4 and a half more hours til...LONG WEEKEND! Yay! Happy Birthday, Canada! Canada Day falls on a Sunday this year, so we automatically get the Monday off. Woohoo! Adn the weather is supposed to gorgeous, so that makes it all the better.

So far, it has been a pretty tame month-end, which I am thankful for. I've been depressed all week, so the less stress, the better. My managers have all been grumpy and testy all week, but I've managed to avoid the brunt of it.

No big plans for the weekend, other than getting in some serious relax time and cleaning my very dirty little Honda. I plan on getting in at least a little pool time so I can stop looking like Casper the not-so-friendly ghost. Most of all I need some sleep, as insomnia has been ruling my life lately.

In honour of Canada Day, here is the recipe for our #1 original cocktail:

The Caesar

6 oz. Clamato Juice

1½ oz. Vodka

2 Dashes Tabasco Sauce

2 Dashes Worcestershire Sauce

Celery salt

Freshly Ground Pepper

1 Crisp Celery Stalk

Have a great weekend!

Whew. It is another scorcher out there today. Thank heavens for air conditioning, lol. I don't do well in this type of weather...it makes me more grouchy than usual.

The weekend was fairly uneventful. I went down to a yard sale that an old friend of mine was having to raise money for some astronomical vet bills she has. Her little 2-year-old british staffordshire bull terrier, Zeus, accumulated more than $9000 in vet bills. Yikes.

Chris and I went out for Indian food at a restaurant called Rice. It was pretty good, but Bombay Grill is still my favourite for Indian. Then we went home and watched "Big Fish". Great movie.

Sunday, I cleaned most of the day and then Chris came over for dinner and we watched the Nascar race. Talk about boring, lol.

With partial resolution to some of the wedding costs, I finally am feeling like doing stuff again. I found a wedding band for Chris for a great price (no point spending a ton of dough on it since he'll never wear the damn thing anyway) and finished printing the invitations. I think I may start working on the bouquets again. Only 10 months to go, lol.

Cute...

MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE. "If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. Ijust finished cleaning."

2. My mother taught me RELIGION. "You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

3.. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL. "If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

4. My mother taught me LOGIC. " Because I said so, that's why."

5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC. "If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."

6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT. "Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."

7. My mother taught me IRONY. "Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."

8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS. "Shut your mouth and eat your supper."

9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM."Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"

10. My mother taught me about STAMINA."You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."

11. My mother taught me about WEATHER. "This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."

12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY. "If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"

13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE. "I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION. "Stop acting like your father!"

15. My mother taught me about ENVY. "There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."

16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION."Just wait until we get home.."

17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING. "You are going to get it when you get home!"

18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE. "If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to get stuck that way."

19. My mother taught me ESP."Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?

20. My mother taught me HUMOR. "When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."

21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT. "If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

22. My mother taught me GENETICS."You're just like your father."

23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS."Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?"

24. My mother taught me WISDOM. "When you get to be my age, you'll understand. "

25. My mother taught me about JUSTICE. "One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you

I am a lobster. I am slowly fading from a vivid shade of red to pink. That will teach me to sit in the sun for the first time this year with no sunscreen on (luckily my makeup and moisturiser have sunscreen in them or my face would be red as a beet).

We had a BBQ at Chris on Sunday afternoon and we were out in the backyard all afternoon. Chris' dad brought his new girlfriend over for us to meet. It wasn't nearly as awkward as Chris and his sister thought it would be and Jan is really nice. I made two pasta salads and caesar potato salad so we didn't have to eat the gross store-bought kinds, and then we just barbequed hamburgers. It was a great afternoon (aside from the killer sunburn, of course).

On Saturday I went out to my dad's, where my grandmother is housesitting while they are away on vacation. I haven't seen my grandma in 2 years, so it was really great to see her. She gave me the ring that grandpa had given to her when they got engaged and it's lovely. It needs to be resized to fit my monster hands, but it's a nice diamond solitaire in a bezel setting. My dad has had this ring since DECEMBER but didn't feel the need to give it to me. I went out to have dinner with her again last night and will go out with Chris for a BBQ tomorrow. I think she will still be there Sunday when I go over for Father's Day, so it's good to have lots of grandma time.

Hope you all are having a great week!

This should be interesting...

All right, since Kris and Neicy have both managed to get through this, I should at least give it a try. Please try not to fall asleep, lol...

1. I'm near-sighted. I wear my glasses every waking hour of my day.

2. I have lived in the same area all my life (within 20 km)

3. I drive a 1995 Honda Accord. It's a love/hate relationship...I love it, it hates me.

4. I am a control freak.

5. I am an athiest. My father was raised Jehovah's Witness, my mother was Anglican...they let me make my own decisions about religion.

6. I hate onions, brussel sprouts and eggs. Other than that I will eat almost anything. Kinda like a trash compactor.

7. I have a nose ring.

8. I have an irrational fear of snakes.

9. I am not an outdoors person.

10. As a infant/toddler I would literally curl myself up in a ball if someone tried to put me down on grass or dirt so my hands and feet wouldn't get dirty. My mom still can't figure that one out.

11. I have a major fear of crowds. It's only been after a lot of self-motivation that I have been able to go shopping by myself.

12. I am very sensitive about what others say to me and get easily upset.

13. I drink alcohol about once a year, if that.

14. I was a high school dropout. I eventually received my GED when I was 22.

15. I worked as a school age childcare supervisor for 5 years.

16. My first job was a cashier at a convenience store.

17. My parents divorced when I was 14. I have not been the same person since.

18. My favourite colours are purple and green.

19. I am an extremely assertive person in my professional life and a very indecisive, nervous person in my personal life.

20. I love to read.

21. I am a speed reader.

22. I have way too much mental illness in my life (myself, my mother, my fiance).

23. I was named after a neighbour from my mother's childhood. My mom had a terrible upbringing but this neighbour showed her kindness.

24. My descent is quite the mix. My dad's side is Scottish (his dad) and English/Native Canadian (his mom). My mom's side is all English.

25. I look like my two grandmothers smooshed together.

26. My father has seven brothers. I have 16 cousins on his side alone.

27. My favourite pet was my dog Peanuts. She was a pomeranian-poodle. I still cry when I think about her. We had to have her put down when I was 16 (she was 13).

28. I love to swim (as long as no one else sees me in a swimsuit).

29. I love boating. We had a gorgeous 19' bowrider when I was in my early teens and I loved being on it. It got sold in the divorce.

30. I collect Boyds Bears.

31. I have over 500 books.

32. I love anything made out of coloured glass.

33. My first car was a Dodge Omni. What a piece of crap.

34. Okay, I am so boring...

35. I love trying new foods, especially from different ethnicities.

36. I wish I was like Kris and could wear jeans to work everyday-that would be awesome!

37. I love sandals. I only own 2 pairs of shoes and one pair of boots, but at least 20 pairs of sandals. And in my lovely climate, I can only wear then for a few months. Go figure.

38. I love Star Wars.

39. And Star trek.

40. And comic books.

41. Yes, I am a geek.

42. I can spend a ridiculous amount of time playing the Sims 2 on my computer.

43. I love the name Rowan. If the rare chance happens that I have a little girl, that will be her name.

44. My middle name is Marie. My mom comes from a long line of women with Ada as their middle name. Thankfully she put a stop to that.

45. I am awesome at music trivia.

46. I was a very bad girl rom the ages of 14-16.

47. I used to smoke socially as a teenager but luckily never got addicted. I haven't touched one since I was 17.

48. I have a vivid imagination. Probably from so many years of playing by myself as a child.

49. I am an only child.

50. My mother was from Windsor and my dad from Kingston (one is 300 kms south-west and the other is 300 km north-east) so I don't see much of my family.

51. I hate bugs.

52. I love to sleep and nap.

53. Especially in the awesome king-sized bed I bought a couple of years ago. I could just stay in there all day.

54. I have only been on an airplane once, to go to Florida with a family friend when I was 10.

55. I love Eeyore. All my Eeyore collectables are stored at my dad's because I have no room for them all.

56. I made the mistake of collecting Beanie Babies. They , too, are at my dad's.

57. My dad lives 20 minutes away from me yet I see him twice a year. Feel the love.

58. I am addicted to Facebook.

59. I am a huge procrastinator. Why do today what you can do tomorrow?

60. I am not a neat person. I live and work in chaos.

61. I am a major worry-wart.

62. My fiance has broken up with me three times during our 9 year relationship.

63. I love bunnies. I hope to get one someday (a good mix with the birds).

64. I often wonder how I will stay sane living with 2 cockatiels for 15-25 years.

65. When I was a little girl I wanted to be a French teacher.

66. I regret losing the ability to speak French.

67. I regret not continuing my piano studies.

68. I regret a lot of my life.

69. I am a ridiculously punctual person-I despise lateness.

70. I can't believe I have made it to 70...

71. In grade school my nickname was the Walking Dictionary because I could just about anything.

72. I am not a good typist, though.

73. I lived on welfare when I was kicked out on my own at 18. I would not wish that experience on my worst enemy.

74. I went bankrupt a couple of years ago. It is my biggest shame and I have nothing to show for it.

75. My dream trip is to travel across Canada. Then go to Scotland and England.

76. I have brown hair and brown eyes...boring! Hence why I like to dye my hair.

77. I love blue eyes.

78. I want a tattoo. I have a design saved in my computer but I am too cheap to pay the money to go get it done, lol.

79. I am not a patient person.

80. I have horrible nerves and am very jumpy.

81. I love to listen much more so than talking myself.

82. I love small dogs, especially poodle mixes and Yorkies.

83. I think Paris Hilton should be shot into space.

84. I have been very fortunate to not lose anyone I was very close with.

85. I'm afraid of how I will cope when it happens.

86. I live in fear of both my mother and my fiance committing suicide.

87. I can rarely stay mad at anyone for long-life is too short.

88. There are two people in this world I will never forgive-2 of my mother's brothers, who I find out a few years ago they molested her as a child.

89. I don't like to argue or fight with my loved ones, so I tend to cave easily.

90. I love springtime and autumn, especially for hiking.

91. I have big feet.

92. I was friends with Chris for 3 years before we started dating.

93. I would love to go to college.

94. I am a soda addict (mainly diet coke but my fav is regular pepsi)

95. I love to play euchre, but never have 3 other people to play with, lol (and online just isn't the same).

96. I am not a good loser.

97. I always have jewelery to match my outfit...it's scary.

98. I hate to do dishes...good thing Chris doesn't mind doing them.

99. I am stunned that I got through this, lol.

Kris, Holli, Denise...

You guys are miles away but you are the only ones right now that make me feel like I'm not alone.

Your kind words and support mean so much. Thank you!

Grumpy.

Queen of Crabbiness, Princess of Prickliness, Duchess of Dourness, Countess of Crankiness, Sultana of Surliness, Grand Poobah of Peevishness...

I am very grumpy lately. I'm not outwardly being too crabby, but inside I am in a foul mood.

Where is the sunshine? Where is the good news and happy times? Where is the joy and love? Damned if I know. So, I need to figure out a way to find it myself because it sure as hell isn't searching for me. Or my friends. Or my family. Or my loved one.

And why? We are all damned good people. We deserve the happiness, peace, joy...all that good stuff.

I'm not sure why I'm ranting about this, but I just can't remember the last time I heard some good news or had something happy happen. And it's frustrating me.

Yes, this is a self-portrait...