Happy Birthday Erin!

I met Erin in the mid-90's; we both worked at our community drug store and became fast friends. She's become one of my closest, and dearest friends. We joke about her being the 'Mother Hen' of the group because she's always the one to ensure everyone is doing ok, and has, on a few occasions, 'taken care' of us. She literally carried me up the stairs the night of my Fireball debaucle and stayed with me until I fell asleep. She's a natural mom. It broke my heart to see the trouble she went through to have a baby...and I'm so thrilled that finally her life has been blessed with little Nate this past February. I stole the picture on this post from her FB page (hope you don't mind Erin ;)) - it's one of my absolute favorites of mom and son. The true love between them jumps off the screen.

Erin, Happy Birthday. I'm so happy that you now have everything you've ever hoped, dreamed and yearned for. You're a wonderful person, and a wonderful friend. I hope the year ahead brings you nothing but happiness and much love. xoxo

Farewell to Nannie

My Nannie passed away this morning. She was 93 years old.

She had entered a nursing home the same week that Dad went into the hospital, so was in ailing health for quite some time. She kept having 'mini strokes', but always bounced back, much to the surprise of her doctors and family. The last time I'd seen her she was rather unresponsive, aside from a few smiles. There was no 'recognition' in her face when we came to visit. She had lost so much weight she was barely recognizable. The woman before me was definitely not my Nannie that I had remembered - with her apron on, telling me there were fresh cinnamon rolls in the pantry before we got a chance to even sit down.

She gave the best hugs. She squeezed til it almost hurt.

She was an awesome baker - never measuring, but her chocolate chip cookies and cinnamon rolls always tasted the same - always delicious.

She was very crafty. She loved to knit, crochet, and most of all, she loved to sew. She made her own clothes, and was an avid quilter until her eyesight got too bad. Growing up, each Christmas all the grand-girls would receive a homemade nightie, reminiscent of "Little House on the Prairie", made out of flowered-print flannel. I can remember it being one of my favorite gifts every year. Each year thereafter I missed (and still do) getting my new homemade nightie. I still have a few quilts that she made for me, which I will truly cherish.

Good bye Nannie - I will miss you. xoxo

Wherein I express my distaste for the Mall....

Greetings - I was off yesterday, on account of working this coming Saturday. It was a busy day indeed, and I didn't accomplish half of what I wanted to, unfortunately. I did get a few Christmas gifts purchased, however, and got over to Mom's to see Todd for his birthday and give him his gift. I had a lovely visit with Mummy, and a lovely treat with supper bought for me too. Am I feeling any more festive, you ask? Um, NO.

Picture it: Our above-normal-seasonal temperature, the Mall with it's automatic-it's-November-now-so-let's-blast-heat thermostats...and me, who hates to be warm. I only wore a vest for outer wear, thinking that would be a benefit. Turns out I should have worn my bikini. (I kid, I kid, NO ONE needs to see this bodacious bod in a bikini).

I go in search of the "Garage" store, that has since moved to the other side of the freaking Mall since I'd last been there. By the time I get to the store, I'm already in a lather. There are teeny-tiny outfits all in my midst. The girls manning the cash are all in a huddle discussing some boy or another... I find something, to my surprise, on my own, and make my way up to the cash. By this time, the huddle has dissipated, but now I'm in the back of a humungous line-up (and I wonder where the other two girls from the huddle went to, since there is only 1 of them manning the cash). The lady in front of me left the counter to look at the watches. She comes back, watch-less, to her spot in line. She changes her mind, goes back again to look at the watches. She again returns, empty-handed. It's now her turn to have her purchases rung in. After a few shirts are ready to be bagged, she goes back to the watches, and this time brings it back to be rung in... but as the girl goes to do so, she asks a question about the band on the watch. The girl has to open up a sampler to show her (by this time the sweat from the back of my neck has dripped all the way down my back, and has formed a pool at my waistline). The opening of the sampler seems to take forever...when the girl finally gets it open, the lady then turns her nose up at the closure of the watch, and decides she doesn't want it after all (I wanted to make her eat it).

I get to my 2nd destination store, where I had called ahead to hold a piece of merchandise. I tell the girl at the counter who I am, and why I'm there. She looks very confused, but leaves the counter to go out back to search for my held item. While she's gone I see something by the cash that might make a good stocking stuffer so I place it on the counter. She returns, places my held item right beside the item I placed down. She rings my purchase through, and bags it, but leaves my impulse item on the counter. I thought of just plopping it in the bag, but I'm too honest, so asked her, "Did you get this, too?". She looks a little stunned..."uh...no, no I didn't see that". (It was right there, beside the item you did ring in, you numb nut). So I again have to pull out my debit card to get a 2nd purchase complete. It's just a good thing I pay a fee for unlimited debit entries.

I then left the Mall.

I almost got hit 3 times leaving the parking lot because people don't LOOK or care...arrrgh!

Oh how I prefer online Christmas shopping so much more...no line-ups, no dumb cash tellers, no indecisive old ladies, no dumb drivers, no sweat. I can just feel my Christmas spirit building as I type...

When the panic starts to set in...

Dare I mention today's date to you? Dare I even fathom to speak of it being 1 month to the day? Do I bother to even tell you that I've not yet STARTED my actual Christmas shopping, aside from one online order? Is it too much to ask that we put a hold on Christmas this year? Baaaah humbug! I thought with the snow dumped on us, that might 'get my Christmas mojo going'...but nope. I thought perhaps attending Jingle Bell Rock this past weekend might have as well. Again, another nope. I suppose I could dig the tree out of storage and put that up. To do that, however, I really would have to scrub the floors, launder the ginormous pile of dirty laundry, and clean the kitchen up before I felt like I could even open the tree box. And I just don't wanna do that.

*sigh*

I am taking Mom out to finish her shopping tonight after work. Yes, finish her shopping. And this is really late for her. Maybe that will give me a push in the right direction? I hope to grab a few things myself. I've just written out a list of things that I need to buy. Instead of making me feel like a jolly 'ol elf, I'm now in a panic-state...which quadrupled when I looked at my bank balance.

Seriously people, can we cancel Christmas this year?

I kid, I kid... And honestly, the true spirit and magic of "Christmas" is not what is under the tree...and I think the more we think about the true meaning, the closer we will be to feeling the Christmas spirit. I will get there. I always do ;). Happy Tuesday.

Happy Birthday Todd!

Today marks my baby brother's 34th birthday.

We shared a typical brother-sister relationship growing up, fighting like cats and dogs, and no doubt wondering what Mom & Dad were thinking by having the other. We've grown up and with that maturity we've learned to stand one another a lot more :).

Todd is a very kind person, with a dry sense of humor and wit. He likes to make others laugh, even if it's at the expense of making fun of himself. He's taken on the role of the 'man of the house', taking care of Mom since Dad passed away without a second thought. Raising a glass to you on your special day, dear brother. May the year ahead bring you much happiness.

All good things must come to an end...

Christopher and I were very social this past weekend. After work on Friday night we headed over to the "Pepperoni Palace" for a night of laughs, munchies, and catching up with our dear friends Kim & Kevin. Thank you, thank you my lovelies for a wonderful evening. The second 'winter' storm started Friday night...just as we were driving back into town from the PP. The drive was a little hairy to say the least, but we had the Suburu and it's all-wheel drive (I was just glad to not have been the driver).

This is what we woke up to on Saturday morning:
Saturday night, we joined Erin & Shane, Tanya & Jared, Julie & Brian, Pam & Tyler, Rosanne & Craig, Sue Ellen & her friend, Julie and her friend (sorry 'friends', I'm terrible with names) for "Jingle Bell Rock". We all met up prior at Pam & Tyler's gorgeous home for a pre-party, with snacks and drinks before heading to the event. Needless to say I successfully managed to put a huge dent in my daquiri mix, and woke up extremely heavy-headed today. It was wonderful meeting up with everyone - how I've missed them all.

Here are a few pics from the night:

A would-be milestone

Today would have marked 50 years of marriage for Mom & Dad if Dad was still with us. I've no doubt that he's raising a glass from Heaven.

From the mouths of babes...

I couldn't have been more than 13 years old. Darlene and I were hanging out, and we'd met in grade 7, so it was likely somewhere between the age of 12 and 13. If you know me now, you'll find it awfully hard to believe that at one point I didn't cuss all that much...but at that age, I was pretty 'green'. Darlene used a few words rather freely, and me of course being young and impressionable, I picked up a few words here and there. (I by no means whatsoever blame Darlene for my current potty mouth). We lived very close to one another growing up, so we spent a good deal of our time at each others' homes.

The details are a bit fuzzy -it was 23 years back after all...but I remember a day where Darlene was over at my house. We were in the living room and Dad was in the living room or kitchen area. He was teasing me or acting a fool, perhaps, as he was wont to do when he had an audience.
I looked at him, smiling, and said, "Dad, don't be such a tw^t!".

I could see the blood rush from his neckline up to his temples.

He stammered, "..Er.... wh..wh..wha....WHAT DID YOU CALL ME???!!"

I, unwittingly, remarked, possibly a little louder this time, "Well, I said, don't be such a tw^t ".

By this point he was purple.

I couldn't at all understand what he was getting upset about. Darlene, on the other hand, was doing her very best to discreetly mouth to me to shut up...and at the same time, looked as though she wanted the floor to swallow her whole. You see, Darlene had used the same word around me a number of times. I'd learned it from her. I didn't know what the word meant. But she did, and she would never be using the term around her father. I thought it was rather endearing; cute, even.

I guess my innocence was rather apparent - so Dad couldn't get mad at me. Eventually the color in his face evened, and Darlene quickly explained to me what the 'endearing' term meant once he was out of earshot.

Needless to say I didn't call my father that name again.

In which you may equate me with a teenage boy...

Did I grow up in an unusually perverted era? Did growing up with an older brother & sister in my formative years perhaps have something to do with it? Maybe I'm just an ultimately sick individual? In any case, I can't help but giggle when I see or hear the word 'pork'.

As you were.

It's beginning to look a lot like....

I guess Old Man Winter has decided it's time to visit the Maritimes. While it's not much accumulated snow, and in a few days it may be all gone, walking/driving conditions were compromised this morning. I hope you all got to your destinations safely today (and last night).

There's hustling and bustling going on around me with Christmas decorating. That coupled with the white stuff that is on the ground, not to mention today's date...I'm being forced to start thinking about Christmas. With only 35 sleeps til the Big Fella in Red appears, I'm starting to panic. I've not finished my cards, let alone addressed any of them. I only have 2 gifts started that need to be sent out by the end of the month, and I have to shop for 5 more presents that also need to be mailed by the end of November. I know the true meaning of Christmas isn't at all about the gifts...but Christmas, to me, is about giving, and the smiles on the faces of the receiver's.

To get all my readership in the mood for Christmas, I give you this:

http://www.zippyvideos.com/7007159622501826/a.peter.griffin.christmas/

Enjoy (and thank you Craig).

It's THURSDAY! And y'all know what that means...I can hardly stand the wait between now and this evening to find out what happens with Izzie and Denny... while the storyline is a little far-fetched I just melt when Denny is near. I'm happy they've incorporated him into this season's storyline.

Enjoy your Thursday - we have 1 more sleep til our weekend starts!

It's raining...it's pouring...

Today is a perfect day to be curled up on the couch, under a warm fuzzy blanket, with a good book. Today is a perfect day to be alone, with no responsibilities, with no one to answer to. Today is a perfect day to have called in sick or taken a 'personal day' at work.

I didn't, though.

It's so windy and rainy...and cold! I've discovered that my ugly black flat cheapie shoes have a leak after trying to dodge the puddles getting something for lunch (Lana will be so happy to see these puppies replaced, though). I had a bad sleep last night; I woke up late; I didn't get a chance to eat breakfast. I've got to admit that I'm grumpy and eaily irritated.

Perhaps it's the weather. Those who are closest to me know that's a big crock of donkey dung, but that's where I'll leave it.

Happy Hump Day. Hope it's not raining where you are.

Tuesday

This about sums up my Tuesday rather adequately.

Recapping the weekend

Ugh, it's Monday again. Instead of griping over the day at hand, I'll fill y'all in on my weekend, since that puts me in such a happier place.

Friday night, Chris and I went out to supper at BP. We then shopped at Michaels til they closed, and picked up a few things at Sobeys before heading home. When we got home, we put a movie on but I wasn't long falling asleep after the movie started. My poor 'ol body sure knows it's at the end of a work week.

Saturday, I attended a Christmas card-making class hosted by the lovely Leanne. At the end of the class we had enough pieces of paper stamped and cut that we could put together 50 cards. Her class included lunch as well, where we dined on homemade lasagna, garlic bread, and mini cheesecakes for dessert! It was lovely! I'm glad to have had the chance to do cards in a class, too. Between this recent one, and another I attended at Angela's, I should be able to send everyone a 'homemade' card this year. (Needless to say, I'm *not* anywhere near started Christmas preparations. I think I say this every year...can we postpone Christmas a few more months?? Gosh it's sneaking up on me).

Saturday night, I had some girlfriends in for a night of munchies and b!tching. It was fantastic. We laughed; we vented; we ate bad-for-us treats; we drank. It was fun; it was theraputic; it was needed! I can hardly wait for the next one. I personally consumed an entire bottle of wine (thank you Mr. Gallo), yet still managed to clean up the kitchen before bed. Girlies - thank you. I love you all; you're the reason I keep on keepin' on...and that's all I'll say about that.

Sunday I took Lana out for her birthday shawarma supper. Let's just say our eyes were bigger than our bellies, and we likely would have felt a lot better had we just consumed the birthday shawarma instead of the appetizer and the dessert along with the shawarma. Jeepers. It just tasted so frickin' good. Despite my sore belly coming on the end, it was lovely getting out to see you Lana. I hope you were still able to put a few notes together at choir practice ;).

And on a sad note - I now have positive confirmation that it indeed was Weasel at Shoppers the other day, having popped in there with Lana after we had supper last night only to see him again. There is no questioning now who I thought the guy was. Guess I will have to find a new place to shop for my everyday toiletry needs. Perhaps it was the weasel-sighting that made me feel ill rather than the 2 tonnes of lebanese food I consumed? Perhaps.

5 more sleeps til our next weekend folks. I'll end this post with a new fun song that I'm quite enjoying right now:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgeWb5v7Z3w

My Greys friends will recognize it from last week's episode. The name of the song is "Trouble is a Friend", and it's sung by Lenka. Loves it.

Disney's Desperate Housewives

I do *not* watch Desperate Housewives, but I know a lot of people out there do, so you may get a kick out of this. I received it from a co-worker:

Dance with my father...

"Playground in My Mind" ~ Clint Holmes

When this old world gets me down
And there's no love to be found
I close my eyes and soon I find
I'm in a playground in my mind
Where the children laugh and the children play
And we sing a song all day.

"My name is Michael, I got a nickel
I got a nickel, shiny and new
I'm gonna buy me all kinds of candy
That's what I'm gonna do"

See the little children
Living in a world that I left behind
Happy little children
In the playground in my mind.

Oh the wonders that I find
In the playground in my mind
In a world that used to be
Close your eyes and follow me
Where the children laugh and the children play
And we sing a song all day.

"My girl is Cindy
When we get married, we're gonna have a baby or two
We're gonna let them visit their grandma
That's what we're gonna do."

"My name is Cindy
When we get married, were gonna have a baby or two
We're gonna let them visit their grandma
That's what we're gonna do."

See the little children
See how they're playing so happy
In the playground in my mind.

Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba
La la la la la la la.

This song was popular in the 1970's, and Dad had the 45 for it, and he would play it all the time. Sometimes, he would wrap me in his arms, place me upon his feet and we'd 'dance', penguin-style, while singing the words of the song to one another. He'd sing the main parts, and I'd sing the Michael & Cindy parts. These are some of my most favorite memories of my childhood.

Today, Dad would have been 72. Happy Birthday to the best father a little girl could ever ask for. Thanks for the many dances. What I wouldn't give for just one more dance...

Friday WTF

WHY does this happen?

Words can't even come close to expressing how much this story disgusts, enrages, and saddens me:

http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2008/11/13/waugh.ga.cat.used.as.football.wjxt

I didn't even want to watch it, but I had to find out if the kitten survived. HOW can anyone do such a thing? The only bright spot to the story is the kitten did indeed survive, albeit one leg short - I can only hope that she will be able to find a loving home, and live a long, happy life from this point on.

The person who did this deserves corporal punishment. Hasn't cruelty to animals been proven, over time, to be the precursor to delinquent/psychotic behaviors? There's nothing that angers me more than someone hurting a defenseless animal, who cannot defend itself. Stiffer laws/penalties must be put in place for behaviors such as this.

Lost in unreality...

I *heart* *heart* *heart* Grey's Anatomy....

STUPID!

Boy, oh boy, oh boy, do I hate working on a full moon day. Everyone is a little extra stupid. Processes and systems take a little (or a lot of) extra time. The world itself is just a little 'off'. And these symptoms are standard 'full moon' expectations. Today? Well, today seems to be more of a challenge than normal...

On top of the standard stupidity, there are men atop the roof here at work. Apparently, they are replacing a water meter or something. They are welding and banging and thumping over top of me. My head is pounding. The fumes of the welding are nauseating.

The serenity prayer doesn't help. Calgon wouldn't help. I've eaten copious amounts of chocolate, and that doesn't help. I'm pretty sure retail therapy wouldn't even help. I couldn't even try that today as I'm in overdraft as it is, and running on fumes (pardon the pun) until pay day. Oh, and my quick trip to Shoppers while on my lunch break to pick up kitty litter and ibuprofen to get me through this full moon day - that doesn't count as "retail therapy". Especially after witnessing who I'm pretty sure to be my ex-ex-ex weasel. I looked quickly so I can't completely confirm if it was him. The thought alone of him being back on the Island and not out west is enough to make me lose my lunch. I guess we can also blame the full moon on the weasel-sighting, too.

The pluses...I'm almost at the end of the work day. It's Thursday so I've got the Thursday TV line up to look forward to...and I still have a bit more chocolate I can eat. It doesn't help the full moon day, but it still tastes good :).

Blarg...it feels like a Monday...

So - having a Tuesday off in a work week basically means there are two "Mondays" to deal with. Two mornings where you force yourself out of bed. Two mornings after a less than stellar sleep, filled with hourly wake-ups, where you see each hour on the clock. Add a full moon to the mix and you're off to a terrific start.

The only good thing...we're actually at hump day, so after today, there are only 2 more days left, instead of 4.

And I pray that they pass quickly.

Happy Birthday Anja!

Today my beautiful niece, Anja, turns 15 years old. Isn't she gorgeous? She is poised, lady-like, mature, compassionate and kind-hearted. I don't often get to see her because she lives in Ontario. She's never far away from my thoughts, though. I hope the year ahead brings you much love and happiness, Anja. Happy Birthday.

In Remembrance...

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.

- John McCrae

I don't like Mondays...

It was so warm in the bedroom last night to try to sleep. By some miracle I fell asleep at first rather quickly, but then woke up 3 hours later to both cats cocooning in my knee pit to the point that I was trapped from moving to a different sleeping position. The combined body heat of them didn't help matters at all. So I got up to pee and tried to get back to sleep. I don't think I slept that great after that. I tossed and turned a bit, and had weird dreams. Typical Sunday night I suppose? And how did you sleep?

So after work on Saturday I made sure to advise Christopher of my unhappiness with him for his nasty little prank. All he could do was sit there and giggle at me. He thinks this means we are going out to get a dog. No. If he brought me that exact same, identical dog I might have a problem saying no. But only that exact same, identical dog.

Saturday evening we did little more than eat supper, watch TV and sleep. And it wasn't long after settling down to watch TV that I actually fell asleep. Let's just say that I was well rested by the time Sunday rolled around. Aside from maybe an hour in between, I estimate I had approximately 11 to 12 hrs of sleep (may also have something to do with my trouble getting back to sleep. Maybe). Exciting times in the 'hood, let me tell you.

Yesterday Chris' parents visited in the morning for coffee. I let them read Saturday's post about the puppy, and we all had a good laugh about it. Why is it the only times the "in-laws" land unexpectedly, the house is in shambles? I was literally waving cat hairs away from Rose's coffee mug in hopes of re-routing them away from going inside it. After the visit, I went into high cleaning mode, and cleaned the bathroom, kitchen, swept the floors, did about 6 loads of dirty laundry, and cleaned up the floor of the closet, folding enough clothing to suit up a small country (a pet peeve that may not have made it to my previous lists, but should - my closet. I hate, hate, loathe, despise, hate my closet).

It's now Monday; we didn't have any milk for cereal, little to no cream for coffee, and have very little toilet paper.

I don't like Mondays...

Puppy Love

I'm at work today. I would like to share a little email exchange between myself and my darling Christopher that has just recently transpired:

C: How's your day going?

A: Slowly. And yours? Did you get up after I left? Did you make yourself some coffee? Did you clean the house? Make the bed? :P (I KILL me!)

C: I didn't do any of that! Been busy...

This reply has an attachment added to it. So I open said attachment, to find this:

So to give you a bit of history, I hate dogs. They smell bad; they drool. For as long as I've known Chris he's said, "one day we'll have a dog". I keep telling him NO. A few years back, our friends Cody and Jool got a new golden retriever puppy. We went to visit so I could meet said puppy. The next day a picture of a golden retriever puppy occupied my computer desktop. I still hold steadfast that I hate dogs and I won't have one. However, after meeting Sammy as a pup and the reaction I had to him I came to the conclusion that if you brought a puppy into my home I'd have a hard time letting him/her go. So Chris knows this loophole. When I first saw the picture I immediately thought he likely had a friend visiting with a new pup, or even was taking photos of one for someone he knew. But look at that face! Who wouldn't want him? (her?)? I felt butterflies in my stomach for a moment....wondering to myself...did he? Would he? Noooo. Maybe? No...but then I kept looking at the little smoochie face...and I kinda hoped that he did.

The emails continue:
A: Um. That is a recent picture of our living room because I see my old coat hanging. (We'd cleaned out an old closet and he'd taken the old coat into the living room the other day. I'd not yet done something with the coat, and I knew that he'd never have put it away. The coffee table was just as I'd left it this morning). That is a rather wonderfully cute puppy. Who does it belong to?

C: :)

A few more butterflies form.

A: That wonderfully cute puppy cannot belong to us. We would not be able to afford such a wonderfully cute puppy right now. You must be taking photos of someone else's wonderfully cute puppy. Right?

C: :)

A: *narrowed eyes* CHRISTOPHER!

C: *puppy eyes* AMBERFER!

A: If you're joking with me, this isn't a very nice joke!

C: :)

At this point I'm convinced that I'm the mom to another furbaby. I wonder how the kitties are reacting to the new addition. I wonder if Bosco is cowering in the corner. I wonder if Zoe is hiding under the bed and if I'll ever see her again.

A: Will this wonderfully cute puppy be present upon my return home from work this evening?

C: I think so

Now I just want him to fess up and confirm things for me. I wonder how he pulled this one off without the least bit of suspicion on my part.

A: This isn't fair. TELL ME.

C: :)

Yep, I thought, "He did it. He went behind my back and got a stinky, drooly puppy - but the puppy is so darn cute I can't help but already love him/her".

A: CHRISTOPHER! Do we have a puppy!!??

C: Do I detect some a level of excitement?!

A: Well. The puppy is deliciously wonderfully cute. SPILL

C: Ok. I don't actually know who owns that puppy.

My emotions take an immediate fall. The butterflies start to die.

A: Oh. So you found him/her around the park?

C: It's photoshopped. I wanted to see how well a puppy would fit in the living room. I have pulled a fast one on you.

I couldn't believe how angry I was. The jerk! That was so mean!

A: I hate you.

C: Not enough to throw me out if I brought a puppy home. Now I know. ;)

So now I sit, mourning the loss of a puppy I never had. Chris has confirmed his loophole, and life continues as it already had. I was duped. And it's not even April 1.

I just don't get it..again...

You may recall a previous list of WTF's. As you might imagine, that is not a list that one could every truly complete. Herein, I give you more...

• I'm 36 years old and I still get zits. A lot of them. Isn't acne a teenager thing? JEBUS!
  You'd think I'd just entered puberty by looking at my face.
• people who feel they need to yell, scream and berate to get their point across. What ever happened to peace and love? (I think this one has made the list before, but it's such an everyday wtf it deserves to be here again).
• the mullet; especially those who STILL have one!
• when restaurants leave the tail on shrimps in a shrimp & pasta dish. Even sauce-y dishes where you have to swirl your fingers around trying to catch the little 'effers to de-tail them, usually missing a few times. So very 'posh' to sit there licking the pasta ooze off your fingers after biting into the tail end to rip it off the meat, like a barbarian, isn't it?
• when you are walking in a crowd and toward another person going the other way, and that person chooses to not move even a millimeter out of your way. Is it some sort of 'crowd chicken' game?
• people who incessantly gossip behind other peoples' backs...and then are so two-faced to the people they just talked about. They must live such sad, sad lives to have to do that.
• why people don't follow the 'rules of the road' when walking through crowds. Should the direction of the crowd flow not follow the same direction our streets flow in? If you don't know what I'm talking about, visit the flea market this weekend. Most people get this, but it never fails that there are a few stragglers moving in the opposite direction, thus getting in the way of an entire path of oncoming people. You can't tell me we have that many people visiting from Europe :P.
• how skinny people can sit and eat Big Mac after Whopper after fried chicken...and stay skinny. That, my friends, is just wrong.
• the fact that society feels Kate Winslet is a 'plus-size' actress; she's size TWELVE. I would give my left arm to be a size 12. And I think she's frickin HOT.
• why men can't pick up after themselves.

That last one seems to mark a fitting spot to end this list...otherwise I may just open a whole other can 'o worms :)

Happy Birthday Lana!

Happy Birthday to one of my dearest, bestest friends. I won't talk of ages, because we all know that one step closer to 40 for Lana means another step closer to 40 for myself, too. And that's all I will say about it.

Lana and I met through a mutual friend back in high school. The funniest part of the whole thing being neither one of us cared for the other back then! She was too high-strung for me, and I was too prissy for her. How'd we get past that? :) Teenagers are fickle I guess...and she was also befriending my 'best friend' at the time, so perhaps my feelings at the time were more fear out of losing my best friend. It's a good thing growing up means more maturity in matters such as that...and now all of us are the best of friends, and I can't imagine my life without Lana as part of it.

She grounds me when I need it. She laughs with me. She cries with me. And, she's a strong shoulder to lean on when it warrants. She's kind-hearted, sensitive, intelligent, and strong. She has handled all life has dealt her with poise and grace - a remarkable woman, indeed. She stands up for what she believes in, and never gives up without a fight.

Happy Birthday my dear friend; I hope this new year brings exciting opportunities and unending happiness for you. I'm proud to call you one of my very best friends, and I thank you for all you have given to me over the years. Now, go get a tissue, wipe the snot from your nose and join me for a glass of vino to celebrate this very special day that is all yours. :) xo

History in the making...

So the United States has a new President.

Congratulations, Mr. Obama. I don't envy your position - you have a huge job ahead of you, and a huge mess to clean up. Your passion is insurmountable. Hearing clips of your acceptance speech on the radio/tv this morning, I was almost brought to tears, and I'm not American. It is my hope, and many others, that the changes you will make will not only benefit the US, but also, the world.

If I could...

...for the record, if I could vote today, I'd vote for Obama. I think America needs him. I think the changes he could bring to his own country would spill into Canada for positive change in this country as well.

America - voice your own thoughts.

Vote today.

Vote for change.

"Happy" Monday

I knew today would be a 'trying' day when I was flipping and flopping between the hours of 2 and 4am this morning. I had gone to bed with a book, finally shutting out the light at approximately 11:45pm (real time); I'm pretty sure I fell asleep pretty quickly. Chris was out helping a friend with his computer, and had not yet returned by the time I'd turned out the light. At about 1am he gets home. I awake to the sound of the front door. I drift back to sleep. I awake again at 2am when he finally comes to bed. By this point, I've already had my slumber interrupted two times (and truth be told I don't think I sleep 'soundly' until the two of us are in and settled), so there was no going back. Suddenly, my eyelids were wide open. Trying to get back to sleep felt like torture. Chris quickly dozed off which only aided in my torture. Bosco started howling at I don't know what. More torture. I should have just gotten up but I kept looking at the alarm clock, doing the math in my head to figure out 'how many hours' I had left to sleep if I could just get to sleep at that very second.

Needless to say, when the alarm finally blared this morning it felt like a cruel joke, and I slammed it into "sleep mode", and cursed under my breath.

What a blasted waste of my extra hour of sleep - not to mention a lousy way of starting off a new week.

Balls!

Snow happens

So this is what we woke up to on PEI this morning. It's hard to see in the picture, but not only is the snow staying on the ground...but it's also still falling.

Gross.

So I hope you all are nice and rested up from the extra hour of sleep. Personally the night the clocks fall is one of my most favorite days of the year - ever. I purposely don't put the clocks back til later on Sunday so I can get a pleasant little surprise throughout the day when I realize I have a bit more time. As for what I've done this lazy Sunday? Well, I snuggled under the blanket on the couch with a good book with my kitty snoozin' in my lap. I watched a little tv, facebooked, ate some supper, and went back to my good book.

Chris 'banked' the house today in the cold and wind. What's "banking", you ask? It's affixing saran-wrappy-looking plastic to the skirting on the mini-home. It's supposed to help with the drafty floors, and, hopefully aid in a smarter 'heated' winter. One thing it did do was make the house look just a little more "trailer". Now we just need the snow to fall a lot harder so that it will accumlate around the house, covering up the 'trailer' plastic.

Life in the 'hood is a thrill a minute.

(Oh, and I was just kidding about the snow falling harder thing)

Welcome to November...

So I guess the 'haunts' of last night were pretty successful, albeit a little lonely for Chris since he was doing his spooking solo. He said the biggest scare went to one of the chauffeurs - not really his intent, but a scare nonetheless :). I was delighted to see all the Halloween carnage put away by the time I got home from work. I actually did expect him to try to scare me - and he thought of it, but didn't after all. I'm not totally upset about that.

This afternoon, I went in search of some discounted Halloween attire to prep for next year. With Halloween falling on a Saturday next year, I'm guaranteed to be in on the 'spooking', so we're going to try to surpass all years combined. I had hoped to land a few scary masks at discounted prices. Perhaps by the time I finally got myself going it was too late though, because each stop I made looked like Santa Claus had thrown up everywhere ....no Halloween aides to be found. I, did, however, land a decent price on some bite-size chocolate bars. You can never go wrong with bite-size chocolate bars :). So, home I landed with a few necessary toiletries, zero Halloween masks, and additional stock for the candy bowl. A fair shopping day - I'd give it a 6 out of 10.

Tonight Chris and I are joining Lana and Bruce for a few drinks and some games. It is sure to be fun. When we return, we can revel in the fact that it's an hour earlier than it looks like. How I love the clock fall back time. Happy Saturday!