We had a few issues with the new phone line yesterday...for most of the day, we struggled with the fact that if we phoned someone, they could not hear us. At all. Finally Husband figured out our portable was incompatible with the Talk Broadband. Switched to your basic chained-to-the-wall type phone, and all is well. Later that evening, it won't work. No signal at all. Nothing. Turns out the internet was down. A little frustrating, but that's why we have cell phones....just in case. But if we continue to have a lot of problems, we may just say forget the savings, cancel the Talk Broadband, keep the Sasktel line.
Tried out for the part as Oliver last night. There were 6 parts, there were 6 people (I think), so one way or another, I should get at least a small part. I really, really, really hope I get to be Oliver...but I'm pretty sure I didn't get the part because there's this young thing (25, I think), who was really good at emoting. Until I've had some practice, I'm a little stiff in that area. But if they like my solo voice (because it's a sweeter sound than this girl....she has a powerful, strong sounding voice that might work better in an adult role), maybe they'll overlook the stiffness for awhile and choose me. The frustrating thing is I likely won't even know for sure for another week and a few days.
My weight went up 2 pounds this week. I have to change my habits....and hopefully in the fall will be able to afford that leisure pass so I can use the track and such.
I am so tired....almost falling asleep even as I type. Going to go snooze on the couch 'til the kids get up. ZZzzZZzzZZzz
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Things they are a-changin'
We have a new phone number now. The old one will still work for about a month, I think, but the new number is up and running. Sasktel finally lost their monopoly on phone service, so we now have VoIP. People will be receiving an e-mail soon.
Today at chorus, I try out for a part in our November show...the parts are Oliver, Fagin, policeman, shopkeeper, man, and orphan.
I'm trying for Oliver, but maybe I'll get one of the other parts, if that fails.
Was singin' in the bathtub, preparing. :) "Where Is Love"...nice song.
Expecting company this morning, so have to go finish tidying the upstairs....the one I cleaned thoroughly yesterday and threatened my family not to mess up. Heads are gonna roll.
Today at chorus, I try out for a part in our November show...the parts are Oliver, Fagin, policeman, shopkeeper, man, and orphan.
I'm trying for Oliver, but maybe I'll get one of the other parts, if that fails.
Was singin' in the bathtub, preparing. :) "Where Is Love"...nice song.
Expecting company this morning, so have to go finish tidying the upstairs....the one I cleaned thoroughly yesterday and threatened my family not to mess up. Heads are gonna roll.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Excitement!
We got some really cool news yesterday, which has made our whole household very, very happy.
In 3 years, my parents will be moving here. No more long trips to see Granny and Grandad, no more long periods of time where we don't see them because of the long trips involved, the kids will see them a LOT more and really get to know them....it's going to be really cool. Who knows? Maybe we can even help them pick a house when the time comes. :) For them, it will be good, too....they get to see the grandkids, they get to see us, they will be MUCH closer to my brother and sister...I think the major downside of it will be that they will have to get used to winter again....and winter on the Prairies no less!
Daughter wanted to help with papers this morning. Monday papers are light and the route was not a long one, so I said yes. Got her up, dressed, and bundled well, finding it was at least6 degrees colder than I had expected, and drove off to the route. She lasted maybe two houses, then started wimpering. Her hands were cold. I guess her mitts weren't thick enough. Delivered a few more papers (they were on the way back to the car), opened the car and got her thick gloves. We got maybe 2 houses further, she's crying again, her hands aren't warm yet. I take off mine (cuz mine are toasty inside) and put them on her. Two houses later, she's sobbing in someone's driveway at 4:50AM, saying her hands still haven't warmed up. I was upset. I was frustrated. I owe her an apology. I stormed her back to the car, drove her home, put her in the house with instructions to go back to bed, then stormed back to the car and drove all the way back to the route to complete it.
I SHOULD have sat her in the car, started it, and warmed up the gloves with the heat vents, then gone out with her again...or blown on the gloves to warm them, or warmed her hands with mine. Instead I got mad at her for something that really wasn't her fault, and forgot that she was very much like me at her age, when being cold made me cry.
I think we'll wait until spring to try doing papers together again.
In 3 years, my parents will be moving here. No more long trips to see Granny and Grandad, no more long periods of time where we don't see them because of the long trips involved, the kids will see them a LOT more and really get to know them....it's going to be really cool. Who knows? Maybe we can even help them pick a house when the time comes. :) For them, it will be good, too....they get to see the grandkids, they get to see us, they will be MUCH closer to my brother and sister...I think the major downside of it will be that they will have to get used to winter again....and winter on the Prairies no less!
Daughter wanted to help with papers this morning. Monday papers are light and the route was not a long one, so I said yes. Got her up, dressed, and bundled well, finding it was at least6 degrees colder than I had expected, and drove off to the route. She lasted maybe two houses, then started wimpering. Her hands were cold. I guess her mitts weren't thick enough. Delivered a few more papers (they were on the way back to the car), opened the car and got her thick gloves. We got maybe 2 houses further, she's crying again, her hands aren't warm yet. I take off mine (cuz mine are toasty inside) and put them on her. Two houses later, she's sobbing in someone's driveway at 4:50AM, saying her hands still haven't warmed up. I was upset. I was frustrated. I owe her an apology. I stormed her back to the car, drove her home, put her in the house with instructions to go back to bed, then stormed back to the car and drove all the way back to the route to complete it.
I SHOULD have sat her in the car, started it, and warmed up the gloves with the heat vents, then gone out with her again...or blown on the gloves to warm them, or warmed her hands with mine. Instead I got mad at her for something that really wasn't her fault, and forgot that she was very much like me at her age, when being cold made me cry.
I think we'll wait until spring to try doing papers together again.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
One of those days
Had one of "those days" yesterday...all proud of myself for having drunk all my water...picked up my big 3 cup mug from the table (I fill it 3 times daily)...to find I had in fact NOT finished it. Later, put a mug of coffee in the microwave to heat for 80 seconds....opened the microwave about 6 hours later to the sight of said mug of coffee. Turned to the stove to move some stuff so I could get supper started....to find the absolutely full pot of tea I had made 2 hours earlier because (I thought) I had drunk all my coffee. I'm losing my mind.
Today was pretty good. Slept until 9, and still got everyone out the door by 10:15 for church at 10:30. (This is a good thing)
The kids had fun at Sunday School, I signed up to help with the worship singing...things are good.
Went to Boston pizza for lunch. Hubby ordered toasted chicken pecan salad, I got the taco beef nachos with extra cheese, Daughter got the kid's pepperoni and mushroom pizza, and Son got Bugs and Cheese. We all shared everything. It was fun....and really yummy.
Came home and watched "Hoodwinked", and thoroughly enjoyed it. Apparently daughter thinks Granny on the movie is like her Granny. I think this is hilarious, and if my Mom sees the movie, I think she will get a giggle out of it, too. I mean, I know my Mom likes to ski...and bake...but REALLY....! :-D
Tonight is curling, so will have to cook tuna linguini soon, then after that (curling), off to bed and get some sleep so I can be up for work in the morning, and clean like mad before my coffee friend arrives Tuesday morning.
Today was pretty good. Slept until 9, and still got everyone out the door by 10:15 for church at 10:30. (This is a good thing)
The kids had fun at Sunday School, I signed up to help with the worship singing...things are good.
Went to Boston pizza for lunch. Hubby ordered toasted chicken pecan salad, I got the taco beef nachos with extra cheese, Daughter got the kid's pepperoni and mushroom pizza, and Son got Bugs and Cheese. We all shared everything. It was fun....and really yummy.
Came home and watched "Hoodwinked", and thoroughly enjoyed it. Apparently daughter thinks Granny on the movie is like her Granny. I think this is hilarious, and if my Mom sees the movie, I think she will get a giggle out of it, too. I mean, I know my Mom likes to ski...and bake...but REALLY....! :-D
Tonight is curling, so will have to cook tuna linguini soon, then after that (curling), off to bed and get some sleep so I can be up for work in the morning, and clean like mad before my coffee friend arrives Tuesday morning.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Vista sucks
Read it. Read it again. Take it to heart. I mean it. Windows Vista is the nastiest, most idiotic thing on the planet. Take it from me. Better yet, take it from Husband....he knows, because he's a computer tech.
We installed it on our system so he can become familiar with it when dealing with other people's computers. This thing is so full of bugs, frustrations, incompatibilities, etc that we actually took it OFF our home computer and have it set up on a separate system so he can play with it, understand it, but it won't foul up our stuff. It's AWFUL!
On a happy note, it is very warm today. Almost toasty, even. Well....above the freezing mark, anyway. It's very nice. Today is also Daughter's Girl Guide Division Tea. It should be a lot of fun....which reminds me I forgot to go to the bank for some money....guess we're taking a side trip later.
Oh! Kidlets are up and raring to go....better go feed Mr Clingy before he gets too cranky.
We installed it on our system so he can become familiar with it when dealing with other people's computers. This thing is so full of bugs, frustrations, incompatibilities, etc that we actually took it OFF our home computer and have it set up on a separate system so he can play with it, understand it, but it won't foul up our stuff. It's AWFUL!
On a happy note, it is very warm today. Almost toasty, even. Well....above the freezing mark, anyway. It's very nice. Today is also Daughter's Girl Guide Division Tea. It should be a lot of fun....which reminds me I forgot to go to the bank for some money....guess we're taking a side trip later.
Oh! Kidlets are up and raring to go....better go feed Mr Clingy before he gets too cranky.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Winter
It's still here. And it still has teeth. A blizzard blew in last night....and continues to blow. Luckily the two routes they set me up with today were two I had done a few months ago, so no searching for the right streets and all, just a lot of slogging through the wind and snow. 2 1/2 hours, and I will get $29. Not bad.
Today I continue my mad cleaning streak....my goal is to get the upstairs all sparkly, and maybe catch up on laundry. Hopefully I will manage to actually reach my goals for once.
Finished making the keychains and doing the baking for tomorrow's Girl Guide tea...decided to make something using some of the frozen pumpkin from the 19 pumpkins a teacher gave me in the fall. So I made 4 medium loaves of raisin chocolate chip pumpkin bread....and a big one for us. Have to remember to take those to the leader today.
Still have a bunch of Muppets stuff to add to my links, but I think that will wait for another day. Hope you enjoy the ones I have up already. Yip yip yip yip, uh-huuuuuuh uh-huuuuuh. LOL
Today I continue my mad cleaning streak....my goal is to get the upstairs all sparkly, and maybe catch up on laundry. Hopefully I will manage to actually reach my goals for once.
Finished making the keychains and doing the baking for tomorrow's Girl Guide tea...decided to make something using some of the frozen pumpkin from the 19 pumpkins a teacher gave me in the fall. So I made 4 medium loaves of raisin chocolate chip pumpkin bread....and a big one for us. Have to remember to take those to the leader today.
Still have a bunch of Muppets stuff to add to my links, but I think that will wait for another day. Hope you enjoy the ones I have up already. Yip yip yip yip, uh-huuuuuuh uh-huuuuuh. LOL
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Snickers Hot Chocolate
....is the special flavour at the local 7-Eleven today. I did two routes, and was frozen almost solid at the end, so figured I'd treat myself. Think of hot chocolate with a taste of peanut butter in it...kind of like a liquid Reese's peanut butter cup, with not as much pb. Yummmmmmmmmmm. They had a peach cobbler a la mode latte about a month ago. That was really good. My favourite, though, was in the fall...spiced pumpkin cheesecake latte. I added a bit of nutmeg, and ohhhhhhhhhhhhh....heaven.
Not a lot has happened since yesterday...managed to clean, sweep, and mop Son's bedroom and the upstairs bathroom, and clean and vacuum the upstairs hall and living room. This, for me, is a major accomplishment, especially with Mr Clingy (Son)trying to "help". Today is grocery day, and Toddler Time at the library day, so not a lot will be accomplished at home. I have to bake 2 items for the Girl Guides tea on Saturday, plus finish making keychains for same tea out of computer parts....and get everything to the leaders by tomorrow.
Last night's performance was fun, but they always go by so fast! It was a 30 minute show, but we get singing, and it feels like a mere 5 minutes. The seniors seemed to like the show. We had some emceeing between songs, and the list of songs we sang were
Take A Chance On Me, Friends, We Are Family, I Feel The Earth Move, One Tin Soldier, Wonderful World, Come Sail Away, You Raised Me Up, and We'll Meet Again.
Today I will try to get started on adding some links to sites to this blog. Wish me luck. :)
Not a lot has happened since yesterday...managed to clean, sweep, and mop Son's bedroom and the upstairs bathroom, and clean and vacuum the upstairs hall and living room. This, for me, is a major accomplishment, especially with Mr Clingy (Son)trying to "help". Today is grocery day, and Toddler Time at the library day, so not a lot will be accomplished at home. I have to bake 2 items for the Girl Guides tea on Saturday, plus finish making keychains for same tea out of computer parts....and get everything to the leaders by tomorrow.
Last night's performance was fun, but they always go by so fast! It was a 30 minute show, but we get singing, and it feels like a mere 5 minutes. The seniors seemed to like the show. We had some emceeing between songs, and the list of songs we sang were
Take A Chance On Me, Friends, We Are Family, I Feel The Earth Move, One Tin Soldier, Wonderful World, Come Sail Away, You Raised Me Up, and We'll Meet Again.
Today I will try to get started on adding some links to sites to this blog. Wish me luck. :)
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Back to Work
Got a call yesterday that had me out doing 2 routes this morning....one I had done before, one new one. They went pretty well...a total of 108 papers and it took about 2 hours. It snowed last night, much to my surprise upon waking today.
Last night at chorus was fun. All nights at chorus are fun, but last night was lots of extra fun....we practiced our contest package, we practiced our Show of Champions package, we learned choreo for one of our newer songs...I won the "Good Question award" (every week, our Board leader makes up an award for someone and makes a little badge for it. I had written a letter to the board, disagreeing with a decision they had made, and although my arguments did not change their decision, they were glad to revisit the issue and consider my points, and were happy that I supported their decision once they explained the reasons they had for the decision...anyways, the award was for having the guts to stand up to the board and ask questions about their decision)...and after we practiced our 30 minute performance which we do tonight at a seniors' home (a very high class one, may I add), I got to choose a song to sing from our repertiore. I chose "Ease On Down". :)
My weigh-in day was yesterday....no change. still stuck at 196. I suppose it's a good thing, as I didn't GAIN....but frustrating nonetheless.
Last night at chorus was fun. All nights at chorus are fun, but last night was lots of extra fun....we practiced our contest package, we practiced our Show of Champions package, we learned choreo for one of our newer songs...I won the "Good Question award" (every week, our Board leader makes up an award for someone and makes a little badge for it. I had written a letter to the board, disagreeing with a decision they had made, and although my arguments did not change their decision, they were glad to revisit the issue and consider my points, and were happy that I supported their decision once they explained the reasons they had for the decision...anyways, the award was for having the guts to stand up to the board and ask questions about their decision)...and after we practiced our 30 minute performance which we do tonight at a seniors' home (a very high class one, may I add), I got to choose a song to sing from our repertiore. I chose "Ease On Down". :)
My weigh-in day was yesterday....no change. still stuck at 196. I suppose it's a good thing, as I didn't GAIN....but frustrating nonetheless.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Well Rested and Well Spent
Well, I didn't have any papers this morning, so got to sleep in until 8AM for the third day in a row. I am well rested, but hoping they call me back into work soon. The bank sucked another $75+ out of my personal account to cover the overdraft on the joint account because the RESP people didn't pay attention to Husband's fax saying to stop the automatic withdrawal until we say so, so we can build up our funds a bit and get out of the hole. Not happy about that.
Thankfully I had money available today for Value Village...50% off sale. Got quite a few useful things, and spent less than $20. Son has a straw hat for summer, 2 Barbies (one being a VERY muscular Ken doll who will get clothes as fast as Mommy can sew) so he will not touch daughter's...a travel game for trips to Gramma and Grampa's in the car...a Lite Brite for Mommy (well, okay, maybe the kids can borrow it), a teddy bear, some balls that fit a game we have where the balls were given away by Daughter,some toy cars, a rotary beater (old style) so daughter can make pudding without having to use the electric mixer (cuz Mommy won't let her), something for Granny sometime in the future (can't say cuz she might be reading this....), and a sheet to be altered to make a curtain of sorts for our kitchen/hall closet because the mirrored doors fell off.
Daughter is back to school today, the sun is shining and everything is absolutely slushy. Son is making his Ken and Barbie kiss and sing songs. I'm going to go make Ken clothes so I don't have to blush at this doll much longer.
Oh...and I'm out of the basement again. :)
Thankfully I had money available today for Value Village...50% off sale. Got quite a few useful things, and spent less than $20. Son has a straw hat for summer, 2 Barbies (one being a VERY muscular Ken doll who will get clothes as fast as Mommy can sew) so he will not touch daughter's...a travel game for trips to Gramma and Grampa's in the car...a Lite Brite for Mommy (well, okay, maybe the kids can borrow it), a teddy bear, some balls that fit a game we have where the balls were given away by Daughter,some toy cars, a rotary beater (old style) so daughter can make pudding without having to use the electric mixer (cuz Mommy won't let her), something for Granny sometime in the future (can't say cuz she might be reading this....), and a sheet to be altered to make a curtain of sorts for our kitchen/hall closet because the mirrored doors fell off.
Daughter is back to school today, the sun is shining and everything is absolutely slushy. Son is making his Ken and Barbie kiss and sing songs. I'm going to go make Ken clothes so I don't have to blush at this doll much longer.
Oh...and I'm out of the basement again. :)
Monday, February 19, 2007
Banished to the Basement
It's a good thing my hubby is a computer tech....it's a bad thing that we still have to pay for computer parts...
Several computer parts have started going wonky, which means we had to order new ones, and in the meantime us old, extra ones he had lying around. So here I sit, a day late, in my basement, on a Frankenstein computer (a little of this, a little of that...)...and try to think of what I missed...
Oh yes. Saturday was a gorgeous day. packed the kids onto their snowsuits and chucked them into the backyard while I did some shovelling. Hubby came up to me at one point, and asked if we'd be interested in a little road trip. Okay, I said....to where? He says "How about supper in Swift Current?". I look at him as if he's lost his mind....the last time those particular words came out of his mouth would have been a little less than 6 years ago, when the drive was about 45 minutes. at this point, it is a 2 1/2 hour drive. He explains....he has been suncontracted by a certain convenience store, and has been servicing their computers here lately....but the head office called and asked if he could change a battery in Swift Current...that's right...5 hours round trip for a 5 minute job. He explains to them the time and distance, they tell him they'll pay gas and driving time, plus the job fee. Okie dokie. So he figures it might be nice to have company. So I pack the kids into the car with snacks and juice and books and toys and blankets, and a novel for me, and off we go. We had a nice supper at Joey's Only. I was the one to drive home....but didn't quite make it. I think I lasted about an hour and a half in the pitch blackness that typifies the highway through the province at night...then decided maybe I'd better let him drive....I was having trouble staying between the solid line and the broken line, and curves were giving me a lot of trouble. So we pulled into a gas station, took both kids to the potty, I climbed in the passenger side....and slept all the way home. I think everybody was glad I'd made that choice.
Yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous day, so after church, we took the kids to our local tobogganing hill, Mount Pleasant. We spent an hour and a half with the kids, up and down, up and down. The only two problems we had were that Daddy and Daughter mowed somebody down once, and on the last slide, Daddy and Son went down, Daddy fell out, tried to climb back in, but it didn't happen, and Son went roaring down the hill, a VERY long way, all by himself, with Daddy running frantically behind, trying to catch up. I'm not sure who was laughing hardest, me, the other people on the hill, or Son. He thought it was a real hoot. :)
We then went to the video store and rented 2 videos...American pie Band camp and George of the Jungle 2. After the kids were in bed, we started the Band camp one...turned it off after 30 seconds. Not what we were wanting. 8-O So we put on Ghostbusters instead. It's been a loooooong time since I watched that one (like, 10 years or so?), but I bought it on DVD with birthday money last year, I think.
I am a member of a group called Freecycle, which is really great....people give away stuff that is too good for the dump, but that they don't think is good enough to sell. It's amazing what some people offer on this group...Frozen bread and buns, meat, clothes, car parts, books....anything you can imagine. I actually got something recently that is amazing, and it leaves me stunned that this person did not try to SELL this beauty....it's a vertical grill. It looks a bit like a toaster, but it cooks meat. i have used it for chicken legs, pork chops, smokies, polish sausages...this thing cooks your meat in about 15 minutes, and because it's vertical, the fat drips off into a little tray in the bottom, which slides out when the machine is cool for cleaning. It's amazing how much fat comes off the meat this way! Tonight we are having chicken legs. I'll put a bit of seasoning salt, lemon pepper, and flour on them, stick them in the grill, and ohhhhhhh it's going to be good! :)
Well, I have the laundry on and the dishes done, so I guess I should go back upstairs and start working on tidying up the floors so I can vacuum. No papers today, since it's Family Day, so I slept in...which means I am behind in the housework. Off I go.
Several computer parts have started going wonky, which means we had to order new ones, and in the meantime us old, extra ones he had lying around. So here I sit, a day late, in my basement, on a Frankenstein computer (a little of this, a little of that...)...and try to think of what I missed...
Oh yes. Saturday was a gorgeous day. packed the kids onto their snowsuits and chucked them into the backyard while I did some shovelling. Hubby came up to me at one point, and asked if we'd be interested in a little road trip. Okay, I said....to where? He says "How about supper in Swift Current?". I look at him as if he's lost his mind....the last time those particular words came out of his mouth would have been a little less than 6 years ago, when the drive was about 45 minutes. at this point, it is a 2 1/2 hour drive. He explains....he has been suncontracted by a certain convenience store, and has been servicing their computers here lately....but the head office called and asked if he could change a battery in Swift Current...that's right...5 hours round trip for a 5 minute job. He explains to them the time and distance, they tell him they'll pay gas and driving time, plus the job fee. Okie dokie. So he figures it might be nice to have company. So I pack the kids into the car with snacks and juice and books and toys and blankets, and a novel for me, and off we go. We had a nice supper at Joey's Only. I was the one to drive home....but didn't quite make it. I think I lasted about an hour and a half in the pitch blackness that typifies the highway through the province at night...then decided maybe I'd better let him drive....I was having trouble staying between the solid line and the broken line, and curves were giving me a lot of trouble. So we pulled into a gas station, took both kids to the potty, I climbed in the passenger side....and slept all the way home. I think everybody was glad I'd made that choice.
Yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous day, so after church, we took the kids to our local tobogganing hill, Mount Pleasant. We spent an hour and a half with the kids, up and down, up and down. The only two problems we had were that Daddy and Daughter mowed somebody down once, and on the last slide, Daddy and Son went down, Daddy fell out, tried to climb back in, but it didn't happen, and Son went roaring down the hill, a VERY long way, all by himself, with Daddy running frantically behind, trying to catch up. I'm not sure who was laughing hardest, me, the other people on the hill, or Son. He thought it was a real hoot. :)
We then went to the video store and rented 2 videos...American pie Band camp and George of the Jungle 2. After the kids were in bed, we started the Band camp one...turned it off after 30 seconds. Not what we were wanting. 8-O So we put on Ghostbusters instead. It's been a loooooong time since I watched that one (like, 10 years or so?), but I bought it on DVD with birthday money last year, I think.
I am a member of a group called Freecycle, which is really great....people give away stuff that is too good for the dump, but that they don't think is good enough to sell. It's amazing what some people offer on this group...Frozen bread and buns, meat, clothes, car parts, books....anything you can imagine. I actually got something recently that is amazing, and it leaves me stunned that this person did not try to SELL this beauty....it's a vertical grill. It looks a bit like a toaster, but it cooks meat. i have used it for chicken legs, pork chops, smokies, polish sausages...this thing cooks your meat in about 15 minutes, and because it's vertical, the fat drips off into a little tray in the bottom, which slides out when the machine is cool for cleaning. It's amazing how much fat comes off the meat this way! Tonight we are having chicken legs. I'll put a bit of seasoning salt, lemon pepper, and flour on them, stick them in the grill, and ohhhhhhh it's going to be good! :)
Well, I have the laundry on and the dishes done, so I guess I should go back upstairs and start working on tidying up the floors so I can vacuum. No papers today, since it's Family Day, so I slept in...which means I am behind in the housework. Off I go.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Sax and Violins
C'mon....I have to keep the titles clean to keep out those who would be "unsavoury" readers. Change the spellings a bit, and you have the topic of my rant.
Delivering papers allows me to glean some small bits of news from the front of the papers. Two stories have me up in arms, to say the least....what has happened to or world? First there is a story about a man who has been arrested for brutally abusing his 5 children. They hail this as the worst case of child abuse ever recorded, they claim. I don't know the details, but from a small clip I caught the very end of on the radio (why couldn't I have been in the car in time to hear the whole thing?), this monster gave one of his kids an STD. Knowingly.
The second was entitled "This goes beyond violence...this was just unthinkable"....a group of girls and at least one guy are out, drinking. Somehow they end up on the road, no apparent argument, but one girl falls down, drunk. The others then yell at her, call her names, spit on her, kick her, threaten to urinate on her....then one girl lights this poor girl's hair on fire. It goes out. They light it again....and leave. The girl was found on a public street, with nothing left but a cuff and part of her underwear dangling off her, alive, but essentially burnt to a crisp. What has happened? Ho have people turned so uncaring, so EVIL????
I would write more if I had time, but I have to go out in about 3 minutes. Feel free to write comments, start a discussion on this.
On a happier note, i have found a HUGE source of Muppets clips....will be adding them to my links in the near future. Hope you will enjoy them, once I get them posted.
Delivering papers allows me to glean some small bits of news from the front of the papers. Two stories have me up in arms, to say the least....what has happened to or world? First there is a story about a man who has been arrested for brutally abusing his 5 children. They hail this as the worst case of child abuse ever recorded, they claim. I don't know the details, but from a small clip I caught the very end of on the radio (why couldn't I have been in the car in time to hear the whole thing?), this monster gave one of his kids an STD. Knowingly.
The second was entitled "This goes beyond violence...this was just unthinkable"....a group of girls and at least one guy are out, drinking. Somehow they end up on the road, no apparent argument, but one girl falls down, drunk. The others then yell at her, call her names, spit on her, kick her, threaten to urinate on her....then one girl lights this poor girl's hair on fire. It goes out. They light it again....and leave. The girl was found on a public street, with nothing left but a cuff and part of her underwear dangling off her, alive, but essentially burnt to a crisp. What has happened? Ho have people turned so uncaring, so EVIL????
I would write more if I had time, but I have to go out in about 3 minutes. Feel free to write comments, start a discussion on this.
On a happier note, i have found a HUGE source of Muppets clips....will be adding them to my links in the near future. Hope you will enjoy them, once I get them posted.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Relief....and Stress
Getting up this morning was wonderful...heading out to do papers was a dream. Why? Because yesterday the thermometer read -21.5C when I headed out, and today it read -6.8C. I didn't have to wear my Kenny coat (for those who don't understand this reference, I have this huge parka that, when zipped up fully, has a hood opening so small that all you can see is the wearer's eyeballs...you know...South Park?), I didn't have to wear a balaklava, I didn't even wear a toque and mitts. I had an ear warmer on, and had those mitts where the tops peel back to expose your fingers so you can grab stuff....the mitts came off after the first 15 minutes. And my glasses didn't frost up every 30 time I breathed....or at all! It was WONDERFUL! The weather forecast looks like we are heading towards spring after all...or at least temperatures above -10C.
Heading out my front door, though, also brought stress...on my street, lights blazing, sat 2 police cars. Now, if we were still in our old house, this would be a common occurrence, nothing really noteworthy, it happened all the time....but in our new neighbourhood, it's a bit of a shock, especially when it is accompanied by the sight of a policeman with his canine partner walking down the sidewalk, searching for something. I don't know what the story is, I don't know what happened or what they were after, but it certainly made me nervous! By the time I came home, they were gone, so hopefully they found what they were after and there is not threat to any of us.
On a happy topic, yesterday afternoon, we walked (yes, lovely temperatures allowed us to WALK somewhere!!!!!!!!) to Daughter's school for the bi-yearly conference. We weren't too surprised at the comments of the teacher....she is very advanced, has by far surpassed the kindergarten level, they are starting a reading program, but Daughter is such a good reader that teacher will be sending her home with level 5 books and going up from there, if it's too easy (boy have I ever made a copy of myself!), it's fine that she pushes herself and is advancing so far academically...but needs some work socially. why? Because apparently she doesn't act, talk, or socialize like a kid. She's too mature for her age, and so can't relate to the other kids. She simply cannot understand the way the other kids act, the stuff they do seems so silly and childish to her, and so she finds it hard to make friends with them, because she kind of gets annoyed by their, well, 5-6 year old behaviour.
Solution? We're supposed to get her signed up for sports and group activities (a problem, financially), so she can have more experience with kids her age in a group setting. We are supposed to invite several kids over at the same time so they can just run free and play...and sleepovers. This could be interesting, not only for her, but for me....dealing with several kids at once in a non-structured (for that is what it was stressed to me that it must be) environment? That's like asking me to walk with my nose...totally foreign, difficult thing. But I will try. I sure do wonder if they will ask to move her up a grade somewhere along the line...if she continues to excel academically AND remains mature for her age, I really hope they do, for her sake. A lot of friends had told me it was not good to advance a child because they would not be ready, socially....but my child is different. Her teacher even said she has no trouble with older kids and adults...just can't deal with kids her age.
Kids are up and Son is having a sad morning, it seems. Off to soothe the sads.
Heading out my front door, though, also brought stress...on my street, lights blazing, sat 2 police cars. Now, if we were still in our old house, this would be a common occurrence, nothing really noteworthy, it happened all the time....but in our new neighbourhood, it's a bit of a shock, especially when it is accompanied by the sight of a policeman with his canine partner walking down the sidewalk, searching for something. I don't know what the story is, I don't know what happened or what they were after, but it certainly made me nervous! By the time I came home, they were gone, so hopefully they found what they were after and there is not threat to any of us.
On a happy topic, yesterday afternoon, we walked (yes, lovely temperatures allowed us to WALK somewhere!!!!!!!!) to Daughter's school for the bi-yearly conference. We weren't too surprised at the comments of the teacher....she is very advanced, has by far surpassed the kindergarten level, they are starting a reading program, but Daughter is such a good reader that teacher will be sending her home with level 5 books and going up from there, if it's too easy (boy have I ever made a copy of myself!), it's fine that she pushes herself and is advancing so far academically...but needs some work socially. why? Because apparently she doesn't act, talk, or socialize like a kid. She's too mature for her age, and so can't relate to the other kids. She simply cannot understand the way the other kids act, the stuff they do seems so silly and childish to her, and so she finds it hard to make friends with them, because she kind of gets annoyed by their, well, 5-6 year old behaviour.
Solution? We're supposed to get her signed up for sports and group activities (a problem, financially), so she can have more experience with kids her age in a group setting. We are supposed to invite several kids over at the same time so they can just run free and play...and sleepovers. This could be interesting, not only for her, but for me....dealing with several kids at once in a non-structured (for that is what it was stressed to me that it must be) environment? That's like asking me to walk with my nose...totally foreign, difficult thing. But I will try. I sure do wonder if they will ask to move her up a grade somewhere along the line...if she continues to excel academically AND remains mature for her age, I really hope they do, for her sake. A lot of friends had told me it was not good to advance a child because they would not be ready, socially....but my child is different. Her teacher even said she has no trouble with older kids and adults...just can't deal with kids her age.
Kids are up and Son is having a sad morning, it seems. Off to soothe the sads.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Valentine
Yesterday was a day. Just a day. Valentine's Day to be exact....I am the woman, and therefore I find certain days to be very important and worth celebrating. My husband, unfortunately, is not quite as into the whole "special day" concept. Oh, he tries, and with a bit of a push, he does come through....but there are times I really wish he felt the same as I do about certain days.
You have to understand, first of all, that we are on a tight budget, and so this year's Valentine's Day was not going to have its usual spunk...no fancy valentine gift, no romantic dinner out somewhere...but I figured we would do SOMETHING. Daughter spent some of her own money to buy us all gifts. She is such a sweetheart. She bought me a plush pink rose that plays the chorus of "The Rose" when you push a button. She bought her Daddy a bag of Reese's hearts (he loves Reese's peanut butter cups, so these, she decided, were perfect. She bought her brother a stuffed puppy, which he loves. I spent less than $10 on my stuff...fun valentine's "lottery tickets" and two little frogs that kiss, with noise, for Husband, a chocolate heart for Son, and a little puppy snowglobe with hearts in it for Daughter. Husband had said not to go overboard, so I didn't.
Husband got us nothing. No cards, no gifts. Nothing. Daughter was disappointed, but wouldn't for the world say so to Daddy, s waited until he left for work. I was sorely disappointed, and hid in the bathroom for a few minutes to calm myself enough that I would not cry.
It seems like such a silly thing, maybe, to be upset about it...but then, Valentine's Day is also our half-iversary. We have been married exactly 7 1/2 years. I sang the song "Valentine" at our wedding reception. (and almost all of you missed it, not being there....we'll do it again for our 25th, then you HAVE to come!)
He knew. He could see by the look on my face when Elizabeth asked what he had gotten for her and he said "nothing" that he had messed up.
He came home later with a heart shaped DQ ice cream cake. That went a long way towards soothing hurt feelings...and to adding pounds to us all. :)
My goal of not doing extra snacking and such got totally flushed down the toilet yesterday....today is going to have to be a lot better....yesterday I had the ice cream cake after lunch, some leftover potato salad before supper, and then nachos and cheese sauce and iced tea in the evening. Am I an emotional eater or what? Ugh!
I calculated what I will need in order to get that Leisure Pass I had talked about....it will cost about $32.17 a month. Based on the fact that $400/month of my earnings goes straight to the family budget, and I still have to pay for Sweet Adelines and maybe the occasional Slurpee or something, I'd have to make about $550/month doing the papers to make it work. Maybe not so realistic at this point in time....over the past 8 months, I made an average of $478.21 a month.
Well, my time is up, and it's likely a good thing, as this certainly looks like I've had a major gripe session. (Sorry!) Daughter needs help putting the milk in her cereal.
You have to understand, first of all, that we are on a tight budget, and so this year's Valentine's Day was not going to have its usual spunk...no fancy valentine gift, no romantic dinner out somewhere...but I figured we would do SOMETHING. Daughter spent some of her own money to buy us all gifts. She is such a sweetheart. She bought me a plush pink rose that plays the chorus of "The Rose" when you push a button. She bought her Daddy a bag of Reese's hearts (he loves Reese's peanut butter cups, so these, she decided, were perfect. She bought her brother a stuffed puppy, which he loves. I spent less than $10 on my stuff...fun valentine's "lottery tickets" and two little frogs that kiss, with noise, for Husband, a chocolate heart for Son, and a little puppy snowglobe with hearts in it for Daughter. Husband had said not to go overboard, so I didn't.
Husband got us nothing. No cards, no gifts. Nothing. Daughter was disappointed, but wouldn't for the world say so to Daddy, s waited until he left for work. I was sorely disappointed, and hid in the bathroom for a few minutes to calm myself enough that I would not cry.
It seems like such a silly thing, maybe, to be upset about it...but then, Valentine's Day is also our half-iversary. We have been married exactly 7 1/2 years. I sang the song "Valentine" at our wedding reception. (and almost all of you missed it, not being there....we'll do it again for our 25th, then you HAVE to come!)
He knew. He could see by the look on my face when Elizabeth asked what he had gotten for her and he said "nothing" that he had messed up.
He came home later with a heart shaped DQ ice cream cake. That went a long way towards soothing hurt feelings...and to adding pounds to us all. :)
My goal of not doing extra snacking and such got totally flushed down the toilet yesterday....today is going to have to be a lot better....yesterday I had the ice cream cake after lunch, some leftover potato salad before supper, and then nachos and cheese sauce and iced tea in the evening. Am I an emotional eater or what? Ugh!
I calculated what I will need in order to get that Leisure Pass I had talked about....it will cost about $32.17 a month. Based on the fact that $400/month of my earnings goes straight to the family budget, and I still have to pay for Sweet Adelines and maybe the occasional Slurpee or something, I'd have to make about $550/month doing the papers to make it work. Maybe not so realistic at this point in time....over the past 8 months, I made an average of $478.21 a month.
Well, my time is up, and it's likely a good thing, as this certainly looks like I've had a major gripe session. (Sorry!) Daughter needs help putting the milk in her cereal.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Dreaming
It's around 6AM again. They say it will warm up starting tomorrow, and actually get to 4C by the weekend....I really hoping they're not just stringing us along. It's been a long cold snap this last time. I can hardly wait for spring to come...so many things to do in the spring, it's going to be great.
Yesterday's weigh-in, as I guessed, was not the best...gained back the 2 pounds I had lost last week. This week I will work really hard at getting the weight off....one of my roomies from chorus competition is really putting me to shame. She's lost something like 30-40 pounds over the last few months, and she looks AMAZING. I think my main problem is the snacks. I get the urge for something, and eat, even if I really shouldn't be (and am probably not) hungry. I had mentioned a long time ago that my eating disorder had kind of reversed itself on me...in trying to change the behaviours, I kind of went overboard in the other direction....the second I deny myself something, my mind panics and accuses me of getting back into the old habits, which I'm not, but at the time I subconsciously panic, and then not only eat what I don't need, but eat more than I likely should even at the best of times. Portion control. There's something I suck at.
My goal this week, I guess, will be twofold....I will not snack, unless it is a piece of fruit, and I will work really hard on portion control....maybe go back to using a side plate instead of a dinner plate. I'm really good with the water (usually), getting the 8 cups a day in, as long as we have water in the cooler (I cannot, will not drink tap water...it's gross![I could not, would not in a house, I could not, would not with a mouse] Hee hee).
When I have the money (Same old "when I am rich and famous" dream, I know), I plan to get myself a leisure pass....this would allow me to use the city pools, weight rooms, indoor track....that sort of thing. When I can do that, I know I will get the appropriate amount of exercise in....it's amazing how motivating it can be to know that if you don't exercise, you're wasting your money, having bought a pass. I'm going to want my money's worth, so I'll be using it, I guarantee you. I won a free week at a local gym a few months ago, and I went EVERY DAY....I used the stairstepper for an hour each day, sweated like an absolute hog, and felt WONDERFUL.
Yesterday's weigh-in, as I guessed, was not the best...gained back the 2 pounds I had lost last week. This week I will work really hard at getting the weight off....one of my roomies from chorus competition is really putting me to shame. She's lost something like 30-40 pounds over the last few months, and she looks AMAZING. I think my main problem is the snacks. I get the urge for something, and eat, even if I really shouldn't be (and am probably not) hungry. I had mentioned a long time ago that my eating disorder had kind of reversed itself on me...in trying to change the behaviours, I kind of went overboard in the other direction....the second I deny myself something, my mind panics and accuses me of getting back into the old habits, which I'm not, but at the time I subconsciously panic, and then not only eat what I don't need, but eat more than I likely should even at the best of times. Portion control. There's something I suck at.
My goal this week, I guess, will be twofold....I will not snack, unless it is a piece of fruit, and I will work really hard on portion control....maybe go back to using a side plate instead of a dinner plate. I'm really good with the water (usually), getting the 8 cups a day in, as long as we have water in the cooler (I cannot, will not drink tap water...it's gross![I could not, would not in a house, I could not, would not with a mouse] Hee hee).
When I have the money (Same old "when I am rich and famous" dream, I know), I plan to get myself a leisure pass....this would allow me to use the city pools, weight rooms, indoor track....that sort of thing. When I can do that, I know I will get the appropriate amount of exercise in....it's amazing how motivating it can be to know that if you don't exercise, you're wasting your money, having bought a pass. I'm going to want my money's worth, so I'll be using it, I guarantee you. I won a free week at a local gym a few months ago, and I went EVERY DAY....I used the stairstepper for an hour each day, sweated like an absolute hog, and felt WONDERFUL.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Better Day Today?
I hope today goes more smoothly...yesterday started off pretty well, but at lunchtime, things kind of got upheaved (is that a word?)...Daughter was saying she was not hungry. Daddy told her she needed to eat because she's been saying she's not hungry ALL THE TIME lately. She ate a few bites, then went off to the bathroom. Next we hear is her telling daddy "I threw up and there's blood". Um...there's something that catches your attention! Mommy goes to check (it's in the fine print....Mommy must look at child's vomit when needed. Yuck!), and daughter is right. Everyone gets packed into the car, and off to the clinic we go to see a doctor who does not speak English very well. We explain the situation and the background (she'd had a few instances where she brought stuff up to her mouth in the last few days, but never actually barfed until that day, never hungry anymore...) he at first says nothing to worry about, she probably just strained herself when she vomited. She says no, it just kinda came out. Doctor checks her throat, etc...tonsils looking big, he says. She has a throat infection. Amoxil for 8 days, fluids only yesterday, no school yesterday. We shall see how today goes. Hopefully she will be fine and be able to eat and go back to school. I love Daughter, but having her stay home from school is a bit of a challenge...not only does she require my attention, but it throws off my schedule.
Today is my weigh-in day. I'll report on it later (like tomorrow?)....but I'm thinking it's not going to be a good one this week. Too many times of eating out this weekend, either at a restaurant or at the weiner roast.
It's super early right now...6AM, and I'm done my papers for the day....they filled the other two and gave me a smaller one today....I think I'm going to go nap on the couch.
Today is my weigh-in day. I'll report on it later (like tomorrow?)....but I'm thinking it's not going to be a good one this week. Too many times of eating out this weekend, either at a restaurant or at the weiner roast.
It's super early right now...6AM, and I'm done my papers for the day....they filled the other two and gave me a smaller one today....I think I'm going to go nap on the couch.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Plans Change Sometimes
Yesterday's "race" ended up not quite the way it was planned...the first part went as I had said it would, with church and Sunday School, the photo and rushing home (and the potato salad), but then Daddy checked the time again that we were supposed to go to the party, and found it didn't start until 3:30PM...so he phoned his curling buddies to cancel with them (because we were supposedly not going to be back in time), we went to A&W for lunch, then checked out a few stores to kill time....went to the ranch, met Tex the dog (I soooooo want a doggie like that...big, friendly, soppy old golden retriever), dragged the kids down the hill to the cabin with the fireplace, then back up for the sleigh ride. The wind was really cold, so by the time the driver got the bunch of us back to the start, all the kids in the group were in tears. We warmed them up in the main lodge, then took them back down the hill for hot dogs and hot chocolate and such. Afterwards, we were supposed to go sledding, but the kids were so frozen that they just weren't having any fun....and Daughter had a really good chill going on, so we figured we'd better just nix the sledding and go home....some of the other families did the same. Both kids cried all the way home, they were so cold. Checked them both over as soon as we got in, but thankfully no frostbite. Daughter was packed into bed under two comforters with a heating pad at her feet to try to get her warmed up...she takes after her Mommy....doesn't take much to get us cold, takes forever to warm us up, and cold makes us very, very tired...she was packed into bed around 6 and fell asleep while warming up, only waking up this morning around 7. Son bounced back very quickly, as he has his own internal furnace, like his Daddy....takes a lot to make them cold, and they warm up easily.
So Daddy and Mommy spent some time on the computer (separately), watched some CSI, Mythbusters, and Dirty Jobs, then Mommy packed herself into bed at around 9:30. Up today at 3:30, did the two routes, which went relatively quickly (took about 2 hours), then home to put out the recycling....delivering papers makes for a LOT of recycling....each bundle has a topper and a bottom sheet, so it really adds up by recycling day every two weeks. Now I must go collect all the garbage....it's that day, too.
So Daddy and Mommy spent some time on the computer (separately), watched some CSI, Mythbusters, and Dirty Jobs, then Mommy packed herself into bed at around 9:30. Up today at 3:30, did the two routes, which went relatively quickly (took about 2 hours), then home to put out the recycling....delivering papers makes for a LOT of recycling....each bundle has a topper and a bottom sheet, so it really adds up by recycling day every two weeks. Now I must go collect all the garbage....it's that day, too.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Relaxing Day? No.
Today looks like it will be a nice day....that's good because it's also going to be very busy. I am up, I am clean, the kids will soon be dressed and ready, then we line up at the starting line aaaaand GO!!!!!!!!
Off to church we scurry, kids get to go to their Sunday School classes after the first half hour. An hour later, we all converge together again, go downstairs to get our picture taken for the church directory. We roar out of there as fast as we can go to get home and change, and pick up Daddy who has been feverishly making potato salad all morning. Load up snowpants and sleds and mitts and scarves and all the rest (and yes, the potato salad) and zip out to a local ranch for a sleigh ride/sledding party. When we are done with this, we load everybody back into the van, find a drive-thru and pick up supper and then hurry off to Daddy's curling game. 2 hours later, pile everyone back into the van, drive everybody home, put the kids to bed, Mommy and Daddy collapse, try to chat with Granny and Grandad on Messenger, maybe watch some TV, then off to bed so Mommy can be up at 3:30AM to start the workweek again.
Should be a lot of fun....just really busy. :)
My pinched nerve seems to be letting up somewhat, so I have a fair range of motion back. Another day or two should have me back to normal again. Yay!
Oh....I have to share this...the other night, Daddy was on the computer late. Heard Daughter crying, so went to see what was up. I suspect daughter was still mostly asleep... the conversation went like this:
"What's wrong, sweetie?"
"My head huuuuuurts!"
"What kind of hurt?"
"I feel like a farmerrrrrr!"
"What do you mean by that?"
"It feels like I have a cowwww!"
She had no recollection of this conversation the next morning. Hee hee hee
Off to church we scurry, kids get to go to their Sunday School classes after the first half hour. An hour later, we all converge together again, go downstairs to get our picture taken for the church directory. We roar out of there as fast as we can go to get home and change, and pick up Daddy who has been feverishly making potato salad all morning. Load up snowpants and sleds and mitts and scarves and all the rest (and yes, the potato salad) and zip out to a local ranch for a sleigh ride/sledding party. When we are done with this, we load everybody back into the van, find a drive-thru and pick up supper and then hurry off to Daddy's curling game. 2 hours later, pile everyone back into the van, drive everybody home, put the kids to bed, Mommy and Daddy collapse, try to chat with Granny and Grandad on Messenger, maybe watch some TV, then off to bed so Mommy can be up at 3:30AM to start the workweek again.
Should be a lot of fun....just really busy. :)
My pinched nerve seems to be letting up somewhat, so I have a fair range of motion back. Another day or two should have me back to normal again. Yay!
Oh....I have to share this...the other night, Daddy was on the computer late. Heard Daughter crying, so went to see what was up. I suspect daughter was still mostly asleep... the conversation went like this:
"What's wrong, sweetie?"
"My head huuuuuurts!"
"What kind of hurt?"
"I feel like a farmerrrrrr!"
"What do you mean by that?"
"It feels like I have a cowwww!"
She had no recollection of this conversation the next morning. Hee hee hee
Saturday, February 10, 2007
White Knuckling It
I got up with the alarm at 3:30 today...in excruciating pain. I debated staying home from work, but also knew how much they were counting on me delivering the papers....there aren't too many of us subs out there in winter, and if I didn't do them, the district manager probably would have to, and it's better to keep them happy and comfortable behind their desks.
Wow! Talk about intense pain....it took me a few minutes longer than usual to get dressed, as just moving my left arm was enough to take my breath away, or make funny squeaking noises as I gasped in pain. But I did it. I made it to the routes, I slogged my way through them, and am back here now. Hubby got me some Robaxacet yesterday, but it hasn't really done much other than make me sleep a lot. If this doesn't improve, I will see the doctor on Monday for a prescription.
I haven't had pain like this since I was in university and compressed a disk in an accident at work one summer. Codeine would be really good about now, as pain is all i seem to be able to think about today.
I achieved nothing yesterday, as I was pretty much unable to move much. Today I have to do SOMETHING, so I will white knuckle it and do as much house cleaning as I can. I may not get far, but I need that sense of accomplishment...if I can even just get the main level tidied up. 4 rooms and a hallway. How hard can it be? My right arm still works. :)
Wow! Talk about intense pain....it took me a few minutes longer than usual to get dressed, as just moving my left arm was enough to take my breath away, or make funny squeaking noises as I gasped in pain. But I did it. I made it to the routes, I slogged my way through them, and am back here now. Hubby got me some Robaxacet yesterday, but it hasn't really done much other than make me sleep a lot. If this doesn't improve, I will see the doctor on Monday for a prescription.
I haven't had pain like this since I was in university and compressed a disk in an accident at work one summer. Codeine would be really good about now, as pain is all i seem to be able to think about today.
I achieved nothing yesterday, as I was pretty much unable to move much. Today I have to do SOMETHING, so I will white knuckle it and do as much house cleaning as I can. I may not get far, but I need that sense of accomplishment...if I can even just get the main level tidied up. 4 rooms and a hallway. How hard can it be? My right arm still works. :)
Friday, February 9, 2007
AYEEEEEEEEE!
Ouch. Ever had a pinched nerve in your neck/shoulder? It's been there for a few days, but somehow, last night while I slept, it pinched itself 1000% more. I am in SO MUCH PAIN today, I can't move my neck or shoulder without searing pain through my neck, shoulder, and arm.....which, of course, made doing papers this morning a real adventure.
Yesterday I mentioned that I was testing coleslaw dressing, and that I needed a cabbage...we did our shopping at the Great Canadian Warehouse Club...and got a HEAD of cabbage....we're talking a cabbage literally the size of a head. This thing is HUGE! I think I'll have to look up some recipes for using some of it after I've taken the coleslaw portion....maybe I'll be daring and attempt cabbage rolls. Yum! Love to eat them....never made them. Anybody have some super yummy cabbage recipes? Send them my way! :)
Nothing much to say today....all I can think about is how much I hurt, and I keep moving, so it keeps sending that searing pain and erasing any real concrete thought patterns I may have. See you all tomorrow.
Yesterday I mentioned that I was testing coleslaw dressing, and that I needed a cabbage...we did our shopping at the Great Canadian Warehouse Club...and got a HEAD of cabbage....we're talking a cabbage literally the size of a head. This thing is HUGE! I think I'll have to look up some recipes for using some of it after I've taken the coleslaw portion....maybe I'll be daring and attempt cabbage rolls. Yum! Love to eat them....never made them. Anybody have some super yummy cabbage recipes? Send them my way! :)
Nothing much to say today....all I can think about is how much I hurt, and I keep moving, so it keeps sending that searing pain and erasing any real concrete thought patterns I may have. See you all tomorrow.
Thursday, February 8, 2007
My kingdom for a nap
I feel like I could sleep forever. One of those days, I guess...it's cold out, I was up and out at 4AM, came home with frost so thick on my lashes that my eyes were freezing shut when I blinked....wrapped myself in a blanket on the couch by the heat grate, with a steamy bowl of oatmeal and a niiiice cup of hot chocolate...now I am warm and toasty....and SLEEPY!!!! I actually conked out for about half an hour while the kids watched Curious George on CBC Kids.
Today is one of my days when I don't get a whole lot of cleaning done....though I hope to get a load of laundry and a load of dishes done at the very least. Son has Toddler Time at the library, we do grocery shopping today, come home, eat lunch, put daughter on a bus to school....that sort of thing. I tend to run out of steam in the afternoons, and don't accomplish much after lunch....maybe because I get up so early and expend so much energy in the first few hours I am awake that by afternoon, my body has decided that the "workday" should be over....I must admit it will be quite nice when the kids are old enough to keep their stuff cleaned up, they are in school full time, and I am back to work during the day (which will not only mean not getting up so early, but not being home to make a mess myself, either). That and, if I can just get over my clutterbug ways, there will be so much less to clean up. :)
When I am back in the daytime workforce, also, I will have the $$$ to get an activity pass at the local community centres, which will give me free access to their pools and track and fitness rooms. I'm actually really looking forward to that, because if I am paying for a pass, I'm going to get my money's worth, which means I KNOW I will keep up with my exercising. I want especially to go running on the indoor track and use the fitness rooms....stairstepper machines, probably. A friend of mine is embarking on his own fitness challenge. I think it's a great idea. If I were to do what he is doing, I think my goal would be to run to Montreal. Check out his blog to see what I am talking about: http://blog.8r4d.com/
Well, time to go out and buy a huge head of cabbage...I signed myself up as a tester, and have a bottle of anonymous coleslaw dressing that arrived by courrier to try and evaluate in the next few days. I wish they'd let me test dark chocolate! :)
Today is one of my days when I don't get a whole lot of cleaning done....though I hope to get a load of laundry and a load of dishes done at the very least. Son has Toddler Time at the library, we do grocery shopping today, come home, eat lunch, put daughter on a bus to school....that sort of thing. I tend to run out of steam in the afternoons, and don't accomplish much after lunch....maybe because I get up so early and expend so much energy in the first few hours I am awake that by afternoon, my body has decided that the "workday" should be over....I must admit it will be quite nice when the kids are old enough to keep their stuff cleaned up, they are in school full time, and I am back to work during the day (which will not only mean not getting up so early, but not being home to make a mess myself, either). That and, if I can just get over my clutterbug ways, there will be so much less to clean up. :)
When I am back in the daytime workforce, also, I will have the $$$ to get an activity pass at the local community centres, which will give me free access to their pools and track and fitness rooms. I'm actually really looking forward to that, because if I am paying for a pass, I'm going to get my money's worth, which means I KNOW I will keep up with my exercising. I want especially to go running on the indoor track and use the fitness rooms....stairstepper machines, probably. A friend of mine is embarking on his own fitness challenge. I think it's a great idea. If I were to do what he is doing, I think my goal would be to run to Montreal. Check out his blog to see what I am talking about: http://blog.8r4d.com/
Well, time to go out and buy a huge head of cabbage...I signed myself up as a tester, and have a bottle of anonymous coleslaw dressing that arrived by courrier to try and evaluate in the next few days. I wish they'd let me test dark chocolate! :)
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
So there IS somebody out there!
I got one comment from yesterday's rant...I have read it and re-read it...and have to admit I'm not entirely sure what some of it means...but I do highly value this friend's input, so it gives me something to think about, mull over, and hopefully figure something out from it.
I feel a little better today, which is kind of funny, considering how badly the day started out, and how tired I am as a result....but I have decided to try really hard not to make this blog into a gripe-fest. It is a bad habit I have gotten into over the years, likely tied into the issues and bad habits I got into that I talked about yesterday. So I have decided, based on the challenge that I have been given in the comment I received, that I will find good things to talk about....not that I will be false and fall into the 'I'm fine, how are you?" nice-ness where there is no honesty...but that I will work on focusing more on the good things, and less on the dark void and its friends.
I want to thank my friend for his comment....I must agree that sometimes no advice is the best advice possible...this is my life, and I must live it, and no matter what sicknesses or mental issues I may have, nobody is going to be able to fix them or manage them for me. I think often, true happiness is 95% willpower...I remember a time back in university, when I was at my lowest, sickest point, someone said to me that if *I* could only believe myself to be pretty, I would be. A strange comment, to be sure, but I remember trying it...I went to church on Sunday, having put on something nice, doing something nice with my hair, I may even have had on a bit of makeup, but nothing really out of the ordinary for a Sunday...and I mentally talked myself into it....in my head, I kept telling myself "I'm pretty, I'm pretty, darn it, I'm pretty"...wouldn't you know, one of my best friends (S.V.) came up to me and told me I looked absolutely gorgeous that day, what had I done? What an amazing boost that was for me. I had forgotten about that day.
I guess what I am saying (and yes, I am seeing that this blog IS quite a self-reflection, and maybe is going to be really good for me), is that if you focus too much on the pain and loneliness and dark stuff, you miss a lot of the little bursts of sunshine. Again, back in university, a few friends from high school and I were chatting with each other on the computer, and I remember we had nicknames...I remember Chuck and Cheese and at one point I was Mouse...but for some reason, I changed it, much to the approval of my friends. I was Mouse because that was my personality back then....I was living in a really bad situation my first year at university, and became a mouse to avoid confrontation...but once I took charge and got myself out of the situation, something changed, at least for awhile, and I became Sonshine:).
As to my not having had "smarts" in IB...I'm not sure whether to laugh at this or not. I guess in a way, my friend hit it right on the head...I was always really good at memorization, I worked really hard, doing 3-5 hours of homework and studying a night, and still managed to fail two of the finals, causing me to technically NOT graduate as a Full_IB, though they left my picture up on the wall of the high school as if I was. It took me many years to overcome the disappointment and anger at myself at failing those exams....and then I realized, you know what? I worked hard. I gave it all I had, and there was NOTHING I did wrong, nothing I could have done better....and besides, I got really good scores on the other IB finals.
I'm not sure if this is what my friend was getting at, but what I pulled from that comment was that "smarts" don't matter. What really matters is what I REALLY learned in IB....I learned the value of hard work, I learned to be proud of my accomplishments as a result of hard work, and in a warped way, I guess I also learned some people skills....empathy, sympathy, working together with the other IB kids, I developed a sense of humour, warped as it may sometimes be, and I learned how much fun it could be to have friends who weren't afraid to give you a hard time, either by teasing you mercilessly about a love of coffee, or the way you laughed, or getting on your case and telling you the truth, straight up, when you were being an idiot. I learned to argue a point, I even learned to debate on a side I didn't agree with, thanks to certain teachers who felt it was important to teach us to look at things from someone else's viewpoint. And I learned that I am unique. I AM special, darn it! And I need to remember that....no matter what others think, no matter what *I* think, I AM *SPECIAL*!
I have to admit that there's not a lot I can do about the eye rolling of others, because I have to admit that I do fall prey to the whole "the grass is greener" concept. I know everyone has their issues...I guess it's just that, being on the outside looking in, it often seems that whatever problems the other person may have, they seem a lot better than my own. I'm sure my friend is right....if I knew EVERYTHING about the people I wish I could be, I'd probably be very surprised...just like, if people knew EVERYTHING about me, they'd run screaming for the hills. (One day I'll finish my novel based on my life, and they can market it as a horror novel ...well...maybe not quite....but I am seriously working on a novel about my life which I hope to finish sometime in the next decade)
I do have to admit, though, that the thing that caught me by surprise was that my friend feels I have accomplished things that are distantly out or reach for others, including that friend. It kind of stunned me. This friend seems to have the ultimate life at the moment. I'm not sure what I have accomplished that would be out of reach for this friend....I'd love it if my friend would share....but then, maybe it's one of those things I'm supposed to just wonder about.
Okay....now I will put a little bit of Sonshine:) in here. My little guy (who will be 2 1/2 next week), just wandered in here to see what is taking Mommy so long in the office. Fresh new haircut (okay, we buzz cut him), he looks adorable. If you've ever seen Caillou (who happens to be his favourite character)....that is what he looks like. Singing some little tune to himself, cute little grin, peeks in the door...."Mommy, c'mout now? A'mos' nun?"
Daughter, recently turned 6, just came in to show me her latest project....painting Dora suncatchers. She's quite the little artist. And a little mini-mommy...not only in looks, but in the way she treats her little brother. she even will read him stories, if he asks her. It's so cute to see them sitting together while she reads him "The Little Engine that Could" or "Hop on Pop".
This has become a novel in itself. If you've made it this far, you have my sincere congratulations and thanks. I once again don my supermommy cape and fly off to clean the house, make lunch, and send daughter off to school in 2 hours...and maybe just maybe I'll treat myself to some chocolate, even if just a mug of hot chocolate, later today. Because I can....or to be a true mommy.....because I said so. :)
I feel a little better today, which is kind of funny, considering how badly the day started out, and how tired I am as a result....but I have decided to try really hard not to make this blog into a gripe-fest. It is a bad habit I have gotten into over the years, likely tied into the issues and bad habits I got into that I talked about yesterday. So I have decided, based on the challenge that I have been given in the comment I received, that I will find good things to talk about....not that I will be false and fall into the 'I'm fine, how are you?" nice-ness where there is no honesty...but that I will work on focusing more on the good things, and less on the dark void and its friends.
I want to thank my friend for his comment....I must agree that sometimes no advice is the best advice possible...this is my life, and I must live it, and no matter what sicknesses or mental issues I may have, nobody is going to be able to fix them or manage them for me. I think often, true happiness is 95% willpower...I remember a time back in university, when I was at my lowest, sickest point, someone said to me that if *I* could only believe myself to be pretty, I would be. A strange comment, to be sure, but I remember trying it...I went to church on Sunday, having put on something nice, doing something nice with my hair, I may even have had on a bit of makeup, but nothing really out of the ordinary for a Sunday...and I mentally talked myself into it....in my head, I kept telling myself "I'm pretty, I'm pretty, darn it, I'm pretty"...wouldn't you know, one of my best friends (S.V.) came up to me and told me I looked absolutely gorgeous that day, what had I done? What an amazing boost that was for me. I had forgotten about that day.
I guess what I am saying (and yes, I am seeing that this blog IS quite a self-reflection, and maybe is going to be really good for me), is that if you focus too much on the pain and loneliness and dark stuff, you miss a lot of the little bursts of sunshine. Again, back in university, a few friends from high school and I were chatting with each other on the computer, and I remember we had nicknames...I remember Chuck and Cheese and at one point I was Mouse...but for some reason, I changed it, much to the approval of my friends. I was Mouse because that was my personality back then....I was living in a really bad situation my first year at university, and became a mouse to avoid confrontation...but once I took charge and got myself out of the situation, something changed, at least for awhile, and I became Sonshine:).
As to my not having had "smarts" in IB...I'm not sure whether to laugh at this or not. I guess in a way, my friend hit it right on the head...I was always really good at memorization, I worked really hard, doing 3-5 hours of homework and studying a night, and still managed to fail two of the finals, causing me to technically NOT graduate as a Full_IB, though they left my picture up on the wall of the high school as if I was. It took me many years to overcome the disappointment and anger at myself at failing those exams....and then I realized, you know what? I worked hard. I gave it all I had, and there was NOTHING I did wrong, nothing I could have done better....and besides, I got really good scores on the other IB finals.
I'm not sure if this is what my friend was getting at, but what I pulled from that comment was that "smarts" don't matter. What really matters is what I REALLY learned in IB....I learned the value of hard work, I learned to be proud of my accomplishments as a result of hard work, and in a warped way, I guess I also learned some people skills....empathy, sympathy, working together with the other IB kids, I developed a sense of humour, warped as it may sometimes be, and I learned how much fun it could be to have friends who weren't afraid to give you a hard time, either by teasing you mercilessly about a love of coffee, or the way you laughed, or getting on your case and telling you the truth, straight up, when you were being an idiot. I learned to argue a point, I even learned to debate on a side I didn't agree with, thanks to certain teachers who felt it was important to teach us to look at things from someone else's viewpoint. And I learned that I am unique. I AM special, darn it! And I need to remember that....no matter what others think, no matter what *I* think, I AM *SPECIAL*!
I have to admit that there's not a lot I can do about the eye rolling of others, because I have to admit that I do fall prey to the whole "the grass is greener" concept. I know everyone has their issues...I guess it's just that, being on the outside looking in, it often seems that whatever problems the other person may have, they seem a lot better than my own. I'm sure my friend is right....if I knew EVERYTHING about the people I wish I could be, I'd probably be very surprised...just like, if people knew EVERYTHING about me, they'd run screaming for the hills. (One day I'll finish my novel based on my life, and they can market it as a horror novel ...well...maybe not quite....but I am seriously working on a novel about my life which I hope to finish sometime in the next decade)
I do have to admit, though, that the thing that caught me by surprise was that my friend feels I have accomplished things that are distantly out or reach for others, including that friend. It kind of stunned me. This friend seems to have the ultimate life at the moment. I'm not sure what I have accomplished that would be out of reach for this friend....I'd love it if my friend would share....but then, maybe it's one of those things I'm supposed to just wonder about.
Okay....now I will put a little bit of Sonshine:) in here. My little guy (who will be 2 1/2 next week), just wandered in here to see what is taking Mommy so long in the office. Fresh new haircut (okay, we buzz cut him), he looks adorable. If you've ever seen Caillou (who happens to be his favourite character)....that is what he looks like. Singing some little tune to himself, cute little grin, peeks in the door...."Mommy, c'mout now? A'mos' nun?"
Daughter, recently turned 6, just came in to show me her latest project....painting Dora suncatchers. She's quite the little artist. And a little mini-mommy...not only in looks, but in the way she treats her little brother. she even will read him stories, if he asks her. It's so cute to see them sitting together while she reads him "The Little Engine that Could" or "Hop on Pop".
This has become a novel in itself. If you've made it this far, you have my sincere congratulations and thanks. I once again don my supermommy cape and fly off to clean the house, make lunch, and send daughter off to school in 2 hours...and maybe just maybe I'll treat myself to some chocolate, even if just a mug of hot chocolate, later today. Because I can....or to be a true mommy.....because I said so. :)
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Talking To Myself
Wow! I've been blogging for quite a few days now, and I sure am enjoying it....although it is starting to feel like I am in a huge, empty room, talking to myself, my "voice" bouncing off the walls...my friends are much better at this blogging thing than I am....they write in a way that inspires people to leave them comments. Not that it matters. I should be used to this by now....it's kind of the story of my life. Unless I am in the midst of some crisis, I am forgotten....left in the dust, overlooked, just don't really stand out. I'm not sure why, and to be honest, it kind of hurts. It's lonely here in my world. I totally understand the kids who do bad things, to get attention...sometimes bad attention is better than no attention at all.
I have had my share of bad attention, and to be honest, there are times when I am tempted to get back into old habits, or to allow myself to slip back into the sicknesses that I battle each day...I battle depression quite a bit....not so much as I used to, by any means, not to the point of being suicidal, as I used to be...hubby and kids have a lot to do with that....couldn't leave them like that. This time of year is rough, though. I have a lot harder of a time keeping myself together in the last part of winter, and am that much more likely to backslide, have a nervous breakdown, or throw away all my progress and turn back to old habits.
My biggest challenge these days is my battle against the eating disorder. I have come a long way. Looking back, I am shocked at how bad things were, how many people I hurt unintentionally, the stuff I put my friends through, and the stuff most people don't even know about....and I am shamed. But at the same time it is such a fight to stay "straight", so to speak.
On my 20th birthday, I wrote a letter to myself to be opened when I turned 30. It was a bit of a shock to "hear" myself back then....but the worst thing was that in that letter, I wrote how much I weighed. To put it mildly, having children did not help my cause. I would kill to be that weight, I would almost die to be that weight...and my eating disorder took me there once. The urge to do it again, to do what I know "works" is often unbearable...and there have been times when I have skipped a few meals...but so far it hasn't lasted more than a day or two, because I don't live alone anymore, and at least one person won't let me get away with it.
My biggest problem is that I don't feel like I can talk to anyone about it. I've lost a few friends over the years, because they just didn't want to hear about it anymore. I know the friends I still have really don't want to hear it either, and I don't want to push them away, either. I don't want them to be upset with me, ashamed of me, disgusted with me, disappointed with me....but they will be. And everyone gives advice. Eat more veggies, don't eat sugar, try these vitamins, drink that juice. Just don't starve. Just don't think that way. Just don't do those things to yourself...don't you think I KNOW what the "right" things are? Don't you think I KNOW how wrong the thoughts are? Problem is, the voices are a lot louder than common sense, the panic level is a lot more intense than anyone could imagine. The desperation that brings my mental illness (for that is what an eating disorder truly is) into the driver's seat tells me that I HAVE to do what I shouldn't, that everyone sees me as the disgusting ball of lard that I see every single time I look in a mirror.
Don't ever think that if someone who had an eating disorder stops doing the behaviours, they are fine with themselves. The voices and thoughts and urges don't go away...they have just learned to suppress the reactions to them. They need and want to know that others think they are okay, they need to hear it, even if they seem to brush it off or don't believe you. Trust me.
I guess it's fairly obvious that I am fully into my rough time of the year...funny thing is, until I started writing today, I didn't recognize it for what it was. I hate the cold weather, I am tired of the darkness, I am lonely, I am sad, I am disgusted with what I look like and what I weigh. I miss high school. Back then, I was smart, I was young, and I may not have been popular, but I did have friends to go from class to class with, laugh about teachers with, fool around with, write plays and corny video presentations for English with, involving lying in a McDonald's parking lot, pretending to be run over...I was already having problems back then, but I still have bucketloads of wonderful memories of my I.B. friends and teachers...anybody ever hear anything from Mr. Klink?
I'm sorry to all my friends who are reading this...give it time...in a few months, the snow will melt, spring will come, maybe I will have managed to slim down in a good way, and things will look brighter on my horizons...and hopefully you will all still be there for me, despite it all. If anyone even reads my blog. If not, it really doesn't matter...I'm good at talking to myself.
I have had my share of bad attention, and to be honest, there are times when I am tempted to get back into old habits, or to allow myself to slip back into the sicknesses that I battle each day...I battle depression quite a bit....not so much as I used to, by any means, not to the point of being suicidal, as I used to be...hubby and kids have a lot to do with that....couldn't leave them like that. This time of year is rough, though. I have a lot harder of a time keeping myself together in the last part of winter, and am that much more likely to backslide, have a nervous breakdown, or throw away all my progress and turn back to old habits.
My biggest challenge these days is my battle against the eating disorder. I have come a long way. Looking back, I am shocked at how bad things were, how many people I hurt unintentionally, the stuff I put my friends through, and the stuff most people don't even know about....and I am shamed. But at the same time it is such a fight to stay "straight", so to speak.
On my 20th birthday, I wrote a letter to myself to be opened when I turned 30. It was a bit of a shock to "hear" myself back then....but the worst thing was that in that letter, I wrote how much I weighed. To put it mildly, having children did not help my cause. I would kill to be that weight, I would almost die to be that weight...and my eating disorder took me there once. The urge to do it again, to do what I know "works" is often unbearable...and there have been times when I have skipped a few meals...but so far it hasn't lasted more than a day or two, because I don't live alone anymore, and at least one person won't let me get away with it.
My biggest problem is that I don't feel like I can talk to anyone about it. I've lost a few friends over the years, because they just didn't want to hear about it anymore. I know the friends I still have really don't want to hear it either, and I don't want to push them away, either. I don't want them to be upset with me, ashamed of me, disgusted with me, disappointed with me....but they will be. And everyone gives advice. Eat more veggies, don't eat sugar, try these vitamins, drink that juice. Just don't starve. Just don't think that way. Just don't do those things to yourself...don't you think I KNOW what the "right" things are? Don't you think I KNOW how wrong the thoughts are? Problem is, the voices are a lot louder than common sense, the panic level is a lot more intense than anyone could imagine. The desperation that brings my mental illness (for that is what an eating disorder truly is) into the driver's seat tells me that I HAVE to do what I shouldn't, that everyone sees me as the disgusting ball of lard that I see every single time I look in a mirror.
Don't ever think that if someone who had an eating disorder stops doing the behaviours, they are fine with themselves. The voices and thoughts and urges don't go away...they have just learned to suppress the reactions to them. They need and want to know that others think they are okay, they need to hear it, even if they seem to brush it off or don't believe you. Trust me.
I guess it's fairly obvious that I am fully into my rough time of the year...funny thing is, until I started writing today, I didn't recognize it for what it was. I hate the cold weather, I am tired of the darkness, I am lonely, I am sad, I am disgusted with what I look like and what I weigh. I miss high school. Back then, I was smart, I was young, and I may not have been popular, but I did have friends to go from class to class with, laugh about teachers with, fool around with, write plays and corny video presentations for English with, involving lying in a McDonald's parking lot, pretending to be run over...I was already having problems back then, but I still have bucketloads of wonderful memories of my I.B. friends and teachers...anybody ever hear anything from Mr. Klink?
I'm sorry to all my friends who are reading this...give it time...in a few months, the snow will melt, spring will come, maybe I will have managed to slim down in a good way, and things will look brighter on my horizons...and hopefully you will all still be there for me, despite it all. If anyone even reads my blog. If not, it really doesn't matter...I'm good at talking to myself.
Monday, February 5, 2007
Various thoughts and ramblings
Monday morning. Cold, but not as cold. Dark. Can hardly wait for the time when the sun rises before 7AM. Nothing much happening at the moment....it's nice an quiet, at least for a little while.
Took the kids to see "Open Season" at the cheap theatre yesterday (with hubby, of course), and then picked up a pizza and salad on the way home. It was a lot of fun.
It's nice to be a member of the Pentecostal church....to fill in the blanks for people who don't know, I pulled myself and my kids out of our old church in September...5 years there, and still didn't fit in....wasn't related to everyone else like everyone else was, wasn't Dutch, I'm shy, so had a hard time inserting myself into people's conversations when not invited...was helping with the singing each week, teaching Sunday School to preschool through Grade 1 with no supplies except what I got on my own, and no budget, plus essentially being a single mom to two every Sunday, since hubby does not come...went to family camp with the kids (hubby stayed home to work), and spent the weekend worrying and watching my kids because there was a young man there who was causing a stir, to put it mildly....he was found in the ladies' washroom, seen peering into people's rooms, looking through people's stuff....and really interested in little kids. And apparently had a history of touching them, which nobody had told me about before...I had a different viewpoint on some church issues which caused problems (was told I had been up for consideration as a Deacon, but would never be allowed to be one because of my one differing view, and at family camp, two elders started a rant about how wrong anybody was who believed what I believed, and anyone who was wanting to be a part of the church had darn well better conform and do what they believed...so in the spirit of wanting safety for my children, the desire to belong somewhere, a search for a place where I could really FEEL God, and to avoid conflict, I left that church and started hunting for a new one....each Sunday for 2 months, we went to a different church....and wouldn't you know, the first one we tried ended up being the one we fell in love with....I truly believe God took us there first, then let us go to the others so i would be 100% sure that I was making the right choice...I am thrilled. They sing the real uplifting, upbeat, sing your guts out, clap your hands, dance around Praise GOD type of songs, the pastor is so passionate about what he's talking about every week (and he is GOOOOOOOOOOOOD! Every week he says something that totally hits home, which is something I need, because it makes me want to try harder....and he's really interesting to listen to....not a fall-asleep-in-the-pews sermon type of guy), daughter loves her Sunday School class and has some friends from when she was in preschool in that class, son absolutely lives for his Sunday school class (and I am totally THRILLED they have Sunday School for 2 year olds)....he is SO proud of his pictures and crafts they do, and he was the most adorable little shepherd in his Christmas pageant. :) :) :)
At the moment, I am not involved in anything.....just going to take my time, settle in, get to know people first. It's really nice not to be in charge of anything right now.
My goal for this week is to eat better. I like food too much, and I find that my past really bites me in the butt at times, kind of pushing me in the absolute opposite way of before.....but that's another day's story. I have been drinking 8 glasses of water a day for almost 2 weeks now, but haven't lost any weight yet (I have 46 pounds to lose to get to my goal of 150....I'm 5'10", so that's about what I should be). This week, I plan to eat oranges, pears, cabbage, oatmeal....stuff like that....and try to stay away from cookies and fries and stuff like that. My weigh in day is Tuesdays, so in a way, tomorrow will be the "official" start day....I will base my success this week on the difference between tomorrow's weigh in and the following week.
Took the kids to see "Open Season" at the cheap theatre yesterday (with hubby, of course), and then picked up a pizza and salad on the way home. It was a lot of fun.
It's nice to be a member of the Pentecostal church....to fill in the blanks for people who don't know, I pulled myself and my kids out of our old church in September...5 years there, and still didn't fit in....wasn't related to everyone else like everyone else was, wasn't Dutch, I'm shy, so had a hard time inserting myself into people's conversations when not invited...was helping with the singing each week, teaching Sunday School to preschool through Grade 1 with no supplies except what I got on my own, and no budget, plus essentially being a single mom to two every Sunday, since hubby does not come...went to family camp with the kids (hubby stayed home to work), and spent the weekend worrying and watching my kids because there was a young man there who was causing a stir, to put it mildly....he was found in the ladies' washroom, seen peering into people's rooms, looking through people's stuff....and really interested in little kids. And apparently had a history of touching them, which nobody had told me about before...I had a different viewpoint on some church issues which caused problems (was told I had been up for consideration as a Deacon, but would never be allowed to be one because of my one differing view, and at family camp, two elders started a rant about how wrong anybody was who believed what I believed, and anyone who was wanting to be a part of the church had darn well better conform and do what they believed...so in the spirit of wanting safety for my children, the desire to belong somewhere, a search for a place where I could really FEEL God, and to avoid conflict, I left that church and started hunting for a new one....each Sunday for 2 months, we went to a different church....and wouldn't you know, the first one we tried ended up being the one we fell in love with....I truly believe God took us there first, then let us go to the others so i would be 100% sure that I was making the right choice...I am thrilled. They sing the real uplifting, upbeat, sing your guts out, clap your hands, dance around Praise GOD type of songs, the pastor is so passionate about what he's talking about every week (and he is GOOOOOOOOOOOOD! Every week he says something that totally hits home, which is something I need, because it makes me want to try harder....and he's really interesting to listen to....not a fall-asleep-in-the-pews sermon type of guy), daughter loves her Sunday School class and has some friends from when she was in preschool in that class, son absolutely lives for his Sunday school class (and I am totally THRILLED they have Sunday School for 2 year olds)....he is SO proud of his pictures and crafts they do, and he was the most adorable little shepherd in his Christmas pageant. :) :) :)
At the moment, I am not involved in anything.....just going to take my time, settle in, get to know people first. It's really nice not to be in charge of anything right now.
My goal for this week is to eat better. I like food too much, and I find that my past really bites me in the butt at times, kind of pushing me in the absolute opposite way of before.....but that's another day's story. I have been drinking 8 glasses of water a day for almost 2 weeks now, but haven't lost any weight yet (I have 46 pounds to lose to get to my goal of 150....I'm 5'10", so that's about what I should be). This week, I plan to eat oranges, pears, cabbage, oatmeal....stuff like that....and try to stay away from cookies and fries and stuff like that. My weigh in day is Tuesdays, so in a way, tomorrow will be the "official" start day....I will base my success this week on the difference between tomorrow's weigh in and the following week.
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Sunday Morning Sunshine
Good morning! I actually am running on full steam this morning, having overslept until 9AM. The sun is shining, it's still freezing cold out there, but I just have to go from house to car, car to church, church to car, car to KFC, KFC to car, and car to home....at which point we eat lunch and decide what to do for family day. Yup. Every Sunday afternoon has been set aside solely for doing SOMETHING together. The plan was originally sledding, but unless things warm up, we will need to make alternate plans. i managed to escape from mommyhood last night and go see a movie all by myself, clutching my bag of salt and vinegar popcorn and big cup of pepsi....and not having to share, quiet any children, take anybody to the potty, explain anything from the movie, or even THINK for TWO WHOLE HOURS!!!! It was great.
Came home to a dark house and hubby having rolled himself up in the blankets like a taquito (it WAS around midnight), after having been specifically asked before I left to make a nice warm spot in bed for me (because I get cold easily and take a long time to warm up and his making a warm spot makes going to bed a much nicer experience for all), so ended up grabbing a comforter and sleeping elsewhere. (When it's late and I'm tired, I sometimes take offense at the stupidest things...either way, we both got a decent sleep, and then talked it all out in the first few minutes of both being awake)...
So now I wolf down my oatmeal, and off we go to church. MY church, as of this week, having been officially been accepted as a member. Woo-hoo! I will write more about it another day, as that is a whole other story,
Came home to a dark house and hubby having rolled himself up in the blankets like a taquito (it WAS around midnight), after having been specifically asked before I left to make a nice warm spot in bed for me (because I get cold easily and take a long time to warm up and his making a warm spot makes going to bed a much nicer experience for all), so ended up grabbing a comforter and sleeping elsewhere. (When it's late and I'm tired, I sometimes take offense at the stupidest things...either way, we both got a decent sleep, and then talked it all out in the first few minutes of both being awake)...
So now I wolf down my oatmeal, and off we go to church. MY church, as of this week, having been officially been accepted as a member. Woo-hoo! I will write more about it another day, as that is a whole other story,
Saturday, February 3, 2007
I swear they do it on purpose!!!!
Just when I was happily thinking that in the deep freeze, I'd just have to do those two, easy little routes. They called last night to tell me those had been filled, and they had two new ones for me...other end of town, twice as many papers, more spread out. Oh yeah, and it's -34C out there, with a windchill of -48C. I am in PAIN!!!! I got up at 3 today, out the door about 3:15....finished around 6:45. I am SO happy that I have tomorrow off....maybe I'll be thawed by Monday (There is no Sunday paper, you see) ...and maybe by some miracle the weather forecast will be wrong, and things will warm up nicely. I can dream, can't I? DEFINITELY going to be snuggling up on the couch, making love to a huge cup of SOMETHING hot....either coffee, tea, or hot chocolate....not sure yet.
Today should be a good day, now that the papers are done...do some cleaning, daughter goes to two safety courses, maybe get to read some....and then escape to the cheap theatre by myself to see "Happy Feet" for the second time....sort of. The first time I went, it was me and the two kids....hubby went to see the new Bond flick instead, saying he just didn't want to see "Happy Feet"....daughter was an angel, son decided he needed to use the potty 12 TIMES!!!!! (we go, we hurry back, get him back in his booster seat, he starts yelling that he need to go potty, we go, we come back....you get the idea) I am SO glad daughter is mature enough to stay put, not talk to strangers, and raise holy hell if anybody tried anything with her. So she saw the movie....I essentially did not. Hubby was told that if he ever makes me take the kids on my own to a movie again in the next 3 years, he will be living in the backyard. Let's just say my mental state by the time we got out of the theatre was a mix of anger, disappointment, and definite resentment towards the two "men" in my life.
The downside of seeing it at the cheap theatre this time is that they don't sell nachos. I'm not crazy about theatre popcorn. Oh well.
Oh hey, speaking of nachos, 7-Eleven is stupid....they had it made with the most luscious chili and cheese toppings.....and then they changed it. their new chili is too spicy, and so is the new "cheese"....which isn't buttery and "pourable" like the old stuff....it's thick, like toothpaste! Ewwwwwwwwwww! Anybody else feel the same way? I just want my nacho cheese to be hot, buttery, and smooth....and pour or drip from the machine, not look like it's being squeezed out.
Morning is officially here....people are up, so off I go to don my supermommy cape.....and find me something hot to drink.
Today should be a good day, now that the papers are done...do some cleaning, daughter goes to two safety courses, maybe get to read some....and then escape to the cheap theatre by myself to see "Happy Feet" for the second time....sort of. The first time I went, it was me and the two kids....hubby went to see the new Bond flick instead, saying he just didn't want to see "Happy Feet"....daughter was an angel, son decided he needed to use the potty 12 TIMES!!!!! (we go, we hurry back, get him back in his booster seat, he starts yelling that he need to go potty, we go, we come back....you get the idea) I am SO glad daughter is mature enough to stay put, not talk to strangers, and raise holy hell if anybody tried anything with her. So she saw the movie....I essentially did not. Hubby was told that if he ever makes me take the kids on my own to a movie again in the next 3 years, he will be living in the backyard. Let's just say my mental state by the time we got out of the theatre was a mix of anger, disappointment, and definite resentment towards the two "men" in my life.
The downside of seeing it at the cheap theatre this time is that they don't sell nachos. I'm not crazy about theatre popcorn. Oh well.
Oh hey, speaking of nachos, 7-Eleven is stupid....they had it made with the most luscious chili and cheese toppings.....and then they changed it. their new chili is too spicy, and so is the new "cheese"....which isn't buttery and "pourable" like the old stuff....it's thick, like toothpaste! Ewwwwwwwwwww! Anybody else feel the same way? I just want my nacho cheese to be hot, buttery, and smooth....and pour or drip from the machine, not look like it's being squeezed out.
Morning is officially here....people are up, so off I go to don my supermommy cape.....and find me something hot to drink.
Friday, February 2, 2007
FREEZE!
A friend of mine wrote recently in his blog about watching a bottle of water freeze right in front of his eyes. I can totally believe that, especially if his weather is anything like ours (and I suspect it is, since he only lives about 8 hours away). Today, I feel like that bottle of water. I wrote yesterday about planning on wearing my balaklava and going it half blind. I wasn't joking....I had 2 layers, plus my big coat on, 2 sets of mitts, plus this balaklava, and I was STILL cold!!!! When I was done the routes (took me about an hour and 45 minutes), the balaklava was frozen solid around the mouth/nose area....it looked like a mask when I took it off, as it had frozen to the shape of my face, complete with the bump for my nose. I am so totally waiting for spring!!!!!! That groundhog had better do the right thing and end winter, right here, right now. But of course, we all know it just doesn't work that way, the worst of winter is yet to come, and my arthritis will have me in a stranglehold soon enough. As it is, my finger joints are stiff and sore from today's cold weather....and they still claim it's going to get colder over the next few days. Global warming....yeah, right.....warm my globe, PLEASE!!!!!! (I know, I know, don't you all jump all over me on this one....I just mean I wish it didn't have to get so COLD, and expose to everyone what a wimp I am in winter)
That reminds me (Groundhog Day)....one of my friends has become a 30 year old groundhog today....I must wish her a happy birthday!!!! She is the youngest of our "Group of Seven", true by a mere 2 days, but she is our baby....all grown up. :-D I wonder how she's doing today, up in the North. I think I will cry if she has warmer weather than I do. :)
Well, I have sat here, staring blankly at the screen, for a few minutes, with no real thoughts at all about anything at all. Time for coffee. Or maybe I'll add some hot chocolate powder to it and make it a cafe mocha. :)
That reminds me (Groundhog Day)....one of my friends has become a 30 year old groundhog today....I must wish her a happy birthday!!!! She is the youngest of our "Group of Seven", true by a mere 2 days, but she is our baby....all grown up.
Well, I have sat here, staring blankly at the screen, for a few minutes, with no real thoughts at all about anything at all. Time for coffee. Or maybe I'll add some hot chocolate powder to it and make it a cafe mocha. :)
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Workin' On the Chain gang...clink....clink
Why this song comes to mind, I don't know, but I kind of like it, and it seemed like a good title for today. :)
It's even colder today....windchill of -32C. They say it will be getting even colder over the next few days....the temperature itself is to drop to -33C, and that's not including windchill. Needless to say, I'm digging out the balaklava for the next few days and doing the papers half blind. Nothing quite like looking out your window in the early hours of the morning to see somebody trudging up your driveway with only their eyeballs showing, I always say. hee hee
As long as they realize I am there to GIVE them something and not some hoodlum come to rob them, all will be well. :)
This morning I had two routes again, but different ones...better ones, and smaller, too. A total of 75 papers instead of 144. Yesterday I made $30.50, today I made a mere $21.50....but in this cold weather, I'll take the pay cut just to be home sooner and warm up faster. I've been home for half an hour, and I'm STILL cold. Definitely snuggling up on the couch with a hot, strong cup of coffee in a few minutes. Daughter begged me last night to be allowed to come and help with the papers this morning.....I think she will fully understand and appreciate my telling her no way, when she wakes up to realize how stinkin' cold it is outside.
Hubby got a contract with a business for the day, which is always nice....he'll make about $500 today. It throws off my schedule, but in the end, we need the money more than we need me to have a solid schedule. In the meantime, it allows me to do the cleaning all before lunch (mostly), and then I can relax, maybe even have a short nap, while daughter is at school, then we go get groceries, return stuff to the library, have supper, then I have a group PVI (Personal Voice Instruction) for Chorus tonight.
I guess I'd better go get that coffee now, since I am sitting here, shivering, staring bleary-eyed at the screen going "What? What was I thinking about?"....and besides, hubby's alarm will be ringing in about 10 minutes, and everyone will be up and searching for food. :)
It's even colder today....windchill of -32C. They say it will be getting even colder over the next few days....the temperature itself is to drop to -33C, and that's not including windchill. Needless to say, I'm digging out the balaklava for the next few days and doing the papers half blind. Nothing quite like looking out your window in the early hours of the morning to see somebody trudging up your driveway with only their eyeballs showing, I always say. hee hee
As long as they realize I am there to GIVE them something and not some hoodlum come to rob them, all will be well. :)
This morning I had two routes again, but different ones...better ones, and smaller, too. A total of 75 papers instead of 144. Yesterday I made $30.50, today I made a mere $21.50....but in this cold weather, I'll take the pay cut just to be home sooner and warm up faster. I've been home for half an hour, and I'm STILL cold. Definitely snuggling up on the couch with a hot, strong cup of coffee in a few minutes. Daughter begged me last night to be allowed to come and help with the papers this morning.....I think she will fully understand and appreciate my telling her no way, when she wakes up to realize how stinkin' cold it is outside.
Hubby got a contract with a business for the day, which is always nice....he'll make about $500 today. It throws off my schedule, but in the end, we need the money more than we need me to have a solid schedule. In the meantime, it allows me to do the cleaning all before lunch (mostly), and then I can relax, maybe even have a short nap, while daughter is at school, then we go get groceries, return stuff to the library, have supper, then I have a group PVI (Personal Voice Instruction) for Chorus tonight.
I guess I'd better go get that coffee now, since I am sitting here, shivering, staring bleary-eyed at the screen going "What? What was I thinking about?"....and besides, hubby's alarm will be ringing in about 10 minutes, and everyone will be up and searching for food. :)
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