Georgian Blues

I did it!

2008-02-05T18:45:00.000-05:00

Way, Way back when I started this blog, I posted that I was working towards losing some weight. I had gained about 30 pounds during a rather stressful period, and was really struggling to lose it again.

I can't say that I was diligent in sticking to my diet all year. Some months would be good, I'd lose 2 or 3 pounds, and others I would lose nothing...or *gasp* put a pound or two back on.

Last November I was about 15 pounds off from my goal of losing 25 by February. Things were getting a bit stressful again, I had actually gained back 5 of what I had lost, and feared I was going into a downward spiral.

But then I saw a picture of me, double chins, puffy face, my shirt fitting tighter than it should, and I strengthened my resolve. I was determined to get rid of that 15 pounds by February, but not really sure how I would do it.

It turns out I found a perfect diet program, it's easy and costing me nothing. I got a job!

I've been working 3 or 4 days a week at a ski resort, working in food services, sometimes doing 14 to 15 hour shifts, on my feet, with very short breaks.

I don't have time to eat when I am there, I am running around for hours on end, up and down stairs, carting dishes & glasses, picking things up off the floor. Seeing all that food, it turns me off it, and I don't even have a desire to eat when I get home, so I make myself something small and healthy so I don't get sick.

I managed to get rid of my snacking habit, I've reduced my portion sizes, and I am drinking a tonne of water every day.

This morning, I stepped on the scale and was so happy to see, that here we are, February 5, 2008, and I have reached my goal. I am now 195 pounds, and I hope to maybe even lose a bit more.

It feels good to have my clothes fit right. I look in the mirror and I can actually see my cheekbones, and I only have one chin. I sit down and a roll of fat doesn't spill out over the top of my pants, and my zipper isn't straining to stay closed.

I took my measurements over the weekend, Since last February I have lost two inches off my waist, two off my chest, and two off my hips. My upper arm is a whole inch smaller, and my thighs are down an inch & a half. And since I started taking my measurements, in August of 2006 when I was at my heaviest, I am down three and a half inches from my waist, four and a half from my hips, and three from my chest.

I'm pretty pleased, and don't think I will be so afraid of the camera now. I can't wait for the summer, I'll be able to fit back into all my old summer clothes, and won't be so ashamed to wear a pair of shorts!

Yay me!

Not Lonely Anymore

2007-12-08T15:24:00.001-05:00

It's been almost a year since I started this Blog, more than a year since I started my other blog Spandex & Hairspray.

I know I hardly write in these anymore, but the thing is, I'm no longer the "Lonely Work at Home Mom, Living in the Middle of Nowhere" I'm still living in the middle of nowhere, but lonely, most days, I am not.

I consider myself extremely lucky. About 8/9 months ago, I started re-connecting with many of my old friends. At first it was just one or two, but soon it exploded into many people I used to know. I found my best friends from high school, two girls who I had missed terribly for more than 15 years. I've re-connected with the people I went out with on the weekends. A great group of people who used to go to the teen dance club, hang out at the pool hall or Tim Horton's, and played football down at the lake on Sunday afternoons.

I've been really lucky to become close to a few people that I only knew as acquaintances as a kid. People I always liked but never got to know that well. We've found ourselves having so much in common, raising teenagers and young children of our own, trying to make a living and keep a roof over our heads. We all have struggled with feeling lonely and missing the fun we had as kids. Some are going through marriage breakups, some are starting new relationships. So much has changed over the years, we all have been through so much.

But now here we are, in our mid to late 30's, most of us having only minimal contact for the last 15 years. However, put us all in a room together, and it feels like no time has passed at all. We are so happy to see each other, you can tell by the smiles on our faces, the twinkle in our eyes. The guys get a bit rowdy, play fighting and pulling gags on each other. The girls sit back, talk & take everything in, laughing so hard at times our cheeks hurt and our guts ache.

We've had parties and get togethers. We might go to the bar, or just have a coffee at Tim Horton's. We send emails and text messages to each other, refusing to lose contact again. We give each other shoulders to cry on, help each other out in any way we can. Even if it is just a distraction from the pressure of being an adult & the responsibilities that brings, having that help, someone there who understands, it makes all the difference in the world.

I know they say if you are lucky enough to have one good friend in your life, that can mean everything. For that reason, I consider myself one very lucky girl, for having these people in my life again means so much to me. I will never again take for granted how important friends can be. I've learned that being a good friend takes effort and patience, but it can be the most rewarding thing you will ever do.

In a nutshell....despite all the stresses I may have, the worries about money, my kids, about work, despite all of that, my life is really awesome, and I have my friends to thank for it.

When will people ever learn?

2007-10-21T12:24:00.000-05:00

You know how sometimes something really pisses you off and you just need to get it out? I'm having one of those moments.

There is a restaurant in here in The Middle Of Nowhere that is owned by two of our younger residents. It's not a bad place, service is a little slow, but the food is good. However, I never eat there because the one of the owners, Kelly, is a total, complete, Bitch.

She is rude to the customers, has a knack for pissing of the local residents, never does anything to assist in improving our town, unless it has a specific benefit to her. Being on the Chamber of Commerce, I have had a few dealings with her, and had resolved to keep as far away from her as possible, and never refer any more business her way.

I know this may seem a bit harsh, but this week, she did something to PROVE she is worthy of my spite.

I read in the paper this week, the Kelly was spotted driving erratically through town, speeding and swerving down the street. A number of residents called the police, and Kelly was spotted doing 135km/h in an 80 zone. She was pulled over, given a breathalyzer and was found to be 3 times the legal limit.

Not only is she an ass for pulling a stunt like this, having consumed the alcohol at her establishment, she did it at 4:00 in the afternoon. ON A MONDAY! The time when out kids are walking down the street on their way home from school. The roads are filled with school busses dropping of this towns most precious residents.

That stupid, stupid woman. You better believe I will repeat this story to anyone who asks about where to eat in town. There will be no referrals coming from the local tourist booth I am in charge of. There will be no more including her restaurant in local events. That bitch has pissed off the wrong woman!

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On a side note, I really hope to get back in to this writing thing. It will be slow at first, as I have a lot on the go right now, but soon, I plan on being back!

More Shirley & Earl...

2007-07-15T16:00:00.001-05:00

So Shirley & Earl are at it again, and this time they have taken it too far!

It's a long story, so I'll try to be as brief as possible.

Last weekend we had a friend staying with us. This must have really irritated Shirley & Earl, because they called both the Fire Department and the Police Department on us. They were accusing us of leaving a fire unattended, and get this....driving the lawnmower drunk!

True we did have a fire going in the fire pit. My husband had doused it with water before going up the street a little bit, on foot. It is possible it was smoldering, but we have a safe, controlled fire pit, in the middle of an old garden, with nothing but dirt and concrete around it. There was also a garden hose sitting right beside it, in case of a flare up.

And yes, our friend was booting around on our lawn tractor, and he was likely a little less than sober. But the thing only goes 10km/hr, he was not using the blades, and it was early evening, not late at night or anything. We live out in the country, tractors are always being run around here, including by Earl who runs a farm!

Now, the best part is, while this was all going on, I was in town, running a fundraiser to save our Old Firehall. A cause that is important to our fire department. I happened to come home while the Fire Chief and another Fireman were still at the house. They thanked me for all the work I had been doing, told me that the guys were doing nothing wrong, and apologized for bothering us. They also gave their sympathy for having to live where we do.

A few minutes later the police arrived, and were stopped by the firemen, who told them it was a false alarm, there was no trouble there. I could tell by the way the police car sped away, the cop was none too happy about being called out there.

Through all of this, Shirley was standing in her yard, taking it all in. I am sure she was right pissed, but it serves her right.

The following night, we were out at the fire again. Another friend showed up, and wanted to let off some fireworks he had brought. Again, I stress, I live in a rural area. This kind of stuff goes on all the time here, no one minds at all. If it's not firecrackers, it's some farmer shooting groundhogs in his backyard. Personally, I prefer the firecrackers.

So, we agreed let him let off just a couple, I didn't want to bother anyone else in the neighbourhood. WELL....Earl came out and started yelling over the fence, calling us Asshole's, threatening to call the cops again. We just laughed it off and waited. Funny, the police never showed.

A year ago, this would have had me in tears, just devastated that these people hated me so much. Thank goodness I have come to the conclusion that it is not just us, Shirley and Earl have real problems. They obviously cannot stand the idea of anyone enjoying life and having a good time. Well, jokes on them...I'm starting to enjoy pissing them off, and having a great time doing it!

Never Say Goodbye...

2007-06-30T11:53:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I know I said I am on hiatus, and I am sticking to that. BUT I had to write about the absolutely fantastic night I had last night.

Anyone who knows me, or has read my other blog Spandex & Hairspray, knows that I have a few regrets when it comes to the way some of my friendships from highschool ended. In particular, I felt a heavy sense of loss over the fact that I had not talked to my two very best friends, Emma & Sara, in years.

Well last night, for the first time in more than 17 years, Emma, Sara and I were together again.

I had been chatting with Emma through Facebook for a couple of months now, and then, last month I ran into another old friend who had Sara's phone number. As soon as the three of us got talking again, we knew we had to see each other.

So we met at Sara's for some drinks. I know we all were a bit nervous at first, each of us likely a bit afraid of how the night would go, worried that we had changed too much, and we would have nothing in common anymore.

That fear melted away within seconds of us sitting down together. The conversation flowed with such ease, we talked about or families, or love lives, our careers. We caught up on so much that had been missed over the years, and reminisced about the old days. And we told each other things I have never told anyone, comparing love lives, discussing our feelings about people we know, our spouses and our kids. I felt so comfortable, knowing I could tell them anything, and I would not be judged in any way.

These two girls know some of my deepest darkest secrets. They were with me during some of the toughest times of my life, as well as some of the happiest. So many memories came flooding back, and to be there with the only two people that shared those memories was the most incredible feeling. It was like finding a part of me that had been lost for some time.

We met last night at 7:00. We sat down in Sara's backyard, getting up once and awhile to get another drink, or something to munch on. Usually I am someone that is always looking at my watch, especially when I know I have a long drive home like I did last night. At one point I thought to myself, it must be getting late, so I finally picked up my cell phone to look at the time. I nearly fell off my chair when I realized it was 2:30 in the morning. It felt like no time at all had passed, yet we had been sitting there for more than 7 hours.

You honestly, truly, never have friends again like the ones you had when you were 15. I am so happy, and so grateful I have mine back.

Remember days of skipping school
Racing cars and being cool
With a six pack and the radio
We didn't need no place to go

Remember how we used to talk
About busting out - we'd break their hearts
Together - forever

Never say goodbye, never say goodbye
You and me and my old friends
Hoping it would never end
Never say goodbye, never say goodbye
Holdin' on - we got to try
Holdin' on to never say goodbye

See you in December...

2007-06-09T10:10:00.000-05:00

I think I need to go on hiatus.

I started this blog as something to keep my mind occupied during the lonely winter months, when I would sometimes go days, even a week, without leaving the house or seeing anyone other than my family.

Right now I am so busy, with work and the Chamber I don't seem to have any time to devote to writing, let alone thinking about what to write. I even have a bit of a social life now, I've been reconnecting with old friends, going for coffee, going to parties, I have been having a blast!

So I will put this on the shelf, say thank you to the handful of readers I have, and hopefully get back to it in the winter. Because I know, I will be bored. As crazy busy as I am right now, I will be bored to tears come December. And having my favourite blogs to read will remind me there is a life outside the snow banks.

Till then!

Every little thing they do is magic.

2007-05-29T10:10:00.000-05:00

I just read a review of the opening night of the Police's North American tour. And you know what.

I am TOTALLY FREAKIN EXCITED!

Even though I have had these tickets in my hot little hands for a couple of months now, I still cannot believe it is true. I never in a million years thought I would get to see the three boys I spent hours listening to as a kid, the band whose greatest hits CD is the only one I have replaced three times. With all the concerts I have seen over the years this one will top them all. The only thing that could top this would be to see Jim Morrison performing with The Doors. And somehow, I just don't think that is going to happen any time soon.

I may have had to pay through my nose to get these tickets on eBay, but I don't feel one smidgen of regret. So my kids may not get new shoes this year, so what if my visa is maxed out. It's THE POLICE!

Punkin is at it again.

2007-05-24T07:37:00.002-05:00

For the life of me I cannot figure out where he comes up with these things....

Overheard while standing at the cosmetics counter with my Mom and Punkin:

Punkin: "Grandma, you should buy some of this boo-ti-ful lipstick"

Grandma: "Why is that sweetheart?"

Punkin: "So you can get a husband....You need a Husband"

Punkin calls to me from the couch where he is watching TV:

Punkin: "Mommy, this cut on my knee is gushing blood!"

Me: "Well, then you better come with me and get a Band-Aid, I don't want blood all over the couch"

Punkin: "Don't worry Mommy, the scab is holding all the blood in, I don't need a Band-Aid."

That's my boy....

I'm a Bear Called Jeremy...

2007-05-17T08:06:00.000-05:00

You know what one of my fondest memories of childhood was? Being about 5 years old, having the den all to myself, curled up in my daddy's chair, watching TVO. I can remember waiting with anticipation for the next episode of Jeremy, wanting to see what was going to happen next to my favourite little bear.

Watching that almost brought tears to my eyes. It is amazing how after nearly 30 years it is still so familiar.

Finding a way to talk so your kids will listen.

2007-05-16T15:19:00.000-05:00

I have discovered something wonderful!

I have avoided MSN like the plague for years. Drove me nuts being interrupted at the worst times, and the older versions seemed to be full of bugs that messed up my computer.

Well recently, I have been communicating with some old friends, and I was encouraged to use MSN again. It's really cool to be able to talk to them sometimes, and I just set it to away if I am too busy.

But the coolest thing is my son is always on MSN. Now if I am in the middle of something I don't have to get up and tell him if the phone is for him, ask him to turn down the TV, or remind him to do his homework. I just send him a message. And you know what...he is finally listening to me. It's like I have learned a whole new language that he comprehends!

Last night, he started messaging me, and we had a great conversation about how he was feeling about going to high school. He was less than 30 feet away from me, and we could have just as easily talked face to face, but it was like he felt more comfortable confiding in me that way. We talked for more than a half hour. The longest conversation we have had in months.

I realize it sounds a bit odd, but as far as I am concerned any communication with a teenager is a good thing...I will take it however I can get it.

At least he can't shy away when I send him a big virtual hug that way!

Shirley & Earl Continued....

2007-05-11T11:20:00.000-05:00

So I have saved my two best Shirley & Earl stories for last.

Shortly after my conversation with the sympathetic police officer about the late night chain saw, I got a call myself from the local police.

Apparently, Shirley was pissed off because Hon had leaned a piece of scaffold up against the fence. Not scaffold that had been assembled, just one piece he did not need at the time, leaning there, out of the way. A small piece too, probably 4 feet by 4 feet.

Now the officer had not been out to look at this, I don't think he really understood what was there. He explained that he was obligated to call any time there was a complaint, and although he was sure we meant no harm, perhaps it was better if we moved it to a different area in our yard. He did not come right out and say it, but he eluded to the fact that this was not the first time Shirley and Earl had complained about neighbours.

I was LIVID! I called my husband in tears....I know I should not have let it get to me, but it did. He happened to be in town, and was talking to one of our other neighbours. He relayed a story to Hon about the time Shirley had called the cops on his son, when he had used their pasture as a short cut to another neighbours. We are not talking well groomed lawn here, we are talking a cow pasture.

I could not believe it. I thought it could not get any worse.

Well it did. In the fall I got a call from the local building supply store. This is the store we buy all of our materials from for our roofing business. We have an excellent relationship with them, and they have a stake in our success because of the amount of business we put through them.

I was told that a homeowner, whose roof we were scheduled to do, had called there and said he was concerned about us doing his roof. He had heard that we were thief's. We were irresponsible and did shoddy work. In fact, he heard that all of our guys were drunk by noon, and always drank on the job.

This was of course complete nonsense, we take great pride in our excellent reputation, and would do nothing to harm it. We have strict policies against drinking on the job, and we would never dream of ripping someone off. You can't do that in a small town and survive in business.

The guy from the store that called me told me he straightened the customer out, and told him what he heard was complete bunk. I asked if he knew who was spreading the rumours around, but he told me he really couldn't say, it wasn't his place. I agreed with him, but said I had a feeling it was Shirley and Earl. His silence confirmed my suspicions.

I guess we are lucky that the reputation of these people is such that most people in town know not to listen to a word they say. But it still can be damaging.

We do our best just to stay out of their way. My husband and I are bad though, we have a habit of saying things when she is in her yard, because we know she is listening.

The other night for example, I came home from a Chamber meeting and was telling my husband some of what had happened.

I could see Shirley in her yard, pretending to do yard work, but I knew she was listening, the weeds in that part of the lawn could not have been that interesting.

So part way through the conversation I said to him, "Oh wait, I better tell you when we get inside. I don't want the Chamber business being blabbed all over town by some nosy neighbour"

Shirley got up and moved as soon as I said that.

So tell me...do I win the pity award for having the worst neighbours in history?

The saga of Shirley & Earl

2007-05-09T08:36:00.000-05:00

So you really want to hear about Shirley & Earl do you? Well let's see if I can get through writing this without showing too much rage. I warn you though, this could get long.....

The first time I met Shirley was about 2 months after we moved in here. We had exchanged friendly waves, but that was about it.

She came through my garage and knocked on my kitchen door. Not the front door like most uninvited guests would. She was there to return the spare keys she had from the old owner. 2 months after we had moved in.

Okay...I got over that, wanted to be friendly here. We chatted for a bit, well she talked, I listened. She told me about the old guy Ernie, that had owned the house before us, how he was really dirty, never took off his shoes, and never vacuumed. I thought talking ill of the dead was not very nice, but again, I let it slide.

She told me about Ernie's girlfriend, who she didn't particularly like. For some reason the girlfriend had changed all Ernie's locks when she moved in. The profoud hiding meaning in that statement did not hit me for a few more months.

I heard a bit more gossip about the other neighbours, nothing nice at all. I just chalked her up as a bitter old broad, and made mental note to try not to piss her off.

Then one day the phone rang. Shirley wanted to know why my husband had hung his ladders on the fence. Well Hon is a roofer, he's trying to keep things neat and tidy, so he put his ladders up out of the way.

Well.....Shirley told me that was THEIR fence, and perhaps if we were going to do things like that, we should ask first.

I apologized, told her I would have Hon take them down right away. She said it was okay, he can leave them there, just be sure to ask the next time.

About 3 weeks later, there was a banging at my front door. (I had taken to locking the garage at this point). I opened the door to find Shirley there, with steam coming out of her ears.

Shirley wanted to know why we had stolen firewood from their field. I was dumbfounded, I explained that we had no reason for firewood, we don't use the fireplace. And in fact, there was a whole stack of wood in our basement that I wanted to get rid of, she could have it if she wanted.

Shirley said it had to be us that stole it. She saw the boys making bike ramps, they were using logs that were the same colour as hers. (I was not aware that there was such an obvious colour difference in firewood?)

I told her I would speak to the boys, but I was quite sure the boys had got the wood from our basement.

She proceeded to tell me that Earl, her husband, was quite upset, and he expected us to pay for the wood.

Again I explained that we did not take the wood, but if it meant that much to her, she could send Earl over to take the firewood out of our basement. She huffed and walked away.

This upset me to no end. I have been called a lot of things in my life, but a thief and a liar I was not.

A couple of days later, Shirley was back. She wanted to know when my husband was going to take the ladders down off the fence. I reminded her that she said it was okay they were there. She told me Earl had changed his mind and wanted them down. AND he wants the nail holes filled and sanded. I told her I would speak to Noel about it. She started to say something else, but I missed whatever it was. The door slamming in her face interrupted her.

So Hon took down the ladders and filled the nail holes in. We decided we would just do out best to ignore Shirley and Earl, and get on with our lives.

One night, in the middle of the summer I came home about 10:30. When I pulled in the driveway, I was surprised to hear a chainsaw running. I listened for a moment, expecting the noise to stop, figured some kid was fooling around close by. But then I noticed a light behind my house, I walked into the backyard, and I could see Earl and his son back in their field (they own the farm that surrounds my property). They were cutting wood. With a chainsaw. At 10:30 on a weeknight.

I was pissed. I marched over to their house, and pounded on the front door, just like Shirley had done to mine in the past. She answered, with her 4 year old grandson at her feet (let me remind you, this was 10:30 at night)

"What is going on back there?" I asked

"What do you mean" she said, with a stupid grin on her face

"Do you really expect us to put up with that noise? My husband gets up at 5:00 in the morning to go to work"

"I know," she replied, "I have to put up with him leaving every morning"

Apparently someone getting in their truck and driving down the road is a noise disturbance now. I wasn't aware of this.

"Shirley," I said. "tell them to stop or I will call the police. You have until 11:00"

As I turned and walked away, Shirley left me with these parting words, said in front of her 4 year old grandson...."Fuck you Teresa."

I fought the urge to hold my middle finger up to her, after all there was a child there.

I did end up having to call the cops, and they did call her. The police officer did explain to me that there were no noise disturbance laws in our area, but he was also very sympathetic. Especially when I told him who my neighbours were. The chainsaw was off by about 11:30.

Okay, I warned this would get long...and unfortunately I have to get on with my day. I will continue this saga another time. But are you starting to get why I hate my neighbours?

Things that make Teresa go Hmmmmm.

2007-05-07T10:57:00.000-05:00

So I was sitting here, staring at my wall, trying to think of something to write (a scene many bloggers are familiar with I'm sure). My mind started to wander, and I began thinking of the things in life that perplex me. It's a habit I picked up in high school, trying to amuse myself when I did not feel like listening to the teacher.

As you can imagine, this happened a lot.

So here are some of the things that are boggling my mind right now. Some are long standing sources of confusion, some are fairly new. But they all make me go HMMMMMM..........

1. Why do groundhogs sit on dirt roads sniffing the ground? Are they trying to find something? Are they getting their daily nutrients from....dirt? Or do they just have a suicide wish? Because there are about 5 groundhog carcases on my road right now proving that this is a dangerous activity to embark upon.

2. Why is my mail lady always late on the days I am waiting for the mail to come? Does she have an x-ray machine in her car that tells her the cheque I am waiting for is amongst all those bills that need to be paid? Does she purposely wait so that I am forced to drive at breakneck speeds to get to the bank before it closes? What made her so vengeful? Maybe I should have left her more than a cheap card at Christmas.

3. Why can I not train myself to hit the apostrophe key instead of the semi-colon when typing words such as don;t, can;t, and shouldn;t? And why does Blogger spell check not pick up on it? I am a perfectly capable typer, but I am constantly fixing that damn mistake!

4. Why is it every time I mention to someone that I live next to Earl & Shirley Brown, they get this look of pity on their face, say "Oh..." and immediately change the subject? And why couldn't have someone given me that look BEFORE we bought this house?

5. Why is it one day I will have my desk all spic and span, and then just hours later it looks like this? Does someone come in here and purposely mess it up just to frustrate me? Whomever they are, they must be quick, and invisible. Because even when I spend most of my day here it still happens. I think I should get cameras in here. This bears further investigation.

6. Why do all the dogs on my street come and shit on my lawn? Did we do something to offend them? Are they confused and think they are on the Brown's lawn? Is it because we are the only people that don't own a dog and they want to share the wealth? All I know is my husband is damn tired of picking up the shit. And I am damn grateful that he does it so I don't have to.

So these are the things that find themselves wandering into my mind sometimes. Does anyone have the answers to my life's great mysteries? I sure would be appreciative if you could provide some insight, because I sure ~~can;t~~ can't figure it out.

I'm Memeing again

2007-05-02T13:47:00.000-05:00

I saw this awhile back. Sorry I cannot remember who I stole it from, I just copied and pasted it into a file to do at a later date.

I love movies, so I thought this was an appropriate Meme for me. Not going to tag anyone with it, but let me know if you use it so I can read yours!

1. Name a movie that you have seen more than 10 times.
Stand By Me

2. Name a movie that you’ve seen multiple times in the theater.
Brokeback Mountain

3. Name an actor that would make you more inclined to see a movie.
Alan Rickman

4. Name an actor that would make you less likely to see a movie.
Owen Wilson or Ben Stiller. They are both too creepy!

5. Name a movie that you can and do quote from.
I could quote from many, but that is kinda cheesy! I'm more inclined to quote music. That's much cooler. (that's sarcasm in the italics)

6. Name a movie musical that you know all of the lyrics to all of the songs.
Grease

7. Name a movie that you have been known to sing along with.
Winnie the Pooh Movies

8. Name a movie that you would recommend everyone see.
Iron Jawed Angels (About the suffragists in the 20’s. Great history lesson)

9. Name a movie that you own.
Casablanca

10. Name an actor that launched his/her entertainment career in another medium but who has surprised you with his/her acting chops.
Will Smith

11. Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in? If so, what?
Lots in the 80’s, but none since. I cannot remember what I saw.

12. Ever made out in a movie?
Who me??? Okay, once or twice.

13. Name a movie that you keep meaning to see but just haven’t yet gotten around to it.
Schindler’s List. I’ve even rented it a few times, but never sat down to it. And I LOVE Liam Neeson.

14. Ever walked out of a movie?
No, but I have turned off many DVD’s

15. Name a movie that made you cry in the theater.
The Notebook. I sobbed; it was kind of embarrassing actually.

16. What’s the last movie you saw in the theater?
Reign Over Me. It's Awesome. Go see it.

17. What’s your favorite/preferred genre of movie?
Tear-jerker, heart wrenching drama. I like a movie that sits with me for days.

18. What’s the first movie you remember seeing in the theater?
Yentl. Yes with Barbara Streisand. And I liked it. I've seen it a few times over the years.

19. What movie do you wish you had never seen?
Christmas with the Kranks

20. What is the weirdest movie you enjoyed?
Most movies with Ewan McGregor (Stay, Young Adam). He’s in them, so I enjoy them.

21. What is the scariest movie you’ve seen?
Ghost Story. Love that movie.

22. What is the funniest movie you’ve seen?
Harvey (Old Jimmy Stewart, it cracks me up)

Have a Nice Day....

2007-05-01T20:03:00.000-05:00

This is the first time in 5 years that I have not been following American Idol. Truthfully, I just did not LOVE any of the contestants enough to waste my time watching. I figured I'd hold out hope for Canadian Idol.

But of course, since my other husband was coaching this week, I had to watch. After all, it would be blasphemous for me to miss a chance to see my Jon.

I won't sit here and try to critique the six performers. I have no idea if they were better or worse than usual, like I said, I have not been watching. Although I admit, I had to change the channel when that one kid was doing "You Give Love A Bad Name", it was too painful to watch.

But that girl, ~~Lakisha is it?~~ Melinda! (thanks ec). I almost stood up and clapped when she was done with "Have a Nice Day". I never even liked that song before, until she sung it. For a girl that does not rock, she rocked. That was so awesome, I just had to post about it.

She'd have my vote, if I had one.

You can waste my money, but don't waste my time

2007-04-30T14:00:00.000-05:00

So I am in Wal-Mart yesterday, with a friend who is trying to return an item.

We are standing in line in customer service, and ahead of us is a Native Canadian who is taking up the whole counter, as well as the services of the three employees working there.

For the first 5 minutes or so, I paid very little attention to the transaction, I just happily stood and talked to my friend. But after awhile, we both were getting a little tired of waiting, and we both began to pay attention to what was going on.

It seemed that this girl had gone through the self serve checkout, and did not realize she would not be able to get her tax exemption this way (Natives in Canada are exempt from paying sales tax).

Okay, I get this, we all need to find ways to save money, and you certainly don't want to give more to the government than is necessary.

I'll admit, as the minutes ticked by, I was getting a little annoyed. After about 5 minutes of discussion, the cashiers decided the best route to take was to void all of the purchases and put them all through again. We had to stand there and watch while they unpacked all the bags, scanned all the items to void them, and then put them back in the bags. Then they took all the items back out of the bags again, scanned them again, and put them back in the bags.

All in all, this process took about 20 minutes.

Finally, when they were all done, the customer was given her refund. A whole $1.17.

That's One Dollar and Seventeen Cents.....Canadian!

20 minutes of my time, my friends time, the time of the 3 people waiting in line behind us, and the time of the 3 girls on cash was wasted for $1.17.

Lets add this up, on average lets say each of the people involved were paid, say $9.00/hour. There were 9 people, so $81.00/hour. So for 20 minutes, that is $27.00 of manpower, for $1.17.

Why Wal-Mart could not have just opened a cash drawer and given this girl $1.17 is beyond me. Hell if I had known that was what we were waiting for, I would have gladly given the girl the $1.17 myself.

I hate wasting time.

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens.....

2007-04-28T22:06:00.000-05:00

Okay, I guess I came off as a little harsh on my last post. I caught a bit of flack from one commenter. Geez, some people are so sensitive, I wonder if the string on his track pants was tied too tight?

Really I am not that much of a bitch....like I said, I just had a bad day. This blog is my therapy for crying out loud! Sometimes I just need to get things off my chest.

So I thought I would counter with a happy, more positive approach. As much as living in a small town can drive me nuts, there are things I love about it. Here are just a few.

1. When I go for lunch, no matter where it is, someone will stop by my table and say hi. People know my name, and are happy to take the time to chat.

2. If you are downtown, and need to cross the road, someone will stop and let you by. The cars travel at a nice pace, you never have to worry about being smucked by a BMW.

3. Within minutes, I can see the most breathtaking scenery. Winter, spring, summer or fall, I live in a very beautiful part of Canada.

4. I am part of a community. I am not just another face in a sea of faces. There is a real sense of belonging here.

5. I can let my son leave the house with very little worry he will be mugged, beaten up, or worse. The crime rate here is so very low, the weekly police report in the paper is filled with noise disturbances and traffic offences.

6. No noise, no smog, lots of trees and wildlife. Best of all, I can see the stars at night.

See that, aren't I just oozing happy thoughts?

Sorry to disappoint you Mr. Fab.

It's not Oprah but.....

2007-04-24T07:39:00.000-05:00

I was reading one of my favourite blogs, Lost in the Battle, and saw she had been interviewed, and was offering to interview others.

I thought Great! I have not had time to come up with anything good to post about, I'll let her interview me!

So here are Twyla's questions and my answers.

1. Tell us a little about yourself. Where did you grow up? Do you have any
siblings?

I grew up about 30 minutes from Toronto, in Burlington, Ontario. It’s a great city, not too big, but growing everyday. It’s on the edge of a greenbelt, so I had the best of both worlds, city and rural life.

I have an older brother. We spent the first 20 years of my life hating each other, and the last 15 trying to repair the damage.

2. If I were to meet you on the street, what would be my first impression
of you?

Holy crap that chick is tall!

3. If you won the lottery and could live anywhere you want... do anything
you want...what would you do?

If I could live anywhere, I’d likely choose to live in the UK. I love it all, so I’d have a house in the Scottish Highlands, one anywhere in Ireland and one in Northern England.
I’d spend my time exploring Europe, seeing all of the places I have always wanted to see.

4. What were your teenage years like?

Interesting. I was a bit on the wild side, I did all of the things I wasn’t supposed to do. It’s all over in my other blog. Spandex & Hairspray.

5. Who has been the most influential person in your life and why?

I’d like to say my parents, but that is kind of boring.

If there was anyone person that changed the course of my life, I’d have to say that is my oldest son. The Boy.

Once The Boy was born, I had to make some serious changes. I was barely 21, single, a high school drop out, and on welfare. I knew that if I did not put some serious effort into making something of myself, The Boy and I would never make it. So I went back to school, worked hard, cleaned up my act and made a life for us.
We may not have a big house and lots of money in the bank yet, but we’ve done okay. Now I am 34, married, a college graduate, and making my own money. Those are some pretty positive changes I think.

So now that I've done that, I will do the same as Twyla. The first 2 people to leave me a comment and volunteer, I will send 5 questions to them.

Laundromat, Here I Come!

2007-04-23T12:45:00.000-05:00

You know what one of the most terrifying things for a mother of two boys and a wife of a construction worker to hear?

It's the sound of her washing machine going CRUNCH! Shortly before she smells burning rubber.

And of course, it does not do this while she is washing the boy clothes, it does this during the last of 8 loads she has done in the previous 3 days. The one that has HER clothes in it.

So now I have a washing machine full of water, and full of my underwear. Figures!

2007-04-22T16:14:00.000-05:00

Boy am I glad to see the tail end of last week.

I was feeling a tad bit stressed, trying to help organize an event for 500 people.

I hate it when I get stressed out. I always feel ill, like I'm gonna loose my lunch, 24 hours a day. And then I get stressed about feeling sick, so I feel sicker. Never ending battle. It's days like those I contemplate taking up drinking. Maybe I could get really drunk, forget about all my worries, and have a good reason for feeling like puking!

But of course, despite all of my fretting, everything went well. Everyone left happy, I have heard only good feedback, and I met all sorts of neat people.

SO THEN.....Hon and I were off to see Billy Joel on Friday night.

That was awesome. It was my first time seeing Billy Joel in concert, and we both thought he was great. He sounded awesome, and watching him pound away at that piano is something to see.

He is also quite funny, although a tad bit arrogant. But hey, if you are that talented and famous, I guess you have something to be arrogant about!

By the time we got back to our hotel it was almost 1am. It was cool, kinda felt young again being out that late, back in the city I spent much of my youth in. We even drove around looking for something to eat. We'd never be able to do that back here. They practically roll the streets up at 9:00. You can't even find a gas station open past 10.

So we are back home now, it is a beautiful day and I am doing all I can to take it easy.

There is one more week to tax season, and I have a small meeting to organize on Thursday. I so hope once all that is done I can get back to writing again. I really miss it, and I miss all the time spent reading all of my favourite blogs!

My Name Is......

2007-04-18T12:50:00.000-05:00

Note to my local newspaper.

My name is not Terry, it's Teresa. Please do not call me Terry. I don't really like the name Terry, I have never used that name and never gave you any indication I wanted to be called Terry.

If you are going to put my picture in your paper, announcing something I have worked very hard on, don't publish my name as Terry.

How Rude!

That's all.

And we would all go down together....

2007-04-18T09:04:00.000-05:00

My Poor Blog. It is being neglected.

I love this blog, really I do. I have so many things I want to say in it, I just haven't had the time to get my thoughts organized, so I have been neglecting it.

First problem, I have become a Facebook Addict. The last couple of weeks I have reconnected with so many friends, I feel like I am 16 again. I've been spending all my spare time catching up, reading and writing messages, posting pictures and looking at everyone else's. Funny thing, all my old friends grew up too. Kind of a shock really when you always pictured them at 17 years old.

The other problem, I don't have a lot of time to spare. Ya I know, lonely bored me. The one who less than a month ago stayed in her pyjamas for a week because she had no reason to leave the house. Funny what happens when the snow melts away!

I've been helping to organize an event to recognize the volunteers in my community. It started out as a small project, myself and another guy working on it. It's kind of snowballed on us, and we now expect about 500 people to converge at the local high school, looking for us to entertain them for two hours! Now we've got food, a band playing, politicians speaking, slide shows showing....and it has basically been the two of us, putting it all together, all in about 4 weeks time.

Good thing I work well under pressure!

So that is all over and done with tomorrow night, THANK GOD! And then Friday Hon and I are escaping, heading down to the city to see Billy Joel, and spending the night in a hotel. I may have to have caffeine pumped into me intravenously to stay awake for the evening, but I am going to enjoy myself if it kills me!

Next week is a little less hectic. I only have my first General Meeting with the Chamber as their new President. I figure if I can pull off this Volunteer thingy, that should be child's play.

Aw heck, what's the worst that can go wrong? At least the threat of massive snow storms is gone. Maybe if it is all a disaster and everyone hates me I will finally be able to convince my husband to move back to the city.

And maybe those brown cows in the field behind our house really are chocolate milk cows like Punkin says they are!

BTW, the post title, lyrics from my favourite Billy Joel song, "Goodbye Saigon"

"And we would all go down together
We said we'd all go down together
Yes we would all go down together"

The goaless meme.

2007-04-13T13:11:00.000-05:00

I've been tagged. Twice actually, so I guess I better do something about it.

First it was Domestika at So you Wannabee a Domestik Goddess?, and then it was Awannabe at The Missing Blog Meets the Big Bad World .

They have tagged me with of all things, a Goals Meme. Love these ladies, really...but the problem is, I don't like to make long term goals! I prefer to live in the moment. That way I am not disappointed with the results.

But I want to thank them for thinking of me regardless.

The Gotta Get Goals Meme was was created by Alex Shalman, and he has challenged us to write 5-10 goals that if met would mean we have achieved our wildest dreams. Sounds simple enough. Just not for me.

But to play along I will list my one goal.

To find a way to be happy with what I have.

That's it. Really. I will never allow myself to live in the ..."Things will be better when...." world. If I can't be happy with what I have today, here, right in front of me, I don't think I can ever be happy.

That is not to say I don't ever do anything to improve my quality of life. I am all for that. I won't ever stop trying to improve myself. That's the whole point isn't it?

There are things I want to do. I want to go to Ireland, I want to pay off my debt. I want to go to University, I want to find a way to restore the Old Fire Hall in Town. May happen, may not. It's not going to make or break me.

I just know I am very lucky. I have a husband I adore, who adores me. I have two bright and beautiful children. I have two parents that love me and are proud of me. I have a roof over my head, food in the fridge, and a chair to sit in. I have had amazing and wonderful friendships.

I have achieved my goals, the rest is all gravy.

My Shameful Dirty Secret

2007-04-09T11:41:00.000-05:00

EC at Whatever Blows My Skirt posted today about her trouble with clutter, and the terrible mess her room seems to be in.

I thought since she was being so honest, I could reveal my shameful dirty secret too. You see, I do everything I can to keep the house as clean as I can. The kitchen is tidy, the bathroom looks good, the living room is dust free.

But lurking behind two closed doors is something I am terrified outsiders might see. I worry that someone might happen by, and catch a glimpse of the mess that is there.

Just like EC, my bedroom is cluttered with clothes on the floor, books piled in the corner, shelves waiting to be put up. My bed is never made, and the dust bunnies under my bed could be mistaken for the Sasquatch.

Then there is my office. I try to keep it clean, but with so many things on the go, the papers pile up, the dishes get everywhere, and the books and files are out of control!

EC wonders why this happens, why is it we just cannot keep these spaces clean. Even when we try to do something, it lasts only a short while, and it looks a mess again in no time.

I've come to the conclusion it is one of two things.

One, as mothers, we always end up taking care of ourselves last. Whether it is when we are sick, hungry, or chores need to be done, we always make sure or families get what they need first. So we clean the kitchen, scrub the toilet, do their laundry. And when we are done that, we put on the pyjamas that are on the floor where we left them that morning and fall into our unmade bed. We look around at the chaos in our rooms, and tell ourselves we'll get to cleaning it tomorrow. But it never happens.

My other theory, which is my excuse at least, is that I am rebelling. I am so sick of trying to keep order around me, I like to have a space where I don't worry about the dust and dirt. Where I can say "If you don't like it...too damn bad. It's my mess, and I'm keeping it."

Sure, I'd love to have a nice clean room, with pretty things. I just have to keep telling myself that day will come. The day after my boys move out of the house for good.

I think I have a problem.

2007-04-06T20:04:00.000-05:00

I fell off the wagon. I don't know what came over me. I couldn't help myself, I'd had a crappy day and I just needed a little comfort.

I was in the corner store, innocently buying some bread and milk when I saw it.

There in the fridge, amongst all the other liquid evil it sat. With it's see-through bottle and eye catching label, it looked irresistible. It called to me, saying, "Drink me Teresa, just a sip. I'll make you feel much better."

I could not resist. My mouth was watering, I could almost taste it's sweet tangy flavour. I could feel it's bubbles that fizz in my nose. I wanted it so bad.

I broke down. I reached into that fridge, grabbed the bottle, and I bought that orange soda. I drank every drop too, all 190 empty calories, and I loved it.

Now I feel all bloaty, and a little nauseous. And boy, am I burping like a sonofabitch.

I have been a soda addict since I was about 10 years old. I'll quit for a time, but then it gets me back. But really, this was just a little slip. I promise to try harder next time.

At least I didn't buy a Pepsi. One taste of that junk, and I'm a gonner.

Snakes and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails....

2007-04-04T14:22:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I was doing laundry, and was trying to figure out why I could not find any of The Boy's jeans in his room.

I looked under all of the other crap on his floor, pulled stuff out of the closet, looked in his gym bag...no jeans.

WTF? I am thinking to myself. Have his jeans all gotten up and walked away? Possible, I realize, but not likely.

I knew I had not washed any of his jeans since last week, so they must be dirty right? He only owns three pairs.

So I go down to the laundry room, and there, sitting on the folding table, right where I had left them last week, were two pairs of his jeans. Washed, dried and folded neatly. Left there despite my repeated requests to Boy to go and get them and put them away.

It's not like it's WAY out of his way to get them. He only walks past the laundry room 35 times a day between the TV and the Kitchen.

But the worst part is. Not sure if you have caught on to this or not. This means he has been wearing the SAME pair of jeans since last Wednesday, or maybe even longer.

I hope he at least was changing his boxers.

Boys are so gross.

Community Volunteer Income Tax Program

2007-04-02T09:41:00.000-05:00

I've mentioned before that I do Pro Bono tax returns for people with low incomes.

I do it because I think it is disgusting that companies like H&R Block will charge $50-$100 to prepare a tax return that takes less than 10 minutes to do. Average that out, and they could be making up to $600/hour. That's nuts! For some of these people that $50.00 is 5% of their monthly income. It could be more than a weeks groceries for them.

I'm also amazed at how so many of them are not taking advantage of deductions like Medical and Dental, or single parents not claiming their children as Equivalent-to-Spouse. The tax preparers that had charged them to do their returns never told them about these deductions, small items that can add hundreds of dollars to their returns.

Trouble is, I only end up doing about 10-20 of these returns each year. I cannot seem to get people to trust the idea. I am supported by Revenue Canada, they provide the tax preparation software and training, but folks around here just don't seem to respond to it. For an area that is so affected by poverty, I would hope to be able to do ten times that.

If you read this, you live in Canada, and you make less than $24,000 a year, I encourage you to visit the Canada Revenue Agency Website, and find a volunteer in your area that can help you with your taxes. It's a Canada wide program, there are thousands of volunteers just like me that want to help. Perhaps if enough people go that route, companies like H&R will sit up and take notice.

Ding Dong the Squirrel is dead...

2007-04-01T18:41:00.000-05:00

Please don't cal PETA on us.

I could not stand living with the fear that the squirrel would jump out and attack one of my kids, so I gave in and let Hon buy a rat trap. Within two hours of setting it, the squirrel was dead.

And lucky me....I'm the one that found it.

We tried, really we did. We put food on the window sills and opened them up. We set a humane trap, but it wouldn't bite. So now the bushy tailed, tulip bulb eating, office terrorizing rodent is gone. A moment of silence please.......

Okay, enough of that.

Hon also bought two huge sticky traps that now are going to waste. I thought I might sneak next door, put them on my neighbours front porch and ring the doorbell. Now that would be fun to watch......talk about a satisfying April Fools joke!

Give me your nuts or your office is mine.

2007-03-31T10:07:00.000-05:00

I always hated the Rocky and Bullwinkle show. That stupid squirrel's voice really got to me.

To have to live with a squirrel in your house...it's torture! I'm having to type this on my laptop because the bloody thing has infiltrated my office, knocking shit off the walls and shelves. I went in there last night and was about to start yelling at poor Punkin when I saw business cards strewn all over the floor and pictures knocked off my filing cabinet. But it occurred to me that this was not typical Punkin mischief, this was the work of a large ADHD rodent.

Somehow it also managed to knock my precious Billy Joel and Police tickets off my bulletin board over night. I had a bit of a panic attack this morning when I saw them missing. I had images of them chewed to bits in some comfy warm nest in my walls. Lucky for that little red beasty I found them under my desk. That Humane Animal Trap my husband borrowed would have been replaced with a rat trap and poison if that had not been the case.

So now I am having to sit at my kitchen table for fear that if try to sit at my desk in the basement my toes will be chewed off. The kids are playing and watching TV in my living room, making a huge mess, because they are afraid to go downstairs to the playroom. Every noise I hear makes me nervous, I think it is that evil thing sneaking up on me.

I keep waiting and hoping to hear a real ruckus downstairs that will mean the thing is safely in the confines of it's cage, and this hostage situation will be peacefully resolved.

Anyone out there with good hostage negotiator skills that can help me out?

Darling I love you, but give me Park Avenue!

2007-03-30T09:16:00.000-05:00

I want to move back to the city NOW!

I don't care - I'll put up with having to look into my neighbours kitchen each time I look out my window. I'll live with the stupid people next door playing their music too loud. Give me the traffic, the noise the smog.....as long as I don't have to put up with *&%$#! creatures in my house anymore!

This morning I heard a noise in my kitchen, and happily went running up the stairs thinking Hon had come home....only to find my kitchen in a disaster, things knocked over, stuff spilling out of the cupboard...and a freakin' squirrel sitting on my windowsill!

Needless to say I let out one loud, rather girly scream and jumped up on a chair just like the housewife in a Tom and Jerry cartoon.

The stupid thing went tearing off the window sill, knocked a container of straws on the floor and went running into the living room, right past Punkin who was sitting on the floor.

You can tell he was born and raised in the country....he barely looked up from the TV before saying, "Mommy, deresa sqwell in the Wiving Room", like this wasn't too unusual!

I called my husband....told him to come home right away before I had my toes chewed off. He laughed at me and told me to open the doors and windows so it could escape.

Yeah Right! I do that and every other creature out there is going to think this is some hotel and move right in....I don't think so! Stupid useless men.

So I have no clue where the rodent is now. I hear something rustling around in the wood stove. It is either the squirrel or we have yet another bird in the house.

See this isn't the first wildlife I have encountered. We've had bats, birds, chipmunks, really BIG spiders and who knows how many mice in our house in the last five years. Not to mention the skunks and raccoons in the garbage, and the wild dogs howling at night.

One night I even had a bat land in my lap while I was reading in bed. I don't know who was more scared, me or it when I let out that blood curdling scream. Actually, I think it was Hon who was scared the most. He had been sleeping soundly next to me at that moment. What a way to wake up - serves him right, making me live here.

And I wonder why the Green Acres theme song keeps running through my head....Green Acres is NOT the place to be!

Anyone in the Greater Toronto Area looking for a roommate?

How Open Minded Are You?

2007-03-27T18:15:00.000-05:00

You Are 64% Open Minded

You are a very open minded person, but you're also well grounded.
Tolerant and flexible, you appreciate most lifestyles and viewpoints.
But you also know where you stand firm, and you can draw that line.
You're open to considering every possibility - but in the end, you stand true to yourself.

How Open Minded Are You?

Do you think you can handle the excitement?

2007-03-27T15:27:00.000-05:00

I'm being sarcastic. My life's been a little too boring the last few days to bother writing about. Well except for Saturday.

That's when I finally saw it.....The theatre was overcrowded, and I had to stay out WAAAAY past my bedtime, but Hon and I got to go see Reign Over Me ...and I loved it.

You know I must be desperate to see a movie if I waste one of our very rare date nights to sit in a crowded theatre, doing what we do far too much at home...sitting in silence, watching a screen.

But really, it was worth it. It's one of those movies that makes you sit back and take stock of your life. And it wasn't all sad either. Adam Sandler and Don Cheadle are awesome together, they totally cracked me up.

And that's all I am saying, cause' you have to go see it for yourself.

We did have a nice dinner, and since the movie was only playing in the city, we had a nice drive down to Guelph, a little over an hour away. So I guess you could say we had some quality time. It was our 6th wedding anniversary on Saturday, and today we've been together for 12 years, so we had reason to celebrate.

Enough about boring old me....let's see what some of my favourite bloggers are up to!

Stacey, over at Dorannes had an unfortunate encounter with some lowlife impersonating her and emptying out her bank account. Lucky for her she was quick to notice, and she will be getting her money back.

MXI at Hits and Mythses is a little worried about green tea shrinking his testicles. I wonder if that has been causing a problem when he flashes Gang Members. Confused? Me too, but he is too funny not to read on.

EC at Whatever Blows My Skirt has a little guy at home that seems to have gotten a bad olive at The Olive Garden. She's not been having a great time being a Mommy the last few days, I'm sure we've all felt that way once and awhile!

See, coming to see me wasn't a complete waste of time! I may be boring today, but I have pointed you in the direction of some not-so-boring people.

Hopefully I will be more interesting tomorrow. I anticipate a fun filled day of cleaning toilets and finishing some tax returns. I bet you all just can't wait. Almost as exciting as the next episode of Grey's Anatomy, but not quite!

Conversation with a five-year-old

2007-03-24T08:34:00.000-05:00

"What would you like for breakfast Punkin?"

"Nothin...I'm not hungry"

"But Punkin, you need to eat. How about some oatmeal?"

"I think I don't feel good. I don't want to eat"

"Well Punkin, if you eat breakfast you'll feel better. I'll make you some toast"

"But I already had a granola bar"

"You're not supposed to eat granola bars without asking first."

"But I ate it last night"

(Me slapping my hand to my forehead in exasperation)

"I'm going to make you some toast Punkin"

"With butter on it?"

"Yes, with butter on it"

"Make sure the butter is on top"

Make sure the butter is on top! What the hell did he think I was going to do, put it on the side????

"And don't forget to cut it into triangles this time. I like triangles the best"

"Say please Punkin"

"PLEEAASE don't forget to cut it into triangles this time. And bring me some juice too."

I think tomorrow Punkin is going to learn how to make his own damn breakfast.

How NOT to be a friend.

2007-03-23T18:19:00.000-05:00

Alright, I know I have beaten this Mary Kay thing to death, but I must mention this, because I am just so perplexed, I cannot understand the mentality here.

The reason I got involved with Mary Kay was because a very close friend of mine, someone I have known all my life, became a Mary Kay rep. I wanted to support her. There was no way in hell I would sell the stuff, but I tried to help out with her Open Houses, her marketing and her bookkeeping. I went to meetings with her, and was on hand if she needed to get in one more facial for the month. I used to consider this person one of my best friends.

She knows how I feel now, I have very politely told her I no longer want to be involved. I have not given all of my reasons, as I don't want to hurt her, but she knows I have no interest in Mary Kay. I no longer do her bookkeeping, and have told her she should find someone else to make up her marketing stuff.

Then today I get a card in the mail from her, as tomorrow is my anniversary. I was touched, how nice of her to remember.

Until I opened the thing. She sent me one of her ugly Dollar Store, generic Happy Anniversary cards, that she bought while we were shopping together, with a coupon for $10.00 off my next Mary Kay order. And not just my next order, my next order over $50.00! AND it was one of the certificates I spent hours making for her, on my computer....for free!

This is supposed to be one of my Best Friends! Okay, I get sending those to your clients.....but ladies, that is MAJORLY poor taste to use events in the life of people you are supposed to be close friends with to solicit business. It is worse than how she gave her entire family, men, women and children, Mary Kay crap for Christmas.

At least she could have put a cheque for the money she owes me for bookkeeping in the envelope. I would have appreciated that more.

God....get a clue!

My Endless Love...

2007-03-22T18:42:00.000-05:00

OHMIGOD...I almost peed myself watching this. Have I mentioned how much I love Adam Sandler? And check out the dog. How come nobody told me he was hosting Letterman! (Adam Sandler, not the dog)

I cannot wait to go see that movie this weekend.

Inch by Inch, Dollar by Dollar

2007-03-21T08:27:00.000-05:00

I'd been avoiding taking my measurements lately. I'd been so happy with the scale going down, I was afraid if I took my measurements and they did not change again I would get discouraged.

So after a week of not letting the scale get above 212.5, I threw caution to the wind, pulled out that tape, and I actually last some inches! From Feb 21st until today I have lost an inch off both my waist and hips, and a quarter inch off my thighs. I guess that explains when my jeans keep falling down.

I think I might splurge today and order a new pair of jeans from Sears, and go down one size. They just upped my limit on my card....I think I'll just be wild and reckless and go for it.

Speaking of credit cards, I was thinking about all the hats that I wear in life, and made up my own Master Card commercial.

Stay At Home Mom, pay cheque - $0
Managing Hon's Business, pay cheque - $0
Chamber of Commerce President, pay cheque - $0
Volunteer Extraordinaire, pay cheque - $0
Blogger to the Masses, pay cheque - $0

Satisfaction with what I do in life - Priceless.

So I'll never make a million dollar pay cheque, I'll never have a huge house and drive expensive cars. But I am so much happier now than I was when I was working 60 hour weeks and making good money. I don't care how much we struggle sometimes, I wouldn't trade this for anything.

Well unless someone wanted to give me a million dollars, I can't say I'd turn that down...

Looks like a rather blustery day today

2007-03-19T08:43:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was such a beautiful day, Hon and I thought it would be a good idea to take the boys out for a walk. The Boy was looking so sad, but still wouldn't talk about what had happened with The Girl, so I was hoping I could get him to open up.

Instead, this is what I was faced with. Watching my poor little boy, hands stuffed in pockets, head down, shuffling his feet. He always kept a pace of about 15 feet ahead of us.

If I tried to catch up to him, he'd walk faster, so I just let him be. At least he knew we were there for him.

Eventually he let me walk with him, but all he talked about were snowmobiles and BMX bikes. If anything I think it helped to get his mind off of his woes, and at least he got some exercise and fresh air. He seemed in better spirits once we got home.

Hon has gone and shaved his head. And you know what? It doesn't look that bad. This is a terrible picture of him, looking all squinty eyed, but the bald look suits him. Damn, I wish I could shave my head and still look okay. It sure would be a hell of a lot easier that trying to do something with my thin, limp and curly hair. And imagine the money we'd save on shampoo!

So after our beautiful weekend of sunny, above zero weather, today I wake up to another blustery, dark and snowy day. It's so depressing to look outside and see the kids bikes in the backyard, waiting to be played with, and this yucky white stuff flying around it. It's just crazy. They are calling for -12 tomorrow, and +12 on Thursday. March is such a retarded month. Bring on April!

Hum, dum, dum, dee, dee, dum
Hum, dum, dum
Oh the wind is lashing lusterly
And the trees are thrashing thrusterly
And the leaves are rustling gusterly
So it's rather safe to say
That it seems that it may turn out to be
It feels that it will undoubteadly
Looks like a rather blustery day today
It seems that it may turn out to be
Feels that it will undoubteadly
Looks like a rather blustery day today

Love Hurts.....

2007-03-18T09:45:00.000-05:00

I think The Boy and his girlfriend may be having troubles.

There was a flurry of phone calls last night from different numbers, different girls calling here, no call lasting more than a few seconds. Finally about 9:00 he tossed the phone in my office, said "I'm Not Here!", slammed the door and stomped his way into his bedroom.

I gave him a few minutes before checking in on him. He was in his room, lights out, covers over his head. My timid knock on the door was given a response of "I DON'T WANNA TALK ABOUT IT!" He never emerged again and when I looked in about midnight he was fast asleep.

It's crazy, but I felt terrible for him all night. Almost like it was me going through it. I guess it is all those repressed feelings I have from being that age. I can remember how much it hurts, and I don't want my little boy feeling that way.

Have I mentioned how he is just a cute little boy.....

Well he is only 13, and this relationship had been going on for 3 months now. Perhaps it was getting a little too serious. But he just gave her a bracelet last week. It was so cute, and I had such fun helping him pick it out.

Onward and upward I guess...Knowing kids at that age, they'll either be back together by dinner time tonight, or he'll have a new girlfriend by the end of the week.

I finally saw The Departed last night. It was good, and I can see why Leonardo was nominated for the Oscar - he was awesome. But without giving too much away, I was a little disappointed with the ending. It felt rushed, like they were trying to keep it under the 150 minute mark. I would have preferred it go to 3 hours if it would have tied up more loose ends. It seemed like they were trying to throw too many twists into the plot, too late in the movie.

One more week until Reign Over Me is out. I can almost taste the popcorn!

OMIGOD, Not Aother MEME!

2007-03-16T21:23:00.000-05:00

I try not to do too many meme's, as they do tend to get a little repetitive.

But when I see one that is different, that I find interesting, I like to pass it along. Problem is that has happened twice this week. But hey....let's be a little reckless, a little crazy. I'll do it anyway.....Can't you feel the excitement mounting?

I have this habit of stalking blogs of other Canadians, always checking out Toronto and Canadian directories. I like reading them, they always feel a little familiar. And while doing this I found Andrea's Blog, The World of Me. She's pretty cool.....and has the same habit as me.....using dot headers to show a pause.....I wonder, is that the typing version of saying Um?

Andrea had stolen this Meme, so I thought I would follow suite. The instructions are to answer every question with an answer of three words. No more, no less. It's really a lot harder than it seems!

1. Where is your cell phone? In my van
2. Boyfriend/girlfriend? Had a few
3. Hair? Blonde and curly
4. Your mother? My bestest friend
5. Your father? Has his moments
6. Your favorite item(s)? Good cuppa tea
7. Your dream last night? I cannot recall
8. Your favorite drink? Rye and Coke
9. Your dream guy/girl? On my couch
10. The room you are in? Cold basement office
11. Your fear? Losing my kids
12. What do you want to be in 10 years? Not a grandmother
13. Who did you hang out with last night? Chamber of Commerce
14. What are you not? A short man
15. Are you in love? Very much so
16. One of your wish list items? Lots of shoes
17. What time is it? Ten thirty seven
18. The last thing you did? Made some toast
19. What are you wearing? Who is asking?
20. Your favorite book? Koontz, Odd Thomas
21. The last thing you ate? Toast with butter
22. Your life? Is bloody awesome
23. Your mood? I’m pretty content
24. Your friends? Precious and few
25. What are you thinking about right now? What’s on TV?
26. Your car? 2005 Dodge Caravan
27. What are you doing at this moment? Typing this…DUH!
28. Your summer? Is too short
29. Your relationship status? Very Happily Married
30. What is on your TV screen? Ask my husband
31. When is the last time you laughed? Playing with Punkin
32. Last time you cried? It’s been awhile
33. School? Want a do-over

I should have kept my mouth shut!

2007-03-16T09:42:00.000-05:00

Now I've gone and done it.

I bitched and whined and complained so much that I had nothing to do, and suddenly I have so much to do, I can't do what I want to do!

I HAD to pop in here today, if anything to update my diet ticker. All this being busy stuff has helped me to break the cycle of hovering between 212 and 214 pounds. This morning, for the first time in over two years I saw 211! Okay, so it was 211.8, but that I had been struggling to get it below 212, so that is an achievement.

I am so damn excited let me tell you. If I keep this up I may even get to wear some of my shorts this summer.

It would appear that we only have one cheater on Battle of the Blogs. Well according to my poll that is. YEAH RIGHT! Thank you to everyone for voting and for your comments. I knew I was not the only one that thought something was not right. If anything, at least we can feel better knowing that everyone doesn't hate us.

Now if only we can find that cheater and hang him/her up by their toenails. Is flogging still practiced anywhere?

I was officially named the President of my Chamber of Commerce last night. I'm am not too sure how I feel about that, I sat at that table, trying to chair the meeting, but feeling more like a deer caught in the headlights. I have no idea what these people are thinking, asking a 34 year old woman to head what has long been considered an Old Boys Club. They even took my advice and voted another girl about my age to be the VP. I think I might play this up a bit, start calling us the Chamber Maids. Tell those old farts to go and sit on their Chamber Pots! I can't wait to see what the reaction of the community is going to be when they get wind of this. I am hoping it will be positive, but you never know with these small town folks.

Well I am off. Important Chamber business to attend to today. Well not really that important, but it feels good to have a purpose you know....

Battle of the Blogs Exposed!

2007-03-13T21:39:00.000-05:00

Being a new Blogger, I am always looking for exposure. One of the ways I do that is through the Battle of the Blogs on Blog Explosion.

I don't expect much there. Truthfully I am shocked how many times I have won. I know there are blogs that have better content, better templates, and have just been around longer. I am just hoping someone might read what I have written, and say "I kinda like her, I might just come back."

But what drives me crazy is when I see blogs that are better, being beat out by stinker blogs, blogs that have no right to win. Or blogs that have 50 wins and only a few losses. Come on, you can't be THAT good! I have to assume there is some nasty cheating going on there.

So I thought I would poll the audience. I am curious how many people actually play fair, and how many are just looking to win credits. The poll is anonymous, so I won't tell on you. Believe me, I'm not savvy enough to figure out who votes what. I just really want to know if I am right, or I just have no idea what constitutes a good blog.

Thanks for voting!

What's on your bookshelf?

2007-03-13T11:31:00.000-05:00

I saw this over at Dawn's Blog, Tiny Voices In My Head. I love to read so I had to copy it.

Make sure you head over and wish Dawn a Happy Birthday today, apparently she is 31 going on 21, that can be a difficult transition.

• Look at the list of books below.
• Type "READ" beside the ones you've read.
• Type "WANT TO" beside the ones you'd like to read.
• Type "AGAIN AND AGAIN" beside the ones you could read again and again.
• Type "TRIED" beside the ones you gave the ol' college try and then gave up on.
• Leave blank the ones that you aren't really interested in.

1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown) Read
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) Tried
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee) Again & Again
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell) Read
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (Tolkien) Tried
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery) Read
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Rowling) Read
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Rowling) Read
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Rowling) Read
17. Fall on Your Knees(Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King) Read
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Rowling) Read
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (Tolkien) Tried
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger) Read
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott) Read
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams) Read
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte) Read
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis) Read
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie (Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert) Read
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks) Read
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (Orwell) Read
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel) Read
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom) Want To
45. The Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela's Ashes (Frank McCourt) Again and Again
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She's Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Dickens) Read
53. Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Dickens) Want To
55. The Great Gatsby (Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Rowling) Read
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough) Read
59. The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller's Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand) Read
63. War and Peace (Tolsoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice) Read
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davis)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones' Diary (Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett) Read
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving) Again & Again
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte's Web (E.B. White) Read
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (Steinbeck) Read
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard's First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen) Tried To
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In The Skin Of A Lion (Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (Golding) Read
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum) Want to
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton) Again & Again
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

Silver White Winters That Melt Into Springs.....

2007-03-13T10:37:00.001-05:00

......These are a few of my favourite things

Apparently spring has sprung in my house. Just my house, not the rest of the county.

I went out this morning and came home to find every window in the house open, and my husband outside cleaning the yard.

A wonderful thing really, but it seems someone forgot to tell him that 12C is not t-shirt weather. (That's 53F to my friends south of the border).

He is such a Canadian!

It is lovely, the sun is shining and I can go out without putting on heavy boots and a parka. A long sleeved shirt and a vest works just fine. Another 5 degrees and the temperature would be just perfect.

The only problem we face now is dealing with all of the melting snow. I can hear the water trickling into the sump pump reservoir, I know soon I will be hearing it running every 15-20 minutes, trying to keep my basement dry.

I took this picture today, and it's been melting for 4 days now. That pile was higher than our house at one point! Those bushes weren't even visible under the snow last Friday. See that dry pavement? Is that ever a welcome sight.

Soon I'll hear the birds and the frogs chirping and the cattle will be back in the field behind my house. We can clean off the swing set, dry out the sandbox and I can shoo the boys outside to play. Believe me, it couldn't happen soon enough.

Has spring sprung where you are?

My Battle with Nasty Me.

2007-03-11T10:53:00.000-05:00

So I am feeling a little more like myself today. I haven't yelled at anyone just yet...but it is only noon.

Sorry for my little PMS rant yesterday. I had been sitting here for over an hour, wanting to write something worth reading and everything I started just came out all wrong. When thoughts of ripping all of my cute little Pooh Bear Characters off my monitor and chucking them at the wall started churning in my head, I figured it was time to escape my office and immerse myself in a bowl of chocolate ice cream.

I am so glad I only really get hit with these bad bouts of PMS every 3 months or so. Sometimes I hardly even notice it. Which is a good thing considering I usually get my period every 3 weeks instead of 4.

But when it hits, it is BAD. I yell at my kids for no reason, I am terribly nasty to my husband, and my poor Mom usually will get an earful if she is unfortunate enough to call me. I throw things, I break things, I cry for no reason.

I don't want to be like that. It's like Real Me is pushed way down deep inside and Nasty Me comes bubbling to the surface. Real Me sees what is happening, hates Nasty Me, but is powerless to stop her.

I wasn't like this when I was on the pill, but it is hard to decide which is the better of two evils. While on the pill I had headaches for the 21 days I was taking it, my only relief was the 7 days off. Now I suffer 3-4 days out of 90.

And my poor husband. When he realized the pill was what was giving me headaches, HE suggested he'd get a vasectomy. AND HE DID IT....how chivalrous is that?

So I am hiding out as much as I can today. My poor kids are both sick, The Boy has a cough and ear infection, and Punkin has been throwing up all morning. I am trying to be really nice to them, Nasty Me wants to tell them to Get Over It, but Real Me knows that is cruel.

So I'll make sure they have warm blankies, ginger ale and medicine. I'll check in occasionally with a hand to the forehead and soothing word. But for their sake and mine, I think it is best if I leave it at that, put in some DVD's and keep my distance. We'll all be happier that way.

Like a time bomb ready to explode....

2007-03-10T18:46:00.000-05:00

Georgianblue is not here today.

Georgian-I Have Fucking PMS-Who The Hell Likes Shitty Blue Anyway is here today.

I want to be left alone....they won't leave me alone.

Some days I really hate being me.

Check back in a day or two, perhaps nice Georgianblue will be back. I hope so, I like her much better.

Until then.....Anything I say or do cannot be held against me.

Where the hell is my chocolate.....who took my chocolate?

Spam and Chevrons

2007-03-10T13:59:00.000-05:00

I know I am not the only one, but I really hate forwarded, 'inspirational' email messages.

What I hate even more, is when someone forwards you a message, that has been forwarded so many freakin times, the message is impossible to read through all of the stupid pointy things scattered throughout. Here is an example of one I received today, from an old neighbour I don't even like.

>> > ----- Original Message -----
>> > From: >> > To:

>> > Sent: Wednesday, March 07, 2007 9:02 PM
>> > Subject: I need this back, hope you can do it!
>> >
>> >
>> > >
>> > >
>> > >
>> > >>
>> > >>
>> > >> 8 angels r sent 2 u,
>> > >>>>>>
>> > >>>>>> U must send them to 8 people
>> > >>>>>> including
>> > >>>>>
>> > >>>>>>me
>> > >>>>>>.
>> > >>>>>>
>> > >>>>>> In 8 minutes u will! Receive
>> > >>>>>> something
>> > >>>>>
>> > >>>>>>u
>> > >>>>>>have long awaited.
>> > >>>>>>
>> > >>>>>> Have faith!
>> > >>>>>> Have a good
>> > >>>>>>
> day_________________________________________________________________

If you are going to be so annoying to fill my inbox with these retarded messages, PLEASE take the time to clean it up first. Mix up the font, add a pretty background....show me you put some thought into it. Or better yet, just take me off your contact list, I prefer my Spam fried with eggs, not with little chevrons.

Good News and Bad News

2007-03-07T09:34:00.000-05:00

The Good News: After being stuck in the house again for 5 days, the highways around here are finally re-opened and my Mom and I have plans to head to the city for the day....WOO-HOO Road Trip!

The Bad News: The Boy woke up this morning with a nasty chest cold. It has been so long since The Boy was sick, the bottle of Benylin in the cupboard had expired last July.

The Good News: The boy is 13, and Hon is going to be home today so they both have told me to go anyway. As long as The Boy has his remote control, phone and laptop, he does not need me.

The Bad News: I have been replaced by a remote control, phone and MSN.

The Good News: ROAD TRIP!

Who says raising teens is hard?

The Mary Kay Saga continues....

2007-03-06T08:21:00.000-05:00

Forget Blog Explosion or MyBlogLog, I have found the secret to getting massive amounts of hits to your Blog.

270 hits last night, and another 135 so far this morning. Just from 2 sources.

How did I increase my traffic so fast? I wrote a post about Mary Kay!

I had no idea that there was such an Internet backlash against this company. I had never Googled it, I thought I was alone in my fear.

But two web sites, Pink Truth, and Franchise Pick have numerous readers that are just as afraid as I am.

Many are former Mary Kay Consultants, some have lost their friends and family to Mary Kay. Others are just sick of the attempts to lure them into the coven.

If you get a chance, check out the comments on Pink Truth, they provide some interesting insight into this. These are just a few of my favourites.

MsFancypants
“Be afraid, be very afraid.” Nothin’ wrong with a good dose of healthy FEAR. You know it that wormy feeling in your gut when the lady in front of you is…..well in front of you wearing a MK pin.

PinkOnTheBrink
I recently spoke to one of my MK SD friends and she was so proud that her business losses offset her husband’s income for the 7th year in a row. SO SAD!
MK math is so deceiving! Having a MK business that takes a LOSS every year means YOU ARE NOT MAKING A PROFIT – no matter what is going on with your husband’s income!!!

raisinberry
okay…as if it couldn’t get bad enough..now I am painfully aware that most of the professionals in the world are laughing at us..at our “so called business”. Dag this just goes from bad to worse…i gotta go find a rock to crawl under…..

It's flattering to read them, although one person took exception to my Future MILF button on my sidebar. I think he/she had the impression I was trying to be a serious journalist here or something...HELLO! I was just writing that post to get something that was bothering me off my chest, I did not realize it would be read by so many people!

typingfool
Oh my. Although her post was right on target (except she can’t tell the difference between lose and loose) her side bar tags were a little outrageous. Please… A future MILF. She’s not quite as smart as I first thought.

Something I should clarify, I am not a CGA or anything, I am just a Stay-At-Home Mom who knows enough about small business bookkeeping that a few of my friends asked me to do their books for their Mary Kay business. I've attended a few of their "meetings" and "workshops" and it did not take much to see right through the facade. And I am so sorry I misspelled lose, I do not have the luxury of someone to proofread my posts. I'll get that fixed up right away. But I kind of like my MILF button, who says you can't be sexy and smart?

So for now I will revel in my 15 minutes of fame. Wow, first my picture in the paper and now this. I wonder if there will be a movie of the week?

My Visual DNA

2007-03-05T11:08:00.000-05:00

I found this over at Duct Taped Halo and thought it looked like fun.

Click on the "Get your own Visual DNA" link at the bottom of the widget to get your own. You will be shown a series of images and you choose which ones best reflect you. You are left with this cool little widget, as well as some insights into your personality. It's fun, and let's you share things about yourself with your readers.

Make sure you leave me a comment if you do one, so I can read yours too!

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

The Cult of Mary Kay

2007-03-04T17:15:00.000-05:00

I have an irrational fear.

Not of snakes, although they do kind of gross me out. It's not my fear of heights, that's not irrational, I don't like pain. You fall from high up, it will hurt. Totally rational.

I am afraid of Mary Kay Ladies. My apologies...no wait...My condolences if you are one. I don't mean to offend, but you scare the shit out of me.

Have you ever dealt with any of these freaks? They are like some scary screwed up cult. They try to sell you their ridiculously marked up, crappy cosmetics and skin care, and then when they have you fooled into doing that they try to recruit you into their coven. If you ever get into a room with a bunch of them, be afraid. Be very afraid.

They will get right in your face, trying to make it all sound so wonderful. Tell you about all of the nice people they have met, the places they have gone. They will try to convince you they have made tonnes of money, tell you about all the prizes they have "earned". I have done bookkeeping for them. Trust me. They make no money. In fact they loose money. Between the conferences, the gas, the promotional stuff and the samples, their profits are eaten up damn fast.

They will show you the jewelry they have earned. Big ass, ugly, cheap diamond rings and crap. Then they tell you about their good friend Beatrice...she drives a Pink Cadillac! Tell me...who the hell wants to drive around in some ugly, gas guzzling PINK car?

And you know what you have to do to get that pink car? You have to buy thousands of dollars in product each year, PLUS recruit like 15 new people. That's a pyramid scheme ladies. A well camouflaged one, but a pyramid scheme all the same.

If they added up all of their time, plus the money they spend, they could buy nice diamond rings, and cars that weren't pink. They try to tell me it's what they want. They get to write off the business loss. Since when do you go into business to lose money?

The only ones making any money off of this is the beneficiaries of Mary Kay's estate, and they should be ashamed of themselves.

So I am now in the process of firing my Mary Kay clients. I can no longer in good conscience do bookkeeping for this clueless bunch, pretend like I agree with the stupid ass thing they are doing. It is just too freaky. I am sick of smiling nicely when they come to see me, and trying not to smack them up the side of the head for being happy that their quarterly profit was in the negative again.

I am tired of being afraid one of them will see me at the Mac counter buying makeup, or in Shopper's Drug Mart buying face cream. And I have totally run out of excuses to not go to their "Parties". They scare me....they really do. I hope I never encounter another again in my life.

If only they would put the energy they waste on this into a real business venture. Imagine the money they could really make. THAT, I would be happy to do the bookkeeping for.

Reign Over Me

2007-03-04T11:20:00.000-05:00

I don't know if I have ever mentioned that I am a huge Adam Sandler Fan.

This is a little odd for me, there are very few comics out there I like, and there are some that creep me out so much that I won't even watch a movie if they are in it. Namely Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson. Ugh...those guys give me the willies.

I usually like more dramatic actors, serious, classic types. Like Gregory Peck and Liam Neeson.

But there are a few comics I do like. I am Canadian after all, so I am required to like Jim Carey and Mike Myers. And as a kid I spent countless hours giggling over Bob and Doug McKenzie...take off eh?

And I've always liked George Carlin, who doesn't?

But by far, if I had to choose one comic to listen to it would have to be Adam Sandler. I can still remember the first time I heard a recording of They're all Going to Laugh at You....I almost peed myself. Toll Booth Willie was freakin hilarious! It was the early 90's and we were in the Parking Lot of Tim Horton's. Someone started blasting this routine through his stereo. I almost got back in my car and shut the windows, but after a few minutes I was laughing just as hard as everyone else. My Double Double nearly came out my nose!

So my point of this post is that there is a new Adam Sandler movie coming out this Month. I saw the trailer back in January when I went to see Pursuit of Happyness, and I got goosebumps from it, it almost had me crying.

It's called Reign Over Me and co-stars Don Cheadle, who is also an awesome actor.

It's not a comedy, but a movie about a guy who looses his family on September 11 and totally retreats from the real world. He runs into his old college roommate, played by Cheadle and I guess starts to find his way back.

I cannot wait to see this. I'm such a dork I even have it marked on my calendar. I'm even more excited about this than the next Harry Potter movie, although, only just a little.

I just hope that it is as good as the trailer suggests. If not, well at least the soundtrack rocks. Eddie Vedder singing The Who's "Love, Reign O'er Me", that is worth the price of the ticket anyway.

Just to clarify

2007-03-03T12:25:00.000-05:00

A few days ago I posted My 100 Things, things that you may or may not know about me.

I was reading it over again, and decided I wanted to offer some explanation of a few things.

#9. I don’t think they should legalize marijuana
I am never one to begrudge a responsible adult who may want to smoke a joint now and again. Hell I could care less if an irresponsible adult smokes one.
I know it can provide valuable relief to those in pain from cancer and other ailments.
I have just seen far to many people that live to get high, spend their days sitting around, doing nothing productive, because they were high.
I have lost friends, I have lost good employees, I lost the father of my oldest son, because all they wanted to do was get high.
I lost 3 years of my life, my friends and my bright future, because all I wanted to do was get high.
I know marijuana is not physically addictive, but I do know that it is emotionally addictive. And until I see a intelligent, well thought out plan, one that will protect my children, and find a way to only provide limited amounts of the drug to people that will not abuse it, I think it should remain illegal.

#63. My oldest son’s father lives like a hermit, with no phone or TV. I have only seen him once in the last 13 years.
See Above.

#64. I really don’t like my brother’s wife. Never have, never will.
My brother started going out with her when he was 16.
The first time I met her she called me a stupid kid and told me to get out of my own house because I was bothering her.
She lies, she manipulates, she is extremely selfish.
She guilted my brother into marrying her, and I believe he would be a lot happier, and lot better off if she would just disappear.
I could go on forever, but there is nothing I can do to change the fact that she is around, so I won't dwell on it.

#65. My husband’s sister has 8 children, and one step child.
That is not a typo. 8 kids. They range in age from 17 to 3.
My brother-in-law thinks he is some sort of holier-than-thou Catholic, and brainwashed my sister-in-law into thinking it was her duty to bear him 10 children. She finally woke up after number 8, and has him scheduled for a vasectomy.
Luckily, she has some great kids.

#67. I don’t like other people’s children.
I have just never really liked kids. Even when I was a kid, I got along better with the older kids in my neighbourhood.
I like quiet, can't stand screaming and banging. Kids scream and bang.
I never even really wanted to have children, but since I kinda fell accidentally into motherhood once, I thought I would give it another try eight years later. And I love my boys, would not trade them for anything.
Just don't ask me to babysit.

#93. My Mother-In-Law is a nudist
Naturist, nudist, off-her-rocker, whatever you call it, that's my husbands mother.
She is a heavy smoking, heavy drinking, party-too-much nudist that lives in a nudist resort just outside of Hamilton Ontario.
First time I met her she was doing some drywall work. Hon was introducing me to her, and as she turned around, a big dollop of drywall mud fell from her knife, and landed right in-between her naked, saggy, seen-to-much-sun-and-no-bra, breasts.
It is an image that is burned into my memory forever. I don't remember if she was wearing pants or not, but I don't think I want to.

#99. I love Poutine
Thought I better explain this one, I don't know if they have it in the US.
French Fries, smothered in gravy and cheese curd. Need I say more?

#100. I don’t like animals and will never own a pet
Dogs poop, cats make my eyes and nose itch. That is reason number one.
I just don't feel love for animals. I hate how they get in your space, make messes and lick themselves in public. And I cannot understand how someone could touch a dog after seeing one eats it's own feces.
I used to give them the benefit of the doubt, tried to be sympathetic. Until the day a pit bull attacked my son, put him in the hospital overnight, forced him to endure excruciating needles, and left him with some nasty scars and his arms, his legs and his behind. Not to mention the emotional scars.
Now I don't think people and animals were meant to habitate the same space.

But it is all just my opinion.

Word/Visual Verification

2007-03-02T08:36:00.000-05:00

I'm not sure if I am the only one having this problem, but so often lately when I want to leave a comment on a Blog, I am blocked by the fact that Blogger's stupid Visual Verification word is not appearing.

So I will have typed the most profound, well thought out, must read comment (honestly....it was!) and when I get to the bottom to submit it I see this:

I can't see the word, so I can't publish my comment. It is pretty frustrating.

I know the thing is there to prevent spammers, but my advice, just give it a try without for a bit. It does not take too much to delete the few spam comments you may get. And since I've had this problem on more than just one computer, I am sure others are having it too. So think of all the comments you may be missing out on!

Say no to Word Verification!

I'm Like, Famous!

2007-03-01T19:27:00.000-05:00

I am having my 10 minutes of fame this week. Got my picture in the paper. (that's me on the right, looking so very amused)

Don't laugh...this is BIG news! I was photographed rolling coins for the hospital fundraiser. Everyone cares about the hospital. Right?

This is my hometown paper. It is published weekly, and this week it has 16 pages! Without it, you'd have to go to the local coffee shop to know what's happening in town.

And sure, I might only be on page 3, but if a school bus hadn't gone into the ditch last week, I am SURE it would have been front page.

See what a happening town I live in?

On an even more exciting note, I worked today. For real money and everything.

The local bookkeeper caught wind that I like to do tax returns and asked me to come and help him out one day a week. It was kind of fun, a good change of pace. I get out of the house, get to do something I like, no one bothers me there, and I get a little extra pocket money. Sounds like a perfect job for me. It will last through the end of April, right around the time Hon's business picks up, and I will be busy with that instead. I think it is awesome!

Famous and employed, who could ask for more?

Weekly Word Game XVIV

2007-02-28T08:53:00.000-05:00

This weeks words came from one of Canada's sweethearts, Joni Mitchell, and her words have inspired some great stories.

So grab a cuppa whatever you drink and head over to Cindra's Weekly Word Game for some great reading, and be sure to vote for your favourite!

My 100 Things

2007-02-27T19:16:00.000-05:00

I have read a few of these, and always enjoy them. I find it a great way to get to know someone. So I thought it was time to do my own.

My 100 Things

1. I have been 6 feet tall since I was 12
2. I was born in 1972
3. At 9 lbs 15 oz, I was the biggest girl born in the hospital that year
4. I have naturally curly hair
5. I love Greek food
6. I have terrible allergies and cannot eat tree nuts or fresh fruit. Thank god peanuts don't fall in that category.
7. My brother broke my finger when I was 10 and it has never properly healed
8. I am all for Same Sex Marriage
9. I don’t think they should legalize marijuana...yet
10. I am the President of my wee village's Chamber of Commerce
11. My oldest son was born breach, vaginally, and with no epidural. He was 8lbs 9oz.
12. I got that epidural for my second son, who was 9lbs, 8oz.
13. I am Pro Choice
14. My Grandfather was an Anglican minister
15. I don’t practice any religion
16. Somewhere along my mothers family I am related to Sir Walter Scott
17. Somewhere along my fathers family, I am related to Thomas Edison
18. My Ancestors came to North America on the Mayflower
19. I love Winnie-the-Pooh
20. I collect cows
21. I am a closet Barry Manilow fan
22. I am also a Metallica fan
23. I did not graduate High School, but I did finish college
24. I secretly dream one of my kids will be a Rock Star
25. The only man I would leave my husband for is Jon Bon Jovi
26. I am attracted to tall, older (like in their 40’s) men.
27. After 12 years I still think my husband is incredibly hot.
28. I drive far too fast, and look at speeding tickets as paying my dues.
29. My favourite car was my 1980 Camaro
30. I now drive a 2005 Caravan
31. I did not travel by air until I was 31 years old.
32. My favourite way to travel is by train
33. My parents have been separated for more than 10 years, yet they still celebrate their anniversary
34. I knew all four of my grandparents, yet none are living today
35. As a kid everyone called me Tee. The only ones that still do are the friends I have from back then.
36. My husband hates that nickname
37. I call my husband Hon, he calls me Babe. I only every hear him say my actual name if he is talking about me to someone else, or if he's pissed at me.
38. I call my oldest son Boy. I got it from Peter Pan; it is what Wendy calls Peter.
39. I call my youngest Punkin. Likely because he was born right after Halloween. I cannot think of any other reason.
40. I have read almost every issue of Reader’s Digest from 1971 on. My Grandfather had them all, I read them as a child, and I have had a subscription as long as I can remember.
41. I cannot fall asleep at night if I don’t spend at least 10 minutes reading
42. I love reading magazines.
43. I watched Another World from 1983 until it was cancelled in 1999. I now watch As the World Turns.
44. My favourite actresses in order are Katherine Hepburn, Cate Blanchet and Kate Winslet. I have a thing for Kate’s.
45. My favourite actors in order are James Stewart, Keifer Sutherland and Adam Sandler. No rhyme nor reason there.
46. My all time favourite movie is On Golden Pond.
47. I have to watch It’s a Wonderful Life every Christmas.
48. My favourite TV dramas are CSI, Grey’s Anatomy, 24 and ER.
49. The only sitcom I watch is How I Met Your Mother.
50. When I was 14 I was in love with Tom Cruise. Now I think he is a dork.
51. Ryan Gosling went to my High School
52. So did Sarah Harmer and some of the members of Finger Eleven
53. Ryan Gosling went years after me, but I had classes with the Finger Eleven guys and Sarah Harmer.
54. My oldest son was attacked by a pit bull when he was 10 years old.
55. 3 years ago I was an Assistant Branch Manager at CIBC, now I own and operate a roofing company.
56. My debt load would put most people into cardiac arrest
57. I am at peace with my debt
58. I prepare Income Tax Returns for low income families and individuals for free.
59. My best friend is 4’ 11”. More that a foot shorter than I.
60. I love going to concerts, seeing at least 2 a year
61. My all time dream vacation would be to travel Ireland with my husband.
62. I achieved my dream of going to Scotland in 2006.
63. My oldest son’s father lives like a hermit, with no phone or TV. I have only seen him once in the last 13 years.
64. I really don’t like my brother’s wife. Never have, never will.
65. My husband’s sister has 8 children, and one step child.
66. I have a step son who is 2 inches taller than me.
67. I generally don’t like other people’s children.
68. I smoked from the time I was 12 until I was 27.
69. I lied and told my parents I quit smoking when I was 21.
70. I got drunk for the first time when I was 12
71. I smoked my first joint when I was 16
72. I have not touched any sort of illegal drug since I was 19. I did enough in those 3 years to last a lifetime.
73. I don’t even like to take Aspirin now.
74. I have read all of the Harry Potter Books, and have the next one on pre-order.
75. I have not got the patience to teach people. I get frustrated if they don’t get it the first time
76. I would much rather be freezing cold than boiling hot. I hate being hot.
77. I consider Jelly Beans a vegetable
78. I eat a bowl of Irish Oatmeal every morning for breakfast
79. I cannot resist a Peak Freans, Fruit Crème cookie
80. I prefer a Lake over an Ocean
81. I did not see the ocean until I was 31 and went to BC
82. I have never seen the Atlantic Ocean from a North American coast. I saw it from the UK.
83. I want to travel across Canada by train
84. I was 14 before I had my first real kiss.
85. That kiss was in my parents kitchen by a boy I had known all my life
86. I lost my virginity when I was 15
87. I think I would have liked to be an Auto Mechanic
88. I love the smell of freshly cut lumber
89. I hate the smell of burning wood
90. I have used a computer since I was 11 years old and my Dad brought home a Commodore 64
91. I am on the internet far too much
92. I have only had high speed for one year, and cannot imagine life without it.
93. My Mother-In-Law is a nudist
94. My favourite colour is blue, followed by green
95. My first “I’ll Remember Him Forever” love was a boy named Shawn Zirger
96. I still Google Shawn’s name now and then.
97. My favourite candy bar is Caramilk
98. My favourite Ice Cream is Peanut Butter and Chocolate from Baskin’ Robbins
99. I love Poutine
100. I don’t like animals and will never own a pet.

Breaking up is hard to do.

2007-02-26T19:31:00.000-05:00

Please excuse this post. I need to vent and I am hoping this will help.

Have you ever broken up with a friend?

I don't mean a friend like a boyfriend or girlfriend, I mean someone you hang out with, confide in, just a friend.

Well I am in the process of doing that, and I can tell you....it's sucks. I mean REALLY sucks. It sucks worse that breaking up with a boyfriend.

I know, I know...what the hell am I doing that for eh? Here I am, blogging that I am lonely here in my small town, and I am breaking up with one of the few friends I have here. Pretty stupid isn't it?

Believe me, staying in this friendship is worse than being alone.

What really makes it hard is I do love this person. I have known her all of my life, she is actually my cousin. She is troubled, and really needs someone. But I don't think I have it in me to be that someone for her. Our friendship is very one sided, she takes a lot more than she gives, and I feel like I give a lot more than I could ever get back. More and more I have felt used by her, and I now fully resent it. She has even admitted to me that she is a selfish person, she does not do anything unless it has a clear benefit for her. I am not sure she understands that friendships don't work that way.

The last straw came last fall, when she joined my mother and I on a trip to the UK. This was a trip my mother and I had been planning for years, and when D. caught wind of it, she invited herself along. We did not even casually say, "Hey wouldn't it be cool if you could come too" or anything like that. I told her about the trip and she came right out and said "I'm coming too!" What could we say, she's family, she's my mother's niece. I don't know why she thought it was appropriate to invite herself, but we just felt we could not say no.

Not only did she invite herself, but she allowed me to do all of the planning, despite my repeated requests for some help or input. She just kept saying whatever we did was fine, she'd just tag along. She didn't get it. I wanted help. I spent hours, days, weeks planning the trip. It was a 12 day trip, and only 4 were spent on a tour. There were hotels to be booked, trains schedules to be studied, itinerary's that had to be planned. It was exhausting, but it was something I wanted to do for my Mom. Not my cousin.

Having her on the trip was a disaster. She likes to see totally different things than my Mom and I, and when she didn't like something, she would just walk away. I was so excited to see Edinburgh Castle, I could have spent 5 hours there. She thought is was boring and kept walking ahead of us. Before we knew it, she was out the gates and we had only been there an hour. It was like that everywhere we went. She walked 100 yards ahead of us most of the time. My Mom is not 35 anymore, she walks a bit slower, and if we wanted to stop and look at something we couldn't, for fear of losing D.

She walked around every day in what I would consider lounge wear. The type of clothes I would wear to clean my house, not travel around. I was embarrassed to go into nice places with her, you could see people staring at her. And she got mad when I would not agree to going to a nice restaurant one evening, calling me a snob. Would you want to go to a nice restaurant and have someone sitting next to you wearing purple pants, a ratty old tee-shirt, dirty sneakers, a fanny pack and messy hair? She said she did not care what other people thought, but my Mom and I did, and we had to sit with her.

She was rude and inconsiderate. Thank goodness my mom had her own room and did not have to put up with her burping and passing gas. She liked to read, and would keep the light on until quite late. She would not let me watch TV at night, the sound bothered her reading. And each morning she got up and went into the bathroom to shower and get ready, before I even had a chance to get up. I had to hold my morning pee sometimes 30 minutes, and if I wanted to shower, I had to do it at night.

It ruined my trip. Each day I got more and more annoyed, but I did not want to say anything for fear of ruining it all for my Mom. It was killing me. Bottling things up like that makes my stomach turn. I woke up everyday feeling like I was going to be sick. Which, by the way, annoyed D. She is the type of person who gets up in the morning talking a mile a minute, raring to go. No matter how many times I tried to explain that I just was not like that, and I would be a little easier to get along with if I could have about 15 minutes to myself in the morning, she still was yapping away before I even pulled back the covers. It was like she thought her cheerfulness would rub off on me. It had the opposite effect, I wanted to wipe that grin right off her face.

The last straw came on our fourth last night there. She used my laptop to send an email to her husband, and instead of using her own email account, she used mine. She also typed the address wrong so it bounced right back to me. So I read it...wouldn't you?

We had separate rooms that night, I had booked them to give us all a break from each other. She emailed her husband saying "I am so glad I am in my own room tonight. I won't have to listen to them complain about everything, I don't feel good, I don't like the smoke here, I don't want to eat at that restaurant..Yadda Yadda Yadda."

She actually had the nerve to write that. And she admitted to me later that she did it that way on purpose because she wanted me to see it!

Sure my mom and I complained about some things. I did not feel good...D. was making me feel ill. We didn't want to eat in certain restaurants because she would embarrass us, and yes we got into a discussion about a couple smoking around their obviously ill son. We are mother and daughter. That is how our relationship is, we talk about things that bother us. If D. didn't like it, she should not have invited herself along on the trip.

We finally did get into a fight on our second last night. Had a huge shouting match in our hotel room. I tried to save face. I did not want to ruin things for my Mom, but D. insisted on hashing it out. I tried not to be mean, but told her I had been annoyed with her deciding where we would go, what we would see and how long we would spend there. This was my Mom's trip. If she wanted to see certain things she should have helped me plan the trip. I admitted I was partly to blame, I should have said something before I got so mad, but I did not want to upset anyone. She cried and yelled at me, trying to tell me she just assumed that if she did not like something we would not either. She apologized for always walking ahead, but said she could not walk as slow as we did.

She complained that I always seemed sad, said I should be happy to be away. True, most nights I was a bit sad. I was sad because I did not want her there, but I also missed my kids and my husband. It was very hard to be away from them for 12 days. She didn't get it. She doesn't have children, I understand that, but some sympathy would have been nice.

We tried to be polite for the last few days of our trip, but I was so mad it really hard to pretend I wasn't. She sulked constantly, and started walking behind us, which was even more annoying. Like trying to shop with a little kid, always looking around to make sure they weren't lost. She was trying to be too nice, and it was phony. Truthfully, I wanted nothing more than to smack her.

Things just have not been the same with us since we have returned. I have tried to forgive her, let things go back to how they were. She is family. We have family reunions, we do lunch with our Moms, we often just hang out together.

But I have found every time we make plans I start getting that sick feeling in my stomach again. So if she calls, I don't answer the phone. I don't want to be around her anymore. I just cannot let go.

That trip to the UK was my dream. My mom had talked of going over there as long as I could remember, and it was something I had always wanted to do for her. I had promised her for years as soon as I could afford it and my kids were old enough I would go with her. It should have been a wonderful memory, something for us to share forever, but instead it is tarnished. I am slowly trying to forget D. being there, and trying to only remember all of the wonderful things. I felt terribly guilty after our return, worried that my anger had ruined it for my Mom. But she assures me it didn't. We are now talking about taking another trip in 5 years. Thank God my Mom is only 64, so I hope we have lots and lots of time.

As far as D. goes, I am slowly trying to break ties with her. I used to do her bookkeeping, and today I sent her an email telling her I would not be doing that anymore. I have refused all invitations to do things with her, but my excuses are running out.

It's hard. I actually dream some nights of totally telling her off, and believe me if she were anyone else I would. But she will be in my life forever, I will just have to make the best of it I guess. But that does not make it any easier.

I am secretly hoping that when this years reunion comes around one of us will be too sick to go. I don't care if it is just the sniffles, it will become a full blown, contagious illness that will make it impossible for us to leave the house. That way I won't have to put up with the stares from the rest of my family, who will surely think I am the most awful person for breaking up with D.

At least my Mommy understands. She still loves me.

Still working on that 25lbs

2007-02-26T09:21:00.000-05:00

So I haven't been talking too much about my quest to loose 25 lbs.

As you can see from my ticker, I am down around 6 pounds from when I started in January. If I go back to November when I really started working on this I am down over 10 pounds, which is not bad considering I am not really following any diet.

Not much has changed over the last month, but given that I have been stuck in the house most of the time, I think maintaining the weight has been an accomplishment. Under the same circumstances last year at this time, I put on about 5 pounds.

Other than losing about 1/2 and inch off of my thighs, and 1/4 inch from my arms, my measurements have remained constant too. But I notice my clothes are fitting better, so I wonder if I have just toned up a bit better in areas around my chest and bum, where I am not really measuring.

What I would really love is to loose the chubbiness around my face. To tell the truth, I am not too worried about my figure, but when I see a picture of me, and I look like I have 4 chins, then I am disgusted. It's like the first thing to start getting fat when I am gaining weight, and the last thing to go when I loose it.

I have really improved my eating habits, cut way down on the snacking, and avoiding fast food as much as possible. I try to keep cookies and chips out of the house, and I have been serving more vegetables with our dinners. What I need to do now is just get out and get moving.

So I'll keep trying. I have a few things coming up to keep me busy, a lot of work with the Chamber of Commerce, and one of the bookkeepers in town has asked me to come and help out a bit during tax season. Getting out with people will make me feel better about myself, maybe give me a bit more motivation.

I still have 10 months to go to meet my goal of 195 by next January. That's less than 2 pounds per month, there is no reason I should not be able to do it. I'll keep you posted.

Will you be watching?

2007-02-25T09:33:00.000-05:00

Big night tonight....Oscar night.

The Oscars, like all award shows, is something I'll flip to during the commercial of whatever else I am watching that night. I enjoy watching the movie clips, checking out what people are wearing, and some of the tributes are pretty cool too. But I just cannot stand the acceptance speeches. They drive me insane! If they could cut out all of the endless "I'd like to thank Bobby and Suzy and my Dog Rover" and just go up and say something like..."Cool, thanks everyone" and walk off the stage then I might watch more of it. Leave room to show more clips and tributes, give those who have not seen all of the movies a chance to see what these people are being nominated for.

And I heard a terrible rumour that Celine Dion was singing tonight.....oh the horror.

There is one reason I do want to check tonight's show however, that is to see Ryan Gosling.

I think it is totally awesome that he has been nominated. I know, he does not really have a chance at winning, but for this young guy that went to the same high school as me, in my insignificant hometown of Burlington Ontario, to be nominated for an Oscar...that is just too cool.

He has impressed me in every role he has been in, and although I have not seen Half Nelson yet, I fully intend to as soon as I get a chance to rent it. The trailers for the movie gave me goosebumps.

There is something about Ryan that draws me in every time I watch him. He puts himself so deep into his characters that you cannot help but believe him. I cannot wait to see what he does in the future, I hope this nomination gets him some really juicy roles and we get to see a lot more of him in the future.

I know I'll be watching.

Punkinism #2

2007-02-24T18:43:00.000-05:00

"Mommy, how do you unwrap these?" He says pointing to his beans

"Why do you want to unwrap them Punkin?", I reply

"Cause' I feel like peas tonight. I like peas better"

Thursday Night Must See TV

2007-02-22T18:58:00.000-05:00

I can't believe Thursday is finally here. I thought this day would never come.

I finally get to find out what happens to Meredith on Grey's Anatomy!

I know, it's shameful isn't it. I have been looking forward to this all week. Even Hon is excited, and I only got him watching the show this season.

I know I am not the only one though. Come on, admit it....you've been wondering too.

I hope it's a good one. Maybe McDreamy will cry. I love it when McDreamy cries, he looks even sexier when he is sad.

And I hope Denny and Hot Paramedic Guy (the one that used to be on Early Edition) are on tonight too. That would be super cool.

Not only that, I get to watch a new CSI and ER. Thursday so rules.

I so totally need a life don't I?

The Boyfriend's Mother

2007-02-20T08:31:00.000-05:00

Today, there is a young 14 year old girl that is going to go to school and tell all of her friends she was at her boyfriends house last night. She'll tell them that they watched TV, and put songs on her iPod. She'll tell them how they were laughing at the silliest things, and *wince* she may even tell them they kissed.

She is also going to tell them that she met her Boyfriends Mother. She may say she's pretty cool and nice, or she may tell them she was ugly and a bitch. She may not have anything to say at all.

But you know why this is important? I am the Boyfriends Mother. I am not old enough to be the Boyfriend's Mother. It was only just last year that I was 14 and meeting the Boyfriend's Mother. Wasn't it??

This is not The Boy's first girlfriend. There have been a few. But they were never more than holding hands, talking on MSN, and a few days later, breaking up girlfriends. And he NEVER brought them here. I was lucky if I even knew their names.

This one has been around for about 6 weeks. They talk on the phone every night, and for hours on the weekend. I've had to tell people to call my office phone if they want to reach me, because you can't get through otherwise.

They have been to local hockey games, and dances. And last week he went to her house. The Boy is spending more and more time in the bathroom, taking showers, brushing his hair. In the last 3 weeks I have spent more money on shampoo, because he can't find the one that makes his hair look right.

And last Friday, when I picked him up from the dance, he told me he got in trouble for having his hands to low on The Girl while they were dancing. I almost choked on my Chai Latte.

I just don't think I am ready for this. Look at him. He's just a baby. How could he have a girlfriend?

Good Parents Pay

2007-02-19T23:03:00.000-05:00

You don't want to be a Deadbeat Dad in my province.

The Ontario Government has released the pictures of 18 Dead-Beat Dads on their website, under the heading, Good Parents Pay.

What an interesting way to go after these guys. It allows you to click on a link and send anonymous information to the Family Responsibility Office if you happen to know anything about them. These guys must be REALLY far behind to make it to this list.

And I thought they were getting hard nosed when they stopped renewing their Drivers Licences.

I say good. Something has to be done.

I realize there are some men out there that are having to pay through the nose for child support, that sometimes it gets out of hand. But some of these guys have learned to play the system, they work for cash, move from job to job. If only they would put as much effort into making money as they do running away from the responsibility. Then this would not be necessary.

I'll admit, I have resented every penny I have sent to my husbands ex since we've been together. For many of those years, when he was trying to get his business off the ground, that money came from my paycheque. But the money was always sent.

I also understand what it is like to not be paid. I have raised another man's child for 13 years and not received one red cent, not any help whatsoever. I figure he owes me around $40,000. Like I'll ever see any of it.

I am also an employer, who has had to garnishee wages. I have seen guys hit bad spells, fallen behind, and have had to work their asses off in order to have enough to pay the debt, pay the rent, and still be able to eat.

And then there are the jerks who quit their job the minute I get the garnishee notice in the mail. Those are the jerks you find on that list. Those are the ones who need to be punished.

So I will do my part and check the list once and awhile. Perhaps one day I will get the privilege of burning one of them, and it will bring me great pleasure.

I wonder why there aren't any Deadbeat Moms on the list?

Punkinism #1

2007-02-19T15:41:00.000-05:00

Punkin says some of the funniest things, I thought I would start calling them Punkinism's and post them here.

I likely find them funnier than anyone else, as I have Rose Coloured Mommy Glasses on, but I am going to share them anyway.

This one came after lunch today, when he was hoping for a treat:

"Mommy, do I have to eat the bark on my bread, it's yucky."

Took me a minute to figure out what the bark was...if I were a good mommy I would have cut the crusts off.

Blogging Basics 101

2007-02-19T14:44:00.000-05:00

I was checking out some new blogs today, and came across Rocks In My Dryer. This blog in it's own right is great, right from the tag line "Just doing our part to heat the neighbourhood, one open door at a time." I can so relate to that.

But what caught my eye was a link to Blogging Basics 101. This site is authored by the same girl, as well as someone who calls themselves Chilihead, author of Don't Try This At Home.

These girls don't claim to be experts, they just have had some experience, and are willing to share. I love the way they answered this question:

So who died and made you the be-all and end-all authority on blogging etiquette?
Nobody. We're just fussy that way and like to hear ourselves talk.

For a blogging newbie like me, stumbling through, hoping I don't look like a total idiot, sites like this one are a godsend. I was sure to bookmark it immediately.

In the Graphics category, questions about pictures, templates and buttons are answered, and if you click over to Etiquette there are some very important tips on how not to be a Lurker.

In learned a new word in the Content/Writing category, Brevity - The quality or state of being brief in duration. This is something I know I need to work on. I suffer from chronic Verbal Diarrhea.

As far as I know content is added to the site on a regular basis, and they will take new questions by emails.

That's it....was that Brevit enough?

For Blog Explosion Users

2007-02-18T17:38:00.000-05:00

The longest 30 seconds ever....

Being stuck on a really boring blog, waiting for those 30 seconds to go by so you can get your credits.....don't want to get that "Surfing Too Fast" message do you?

I am wild. I am crazy. I am a PARTY ANIMAL!

2007-02-18T15:58:00.000-05:00

Alert the media.....I went out last night.

Yes it's true. I actually got dressed in some of my nicer, but casual clothes, washed and styled my hair, and even put on makeup. Not just foundation either, I even used eyeliner and (gasp) blush!

What occasion could have possibly been so special, so alluring, that Teresa would go to such effort?

It was my very bestest friend's birthday...that's what!

And know what....I am such a party fiend that I didn't even come home last night!

Okay, that's because Charissa lives too far away, and after the few drinks I had it would have been very irresponsible for me to drive.

But I slept in another man's bed!

Okay, so he wasn't there, and technically it is Charissa's little brothers bed, and since we are like family, that would have a real ick factor to it.

And I danced with and then kissed a girl!

Well it was just Charissa, and it was in her living room, and I only kissed her on the cheek. I did grab her butt though, just to freak out the guy she is seeing.

And I drank a lot.

Well I did do that, at least to my current standards. And boy do I regret it today.

But it was a good night. It was fun to be out with people, and now that Charissa has rid herself of her lying, stinking, no good jerk of a husband, she's is just like the girl I fell in love with 20 years ago.

I am so happy for Charissa....she's the best.

My Dreams Have Been Shattered.

2007-02-17T10:32:00.000-05:00

I had it all carefully planned. I set my alarm to get up and make sure I had my breakfast and tea in time. I was at my computer by 9:40, plenty of time to go. I got myself settled in, checked my email, still had 10 minutes to spare.

I had it marked on my calendar, written in my date book. There was even a sticky note on the fridge to remind me.

I signed into the website, double checked my account information, and clicked on the right page, ready to go and hit the button.

I carefully watched the clock at the bottom of my computer screen, and the second it changed to ten o'clock I hit the button.

My palms were sweaty as I stared at the screen, your wait time is approximately 2 minutes, your wait time is one minute, your wait time is less than 1 minute. I did not hit the back button, I did not hit the refresh button, just as it warned me not to.

Suddenly the screen changed, I was ripe with anticipation....and then BAM, total let down. I rubbed my eyes, it must be wrong. How could this be?

There I was. 10:02 am, and it tells me. "We are sorry, the tickets you have requested are no longer available."

The $%!#! Police concert sold out in less than 2 minutes!

25 years I have wanted to see them in concert. Up until a few months ago I thought it was impossible....it would never happen. This last week I have been so excited. My chance was finally here. And now it's been squashed.

You must understand. I love going to concerts. The rush of being in a room with so many people, all sharing a love for the same music. Seeing an artist on stage that you have admired for years. Watching them play the music that has been such a part of your life. It is the most amazing feeling. A natural high.

Hon and I go to at least 2 concerts a year. We already have tickets to Billy Joel, but I'd trade that one for The Police in a second. And with Genesis talking of touring, this was going to be a great year.

Well at least there is ebay...I may have to take out a second mortgage to afford the tickets, or we could just not eat for a month. But it is so worth it! I have not given up hope yet.....maybe they'll announce a 2nd show???

The Police Are Coming!

2007-02-14T15:10:00.000-05:00

No I am not in trouble, though if you read my other Blog you'd likely think I should be.

I never thought the rumours could actually be true, but The Police are actually going to tour and they are coming to The Air Canada Centre!

Due to having an obsessed fan for an older brother, I grew up knowing everything there was to know about The Police. It was one of the few things I had in common with my brother, one of the few things we agreed on. (Although he still used it as something to tease me about, saying I was just copying him). When he wasn't around I would sneak his records out of the cabinet and listen to them while drooling over Sting. Scott had every album, some of them in duplicate from wearing them out. I would dance around the living room listening to Canary in a Coal Mine and Every Little Thing She Does is Magic. I loved the album Synchronicity and songs like Tea in the Sahara and Miss Gradenko. There was no other band like them and I have never tired of them.

I was too young when they broke up, I never got to go to a Police Picnic, or see them in concert. I have on numerous occasion said that it was a shame that it was a reunion concert that would never happen. I suppose you should never say never! I guess Sting and Stewart Copeland finally decided to bury the hatchet and give it one more go. Woo Hoo for us!

I am so excited. I will be sitting patiently on Saturday morning, with one finger on my mouse, watching the seconds tick by until 10:00, so that I can click the second the tickets go on sale. Thanks goodness I have high speed, I'd likely miss out if I were on dial up.

Now....should I ask my brother to go with me? The concert is two days before his birthday. I could be mean and wave the tickets in his face saying "You only want to go because I am, you stupid-head-copy-cat." That certainly would satisfy some of my inner 9 year old need for revenge.

Okay, I'll ask him to go....but only if he doesn't bring his stupid-head wife. (Did I say that?)

Have you ever been unthirsty?

2007-02-13T19:51:00.000-05:00

Well now I have heard it all.

When Punkin was told tonight he would have to wait the 5 minutes until dinner was served for his Chocolate Milk, this was his tearful reply;

"But Mommy, what if I get UN-thirsty, an you make me Choc'late Milk, an I don't wanna drink it, then I'm gonna get in trouble. I think you should give it to me NOW!"

Boy being un-thirsty must be really bad eh?

No wonder I can never decide who to vote for...

2007-02-13T13:20:00.000-05:00

Your Political Profile:

Overall: 55% Conservative, 45% Liberal

Social Issues: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 100% Conservative, 0% Liberal

Ethics: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

How Liberal Or Conservative Are You?

I am all alone!

2007-02-13T08:55:00.000-05:00

No....there is no need to be sad for me...this is reason to be happy!

For the first time in weeks my house is empty all but for little ole' me. The school bus came and took the kidlets away, Hon has gone to work, and I am truly, blissfully, wonderfully all alone in my house!

Whatever shall I do with myself?

I could go watch what I want on TV, I could go use the weights without someone interrupting me. I could even go back to bed if I wanted to.

No...I have something really exciting in mind....I am going to do my Mom's taxes!

No, really. I am serious. I LOVE doing taxes. I even volunteer to do taxes for low income families, I love doing them that much. Especially if the person is getting money back. I mean how great is that, it's like giving away money that isn't your own. Makes everyone happy, and all I did was add up some numbers and fill in some blanks. It's the best!

If I have time, I may even get started on my cousins taxes. That is REAL fun. She's Self Employed....mmmmmmm, Business Statements. I am getting goosebumps.

And speaking of volunteering to do Income Taxes. If you live in Canada you should check out this program. It may not be as fast as H&R Block, but it's free! Click Here to find out more.

The Chicks Rule!

2007-02-12T09:13:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I admit, other than watching The Police open (how cool was that?) and then Dixie Chicks subsequent performance, I pretty much blew off the Grammy's. I have not really watched them since I was in my early 20's.

But to get up this morning and learn that The Chicks won FIVE Grammy's, each one they were nominated for, that's awesome!

I love watching people get sweet revenge, and they certainly got it last night.

And that's all I have to say about that. As a Canadian, I don't like to discuss American Politics much. I don't live there, don't have a right to complain.

Funny, I don't even like country music.

Gonna Make a Happy Post

2007-02-11T11:17:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I have been so darn negative lately with my Whaa Whaa it's snowing out, Boo Hoo it's TOO Cold, I thought today I would do my very best to make a light, happy post.

So to paraphrase Punkin, "Yesterday was the Bestest Day Ever!"

Okay, so it really wasn't that great, but I am being positive here.

To start, I finally got out of the house. By 5:00 when Hon got home it was only a light snow, and those Imminent and Occurring Snowsqualls had moved west, so we suited up Punkin (The Boy was at PaPa's), brushed off the Mini Van and headed out to Collingwood to do the shopping. Shopping here in town is just too boring, there's a 24 hr A&P in Collingwood-they have Air Miles! I don't care if it is a 45 minute drive, I was getting out and I was going to make it worth my while.

On the way there Hon was complaining he was hungry, so I used that as an excuse to stop for supper. There is a nice restaurant in Singhampton, which is surprising for a town that does not even have a stoplight, so we stopped there. The service was a bit slow, but Punkin wasn't too overly annoying and we managed to have a nice meal. I was staring to feel almost like real people again.

While we were having supper, I got a call from the husband of one of my dearest friends Christine. They are the proud parents of a healthy new baby boy - how cool is that. That really brightened my day. Chris and Noble are the type of people that really should have kids. They already have a little girl, and they are the most down to earth, kind and attentive parents you could meet. It's good to have good news like that. And now I finally have someone who I can give all of my baby boy clothes to. I've wanted to share those with someone forever and now I have someone who I am happy to give them to.

It was pretty late when we got to the grocery store, and Punkin was starting to show signs of being really tired. It was hard to be patient with him, he was insisting on pushing the cart, and kept driving his Hot Wheels on the shelves, but we gave him some slack. It was almost 9:00, WAY past his bedtime.

We got home about 10:30 and got Punkin ready for bed. He was quite happy, I had washed all of his bedding yesterday, so I heated it up in the drier for a few minutes before making his bed. Seeing him snuggle up with a big smile on his face under those warm blankies makes you forget all of the crazy things he had done that day.

Finally Hon and I got to settle in with a cup of tea and we even watched a couple of episodes of As the World Turns. I have to tape it so Hon can watch to, yet he usually falls asleep to early to watch any of it. I think we were watching episodes from 3 weeks ago, but at least we are that much more caught up.

So that was my bestest day. And today does not look so bad either. The weather looks pretty clear, I think Mom and I may go out this afternoon. She's feels just as shut in as I do. She's talking about her cats too much now...that's not a good sign. Maybe we can go to Wal-Mart. Man....I am Sooooo Excited!

Calorie Cruncher

2007-02-10T13:15:00.000-05:00

I found these figures in Homemaker's Magazine and thought they were good to share. I only included some of them, but isn't it cool to know that even doing the grocery's and vacuuming can be good for you?

Let's see, typing at 190lbs burns 65 calories. I weigh 215, so I can likely add another 7 calories to that-this means if I Blog for 10 hours a day, I can burn 1440 calories. That's awesome! Who says sitting in front of my computer all day is bad for me. Bring on more snow days!

Spy Glasses are Imminent and Occurring

2007-02-10T10:37:00.000-05:00

Lots of things I read can upset me, just like anyone. Things like people not giving their children blood transfusions because of their interpretation of a book, reading about a teenage girl leaving her baby to freeze at someone's back door, finding out yet another young Canadian boy has been killed in Afghanistan. But selfishly, it is the words above in that stupid orange box that are upsetting me today. I just want to go out and do my grocery shopping!

Sorry I am suffering from an extreme case of cabin fever. I have been stuck in my house since Sunday. Each day I keep hoping this will be the one. Today is the day it will be worthwhile getting dressed, I will go out and remove the 3 feet of snow off my mini van, I will see people!

I had an eventful week planned last week. I was going to go out and do adult things, like spend the day working in the Chamber office, meeting clients about their tax returns, I even had a workshop to go to today...but they were all cancelled. I was really looking forward to it.

Okay, enough of my pity party. At least I am warm and dry and I got smart after last year and stocked up my freezer and pantry for just such an occasion. It looks like it's Tuna Helper and canned corn again tonight, but at least we have that.

Homebody Punkin is enjoying all of this. He hasn't been to school in more than 2 weeks, and has not left the house all week either. And just this morning he came to tell me that "Today is the bestest day ever Mommy"
"Why is that Punkin?', I asked
"Because TVO Kids has NEW shows! There's this one where the kid has Spy Glasses. We should get Spy Glasses Mommy...."

Ahh if only life were that simple.

I feel like a copycat

2007-02-09T12:35:00.000-05:00

I was just reading PJ's Place and realized she had just posted yesterday her feelings about Blog Explosion and the Battle of the Blogs. She is suffering from the same affliction as I, and after reading the comments posted, so are a few others.

I just thought I should say, I did not mean to step on her toes and write about the same thing she is. Besides...she did a much better job than I. You should check it out, it is quite humorous.

My name is Teresa, and I am a Blog Explosion Addict

2007-02-09T10:24:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I followed a link to Blog Explosion and decided to sign up.

Blog Explosion works on a credit system. You earn credits for surfing others blogs, and you can use those credits to generate traffic to your own blogs.

At first I was only a casual user. A little timid at first, just trying it out. But soon I became addicted to those credits, I would surf while watching TV, and sometimes an hour would go by and I had not even noticed the time pass. I even snuck on while we we on vacation to try a get a few credits. Then the day came that while surfing a screen popped up that told me I had won extra credits. I was so excited. I love winning stuff. And it was so easy! I was totally hooked.

It wasn't long before I started getting into other things. It started with the scratch cards, trying to win extra credits, but when that wasn't too successful, I moved onto Blog Tycoon and Blog Rocket.

Then I discovered the Battle of the Blogs. As they call it, The Battle for Blog Supremacy. Here you can use your credits and challenge others that your blog will receive more votes than theirs. If you win, you get to keep your credits and a portion of theirs. The other credits are split up evenly among those that voted. It was also an awesome way to get more credits, as every time you voted on another members challenge, you could get anywhere from 1-4 credits. I was hooked. I could win stuff and help others win stuff. What was better than that?

Suddenly I found myself taking more and more breaks from the work I am supposed to be doing, and checking for new challenges to vote on or challenges to accept. Within days I had more credits than I had ever had, and I even won a few battles. My hits per day more than tripled and I was getting more and more comments and interest than ever. I loved it!

But now I am worried. Will I ever be able to get back to normal? Is it harmless or should I back away now? I have over 100 credits sitting there, waiting to be used. Do I risk them all on another battle, or do I play it safe and only use half. PLEASE somebody help me. I know there must be others like me out there. Maybe we should start a support group or something?

On the bright side it keeps me busy and thinking of something other than eating. Maybe it is a good thing after all?

Vote on Word Game XVI

2007-02-08T13:27:00.000-05:00

It's time again to vote on Cindra's Weekly Word Game. I almost didn't get my entry in, the words this week were a little off-beat, even included one that I could not find in any dictionary. What is Unidicted mean anyway??

There are quite a few entries this week. So head over and check them out and vote on your favourite!

Weight Loss Journey

2007-02-08T09:57:00.000-05:00

So if you haven't already noticed, I have stopped posting my food journals. I am still keeping track of what I eat, but posting them here seems a little redundant, not to mention boring for my readers.

I will however continue to post my ups and downs in my weight and any victories and setbacks that may occur.

I was pleased to see the scale going back down after my vacation gain. I really think that was a lot of water weight, since while we were away I was eating a lot of salty foods, and not drinking as much tea and water. Now that I have been home a few days I am back to my routine and it seems to be getting back to normal.

Now if only the temperature outside would go back up. I have been hiding out in the house again since we got home. It is now Thursday and I have not been out since we got home Sunday night. The school buses have not been running either, so everyone is home with me. Such Joy, Such Fun. According to the weather network, it's not looking much better over the next week either. I was so hopeful with the warm December we had that winter was going to pass us by this year. I guess I was wrong. It would not be so bad but for those *!@&#! snowsqualls. Hon calls them the White Veils of Death. Driving in this weather is torture. You look outside your window and see nice blue skies, no snow and think - Hey, it's not so bad, maybe I'll run to the store. Then you get out on the main road, with the farmers fields and the open road and suddenly you cannot see a bloody thing. You don't even know if you are on the right side of the road, or if you are on the road at all. And then some idiot hotshot from the city in his SUV with All Season tires and no headlights on tries to pass you, thinking he can go 5 km/hr faster than you. He goes into a spin, ends up in a snow bank and you have to spend the next hour waiting with them for the tow truck to come.

Ooops, I was talking about trying to loose weight, how did I get off on that tangent?

Well that's life in the country. I chose to live here, I guess I have to take the good with the bad. Maybe I'll get lucky and the mail lady will decide it's safe to come down our road today. I haven't seen her in days.

Wonder Twins Power!

2007-02-07T14:26:00.000-05:00

When I was a kid there were about 8 kids on my street under 12, and I was the only girl. The show Super Friends was really big back then and I particularly loved the Wonder Twins. The Wonder Twins looked like Donny and Marie Osmond in purple jump suits. They were shape-shifters and could turn into really cool things. Whenever we played "Super Friends" I would be the girl twin and would get to touch fists with whomever was playing the boy twin and yell "Wonder Twin Power...Activate!". Pretty silly, but this seemed more exciting than playing Wonder Woman. She didn't get to change into animals like Tigers and Sharks like the Wonder Twins did.

I mention this because this morning I was watching Punkin playing with his cars and was surprised to hear him talking about Batman and Robin at The Hall of Justice, and Lex Luthor at The Legion of Doom...this was where the guys from Super friends lived! I asked him where he had learned this and he showed me the DVD his Dad had bought him, one I had not paid much attention to. It's the full first season of the Super Friends. Almost 6 full hours of cartoons. Now I know why Punkin was so quiet while we were driving to Ottawa.

Finally, I have something I can play with Punkin that I know about. I won't look like Stupid-Mommy who knows nothing about cars and trucks and stuff. I think I might like to play Wonder Woman now though....after all, she does have that cool invisible jet, and the body. Hmmmm....on that note, maybe Hon would like to play too, I always kinda liked that guy in the Green Suit.....but that will have to wait until Punkin goes to bed.

Don To Earth

2007-02-07T11:19:00.000-05:00

I came across this wonderful Blog the other day, written by a 93 year old Canadian Man. His posts are engaging and intelligent, he seems like a man that could captivate an audience with his stories for hours. He calls his Blog Don to Earth, and Down to Earth he really is.

His post It Bothers Me I Have To Go is thought provoking to say the least. It is hard when we are younger to imagine what it must feel like to be in your 90's, knowing there are so few years left, and thinking of all the things we wish we could have done.

But he is also a man who has seen so much, and experienced much of our history, as evidenced in the post On December 6th, I Missed A Party! I will be sure to bookmark his Blog, I look forward to reading his future posts.

Just like the doctors wife

2007-02-06T14:08:00.000-05:00

You know that old adage, the one where the doctors family can never get medical care? Well I am the roofers wife, and I cannot get my roof taken care of.

My husband is a roofer. Admittedly, he does not do too much shingling in the winter, but he does spend a lot of time clearing snow and ice off of people's roofs.

The last few days we have had enormous amounts of snow dumped on us. Nothing out of the ordinary, I live in Grey County after all, we are known for snow. But my house has so much snow on it, it is starting to scare me. Every time I close the front door I shut my eyes and brace myself for an avalanche on my head. I keep asking him if he is going to clear it, but I think he likes it there. Perhaps he is trying to prove to everyone we have a strong roof....I don't know. I do know the Purolater guy looked pretty scared when he delivered a package today......

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

2007-02-05T20:41:00.000-05:00

So the release date for the new Harry Potter book has been announced, and I have pre-ordered my copy.

I am looking forward to reading the new book, but in a way I don't want to read it. For ten years I have read each book, and finished it looking forward to the next one. I know it's silly, but it's like watching the final episode of Cheers or Star Trek Next Generation. You feel a bit of a loss knowing that there will be nothing new to learn about the characters. Reading the last page of Deathly Hallows will be sad, especially since someone else is going to die.

Well at least I have the movies to look forward to....although after seeing promo pictures of Daniel Radcliffe for Equus, the play he is currently starring in, I may never look at Harry the same....

If I were 15 I would be right hot for him.....Who'da thunk!

Quotes from Punkin

2007-02-05T13:08:00.000-05:00

While we were in Ottawa, Punkin provided some of the best entertainment for us. He seemed a bit nervous being there, Punkin is a homebody, and unlike The Boy, has not been away from home much. And being that he has spent the last 4 and 1/2 of his short 5 years living in Small Town Ontario, a big city like Ottawa was pretty overwhelming. He kept coming out with these statements that had us all laughing. Here are some of the better ones.

While I was trying to find a parking space....
"Mommy, this is so ree-dic-so-lus, why are all these people here?"

Noticing a model of a lighthouse at the Science and Technology Museum...
"Look a lighthouse. Know what lighthouses do? They ding."
(Mommy, trying to coax this learning experience along) "Why do they ding Punkin?"
"I dunno, I just saw it on TV. They are dingers"

And my favourite, while the rest of us were enjoying Winterlude, Punkin was anxious to go back to the hotel to play cars. It was too cold he said. When we were finally getting ready to leave, he came out with this one....

"Mommy....next time can we go to SummerLude?"

I'm back from my 'Vacation'

2007-02-05T12:07:00.000-05:00

So we made it back in one piece from Ottawa last night. What should have been a 6 1/2 hour trip turned into over 8 hours due to the blizzard we met on the way home. Most of the trip was fine, and then I started getting calls from my parents telling me the highways around our place were closed, and there were white outs everywhere. So we took a bit of a detour to get around the closed highways, and for the last 50-60 km of the trip we were travelling at 40 km/hour. Such fun. Thank god for the DVD player or Punkin would have been climbing the walls, driving us insane.

The holiday was good. The hotel was better than we expected, they upgraded us to a 2 bedroom suite, which made it a lot easier on Hon and I. The whole suite was bigger than one floor of our house, so we were very comfortable.

This was my first trip to Ottawa, and it was much more of a city than I anticipated. We had a bit of a hard time navigating around, so many one way streets, but we took it all in stride. I only had one near melt-down trying to find parking in Gatineau, but mostly we laughed through it all. And once we found a good map of the city it was smooth sailing. I have decided I will never go on another trip without a good map of the area we are visiting.

We went to two museums, the Science Museum and the Museum of Civilization. We all really enjoyed the Science Museum, the kids were a bit bored at the other.

On Saturday, Hon and The Boy finally got out to skate the Rideau. Punkin is not able to skate yet, so we bought a sled and I walked him about 3 km down the canal. I would have gone further, but he really did not seem to be enjoying himself, so we turned around and went and for a Beaver Tail and some Hot Chocolate. We had some fun while waiting for Hon and The Boy to return, playing on the edge of the ice, slipping and sliding around.

I must have walked about 20 km over the 3 days we were there, I was really hoping that would counter all of the bad food I was eating. Sadly, I weighed myself this morning and I am up 2 pounds. I am not going to let it get me down though, I am convinced it is mostly water weight, and I will see it drop off again by the end of the week. I did measure myself this morning and everything is pretty much the same, so no worries. I will get back to my food journal today, and try to get outside and get moving. I actually found a pair of size 11 skates in Ottawa, and although I did not skate the canal, I plan to use them on our backyard rink. That ought to burn some calories!

And check it out....I won Cindra's Weekly Word Game! Not bad for a newbie. Next weeks words look difficult, so I'll have to get my thinking cap on and come up with something soon.

Cindra's Weekly Word Game

2007-01-31T21:29:00.000-05:00

If you get a chance head over to Cindra's Weekly Word Game. For those of you who love to write, love to weave words into something other's would want to read, she has created a interesting word game.

I'll let you read her description of the game, but check it out and vote for your favourite entry. This is my first week participating, I cannot wait to see the results.

Some things I just cannot overlook

2007-01-31T21:05:00.000-05:00

Okay, I am supposed to be on vacation with my family, but when I read this, I got so mad I had to write about it or it would be eating away at me, bringing down my vacation happiness

B.C. Intervened to Save Three Sextuplets
CBC News

The B.C. government got a court order to seize three of the surviving sextuplets born in Vancouver earlier in January and ensure they got blood transfusions. Two of the sextuplets have already died.

The babies were part of the group of of six born at B.C. Women's Hospital into a family of Jehovah's Witnesses, a religious group that prohibits blood transfusions. B.C.'s director of child protection sought an order under provincial child-care legislation on Jan. 26 to seize one child for a transfusion.

The government sought an order for a second child the following day, and a third order was sought on Monday.

Those transfusions have since taken place. Two of the babies, who were born prematurely, have already died, says an affidavit filed in court on Tuesday by the babies' father as part of the family's appeal of the transfusion orders.

"[The mother] and I could not bear to be at the hospital when they were violating our little girl," he said in the affidavit. "We took our immense sadness and grief and tried to console each other in private."

Lawyers representing the family of the sextuplets are in B.C. Supreme Court on Wednesday filing an appeal.

"So in the event that there is a child that is need of a medical treatment, and it appears that the child is not going to receive that medical treatment because a parent doesn't want the child to, then medical practitioners have an obligation to report that to the ministry.

"We will review the situation and if necessary, we would go to court to seek an order to have that medical care."

The minister responsible for child care defended the government's intervention. Tom Christensen, the minister of children and family services, said he would not comment directly on the case, but he explained that the government sometimes has to act.

Okay, I am all for freedom of religion, but this is craziness. These people brought these children into the world, they have a responsibility to do EVERYTHING in their power to keep them alive. GIVE ME A BREAK. To let these innocent, precious, tiny little beings suffer and die because of their insane interpretation of a book written eons ago, before medical science had advanced to where it is.

Bravo to the BC government for having the balls to take these children away and give them the chance they deserve. I wish they could and would take it one step further and charge these parents with negligent homicide. They should never have had children if they were not willing to give them all of the necessities in life, including proper medical care.

HOLY CRAP I am so mad.

A bit of cabin fever here

2007-01-30T10:27:00.000-05:00

I realized this morning I have been in the house since Friday night. Pretty sad eh? I think I will venture out today and go to the post office and bank. Such excitement. I should check the mailbox, maybe the flyer's are in and I could go out and check out the sales. Wow. I can hardly contain myself.

I should not complain. Tomorrow we are packing up the kids and venturing out on our very first family holiday. Okay, so it's only a 5 day trip to Ottawa for Winterlude, but it's a holiday just the same.

We are booked into the Albert on Bay Suites Hotel. It sounds ideal, all of the rooms are suites, so although we will be sleeping in the same room, we do have a living room and kitchen, so we won't be tripping over each other. And the kids can go to bed at they're regular time without us keeping them up. And it's not a bad price either. Not much more than staying in the Comfort or Holiday Inn, and with a kitchen we can avoid eating out every meal.

Hon and The Boy are really excited about skating on the Rideau. We have a small rink in our backyard and they have been getting ready for a couple of weeks now. Punkin has not yet mastered the art of skating, but I think you can pull little guys around on sleds, so that should be fun for him. Me, I have size 11 feet, and have not been able to fit into a pair of skates for almost 15 years. I have tried wearing men's skates, but I automatically look for that damn Toe Pick, and fall flat on my face. They can skate....I'm going shopping.

I hope that we can all get along for the 5 days. We have 2 days that will be mostly travelling, and then 3 days in Ottawa. I know Punkin will be in his glory, he loves it when we are all together, but I fear The Boy may get bored. But I have to take this chance while I can. I suspect in another year or two it will be impossible to get him to go anywhere with us.

So, after I get back from my exciting trip to the bank, I will have to start packing. The biggest part will to be sure we have enough DVD's, batteries for the Game Boy, the cell phone chargers and not to forget the adapter so The Boy can plug in the laptop. Hon and I were arguing yesterday over whose satellite radio we would bring. My Van, my radio. I think he just wants his so he can choose the stations. We have far too much technology in our lives. I am surprised he did not decide to get a GPS so we don't get lost on the 401.

We let Punkin stay home from school today. He has a terrible habit of getting sick whenever we plan something. So I decided to keep him out of the germ infested confines of him Kindergarten Classroom. I am force feeding him Orange Juice and other healthy foods. Knock on wood I think it is working, I have heard nary a cough, nor seen a sniffle.

So I guess I should go get dressed if I am going to go out today. I'll have to pry Punkin off the laptop, he has an addiction to the TVO Kids website. Could be worse, at least he is learning something.

Jan 29 Diet Journal

2007-01-30T09:25:00.000-05:00

I didn't get this posted last night. The Boy had taken over my computer, there was an urgent need to put more songs on his iPod, and by the time he was done I was fully engrossed in 24 and did not feel like doing this.

So I took my measurements Monday morning. I guess those sausages and fish and chips have caught up to me, since they are not any better. I won't even bother to post them, as they have not changed since last week. Oh well, it's not the first time there have been no changes....at least I'm not getting bigger!

I am pleased with myself, as I had a bit of a frustrating day, and I did not stuff my face to try and make myself feel better. I tried to keep busy with other things to keep my mind off eating. That's not to say I was perfect, but it could have be worse.

Tea with a bit of milk
Bowl Irish Oatmeal
Hot Rod (a small pepperoni stick, only 60 cal.)
Whole wheat bagel toasted with a slice of cheddar
2 Dare cinnamon cookies
Dole fruit and Creme
1 Raspberry twist.
Slice wonder bread with 1/2 tbsp light peanut butter
Tea with a bit of milk
2 small meat pies
Low fat/cal cheesecake
Black Tea

I don't think I munched on anything else. I should have just wrote it down, but I trusted myself to remember. Not a good idea I guess.

I did get on the weight set though. I managed to squeeze in 20 minutes before the phone rang, and then I lost my momentum. That was the call that stressed me out.

I also did 4 loads of laundry-god does it ever end-and I cleaned up Punkins room.

I feel thinner already.

Today's Laugh

2007-01-29T17:35:00.000-05:00

I was over on a fellow Canadians Blog, Advice From a Single Girl and she had shared a very funny video from the Muppet Show. I was such a huge fan of that show. Where else was there guests like Alice Cooper, John Denver and Elton John? It was one of the highlights of my childhood, one of the few shows my family watched together, one we all agreed on.

I went over to You Tube to see if I could find a few of my favourites. I really loved the Alice Cooper ones, I have always been a fan of his and it was great to see all of those clips again. But this skit of the Copa Cobanga with Liza Minelli is one that has been burned in my memory since the first and only time I saw it. My Mom was such a huge Barry Manilow fan I can still remember her laughing out loud at this, something you did not see too often.

You Tube Rules.

I am an allergy geek

2007-01-29T16:39:00.000-05:00

You know that stereotypical kid with all of the allergies. The one who can't eat a list of foods, can't go outside in the spring, and can't go to your house if you have anything with fur? Somewhere in my 20's I became one of those kids.

I was born with eczema. Had it in all the typical places, behind my knees, the crease of my elbow, on my hands, even on my face. There were a few things that would bother it, like strawberries, perfumy soaps, getting cold and wet. I have used Ivory Snow detergent and Dove soap my whole life. It is a disaster when I don't. But other than that there were few problems.

Every year since I turned 20 it seems the list of things I am allergic to grows and grows. It is getting so bad now that I am 34 and will be starting allergy shots in 2 weeks.

I thought I would mention this, because of the impact it has had on my diet. Besides being allergic to trees and grass, animal dander, mould and dust, there is also a list of foods that I cannot eat. They make my mouth and tongue swell up, give my terrible stomach aches and some of them could cause anaphylactic shock. Unfortunately, they are all foods that someone who is dieting, or trying to eat healthy would want to eat.

I have found out there actually is a name for this, it's called Oral Allergy Syndrome.

First there are the nuts. I don't have a peanut allergy (thank god, peanut butter is a staple food in my diet) the allergy is to tree nuts. So I can't have almonds, pecans, walnuts, any kind of nut that grows on trees. It's hard, since most pre-packaged foods designed to fill you up have some sort of nut in them. Cereals, granola, even some breads.

The second is an allergy to fresh fruit. This is even more frustrating, as in the past I have managed to loose weight by eating one or two apples a day in addition to at least one balanced meal. I LOVE the smell and crunch of a fresh apple. I miss it terribly. But they, along with peaches, pears, nectarines, plums, kiwi, pineapple and a few others are off limits. On the plus side, cooking these fruits changes the proteins so I don't have a reaction in my mouth, but they do cause a bit of an upset stomach. I can live with that though, so I will eat things like applesauce, canned fruit and of course apple pie, but they are not the same. I even have to wear gloves if I am going to peel or cut up any of these fruits for my kids, or I will end up with raw, itchy hands.

Unfortunately the allergy shots I am going to be starting will not help this problem, they will only help relieve the extreme discomfort I feel if I leave the sanctuary of my air conditioned house from March through the end of May.

So if you happen to be reading my food journals, this will help to explain why these things that should be in my diet, are not there. They would be if they could.

If anyone does read this and suffers from or knows someone who suffers from this, I would love to hear from them. I often feel alone in it, no one I know has the same problem, and I wonder sometimes if the people around me understand what it is like. I have one friend who ALWAYS offers me fruit or something with nuts in it when I go over to her place. I swear she does it on purpose. And trying to explain it to someone new, whether it is a waiter in a restaurant, or someone who has invited me over for dinner is embarrassing. I fear they are thinking I am making it up, or I am just trying to get attention. It can be very frustrating.

On the bright side....Quaker has taken the almonds out of their Chewy Bars. Being able to eat those again has been great, they are a good treat when I am craving something sweet. And I don't have it near as bad as those with peanut allergies. At least I won't die from kissing my husband if he just had a PB&J. I really feel for those suffering from that.

Jan 28 Diet Journal

2007-01-28T19:36:00.000-05:00

Oh Sundays.....boring, boring Sundays. I fear I succumbed to my boredom eating today and snacked a bit too much. I am better than I used to be, but the urge to eat was just too much today. So here it is.

Bowl Irish Oatmeal
Cup of tea with a bit of milk
4 slices of bacon (I wish Hon would stop cooking bacon, I can't resist it)
Dole fruit and creme parfait
Vachon Igor
Ham sandwich on white bread, with slice of cheddar
3 dare cinnamon cookies
Babybell
Cup of Tea with a bit of milk
3 Raspberry Twists (having one is not so bad, they are only 80 calories, but 3, not so good)
2 Bratwurst sausage (Hon wanted Sausage for dinner)
Sauerkraut
Raw Veggies
Decaf Tea, black
Cheesecake cups (the low fat/cal ones)

I did a few loads of laundry today, which meant a lot of running up and down the stairs. Other than that, I was pretty sedentary. Okay, time to find my motivation. I don't know what is wrong with me. I have the desire, I just cannot find the kick. I am not sure if it is because Hon is home so much and I am never alone in the house to do exercises, or if I have a case of the winter blues. Whatever it is, I hope I get over it soon, or I may see that scale creeping back up again, and I don't want that.

We are going to Ottawa for 4 days at the end of this week. I am hoping getting away, having some fun, and likely moving about a lot will give me the kick start I need. I will think positive thoughts, tell myself I am going to have a great time, February is a new month, and I will do awesome.

Wish me luck.

The Toilet Bit Me!

2007-01-28T14:17:00.001-05:00

Today I had to embark on one of my least favourite tasks....cleaning the bathroom. I am of the firm belief there should be a special award of martyrdom for women that have to clean toilets that are used regularly by three males.

After wiping up the suspicious yellow stains from the floor around the bottom of the toilet (didn't I just do this 2 days ago!?!?!) I cleaned the rim and pulled the seat down to begin to clean it. That's when it happened....the damn thing bit me! The toilet lid slammed down on top of my fingers causing an extreme amount of pain in my middle finger. It was a darn good thing that the kids were outside, because I would have had to explain the expletive that escaped my lips rather loudly at that moment.

What kind of cruelty is that? It's bad enough I am down on the bathroom floor, for the second time this week cleaning this mess, but to be injured whilst doing it...not fair. I think that it was some sort of toilet seat revenge for all of us that have nagged the men in our life to put the damn seat down.

Well my response to that is to hold up my now purple middle finger.

I want my own bathroom.

Jan 27 Diet Journal

2007-01-27T19:35:00.000-05:00

Cup tea, black
3 slices bacon
1 small pancake
Bowl Irish Oatmeal
Coffee with minimal milk and 1/4 tsp sugar
Dole fruit & creme parfait
Slice white bread with 1 tbsp light peanut butter
Babybell Cheese
Ham sandwich with slice of cheddar
2 dare cinnamon cookies
2 small meat pies
Scalloped potatoes
Cheesecake cup (got them from Costco, only 70 Calories...Yum)

It seems like a lot, but I think I still came in under 2500 calories, which is what I need to try and keep under to loose weight gradually.

As far as activity today, apart from folding laundry, and a million trips up and down the stairs, it is after 7:30 and I am still in my PJ's. I was doing books today, GST remittance is due on Wednesday. So I have been tied to my desk all day, not much room for moving around. I'll have to see what I can do tomorrow.

I always wanted to be a writer....

2007-01-27T17:40:00.000-05:00

I love these personality quizzes, this one works well for me.

Your Dominant Intelligence is Linguistic Intelligence

You are excellent with words and language. You explain yourself well.
An elegant speaker, you can converse well with anyone on the fly.
You are also good at remembering information and convicing someone of your point of view.
A master of creative phrasing and unique words, you enjoy expanding your vocabulary.

You would make a fantastic poet, journalist, writer, teacher, lawyer, politician, or translator.

What Kind of Intelligence Do You Have

I like my new scale!

2007-01-27T10:40:00.000-05:00

I bought a new scale at Costco yesterday. The one we had would show variations in your weight of 3 pounds from one second to the next, so I splurged and bought a digital one, and I love it. The wonderful little thing helped me drop 2.5 lbs! (okay, so it's just the scale, not me, but I like the direction it is heading in)

Speaking of going to Costco yesterday, that means I was down in the city, which means my food diary is a bit nasty. I was pretty good, I avoided getting any snacks from Tim Horton's or anywhere else, I didn't even take any of the samples at Costco. But mom and I did go out for lunch and dinner, so here is the damage:

Bowl Irish Oatmeal
Cup of tea with minimal milk
Quaker Chewy Bar
Tea with a little milk from Tim Horton's
Fish and Chips (ARGHHH!)
Coffee with 1/2 milk
Caesar Salad
Pasta with spinach, sun dried tomato's, chicken and a creamy cheese sauce (I only ate 3/4 of it, and left most of the pasta in the bowl)
Dole Apple & Cream parfait (they are new, only 110 calories, but I really did not need it)

And for activity, it was my favourite.....shopping!

We walked around Burlington Mall, Ikea, Lee Valley Tools, Rona and Costco. I figure somewhere in there I got in over 10,000 steps for the day. I have to invest in a pedometer again I have been through 3 of them. Perhaps this time I should buy a good one and not go cheap. And keep it far far away from the little hands that broke 2 of the last 3. (I lost the other one)

I am kind of looking forward to taking my measurements on Monday. I think there may be some improvement, as long as I am good for the rest of the weekend. My clothes feel a little looser, and I think I look a little thinner. I'll keep my fingers crossed. Maybe if Hon takes the kids outside, I could sneak in 20 minutes on the weights.

Jan 25 Diet Journal

2007-01-25T19:50:00.000-05:00

Today I ate:
Bowl Irish Oatmeal
Activia Yogurt
Cup of Tea with minimal milk
Caramel Dessert Cup (90 Cal. 3g fat)
Tuna Melt (Whole Wheat Bagel, Tuna and slice of cheddar)
1 cup greek salad (cucumber, tomato, red onion, feta and dressing)
Vachon Igor (110 cal, 3.5g fat, 2g fibre)
3 Dare Cinnamon cookies
Chicken Leg
Stuffing
Raw Veggies with Blue Cheese Dip
Tea, black

Activities:
Cleaning the kitchen, 1/2 hour
15 squats and 50 knee rises
2 loads of laundry

As you can see, I am not one who is much into exercise. I do make a point though of throwing in little extras in my day to day routine. For instance, when I do laundry, I put the basket just out of my reach, so that when I put the clothes in the machine I have to bend down and reach for each item. And since my office is in the basement, I run up and down my stairs at least 20 times a day. When I go shopping, I make a point of parking at the back of the lot so that I have to walk that extra bit to the store. Just little things like that, the may not seem like much, but without them I would likely be a lot heavier.

We have a wonderful weight set here, but unless I am alone in the house I won't use it. I cannot stand if someone is watching me or interrupts me. When Hon is working full time I'll get on it about 2 times a week, but lately he has been home a lot, it's too cold to work, so I may get to it once every 2 weeks.

Tomorrow I am going to look into some of the calorie counters that are on line, and see if I can use one to calculate how much I am taking in each day.

Adventures in Chamber Land

2007-01-25T16:22:00.000-05:00

So somehow last month I was elected the Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce in the town we live in. I had joined the executive last year when they were desperate for members, hoping it would be a way to meet people, a reason to get out of the house. But I never expected to get this involved.

Shortly before this, I had been asked to put together a sort of business plan for the chamber, something to provide it with a direction to move forward in. I guess since I had shown my willingness to get involved, and the fact that there was a vacancy made the other members come to the conclusion I would make a good VP.

Don't get me wrong, I think it is a neat opportunity, but it is kind of scary. I fear they are looking to me now for direction into something I know very little about. This weekend will only mark the one year anniversary of us moving to this community, talk about jumping in with both feet!

Today the chamber manager admitted to me that I am being groomed to take over as President. I realize I have a good background in business management and finance, but am I really the person for this job? Past presidents have been long standing members of the community, they know everyone and everyone knows them. The are friends with people on council, they have contacts in the neighbouring communities. They are over 50, and they are not women! Okay, it' a lot scary!

So I guess I have to find a way to get the people of the community, those outside the chamber executive to trust me. I do have a lot of great ideas, things that would help make this a more successful, more vibrant town, I just hope these old fuddy duddies will listen to me.

I have always looked in awe to people that are able to do things like this, able to make a difference, get people to listen to them. This must be my opportunity to learn how to be the same. I hope I can find the confidence and the ability to do it.

My Stats So Far.

2007-01-24T15:50:00.001-05:00

As mentioned previously, I am 6 feet tall, and I currently weigh 217 pounds. It is my goal to reach 195 pounds by February 2008.

I have been keeping my measurements for some time now, but as of Monday this is where I am at:

Upper Arm: 13.75"
Forearm: 11.75"
Wrist: 6.75"
Chest: 40.50"/36.50"
Waist: 36.00"
Hips: 43.75"
Thigh: 25.5"
Calf: 17.00"

Total Inches: 231.50"
Goal: 220.00"

I know that is an awful lot of things to measure, but I want to see where the losses are. Some weeks some change and others don't, so it is encouraging to see the little bits here and there. I try to take the measurements at least once a week, so I will post them here when I do.

For tomorrow I will start keeping a diary of what I eat and any activity I do. I will post this each evening that I have a chance.