the dark tunnel of worrying that we are sitting at the end of this pregnancy. More on this below.

-- Prenatal Testing - Tomorrow - Because my doctor's office was sending out urgent ultrasound requests to multiple clinics and hospitals, they were unsure if the one I have tomorrow will be just a 'viability scan' to basically check for the heartbeat and that is it, or if they will have time at the hospital to do the full eFTS. If there is time, than the ultrasound will just continue on for 45 minutes or so with a ton of measurements being made and I will be sent for blood-work tomorrow as well. This is preferred because we will get the results sooner and everything will be done at the same time.

-- Prenatal Testing - Next week - If they only have time for the quick scan tomorrow then I will be keeping the clinic appointment I have for the eFTS on Wednesday June 29. This will delay results by a week, and as my own doctor is away next week, possibly delay us learning the results even longer. (Obviously if there is no heartbeat, or if there is and the hospital ends up doing the eFTS, I will cancel this clinic appointment.)

NIPT - Did it work from the blood redraw? - I gave blood again this past Friday to try to get results through the DNA system, after my first blood draw the week before came back without results. Based on my weight and the low FF (Fetal Fraction is a measurement of the amount of the DNA found in the blood that isn't mine) from the last blood draw the chance that I can get results from the second blood draw is only 41%. This is why we are moving forward with the eFTS in the likely case that the NIPT comes back inconclusive again. I should know by early next week what happened with the blood redraw.

-- NIPT - Yes and Low Risk - This would be the best outcome of this flowchart, if I was drawing it out the box it sits in would be a starburst or something. The NIPT low risk result is very very accurate, it would mean that we could move into the second trimester of this pregnancy with a huge feeling of relief that the baby is currently healthy and doesn't have the three most common chromosome differences. (We would ignore the chromosome speculation in the eFTS in this case.)

-- NIPT - Yes and High Risk - This would be a very very worrisome outcome. Since NIPT is more accurate than eFTS, heading into the Diagnostic Testing it would be highly (greater than 90%)  likely that there are chromosomal abnormalities which would mean a termination of the pregnancy. The next step would be Diagnostic Testing, see below.

-- NIPT - No - This is fairly likely and would mean we have to wait for the eFTS results. The 'no result' as a result in itself actually signifies a slightly higher chance of chromosomal abnormalities which isn't good. The next step would be to wait for the eFTS results which depending on when I got the testing done (see above) will be ready between Aug 3 - 12.

eFTS Results - What is my risk factor? - It will be a long wait for these, but if the NIPT is inconclusive for a second time it is our only option for screening on chromosomal abnormalities.

-- eFTS Results - Low Risk - Definitely a good outcome, this would give us about the same level of relief that a NIPT Low Risk result would, that the baby is currently healthy and doesn't have the three most common chromosome differences. It would just come almost three weeks later.

-- eFTS Results - High Risk - Strangely not as bad as you would think. Because eFTS uses fetal anatomy measurements along with my hormone and protein levels to determine the risk factor it has a really high rate of false positives. It would still be cause for worry but a lot of room for hope when moving onto the Diagnostic Testing, see below. In fact there would be only around a 10% chance that there are chromosomal abnormalities which would mean a termination of the pregnancy.

Diagnostic Testing - Another whole flowchart - If we ended up in this box, either from a High Risk result coming from the NIPT or eFTS then there are a bunch of considerations that I am not dwelling on at the moment. Firstly there are two types of testing depending on how far into pregnancy you are. Depending when I get a High Risk result I made not be afforded a choice between them but if I get it early enough then I can choose between the two, one of which would involve waiting a few weeks. In both cases this type of testing is considered invasive and carries a risk of miscarriage from just undergoing the procedures. There are other health risks for both me, the baby and the pregnancy depending on which test taken. The results take between two and three weeks, so again more waiting and the potential of terminating well into the second trimester, a horrible outcome. The results from either test are considered diagnostic (stronger than screening). But let's cross that path, make that flowchart when we get there.

------
Hard to make a flowchart vertically using only blog-word-processing. I can definitely see this making better sense in the more traditional visual form with boxes and arrows. However, this let me get the thoughts and timelines and steps/stages floating around in my head down onto 'paper' to some extent and hopefully help me sleep better tonight ahead of the first step coming my way really early tomorrow morning.

Didn't Even Make It A Week!

Photo of page in my bullet journal

I couldn't even get through 7 days of my 17 Day Covid Plan, it was a good attempt at staying motivated but something about it just didn't work for me. Nope! Didn't work.

Not really depressed, though there have been periods of time when I have been. Just feeling unproductive. There are lots and lots of articles going around that talk about it being okay to not be productive at this time. A lot of focus on just "getting through the day" and "self-care." So I am trying not to beat myself up about the fact that I am having a hard time getting anything useful done lately.

17 Day Covid Plan

Trying to stay motivated and productive during this strange time of quarantine and self-isolation. I have made a check-list for the next 17 days (just because that was the number of lines in my notebook set up). Here is what I am hoping to accomplish:

Everyday - Do a small task related to
-- Becoming a PMP
-- Getting a job
-- Closing down the cafe
-- Keeping the house clean
-- Hosting weekly virtual trivia

Everyday - I am trying to
-- Go for a walk with Jason
-- Do a blog post, might be backdated
-- Brush the cat

Every morning, before noon, I want to
-- Be downstairs before 9am
-- Drink a glass of warm lemon water
-- Have breakfast
-- Wash my face and brush my teeth
-- Feed the cat, using new/clean bowls
-- Take my vitamins
-- Call someone for a quick chat
-- Do some fitness thing that raises my heart rate for 20mins

Every night, I want to
-- Stop looking at screens (phone, tablet, computer) after 11pm
-- Do a quick clean of the kitchen
-- Clean out the cat's litter box
-- Wash my face, floss and brush my teeth
-- Fill the humidifier
-- Relax (yoga, meditation, sex)
-- Be in bed before 11:30pm

Trying to go easy on myself and not be too upset if I don't achieve everything everyday. Some things are easier to do than others. The list is a bit like the one I tried back in November when I was starting to get depressed after shutting down the cafe and starting to look for a new job. Today is the first day and the checklist is mapped out until May 3rd, at which point I will see what is working, make some adjustments, and create a new one.

Xmas 2019

Jason
- Gift cards
--- Amazon (for Kindle Books), MEC
- Coffee beans
- Pour-over coffee brewer
- Clear glass coffee mugs
- Front bike light
- Sour candy
- Coke in glass bottles
- Craft Beer, not wheaty
- T-shirts, size Med
- Cheap Sunglasses
- Spray sunscreen
- Basic electric toothbrush OralB head
- Franks Red Hot Sauce
- iPhone charging cords

Me
- Gift Cards
--- Ricki's, Dollerama, IKEA
- Books (used is fine)
--- Fiction, William Gibson, Jasper Fforde, Gail Vaz-Oxlade (Never Too Late)
- Bullet/dot journals
- Fineliner colour markers (for journal)
- Epsom salts
- Soap and Glory: Flake Away
- Canned corn
- Martin's Apple Chips
- Black no snag hair elastics
- Bath bombs
- Stud earrings, backs that click shut
- Metal pasta claw serving spoon

Joint
- Gift cards
--- Home Depot, Canadian Tire, Cineplex
- Boardgames
--- Ticket to Ride: Expansion Maps
--- Trivial Pursuit: Bet You Know It
--- Seven Wonders: Duel
--- Rummikub
- Glass Clip tupperware containers
- Wood cutting boards
- Screwdriver set
- Collapsible salad spinner
- King Sheets (100% Cotton)
- Animal safe sidewalk salt
- Shower curtain liners
- Strong fridge magnets, with clips

Christmas Changes

I like that my Christmas traditions are slowly adjusting to be less material/consumer driven. Don't get me wrong. I love buying, giving, and receiving gifts - remember giving gifts is one of my main Love Languages! However, with a tiny Toronto house, I don't have room for a lot of stuff, and I have always valued experience more anyway.

This year Kristen and I went to a play together instead of doing gifts - with the added bonus of a dinner at my favourite vegetarian restaurant Fresh a head of the show. (We saw a musical parody of the TV show Friends.)

The lists that get sent between family members each year and leaning more and more towards consumable items - we ask for our favourite foods, household items we need, fun treats of one type or another that we wouldn't necessarily buy for ourselves but really enjoy. These types of gifts bring such joy and at the same time don't add to clutter.

Xmas List 2018

Two
- Treats (Temptations Dental)
- Little mouse toy
- Litter deodorizer (Arm+Hammer)

Joint
- Gift cards
--- Home Depot, Canadian Tire, Cineplex
- Travelling coffee mugs, not plastic
- King Sheets (100% Cotton)
- Help installing kitchen faucet
- Animal safe sidewalk salt
- Shower curtain liner
- Kitchen scissors
- Super large bath towels
- Foaming hand soap
- Steak knives
- Strong fridge magnets

Jason
- Gift cards
--- XBox, Amazon (for Kindle Books), MEC
- Coffee beans
- Sour candy
- Coke in glass bottles
- Craft Beer, not hoppy
- T-shirts, size Med
- Socks, shoe size 10.5
--- black dress, white athletic
- Sunglasses
- Spray sunscreen
- Dove for men shampoo
- Bar soap
- Clear glass coffee mugs
- Franks Red Hot Sauce

Me
- Gift Cards
--- Ricki's, Dollerama, IKEA
- Books (used is fine)
--- Fiction, William Gibson, Jasper Fforde, Gail Vaz-Oxlade (Never Too Late)
- Boardgames
--- Ticket to Ride: Expansion Maps
--- Trivial Pursuit: Bet You Know It
- Epsom salts
- Soap and Glory: Flake Away
- Canned corn
- Martin's Apple Chips
- Compact over-ear headphones (with cord)
- Android smart watch
- Kitchen scissors
- Potting soil
- Basil plants/seeds
- Chap stick
- Black no snag hair elastics
- Bath bombs
- Stud earrings backs that clip
- Travel toothbrush

Mildly Adventurous

Soooo, you want a low number - I guess that means you are more adventurous. I need to remember some of these for when I play this as part of a drinking game.

I am at SIX. Because I have never...
- Broken a bone (knock on wood)
- Been skydiving
- Had braces
- Given birth
- Gone scuba diving
- Been on a cruise
(Does having braces make you more adventurous?)

Let me know your number in the comments!! 

Salem In October

Yesterday we went to Salem, which is just north of Boston. (It is actually on their commuter rail system it is so close, but we drove.) The town is really busy in October and was so beautiful. I definitely want to go back. The historic homes are incredible, they have houses dating back to the 1600s. There was a lot that we didn't get to see, just being there for a day. It is a harbor town and we didn't even make it down to the waterfront area. We were mainly there to learn more about The Salem Witch Trials.

If you don't know about this strange point in American history, I really suggest you look it up. The Wikipedia entry linked above gives a decent overview but I am sure there are other sites as well. Both Kristen and I consider this a common knowledge point but there are so many historic events in the USA it seems it isn't as known about as I had assumed. There is also a lot of miss information, and the Salem Trials get confused with facts from those that occurred in Europe.

Here are some things I was surprised about:
- Not as many deaths as I had thought, they 'only' executed twenty people
- Trials are well documented, there are surviving transcripts from witness interviews
- They relied on spectral evidence, which was a thing
- It all ended when the Governor's wife got accused
- They didn't 'test' the women in water, might have been a European thing
- Starts with accusations from afflicted children
- Along with sexism issues, racism was a factor too

Cartouche Has Returned To Me

Item Lost: My Cartouche Deck
Time Lost: Some time in Rrunuv Bayit, maybe end of 2015
Last Place I Remember: With other decks of cards on the white bookcases
Place Found: In an old plastic storage shelf which a bunch of sunglasses

Since we moved into Casa Verde a few boxes and plastic multi-drawer storage containers have been kept in our office, waiting for me to unpack them. These are filled with old jewelry, pens, sentimental items and such. They have been driving Jason crazy so I finally decided to go through them all.

I was able to whittle what I wanted to keep down to about a shoe box worth of things that have important memories attached to them, a small bag of office supplies to take into work, and apparently over 100 tampons. We donated a lot of things, including two different point-and-shoot cameras that we came across.

I think the most important thing I found was my Cartouche cards! I mentioned missing them a few months ago. So glad they weren't lost forever, going to start using them again. Let's see what the future holds!

Not Wanting To Offend

................... found online, Buzzfeed, I think

My Pickiness (from above): 
- In some cases: Blue Cheese and Liver
- If it has a head or thin/fine bones: Raw Fish and Cooked Fish

My Pickiness (not listed)
- Nothing TOO spicy

There are lots of items above that I don't really like - that I wouldn't order at a restaurant or cook with at home. However, hard to think that if I was visiting someone, and didn't want to offend them, what I wouldn't be able to just deal with and eat. The one that comes to mind is Liver, I really hate the taste of liver (and other organ meat) but in China I ended up eating it for breakfast a couple of times and got through it fine. Blue Cheese is really on a case by case bases, for example Blue Cheese Dressing is delicious, a hunk of Blue Cheese plain is uneatable.

Let me know in the comments, how picky are you?

Phone Photo - Waterfall Fav

I absolutly love Niagara Falls. It is mind blowing each and every time I visit. But Niagara Falls is a Natural Wonder of the World (or at least I thought it was.) It is hard to say it is my favourite waterfall since it is so much more than that. With that, I think I have found a pretty amazing waterfall that might be my top, Bourke's Luck Potholes.

The Waterfalls at The Potholes

Why am I unable to get my horizons straight?

(Photo taken with my phone)

Blyde River Canyon, South Africa

The other stops on today's very long bus ride were also very impressive. Sadly though, God's Window was too foggy to see anything at but the vistas at The Three Rondavels were beautiful.

Can't Stop, Won't Stop

After TWO game drives in Kruger Park today, we still weren't done. About half the group decided to stay for an evening tour as well. A couple of days ago I was asking our guide about doing a safari on our last day, Monday when there isn't anything scheduled and we don't leave until midnight. He mentioned that if we wanted to do an extra safari some people arrange to do a third one in Kruger on their own (not associated with the tour.) Of course we decided to do that! I can't get enough of these animals. And in doing so, tonight we saw a leopard. This means we have seen all of The Big Five. (Though I think The Big Five isn't really a relevant list anymore, but more on that another time.)

Xmas List 2017

Two
- Home Depot Gift Card
--- for supplies to build a new Litter Cabinet
- Litter deodorizer
- Ball-shaped toy

Me
- Gift Cards
--- Ricki's, Reitmans, Dollerama, Lululemon
- Books (used is fine)
--- Gail Vaz-Oxlade (Never Too Late), William Gibson, Jasper Fforde
- Boardgames
--- Ticket to Ride: Europe, Trivial Pursuit: Bet You Know It
- Sims 4 for PC
- Snow shovel
- Epsom salts
- Soap and Glory: Flake Away
- Canned corn
- Oral B electric toothbrush heads
- Martin's Apple Chips
- Safari shirts  (beige) LRG
--- long sleeve, tank tops

Jason
- Gift cards
--- XBox, Amazon (for Kindle Books), MEC
- Thermal gloves for cycling, 5-15 degrees
- French press
- Coffee grinder
- Sour candy
- Coke in glass bottles
- Craft Beer, not hoppy
- Safari shirts (beige) MED
--- long sleeve, t-shirts
- Safari pants (beige) 33-30
- Hat for safari (shades back of neck)  7.25
- Socks, shoe size 10.5
--- biking, black dress, white athletic

Joint (Jason and I)
- Gift cards
--- Home Depot, IKEA, Homesense, Canadian Tire
- Knife sharpener
- Type M plug adaptors
- Home Reno Assistance
--- Help installing cabinets and counter top above washer/drier
- Camera accessories for FUJI X-T20
--- extra batteries, second battery charger, SDXC cards, screen protector
--- leather case (coffee colour), camera strap
- Cotton king-size sheets
- Black and Decker 20V Max 1.5Ah Lithium Ion Battery

Sleepovers - Child Vs Adult

I just got back from a quick four-day trip to Calgary. Jason used his Aeroplan points to get me flights out west for my birthday, so I could spend some time with ERin and Anne. (It was going to be during Stampede but got postponed to August.) I thought I would discuss the weekend as a comparison to sleepovers, specifically birthday party ones, I had as a child:

Length of Time
Not just a single night! Since I am in Toronto, Anne in Calgary, and ERin in Edmonton, if we are going to spend time together it only makes sense for it to be a few days. I flew out on Wednesday evening and back Sunday night.

Location
Instead of gathering in the living room or basement of our parent's house, we stayed at Anne's trendy apartment in the Kensington area of Calgary.

Sleeping Arrangements
We don't need to all be in the same room, and our bodies are too old to sleep on the floor. I got the fold-out couch with some awesome memory foam.

TV
Morning cartoons, fun movies, or late night television? Nope! An episode of Chef's Table in the afternoon.

Snacks
No chips, candy, or popcorn, instead we helped ERin by taste testing some new chocolate flavours.

Meals
We traded in the pizza and hot dogs for Anne's fabulous cooking. She made us orzo salad, fennel and zucchini soup, fish tacos with homemade mango salsa, and more.

Dessert
I used to love decorating cupcakes. But this weekend we helped ERin make two different fancy cakes (I was minimally helpful.) We started with the very complicated Pacific Cake that took much of Thursday, and then quickly whipped up a modern version of an Opera Cake on Saturday.

Restaurants
Our choices for a Friday night out on the town were not kid friendly at all. First stop, for appetizers and margaritas, was Anejo, where they make the guacamole and salsa right at your table. For dinner we went to Klein Harris, where I had beet salad and hanger steak. We also made a few breakfast/brunch stops at a pie place in Anne's building - I kept getting the quiche, so good!

Daily Essential
It used to be such a regular thing to visit the corner store, usually for ice cream or candy, during a sleepover, but now that we are older - it is coffee! Made at home or quick visits to a cafe.

Amusement
Hard to remember all the things that I did as a child at birthday parties; swimming, movies, games. In Calgary we went on a road trip to the mountains, visits to ice cream shops and the grocery store, dinners out, dinners in, a cat cafe, and lots of walking around the city.

Conversation
Did we talk about boys? Yes. But also our families, friendships, pets, careers, travel, health, education, and more.

Friendship
I think it gets even better as we get older. It was a wonderful weekend, I love those two so much.

Yes, This Describes It Well

Seen today on a chalkboard outside a convenience store near The Junction (technically a few streets away from the BIA). This really captures the neighbourhood:

Metropasses

Figet Spinners

Egg Whites

- SOLD HERE -

Our Latin Mottos, Only One In Latin

Talking with my GeoConnect girls a little while ago and they were talking about the motto's are undergraduate universities had.

The conversation started because ERin was encouraging Anne to Surgit!, latin for 'Push On,' which she knew because it was Brock's motto. Anne then mentioned that the University of Calgary motto was in Gaelic. I made a mental note to check out what Carleton's was, anticipating that it would probably disappoint me.

I wasn't wrong, the Carleton University motto is Ours the Task Eternal, in English. I don't even know what that means! Also sadly they didn't bother with using a different language. The main thing I like about Carleton is the great colours, I don't like Calgary's red, gold and black. Basically University of Calgary has the best mascot/nickname and Brock is all around cool. Besides good colours, Carleton is, as usual, a bit of a disappointment.

ERin
Undergrad at Brock University (in St. Catherine's)
Colours: Red, grey, and black
Motto: Surgit!which means Push On! in Latin
Mascot: (The Badgers) Boomer the Badger

Anne
Undergrad at University of Calgary
Colours: Red, gold, and black
Motto: Mo Shùile Togam Suas meaning "I will lift up my eyes" in Gaelic
Mascot: (The Dinos) Rex

Me
Undergrad at Carleton University (in St. Catherine's)
Colours: Black and Red
Motto: Ours the Task Eternal
Mascot: (The Ravens) Rodney the Raven

My trip to Calgary for this year was originally planned for July so I could go to Stampede but it was postponed and now I am going from August 23 - 27. I can't wait to see them!

Basically Fifth Element

I have wanted to go see Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets since I found out that it was written and directed by the same person who did The Fifth Element. Also, whenever a science-fiction movie trailer shows up I get excited, then often realize it is going to be a scary one and I won't end up seeing it - this looked different though.

I love The Fifth Element, it is one of my favourite movies, I have mentioned it more than once. It was pretty exciting to hear that Valerian was given a positive review by my preferred movie critics on What The Flick? However, I actually gasped while watching the review when one the critics said they didn't like The Fifth Element. WHAT?!

Jason and I went to see Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets yesterday afternoon - so enjoyable. However, basically it was an upgraded, updated Fifth Element, which I think is fine, it is 20 years later - we can use another one. Both movies are great, I love this pop-style of fun action sci-fi. Here is my comparison:

PLOT
- Fifth: Basic.
- Valerian: Slightly better.

PACE
- Fifth: Fast but can be clunky, has a slow bit or two.
- Valerian: Speedy and sleek. I might re-evaluate this on a second viewing though.

DIALOGUE
- Fifth: Bad. (However, there are at least some memorable quotes - "Mul-ti-pass, multi-pass.")
- Valerian: Also bad, possibly worse.

BACK STORY/CHARACTER HISTORY
- Fifth: Provided, on a fairly simple level.
- Valerian: Missing.

CASTING
- Fifth: Strange. The age difference between Leeloo and Korben Dallas is pretty big, but really you can do no wrong with Bruce Willis
- Valerian: Badly done. Dane DeHaan was a poor choice. Spent the whole movie thinking how much better it would have been with a different person playing Valerian.

ACTING
- Fifth: Fine. Milla Jovovich is excellent, Bruce Willis doesn't really win a lot of Academy Awards for a reason but he is solid in this role. Supporting cast does well.
- Valerian: Not good. I liked how Cara Delevingne played Laureline. Dane DeHaan doesn't work, this character (in the comics) literally inspired Han Solo and I wasn't feeling that. Supporting cast is a bit weak.

WORLD BUILDING
- Fifth: Very cool.
- Valerian: Absolutely epic.

TINY SCI-FI DETAILS
- Fifth: Great, it is part of what makes it an amazing movie.
- Valerian: Incredible.

THE ARTIST
- Fifth: Diva Plavalaguna, an opera singer played by Maiwenn/Inva Mula
- Valerian: Bubbles, a shape shifting stripper played by Rihanna
- Note: The artists assist with the mission/plot in both movies, and also die in both movies, in the arms of the main male hero.

THE ANNOYING ONE
- Fifth: Chris Tucker as Ruby Rhod, the original.
- Valerian: Missing, but you can tell they tried to reproduce it a few times, with the market guide or with Ethan Hawke (very enjoyable) as Jolly the Pimp.

THE GOVERNMENT LEADER
- Fifth: Great character. Tommy 'Tiny' Lister as President Lindberg is believable, well acted, and funny.
- Valerian: Not great. Herbie Hancock as the Defense Minister doesn't get much to do and you can't see him well on the hologram screen.
- Notes: Both black actors, one of my favourite quotes after Barack Obama won the presidency was, "If we have a black president now, how will directors show us that we are in the future in a science fiction movie?"

THE BAD GUYS
- Fifth: Decent. Gary Oldman is great as Zorg, and Zorg is a fun character. The henchmen (Mangalores) and Mr. Shadow are cool as well.
- Valerian: Boring. Clive Owen isn't interesting in the role, his henchmen (K-tron Bots) are boring. The motivation presented is clunky.

THE FRIENDLY RACE/SPECIES
- Fifth: A bit frustrating. I never fully understood the role or context for the Mondoshawan, but their big bodies and little metal bird heads were very imaginative.
- Valerian: Beautiful. Their world (The Pearls) is stunning, their Converter pets are adorable. However, the heavy CGI is noticeable.

THE SUPPORTING CHARACTERS
- Fifth: Good. They appear all throughout the movie and have their own motivations and back stories (Father Vito Cornelius, David, and the aforementioned Ruby Rhod)
- Valerian: There isn't really any. I wish there had been.

MODERN HUMAN CONNECTION
- Fifth: The pyramids.
- Valerian: The International Space Station.

ROMANCE/CHEMISTRY
- Fifth: Almost believable.
- Valerian: Terrible and not believable.
- Notes: Both movies end with the two main characters making out in a small capsule as the camera zooms out from a window. Really bringing home the similarities.

I highly recommend both movies!!

My 'Not A Bucket List' Bucket List

I don't like the idea that I might have a bucket list, it is a morbid concept. I also don't like the idea that I would go through life checking off boxes, lists help me achieve things in my daily life but I wouldn't want them to control my entire existence.

However, Erin AH gave me My Future Listography, and I do really enjoy picking it up and going over things in it every year or so. There are also things that normally show up on other people's bucket lists that I really really want to do - so I basically have an unofficial one.

Skydiving would be incredible, I would love to run a marathon at some point, and there are lots of counties still to visit and amazing places to see. In fact one of the things I am most excited about for my upcoming Africa trip is the chance to cage dive with Great White Sharks which has been a dream of mine forever! It is something I thought I would have a hard time figuring out how to do, not just because they are remote but because I assumed that I would need to learn to scuba dive, turns out I will be doing a tour that has the cage attached to the side of the boat, so you can snorkel.

Something else that I have wanted to do for a long time was go tubing down the Elora Gorge. It keeps getting mentioned in various 'Toronto Day Trip' lists and sounds like a really fun thing to do. Last weekend Kristen and Noah invited us to go with them up to Elora and spend the day swimming, I mentioned the tubing, which they hadn't heard about, and we decided to try that. No matter what, it is an early morning to get there because the conservation areas fill up and the lines to get in can be insane. Last Sunday it turned out the tubing was closed due to high water, so we went with Noah's original plan to go swimming in the Elora Quarry, it was beautiful and very enjoyable. It also served to whet my appetite even more to go tubing.

Luckily it was open this weekend and we got to go. It was even more exciting and beautiful than I had imagined. The rapids were fun, I dumped out of my tube at one point even though we had gone into town to rent special ones that had handles and a back rest (they were cheaper, cleaner, and meant we got to skip a line inside the conservation area.) I would say I can cross it off my bucket list, but I like to instead think of it as a new fun tradition to try to do each summer - now that I understand the system better and know what to expect.

(Photo: Selfie by Jason. From Right: Jason, Me, Kristen, Noah - Helmets and life jackets on, ready to ride the rapids at the Elora Gorge.)