I got this email today from a lady I work with. I'm not a mom, but I know most of my blog readers are. It made me tear up!
BEING A MOTHER...
After 21 years of marriage, my wife wanted me to take another woman out to dinner and a movie. She said, "I love you, but I know this other woman loves you and would love to spend some time with you."
The other woman that my wife wanted me to visit was my MOTHER, who has been a widow for 19 years, but the demands of my work and my three children had made it possible to visit her only occasionally.
That night I called to invite her to go out for dinner and a movie. "What's wrong, are you well," she asked?My mother is the type of woman who suspects that a late night call or a surprise invitation is a sign of bad news.
"I thought that it would be pleasant to spend some time with you," I responded. "Just the two of us."She thought about it for a moment, and then said, "I would like that very much."
That Friday after work, as I drove over to pick her up I was a bit nervous. When I arrived at her house, I noticed that she, too, seemed to be nervous about our date. She waited in the door with her coat on. She had curled her hair and was wearing the dress that she had worn to celebrate her last wedding anniversary. She smiled from a face that was as radiant as an angel's. "I told my friends that I was going to go out with my son, and they were impressed," she said, as she got into the car. "They can't wait to hear about our meeting."
We went to a restaurant that, although not elegant, was very nice and cozy. My mother took my arm as if she were the First Lady. After we sat down, I had to read the menu. Her eyes could only read large print. Half way through the entries, I lifted my eyes and saw Mom sitting there staring at me. A nostalgic smile was on her lips. "It was I who used to have to read the menu when you were small," she said. "Then it's time that you relax and let me return the favour," I responded.
During the dinner, we had an agreeable conversation- -nothing extraordinary but catching up on recent events of each other's life. We talked so much that we missed the movie.As we arrived at her house later, she said, "I'll go out with you again, but only if you let me invite you." I agreed.
"How was your dinner date?" asked my wife when I got home. "Very nice. Much more so than I could have imagined," I answered.
A few days later, my mother died of a massive heart attack. It happened so suddenly that I didn't have a chance to do anything for her.Some time later, I received an envelope with a copy of a restaurant receipt from the same place mother and I had dined. An attached note said: "I paid this bill in advance. I wasn't sure that I could be there; but nevertheless, I paid for two plates - one for you and the other for your wife. You will never know what that night meant for me. I love you, son."
At that moment, I understood the importance of saying in time: "I LOVE YOU" and to give our loved ones the time that they deserve. Nothing in life is more important than your family. Give them the time they deserve, because these things cannot be put off till "some other time."
Somebody said it takes about six weeks to get back to normal after you've had a baby.... somebody doesn't know that once you're a mother, "normal" is history.
Somebody said you learn how to be a mother by instinct .... somebody never took a three-year-old shopping.
Somebody said being a mother is boring .... somebody never rode in a car driven by a teenager with a driver's permit.
Somebody said if you're a "good" mother, your child will "turn out good"....somebody thinks a child comes with directions and a guarantee.
Somebody said "good" mothers never raise their voices .... somebody never came out the back door just in time to see her child hit a golf ball through the neighbour's kitchen window.
Somebody said you don't need an education to be a mother... somebody never helped a fourth grader with his math.
Somebody said you can't love the second child as much as you love the first .... somebody doesn't have two children.
Somebody said a mother can find all the answers to her child-rearing questions in the books....somebody never had a child stuff beans up his nose or in his ears.
Somebody said the hardest part of being a mother is labour and delivery....somebody never watched her "baby" get on the bus for the first day of kindergarten .... or on a plane headed for military "boot camp."
Somebody said a mother can do her job with her eyes closed and one hand tied behind her back ....somebody never organized seven giggling Brownies to sell cookies.
Somebody said a mother can stop worrying after her child gets married....somebody doesn't know that marriage adds a new son or daughter-in-law to a mother's heartstrings.
Somebody said a mother's job is done when her last child leaves home....somebody never had grandchildren.
Somebody said your mother knows you love her, so you don't need to tell her.... somebody isn't a mother.
What a day. I don't think I stopped working for two minutes while I was at work. Our receptionist gave her notice today, so it should be interesting to see how much of her work gets dumped on me when they fail to find someone to replace her...
I went for a therapeutic massage today for the first time. Last week on Wednesday, I woke up and pretty much couldn't move my neck, arms or shoulders without being in horrible pain. I had considered massage therapy before because I get bad neck and shoulder pain and tension headaches, but it's never been bad enough for me to fork out the money. Well, it's bad enough now. My boss recommended a RMT, so the soonest I could get in was today. Erin was great, explained everything very thoroughly to me and made me feel comfortable (I'm not a touchy-feely type). I'm sore now, but that is to be expected. I made another appointment for next Thursday, so hopefully she can help me treat this pain...in the neck, haha.
Speaking of next Thursday, Chris and I have to go to the Hess Wedding Chapel and book our date as well as stop and put down the deposit for the restaurant where the reception dinner will be. It feels so good to have finally set a date!
Countdown: 15 months, 12 days. Christopher would be appalled if he knew I was counting down. He disturbed enough by the "May the 4th be with you" reference (he's not a big geek like me, lol).
I have no idea what I am going to do with myself tonight. I cut back all my satellite channels to save money and I finished reading "Gone with the Wind" and "Scarlett", which have been occupying my evenings lately. I guess I'll move on to another book or start watching "Long Way Round", which Chris got me on DVD.
Hope everyone is having a good week so far!
These two are from her third album "What if It All Means Something". To my knowledge, there were only two videos released, which is a shame because there are some beautiful songs on this album.
From her fourth album, "Ghost Stories", there is only the one video released for "All I Can do" which I posted a while ago, so I won't repost it now but that is a fabulous song.
Great song...was on the "Uptown Girls" soundtrack as well as her 3rd album.
These videos are from Chantal's 2nd album, Colour Moving and Still. I remember buying this album for Chris for Valentine's Day. Quite a bit different from the anger of the first album. Between the first and second album, she had some success with singing the theme to the show "Providence" (a cover of Lennon & McCartney's "In My Life") and "Feels like Home" on the Dawson's Creek soundtrack (that song is what I think of as "our" song for Chris & I).
I hope you enjoy them-both Holli and Neicy have shown interest in her music, so I thought I would share as much as I could (I love promoting good Canadian talent whenever possible!).
I've posted this song before, but this was her big hit off the 2nd album.
Hey, this is my 201st post! Cool. Who knew I had so much useless crap to ramble on about?
This week has started out as hellish as the last. They are dawdling in giving me my pay plan, making excuses, so that is really pissing me off.
I miss Chris. I haven't seen much of him lately since his car became undriveable. I go out to his place as often as I can, but with the price of gas it's hard (he's about 20 minutes away). Heopfully he will find a new car by the weeken-that's his goal, although it's tricky trying to find a manual transmission with air in his price range.
On the good side, I almost have a wedding date pinned down, so cross your fingers for me, gals!
Ha, they finally worked.
So below are 3 tracks from Chantal's first album, Under these Rocks and Stones, which came out in 1997. I love this album, although it is more angry and edgier than her next albums.
I also included "Leaving on a Jetplane" which was her only international success (it was on the Armageddon soundtrack). Horrid movie, great song.
Later, I'll post some videos from her 2nd album (if it doesn't take ten years for them to get from youtube to here, lol).
Oy, Ben Affleck should not sing. ANyway, this was Chantal's first taste of success in the US. Great remake and helped put Chantal on the map outside of Canada.
I adore this song. There's something in the anger in this song that just speaks to me.
This was also off the first album. During the era of "angry" woman vocalists, so it sounds quite different from her current stuff.
Huh. For some reason my posts from youtube are not showing up. I was going to post some of Chantal Kreviazuk's video's from her 1st, 2nd and 3rd albums over the next few days, but alas it is not working. Bastards.
I shall have to investigate. Stay tuned, lol.
You Think English is Easy???
Can you read these right the first time?
1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse .
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present .
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row .
13) They were too close to the door to close it
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.
And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?
If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell? How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites?
You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on. English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.
PS. - Why doesn't "Buick" rhyme with "quick"
You lovers of the English language might enjoy this. There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is "UP."
It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP ?
At a meeting, why does a topic come UP ?
Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report ?
We call UP our friends. And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen.
We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car. At other times the little word has real special meaning.
People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses.
To be dressed is one thing but to be dressed UP is special.
And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP .
We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night. We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP !
To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP , look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions.
If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP , you may wind UP with a hundred or more.
When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP . When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP. When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP .
One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP , for now my time is UP, so........... Time to shut UP.....! Oh...one more thing: What is the first thing you do in the morning & the last thing you do at night? U-P
I wish I knew why Carlton's dance makes me laugh so damn hard, it just does...What a goofball.
It's Friday, it's Friday...la, la, la...(doing the happy Friday dance)
I am so glad this week is over! This new position is a headache and a half and I definitely need a couple days off.
I'm going out tomorrow with Elizabeth for her birthday. She finally turned thirty, so she can't make fun of me anymore. We're going to East Side Mario's for lunch and then shopping.
I hope you all have a great weekend and get some relaxation time in! We all deserve it!
Man, I love this movie. One of the only times you will ever see me on a dance floor is when this song comes on. Let's time warp everyone!
This week cannot go by fast enough, I tell you.
I am still dealing with the aftermath of our Christmas Party Saturday night. Our assistant bodyshop manager from our Honda store got loaded and puked all of the hallway and stairs at the banquet hall. Then one of his drunken coworkers threw a glass at the coat check worker. I am still trying to ID that bastard. I swear, why can't people act like grownups and remember they are representing our company out there? Last year one of the employees threw up in the hallway and then put his head through the bathroom wall. Morons.
I am slowly trying to adjust to the new job position. I am so bloody busy it is unbelievable. The only reason I have time now to post is because the sales manager when out for lunch and I have a few minutes of peace. Now if these guys would just show me my new pay plan, I can decide if it's worth staying here or not...
If I give you any advice this year let it be this: go rent LIttle Miss Sunshine. You won't regret it. Chris bought it for me for Xmas and we watched it Sunday night. This was the movie that inspired me to propose to Chris, so you must watch it.
A frog goes into a bank and approaches the teller. He can see from her nameplate that her name is Patricia Whack.
"Miss Whack, I'd like to get a £30,000 loan to take a holiday."
Patty looks at the frog in disbelief and asks his name. The frog says his name is Kermit Jagger, his dad is Mick Jagger, and that it's okay, he knows the bank manager.
Patty explains that he will need to secure the loan with some collateral.
The frog says, "Sure. I have this," and produces a tiny porcelain elephant, about an inch tall, bright pink and perfectly formed.
Very confused, Patty explains that she'll have to consult with the bank manager and disappears into a back office.
She finds the manager and says, "There's a frog called Kermit Jagger out there who claims to know you and wants to borrow £30,000, and he wants to use this as collateral."
She holds up the tiny pink elephant. "I mean, what in the world is this?"
(you're gonna love this)
The bank manager looks back at her and says...
"It's a knickknack, Patty Whack. Give the frog a loan. His old man's a Rolling Stone."
(You're singing it, aren't you? Yeah, I know you are........)
Now you can groan...
Some fun music for a Friday afternoon from the best Canadian band. These guys are awesome live and absolutely hilarious.
This thing is so awesome. It sits on my desk at work and either keeps my Diet Coke ice cold or my green tea or cuppa soup nice and hot. Chris saw me look at this in a catalogue and mentally filed it away and surprised me with it for Xmas. Very awesome gift, considering how much Diet Coke and tea I put back in a day.
Sorry I have been so delinquent in my posting, but work has been insane...
Well, thankfully the damn holidays are over with. I liked the time off work, but that's about it.
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were spent at Chris'. Christmas Eve had his grandmother and uncle there, as well as his dad, sister and her fiance. Christmas Day was just his dad, sister, her fiance and Chris and I. It was surreal for me. I felt lost not being with my family and being surrounded by another family's traditions (or lack thereof). I missed my mom and I missed being alone with Chris, but I survived and I'm sure things will be better next year.
I headed down to Chatham on Boxing Day to see my mom. I went by myself and thoroughly screwed my back by carrying that bloody TV up 3 flights of stairs. Ah, well. I t was worth it for her surprised reaction. I had a nice visit with her and came back the night of the 27th as she had appointments the next day.
Chris and I finally had our Christmas together on the 29th. Chris did a bang-up job on my gifts this, considering I didn't ask for anything. He got me the singing snowman and penguins from Hallmark (for my snowman collection), a cute ornament and keychain, a sun protector for my car's windshield, pajamas, "Little Miss Sunshine" DVD, "Long Way Round" tv series on DVD, slippers, a very cool electrical device that keeps a travel mug warm or a can of pop cold on my desk, and a food processor. He spoiled me, and got me a bunch of things that I had wanted but never asked for.
New Year's was spent at Chris's sister's. I've had a cold since just befor New Year's, so I felt crappy. We mainly ate too much food and played Scene It music edition (I kicked butt).
I came back to work on January 3rd and it has been insane ever since. Today is the first day I have had any time to myself for a bit. The new job is going to be an experience, I'm just not sure if it will be good or bad. Or any more bloody money...
Well, I hope everyone had a joyous holiday. Here's to 2007 being a better year for us all!
Another melancholy song, but I just love it. Chris is a huge Our Lady Peace fan, but I like a few of their songs. Coincidentally, OLP's lead singer Raine Maida is married to Chantal Kreviazuk. The song was written for a young friend who died from a terminal illness.
What a weekend of highs and lows.
The meeting with Neicy was great-it was so wonderful to meet her in person. She is just a lovely person and I hope we can get together again if she comes back to visit the Great White North (which was anything but white and cold this past weekend).
My Christmas with my dad was a mixture of good and bad. We actually sat in the living room and socialized, in stead getting stuck in front of the TV like we usually do. The puppies were a riot, who kept us entertained all afternoon. But my dad didn't congratulate Chris on our engagement and my step-mother didn't say anything to either of us about it, couldn't even be bothered to ask to see my ring. It was very disheartening.
We had our cookie exchange at work today-I made 10 dozen pumpkin cookies for it. Now I came home with 10 dozen cookies, which I have no idea what to do with (I sure as heck can't eat all of them!). I guess I will be sending a bunch home with Chris for him and his dad to eat.
Work is just awful. I have literally gotten about 8 hours sleep since Thursday night and have had a tension headache to go along with the fatigue. All my co-workers are awestruck at what management is doing to me-I really wish I knew what to do...
Another sleepless night in Stoney Creek. I can't remember the last time I felt this exhausted. I just can't stop thinking about the situation at work and being forced to answer to the two most difficult managers in the dealership. And losing money...
Chris and I went and looked at a location for our wedding dinner yesterday. It was really nice and the menu was to die for. And, best of all, very affordable. The menu we chose was:
Tomato and Dill Soup
House or Caesar salad
Choice of:
10 oz New York striploin
Chicken Supreme
Truffle Penne
3 cheese Fusilli
Individual wedding cakes (carrot)
And all for $47 per person plus taxes and gratuities. I was very impressed. Now if I could just nail Chris down with a date, I would go ahead and make a deposit.
Well, I'm off to meet Neicy this morning for breakfast about 45 minutes away from here. I am looking forward to meeting her!
Hope everyone is having a good weekend! Stay the hell away from the shopping malls--it's insanity!!
So yesterday my general manager tells me he would like to meet with me after my lunch hour. Immediately alarms go off-usually if he wants to talk to me about something, he just says it. I tell Chris that I have a bad feeling about this. Never doubt a woman's intuition...
We have 4 positions in the dealership to be dealt with--reception, 3rd service advisor, sales administrator and service coordinator. They moved the 3rd service advisor, Jenn, to reception so that position has been empty. So now we are dealing with 3rd service advisor, sales admin and service coordinator.
I was the service coordinator, handling appointment calls, doing all the service reminders and phone calls, service emails, marketing campaigns, providing relief on the service counter, running service clinics...PLUS all the email and mail marketing for sales, data mining for the whole dealership, website administration and phone system admin.
The sales admin has not been getting done properly--Helen would work in service on the desk for 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours at night then try and do the admin stuff in between.
So the GM's brilliant solution was this--move Helen to service as the 3rd service advisor, and keep Jenn on reception. And I can still continue to do all my duties as service coordinator, with the exception of answering appointment calls, PLUS do all the sales admin duties. These include lease portfolio and lead management, dealer trades, statistics, stocking in vehicles, reception relief and generally being the 2 sales managers' bitch and dumping ground. And get paid absolutely no more money, possibly less.
Guess this is my Christmas bonus this year...
Maybe this can get us all in a holiday mood? I just love this...
It's hump day. If we can get over this, hopefully the rest of the week will breeze by. It's been hellish at work this week (wait, it's hellish here everyweek)-I swear the holiday season seems to bring out the worst in some people.
Elizabeth and I had our Christmas on Saturday, which was nice. She needed to go to Build A Bear to stuff two bears for her cousins, so that was an experience (she had bought the bear outfits in Scotland during her trip-kilts and tshirt that are sooo cute). I definitely need to build me a bear someday. She got me Melanie Rawn's new novel "Spellbinder", the Pets expansion pack for my Sims 2 game, pajamas, a pretty blouse, "Isis" perfume from Marks & Spencer (you can only get it in the UK now), a snowman ornament, a Terry's chocolate orange and my favourite Fuzzy Peaches candy.
Chris and I are going to look at a restaurant this weekend as a possibility for our wedding dinner. It's close to the wedding chapel downtown and has a really good reputation. Hopefully after getting some quotes we can decide what we want to do and finally set a bloody date (I am getting so tired of people asking me...).
We are off to my dad's on Sunday to have Christmas with him and his wife. Last year it consisted of us getting there and Dad proceeding to watch "Crocodile Dundee" for most of the visit. Perhaps he will actually want to socialize with us this year...
And I am DONE. The Christmas shopping is finally done. Now I just need to wrap it all...and figure out how I am going to carry a 24" TV up three flights of stairs by myself when I go to my mom's...hernia, anyone?
50 Questions to get to know you better...
1. WHAT'S YOUR FIRST NAME? Leah
2. NAMED AFTER? My mother had a neighbour who was kind to her named Leah when she was little.
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? Sunday
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? It's okay
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Salami
6. KIDS? I had two for breakfast..wait... no kids
7. WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Sure
8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? My blog
9. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Gee, no, I would NEVER use sarcasm...
10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yes
11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Hell no
12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Honeycomb
13. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Nope
14. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Emotionally or physically? Emotionally, yes.
15. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Key lime sherbet
16. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Eyes
17. RED OR PINK? Pink
18. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? The list would be too flipping long
19. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My dog, Peanuts
20. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Sure
21. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES YOU ARE WEARING? Lack shoes and distressed black jeans
22. THE LAST THING YOU ATE? A piece of carrot cake last night that I had baked for Chris
23.WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? The voices in my head
24--was missing for some strange reason...
25. FAVORITE SMELL? Lilacs
26. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? A customer
27. SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? The big sister I never had and someone I don't see nearly enough
28. FAVORITE DRINK? Iced tea
29. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH? If I have to pick one-golf
30. HAIR COLOR? Currently dyed light auburn
31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No, glasses
32. FAVORITE FOOD? Shrimp!
33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings, I'm a wuss
34. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
35. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Black (funeral, anyone?)
36. HUGS OR KISSES? Neither or both, depending on who's giving them
37. FAVORITE DESSERT? Cheesecake
38. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Elizabeth
39. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Dunno
40. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING? Spellbinder by Melanie Rawn
41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? It's just blue
42. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? The Beatles
43. THE FURTHEST YOU BEEN FROM HOME? Florida when I was 10
44. T.V.? CSI, Trading Spaces, How Not to Decorate
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Advanced reading speed and comprehension. real thrilling talent, I know.
46. WHEN WERE YOU BORN? 1976, Thirty long years ago.
47. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Hamilton, Ontario
48. WEAKNESSES? Food, self-doubt, over-sensitive, aggressive, short-tempered..I could go on...
49. FAVORITE MUSIC? Dixie Chicks, Chantal Kreviazuk, retro 80's
50. DO YOU HAVE ANY PET PEEVES? People who ask the same questions over and over
The tree lit up...
Not so lit up...
My favourite Eeyore ornament...
(I have about 15 different ones on the tree)
My favourite Star Trek ornament...
(This was the only one I put on this year, although I have about ten of them. This one has Spock saying "Shuttlecraft to Enterprise, Spock here. Happy Holidays, Live Long and Prosper".)
This is my tree topper with Maxine...
Woohoo! The vote count just came in: 175-123 against reopening the gay marriage law. So the issue is closed and the gay and lesbian community in Canada can continue to enjoy the marital rights heterosexual Canadians have. Take that, Stephen Harper!
It's funny how when you are feeling melancholy, the music you feel like listening to matches your mood. This song makes me cry EVERY time I listen to it.
Claire had all but given up
when she and Edwin fell in love
She touched his face and shook her head
in disbelief she sighed and said
In many dreams I've held you near now, at last, you're really here
Where've you been? I've looked for you forever and a day
Where've you been? I'm just not myself when you're away
He asked her for her hand for life
and she became a salesman's wife
He was home each night by eight
but one stormy evening, he was late
Her frightened tears fell to the floor
until his key turned in the door
Where've you been? I've looked for you forever and a day
Where've you been? I'm just not myself when you're away
They'd never spent a night apart
for sixty years she heard him snore
Now they're in a hospital in separate beds on different floors
Claire soon lost her memory
forgot the names of family
She never spoke a word again
then one day, they wheeled him in
He held her hand and stroked her hair
in a fragile voice she said
Where've you been? I've looked for you forever and a day
Where've you been? I'm just not myself when you're away
No, I'm just not myself when you're away
I needed a laugh today. One of our managers bought this Elmo and you have never seen a group of grown adults laugh so hard as all of us standing in our GM's office watching this little laughing monster. I have the original, but it doesn't hold candle to this guy. Even watching the video had me doubled over.
7 days left in the lower pit of automobile service hell...I managed to talk my boss into only having to be downstairs for 3 hours, so it's not as bad as it could have been.
Chris is still horribly sick. I haven't seen him since Sunday, so that has me going into sweetie withdrawal. He sounds like a frog and I'm guessing he will lose his voice today or tomorrow (which sucks since the only communication we have right now is the telephone). I just really don't want to get sick, so I can't risk seeing him til he's starting to get better, but I miss him.
I barely got any sleep last night, so I feel like a zombie today. One of my coworkers was talking about how much stuff she was buying her baby granddaughter for Christmas. She just has so much enthusiasm for being a grandma (Madison is simply adorable, so I really can't blame her). My mother, on the other hand, has told me repeatedly that I should never have children because I don't have enough patience to handle it. Not to mention my mom really doesn't like kids much. My father barely registers my existence, let alone any future offspring. So this had my wheels turning most of the night. Chris and I are up in the air about having children-we currently don't have plans to have any, but won't dismiss the idea altogether. It just really irks me when my mother says that to me. I don't have patience-this from a woman who would smack me with the hairbrush and then break the brush on the sink when my hair wouldn't do what she wanted it to or would throw a chair off the balcony in one of her fits of rage. I can be an impatient person, but I also managed to have enough patience to look after 30 screaming school age children for 5 hours every day for 6 years. Obviously not the same as parenting, but enough to give you wide exposure to the delights of children and their behaviours. It's something I shouldn't let bother me, but it does. Plus Chris' sister got on his back about not having kids last week, so that kind of stirred everything up...
The next two weeks can not go by quick enough. My boss leaves for Florida tomorrow, so I am stuck having to go down and work on the service desk during his absence. The one service advisor is a moron, the tower operator is grumpy and the atmosphere is tense. Yuck. I much prefer being up in my little office on the second floor by myself. Plus I have to cash out all our customers, who are usually pissed because the service advisor didn't bother to call and explain the repairs to them. Shoot me now, please.
Chris is laid up in bed with the flu, so I am hoping he hasn't passed it on to me. He was sick all night on Saturday, barely able to enjoy our dinner out. Something is definitely going around and I don't want it. Calling in sick while the boss is away would definitely not go over well.
I'm off to Mom's this weekend for a visit. I haven't seen her in a month so she is getting antsy. So far, things seem to be going well in the new apartment and her worker pops in every Monday to check on her and help with groceries, etc. I am not looking forward to the drive but it should be okay if the snow holds off. It's supposed to be 16 degrees again today (60 degrees F) but start dropping as of Thursday with snow in the forecast for the weekend.
I cleared all my regular knick-knacks and decor out of the living room, but haven't been able to get into the spirit to put up the Christmas decorations. It's going to be a strange Christmas for me, as I am so used to having it with my mom. Waking up by myself Christmas morning is not something I am looking forward to.
Hope the weather is nice where you are and you have a great Tuesday!
I am strangely in a good mood today. Not quite sure why, but I might as well roll with it.
I have to work tomorrow, which sucks, but at least Nicole is coming by to pick up the gifts for the kids party so that will be over and done with and I won't have to think about it for another year.
It's our anniversary on Sunday-8 years. Oy, I have dated Chris for almost a third of my life. We are going out to the Canyon Creek Chophouse on Saturday, so that should be a nice dinner, plus we could use an evening out.
The weather is supposed to be nice this weekend-11 degrees and sunny. Hopefully Chris and I can do something outdoors. Plus I would like to get some of my Christmas stuff up, since I'm away at Mom's next weekend (I am one those sad people that normally has her Xmas tree up by mid-November).
I hope everyone has a great weekend!
There are days when I know I should not read the headlines on my home page. This week has been that way--some headlines have just pissed me off to no end.
Michael Richards--what on earth was he thinking? How can you go into such a hateful, dispicable tirade and expect people to believe that you are not racist? He looked genuinely sorry on Letterman, but geez. I understand being angry at hecklers, but attacking them because of their race is absolutely horrid. I watched the clip from the comedy club and was stunned-I am not sure if his career will recover from this, and it will serve him right.
OJ Simpson and Fox--greed knows no limits. The sick bastard basically confesses in a book and is given millions of dollars to do so, and Fox didn't think people would be outraged? Haven't the victims families been through enough? Now that the whole thing has been cancelled, OJ is whining about the loss of money that would have gone to his children (yeah, right) and how Ron Goldman's family keep trying to drain him dry. Boo hoo.
AFA vs Walmart--I just caught wind of this this morning after Walmart did some backpedalling to please the AFA and stop the boycott. There are days when I think we are still living in the bloody stone age, with a bunch of bigots running our countries. Bigotry is wrong, whether it is a prejudice against race, religion, creed or sexual orientation. We all are humans, we all deserve the same rights. Which brings me to my next fury of the week...
Stephen Harper-our prime minister has made good on his campaign promise to reopen the debate on gay marriage (hence why he didn't get my vote). It was made legal by the previous Liberal government and made Canada the fourth country to come out of the dark ages and grant gay people the same rights the rest of us have. Harper has a minority government so chances are the motion will get struck down, but it still infuriates me. Al this nonsense about gay marriage damaging children and destroying family values--gee, I don't see heterosexuals doing such a bang up job of maintaining family values and providing secure, loving homes for their children. The freaking divorce rate is over 50%, so who's to say gay people can't do as good of a job (it's not exactly a high standard to live up to)? Churches are not required to perform ceremonies for gay couples if they choose not to, so they aren't having their rights infringed upon. I just don't get it, but I should probably shut up now or risk offending people.
I'm in stressed out frame of mind, so things are not sliding off like they normally would. But maybe that's a good thing, since too often people let too many things just slide off..
4 hours, 51 more minutes to go...
Well, I didn't end up calling in sick yesterday but I did play hooky in the afternoon after my doctor's appointment. I told my boss I had to go for bloodwork and an ultrasound and I wouldn't be back...I should feel guilty, but I don't. I ended up going out to Chris' and we went for lunch and had a delightful afternoon alone.
I just talked to my mom, who seems to be doing pretty good at her new place. The maintenance staff have been really good about fixing things and she says the building is fairly quiet. I was really worried about her taking out the garbage and doing laundry (my mom has had 3 back operations and has osteoarthritis and osteoperosis), as she lives on the 3rd floor of a walkup, but she discovered this week that there is a garbage chute and laundry room on each floor, so that was a relief. Doing groceries is a bit of a challenge, but her social worker has been helping her out and I will take her out when I go up in a couple of weeks. So far, so good.
So far, I have no big plans for the weekend. We are going over to Chris' sister's for dinner on Saturday, but the rest of the weekend should be quiet (and hopefully relaxing!). I hope everyone else has a fabulous weekend!
Today is a day of rescheduling.
First, my ob-gyn's office calls and tells me my appointment has been cancelled. So that's been moved until tomorrow. Gee, I am just in mourning about putting off that pap smear for another day...
Then my dad emails me and tells me I no longer have to puppysit on Saturday-George Carlin is sick and has cancelled his performance in Toronto. Which sucks, because I was looking forward to seeing those puppies...
Today is shopping day for the kid's xmas party. I had 4 other people helping me out, but 2 of them have abandoned me, so it will just be 3 of us. I cannot wait until this party is over and done with...
I got a location for our adult party for January 6th. It sucks having to have it in January, but I really didn't have many other options. My GM is pissed because he is away on vacation, but you can't please everybody...
I am feeling crummy-I've been tired and had an upset digestive system all week. I 'm thinking tomorrow would make a really good sick day (sshhh, don't tell my boss)...
Hey, it's almost lunchtime. I think I wll curl up with my book (I'm rereading Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series- I'm currently on "The Fiery Cross") and maybe try eating some soup. I hope everyone is having a great day!
What a week. Aside from the regular aspects of my job being totally out of control this week, the bloody volunteer work I do here went to hell as well. I head our social committee, which presently consists of me and another co-worker from one of our other dealerships. I do all the work, mainly because I'm a control freak. Anywho, I get a phone call on Wednesday from the banquet hall that is hosting our Christmas party in mid-December. Apparently they are under construction and won't be finished in time for our party. Their alternative: they will host it in the Knights of Columbus Hall with their catering. Ewwww-the KOC hall is a small drab little place and there is no way we can have our party there. And of course, by this time, every place else is booked up for december on Saturdays. AARRRGGHHH! So now I'm trying to pull something together for January that fits around all the bigwigs schedules. I had wanted to resign from the damn committee at the end of this year, but we are so short handed there is no way.
The nightmare that is the children's party is coming up shortly, so we have to go buy all the gifts on Wednesday (each child actually gets to write a list, so it's not like we can just go buy bulk gifts for each age group). Thankfully I don't have to actually attend the kid's party, as all the parents do is whine about how long it takes for each kid to go get their gift and visit with Santa. The kids are good as gold, it's the parents with no patience. It's better that Nicole handles the kid's party, because I would tell the impatient morons to go f**k themselves.
Well, here's to next week being a more calm one. Hope everyone has a great weekend!
It's going to be a week full of Mondays, I can just tell...
The weekend was pretty quiet. We had dinner with Chris' dad, his sister, her fiance and Chris grandmother and uncle on Saturday night. Sam made a great roast beef dinner. But the evening had a sour note for me, since Chris still hasn't told his grandmother about the engagement and had every bloody opportunity to do so Saturday night. He has the smallest freaking family on the planet and half of them don't know about the engagement. I could just smack him...wait, I did smack him...apparently that didn't exorcise all my frustration.
On Sunday I had Chris over for dinner and he checked my tires and oil before the trip on Monday. I made Mom tortellini with shrimp and mushrooms in alfredo sauce. Chris and I had samosas, rogan josh with chicken and naan bread. It was so yummy-I wasn't sure if it would turn out as well as it does at the Indian restaurant but I was pleasantly surprised.
Monday was quite the day. We were at the storage place for 9:00 am but the movers didn't show until 10:10. They loaded the truck and we headed out. It took us about 2.25 hours to get to Chatham-the bloody movers took 3.25. They unloaded the stuff for about an hour and then gave us the bill, for $10 more an hour than was originally quoted. All told, it cost $1150 for the movers. Mom only had $1000, so I had to fork out $150 (which I really couldn't afford to do). The apartment she has is really nice and clean in a small building, close to most amenities. Hopefully she can keep a positive outlook and not get caught up in negative thinking. She was already worrying about how lonely she would be...hell, it wasn't my idea for her to move 2 and a half hours away. I hope her social worker will keep a close eye on her...
Work has gone straight to hell since last week (and I thought last week was bad!). They laid off one of our service advisors and screwed with our computer systems-I have 500 freaking reminders to individually go through, to make sure they are correct. My GM dumped a pile of marketing crap on me plus they rescheduled our meeting to tonight without letting me know. Rat bastards...(can we all start singing the Machete song now?)
Thank you, Kristi, for getting "The Name Game" song stuck in my head. Now every employee that I see makes me start doing the song in my head with their name...lol.
Work has been bonkers, hence why I haven't been able to post much. My machete weilding days are coming, I tell ya.
November 1st has come and gone and I have officially launched into Christmas present buying mode. I should be done by the end of November. I hate crowds, so getting it done early just saves me the misery of slogging the through the crowds. I have some candle holders for Mom and a Snowbaby for Elizabeth and a Trailer Park Boys toque for Chris. Next week when my bonus comes in I will be able to knock off a whole bunch.
Mom moves on Monday, so that should be an adventure. I figure it will cost about $1000 to get the move done, considering there is 2.5 hours of travel time each way and her apartment building doesn't have an elevator (ugh, she's on the third floor). I hope she likes it there and can finally get herself settled. I won't be able to visit her again until the first weekend in December, so hopefully she will be able to get used to the separation.
Have a good weekend, all!
You Are Worth It
Do not undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different that each of us is special.
Do not set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you know what is best for you.
Do not take for granted the things closest to your heart. Cling to them as you would your life, for without them, life is meaningless.
Do not let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past nor for the future. By living your life one day at a time, you live all the days of your life.
Do not give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying. It is a fragile thread that binds us to each other.
Do not be afraid to encounter risks. It is by taking chances; that we learn how to be brave.
Do not shut love out of your life by saying it is impossible to find. The quickest way to receive love is to give love; The fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly.
Do not dismiss your dreams. To be without dreams is to be without hope; To be without hope is to be without purpose.
Do not run through life so fast that you forget not only where you have been, but also where you are going. Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way.
-- Unknown
They kicked ass. It was a fantastic concert that was worth every nickel of my $110. The Chicks played for 2 solid hours and had everyone on their feet. They came out on the stage to "Hail to the Chief", which was hilarious. I probably preferred their last concert stage set-up better, but the quality and energy was just as great.
Elizabeth and I had quite the adventure trying to get to the concert, with screwed up transit schedules and such, but we eventually made it. The train ride home was interesting since there were literally thousands of people in Union Station, trying to get home. Crowds are not my cup of tea, so I was happy when we finally got on the train.
Elizabeth leaves for Scotland on Wednesday, so I am very envious of that. One of these days I will have enough money to go with her...
The rest of the weekend was quiet. I felt crappy on Sunday from a lack of sleep, so I pretty much vegged out on the couch all day. Gypsy layed an egg Saturday night, so hopefully that will be the only one and her health stays okay. Having Mom at the apartment totally screws up the birds schedule, so it kicked Gypsy into egg-laying. Thankfully Mom is gone next Monday and their routine will return to normal.
It has been the Friday from hell. And with Saturday still to go yet...
Chris is coming over for dinner tonight, which should be interesting. He hasn't seen my mother since she was in the hospital and still habours a fair amount of resentment towrds her behaviour during that time. Mom is completely unaware of this, although she has wondered why he hasn't been around. I've just made excuses but I'm sure underneath she knows something is up. It's very uncomfortable for me, as I have been able to forgive her behaviour during that time and appreciate the difference I see in her now since she has been properly medicated. Should be a fun night...
I hope everyone has a great weekend!
Holy moly, is it cold this morning! I walked out to my car and it was covered in frost (and being the dumbass I am, I have no ice scraper). Hope it's warmer where you are!
Okay, so apparently killing your employer IS illegal. What about co-workers? Can you hack their sorry heads off? If so, I know a little Filipino service advisor who deserves to be shorter by a head...
It is just so BAD here right now. My left eye is throbbing so badly from stress I think it will pop out. And I have to be here six days this week, so that just makes it so much more fun.
Some good news: Mom got approved for her apartment, so she will take possession November 1st. She probably won't do the actual move until the 2nd week after all her money has come in. Hopefully this will bring some peace to both our lives.
Is it illegal to run around with a machete and hack off your employer's head? Just checking...
My mood was so foul yesterday I didn't dare post, and I'm not sure it's much better today but I'll give it a shot. Work is hell right now, but I'll spare you the gory details. Although I may go machete shopping on my lunch :p
The weekend was pretty good. I spent most of it with Chris, which was great. We went out for mediterranean food on Saturday-I had baba ganouj and chicken shawarma-yum! I dragged him off to the craft store and dollar store, which I'm sure thrilled Chris to no end (he hates shopping).
On Sunday, we went to Toronto to the "Everything to do with Sex" show. I wasn't sure what to expect, but Chris has wanted to go for the past few years just to see what it is all about. What a zoo. There were thousands of people there and it was really lioud. I am terrified of crowds so it was very unpleasant for me. Most of the vendors were just selling pornos, toys and junk. There was also some awful male dancer thing going on, which had a bunch of women screaming like banshees (I am not one for strippers, so this held no interest for me and definitely didn't thrill Chris, lol). We spend $40 on admission, $10 on parking and stayed for barely an hour. And what did we buy? Some red pepper jelly, garlic and herb dip mix and jalepeno cheese dip mix from the Wicked Gourmet. Needless to say, we will never go again.
We did have Indian food for dinner, which was awesome. Aloo tikki, pakoras, samosas and naan-I swear if it weren't so bad for you I could live off it. Very yummy. I just looked up some recipes on line for aloo tikki, rogan josh, tandoori chicken and homemade baba ganouj so I can't wait to try them. Oh look, I'm drooling on my keyboard...
Bright spot for the week-only 4 more sleeps until the Dixie Chicks concert! Yay! I can't wait. I saw them in concert the last time they toured and it was an amazing show. It was just after all the silly backlash about the president, so I think they were happy to play for a crowd that really doesn't like George W. much.
Another week survived. This has been my worst week at work in at least 4 years here. I have been overcome by ridiculous expectations and am at a loss for what to do. Finding another job that pays even close to this will be very hard (and considering how little I make now, it really is depressing). There are days when I could go back and take my fifteen-year-old self and seriously kick her ass.
You see, I'm a high school dropout. My parents split up when I was 14 and I had a really tough time dealing with it. It changed me, made me reclusive, nervous and socialphobic. And this was right when I started high school. I couldn't hack the social pressure-the work was a complete joke but I couldn't stand all the crowds, noise, etc.
So I decided I just couldn't do it. I got up one morning during my third week of grade 9 and took half a bottle of Tylenol with about 10 oz of vodka. I headed off to school to await the effects. Needless to say, halfway through band class I had to rush to the bathroom and vomit. I was sent home and was dreadfully ill for a couple of weeks (I never told anyone what I had done, so they just assumed it was the flu or mono). I got better and my parents assumed I had gone back to school-I did not. I stayed home or hid out behind the house when Mom was on nights. The school assumed I was still sick. Eventually my guilt got the better of me and I confessed to my parents. I was sent back to school with my movements being monitored. I managed to catch up in two weeks for midterm exams and scored 100% on three of my four midterms.
But I still couldn't handle it. I started skipping again. I would take ringer off the phone so when they called my mom wouldn't hear it. I would steal the notes left in the mailbox by the truant office. One day, my mom beat me to the mailbox. She figured it was my marks or something from the board of ed-nope, it was a notice that my parents would be taken to court if I didn't get my butt back in school. Of course, my parents freaked. I was dragged back to school kicking and screaming but it was decided that an alternate program might be more suitable for me.
I started at Lawrence Alternative Program just before my 15th birthday. It was great, you signed yourself in and out, didn't get in trouble for being late-the place was a joke. I got in with a delightful group of kids and delved deep into the world of smoking, drinking and sex. I dated a small-time drug dealer, wasted all my work wages on cigarettes and booze and managed to earn zero credits in one year. They kicked me out and my mom moved me away just prior to my 16th birthday. This was the end of my high school career.
I went back part-time when I was 17 and earned my math and English credits but being on my own made working a priority. I eventually got my GED when I was 22 and had to laugh when I scored higher on the tests than 95% of high school graduates who completed the same tests (that's how they created the benchmark-by comparing your scores to graduates scores).
So that is the long winded story of why I didn't finish high scool. Even though I have gotten a ton of diverse job experience in the past 15 years, not having a proper education really limits your career opportunities out there. Hence why I feel stuck in my current job.
Sorry I rambled on, but it was one of those days where I felt like telling a story. Have a great weekend!
This weather is the pits. I guess it could be cold as well as being rainy, so I should be thankful for that. It's just so depressing when you look outside...
Today is one of those days where I should have just stayed under the covers. There is a service advisor meeting tonight, which I am being forced to attend. So only heaven knows how long this blasted meeting will go on for, because I'm sure the whining will be unbelievable. I just know I am going to have more work dumped on me with this and am going to be pushed to start selling services. This sucks because #1) I hate to sell stuff and #2) I'm not the one making a big, fat commission of selling the service. Grrr. At least I get a free dinner out of it (although I know they won't pay me for staying for this damned thing...)
Mom and I went out for a bit last night. I picked up a bunch of embellishments for my scrpabook, which was fun. I completed the first page last night-I think it turned out really well but it sure took a long time (perhaps I should consult scrapbooker extraordinaire Kristi and her sidekick Scrappy for some advice, lol). I need adhesive advice, stat!
I wish I was a duck...then this weather would be fun!
Last night we went to see the Trailer Park Boys movie. It ws pretty good-Chris and his dad were laughing their butts off through the whole thing (they are huge TPB fans). For those going "who the heck are the Trailer Park Boys?"-it is a Canadian produced show based out of Nova Scotia about some small time hoods who live in a trailer park and their misadventures. There is a ridiculous amount of swearing, so if the "f" word offends you, avoid these guys at all costs! The show just finished its sixth season and the movie came out on Friday. Chris just loves Ricky, Julian and Bubbles so I went mainly for him, but I did get quite a few chuckles myself.
For dinner last dinner, Chris and his dad headed out to the local grocery store for some chicken wings. They asked the girl at the pre-made food counter if the wings they had picked up were spicy. She said there was just some mild spice to them so they grabbed a couple of packages. HOLY MOLY! These were the hottest wings I have ever tasted-they were practically doused in Tabasco sauce! We had to wipe all the sauce off to even make them remotely edible, and even then our lips were still burning. Chris and I like spice, but these were ridiculous! Chris and his dad were ready to go kill the girl at the grocery store.
Hopefully some good news-it looks like they have an apartment for Mom come November 1st. We have to fax back all the paperwork tomorrow but hopefully it all goes smoothly. She is going stir-crazy at my place, so I know she is anxious to get into her own space. Have I mentioned how wonderful Lithium is? I swear, it has helped my mom so much it is amazing. Now if it could only make her less anti-social...
Darn internet keeps crashing here at work. How am I supposed to surf, messenger and basically get no work done :p
The clinic was a bit of a nightmare. First, there was horrible winds and rain so I had a few no-shows. Then we had the worst customer EVER. Let's call him Mr. Butthead (I can think of much more colourful names for this guy, but I will spare you my profanity). Mr. Butthead comes in and grunts at me in way of a greeting. He then walks up to the presentation table where the items are for the door prizes. Mr. Butthead proceeds to take one of the hats and sits down with it. When another customer looked at him strangely, Mr. Butthead snarls "I pay $40000 for car, I keep hat". Then throughout the next two hours, Mr. Butthead interrupts our speaker a zillion times, complaining about problems with his Onstar, oil change issues and his general negative opinion about everythng (all in crotchety broken English). I was never so happy to see the back of someone on their way out the door. Our presenter, who does 3-4 clinics a week said that was the worst customer he has had to deal with in 10 years. Argh!
So I finally get out of work at 8:40 and head over to the drugstore to renew my prescription. I drop it off and the technician says it will be around 15 minutes. So I stroll around the store for 15 minutes. 20 minutes. 30 minutes. 40 minutes. My feet are absolutely killing me from running around for 8 hours and these group of kids are sitting in the chairs, so I can't even sit down to wait. Finally 45 minutes later it was ready. How freaking long can it take to slap somes labels on prepackaged drugs? Bah! Plus my mom was worried when I got home because I was gone so long and the weather was horrid.
But there was at least a little good news yesterday. The moronic twit that sits at our reception desk has finally decided to quit. Good riddance, I say. Let's hope they can actually hire someone competent this time around.
Holy cow, is it miserable out. It is raining cats and dogs and isn't supposed to let up until Saturday. What is this, England?
Another sleepless night, due to it being too bloody hot in my bedroom and my mind just wouldn't shut off. I am wicked tired and in dire need of a nap. The urge to pull a George Costanza and sleep under my desk is overwhelming.
I have a car care clinic today, so I will be at work until 9:00 tonight. It will be a crazy day of running around, buying food and supplies, setting up tables and chairs, kicking people's butt to get them to clean out the showroom and shop. By the time the clinic hits, I usually look like a drowned rat from running about and sweating so much. The rain is not going to help with the drowned rat look either...
This is Chris' sister's cat, Callie. We brought a huge bag of peanuts and kept putting nuts out on the deck. Callie had a blast watching the different animals that came to snatch up the nuts.
The chipmunk..
The squirrel...
and the blue jay.
There was also a deer mouse but he was way too quick for me to snap a picture.
This was on the way into the cottage Friday night. The water was like glass. Friday night was the Harvest moon, which was amazingly bright. My pictures of said moon look cruddy, so I will spare you their awfulness.
Saturday morning was sunny but crisp. Chris doesn't look too Canadian with that toque, eh?
Sunday was a truly beautiful day, warm and sunny. Unfortunately I spent most of it trying to nap.
The colours had changed on the trees about a week and a half ago, so the colours were pretty muted, which I was disappointed with. Ah, well. Mother Nature won't wait for you.
For extra work I had done on a project for my general manager, he offered to pay for Chris and I to go out to dinner. I took him up on it last night and we went to the Bombay Grill. I have been slowly trying different eastern and mediterrean dishes, so I was excited to go to an Indian restaurant. Oh, man was it GOOD. We has mixed appetizers of samosas, aloo tikki (spicy potato fritters with curried chick peas) and pakoras (mixed veggie fritters). Yummy. Then Chris had roganjosh (sp?) chicken and I had butter shrimp, with nan and rice. Incredible food, plus I think anything tastes better when you don't have to pay for it :p
Chris' sister Sam and her fiance Ian came over last night. They just got back from Las Vegas and had some amazing pictures to show us. We also got some great gifts from them: Chris got a cool mug for his tea and a CSI long sleeved shirt. I got a stuffed bear wearing a Star Trek uniform, a ginormous mug from Quark's bar and a personalized Star Trek keychain (this was all from Star Trek: The Experience). I will have to post pictures tonight of the bear-he is so cute!
I have to sit down tonight and watch the first episode of Ugly Betty that a coworker taped for me, plus Chris taped the 2nd episode of Heroes for me when I was sick the other night. I am looking forward to watching both of them.
It looks like Sam has her heart set on making a full-blown turkey dinner up at the cottage this weekend, so that should be interesting. Turkey is not cottage food fare, in my opinion-too much hassle and fuss. Plus I am starting to feel a little guilty about leaving Mom alone for the weekend, but I had to figure if she was in her own apartment she would be doing her own thing anyway. That really doesn't make me feel much better about it, but I will just have to live with my guilt.
Ooh, have I got a doozy of a headache today. I think it stems from the delightful neckache I've had for the past few days. I really need to go see a massage therapist, but I am just to darn cheap to go. And a word of advice: do not go lifting multiple window air conditioners by yourself. My lower back feels like an elephant did a tapdance on it.
I finally got a hold of my grandmother and told her about the engagement. She was very happy and it was nice to talk to her. She lives about 3 hours away, so I basically see her about once a year, which sucks because she is an awesome woman. She is supposed to be coming down towards the end of the month to see the puppies at Dad's, so I can get in a visit then.
I had a pretty quiet weekend. I worked Saturday until 1:00 then headed out to Chris'. We went to Chapters and roamed around in there for a while and then had Chris' chili for dinner. Sunday was spent alternating between cleaning out my closet, moving the air conditioners and laundry.
There was a marathon of "How not to Decorate" on so I watched that in between my housework. The hosts, Colin & Justin were in Toronto this weekend, but I coulnd't be bothered going to the Home Show to see them. They are absolutely hilarious, though. If you don't know the show, it is about them going to the worst homes in Britain and giving them a total makeover. Colin and Justin are two very loud, blunt Scottish gay guys who do the decorating-they are just a riot.
This coming weekend is Thanksgiving here in Canada, so I am looking forward to the long weekend. We are probably going up to Chris' family's cottage, so it should be nice. Hopefully his sister's fiance doesn't drive us wacky with his incessant chatting and I hope the two of them don't get drunk, either. That would not make for a pleasant weekend.
And to Neicy: words cannot express how horrible I feel about what you went through this weekend. Please, please stay safe and strong and take care of yourself. I wish there was someway I could help you, but know that you are in my thoughts.
It's Friday, but I have to work again tomorrow so the week isn't quite at an end yet. It's been a horrid week at work, so I am anxious for it to be over with.
My mom got news from her social worker this week that they will probably have a place for her in November. That wasw at least a little bit of good news this week, even if it isn't anything definite. It hasn't been so bad having her at the apartment, but I guess it's easier this time since I have my car and can take off at will.
Otherwise, this has really just been an awful week, both professionally and personally. So here's to next week being a better one. Hope everyone has a great weekend!
This strip reminded me of most of my co-workers. Most of whom have been making my life at work a living hell over the past few weeks. Grrr.
We are having a catered luncheon today for our fleet manager, who is retiring. I will miss Bob, as he is a really good guy and the only competent manager on staff. A free lunch is always a good thing, especially when the company is paying for it :p
Our company just sold our sister dealership in Oakville, so tonight our social club is having a goodbye dinner for our member from that dealership, Nancy. We are going to Crabby Joe's for some food and drinks. I really hate this, as I will miss Nancy terribly. She's become a good buddy, so hopefully we can keep in touch. There are now only two of us on the social committee and Nicole is, well, a twit. Nice enough girl, but utterly useless so I am just dreading planning the upcoming year's events.
Had a really nice dinner last night-Chris made stuffed peppers, steak and baked potatoes. He also got me a rose and a card to try and cheer me up. I just wish I could get out of this funk...
I would say "woohoo, it's Friday", but I have volunteered to work the next two Saturdays so Friday doesn't mean much. The wedding will not pay for itself, especially since the budget has now doubled, so I'll have to try and earn any extra cash that I can.
I'm sorry I haven't posted much, I've been down in the dumps and not overtalkative in general. Hopefully next week will be better. Have a great weekend and Neicy, have a fabulous party! Wish I could come!
Okay, this is from over at Kristi's blog. This should be interesting because my purse weighs a ridiculous amount, so maybe there is more crap in there than I thought...
1. Bottle of Advil gelcaps
2. My car keys and house keys
3. My wallet
4. My digital camera and extra batteries
5. Hairbrush
6. Several crumpled receipts and paystubs
7. Pressed powder compact
8. Change purse with my birth certificate, and various other cards
9. My cell phone
10. Two hair clips
11. Pepto Bismol chewables
12. My prescription sunglasses and case
13. Oh look, another pressed powder compact
14. An old shopping list
15. A Papermate Dryline correction tape (how the heck did that get in there?)
16. 2 lip glosses and 3 lipsticks
17. 3 Pens
18. 1 lonely Halls cough drop
19. And two items I won't mention since, well, I am embarrassed.
20. A packet of those little papers you use to take the shine off your nose
Wow, and I was making fun of poor Kristi with all the stuff she had in her purse! No wonder the damn thing is as heavy as a brick...
