My friend Andrew contacted me earlier in the week to see if I can help him out. He and his wife were married in April, but still had no photos of them in their wedding outfits. They had planned to do photos yesterday, but their photographer had to cancel at the last minute. They asked me if I could pinch hit for them, and since I am such a phenomenal friend, I said yes.

They were a great couple to photograph. I didn’t even have to come up with poses. They took care of everything themselves, I just did the shooting.

It was a nice experience, and I am glad I didn’t have to organize photos for an entire wedding party or the reception.

Check out the entire set on Flickr.

I thought I would share what I have learned.

1. Every time you say goodnight or goodbye, make “I love you”ť be the last thing you say. If one of you die, there will be no regrets about what you said last to each other.
2. Boast about your spouse’s virtues, but keep their vices a secret.
3. You don’t always have to prove you’re right. Even if you are.
4. If your disagreement is getting cyclical (“Yes you did”ť “No I didn’t”ť “Yes you did”,ť etc), stop.
5. Don’t wait until Valentine’s Day or Mother’s/Father’s Day to show appreciation to your spouse.
6. Do things you know your spouse hates doing.
7. Every time you feel like criticizing your spouse, think of two positive things to share instead.

Well, I ruined that. Sort of.

This year, against my best judgement, I involved myself with campaigns for two different candidates at different times leading up to this year’s municipal election.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’ve enjoyed helping them out and being a part of the process, and I believe I made positive contributions to both campaigns.

All that being said, I realized recently that working on specific campaigns means I cannot criticize freely. While I did my best to ensure all candidate were being held accountable, I felt while on these campaigns, I was trying to live two lives. In addition, any criticism I voiced to other candidates could be construed as being official statements from the candidates I was helping.

And I want to be objective.

As a result, today I announce publicly that I am not on any campaigns in this year’s municipal elections in Lethbridge. Any criticism or political commentary is made by me and me alone. It does not represent anyone else’s views.

Now, let the games begin.

You’re probably well versed in how to use those sideways eyebrow thingies, better known as parentheses. First, remember that a pair of them is called “parentheses,” whereas a single one is a “parenthesis.

Red the rest of the article at Grammar Girl : Parentheses, Brackets, and Braces

Granted, our 30+ degree weather in Southern Alberta is a pittance compared to true desert temperatures like Nevada and Arizona (or the Sahara for that matter). That being said, these tricks should still work in places like that, too.

Now, all the following assumes you don’t have an adobe house, which of course would be perfect for helping you keep cool.

1. Keep the windows and doors closed during the day. This keeps all cool air in and the hot air out.
2. Keep your blinds closed during the day.
3. Dress in as little as possible.
4. Keep air moving with fans. Circulating air will ensure you cool off when you sweat, which is the entire purpose of your sweating.
5. Do not use the oven. Use a BBQ, George Foreman Grill, or something other than your oven.
6. Eat cool foods (like pasta salads, garden salads, etc).
7. Eat foods with high water content: watermelon, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, etc.
8. Eat frozen food (frozen fruit works great)
9. Eat homemade popsicles.
10. At night, keep your windows open. Even better, have one fan blowing air outside and one fan pulling air inside.

I have used all these techniques; they are tried, tested and true.

If you have other ideas, post them in the comments.