Just a friendly reminder NB'ers that milk goes up 5 cents a litre tomorrow, you'll see me trying to find two bags tonight with an expiry date off in the future ;)
Poor Alex, last night when we got home he openned our mailbox and was delighted to see a baggie with a magazine in it, his Chickadee subscription...or so we thought. He took another look at and said it was a mistake and it wasn't his. I thought it was just the coupons/ads that come with it blocking the view. He was pretty disappointed. While making supper I openned the bag to get the coupons out and it was in French! His birthday subscription had been changed to something age appropriate for a French raised child, not one that has been in Immersion for 5 months. The thought nice, but he really can't enjoy it for a couple of years and in the meantime no Chickadee. So now we either have to have it refunded and resubscribe to Chickadee or move it to something more language appropriate for him. Thank goodness mom had sent him a Twisted Whiskers e-card, that made his day :)
As for stitching, there has been some progress in the stocking. The last bit is the annoying stitch here in this colour, stitch there in that colour kind of deal. Compound that with the excitement of a new game and the daily chores and well...it's taking awhile :( I'm really looking forward to Friday though, I'll be able to kick back and stitch. I may even rent a movie and eat some chinese food while I'm at it (the boys are away). Although of course if I had company that would be just as great as I'm not too picky ;)
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Monday, January 29, 2007
Six Weird Things
I've been tagged by Carolyn :)
Six weird things that you didn't know about me...
1. I sleep with a fan on, even in the dead of winter
2. Apparently my husband thinks it's scandelous that I can't name a single song that was put out by Pink Floyd. If he could read this he'd be proud that I didn't had 'some group' in front of PF.
3. The subject of teeth completely grosses me out. I have to send Alex to his father to have his mouth checked when he claims he has loose teeth. YUCK
4. I generally do not eat vegetables that start with C - carrots, corn, cauliflower, celery unless they're hidden in a casserole
5. I hate it when my food touches, especially when food has an 'over contact' period with a condiment. Fries must be dipped, NO condiments on my burger as it makes the bun soggy, cranberry sauce should NOT contact the turkey...you name it ;)
Six weird things that you didn't know about me...
1. I sleep with a fan on, even in the dead of winter
2. Apparently my husband thinks it's scandelous that I can't name a single song that was put out by Pink Floyd. If he could read this he'd be proud that I didn't had 'some group' in front of PF.
3. The subject of teeth completely grosses me out. I have to send Alex to his father to have his mouth checked when he claims he has loose teeth. YUCK
4. I generally do not eat vegetables that start with C - carrots, corn, cauliflower, celery unless they're hidden in a casserole
5. I hate it when my food touches, especially when food has an 'over contact' period with a condiment. Fries must be dipped, NO condiments on my burger as it makes the bun soggy, cranberry sauce should NOT contact the turkey...you name it ;)
Long Time No Blog
What have I been up to?? Well, there are very few that would understand ;) It involved the need to obliterate things on the computer with a redheaded warlock. Between the on going saga of little miss fists, DH's workload and a consultant that seriously ticks me off, stitching by myself was NOT going to be very productive.
Friday we received an e-mail about a team meeting, said team meeting involves our flex time and over time because we have a consultant that is used to snapping her fingers to get things done at their old job. Said consultant has tonnes of work resources available but their time is extremely mismanaged and we should give up our flex time and family time due to their failures?? I have never been so irrate in a very long time. I could go on and on about how cold (suggested someone would come back early from bereavement leave to meet with our COTS provider), unprofessional (three status meetings in a week? Having someone come in on a day off for the third status meeting of the week for a total of 15 minutes) and two faced ('the schedule is flexible next week' meanwhile their whining to the director about us saying the department is too flexible with us), but that would be exhausting. Needless to say I went straight home Friday and relaxed with my family.
Saturday was busy. Alex and I had gym and swim in the morning. He did really well avoiding a real PITA kid. Due to a staffing issue we've had the director taking care of the gym portion and she really takes no flack off this kid, great :) But at the pool he's a holy terror, the second the instructors backs are turned he's hitting, kicking and shoving. Alex stayed clear of him this week but did end up kicked in the stomach by him when they were actually in the pool. Matt suggesting bring the camera in next week and showing the instructors the video footage of what this kid is up to. Saturday was also heart breaking. Alex has made real strides in behaving with other children. Common sense is finally kicking in so he gets up and leaves when someone is bothering him which was half of his problem. It's heartbreaking though to see a child who's 'reputation' is tarnished by how they behaved in kindergarten (case in point, another teacher automatically put him on 'the wall' when he was punched after an accidental slip). I was standing out at the pool while Alex was lined up waiting for the other kids to arrive and an 8ish year old boy looked and said 'oh look there's bad Alex'. :( I wonder how many years of good behavior will make up for the adjustment of public kindergarten. I know if we have another child we'll be paying the money for private kindergarten.
Sunday was a family day, we finished Alex's latest Magic Treehouse book, played Uno, toasted bagels and after I took a break to go to BodyCombat we went sliding! Well, I think I'll have to have my old three ski brought over as it was a HUGE hit. We let him go down on his own on his old sled but he really wanted to try the three ski (there was one left in the woods when the previous owners of our house moved out). Matt and Alex wiped out the first time but the second they made it to the bottom of the hill which is a great distance off. Then it was my turn. Oye, scary. One hurtles down the hill when their sled is over double the weight with both of us on it than the last time I ever went sliding! Alex was squealing in delight in the front, I was shreiking in terror in the back ;) I was convinced we were going to go airborne with every bump. Let alone the second time I braved going down and Matt said Alex could drive. He's sooo not getting his license when he's 16!!! We were all pretty sore after an hour and a half and headed home after a quick stop for a treat :)
I did manage to get a little stitching in though, the row of hearts and sheep is almost done so then it's just the vine and my name to stitch in. Piece of cake :)
Friday we received an e-mail about a team meeting, said team meeting involves our flex time and over time because we have a consultant that is used to snapping her fingers to get things done at their old job. Said consultant has tonnes of work resources available but their time is extremely mismanaged and we should give up our flex time and family time due to their failures?? I have never been so irrate in a very long time. I could go on and on about how cold (suggested someone would come back early from bereavement leave to meet with our COTS provider), unprofessional (three status meetings in a week? Having someone come in on a day off for the third status meeting of the week for a total of 15 minutes) and two faced ('the schedule is flexible next week' meanwhile their whining to the director about us saying the department is too flexible with us), but that would be exhausting. Needless to say I went straight home Friday and relaxed with my family.
Saturday was busy. Alex and I had gym and swim in the morning. He did really well avoiding a real PITA kid. Due to a staffing issue we've had the director taking care of the gym portion and she really takes no flack off this kid, great :) But at the pool he's a holy terror, the second the instructors backs are turned he's hitting, kicking and shoving. Alex stayed clear of him this week but did end up kicked in the stomach by him when they were actually in the pool. Matt suggesting bring the camera in next week and showing the instructors the video footage of what this kid is up to. Saturday was also heart breaking. Alex has made real strides in behaving with other children. Common sense is finally kicking in so he gets up and leaves when someone is bothering him which was half of his problem. It's heartbreaking though to see a child who's 'reputation' is tarnished by how they behaved in kindergarten (case in point, another teacher automatically put him on 'the wall' when he was punched after an accidental slip). I was standing out at the pool while Alex was lined up waiting for the other kids to arrive and an 8ish year old boy looked and said 'oh look there's bad Alex'. :( I wonder how many years of good behavior will make up for the adjustment of public kindergarten. I know if we have another child we'll be paying the money for private kindergarten.
Sunday was a family day, we finished Alex's latest Magic Treehouse book, played Uno, toasted bagels and after I took a break to go to BodyCombat we went sliding! Well, I think I'll have to have my old three ski brought over as it was a HUGE hit. We let him go down on his own on his old sled but he really wanted to try the three ski (there was one left in the woods when the previous owners of our house moved out). Matt and Alex wiped out the first time but the second they made it to the bottom of the hill which is a great distance off. Then it was my turn. Oye, scary. One hurtles down the hill when their sled is over double the weight with both of us on it than the last time I ever went sliding! Alex was squealing in delight in the front, I was shreiking in terror in the back ;) I was convinced we were going to go airborne with every bump. Let alone the second time I braved going down and Matt said Alex could drive. He's sooo not getting his license when he's 16!!! We were all pretty sore after an hour and a half and headed home after a quick stop for a treat :)
I did manage to get a little stitching in though, the row of hearts and sheep is almost done so then it's just the vine and my name to stitch in. Piece of cake :)
Friday, January 26, 2007
A Letter of Truth
Well, well, well....little Miss 'give boys black eyes' finally confessed that Alex had indeed accidentally slipped and in the process came into contact with Miss Fist-a-cuffs who punched him and told the teacher that he had hit her, failing to note both that she'd punched him to the teacher, sitter and daycare provider until this week. She says she was mad that he didn't say sorry for his accident, but gee at 29 if someone's immediate reaction to me slipping and falling, then punching me out and filing a lawsuit (or adult version of telling the teacher) I really don't think I would be too apt to say I was sorry either. What concerns me even more is that Alex is so beaten down by the school system and the not being a 'tattletale' that his kindergarten teacher forced on him that he feels that telling the whole truth will just be seen as a lie and just end him up in more trouble. I had to teach Alex something I never thought I'd have to, how to completely ignore someone. He's been told in the past to stay away from Miss Fist and apparently when he tells her he can't play with her she threatens to tell the teacher he's being mean and he's the one that usually ends up in trouble. I mean when I took him to our family doctor to have him initially assessed for ADD after 15 minutes of talking to him she asked me who this 'Miss Manipulative' is and if there was any way to separate them, he attention was perfectly fine but he was just too overloaded with her nonsense and couldn't cope. Sigh, this is only grade one... at least she can't enter Frenchi Immersion until grade 6 so they'll be in separate classrooms until at least high school :)
Stitching wise it's been a very slow week, this little drama has taken on a life of it's own and has been wearing me out. I have everything but the tree trunks now stitched on the bottom of the sock and have started the sheep at the top. I'm really hoping to get some additional stitching in this weekend but it looks like it'll probably be another busy one, sigh... Gym and swim to go to , groceries to pick up, birthday presents to pick out...I may just skip the insane lines for Body Pump Sunday and go straight to Body Combat which doesn't require people to be there 20 minutes in advance. I really hate Januaries at the gym!
Stitching wise it's been a very slow week, this little drama has taken on a life of it's own and has been wearing me out. I have everything but the tree trunks now stitched on the bottom of the sock and have started the sheep at the top. I'm really hoping to get some additional stitching in this weekend but it looks like it'll probably be another busy one, sigh... Gym and swim to go to , groceries to pick up, birthday presents to pick out...I may just skip the insane lines for Body Pump Sunday and go straight to Body Combat which doesn't require people to be there 20 minutes in advance. I really hate Januaries at the gym!
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Let it Snow!
Yay, my stocking saw the light of day again :) It didn't this weekend that's for certain. I was experiencing a bit of 'new game-itis'
Back to the weekend. Well after not having a winter since 2004 it finally arrived Friday. The drive to Eleni's going away lunch was interesting to say the least. We ended up downstairs in the booth section as the cook for upstairs couldn't make it in. Oh well, I still had my donair AND it was on special! On the way back to work I deemed it a necessary day to splurge on the parking lot instead of heading to the parking lot, trudging through over a foot of snow to work and back and cleaning off the van again. Of course this wasn't without incident ;) This building has automated parking. Needless to say I was a bit worried when the power started to flicker 5 minutes before I was supposed to go and the ticket machine is electronic! In this state of panic I managed to leave my cross stitch bag at the office, noticing the second I approved the transaction so I had 10 minutes to get to the 5th floor and back down, start the van and get to the gate. No pressure or anything ;)
The boys were out shovelling and playing in the snow when I arrived so I could make it partially in the driveway. Alex and I geared up and headed out to our sliding hill to beat it down. After we were thoroughly soaked we trudged back to the house threw all of our stuff in the dryer and made some tacos :)
We woke up to a winter wonderland. I wanted to go sliding but I only got one foot out the door before the wind made me think otherwise. Matt and I cleaned a path for the van so I could take Alex to gym and swim and he didn't disappoint! My timid little guy from September was gone and he was swimming back and forth across the pool, even once in the deep end. He was even jumping off the blocks. Normally I stitch during lessons as he was in the shallow end but this was just too darn interesting ;) He was also a very good helper when we went grocery shopping after so I treated him to a bagel. Plain with butter he requested. Of course by the time we left he was hooked on my onion bagel with light vegetable cream cheese.
Monday the old Caris crew (Eleni and Angela) met at the house to stitch. Alex was very excited that a pregnant lady was coming to the house. It's so neat seeing everyone's progress. I pulled out my stocking and finished the row of hearts on the bottom. I was soo excited to hear there was going to be a floss run. I may just start Alex's stocking sooner than expected. Where I want to make a substantial cut in our debt this year having a stocking that can be finished without costing alot of money is VERY appealing, especially considering that I have about three or more pieces waiting to be framed already! I wonder if I can convince Matt that framing money makes a good gift?? :)
Back to the weekend. Well after not having a winter since 2004 it finally arrived Friday. The drive to Eleni's going away lunch was interesting to say the least. We ended up downstairs in the booth section as the cook for upstairs couldn't make it in. Oh well, I still had my donair AND it was on special! On the way back to work I deemed it a necessary day to splurge on the parking lot instead of heading to the parking lot, trudging through over a foot of snow to work and back and cleaning off the van again. Of course this wasn't without incident ;) This building has automated parking. Needless to say I was a bit worried when the power started to flicker 5 minutes before I was supposed to go and the ticket machine is electronic! In this state of panic I managed to leave my cross stitch bag at the office, noticing the second I approved the transaction so I had 10 minutes to get to the 5th floor and back down, start the van and get to the gate. No pressure or anything ;)
The boys were out shovelling and playing in the snow when I arrived so I could make it partially in the driveway. Alex and I geared up and headed out to our sliding hill to beat it down. After we were thoroughly soaked we trudged back to the house threw all of our stuff in the dryer and made some tacos :)
We woke up to a winter wonderland. I wanted to go sliding but I only got one foot out the door before the wind made me think otherwise. Matt and I cleaned a path for the van so I could take Alex to gym and swim and he didn't disappoint! My timid little guy from September was gone and he was swimming back and forth across the pool, even once in the deep end. He was even jumping off the blocks. Normally I stitch during lessons as he was in the shallow end but this was just too darn interesting ;) He was also a very good helper when we went grocery shopping after so I treated him to a bagel. Plain with butter he requested. Of course by the time we left he was hooked on my onion bagel with light vegetable cream cheese.
Monday the old Caris crew (Eleni and Angela) met at the house to stitch. Alex was very excited that a pregnant lady was coming to the house. It's so neat seeing everyone's progress. I pulled out my stocking and finished the row of hearts on the bottom. I was soo excited to hear there was going to be a floss run. I may just start Alex's stocking sooner than expected. Where I want to make a substantial cut in our debt this year having a stocking that can be finished without costing alot of money is VERY appealing, especially considering that I have about three or more pieces waiting to be framed already! I wonder if I can convince Matt that framing money makes a good gift?? :)
Friday, January 19, 2007
Black Eyes, Black Ice And Trying To Get In The Black
Yesterday started as a nice day but it was just one of those days that spiralled down hill at a rapid velocity. I made progress on my stocking at lunch, and had taken off another 2 lbs that I'd gained over the holidays. Then I picked Alex up...
I saw him playing with his little friends and I noticed his eye looked puffy. I just thought he must have had a late bedtime or something where I wasn't there to be mean mom and send him for 8 o'clock. When I got him to the van I got a good look at it, bruises! Now I treat a 6 year old's story with a grain of salt, I obviously wasn't there, according to him he slipped on some ice, banged heads with 'lucifer-a incarnate' from last year and before she ran to the teacher she punched him in the eye and he, and only he was the one who got in trouble. I don't even came if his end of the story wasn't as innocent, there's a whole lof of physical proof that it was more than a one sided battle. Needless to say I'll be making a phone call to the school when it's next in session (today's a storm day). Then Beaver's rescheduled their sleepover. Alex was disappointed and me too! I was looking forward to having the house to myself for a night ;)
For some ODD reason by the time the rage started to pass the Canadian HBP popped into my head, and I realized that when I switched jobs last year going from an auto RRSP deduction to a pension plan that my retirement savings now don't count towards said plan. For those unfamiliar with it, you can deduct from your RRSP's without penalty to put a downpayment on your first home, and repay that amount over 15 years. If you do not make your minimum payment after your second year (I forgot there was this clause, so my contribution last year reduced it anyway), you must count the difference as income. I was sooo mad at myself for not realizing this! Thankfully you can contribute the first three months of the year to it. When one is trying to get back in the black, it was kind of a mini set back. I'm proud of how much better budgetted I've become and seeing my personal debt load go down, but still, it killed the pat on the back feeling for sure.
Considering all of this I decided not to stitch last night for fear I'd screw something up! Instead I 'computed' ;)
Thank goodness Wednesday was stitchy night. We braved the cold and headed to Sobey's. It was a smaller crowd than usual but relaxing none the less. Faith Ann's Three Kings is gorgeous and Cathey's 'dog peeing on snowman' is a hoot :) It was nice to just escape. Faith Ann and I held the fort until closing as goodness only knows how much uninterrupted stitching time one can get at home ;) As you could see from the other week the stocking is really coming along. I got more stitched on it yesterday at lunch and it looks finishable for the weekend, especially considering the weather is supposed to be pretty yucky!
Today's highlight: Eleni's going away lunch!! Best wishes on her future endeavor ;)
I saw him playing with his little friends and I noticed his eye looked puffy. I just thought he must have had a late bedtime or something where I wasn't there to be mean mom and send him for 8 o'clock. When I got him to the van I got a good look at it, bruises! Now I treat a 6 year old's story with a grain of salt, I obviously wasn't there, according to him he slipped on some ice, banged heads with 'lucifer-a incarnate' from last year and before she ran to the teacher she punched him in the eye and he, and only he was the one who got in trouble. I don't even came if his end of the story wasn't as innocent, there's a whole lof of physical proof that it was more than a one sided battle. Needless to say I'll be making a phone call to the school when it's next in session (today's a storm day). Then Beaver's rescheduled their sleepover. Alex was disappointed and me too! I was looking forward to having the house to myself for a night ;)
For some ODD reason by the time the rage started to pass the Canadian HBP popped into my head, and I realized that when I switched jobs last year going from an auto RRSP deduction to a pension plan that my retirement savings now don't count towards said plan. For those unfamiliar with it, you can deduct from your RRSP's without penalty to put a downpayment on your first home, and repay that amount over 15 years. If you do not make your minimum payment after your second year (I forgot there was this clause, so my contribution last year reduced it anyway), you must count the difference as income. I was sooo mad at myself for not realizing this! Thankfully you can contribute the first three months of the year to it. When one is trying to get back in the black, it was kind of a mini set back. I'm proud of how much better budgetted I've become and seeing my personal debt load go down, but still, it killed the pat on the back feeling for sure.
Considering all of this I decided not to stitch last night for fear I'd screw something up! Instead I 'computed' ;)
Thank goodness Wednesday was stitchy night. We braved the cold and headed to Sobey's. It was a smaller crowd than usual but relaxing none the less. Faith Ann's Three Kings is gorgeous and Cathey's 'dog peeing on snowman' is a hoot :) It was nice to just escape. Faith Ann and I held the fort until closing as goodness only knows how much uninterrupted stitching time one can get at home ;) As you could see from the other week the stocking is really coming along. I got more stitched on it yesterday at lunch and it looks finishable for the weekend, especially considering the weather is supposed to be pretty yucky!
Today's highlight: Eleni's going away lunch!! Best wishes on her future endeavor ;)
Wednesday, January 17, 2007
First Friends That Count Night of the Year :)
Woo hoo! It's stitchy night. My bags are packed and I'm ready to go conquer more of the stocking. Considering I've only had a small amount of time to work on it this week, there's actually quite a bit of progress since my last post :) The little village of houses is just about done, the row underneath it is done and the row of trees is started woo hoo!
It's a good night to get out of the house. We've been looking at things that need to be done before painting the craft room. Somewhere the fact that I've changed priorities on one particular item and don't want or need it was completely lost in translation to the individual who does the 'man talk'. The electrician was in last night to give a quote, something I was very scared about. We had my friend's carpenter husband look at it and when he said, the electrician will give you a quote, it won't be in the thousands, more like hundreds, that initial 'renovations never go under budget' creeped in my head. Seriously my Christmas gift was to make the room NICE for me, not to spend alot of money on. Removing the outlet from the quote knocks the hours down, materials down and really makes the other work quite cheap. Patching where some access points need to go, not fun but much better than the mess the outlet would make. Considering it was simply to plug in a 9 year old stereo it really isn't necessary.
It's been snowing and really cold here. The drive into work was a mess yesterday and definitely NOT good for my nerves. Ice = bad, not able to see the lines on top of that = even worse! Today, it's just cold. My eyelashes were starting to freeze together on the brief one block walk from the parking lot to the office. No fun at all!!
So after a not so fun week I'm definitely ready for some unwinding tonight :)
It's a good night to get out of the house. We've been looking at things that need to be done before painting the craft room. Somewhere the fact that I've changed priorities on one particular item and don't want or need it was completely lost in translation to the individual who does the 'man talk'. The electrician was in last night to give a quote, something I was very scared about. We had my friend's carpenter husband look at it and when he said, the electrician will give you a quote, it won't be in the thousands, more like hundreds, that initial 'renovations never go under budget' creeped in my head. Seriously my Christmas gift was to make the room NICE for me, not to spend alot of money on. Removing the outlet from the quote knocks the hours down, materials down and really makes the other work quite cheap. Patching where some access points need to go, not fun but much better than the mess the outlet would make. Considering it was simply to plug in a 9 year old stereo it really isn't necessary.
It's been snowing and really cold here. The drive into work was a mess yesterday and definitely NOT good for my nerves. Ice = bad, not able to see the lines on top of that = even worse! Today, it's just cold. My eyelashes were starting to freeze together on the brief one block walk from the parking lot to the office. No fun at all!!
So after a not so fun week I'm definitely ready for some unwinding tonight :)
Sunday, January 14, 2007
Woot! Stitching Progress
So, as promised although slightly late here's my stocking to date:
This weekend has been purposely quiet. We'd thought of making a trip to Matt's parents but he's just too tired from his job this week to travel. The only thing I've done besides my exercise classes and groceries is sleep and play with Alex. I'm hoping to get a little more done on her today before BodyPump and BodyCombat, but I'm also hoping to get the veggies chopped for this weeks dinners so who knows. Next weekend will be busy with a beaver sleepover, gym and swim starting back up and Matt taking a drywall ceiling course, woot! Ok, maybe not woot to the insanity which will ensue, but woot to the fact that the purpose of going to that course is to complete my craft room :)
On The Soapbox
*Highly opinionated, slightly religiously tied entry. If this isn't for you visit back in the afternoon for a stitching update*
I've had a number of questions on what this woman that ticks me off so badly does for a living. So, I'm answering it and giving my reasons. Normally, I'm not a judgemental person and am ok with people not sharing my opinion on any matter. I love God, but have friends that are atheists, buddists, agnostic, and probably others (no scientologists yet :P). Freedom of speech is a privelege most countries don't have and we're very fortunate in Canada to be able to express our opinions. I don't (or try not to) judge people on their opinions or what they have done, it's what they continue to do that irks me.
So back to the woman I cannot stand, her occupation: 'clinic' worker.
I have a 6 year old son and got married when he was 5 so obviously their 'services' aren't for me. But here is the foundation of why I feel this way:
I've had a number of questions on what this woman that ticks me off so badly does for a living. So, I'm answering it and giving my reasons. Normally, I'm not a judgemental person and am ok with people not sharing my opinion on any matter. I love God, but have friends that are atheists, buddists, agnostic, and probably others (no scientologists yet :P). Freedom of speech is a privelege most countries don't have and we're very fortunate in Canada to be able to express our opinions. I don't (or try not to) judge people on their opinions or what they have done, it's what they continue to do that irks me.
So back to the woman I cannot stand, her occupation: 'clinic' worker.
I have a 6 year old son and got married when he was 5 so obviously their 'services' aren't for me. But here is the foundation of why I feel this way:
Said clinic is set up in the backyard, literally of my son's future middle school. What's next, a methadone clinic beside his elementary school?? Seriously, we need better zoning around our children's places of education
The older I get the closer to home fertility struggles get. I watch extraordinary people attempt to start families and sympathize with their frustrations which are truly heartbreaking. I watch people spend thousads of dollars attempting to adopt out of country and struggle with invitro. It seems like a complete and total waste of life. For once instead of graphic pictures of what the procedure does I'd rather see the beautiful people I know/or of who'd love to be fortunate enough to have a child in their lives. It's just waste.
One of our offices floors is shared with ob/gyn's. I go to work early, I've seen countless girls go in, boyfriends in tow and days later I see them in the bathrooms/elevators after their post checkup alone and distraught. I honestly feel sorry for them. I've had friends that do not share my side of the fence, I can't name one of them that saved a relationship going this route. Men get off easy, when it comes down to it, they really didn't make that decision now did they?? Unexpected pregnancies are scary, I know, top that off with crazy hormones and I feel that our vulnerability is exploited.
Now I could go into all of the pro-life/pro-choice points, each side has it's valid arguments in a neutral forum. These are just my personal points for sitting on my side of the fence. My purpose is not to offend, just to explain why on top of not knowing just what the future holds for the size of our family and dealing on a daily basis that I feel incomplete without another child, that seeing this woman touches that very nerve.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Programming
Tuesday was Alex's first day back at school and my goodness, his book bag was full of goodies. One little girl made him up a gift bag with a decorated candy cane AND a 5$ book of Tim Horton's money and she's not even in his class, strange. I double checked the tag and it said Alex on it, guess he has a new admirer. There were also Christmas cards and a little pack of snowman soup from his teacher in his bookbag, impressive.
I worked on my stocking after Alex went to bed, he was quite zonked after a hard days work, and getting used to sleeping in. We're quite fortunate, he's very good at playing by himself and grabbing cheerios or a nutrigrain instead of getting us up (not that we ask or expect him to). It's coming along quite nicely, if only I could locate the perle cottons that came in during the Christmas rush :(
Wednesday was my first trip back to Newbody in AGES. The fall was just too hectic. It was nice to be back though. Very crowded but nice. The new instructor was fabulous, however one attendee that grates at every single ounce of my moral fibre showed up beside me. I really need to find a t-shirt that might make her clue in that she should find another spot. I'm sure she's a very nice woman, I just can't get over what she does for a living and although it sounds junior high 'ish, I just want MY space. The evening went by in a blur between beavers, a little stitching and a little computer and it was bedtime for me. We also got a notice that there's a beaver's sleep over next week, one of us won't be getting much sleep next Friday night.
Hopefully I'll get a chance to snag some progress pics tonight ;)
I worked on my stocking after Alex went to bed, he was quite zonked after a hard days work, and getting used to sleeping in. We're quite fortunate, he's very good at playing by himself and grabbing cheerios or a nutrigrain instead of getting us up (not that we ask or expect him to). It's coming along quite nicely, if only I could locate the perle cottons that came in during the Christmas rush :(
Wednesday was my first trip back to Newbody in AGES. The fall was just too hectic. It was nice to be back though. Very crowded but nice. The new instructor was fabulous, however one attendee that grates at every single ounce of my moral fibre showed up beside me. I really need to find a t-shirt that might make her clue in that she should find another spot. I'm sure she's a very nice woman, I just can't get over what she does for a living and although it sounds junior high 'ish, I just want MY space. The evening went by in a blur between beavers, a little stitching and a little computer and it was bedtime for me. We also got a notice that there's a beaver's sleep over next week, one of us won't be getting much sleep next Friday night.
Hopefully I'll get a chance to snag some progress pics tonight ;)
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
25 Signs You've Grown Up
1. Your houseplants are alive, and you can't smoke any of them.
2. Having sex in a twin bed is out of the question.
3. You keep more food than beer in the fridge.
4. 6:00 AM is when you get up, not when you go to bed.
5. You hear your favorite song in an elevator.
6. You watch the Weather Channel.
7. Your friends marry and divorce instead of "hook up" and "break up."
8. You go from 130 days of vacation time to 14.
9. Jeans and a sweater no longer qualify as "dressed up."
10. You're the one calling the police because those %&@# kids next door won't turn down the stereo.
11. Older relatives feel comfortable telling sex jokes around you.
12. You don't know what time Taco Bell closes anymore.
13. Your car insurance goes down and your car payments go up.
14. You feed your dog Science Diet instead of McDonald's leftovers.
15. Sleeping on the couch makes your back hurt.
16. You take naps.
17. Dinner and a movie is the whole date instead of the beginning of one.
18. Eating a basket of chicken wings at 3 AM would severely upset, rather than settle, your stomach.
19. You go to the drug store for ibuprofen and antacid, not condoms and pregnancy tests.
20. A $4.00 bottle of wine is no longer "pretty good crap."
21. You actually eat breakfast food at breakfast time.
22. "I just can't drink the way I used to" replaces "I'm never going to drink that much again."
23. 90% of the time you spend in front of a computer is for real work.
24. You drink at home to save money before going to a bar.
25. When you find out your friend is pregnant you congratulate them instead of asking, "Oh crap what the hell happened?"
Bonus:
26: You read this entire list looking desperately for one sign that doesn't apply to you and can't find one to save your sorry old ass. Then you forward it to a bunch of old friends 'cause you know they'll enjoy it & do.
And now you know why I am forwarding this to you...
Well...there goes my high from being mistaken for a student! :(
2. Having sex in a twin bed is out of the question.
3. You keep more food than beer in the fridge.
4. 6:00 AM is when you get up, not when you go to bed.
5. You hear your favorite song in an elevator.
6. You watch the Weather Channel.
7. Your friends marry and divorce instead of "hook up" and "break up."
8. You go from 130 days of vacation time to 14.
9. Jeans and a sweater no longer qualify as "dressed up."
10. You're the one calling the police because those %&@# kids next door won't turn down the stereo.
11. Older relatives feel comfortable telling sex jokes around you.
12. You don't know what time Taco Bell closes anymore.
13. Your car insurance goes down and your car payments go up.
14. You feed your dog Science Diet instead of McDonald's leftovers.
15. Sleeping on the couch makes your back hurt.
16. You take naps.
17. Dinner and a movie is the whole date instead of the beginning of one.
18. Eating a basket of chicken wings at 3 AM would severely upset, rather than settle, your stomach.
19. You go to the drug store for ibuprofen and antacid, not condoms and pregnancy tests.
20. A $4.00 bottle of wine is no longer "pretty good crap."
21. You actually eat breakfast food at breakfast time.
22. "I just can't drink the way I used to" replaces "I'm never going to drink that much again."
23. 90% of the time you spend in front of a computer is for real work.
24. You drink at home to save money before going to a bar.
25. When you find out your friend is pregnant you congratulate them instead of asking, "Oh crap what the hell happened?"
Bonus:
26: You read this entire list looking desperately for one sign that doesn't apply to you and can't find one to save your sorry old ass. Then you forward it to a bunch of old friends 'cause you know they'll enjoy it & do.
And now you know why I am forwarding this to you...
Well...there goes my high from being mistaken for a student! :(
Sunday, January 07, 2007
I'm A Student
Not! But someone thought I looked young enough to be one today :) Where I'm turning 30 this year I had perma-grin after that. Mind you I'd just come from a two hour workout at the gym and was still in my yoga pants with my Roots backpack slung over my shoulder and white Columbia coat on instead of my nice black wool one but still, I don't feel like I look young enough for that ;) I should have picked the couple things I wanted up before class but was running a little behind and when I got back I think half the university students arrived back in town and had literally taken over the Superstore! I've never seen so many carts of Kraft Dinner and toilet paper EVER!
We had a fairly quiet weekend. One can't do much when they're tied up taking all of the Christmas decorations down. The last note of business is disassembling the mini tree which may or may not get done tonight. I did start reading The Nanny Diaries this weekend where I couldn't locate the book I had been reading and I did a little stitching on Teri's stocking (for me!!!). I can't wait to start back on the rotation this week. This weekend was off the rotation until the decorations came down as that's a major undertaking. It's amazing how much more room we have!!
Friday I had a really good mail day, something few and far between since I started the 50 project challenge. My fabric arrived for the Marbek Nativity AND my fabric for Alex's stocking and perle cotton's for my stocking arrived. I was a good girl and waited on ordering the charm packs until they're actually ready to have them attached. Alex also decided on what stocking he wanted. I was hoping he'd choose either Harry or Reed's which he did, Harry's. I was kind of looking forward to getting to use the hand dyed perle's again but when I saw how little checkering was in Harry's I was pretty excited. I also held off telling him until after he decided that Faith Ann's little guy also had Harry. Alex was pretty excited when he heard that they were both the same but I'm glad he made his own decision first :)
Tonight we're going to have a little date night at home, Smallville is unfortunately a rerun on ASN (why can't we have the CW so I can watch the new one) and Desperate Housewives is on later than I usually stay up so that's not in the way of renting a movie for 8 pm :) Movie and stitching, woot!! :)
We had a fairly quiet weekend. One can't do much when they're tied up taking all of the Christmas decorations down. The last note of business is disassembling the mini tree which may or may not get done tonight. I did start reading The Nanny Diaries this weekend where I couldn't locate the book I had been reading and I did a little stitching on Teri's stocking (for me!!!). I can't wait to start back on the rotation this week. This weekend was off the rotation until the decorations came down as that's a major undertaking. It's amazing how much more room we have!!
Friday I had a really good mail day, something few and far between since I started the 50 project challenge. My fabric arrived for the Marbek Nativity AND my fabric for Alex's stocking and perle cotton's for my stocking arrived. I was a good girl and waited on ordering the charm packs until they're actually ready to have them attached. Alex also decided on what stocking he wanted. I was hoping he'd choose either Harry or Reed's which he did, Harry's. I was kind of looking forward to getting to use the hand dyed perle's again but when I saw how little checkering was in Harry's I was pretty excited. I also held off telling him until after he decided that Faith Ann's little guy also had Harry. Alex was pretty excited when he heard that they were both the same but I'm glad he made his own decision first :)
Tonight we're going to have a little date night at home, Smallville is unfortunately a rerun on ASN (why can't we have the CW so I can watch the new one) and Desperate Housewives is on later than I usually stay up so that's not in the way of renting a movie for 8 pm :) Movie and stitching, woot!! :)
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Happy Birthday...
Faith Ann!!!
Woot, I'm up to 14 projects done for the 50 project challenge. I conferred with the girls this afternoon and where I didn't attach the charm's onto Matt's stocking until after it wasn't done, then I forgot that I'd stitched Raise The Roof's Arm and a Leg and I finished stitching Alex's Lost Dragon Sampler during My Super Ex Girlfriend (which the boys rented, not owning up to that ;)). One line isn't perfectly centered but I must have Amish roots somewhere to blame that on, isn't there supposed to be one mistake in a sampler as only God can be perfect?? I'm anal but not THAT anal ;) Alex will be pretty pleased when his birthday rolls around, and yes I do realize that it's just under 6 months away. I hate deadlines!! He's wanted some dragons for his room and was super pleased with his "Good Knight, Sleep Tight" piece. I was a little choked up when he told me he loved all the pictures I'd made for him and that he liked them better than ones you buy in a store. We'll see if he still wants a 2 foot square Precious Moments Noah's Ark when he's 17 though...
Woot, I'm up to 14 projects done for the 50 project challenge. I conferred with the girls this afternoon and where I didn't attach the charm's onto Matt's stocking until after it wasn't done, then I forgot that I'd stitched Raise The Roof's Arm and a Leg and I finished stitching Alex's Lost Dragon Sampler during My Super Ex Girlfriend (which the boys rented, not owning up to that ;)). One line isn't perfectly centered but I must have Amish roots somewhere to blame that on, isn't there supposed to be one mistake in a sampler as only God can be perfect?? I'm anal but not THAT anal ;) Alex will be pretty pleased when his birthday rolls around, and yes I do realize that it's just under 6 months away. I hate deadlines!! He's wanted some dragons for his room and was super pleased with his "Good Knight, Sleep Tight" piece. I was a little choked up when he told me he loved all the pictures I'd made for him and that he liked them better than ones you buy in a store. We'll see if he still wants a 2 foot square Precious Moments Noah's Ark when he's 17 though...
Arm and A Leg - Raise The Roof
Lost Dragon Sampler - Dragon Dreams
Friday, January 05, 2007
On Twelth Day of Christmas
I'll hopefully move past the 12 projects completed to 13 on the 50 project challenge :)
Woot, only 38 more projects to finish before I can buy a pattern again. Although I think the 50 project challenge puts things more in prospective than anything. I just have one band of illustrative blackwork to do on Alex's Lost Dragon Sampler and that will bring the total to 13 :) Even with the tree coming down this weekend I think it's more than doable to expect that to be completed.
To date here are the 50 Project Challenge finishes since early October when I officially commited (I should have committed in September when I was mulling it over then I'd already be down to 37)
Lizzie Kate - Here Comes Santa Claus
Brittercup Designs - Christmas Puppy
Brittercup Designs - Christmas Kitty
Dragon Dreams - Trick Or Treat
Jeanette Douglas - Hope Needleroll for me
Jeanette Douglas - Hope Needleroll for exchange
Lizzie Kate - Dear Santa, We've Got Cookies
Told In A Garden - Voice Of The Shepherd
Dragon Dreams - Christmas Bunny ornament
Dragon Dreams - Santa's Unexpected Gift
Mill Hill - Mandolin Santa
Lizzie Kate - Tis The Season
If I ever mention organizing my cupboards again someone please restrain me ;) What an ordeal that was although I am quite pleased with the end effect. I can now find all of my food, grocery shop a bit more efficiently :) Interesting finds included:
3 bottles of apple cider vinegar
5 boxes of lasagna noodles
and finding out that my counter tops were manufactured 2 years after our house was built....interesting :)
I'm finally starting to feel better although Matt now has the cold. I made it to the gym yesterday and surprisingly it wasn't that busy. I always hate going in January when people are there to burn off some cookies and that's it.
This morning the roads were nasty with a capital N. Only after I got to work did I hear that there weren't any salt or sand trucks out and people were advised to stay home until 9, sheesh. Here I was at work by 7:45 :( The walk to work was even worse. Hopefully this will all be out of the system by tomorrow. Alex and I have an exciting little trip to market and the library planned ;)
Woot, only 38 more projects to finish before I can buy a pattern again. Although I think the 50 project challenge puts things more in prospective than anything. I just have one band of illustrative blackwork to do on Alex's Lost Dragon Sampler and that will bring the total to 13 :) Even with the tree coming down this weekend I think it's more than doable to expect that to be completed.
To date here are the 50 Project Challenge finishes since early October when I officially commited (I should have committed in September when I was mulling it over then I'd already be down to 37)
Lizzie Kate - Here Comes Santa Claus
Brittercup Designs - Christmas Puppy
Brittercup Designs - Christmas Kitty
Dragon Dreams - Trick Or Treat
Jeanette Douglas - Hope Needleroll for me
Jeanette Douglas - Hope Needleroll for exchange
Lizzie Kate - Dear Santa, We've Got Cookies
Told In A Garden - Voice Of The Shepherd
Dragon Dreams - Christmas Bunny ornament
Dragon Dreams - Santa's Unexpected Gift
Mill Hill - Mandolin Santa
Lizzie Kate - Tis The Season
If I ever mention organizing my cupboards again someone please restrain me ;) What an ordeal that was although I am quite pleased with the end effect. I can now find all of my food, grocery shop a bit more efficiently :) Interesting finds included:
3 bottles of apple cider vinegar
5 boxes of lasagna noodles
and finding out that my counter tops were manufactured 2 years after our house was built....interesting :)
I'm finally starting to feel better although Matt now has the cold. I made it to the gym yesterday and surprisingly it wasn't that busy. I always hate going in January when people are there to burn off some cookies and that's it.
This morning the roads were nasty with a capital N. Only after I got to work did I hear that there weren't any salt or sand trucks out and people were advised to stay home until 9, sheesh. Here I was at work by 7:45 :( The walk to work was even worse. Hopefully this will all be out of the system by tomorrow. Alex and I have an exciting little trip to market and the library planned ;)
Monday, January 01, 2007
First Finish of 2007
Ok...well technically it was finished before New Years, but the actual finishing wrapped up today. I apologize for the background that washes it out, the table is in use (more on that to follow). Presenting Deck The Halls by Dragon Dreams, featured in the Holiday edition of A Needle Pulling Thread 
New Year's Eve was pretty low key for us with both Matt and I battling colds. Not that we are ever up to anything overly exciting. Finding a sitter is too big a hassle and I kind of like spending it under the same roof as Alex, as I'm sure he WON'T want to be spending it with us in the next 10-12 years ;) Every year we let him stay up a little bit later than last and take part in a bit more of our little festivities. This was the first year we let him try the fondue. Not that he got to actually put things in the pot but he did get to assemble his fork and eat it when it was done. He also put a dent in some of the appetizers. After we went to bed we crashed on the couch with a beer and chips (and stitching ;)), turned on the CBC and mindlessly waited until 2007. We actually missed the countdown as one of the programs went until 12:07. Mind you I was only half awake as being reclined made drifting off easy on my sinuses ;) We're getting so old ;)
Today we didn't move too far from the living room. I'm actually starting to feel better. We casually ate appetizers on and off all day, watched some of our new movies (POTC Dead Man's Chest and Cars), Alex and Matt built two of the POTC Megablocks sets Alex received for Christmas and I even started tearing apart the kitchen. Out of all the things I try to hide in the house mess wise my cupboards have been number one since we moved in. When we moved to the house 2.5 years ago I had boxes labelled for what rooms they were supposed to go to, where were they when I finally finished packing/cleaning the little things at the apartment...All in the kitchen/dining room and for anyone that's been to our house they know it's the main artery (especially where we still need to fix the front doors handle ;)) Anyway, things got put away in a rush and combine that with poorly laid out cupboards (gorgeous on the outside but impractical until we put in some lazy susans) and you got the disaster that ours were. I have yet to look into a lazy susan but until then I'd like to scrub them down and at least group stuff in some logical fashion. Let's just say finding 3 bottles of apple cider vinegar really emphasises how disorganized they were ;) So if I meet any resolution in 2007 organizing those cupboards are priority 1!!
Now to finally get back to some stitching. I wonder if I can finish up Alex's Lost Dragon Sampler before I have to head back to work on Thursday??? :)
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