This just about sums up how all of us feel today. Christmas was wonderful but an exhausting cacophany of noise and color and light. God bless us, every one.

Merry Christmas to One and All! 

The kids are literally bouncing off the walls; have been since Tuesday. There is nothing I can say and no amount of mom type looks that will calm them down. Getting the kitten probably doesn't help.

Yeah, the kitten? She totally loves SO, but at night, who does she want? Me. When she doesn't feel like going to sleep yet, who does she bug? Yours truly. Who is feeding her? You guessed it.

She likes to perch on my shoulder like a little furry parrot, it's quite cute but a bit cumbersome when I'm trying to do stuff.

Kids had their Christmas concert tonight. K was just hilarious, belting out his song and doing the actions very exaggeratedly. He also seemed to be the only one of a few that actually bowed when everyone started clapping. Haha! Then he managed to talk a parent into bringing him back to where I was sitting w/everyone. I initially was asked to sit at the front to help his teacher, and SO immediately assumed it meant he could sit too, and then the JK teacher stepped up and told us to go to the back because we were taking up space. Ah me, such is life. C was very good as well and she always puts forth a lot of effort when it comes to any kind of performance. I love going to these things, the kids just crack me up and make my heart swell a little.

I did fifteen million tons of baking this afternoon and the result was I sent half of it to the school social tonight. We didn't actually make it to said after-concert social because my friend's aunt passed away over the weekend and the wake was tonight. I am so close with him that there would be no excusing my presence, it would be like not going to my own aunt's wake.

Such a terrible time of year to lose somebody. But she's better off now, cancer is a sonofagun and it's best she goes before she really starts to deteriorate, and is spared pain as well as her family being spared the pain of watching her die slowly in front of them.

Didn't mean for this post to be morose. Truly, I didn't.

My sister-in-law is coming over shortly so that I can dye her hair just before Christmas. Of course this should be interesting as my kitchen is a disaster area due to the baking and cooking supper spree and not having enough time to clean it all while simultaneously getting the kids ready, thanks a lot for the help SO, no no you just stay napping on the couch, really, I'll be ok. Grr.

Later folks.

We've all agreed to call her Mischief. It totally fits her and SO has already dubbed her "Missy" for ease of use. She has already become his little suck which is quite funny because he has always maintained that he is more of a dog person.

Day one with her was a bit uneventful; she slept mostly, to hide from the terrifying creatures trying to coddle her to death. When the kids were asleep and the house was quieter, she did a little exploring and found she was a brave kitty after all, and not at all afraid to plonk away at the (thankfully plastic) ornaments on the tree or rip away at the rugs.

She ended up snoozing with us of course, until about 1 am when C was coughing and coughing away, I got up to give her some meds and Mischief of course being on top of my belly was quite put out about the disturbance. The result was she expected to be played with for at least 45 minutes before cuddling on the couch with me to watch some TV until we both passed out.

C ended up staying home sick today, legitimately as her cough was quite terrible and she had a bit of a fever. She was delighted to have the kitten snooze with her on the couch.

K learned the hard way that she had claws because she tried several times to crawl up his pantleg. He was quite offended that her little scratchy parts were in such close proximity to his kneecaps; we reminded him that we did try to warn him that might happen.

All in all though the kids are very pleased with her, as am I. Tomorrow we go to register her with the vet and get her checked out. This should be an adventure as I have yet to purchase a cat carrier...

Tonight I went out with my brother and his significant other and SO of course, for dinner. We all agreed rather than exchange gifts it's nicer to just get together for dinner. It was a really pleasant time and we need to do that more often I think.

Ok time to rest or something, I'm still zonked from the weekend which is unusual and leads me to believe if I'm not careful I'll be next on the coughing list. Also Mischief is crawling up my leg.

The SO's Christmas party last night was an absolute blast. The food was fabulous and the wine was flowing and I don't remember the last time I had such a good time. We ended up saying to hell with it and stayed at the inn last night and got company rate of $60, woohoo! I'm kind of glad we stayed because there was no way I would have been able to crawl into a cab... haha.

I met some of JG's good friends and that was nice too, they are a lovely couple and we've made plans to get together some time in the new year.

I got my nails done yesterday as a treat to myself and I BROKE ONE already, snapped it on a chair tripping over someone at the party. Also a weird event: I set my glass of wine down on the table, I wasn't rough or anything and it shattered! I was kind of embarassed about that but the one server said it happened all the time in that room, she even had a bottle of wine break in her hands the one day. She said as long as I didn't cut myself it's all good. Which I didn't. Phew.

In other news: we got a kitten today! We haven't decided what to name her yet but she is sooo tiny and adorable, she's a grey stripe with just a few spots of light grey-brown... our friend's calico cat got out one day and came back pregnant with the grey Tom cat down the street! Haha! So the SO and kids went to get supplies... our friend was kind enough to drop her off with a new litterbox and everything which was a plus, but we still had to buy litter, food, a dish for the food, etc.

I said we should name it Smokey but the kids are hell bent on Paws, because one of her little paws is more brown than grey.

Now I have that song "When Smokey Sings" stuck in my head.

Time to toss together a dinner of some sort. Ugh. Don't want to look at food.

Bob Noxious on the radio, singing this tune yesterday, and I can't get it out of my head

Police nabbed my Dad
The police nabbed my Dad
The police nabbed my Dad,
drunk in public,
wasted on eggnog...

Mmmm eggnog. I truly love that about Christmas (and Easter), is that twice a year I get to gorge on that crap until I'm sick of it, and then don't have to think on it again until the next year.

Just finished off the Lemony Snicket books. They are actually quite marvellous on the whole and I would be lying if I said I wasn't dying to read the (not yet published) thirteenth and final novel.

Tonight is my darling SO's company's Christmas party, and I'm quite excited about it actually, as he is wearing a new suit & tie and dayum son he looks gooooood.

Now I'm off to tidy the house etc.

I have a job interview tomorrow. Eek.

Paperformers! Little paper cutout-and-assemble transformers! So cute!

It's of course safe to post now about JPk's surprise birthday Mardi Gras. JPk, I'm so terribly sorry that I missed it... I spent most of my weekend either in the hospital being prodded or in agony hoping the meds would kick in. Stupid UTI & poss. kidney infection. Know I was there in spirit, ok?

I do feel terrible about missing it, because I was looking forward to celebrating with you and especially looking forward to seeing your surprised face... I hope it all went well and you had a grand time and aren't too hungover today...

love ya sweets.

Mr. Pryor, you used to make me laugh until I almost peed. Seriously. Be at peace.

This saddens me to a certain degree; I'm finding as I get older, all the icons I grew up with are one by one making their final march towards St. Peter's.

Jennifer Lee Pryor said her husband inspired many people by being candid about his own strife.

"He was able to turn pain into comedy," she said. "He let the world see it, and that was his inspiration, too."

The negotiations for the demolition of 123 gingerbread lane have come to a settlement, and the deconstruction is well underway. Mister and Mrs. Gingerbread disappeared some time last night, along with their tree and gingerbread dog. The chimney has been dismantled and the left roof is starting its slow decay into nothingness.

I have not participated in these monstrous events as I must confess, I do not wish to partake in its demise. The children and my darling SO have therefore taken the grisly task upon themselves with stalwart courage. I salute them in their endeavours!

Parent/Teacher meetings today went well. The kids love their teachers this year which makes a big difference.

To add insulting pain to the injurious news of my tooth's plans for defection, I may possibly have a UTI. Because what the hell, right? May as well be in pain while painfully contemplating my options with regards to the nefarious tooth.

Bla bla bla. I sure can spin a yarn when I've a mind to do it.

While darling C was at Brownies and K was at the gathering at the retirement home, I wrapped a ton of presents. There was paper and tape flying everywhere. The result of course is, that K is bugging me every 63 seconds to open them.

I have mixed feelings about the Xmen 3 trailer (found here). While it looks interesting enough, I wonder where a new director will take it and also, you can put sixteen tons of make-up on him but Kelsey Grammer will always be Frasier to me. I'm sure he'll make a terrific Beast, I'm just sayin'.

I am pretty excited about Narnia though. I loved those books as a child and I hope it will be as fabulous as it looks thus far.

I forget what else I was going to say, a clear sign that I need some tea and perhaps a nap if I can sneak it in. I don't feel so good all of the sudden.

Guess who might need a root canal? Oh yes sir. My other option is extraction. Ick.

Stupid genetics and bad teeth and grrrrrr.

On positive side, I'm pretty much done my Christmas shopping, hooray!

Tonight's another badge night for C, she's going for TWO badges tonight so hopefully it will work out for her.

Tonight is also a Christmas gathering at the retirement home my mother-in-law's mother is at, so I was voluntold to come by after Brownies.

SO's company Christmas party is the 17th, I'm sort of anxious about it for reasons I cannot comprehend. I think I'm just anxious, period. Holiday blues seem to be hitting me as well and I have no clue why.

Oh-ho! I found a pack of Ferrero Rocher under my monitor's stand! Dare I indulge?

I made my man a manly type supper yesterday, meat loaf, mashed potatoes, corn, yorkshire pudding, gravy, and stuffing. Yes. Stuffing. He loves stuffing with gravy on it, okay? What do I know from boys?

So last night, after their baths (because I wasn't thinking too clear, you'll see why I said that in a minute) the kids and I got to working on their gingerbread house. I had the foresight to set up the walls and roof already, so all we had to do was add icing sugar to the sides and top so the kids could put their candies on it. Which was fine, but both of them kept sneaking fingersful of the icing sugar and then wiping the evidence off on their pajamas. (See what I mean?) I also had bought a container of those Voortman gingerbread men, which Kevin proceeded to call his "Army of Gingies" and had them marching up to the door of the house. It was funny, and he insisted they all live beside the house until Christmas.

Ok time to go clean up the kitchen and do mom type things I guess.

The kids are pretty excited about it being December, what with the advent calendars and everything.

Today is skating for C, I had initially volunteered to go help them with their skates but it turns out, I have an appointment today at around the time they have skating, so there goes that. Hopefully her teacher isn't too disappointed... I'm sure there will be parents to help though.

The format went well in spite of a few glitches here and there. My back-up CDs I made though? Yeah. They're EMPTY. So all these photos I'd taken of the kids are gone and all kinds of projects I was working on and everything else is gone gone gone. That was the only true source of frustration here.

Snow's all gone again. I don't GET this weather.

I feel like crud in ways you wouldn't believe. Seriously. I'm not looking forward to travelling to Dundas this weekend with a plastic bag in front of my face... if I'm still sick by then I'm just not going, to hell with it. My mom will probably be upset with me about it but I'm not about to infect the rest of the family just to say I showed up for Christmas. Honestly.

Time to get the kids ready and go.

Wish me luck folks, I'm re-formatting my pc....

Ever been too tired to move? That's me lately.

I'm seriously feeling exhausted and lazy. We went to the grocery store, K and I, after dropping off C at school, and we came home and after putting groceries away I was wiped out. I did manage to put the lights on the tree though so that it is ready for the kids to decorate this afternoon. We also bought a gingerbread house so that little K can build a gingerbread army with little Gingies (which is what he calls them, thanks to Shrek 2) and everything. I'll be hard-pressed to keep SO from eating said house before Christmas though.

K wants to use real glue to glue it together. I told him we couldn't because then we couldn't eat the house. He said he'd eat it anyway. Well, that's a boy for you.

All the snow is gone, the rain washed it all away.

SO came home feeling under the weather, and for once was asleep before the kids. I was up all hours of course... which is probably why I'm so zonked.

Should I make any resolutions this year? A few years back I'd resolved to never make another one, and I've kept that up to this point, but I think my life needs a few resolutions to help me focus.

Have you ever kept any resolutions, or do they always go by the wayside, like most people I know?

So I forgot to mention earlier: I received my marks from the Organizational Behaviour Class, 90 per cent!!!! Woo woo! I've every right to crow about it... I worked my butt off for it.

Now on to see what courses I can take tomorrow. Hmm.

The gathering of my Dad's side was at my cousin JPk's house and it went off smashingly. I'm really proud of her - she is only really cutting her teeth on cooking and she made a divine turkey dinner for us. The festivities finished rather early for a change, at around 9 pm most everyone who was going home had cleared out. SO and the kids and I stayed at JPk's. V gave the kids their Christmas presents early, and they hooted with delight over them for some time. Then they hunkered down to watch Madagascar before bed time.

I didn't sleep a wink last night, finally giving up trying at 4 am and sneaking downstairs of JPk's house (which is gorgeous by the by) and watching Good Will Hunting and having a little cry while starting off my knitting of a Gryffindor scarf for my brother-in-law, who is absolutely captivated by the Harry Potter stories. I figured it's as good a Christmas present as any, and one he would not only appreciate but actually USE.

I got to meet and talk to JPk's significant other's parents, as they were at the festivities as well. They are both working in the public education system so they seemed pretty eager to talk to a parent who is pretty involved with their kids' lives. Memo to self; send her info on the Circle of Friends thing.

SO decided on our way home from the cold white North we would take back roads and loop around here and there. We stopped for a bite at a random road truck stop type diner and the food was good, plenty, and fast. It took us 4 hours to get home from a usually 2 hour drive, but it was much more relaxing than taking the 400 & 401 home.

Now I'm just about exhausted after helping C with her Book Talk homework.

Time for a nappety nap nap. Ta-ta!

ps: Hammers - StarFall and Handwriting pages! The handwriting one is neat as you can print off practice sheets as well as type out sentences for them to trace and practice on, that will show up on the printable sheets.

He was so much more than just Mr. Miyagi

For some reason it makes me really sad to know he's gone. I understand society's tendency to glamorize celebrities and kowtow to their comings and goings, but damn. I really liked his work and he seemed like such a decent person.

Today was a day off for the kids, all the Catholic schools were shut down (but the public ones still open? I think the board made an oopsie) so we rented some movies and watched them and the kids played outside a while and it was a good day. We watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and the Polar Express. Perfect timing on the second one what with Christmas looming over our heads and all.

I also made mudpies, the easiest cookies to make on earth.

And then the family ate like, half of them.

Ok time to go start knitting something for the brother-in-law's Christmas present.

Ta

Eee! I'm so happy!

Seriously. I love Superman like nobody's business. I'm also pumped about the fact that Kevin Spacey is playing Lex.

Also: Check out Bryan Singer's weekly video blog!

In other news, C's first confession went over very well, she was in and out in no time flat and despite a little nervousness just before and just after, she was perfectly fine. She went to Fr. B. because she said she was afraid she might not understand Fr. D. because of his thick accent. I told her not to worry. She said she was not going to tell me what she said though, because that was between her and God. I said that was fine, I didn't want to know anyway, heheh.

Went to Value Village with the mother-in-law today, we spent a couple of hours in there and I came out with tons of neat stuff, including a hardcover version of Douglas Adams' entire Hitchiker series (for a whopping 2.99) and Miriam Toews' "A Complicated Kindness" in hardcover as well (also for 2.99). I could have got a ton more but I was really there for pants for the kids since they tend to be outgrowing them quicker than I can keep up so I refuse to spend altogether too much on them. I got a lot of GAP & Old Navy stuff there for absolute steals. So hooray!

I had more to say but I'm beat. Toodles.

I have that darn White Stripes song stuck in my head. Stupid clock radio. Grr.

Anyway, the weekend was good, SO and I had a splendid time at ME's surprise bash. The limo bus was a scream and the bar was so-so, but we make our own fun and the group we were with were of the same mind. So yeah.

The birthday girl was out of sorts for a day or two afterward... she was pretty sick that evening as well.

C's presentation at mass on Sunday was good and we went to Crabby's for lunch with my folks afterward. Then we went to a book store and I got a couple of used books for 2 dollars, hoorah! I love books like nobody's business.

I have a deposit to do shortly for the school council, best get off my keister and get moving then.

.

.

.


Any minute now.

Really.

Is it nap time yet? Why am I so sleepy lately? Must be the change of weather.

Here's to hoping ME has a good time tonight at her surprise birthday gathering.

Memo to self: Behave. No really. Remember C's presentation tomorrow.

This article amuses me a little.

Potentially, ANY toy could be dangerous, ya bunch of numbnuts.

The Uruk-Hai Crossbow looks pretty neat, actually.

Tum ti um. I'm procrastinating from calling all of my in-laws to find out what they're bringing to the in-law family Christmas which is being held on the 27th. I agreed to take it on this year (memo to self: get notepad that says "Stop me before I volunteer again!") but I really don't feel up to it. Oh well what the hell. I'll just never do it again.

I love that our public library provides online services including renewing books so I don't have to go tromping outside to return them.

The snow is pretty and all but I can do without the flurries, slippery roads, and snowdrifts, thank you very much.

Methinks I will go take a bath and procrastinate some more. I have plenty of time tomorrow.

We've been eating a lot more fruit and veggies lately to counter-balance all the halloweeny goodness that's been going on at our casa.

Good mom: grapes, strawberries, graham crackers
Bad mom: with a side of fudge brownies and the kind of juice that comes in a can and would put any diabetic into a coma

So tonight while C was in brownies I went to a reconciliation meeting.

Good mom: I actually remembered there was a meeting
Bad mom: I forgot to bring C with me

Good mom: I wrote down the "new" Act of Contrition (oh man do they get off lucky with this one)
Bad mom: I didn't listen to a thing the priest said after that point

Good mom: Reminded Brown Owl that we wouldn't be there for next Brownies meeting
Bad mom: Forgot to bring in permission forms for the parade, and also forgot dues (but I'm pretty sure we're ahead, I keep bringing toonie in instead of loonie)

Enough good mom/bad mom crap.

Anyway. JG came over after work w/SO tonight, they had a few beers (beers? beer? where are my pedantic friends already?) and yapped about work while I finished off cooking an oh-so-original meal of meat loaf, mashed potatoes, and green beans and corn. How much more (un)inspiring can you get? Men don't care. They see meat, they eat it. Meat good. More meat please. *insert grunt here*

JG stayed for supper with not much in the way of arm twisting on SO's side. "You staying for supper?" "Nah, I should get going soon." "She made meat loaf..." "WELL! In that case!"

haha

Lost my train of thought. I feel about a hundred years old suddenly. Sleep time methinks.

Ta

Friday night the kids had a sleepover with my sister in law because she wanted them to come over and watch Madagascar with her. As a result I had an entire evening to myself. Know what I did? Not a darn thing. And it was GLORIOUS.

Saturday my darling SO got it into his noggin to take us to London to eat at East Side Mario's. First we went to the mall for a bit and just petered around. I picked up a gift for the potluck/christmas gathering my friends and I do every November (because we're all too busy to do it any other time). We went to the restaurant and I have to tell you, I have not had such wonderful service in a long time. Not once did we ever have to ask for a refill on anything; he seemed to anticipate our needs and have the drink before we even had time to realize it was empty. Bread and salad a-plenty and extra coloring pages for the kids.

The wait seemed shorter than it could have been were it not for him. So Dan from East Side Marios, thank you for being so terrific. I muttered to SO at one point during the meal that if he left any less than a 20% tip I'd murdelize him... SO has this thing about tipping. It's our one major head-clasher. In any case, he got a good one, and we got home just in time for me to go to the gift exchange. I didn't bother eating (obviously) but that's never the point. We played a few games of euchre and crokinole (spell check on that one please) and everyone had a great time. JM always throws together a nice event and I'm glad I went.

Sunday was a lazy day, thank heaven. I had a pounding migraine and not even a short nap could fix it.

Now I'm off to put away ten million groceries. Ta.

And now, for Remembrance day, I present to you a poem I wrote in grade 7 that won me two awards at the Royal Canadian Legion. I look at it and think to myself, wow this really sucks. But at age 12, I guess it's ok. This is all coming from memory, mind you.

Do you remember? I don't
My grandpa will; my father won't
and yet the thought of war still breaks my heart
but still, still I'm in the dark

when it comes to the horror of it all
when women cry as soldiers fall
Yes, the horror that never fades
not even with the big parades
that are here today, but gone tomorrow.
They won't make up for the tears and sorrow

And Hitler, he's the desperate one
who took the daylight from the sun
Politicians, evil men
who tried to take from us our land
We wear the poppies, they bear the cross
I'll never understand their loss

So we'll set aside one day each November
to pay our respects to those who DO remember.

I really hate it when you get a stupid song in your head. Thus the title.

I redesigned JPk's site. Not that there was anything wrong with the previous incarnation, I just think this suits her a little better. Hopefully she likes it as she trusted me to log in and toss the template up for her. Cutie if you don't like it let me know and I can give you the coding for the way it was before, I kept that saved (yes with your minor changes).

Tomorrow is Remembrance Day. I have to remind myself to give the kids coins for their poppies. I must have bought a bajillion already, I keep losing the things.

K's eyes were all red tonight and he asked to go to bed almost an hour earlier than usual. I hope he isn't coming down with something...

C lost a tooth over the weekend and it was so precious, she also left a little dress for the tooth fairy along with her tooth. That tooth fairy is one lucky lady I tell you. So the tooth fairy left in return a toonie and a barbie necklace. Well! C sure was impressed.

Calvin: It snowed last night! Turn on the radio! Maybe they closed school. Maybe the school buses froze up! Maybe the principal can't get out of his driveway!
Mum: Get dressed, Calvin. It only snowed an inch.
Calvin: Getting an inch of snow is like winning 10 cents in the lottery.

Woke up to SNOW outside... grr. C was tres excited because she loves winter. I was not so excited because winter means snow which means shovelling driveways. It doesn't look like it stayed though so hooray!

K has been playing Shrek 2 on the gamecube all morning. Normally I try to temper how long the kids play but the little guy was having so much fun and I figured what the heck, once in a while it won't kill him.

Lunch with S was good as per usual, and I even got a little Christmas shopping snuck in there somewhere.

I'm trying to figure out what to make for supper to no avail. It's tough trying to find something that is quick enough that SO can still eat it before he has to leave for work at 5:30. Yes, 5:30. Yeah. My thoughts exactly.

He was telling me how there's this guy at work who is so spoiled by his wife she makes him lunches of his favorite hot meals and includes little notes in his lunch and everything. He said it must be nice to get lunch made for you every day and I said "Gee whiz hon, hate to break it to you but I'm not a doormat. You want a lunch, you know where the fridge is." And of course he laughed because he knew it would get a rise out of me.

Ok time to go put laundry away. ugh. I hate laundry.

Played around with the site... again. The lovely lady on your left is Grace Kelly.

K's photos came home today and he looks adorable. He was quite upset though and said his one ear was pointy but that certainly wasn't the case... I reassured him the best I could but for some reason, he was inconsolable. We brought the photos home and SO said he looked quite dashing. For some reason it made it all better.

My foot is just killing me. I have no idea what I did to it but whatever I did, it was a doozy.

Time to take SO to work so I can have the car for Brownies tonight.

Woke up to a massive thunder roll that literally shook our house. Makes for quite the morning, I assure you.

I helped my cousin JPk with her blog site, which she loves of course and you can see it here.

I dyed my hair after all, a really nice color because frankly, keeping up with the streaks was getting to be a pain, and I miss dying my own hair, and I like the color besides. It's Loreal Feria's Chocolate Cherry. My sister in law came over Monday night to help do it (hard to get the back pieces sometimes) which was nice of her, considering she came right after work and she had to close the store that night.

Pictures came in yesterday (and today for K) of the kids from the school. C looks awesome and she has these two little bandaids on the one elbow which is just precious and made me giggle a bit, because it's so typical of her grade and age and just perfect.

Apparently Fr. whatshisname (isn't that terrible? I forget what C told me already) came in to talk to them yesterday and teach them the Act of Contrition. I told C in the end that's all she really has to remember and she'll be fine. Her reconciliation is coming up so fast, it's kind of spooky! Doh... which reminds me... must call either my mom or my mother in law and see if they can watch K while I go to the meeting tonight...er wait. Is it tonight? Maybe it's next Wednesday. I'd be lost without a calendar I swear.

Going out for lunch with my dear friend S today, whoopee! We always used to go to the Elizabethan on Wednesdays for lunch, because they serve the best fish and chips... haven't gone in a long time because we are both pathetic and our lives are crazy lately. Her son is 11 today. I kept thinking he was 13 but then I remembered I'm 2 years older than she is which is where my math went wrong. Eleven! Holy crap. It's just so weird.

Today is the Feast of St. Michael. I think tonight I'll make some angel cake. The kids will get a kick out of that.

Time to go get ready for my lunch date and also get resume ready to give to a little shop downtown that's hiring that I think would be a hoot to work for...

ta!

Grandma's party was nice, everyone seemed to have a good time but I've noted that one of my aunts-by-marriage seems to have developed a severe undertone to her voice and she looks... hmm... jaloux. Seriously, lighten up lady.

SO tied one on a little too loosely and as a result was not in the greatest of health when we got home. I had to laugh it off because he hasn't been like that since he was nineteen. He felt a little sheepish about the whole thing. I told him that even though he was Irish/Scottish, it didn't mean he could outdrink my entire Portuguese family. Boy howdy did he give it a good shot though.

It was decided that Christmas for my mom's side is going to be on the 3rd of December, as the weekend after that is no good for one half of us, and the weekend before Christmas is no good for the other half of us. We'll see how it goes. SO's company party is on the weekend of the 17th. No idea what I will wear as I am in the mood that everything looks hideous on me (even if it does not). Time for a haircut maybe. Doing something crazy/drastic/at least different from the usual mess makes me feel better.

I rented a couple of movies yesterday: Shark Boy and Lava Girl, Sin City, and Revenge of the Sith. The kids seemed to really like the Shark Boy and Lava Girl thing, and of course K was giddy at the prospect of the Star Wars movie, even if I did cheat a little and forward through the extra-scary parts (for a five year old, some parts are extra-scary). We were smart enough to wait until the kiddies were safely tucked in bed (at 7:30 K and C begged to go to sleep, a good indicator they were up wayyyy to late the night before) before we watched Sin City.

Well. I really have no words for the film at the moment. It was... yeah. SO is convinced I have a thing for Robert Rodriguez as I rented not one but two of his films last night and followed up with Once Upon a Time in Mexico (insomnia strikes again).

Today I go out for lunch with the ladies of my SO's family as his grandmother on his Dad's side started up this "First Wives Annual Luncheon" wayyyy back when his grandfather ditched her for his second wife. His grandfather's sisters also go to this lunch as they have both been married twice as well. They invited me because they pointed out that I was in fact a "first" wife... and then of course followed up with "but that doesn't mean he'll have another, dear, we're just saying, you're first and last... oh hell we just want to invite you, ok?" They broke the rules a little this year too because they invited my sister in law as well and she hasn't married yet. "Eventually you'll be a first wife... right?"

This should be interesting. The only time I've met his great aunts on his grandpa's side was at the funeral of his grandpa's second wife. I was cornered by one about my epilepsy (haven't had a seizure in literally years, something I'm proud of as I've managed without medication as well), by another about my lack of photos in the purse of my kids (I'm always with them, what do I need photos for?), and by another about when am I going to have another kid already (I can't). It was sixteen different kinds of awkward. I'm hoping this won't be a repeat performance. CM and I have a pact to stick together; thank God for sisters-in-law.

This post has gone on long enough, methinks. Time to get the bambinos together for school.

Happy 70th to my grandma C whom my lovely daughter was named after! I'm going to stop by her place this morning after dropping the kids off at school and give her a visit and a prezzie or two.

We have been planning a surprise party for her which will come to fruition tomorrow night at a hall with balloons and music and family and of course tons of food. MW (my brother's girlfriend) and I have been designated to decorate and etc. Should be interesting. We got her a cake meant to feed 50 that is covered in red roses because she loves flowers so much. My grandmother is a certified florist and did all the flowers at my wedding except the button-thingies (I know what they are called but am embarassed to admit I have no idea how to spell the damn word) and C's bouquet (which I made myself).

Meanwhile, Paris is still burning and I think to myself, holy crap I mean I understand the unrest and frustration but for all this to stem from the accidental death of two teens seems a bit much and is there no other way to bring their point across? While I understand that sometimes violence begets violence, what about turning the other cheek and all that jazz? So much destruction.

The cynic in me is thinking "you know, 'Paris is burning' sounds like a really good title for a book or something..."

Ok time to get the kids going... it's always a drag to get them going on a Friday morning... literally a drag! They don't want to move. It's a mystery of science or something.

I think the kids had a fabulous time... I know I did, as I always do.

It's funny, each Halloween as a parent brings to mind what my parents used to do... like Dad's insane rule about the caramels (they're not safe, dear, here let Daddy take care of those for you) and how Mom would munch on treats while sifting through them, as if we couldn't tell haha.

I remember pillow cases full of the stuff and laughter and cold air and candy, candy, candy.

I remember once being really, really sick and I could not go out. So my brother had to split his loot with me. Boy howdy was he mad.

K and C looked terrific in their costumes, and our pumpkins were extra skeerie with their mean faces. The only real dampers on the evening's festivities were:

1. SO had to work tonight
2. I still have a hell of a cold.

I don't know if I'll be making it to tomorrow's school council meeting... so I may have to toss together a sheet and ask the school secretary if she would please print it off for the meeting. It's pretty self-explanatory and if they have questions they can of course contact me.

Ugh and double-ugh. Time for rest.

Today today today today! It's today! I love Halloween!

K is very excited to FINALLY be wearing his Spider-man costume. He's almost giddy about it.

Scarf status: one more stripe and I'm finished. It can wrap around her neck and be tucked under the cape, I'm happy. My finger is too hurty to do any more. C understands and is thrilled to pieces with the results anyhow.

We used my spiral curler on her yesterday to see how it would look. Initially C said it looked too much like Goldilocks and she refused to have her hair that way. I pinned it up here and there and she loved it, but said "not for Hermione, mum. Can we have it like this for my First Community?"

Oh my word how I giggled at that. "Communion, love."

"Yeah, that. What's that about again?"

So we got into a small theology discussion and then went to my mom's house for a visit. The kids stayed for lunch and SO and I went out with JG to Features for a breakfast/lunch type thing. Then we went to my SO's achilles heel, EB Games. SO managed to convince JG (without much arm-twisting, as JG has no will power to speak of, which makes shopping with him a great deal of fun) to buy a new keyboard. SO had picked up the same keyboard when we went to get a gift cert for his father's birthday the other day.

I mean it's nice and all, I just appreciate the irony in his purchasing a keyboard worth more than I want to even mention, when he has always been mister thrifty, and especially hates spending more than 15 bucks EVER on a keyboard. Men and their love of buttons, I swear.

I have a nasty cold which should make trick-or-treating especially hellish today. I hope the rain at least lets up some. Maybe I can convince my dad to take them out, since SO is on afternoon shift this week. Hmm.

Nap time, methinks.

So um. I almost cut off the tip of my middle finger yesterday using the mandolin slicer to make scalloped potatoes. As luck would have it my pain sensors stopped me about halfway through. I quickly went to the bathroom and started rinsing, and the blood just kept pouring out so I used one hand to get out the first aid kit and toss some gauze around it and then called my father-in-law to drive me to the hospital to get it looked at. I brought the cutter with me so that they knew what I was talking about when I told them what happened.

The doctor wouldn't stitch me up though because it would mean peeling my nail back to do it and then there would be scarring on my nail bed and a big bloody mess so he just used a butterfly encloser thingiedoo and bandaged me up. It hurts like hell and is really putting a damper on my knitting efforts.

Dinner with the parents went very well last night in spite of injuries and a good time was had by all. My parents were impressed with the food which I don't know if I should take as a compliment or insult. (Compliment: I'm a good cook. Insult: Didn't they know that already? Why are they surprised?)

Tonight is the Halloween dance in Tavistock, friends and I are going as the spice girls, and SO has decided at the last minute that he no longer feels like going. BOO to him. I'm a bit snarly about that but meh, what can you do. No point in forcing the issue as he can be a real killjoy when the mood suits him, and I'm perfectly fine going out on my own.

It took all I had to drag him out of the house this morning to come with me and the kids to their skating class. K only lasted a 1/2 hr on the ice before begging off, but C stayed the whole time; she is really enjoying it.

Ok time to go get last minute things for tonight and possibly finish off the scarf (almost there, whee!)

I have had that Nick Drake song stuck in my head all morning, probably because of watching the Royal Tennenbaums last night. I love that movie like nobody's business.

Went in to K's class today to help out with the Halloween (read: Orange and Black Day) festivities. They had games and all kinds of treats and things. Fun was had by all the little ones, though I don't know how his teacher is going to live through the afternoon with a bunch of excited, sugared-up 4 and 5 year olds. Bless her. I brought her in a hot raspberry smoothie, to give her a boost. Those things are so, so good.

Tonight the parents come over, per my SO's invitation. I have a lot to do, may as well roll up my sleeves and do it.

Last night the SO asked me something interesting. He asked me, if we hadn't had kids, would I still have married him? Would I marry him still? And my answer was yes I said yes I will yes.

And the fact that he totally got it, that I was quoting Ulysses, even though he hates James Joyce and only knows that it's Ulysses because I've read parts to him, is part of what I love about him. Don't ask where that thought pattern came from, I think I'm having a mushy moment or something. (And no, I'm not implying that I've made a cuckhold of him, as Molly did to Leopold, I just like that line.)

Time for more Tennenbaums maybe, for background noise while I'm cleaning.

I've fallen so far
For the people you are
I just need your star for a day.

Had to take little K in to school to get the flu shot. He tried to be all brave about it but the minute the needle went in he cried and shouted "OW OW OW THAT HURTS" and flung himself forward out of the arms of the nurse so he had this needle dangling from his arm and he wouldn't let her touch him for anything so I had to hold him down so she could yank it out.

Kid has finesse for melodrama. He was perfectly fine afterward and even thanked them for it.

C came home with a bit of a fever, hopefully it will be gone by tomorrow but I'm not too surprised as she got the shot today too and some people react that way for a day or two.

Went to the in-laws' for supper tonight, tacos and cupcakes for my father-in-law's birthday (which is tomorrow) and my sister-in-law's male friend's birthday (which was today) and my father-in-law's mother's birthday (which was yesterday). It was ok but everything seemed rushed, you know?

Feeling sleepy but I MUST STAY AWAKE AND FINISH THE DAMN SCARF.

My SO invited my parents (yes, my parents) over for dinner tomorrow, so I won't have time to knit, as I will be rearranging the house and getting their supper together. It will be sweet and sour meatballs, scalloped potatoes (from scratch), brussels sprouts, green beans, and corn. Appetizers will probably be shrimp, and deviled eggs. Maybe some veggie chips.

.

.

.

Mind going fuzzy. Must rest.

Jeepers it's cold outside.

Remind me in July that I want these for my birthday. Damn, son.

That scarf isn't going to knit itself, so I guess I should get at it.

Procrastinated from scarf-making and treasurer stuff this morning and messed around with a blog layout for a friend. I also rearranged the room where the computers are to try and make it look less cluttered. Phew! I'm pooped after that!

Tonight C's Brownies unit is having an "Orange and Black" celebration. I understand their feeling the need to create a PC friendly version of Halloween, but come on now. What's wrong with costumes?

Last night I watched the Passion of the Christ with SO, which of course made the watching peppered with questions from his anti-religious ass. "What are they doing? Why are they doing that? Why didn't the guy just say screw you we're not killing him? I thought they nailed people through the wrists... oh. I see. What's with the weird baby? Holy crap that whipping scene was nasty. Did they really do that? So um, what happened after he died? Oh. I see." bla bla bla and so on and so forth.

Anyway. Time to go figure out lunch and pull something out for supper too I guess.

RIP Ms. Parks

My mission: To knit a Gryffindor scarf by Halloween.

Dun-dun-dun-dunnnn!

Yes. I am 1) stupid for waiting this long and 2) stupid because I knit really slowly.

BUT!

Insomnia won't let me down this time, I'm sure of it!

I got off my lazy buttocks and re-vamped the ol' blog. Huzzah! I think it looks pretty snazzy, no offense to the "Ms. Moto" template I was using before but it didn't really fit with the title.

What does really fit with the title is my current beverage. Mmm. It has been a very long time since I've had one.

SO & me and the kids had dinner together @ home last night, SO picked up some steaks and barbecued them up, we made some rice and veggies and we all got to drink from wine glasses just because it was a "special occasion". The kids were amazed that they were "invited to mom and dad's anniversary dinner!" but hell, we like their company and neither of us have been in the mood to get away or anything lately.

K woke up crying his head off at 4 am, complaints about a sore neck abound. We did the typical paranoid mother at 4 am testing of "move your head around please, let's take your temperature, hurrah you don't have menengitis, stop sleeping on 60 pillows already" and then of course he had to come in to bed with us to cuddle because he was hurty and grouchy and wanted cuddle time with mom. At 4 am who am I to argue, I just want some sleep.

So I ended up sleeping in and missing my final exam and that's ok because I talked it over with the prof and she's fine with it as long as I can make it up by either coming in during the week to take it or writing an extra research project. I am thinking the latter, but we'll see.

Bleh. So tired.

I picked up an interesting book from the library, "A Feast of Poisons" by C.L. Grace. It's pretty good actually, it takes place around the time of Henry the VI and Louis XI. There is murder and intrigue and gruesome stuff all over the place in this book, a very good read.

That being said, time to go read said book.

Can you recommend an author? Why are they your favourite?

Today marks 5 years with SO as husband and wife.

C became a brownie "officially" on Wednesday and she couldn't be more pleased with herself.

K and I went to Let Them Eat Cake yesterday and had a muffin each for breakfast. We then went to Breadworks because the smell was driving us crazy and we bought two loaves of sun-dried tomato bread. MMMMMMM.

We also went out to the library yesterday to get more books and we also borrowed Dinotopia. We watched all 4 hrs of it and then it was time to get C.

Last night we went to the in-law's to celebrate my brother-in-law's 25th. Dinner was sweet and sour meatballs and pineapple rice and of course chocolate cake & ice cream.

I have a Final exam tomorrow. Yow.

JG is gone. We helped him move out yesterday. I'm sorta happy, sorta sad.

Happy = hooray! I get to walk around in my underwear again!

Sad = now who's going to watch Spongebob with me when the kids are asleep and I'm waiting for SO to come home?

JG says fear not, we will see more of him as he has to eat eventually. :P

I didn't sleep a wink Friday on account of my having a test Saturday morning, so at 4 am I threw together a chili in the slow cooker for the boys for after the move. I also wrote down the recipe for JG so he can do it himself. The recipe is simple as all get out, and went thusly:



Hooray for Chili! A Recipe
(a.k.a. I have insomnia, let’s waste time before I have to go write a dumb test!)

You will need (food):
1-2 lbs. burger meat
3 small cans of beans and 2 small cans tomato paste
mushrooms, sliced (fresh or canned)
½ a small onion (diced)
water (2 tomato paste cans’ worth)
Cajun spice
Mexican chili powder
Paprika
Cayenne pepper
Ground peppercorn (what? No pepper mill? Fine. Be that way. Just use normal black pepper then! See if I care!)
Salt
Hot sauce

You will need (not-so-foodlike):
A frying pan
A slow-cooker
Various utensils (mostly spoons)
A can-opener
TIME.

Cooking instructions:

Ok. So. Fry up the burger meat in the pan. If you feel like it, fry the onion @ same time as burger. Or wait and put in pot. It’s really up to you. Now while the burger is frying (you can multi-task, can’t you?) open up the cans of beans and tomato paste, and empty them into the slow cooker. (Don’t forget to plug the damn thing in, and yes you know you probably will, so do it now. NOW.) Fill up two tomato paste tins’ worth of water. Add to the mix. Put in mushrooms (drain them first if canned pls) and diced onion. Get a big wooden spoon and try not to break it stirring all the stuff up. DON’T FORGET THE MEAT! YOU ALMOST BURNED IT YOU PUTZ. Ok, back to the slow-cooker. Here’s where it gets tricky because I’m not much of a measuring type. So here are some estimates. Toss in:

1-2 tsp ground peppercorn (or black pepper if you insist)
4 tbsp Mexican chili powder
2 tbsp cayenne
1 tbsp paprika
1-2 tbsp Cajun spice
a dash of salt
2-10 drops of hot sauce, use your discretion here.
If you can’t stand the heat, get rid of the spices that start with a C. Add and subtract spices as necessary.

Mix all that stuff in. The meat should be done by now. Toss that in too and stir it all up. Smells good, huh? What? No? DID YOU REMEMBER TO PLUG THE COOKER? DID YOU REMEMBER TO TURN IT ON? Jeez. I have to do everything myself, don’t I? Cook this concoction until it smells like you must eat it RIGHT NOW.

Cooking instructions (alternative method):

Buy all the ingredients. Call G. Beg her to cook it for you.



So yeah, JG's gone, and SO and I have to go to his cousin A's wedding today (yes, on a SUNDAY, no, I have no idea why).

C is loving Brownies and has already sold a case of cookies and is looking to sell more and I bet she will because she's quite the little salesperson.

She calls up my Dad and says "Vavu (portuguese word for grandpa) guess what! You won't believe it! I FINALLY got my Girl Guide cookies! So how many did you want? They are only FOUR dollars a box, so three boxes would be TWELVE dollars! Isn't that great?" and he totally went for it and bought them.

Then she calls up SO's Dad and says "Granpa! Guess what! My cookies finally came! I know you LOVE cookies! And Vavu already bought THREE boxes, so how many do you want?"

So yeah, he got three boxes as well.

JG bought three boxes, I told him he didn't have to and he said hells no it isn't to be all helpful, it's because he loves cookies and I bloody well know that. Bwaha.

I have no idea what to wear to A's wedding. Damn.

so um.

I went to the library today, to return three books. These three books? They were over 2 years overdue.


They only charged me $30.00. My conscience would not let me let it go at that, so I donated a nice sum of money to them in lieu of their accepting payment.

Then I wrote and wrote and wrote and wrote my damn essay. Take that, essay! Now I have to type it but I have no motivation to do it from all the writing and writing and writing and writing.


I then borrowed fifty bajillion CDs as their policy is you can take as many as you can carry.

And put the CDs in a nice burlap bag they gave me as thanks for donating money to them.

So now I am listening to one of the CDs now. Can you guess what I got?

FYI at Tim Horton's the new apple toffee danishes + butter caramel hot smoothies = a winning combination

Also the treasury for the school council is really crazy, I have a lot of work ahead of me.

Also also I am doing my research project on managing stress in the workplace for my organizational behaviour course.

Also also also C's friend Z is coming home with us after school for a play date. C is tres excited about this but I have a feeling K's nose will be out of joint, so a rousing game of Uno may be the only hope to keep all parties happy. Should probably consider baking something too for their snack. Banana muffins, perhaps?

Also also also also it's Girl Guide cookie time! It's the minty kind! C already sold a case of 12 and she's only had them home for 36 hours. WE RULE

L: I sent you directions on how to post images in your lj.

Ok time for a shower.

ta.

Soooo tired.

School Council meeting was last night... as I have inherited the Treasurer position, my presence was mandatory, since the Board rep was coming in to tell us how to direct our money.

It was an ok meeting, but man! Some parents. So uptight!

Then I went out for chicken wings w/the boys. Tuesday nights my kids go to grandma's because she takes them to Thunderkids (some sort of evening program at her church) and then likes them to sleep over. I'm not complaining.

SO of course worked till 3 am so he wasn't there, but that doesn't bother me much as I get along with his friends just fine. JG was kind enough to buy my portion, even though I had my own damn money, because he said SO & I have done so much for him, and he needed to take every opportunity to do something nice for us when he could. Cindy (their regular server) was in fine spirits and sporting a penne necklace one of the cooks made her out of boredom. JE tried to steal it on more than one occasion which landed him in the doghouse with her, meaning no more beer for him! JG's cousin (the same one that is now living with his now ex wife, don't even go there) was out too but he hates beer so he kept drinking rye & coke, which was fine but upped the bill significantly.

Now it's time to brush my teeth etc. Mmmm. Cinnamon toothpaste!

What is your favorite kind of tooth paste?

I've had the worst bout of insomnia I've had in a long long time. I'm averaging about 15 hrs of sleep per week for the past two weeks. Yowch. Don't know why... I guess it's just that time of year.

I've purchased The Sims 2, which is more fun than it probably should be. I like designing homes... I am also a bit sadistic and enjoy finding new ways to kill them. In any case, the kids like the game too, C is pretty good at being caretaker to their whims...

We have been playing a lot of Uno lately too, I have a Dora the Explorer version and the cards are bigger and I laugh and laugh when K shouts "HAW HAW C I PUT DOWN THE SWIPER, YOU HAVE TO PICK UP A CARD" or C says "NANANANANANA I GOT THE WIIIIIIIIILD CARD SO NO PUTTING DOWN THE BLUE BOOTS CARD FOR YOU". I have to find a copy of Candyland at some point and Trouble because they love Trouble and we lost ours somewhere (no idea where, magic goblins maybe?).

I've enrolled the kids in a bi-weekly catechism class which is nothing more than making crafts but also sneaking kid versions of the scripture in. C really wanted to go and wherever she goeth, there be K. I have also been suckered in to volunteering my time for children's liturgy (fancy term for Sunday school) every Sunday I can go. I don't mind really since at least it gives them a chance for exposure in a friendly manner and also gives them something somewhat fun to do on the weekends. Sunday school ain't what it used to be... they do a ton more stuff than I ever did.

SO & I got to spend some actual time alone together yesterday as my mother-in-law invited the kids over for a sleepover, and JG is spending the weekend at his folks' house. So we went to London because we both really miss it. We both love that city and we are considering moving there when the kids are done high school. Which seems like a long time... but it really isn't. Time seems to be going in fast-forward in that respect. And sadly enough, housing and taxes are cheaper there. We passed by gorgeous homes that were HUGE and cost about as much as the one we now own... and they weren't semi-detached like ours either. Nice neighborhoods, too. Hmm.

We had dinner at East Side Mario's, which was a big deal to SO as he hadn't eaten there since the last time we did, which was sadly 2 years ago. Yes. I had the Hell's Kitchen Chicken... daaaaamn, son. So good. SO had the Chicken Parm and we talked and took our time eating and people-watched as it was Homecoming weekend there so there were people literally in every damn corner of the city.

Ok, breakfast time.

I'm the treasurer for the parent council at my kids' school this year. Last year's treasurere whooped with delight when she heard someone was interested in an executive position; she'd been doing the job for the past 4 years. Then she tossed a binder in my lap and told me the GST report is due Wednesday, so chop chop. Heh.

C joined Brownies last week, she is *very* excited. The uniforms have totally changed. I guess even Brownies need to be hip these days.

My Organizational Behavior class is really interesting, but man oh man does she pile on the homework.

K has been having issues with the same little boy as last year. I told his teacher and she had a very long talk with all of her class about personal space and safety.

To make K feel especially loved and safe, she let him be the Happy Helper yesterday even though it wasn't technically his turn, and he got to take hom Kiki the Kangaroo, which is a little stuffed Kangaroo with a little Joey in her pocket and everything. K gets to take care of her until next class and write down all of her adventures in her "journal". K was proud as a little peacock yesterday when I went to pick them up because of Kiki.

THAT is a good teacher.

Yesterday I also stayed at the school for most of the morning setting up all the books for the Book Fair they are having this week. This is more difficult than you can imagine because I have to sort of "censor" some of the books and not put them on display. My kids go to a Catholic school and while most of the grades have books that you don't really have to watch, it was the teen section that gives the most grief. There is an actual list of books we aren't allowed to sell them. They can purchase these books from other places, and read them during their spare time if they choose, but we cannot sell them said books.

Mostly the problem is that scholastic sends us a lot of books that aren't age-appropriate for the 11-13 crowd. A lot of the books are targeted towards 16-18 year olds. Which is fair enough.

SO anyway, about that bomb I wasn't supposed to drop until I was told I could: My friend ME is splitting up with her husband. He's moving out on the 15th, leaving her the house since she'll have main custody of their four kids. She told me on Saturday because she couldn't keep it from me anymore, and she needed someone in her corner when she told all her other friends at book club last night. She told me in particular because she knew I would not interrogate her, I would not prod at her, I would let her say whatever she wanted to say and leave it at that. And because I wasn't very surprised when she told me. Not at all. I've seen this coming for a long time. She said they had officially discussed the separation in January and that BE was more or less sleeping on the couch since then, trying to save up money to get an apartment. ME finally told him that he may as well move back to his folks' home and save there, because you can't save money in a house full of kids when there are bills to pay, etc. Every time he had almost enough saved up, was when someone needed sports money or the car blew up or whatever.

She hasn't told her children yet. She wants to wait until closer to the time BE moves. I give her a lot of credit for knowing when to call it quits. What sense is there in staying together and being miserable? People who "do it for the sake of the kids" really don't have their kids' best interests at heart, because kids are not stupid and they know misery when they see it. Why raise them in a miserable home? Why raise them to see mom and dad fighting all the damn time? Yeah. No thanks. It wasn't anything either of them did, the just grew apart. ME married BE at 18, pregnant out to here with her first son NE. She has said herself, had she not had kids with him, they'd have split up long ago.

Tonight's wing night. Mmm, chicken wings.

Avast ye landlubbers! It be Talk Like A Pirate Day!

Nothing says Sunday Morning quite like getting trounced by your kids at Uno.

Went in to work and picked up my letter. Here's what it said:



To whom it may concern:

Re: Employment Reference for G.

G was an employee with our organization from May 1999 to August 29, 2005 at which point she was affected by an organizational restructuring. During her tenure with our organization, G held positions of increasing responsibility. Most recenty G was employed in a dual role encompassing the responsibilities of Receptionist and Customs Coordinator for our Canadian facilities.

During her employment with our organization G maintained an untarnished employee record. G conducted herself in a very professional and courteous manner and displayed an ability to work with multiple employee groups to provide prompt and sound support. G approached her work with a positive attitude and demonstrated the ability to manage the day to day challenges presented by our dynamic working environment. G was able to manage the complexity of her position while at the same time displaying an open and inviting demeanor.

Had we not been faced with the necessity of restructuring the organization, G's employment would have continued into the future. I believe that G's strong work ethic and personality will serve a future employer well.

I wish G all of the best in her future endeavors. Should you require any further information, feel free to contact me at

bla bla bla bla bla.

Nice huh?

so i had bought this crazy fabric a week ago with the intentions of making something out of it...



pillows! i've got plenty leftover fabric too. hmm...





K & i also went to mcblah's because he wanted to play in the ball crawl a while, and i figured what the heck, why not?

now to toss together a meatloaf & pick up C...

SO could only too easily get used to me being home.

this week's menu:

monday - bbq burgers, sausage, hot dogs, coleslaw, potato salad, and corn
tuesday - chicken wings
wednesday - pineapple rice, ham slow-cooked in honey & brown sugar, green beans, home made sweet n sour sauce
thursday - spicy spicy chili
today - home made lasagne & home made garlic bread & caesar salad

tomorrow however, will be leftovers day, sucka!

it's nice having time to actually cook the way i'd like to.

they all gobbled up the lasagne today like it was going out of style, and JG has begged me to teach him how to make the chili because he hadn't eaten chili that good in a long long time. the boys took the leftover chili to lunch today only after i assured them i wouldn't want any.

the truth is i am not much of a chili eater. plus last night they threw together a dinner party for all of us rejects that got laid off at falstaff's, so after i'd made the chili i left the boys to their own devices and went to that instead. i had the luau chicken & rice. deeeeelicious. it was nice to see everybody again, and there were some co-workers who were very distressed that i was gone.

today my dad dropped off a rose that was delivered to me at work from a vendor that wanted to thank me for my gracious company and constant help during the transition from soliciting our business to becoming our main supplier. i was rather surprised but also had a bit of a chuckle over it because i guarantee you the lady that is doing reception now looked at the card and i can also guarantee you that everyone there knows about it now. which is probably exactly why the vendor did that, because he knew i was gone.

he also left his business card for me in case i wanted any help.

i can honestly say i haven't felt this free in a long time. it's such a precious feeling, i want to wrap it up and savour it. i have sad moments too of course, because i put a lot of myself into my job, and i miss some of the co-workers, and because i'm a big sap. but mostly i feel better than i've felt in a very long time.

So I applied for a business management course today. I've already signed up for Organizational Behavior and Introductory Financial Accounting I class. I start on the 17th. Yes I'm crazy. Shush.

I figure, I'm so bossy anyway, I may as well get paid to do it. Ha!

how much i love johnny cash's version of personal jesus?





i will deliver you know i'm a forgiver

Today was K's first day of Senior Kindergarten. He was quite miserable though because his molars are coming in and he wanted to bring his blanket and teddy bear and I said no, Mr. Bear has to stay home and keep me company while he's at school. He seemed to be okay with that.

He was also ultra-excited to show his Spongebob Squarepants backpack off to his teacher. His teacher is an absolute gem and I loved her when she taught C in SK so I know what to expect.

I had more to say but one, I have a nasty hangnail on one of my fingers which is making it difficult to type, and two, I have a bit of a headache probably due to lack of sleep. I haven't slept much the past two nights for some odd reason. Probably the change in season bringing it about, but definitely not a habit to be forming.

I might go to the library later today, I might not. This having time to just myself without being sick or otherwise engaged is taking some getting used to.

I haven't said much with regards to the tragedies occuring in the south because it's all been said before, and I really hate the futile feeling I get. I can't donate blood to red cross because they won't take it anymore, and while I've donated money, I don't feel like it's enough.

Today is C's first day of Grade 2. We dropped her off at the school and I checked out her classroom... The teacher seems nice but firm. That is a good combination for that grade I'm thinking.

Then K & I went and got a snack and came home and played Madagascar on the gamecube.

Now I have to figure out lunch.

This stay at home thing is... interesting. Though I still feel like I am missing something. I don't know.

My dad told me over the weekend that my boss approached him and asked him if I'd be interested in training people some time in the future... oh boy did I laugh at that. I have a feeling that the person who made the decision to let me go (neither of my bosses made that decision, fyi, and both were pretty pissed about it) is starting to feel my absence in the sort of way that may cost him his job in the long run.

Anyway. I told dad that if my boss grows a pair and asks me himself, and is willing to meet my terms, then I'm in.

Ok, off to make some home-made pizza!

took the kids to african lion safari yesterday, where by luck or chance we got to witness a buffalo giving birth! taking the car through the safari, it was in the last stop (the americas area) and we noted all through the safari that there were babies everywhere this year! we saw some baby buffalo and then K said "mom look that big one is pooping" but no she wasn't... she was giving birth! i explained to the kids what was really happening and they were pretty impressed.

a few minutes later, placenta hanging out of her behind, she was cleaning up the baby, and a few minutes after that, the baby was running around.

we went to the station and told one of the rangers, who said not to worry, they have safari rangers going through the pavillions all the time, and they would take care of it. which was total bullshit because we were in the americas pavillion at least 20 minutes and no ranger. so i went to the front desk and told them, they said "WHAT she wasn't due for another week!" and started scrambling around. hehehe.

i am sure the momma was fine, i mean they have kids in the wild all the time, but i know they tag most of the animals so that they can account for them all, so i thought i was doing them a favor letting them know. bah.

came home to 3 phone messages from co-workers who were absolutely devasted by my loss. the workplace is reaping what they've sown because it's total chaos and trucks have been lining up angry waiting for paperwork and they've been expediting and the ditz they have doing my job now has *no clue* what she's doing.

the decision to let go of me was a political one, and i could name names and reasons but why degrade myself by slandering anyone? needless to say, reap/sow will come into effect very shortly.

that isn't sour grapes talking. s'truth. i for one am very happy they did what they did, as i had wanted to quit anyway, but had put it off because SO started a new job this week. he quit his old job and started at another company, and it's a cut in pay but worth it because he's so damn happy i don't even recognize him.

JG managed to sell his house and today is the closing date. so now begins the time he looks for an apartment in earnest, since he'll have 1st & last month's rent handy now. was hard for him to save for that what with a (now-ex) wife who spent money like it was water and paid no mind to bills. to say he is relieved that it's over between them is a bit of an understatement. there's a lot more to tell on that front but none of mine to say.

we left lion safari early yesterday because my head exploded in a magnificent cold, and i needed to go lie down and die for a while. i still feel all stuffy and not myself, but this is the first time in i don't know how long i've been sick but not stressed and i think i'll mend quicker for it.

Guess who walked in to a severance package this morning?

L is here! She arrived last night just in time for supper. SO made a delicious Portuguese roast and the meat was just nicely the fall-apart kind. Mmmm.

Then she offered to hang out with the kids while SO & I went to the wake. We got home @ nine and she had them nicely tucked in bed and read to and teeth brushed. What a darling.

Then we drank froooty wine and ate ketchup chips and watched Kung Fu Hussle. Yes. Because we are awesome.

She got me a gorgeous journal for my belated bday present because she knows that I hold back when writing entries here, and that I have about sixty paper journals all full (I've been writing in a journal since I was twelve, and have every one) but haven't done any journalling on paper in a long time.

Today I think we are going to go through the shops downtown, maybe visit my mom for a while and then go to Blythe to watch "I'll be home before midnight" OR we could go to a friend's housewarming BBQ OR we could just hang out and watch old movies and scrapbooking and more wine. Mmm.

L is one of those people that make you feel like home.

Ok. Time to go shower or something.

a few things:

• i deleted all but one post at e2 (only everythingians will know what the heck i'm talking about here)


• shawn's grandpa's second wife died this week. visitation is today and i have the day off work for it


• L is coming to visit me for the entire weekend, which i sorely need


• tattoo healed *perfectly* and i'm ready for another one


• JG is the perfect houseguest, neither too in your face nor too antisocial


• remind me why i shouldn't make a habit of smoking again?

Happy 50th, Daddy.

I don't wanna.

tattoo = gotten.

me = happy.

Weekend was nice. Not much going on for a change. I went and dyed and streaked my hair. C got a new haircut too. Sunday we all went out for brunch with some friends. There were too many of us to go to our favorite spot so we went to a brunch at the Queen's.

Two little boys just showed up at our door last night and asked if they could play with our kid. I said sure, in the front yard, but where were their parents? They didn't say for the longest time. I suspected the bigger one was a bully, so I parked myself in front and let them play cars with K. As suspected, the bigger one asked K if he could keep some of K's cars. I said quite firmly NO. The bully kind of glared at me. Then they asked if the could play in my backyard. I said no, because they wouldn't be able to hear their parents calling then. I asked again where their parents were... no answer. The bully kid asked about the cars again and I told them enough was enough, and go home. They didn't look too happy about it but the little kid was polite and said thanks for letting them play, then was dragged away by the bully to go knocking on the next door. Very strange.

JG came home halfway through this episode and stayed outside chatting with me while we half watched the kids. We discussed some prospective apartments, as he is not familiar with Stratford and wanted to know if I knew anything about the locations that came up. Then we chit-chatted about things I'd like to do to the house... I'm itching to do things for it again, which is the builder upbringing I guess. Growing up I never lived in a house that my Dad didn't touch somehow. Usually major renovations even if they weren't really needed. To me, a house isn't your home unless you've done something for it.

Last year it was painting the main floor and installing hardwood laminate. This year I'd like to fix up the bathroom upstairs, maybe paint it too. Alternately, I would like to rip out the old carpeting upstairs and either put in new carpet or floor it up there too. Except it would be hella cold in winter so new carpet. Except carpet is way more expensive. I don't know. Blah. JG is pretty handy and grew up with the same kind of Dad, so he offered to help whenever we decided it was time to do something. Which is nice because SO isn't really all that interested in doing anything to the house. He's pretty happy with it the way that it is.

I'm feeling kind of sleepy but not. I stayed up too late last night, first watching a DVD full of Spongebob Squarepants episodes with JG, and then after JG went to bed I stayed up and waited for SO, who kept me up until 2, and no we weren't talking.

Still haven't called the EAP. Because brrr. Therapists.

Maybe I just need to heal on my own, little by little.

I've been invited to visit my friend in London (UK). I'm sorely tempted. Thoughts?

my mom turns 50 today.

i got a correspondence from an old friend i haven't heard from in years (literally) and it was the best part of my week.

was prescribed ativan, i have yet to take it because he said only take when i feel i need it. SO asked me if my doctor remembers how stubborn i can be about not taking meds?

supposed to start career counselling soon. i keep meaning to call and keep forgetting. perhaps its my innate distrust of counsellors that is stopping me.

the only therapy i need right now is a warm blankie and a zillion hours of sleep.

back to the grind. blar.

i go see my doctor today about stress and etc. i've had 4 co-workers tell me i should just ask him to put me off on stress leave, but that seems like a quitter's way out to me. i said as much and they all freaked out and said it wasn't worth a god damned heart attack to keep going at the pace i'm going, and that the word "over-dedicated" more than applies here, and what am i stupid or something, just TAKE THE TIME OFF. my bosses were both not around to discuss it with, as yesterday was a holiday here in the canada but i still had to work what a SHOCK.

anyway i'm ok, or something, just tired, and not sleeping much, and feeling kind of weak and sluggish.

having JG in the house hasn't been near as bad as some people i know thought it would be. you'd hardly notice the guy was even here. he was pretty concerned about the whole panic attack thing and agreed with SO that i needed to take a freakin break already. i think SO likes having him here because it levels off the odds of him winning a conversation, heheh.

ok time to go and pretend i like my job. dr's appt at 2:45.




WRATH
1. who did you last get angry with?: my boss
2. what is your weapon of choice?: a scathing glare
3. would you hit a member of the opposite sex?: on the bottom maybe ;p
4. how about of the same sex?: in defense
5. who was the last person who got really angry at you?: my boss
6. what is your pet peeve?: selfishness
7. do you keep grudges, or can you let them go easily?: depends on the situation and circumstances

SLOTH
1. what is one thing you're supposed to do daily that you haven't done in a long time?: laundry. SO's been doing it, and it shows.
2. what is the latest you've ever woken up?: these days, 9 am
3. name a person you've been meaning to contact, but haven't: V
4. what is the last lame excuse you made?: i can't think of any
5. have you ever watched an infomercial all the way through?: yes, i love that crazy george foreman
7. how many times did you hit the snooze button on your alarm clock today?: none, i was up at 5, though i'd be perfectly happy to continue sleeping

GLUTTONY
1. what is your overpriced yuppie beverage of choice?: a cosmopolitan (we're talking yuppie here, technically i prefer beer or wine)
2. meat eaters: white meat or dark meat?: who cares, it's meat!
3. what is the greatest amount of alcohol you've had in one sitting/outing/event?: i cannot even begin to try and quanitify it. i outdrank several frat boys through a game of beeramid. i was also president of the century club. (century club = drink a minute for 100 minutes. i had an interesting college life).
4. have you ever used a professional diet company?: i guess so
5. do you have an issue with your weight?: who doesn't?
6. do you prefer sweets, salty foods, or spicy foods?: all of the above!
7. have you ever looked at a small housepet or child and thought, "LUNCH"?: no, i'm willing to bet they'd give me indigestion...

LUST
1. how many people have you seen naked (not counting movies/family)?: god i don't know. people keep track?
2. how many people have seen YOU naked (not counting physicians/family)?: too many.
3. have you ever caught yourself staring at the chest/crotch of a member of your gender of choice during a normal conversation?: of course. i'm human you know.
4. have you "done it"?: yes, and i'll do it again!
5. what is your favorite body part on a person of your gender of choice?: brains. and that lovely region between the navel & groin. i don't know why. oh and eyes. and that curve between earlobe and collarbone, on the neck. and a well-defined back. and uh... heck i like lots of things!
6. have you ever been propositioned by a prostitute?: yes, haha. and no, i didn't take up the offer.
7. have you ever had to get tested for an STD or pregnancy?: had to and chose to are two different things. i have chosen to get both at one point or another. the pregnancy tests were done with more frequency, as i'm paranoid as fuck and my system is very irregular.

GREED
1. how many credit cards do you own?: none, believe it or not!
2. what's your guilty pleasure in a store?: books and shoes
3. if you had $1 million, what would you do with it?: pay off the house & invest it.
4. would you rather be rich or famous?: rich, fame has too many strings attached.
5. would you accept a boring job if it meant you would make megabucks?: yes. if it were a *stressful* job... well i guess i'd lie if i said no since i'm at a stressful job and make peanuts.
6. have you ever stolen anything?: yes, and it riddled me with guilt, so eventually i gave it back.
7. how many MP3s are on your hard drive?: i can't count them all.

PRIDE
1. what one thing have you done that you're most proud of?: i managed to give birth to two pretty cool little people.
2. what's one thing have you done that your parents are most proud of?: i don't know, i'd have to ask them.
3. what thing would you like to accomplish in your life?: i'd like to see the world.
4. do you get annoyed by coming in second place?: nah.
5. Have you ever entered a contest of skill, knowing you were of much higher skill than all the other competitors?: no
6. Have you ever cheated on something to get a higher score?: of course.
7. what did you do today that you're proud of?: i got up in time.

ENVY
1. what item (or person) of your friends would you most want to have for your own: nothing, the grass is never greener.
2. who would you want to go on "Trading Spaces" with?: nobody, that show is such a ripoff.
3. if you could be anyone else in the world, who would you be?: jk rowling, the girl is richer than the queen and talented and nice and everything else.
4. Have you ever been cheated on?: more times than i care to imagine.
5. Have you ever wished you had a physical feature different from your own?: duh. refer to question 5 in gluttony.
6. What inborn trait do you see in others that you wish you had for yourself?: the ability to manage stress and anger.
7. Do you wish you'd come up with this survey?: no. but i bet i'd have better questions than these.

Finally, what is your favorite deadly sin?: lust

yesterday was one rollercoaster of a day, piece de resistance being a 4 hr stay in the hospital from an apparent panic attack. more later.

thanks for birthday wishes.

happy birthday to me

Tomorrow it will be seven years since my grandfather MP's funeral. It will seem like yesterday to me. I don't know. Something is making me feel uneasy. Tomorrow I also turn 29. Not that it matters. It's just another day, right?



When I have nothing left to feel.
When I have nothing left to say
I'll just let this slip away.

I feel these engines power down.
I feel this heart begin to bleed
as I turn this burning page.

Please forgive me if I bleed.
Please forgive me if I breathe.
I have words I need to say.
Oh so very much to say.

And whose life do I lead?
And whose blood do I bleed?
Whose air do I breathe?
With whose skin now do I feel?

I'm supposed to walk away from here.
I'm supposed to walk away from here.

And whose life do I lead?
Whose blood do I bleed?
Whose air do I now breathe?
I'm convinced there's nothing more.

The day you died I lost my way.
The day you died I lost my mind.

What am I supposed to do?
Is there something more?

The engines power down.
Like a soldier to his end I go.
Because I'm convinced
that there is nothing more.

and whose life do I lead
and whose air do I breathe?
With whose skin and whose blood do I feel?

What happens now?
Have I done something wrong?

Forgive my need to bleed right now.
Please forgive my need to breathe
But I've so much to say
and it wouldn't matter anyway.
You're not here to hear these words that I must say
and I'm convinced inside
that there is nothing more.

Whose life do I lead?
Whose air do I breathe.
Whose blood do I now bleed?
With whose skin now do I feel?

I have nothing left to say.
I have nothing left to feel.
Am I supposed to let this go now,
let darkness come and take you away?

((VNV Nation - Forsaken))

Took the kids to the zoo yesterday as part of K's birthday present. It was a great time and we got to see some lovely animals, ie the red panda. They have a splash pad and a kids interactive part now too. My parents went with us and before we entered the zoo we had a picnic in the park just outside of it.

K's favorite parts were the polar bears and the otters. C's were the red pandas and the butterflies. In the Indo-Malayan area there are hundreds of different butterflies flying all over the place, it was pretty cool. Myself? Always has been and will be the orang utans... although their aquarium displays are breathtaking as well. Can't wait to develop the photos!

K slept the whole way home and was in good spirits when he woke up 2 minutes before we pulled into the driveway. Usually he is a cranky bear when he wakes up from a car-nap.

We have this routine in which we sing the Johnny Appleseed song before bedtime and then we each take a turn saying what we were thankful for that day. It's just something I started a year back to get them ending their days on a positive note, regardless of what may have happened. C was thankful for her little gift shop monkey, but K? "I'm thankful for you, mom."

My little K turns 5 today. Happy birthday, boy of mine.

I have Jia Ren Qu (the Beauty Song from House of Flying Daggers) stuck in my head.

...so i'm a slacker. sue me.

Five things I enjoy:

1. well-coated ketchup chips

2. the smell of lilacs breezing in through my window (tho sadly, this is no longer the case)

3. true laughter

4. dancing

5. a good meal and a nice nap afterward

Tag, or somesuch:

lometa
trunkbutt
panamaus
kg4yef
orangejulius

scotty was my favorite.

i always fall asleep before the end of casablanca. always.

is there one movie that you've never seen the end of, or only ever seen bits and pieces of?

called in sick today, and left work early yesterday. my stomach is in knots.

our friend JG & his wife split up yesterday, i have a feeling we will be having a house guest for a little while as JG works in stratford but the house is in woodstock and now they are selling it. this is the same JG whose wife was accused of messing around with his cousin about a year ago. i'd bet dollars to donuts (what a messed up saying THAT is) that he is the reason why they are leaving, although JG says it is on amicable terms... hrm...

our friend JB & his wife and daughter and newborn daughter came to visit on sunday. they are prrrrrrrrecious and i love babies! the best thing about babies is that you can spoil em and then send em home bwahaha. i got my gramma to knit her a blanket and JB's wife really liked it. it's funny i see his wife's dad every day because he drives one of our trucks at work and delivers the mail between plants... but the last time i saw them was probably just after their first daughter was born, and she's two now! i am the worst friend ever. mind you they said the same thing about themselves. heheheh

it's just that kids eat up so much time and life that it slips right through your fingers. the true mark of friendship is not the amount of times get together it is what you do when you see each other next. if you can pick up like nothing happened - then there is a friend. if it is awkward and filled up with lots of pauses... then you might wonder. i don't know. now i'm just rambling sick.

re: potter. finished it within hours when you add it all up. it was delicious. L, to soothe your nerves, ron doesn't die, m'k? but... nah i won't tell you.

The wedding was so fabulous and all had a good time. My uncle MP's speech was wonderful, he was a bit slurry at first because he was so nervous. He played a tape that L had made for him when she was like, 4 years old. It made most of us cry because it showed how much he loved her, that he managed to keep a tape around for 20 years, and was willing to share it with us.

Everything was perfect except the weather, it rained like heck AND on the way to G'town lightning struck the mall and set it on fire! We saw it happen as we were driving...TENSE trip, I must say.

We ended up staying in Guelph overnight which was nice as a drive home was the last thing we wanted to worry about. We stayed to pretty much the end of the night. i have to say, JC's family is pretty fabulous and I'm so happy for the two of them. L looked so beautiful but I managed not to cry (sap that I am, this is nothing short of a miracle). I did however cry when JPk (the maid of honor and also our cousin) said her speech to L. We're all a bunch of saps, what can I say?

The food was superb of course a Portuguese wedding so 5 courses and a midnight buffet, woo! Host bar too which made SO very very happy, hehe. The gifts for guests were four crystal shotglasses & of course the traditional candied almonds. Damn I love those things for some odd reason.

The kids had a blast as well although C was being uncharacteristically shy and refused to dance... I think she was just so overwhelmed by everything, this is the first wedding they've been to that they were aware of what is going on. K had no problem though and danced enough for both of them. He refused to let SO & I dance together and more or less cut in on anybody's time with me, heheh.

We stopped at a small diner on the way home for some breakfast. It was a family run operation and the meal was HUGE. And so very good. Overall, this has been a terrific weekend.

Harry Potter: I'm about halfway through the book, it is fabulous but I had to put it down because I was getting too upset. I'm placing bets that someone really important dies - probably Dumbledore.

Ack. Ok back to it then.

Today is L's wedding! Today is also Harry Potter day! So hooray! I have the book, and I have a decent dress, what more can I ask for?

So we went to go see Fantastic Four last night and I had to leave halfway through the movie to go throw up and then I just went home. SO & the kids say the rest of the movie was pretty good. I'm not sure why I got sick... I'm guessing something I ate. In any case I lay like a limp noodle on my couch for the rest of the night. And I'm all mad because I was really looking forward to seeing the movie, and what I'd seen was pretty good, and grrr.

L's getting married this weekend, it should be fun & the kids are pretty excited because they were invited too.

I considered calling in sick today, because my stomach is still doing weird things, but I'd rather go in and be sent home than call in.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY lometa!!!!! ?

So I've had the teeny little super guy song in my head all. freaking. day. If you scroll down on this page there is a wav file of it.

Wedding to go to tomorrow. Dunno if I am excited or bla about it yet. Edging closer to bla. But! I got a new dress so hooray!

I forget whose journal I saw this link in. avaaricious, I think.

"There has been a widespread outbreak of grumbling and tutting today in London, along with a large number of people going home instead of to work, with a certain amount of guilty pleasure.
Sorry, bad guys. We've been bombed before, and we just adjust our day to account for it. This is London calling."