A little Break...

....so it's holiday time and i'll be taking a little Blog Break. Our family has lots of Christmas Festivities so we'll be on the move a bunch over the next week or so. I'll be back in full force real soon so i'll talk to ya in 2009!

"We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!"

The answers...

...so here are the answers to my little game of : NAME THAT CHRISTMAS CAROL!

1. White Christmas
2. Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire
3. All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth
4. O Holy Night
5. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
6. O Come, All Ye Faithful
7. Away in a Manger
8. Deck the Hall
9. Little Drummer Boy
10. We Three Kings
11. Silent Night
12. God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen
13. Santa Claus is Coming to Town
14. Let it Snow
15. Go, Tell It on the Mountain
16. Rudolph, the Red-nosed Reindeer
17. What Child is This?
18. Joy to the World
19. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
20. The Twelve Days of Christmas

"So this is Christmas, and what have you done...another year over, a new one just begun..." - Celine Dion (one of my Favs!)

One more post today...

...so I'm reading the online version of the local newspaper and see this article:
"Exposition de creches in West Pubnico Dec. 14" Please excuse the incorrect french spelling as my computer refuses to let me put accents on my letters. Anyways, here's a little blurb from the article:

"Close to 50 crèches will be on display on Dec. 14 as part of a fundraising event organized by the West Pubnico Acadian Historical Society of West Pubnico. To mark the "Spirit of Christmas", crèches with unique history, special significance, and particular built, or from other countries will be on display in the Centre de Pombcoup /Fire Hall in West Pubnico. "
Reference: http://www.novanewsnow.com/article-281799-Exposition-de-creches-in-West-Pubnico-Dec-14.html

Ok here's why I write this...a Creche in English is a Nativity Scene...so seems to me in an English article you would put Nativity Scene, known as a Creche in French or something like that. To someone who is English, do you really think they would be excited to see a creche? What the heck is a creche? Let's use another word...let's say a shoe store was having a sale....would the article say: Please come see our wide selection of Souliers, Bottes and Espadrilles? No they would say Shoes, Boots and Sneakers!

Just seems odd to me...or maybe I'm too picky?!

"I did it, Myyyyyyyyyyyyyyy Way" - Frank Sinatra

A game...

...so here's a little game for all of you. It's called: GUESS THAT CHRISTMAS CAROL! I'll post the hints today and then the answers tomorrow...have fun! Oh and this wasn't made up by me, it was created by a Mary Campbell.

1. Bleached Yule
2. Castaneous-colored Seed Vesicated in a Conflagration
3. Singular Yearning for the Twin Anterior Incisors
4. Righteous Darkness
5. Arrival Time2400 hrs - WeatherCloudless
6. Loyal Followers Advance
7. Far Off in a Feeder
8. Array the Corridor
9. Bantam Male Percussionist
10. Monarchial Triad
11. Nocturnal Noiselessness
12. Jehovah Deactivate Blithe Chevaliers
13. Red Man En Route to Borough
14. Frozen Precipitation Commence
15. Proceed and Enlighten on the Pinnacle
16. The Quadruped with the Vermillion Probiscis
17. Query Regarding Identity of Descendant
18. Delight for this Planet
19. Give Attention to the Melodious Celestial Beings
20. The Dozen Festive 24 Hour Intervals

Why do I even bother...

...so I went to Timmies this morning. This time I went to the one up town as the drive-thru didn't seem to busy and it's a little bit closer from my office. Anyways, I pull in and start driving up the parking lot/drive-thru lane and get to the corner by the garbage bins and the car ahead of me stops. It's like he wasn't paying attention so I cut him some slack, thinking he'd notice the cars in front of him moving further and further away and getting closer to the order box...but no, this guy just sits there. Next thing you know there's one car length between him and the other cars...then another car length...then a third car length! At this point I was getting a little annoyed and I assume the people behind me too as there were 4 cars there just shrugging their shoulders. I honked my horn thinking he'd get the hint to drive up closer, but no, no response from the older man...so I honk again...still nothing. I started to worry that he had a heart attack or something at the wheel so I was just about to get out and see if he was ok when the very last car of the line up behind me speeds up and cut in front of this man and all of us! I was WILD! How dare she...clearly this man had an issue...and we all want coffee too so what makes her so important? You can just imagine how much my arms were up in the air and pointing at that lady....I just couldn't believe it...I had to get to work too, not just her...and I'm sure the people behind us had places to be. Anyways, once the older man saw that car cut in front of him he FINALLY moved forward. Now the whole time I'm in line I'm pissed because that lady was now getting her coffee before all of us and that's just rude and unfair! Good thing it wasn't "Roll up the Rim" time cause that could of made the difference between me winning a donut or nothing. Geesh! I do admit, I was getting a little impatient with the older man in front of me, but I would have never cut in front of him...I was more concerned about his health. SO here we go again, Drive-thru rage...I'd done so well too...ARG....I guess I should just avoid that place all together...too much stress this early in the morning.

"Shut up and drive..." - Rhianna

Helping out...

...so Saturday night we were headed over to Preggo#2's house for a yummy supper. On the way there we saw lots of people on the side of the road...kinda looked like they were bird watching. That was fine till we saw this other guy picking up bottles from the ditch. I first thought, oh how nice of him to clean up...I guess I thought nice things to soon cause suddenly he started biffing the empties deeper in the woods! What's up with that?? Here he was, cleaning the ditch to dirty the Forest...not bright...

"Ooh this could get messy, But you don't seem to mind..." - Alanis Morissette

Boy our Government is funny...

...so Parliament is closing down till late January due to all this commotion. There's an article about this on the Globeandmail.com and as I read through it I got to this part and stopped:

"Mr. Harper, who was forced to cancel an afternoon appearance in Woodstock, Ont., arrived in a motorcade after traveling literally across the street from his official residence, 24 Sussex Drive. "

Seriously??? Motorcade??! Didn't someone give him the memo that we're in Canada he probably could have made it across the street all by himself. Bring your team with you and walk as a group...you seem to have nice scarfs and gloves in all your outdoor interview pics...find a matching hat and get on out the door. Walking is good for your health Mr. Prime Minister. Motorcade...my goodness...WALK...trot....jog...use a Golf Cart... he probably exerted more energy getting in and out of his motorcade then he would have using any of the methods I've mentioned.

Another day of putting taxpayers money to good use...
"Dr. Mr President, come take a walk with me..." - Pink

Now for a lighter topic...

...so during my Pre Natal appointment I had to have a Pap Test done. Here's the thing...what is the proper Pap Test Etiquette?

Do you leave your socks on or off? I left mine on as my feet are always cold. I then scooted down and the doc sat on his stool and got stuff ready. I find myself opening my legs, then when he turns his head I close my legs....this goes on and on till it's done so basically I'm doing the air thigh master the entire Pap Test. Am I supposed to stay there with my legs open the whole time? And another questions...legs all the way apart or only some of the way apart...what's right? Do you talk to the doc while he/she is doing the test? Having it quiet is uncomfortable, but having a conversation with someone who is talking to your whooo hooo is a little odd too. They give you a blanket to put over yourself if you want...do you use it? Really what is the point....the area that is the most private is right there in the open with a spotlight on it so what makes the difference if my gut is too...she/he can't see that...so do they prefer you do? I don't know!! It's nerve wrecking! Oprah has shows on all kinds of topics so I vote she has one on Pap Tests. I hope I'm not the only one who wonders....am I a weirdo that worries too much over ridiculous things...please tell me I'm not alone.

"These are just a few questions I have..." - Clay Walker

"Just another day in Paradise..."

...so now our own Government is following the 2008 theme of Greed. The Bloc Quebecois Leader, the NDP Leader and the Liberal Leader have decided to join forces and basically take over the government as together they have more seats than the Conservatives. There's soooooo much wrong with this. For one we live in a Democratic Society where we vote and as a group decide what happens in our country. These three greedy men can't decide for the rest of the us whats best for the country. If this goes through, we will be moving towards a communist society where the government decides everything for the people...what toilet to buy, what plant to put in your garden, how many kids you have...this is not what Canada stands for. What on earth are they thinking? They growl and complain that no one votes...well we sure as heck ain't gonna vote now if what we decided can be overturned by these three greedy men. I'm not saying the Conservative Party has done everything right as there is much that has gone on that I don't agree with...but it's the principle. We have rights, as Canadians, and to have them taken away is taking one step backwards for all mankind...it can't happen...they have to be stopped...this is absolutely ridiculous!

"Oh, think twice, it's just another day for you and me in Paradise..." - Phil Colins

It's in the water...

...so now I have two new pregnant friends! Very exciting stuff! My Chatty Friend and Colcol are both preggo and due about the same time, early August I believe. I went to see the doc this morning and he gave me a new due date of June 27, 2009. He checked me out and told me everything seemed normal so that was a relief. This pregnancy started on the wrong foot so I've been worried lately...now I feel much better.

You know what else is in the water? Lobsters....yup....they're crawling around waiting to be caught, but no one is gonna catch them today. The Lobster Fisherman have decided to go on Strike as they are demanding a better price than the $3/lbs ish they've been offered. I'm glad they got together as a group to something, now let's hope they all stick to the plan. I realize some people say "booo hooo fisherman...now they can't buy a new truck, wheeler, mansion, winter vacay down South, etc..." but in reality not everyone lives that way. I've been down South once and it was for our Honeymoon. I own a 30 year old house and really am just living like everyone else. I know that in 6 months these men make what most make after 12 months of working, but because they make what they make, the local businesses make money. Those local business people are not fisherman, they are the restaurants, the stationary stores, the Quicky Marts, the Craft Stores, etc... Without the Fisherman, these stores would have a hard time, not to mention the big Car Dealerships, the Large Chain Grocery Stores, etc... I just want everyone to make a fair buck. The thing with this situation is that the large Lobster Buyers are selling lobsters in stores at $9.00/lbs and $12.00/lbs....so why are the fisherman only getting $3.00/lbs? That makes no sense. They're still making money at a larger margin than they used to, in my opinion....what happened to everyone making a good living? The whole world economy has gone to crap for one reason and one reason only...GREED.

Here's an few examples of Greed in the US. The CEO of a company that was going under, who only had been in that position for 3 weeks, received a salary of $11 Million. They were asking the government for bailout money...people were losing their jobs and their shirts but yet they found a way to pay the CEO who drove the company in the ground $11 Million...craziness. Adding fuel to the fire, the CEO and his management team went on a "retreat" while the government bailed them out....take a guess where...nope not their homes or vacation cottages....down South! They racked up a bill of over $500,000 in resort fees, spa treatments, meals/alcohol and golf....what a hard life. Here's another one....The CEO's of a large automaking firm flew to Washington DC in their private jets in order to ask for some funding. Yes...private jets. So again, people were losing everything, but these guys couldn't have the decency to fly in an economy seat like the rest of the world...nope, private jets and champagne made more sense to them in this situation. I think they're missing a few screws up there. What is even more funny about this story is that the day after this all came to light in the media, this automaking firm made an announcement.....you guessed it, they were in such a poor state that they were grounding 2 out of 5 private jets! Oh thank you Mr. CEO...now you only have 3 choices for your planes rides instead of 5...boo hoo. See one problem with grounding all of their planes is the CEO. Apparently he lives in another state and commutes via private jet from work to home every weekend. It, apparently, isn't convenient for him and his family to move to where he works so flying in a luxury plane is the only option to make this work. These are just a couple stories...there are millions more.

See, so Greed has been the theme of 2008 and I strongly feel that this fisheries problem is the same.

"A penny for your thoughts....a quarter for your call..." - this is a country song and I can't find the artist. They should actually remake the song in the 2008 version..."A hundred for your thoughts...a million and a half for your call..."

Mat pants...

...so I was in meetings yesterday up the Valley way. I wore my new Maternity Pants that are one size too big. I bought them this way so that as I grow more and more I won't have to buy new pants...that's the Financial Planner in me...can't help it. Anyways, I wore my new dressy pant and the top is made of about the same material as Panty hose. They're real stretchy, but really thin...works well. Anyways, about mid way through the morning I felt all that water I drank was getting to me so I got up and went to the bathroom. I grabbed the side of my huge pants and yanked down and went to sit, only to sit right on the Panty Hose part of my pants. I got up again and searched for the top, only to find it wedged under my bra....STILL! I yank and pull, all the while doing the "hold it in" dance, until I finally get them down. These pants have the most elastic top part and I can almost pull them up over my face! It's crazy. I've never had such difficulty with pants that don't have buttons or zippers in my life. The stretchy part covers my whole back too so basically I have built in long johns till I start really showing. Pretty cool, eh!

The other night I hosted Trivia. We had fun and some of the questions were hard...others not so much. I could see the frustration on their faces when they knew they should know the answers, but were just having a moment of temporary amnesia. For example, a question I asked was: Name the colors of the rainbow in order starting with Red. hehehe...it was funny to see them try to remember the little trick of Roy G Biv...I'll let you figure out what that all stands for. I knew they knew the answer...just sometimes it's hard when you're put on the spot.

That reminds me of a video I saw on You Tube of the Miss Teen USA Pageant last year. This girl clearly had a moment of...well, you'll see....hehehehe

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WALIARHHLII

"Don't let me be the last to know..." - Britney Spears

Tonight...

...so I'm thinking the little one is a little demanding. Tonight he looked at me, pointed to the floor and yelled "SIT!". Apparently that was my queue to sit and play with him and all his trucks. When I didn't he threw a temper tantrum, pointed and rammed his finger on the floor in front of his toy box and screams "SIT MAMA!" with tears rolling down his face. So, of course, I comforted him and sat. After that he refused to share his toys and when he'd break his little bridge he'd haul my hand over to it to fix it. I'm feeling like I'm being bullied by my own child.... he's not even two yet...this isn't good...hubby and I have some work to do.

"Shut up and Drive..." - Rhianna

Monday...

...so I have the day off today. Things started off great as the little only woke up at 7:30! That's sleeping in at our house so I was real happy about that. We then got up and played a little and I had this bright idea to start a fire. The floors were a little cold so a small fire in the wood stove would do the trick...or so I thought. Well, I start it and the smoke is just filling the house up. No matter what way I turn the draft thing on the pipe, the smoke just kept coming in. It was bad enough that the smoke detectors were going off. Now I'm running around trying to stop the smoke, block every vent to upstairs and stop the darn detectors from going off! The little one was at the top of the stairs yelling "Uh Oh Mama...noise...uh oh..." as if I couldn't hear it myself. After frigging with the stove for 15 minutes I finally got it to stop...now the house is completely filled with smoke and my plan to warm the house completely backfired as I had every window we own wide open to get some air. I make a great housewife!

Before lunch I decided to get a few groceries in town. I usually go to Sobeys, but this time I felt like hitting up the Superstore. Now I know why I don't go there. I love their clothes and the fresh cut fruit and salads, but their grocery bags are the pits. They are super flimsy. I can barely get them from the cart to the car without dropping a few dozen things then when I get home I have to search all over the trunk for my groceries! Is there a need? The Sobeys ones are stronger and stay in place...these ones are awful. I pick up two bags and out go the Gingerbread men cookies I bought...now they all have no heads...lovely. Even the little one was annoyed as he normally drags a bag full of stuff to me to empty and this time by the time he made it to me there was nothing left in the bag!

Now it's naptime and after all this commotion I think i'm gonna take one too.

"I keep on fallin'....." - Alicia Keys

Day Trip...

...so I read in the paper about these Turf Wars in Hdot. I thought this stuff only happened on TV...what's up with this? An innocent bystander is going to end up getting hurt because of all this. I mean, shooting someone at the Children's Hospital...not right at all. Go settle this stuff in a secluded area. No need to be out in very public places. We don't care what you guys are arguing over...deal with it and move on.

Now let's move on to the important stuff...my ladies trivia night tonight! I've made up a bunch of questions so I hope the ladies studied!! I'll post some of my cool questions on Friday. I'm going for a Day Trip to Hdot tomorrow to do some well needed shopping. I'm sure I'll have some road rage to discuss when I return. Stay tuned....

"All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go..." - Chantal Kreviazuk

Another year older...

...so today is my birthday! I'm officially 27 years old. So far it's been a great day. Woke up and got hugs and kisses from hubby and the little one...then out for lunch with Titthead, My Chatty Friend, Preggo#2, her daughter and Pants...supper will be brought to me by my mom and dad and then i'm going out tonight! Not a bad day, eh? This past weekend the Sitter threw a party for me and a few other people so that was fun. I, of course, was sober, but the rest sure weren't and it was nice to see everyone having a great time. I did, however, experience the worst non hungover nausea ever and spent most of yesterday in bed. I tell ya, this pregnancy is nothing like the last one.

"They say it's your birthday...We're gonna have a good time..." - The Beatles

Front Page News...

...so I was reading the paper today and on the front page I read an article about a family of 5 who is having trouble buying tickets for the Olympic Games in 2010. Apparently the system only allows you to buy 4 tickets per VISA (and VISA ONLY) card for each event. This doesn't work for them as they're 5. The article continues on with more boo-hooing that this was their dream and that now they'll have to wait to try to buy more in January when another wave of tickets is available. They also note that this vacation was likely going to cost them about $20,000 and now it's ruined. Ok so here's what gets me about this article:

A) the title, which is : "Olympic Anguish"
I would hardly call this anguish. I mean, I get that they want to take their family, but it's not the end of the earth. Many people will not be able to go see the Olympics logistically and financially...many tried to get a spot on an Olympic Team and got cut, which I'd consider to be something of anguish...just cause they couldn't get more than 4 tickets doesn't qualify as anguish. Anguish, to me, would be when you stub your toe on the furniture, or you open a cupboard in your own face (which I admit to doing recently), or when you try to pull up the rug from your basement floor and you fall backwards and ram your knee in your chest breaking 2 of your own ribs and tearing some ligaments (this wasn't me, it was a colleague....but it is kinda funny to picture and I couldn't help telling you all about it HEHEHEH!!!!) Not getting what you what when you want it is not anguish...poor choice of words.

B) $20,000!!! What the??!!! Does someone else think this is super expensive???

AND

C) Why is this front page news??? There's a war in Iraq for no reason, the economy is in hard shape, there are tragedies and triumphant stories that could be told...this...none of those things.

So to make a statement, I did not continue reading the paper as I always "Judge a book by it's cover" and I frankly don't like this cover. Sadly, no one cares that I didn't finish the paper but me. :)

"I'm just second hand news..." - Fleetwood Mac

The year of the washed up Celebrity...

...so I was flicking through the channels yesterday and couldn't help but notice the never ending list of shows made by washed up Celebrities. Take a look at a list I started and this isn't all of them...

"Brooke Knows Best" -Brooke, Hulk Hogan's Daughter
"Hogan Knows Best"- Hulk Hogan and his Family
"Coolio's Rules" - Coolio the rapper that has been nowhere to been seen in years
"Flavor of Love" - Flavor Flav, the rapper that wears a stupid clock around his neck and was looking for love.
"Flavor of Love 2" - I'm not joking. It didn't work out with the first girl so he did another show.
"Celebrity Rehab" - A whack of the real messed up ones wanting help cause they're in a mess
"Celebrity Rehab 2" - You guessed it, more messed up celebrities needing help to get back to the real world.
"Luke's Parental Advisory" - Another Rapper that I've never heard of cause he was done years before I came to life.
"Gene Simmons: Family Jewels" - Gotta admit, I like this one cause they're rather funny!
"The Two Corey's" - Corey Haim and Corey Feldman were two TV actors and now do nothing.
"Celebrity Fit Club" - The used to be smaller celebrities that now are not so small get help.
Salt and Pepa had one but I don't know the name - They broke up and they tried to get back together to sing again
"The Surreal Life" - This was the start of the washed up Celebrity Frenzy where a bunch of them lived together "Big Brother" style....since then many have moved on to the list above, as if this wasn't enough.

And to think, many people aspire to be a Celebrity...seems like fun to me.

"Cause we all just want to be big rockstars..." - Nickelback

What is?...

...so the little one is big into talking these days. He repeats everything you say, which Daddy found out when he was carrying the little one to the car and almost rolled his ankle and blurted out the f-word. The little one had a field day with that one in the car! F F F F is all he could say for about 5 minutes. It's real hard not to laugh, so we just cranked the music in the car. He also likes to watch TV with Dada and one of the shows he loves is Jeopardy. I know, a little odd, but at least there's no sex, scandals, murders or nearly naked people so I allow it. Anyways, every time the Daily Double is found the little one claps and says "YAY YAY!!"...it's rather cute. Last night, after a good few hours of being asleep I hear him talking. He was talking in his sleep and guess what he was saying? "Yay Jepaaaardyyyy!" He's not even two yet and he's dreaming about Jeopardy...gonna be a child genius...hehehe. Maybe I'll dress him up as Alex Trebec next year for Halloween.

The cravings have started. I'm big into the apples and chocolate milk again, no surprise, and now I'm adding grilled cheese to the list. YUM! My mouth is watering right now just thinking about it. I went up the line this weekend with some girlfriends and we ate at this restaurant. Despite the completely spacey waitress, the food was good...I, of course, had the grilled cheese. I know it's a little ridiculous to pay $3.00 for something you can make at home for like $0.50, but that's what my mouth wanted to eat so that's what I ordered. There was a pickle on my plate, but I could barely stomach the thought of eating that. I don't know where that craving comes from. The dry dill pickle on my plate wasn't even appetizing to the non preggo people at the table so I'm not sure how it's supposed to be to me.

I hear my dear friend Charlene is now 45...Happy Birthday! I wanted to do a little research on the number 45 and give you a whole list of cool things that are associated with that number, but I couldn't get past it's definition. Do you know what the definition of 45 is according to Wikipedia? hehehehe....here it is:

"45 (forty-five) is the natural number following 44 and followed by 46."

WOW...glad I looked that up...I feel so informed now. Learn something new everyday!

"Happy Birthday to you, You belong in a zoo, You look like a monkey and you act like one too! " - the Joke Version of Happy Birthday

News...

...so you know you're a regular when the bakery owner makes things just for you! He made these yummy cookies today with walnuts, pecans, oatmeal, white chocolate and milk chocolate chips...ya I know...delicious! I also bought his Dutch Brown Bread. You'd be surprised to know that this bread is actually low fat. I know brown bread and low fat don't really go together, but I'm serious. I ran the numbers like I used to do on that point system diet and 2 slices are 1 point! One slice of regular white bread is 2 pts so for 2 slices you'd be looking at 4 pts...big difference. Anyways, it's yummy and good with butter in the am...remember that next time you're driving by.

In other news, I'm pregnant! Yes sir-ree...due at the end of June. It's been a rough go these last few weeks. I was told I was going to have a miscarriage a couple weeks ago and I found out yesterday that they made a mistake and I'm pregnant and the baby is progressing as normal. It has definitely been a rough last couple weeks, emotionally and mentally, but it's all worth it now...we're going to have another baby!

Funny how the minute you get pregnant, the symptoms begin. "Things" get larger, you need to pee all the time (which will only get worse), the nausea hits and your taste buds seem to go haywire. I know the last time I was big into watermelon, apples, ice cream with crushed oreo's, apple cider and chocolate milk....what an odd mix. You may think that this sounds very healthy and not too bad, but you should know that I gained 50 lbs and that doesn't come from eating apples! You see...the ice cream with oreo's faze lasted most of my pregnancy...not good. I'm going to try to stay away this time. OK now I'm laughing...seeing that I just had a cookie from the bakery...I think I've been in a "faze" for quite some time now! I'm gonna have to slack there too...boooooo.

"Baby Baby, in any kind of weather...I'm here for you always and forever..." - Amy Grant

The things adults say...

...so today I was thinking of all the childhood songs we used to sing. There's one that stands out and is kinda a staple in my family as it's sung at every family sing song or get together. It's called "Alouette".

The song lyrics are as follows:

"Alouette, gentille Alouette
Alouette, je te plumerai
Je te plumerai la tete (every verse you'd change this part to le bec, le dos, les ailes, etc...)
Je te plumerai la tete
Et la Tete
Alouette
OHHHHH.... " (And you start over)

So this is normally a fun song to sing as you keep naming parts and singing along. Now here's what's disturbing...the English Translation. An "Alouette" in English is a "Skylark" which is a small bird. Now let's sing this in English:

"Skylark, nice skylark
Skylark, I shall pluck you
I shall pluck your head
I shall pluck your head
And your head
Skylark
OHHHHHH..."

Can you imagine...all these years we've been singing this cute french song at home, at school, at family gatherings and here we are singing about de-feathering a bird! What kind of people are we? So now I'm wondering who else caught on that we have been singing about torchering a bird...to my surprise, Wikipedia has a listing for it! I can hardly believe it. Here's what it says:

""Alouette" is a popular Canadian[1] children's song about plucking the feathers off a skylark, a small bird." - Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alouette_(song))

Unreal...I wonder what else we sing that we don't know what on earth we're singing about?

Unexpected Trip...

...so my dad, the Oceanographer, had a Heart Attack on October 24. He and my mom were traveling via Sailboat to the Bahamas and they were stopped at a Marina in Maryland when this happened. He ended up being flown to a world-class Cardiac Hospital in Washington, DC. Me, my aunt and my uncle left by car and drove to go see them asap. My dad was unable to fly home so we all traveled back home together in the car. We had to take our time so we took about 3 days to get back.

It was an interesting trip. I had never been to Washington DC so I had high expectations...you know, the White house being there and all. Didn't really meet any of my expectations...looked like any normal city around here. One thing though, they all had very southern accents. I was amazed at the way they spoke...felt like I was in Georgia or something. On the Monday morning, we went to have some breakfast in the hospital cafeteria and I was in awe of what they were serving. Here we were, the best Cardiac Hospital in the country and they basically were serving Heart Attack on a plate! I kid you not. Most people went for the Cream of Pork/pork fat served over a very shinny and greasy butter biscuit with a side of meatloaf...yummy...NOT! I was gagging. I looked like an idiot looking around for a boiled egg and toast...no one ate that. It was unreal. The lady sitting beside us was eating her lovely heaping plateful of the morning special and half way through her plate she stood up, jumped around, rubbed her belly and sat back down in order to make more room in her stomach for the rest! Just plain crazy, if you asked me.

Another thing I found real interesting was the stands with these plastic bags by every door. It kinda looked like the small plastic bag holders by the fruits and veggies at the grocery store...just longer. I didn't understand what people would need these bags for so I went and took one. I laughed...it's a "Wet Umbrella Bag". Yup...people come in and put their umbrella's in these bags in order not to drip all over the hospital. It's a great idea, but what puzzles me is that it doesn't rain that much in Washington. The whole time I was there I didn't see one person with an umbrella...seems kinda odd to have the bags/bag holders all over the place...needless to say I have two in my purse...couldn't leave them there! hehehe

When I finally made it back home, after being away for almost a week, I went get the little one from Daycare. He just loves Daycare and especially the outdoor time which always happens from 4:10 till whenever the parents show up. I have to fight with him to leave cause he's having so much fun. Well, I walked in and they were just getting ready to go outside. The little one was sitting on the bench, waiting for the teacher to tell him to line up before going outside. He took one look at me and started yelling "MAMA!! MAMA!!" He jumped off the bench and ran towards me and just before I could reach to pick him up he stopped snug, yelled "UH OH...OH NO!!" and bolted the other way. He was excited to see me, but it must have dawned on him that I'd be taking him home before he'd get a chance to play that he panicked and ran away. Too cute. I had to run around to get him, but eventually he gave me a kiss and we drove home.

We relaxed all weekend and now it's back to work. The Oceanographer is feeling great and it's nice to have them home. Hopefully things will be back to normal this week!

"Fish don't fry in the kitchen...beans don't burn on the grill..." - "The Jefferson's Theme Song

Rudeness...

...so I don't know what it is, but I think I attract rude people. Yesterday I had to call a Customer Service Department on an issue. This lady answers the call and sounds like she's absolutely annoyed and hates her job. Anyways, I ignored her not so pleasant tone and gave her my information. Normally this would be the time for her to say, "How can I help you?" but no...not her...she says "What did you want?" Wow...alright, so hesitated to answer as she kinda caught me off guard, but continued on. She continued to be very abrupt and rude and I continued being nice as apple pie. After I was done with that issue, I told her I had another question on another account and after I rambled off that account information she then said "What did you want on this one?" in a snarky voice. Ok so now I'm getting a little annoyed...really, there's no need, who the heck peed in your Corn Flakes this morning??? I took the high road and again was the nicest ever. She was very short with me so finally I said, "I'm sorry, but am I bothering you?" She then said "Excuse me ma'am, I don't know what you're talking about!" I then said "oh I'm sorry, it's just that you sound frustrated with me, that's all"....again, me still talking very nicely...then here it comes...the rudeness at it's max....she answers very loudly and harshly "Do YOU have ANY other questions regarding YOUR ACCOUNTS ONLY?!!" I was speechless...how could she be so rude...I'm calling her to ask VALID questions and she wasn't nice to me right from the start. I couldn't believe it. I answered no and hung up immediately. I'm not going to be spoken to like that. I emailed my complaint to her boss and urged them to listen to our conversation as it said in the message before you get to Customer Service that the calls are being recorded. Man, if you don't like your job then find a new one...no need to make other miserable just cause you're miserable. Fiew...learn some manners.

"I hate the world today, your so good to me, I know but I can't change"- Meredith Brooks

Pop...

...so I was doing the dishes last night and got real annoyed. My hubby drinks pop and he puts the empty bottles in the sink to dry out before placing them in the recycle bag. I know he has the best intentions, but I always have to put them in the recycle bag....he never seems to make that last step. So I go to do the dishes and need to move the empty bottle from the sink to the drying rack...well now there's no room...so the pop bottle goes on the counter...any movement makes the darn thing fall so there is goes boing, bing, bang on the floor...now I pick it up, only to drop it again cause my hand are soapy...boing, bing, bang again on the floor, but now there's soap everywhere too...this process repeats itself every time I do the dishes AWWW! Last night I'm doing the dishes while hubby and the little one are still eating. All of a sudden, there it goes, pop bottle right across the room. I took the darn thing and biffed across the room. Hubby yells, "What are you doing?" I answered . "Doing the dishes." Seconds later, there goes another one, smack, hits the wall across the room. At this point he yells "Are you mad?" To that I answer, in the most calm and pleasant voice, "No, not mad at all, just can't stand these ..........................pop bottles and I would like to finish the...............dishes." Hubby looked puzzled and didn't say anymore...probably for fear of death by pop bottle. I went out for work and when I returned the pop bottles were in the recycle bag.

"Pop goes the world..." - Men Without Hats

Observation...

...so in the Outpatient department there's a sign by the Triage Window that gives helpful hints on how to not to spread germs. It advises you to wash your hands with the pump stuff beside the poster, wear a mask and/or wash your hands in the washroom. This is all very useful information...I'm just not sure why a Sumo Wrestler needs to tell me this? I kid you not, the poster has illustrations for each bit of advice and it shows the pic of a Sumo Wrestler. One with a Sumo washing his hands, another with a mask over his face, etc... I didn't realize that Sumo Wrestlers cared so much about germs. They walk around almost bare naked...hello germs! Very odd. One would think that in a hospital, they would use a doctor or a nurse or maybe even a baby to illustrate these helpful tips...I could even handle a hockey player or something...but a Sumo Wrestler...do we even have Sumo Wrestlers in Canada? Hum....odd poster...very odd.

"I saw the sign...and it opened up my eyes..." - Ace of Base

Hockey...

...so we took the little one to a hockey game last night. We stayed for the first period, but left after that as it was wayyyy past his bedtime. I think he enjoyed it. He was lovin' the Zamboni and when he was done cleaning the ice, the little one looked up at me and said "Where d'he go?" and shrugged his shoulders. I think he thought that was what we were there to see. Once the hockey game started he got into again, but said "uh oh!" every time someone lost the puck. I was impressed cause at least this meant he understood that the puck was the thing you wanted to have and not let others take it from you...not a bad observation for a small child! Towards the end of the period he was getting the hang of things and after hearing everyone around him yell and scream, he started too...yelling "GO GO GO!!!" many times over. All in all it was a good experience...fiew!

"The good ol' hockey game..."

Rambling...

...so this is a pic of my Mom and Dad sailing by the Statue of Liberty in NY. For those of you who don't know, my parents retired in June and left in August on a sailing adventure - Destination: The Bahamas. They'll be back in May or so. This pic was taken by the Doc and his wife who are sailing with them. I think this is pretty neat as many people don't get to see the Statue of Liberty, let alone sail right on by it. I miss them a lot and today, for some reason, I miss them even more. Oh well...only 7 more months to go... :(

Let's move on to the bestest muffin I've ever tasted. This time it's not from my favorite bakery, although I've told him to chop chop and make one...no this one is from Timmies. It's the Pumpkin Muffin they have on special this month....YUMMY! It tastes like the best carrot cake you've ever had, without crunchy carrot pieces! There are even these crunchy, toasted, pumpkin seeds on the top to garnish it. I tell you...the absolute best muffin I've ever had...and I've had a fair amount of muffins in my lifetime!

Speaking on Timmies, I went to the one in Sheldot on my way to Hdot on Tuesday. I suffered from my house all the way there as it's like an hour away, but I managed to deal with it by singing along to Journey "Just a small town girl...livin' in a lonely world...she took the midnight train going anywhere...." all the way there. Anyways, got there and the Timmies is right off the highway. The traffic is a mess there. You turn off the highway and the first right is Timmies so people stay in line on the main road. This worked for me this time as I was going there, but the guy behind me clearly was not and wasn't pleased with the 5 cars in his way. I could tell that he was unhappy by the way he continuously honked his horn...it was a dead giveaway. I couldn't help him out as I had pulled over more to the side of the road, but I was stuck and couldn't move any further. He lost patience and pulled out to pass us all, nearly hitting the oncoming traffic...again, I don't think he cared by the way his finger was waving in the air as he drove by...another big hint. Once I got in the parking lot I was going to park and go in, but I noticed that the people were lined up to the door and some in the little entryway so I opted to stay in my warm car with my Journey songs...now it was "and now I come, to you, with open armsssss..." A good song so I didn't want to get out. To my surprise the traffic moved real fast cause by the time the song was nearing the end, I was at the window getting my coffee! Keep in mind, the song started when I was still on the road...pretty good, eh?! I was so impressed that I told the lady at the window that it was the fastest Timmies I'd ever been through...making it seem like I was a Timmies connoisseur...which I am kinda, after all, I wrote the blog on Timmies Etiquette in an earlier post! I got my coffee and got back on the road to suddenly be disappointed...the Sheldot Timmies went from the fastest to the worst coffee house ever in that first sip. My long awaited coffee tasted like the bottom of an ashtray. How on earth could this be? They were selling coffee like it was going out of style...how could this pot of been old? I was so mad that I almost turned around, but then I came to my senses as yet my CD must of went around again and we continue with "Just a city boy...born and raised in South Detroit...He took the Midnight Train going anywhere..." For some reason, these songs were great driving and singing tunes...I drank the coffee anyways and went on my merry way. So, all this to say that I was going to tell you all to stop at that Timmies cause it was super efficient, but now I can assure you they have an inferior coffee brewing process so I'd rather wait somewhere else to get a good cup. Oh and another lesson...listen to Journey the next time you drive somewhere...they have great tunes!

"Lying beside you...here in the dark...feeling your heart beat with mine." - Journey

Some things I've noticed...

...so I've been away for a few days in meetings. I headed up to Hdot on Tuesday morning and then ended up in the Valley on Tuesday night...then meetings in the Valley all day Wednesday. I had the chance to watch some of the election coverage...kinda predictable, I think. I met the MP that won his riding in the Valley at Breakfast yesterday morning. Not hard to pick him out, wearing a bright red sweater and with an entourage congratulating him every minute of his meal. Apparently, he had been out holding a "Thank You" sign by the Highway earlier that morning...thought that was pretty cool of him.

One thing I noticed was that the price of gas changed as I made my loop around half the province. Started out as a $112/litre was about $109/litre in Hdot then slowly creeped back up to $112/litre the closer I got to home. Hardly seems fair when we all have cars, we all use gas, we all drive in the same places...know what I mean? If the price is regulated, then wouldn't you think they'd regulate it to be the same all over the place? Seems like simple logic to me.

Last night when I got home I caught up on my favorite soap opera. Some things struck me as odd and I don't know if I'll already mentioned this before...if so too bad, we're talking about it again...anyways, there was a scene where this couple, who's madly in love by the way...they all seem to be...so they wake up and instantly start making out. How do they have such fresh breath in the am? I don't want to be kissing no one as soon as I open my eyes. I mean, it's bad enough they have perfect hair and perfect make up, please give them morning breath! I want, just once, for one of them to say..."here's a mint...now let's go back to our madly in love state and make out". Another thing is that none of them have regular work hours, they rarely spend time with their children cause they can always run out the door when there's a crisis. It's almost like they all have live-in Nanny's. The real big thing for me is that they never take off their shoes, yet their floors are always so clean. How does that happen? Don't get me wrong, I love to watch and get sucked into their fake lives, but I wish the writers would make some things a little more realistic. Give them breath mints...make them take their shoes off when visiting someone...give them eye crusties or drool tracks...something! I'm sure if I've noticed these things, others have as well.

"Notice you, noticing me..." - Kardinall Official

Ring Ring!!!....

...so the Do Not Call Registry is now in effect. Canadians can register their phone numbers so that telemarketers are not permitted BY LAW to phone them. There are some exclusions, but basically any of those annoying ones won't be allowed to call if your name is on the list. If they do call and you report the incident, there is a major fine for the company. Having said all that, I've received more telemarketers call in the last week than ever before. They call in the morning, they called last night at 8:45 pm, they call me at work CONSTANTLY and they call just as I put my fork to my mouth at suppertime. The thing is that they can still call till the end of October because they have to wait to get a list of people on the registry...that takes a month. So this means that they can still call allllll this month and apparently they're going full out to get their time in! Another thing is that they don't ever seem to know who they're calling for! I have one word for them...PRACTICE. "Hello, would Mrs. Lee-a-see New-wellee be home?" Of course she's not home...who the heck is that? Last night they asked for a Jen...are you just randomly calling people for fun or what? Is there a Jen at my house cause if there is then I need to have a conversation with my hubby...seriously! I've had the same phone number for about 5 years...learn my freakin name! And really, is it that hard to pronounce? My first name only has one syllable...not two...very simple...so don't over complicate things...and since when is there a ghost "e" at the end of a name? Geesh...my last name even has two L's to end it so that if you miss your cue to stop at the first L, you have a whole other L to remind you! How much more obvious do we need to get here? If you can't say my name then don't even bother. I'm getting a little annoyed. Try to regulate and just makes it worse. I guess it's kinda like the gas prices...regulation comes in effect and we have the highest gas prices ever...glad their helping us out...geesh!

Talking about gas brings me to my oil bill. I got filled up for the first time since May and boy was I ever shocked at the bill. I'm used to a $500 ish bill so when I saw this one, I just about fell off my chair. It was over $700!!! That's just absolutely ridiculous! How on earth is a person suppose to pay that, pay $1.20 something/litre or more for gas, pay more for fresh veggies and fruits to stay slim all while watching all the economic turmoil all over the news? Plllllease...gotta be a better way.

Ok so now that I got that off my chest, lets talk about Sunday night. We took a family trip to Hdot over the weekend and made it home on time for the little one to have his nap in his own bed. While he napped, I took advantage and dozed off too. I woke up just on time to go to a baby shower for a friend....but I was in a pickle.....my face looked like I come out of a waffle iron! The pillow on the couch has grooves and the whole side of my face was nothing but grooves...big problem! Did you know that make-up cannot hide pillow face? Well, take my word for it...I tried and used up almost all of my cover-up and foundation and still no luck...so now what do I do? Well, I put my hair down so that it covered my cheek and when I got there I sat so that there was no one on my left side! How embarrassing is that? Note to self: Nap on back if need to go somewhere real soon after nap!

Oh you should also know that my little one peed on the potty for the first time last night!! This is exciting stuff for a parent! I bribed him with Smarties and luckily enough he takes after his mom with his love of all things chocolate so he took the bait and went right to the potty! Now he knows that a #1 or #2 gets him a handful of Smarties...let's hope the trend continues!

"Hello!......Is it me you're looking for?" - Lionel Richie

Saturday Afternoon funny...

...my new favorite knock knock joke:

Knock Knock

Who's there?

Ya.

Ya who?

Why you so excited??

Say What?...

...so the Prime Minister is in the news these days over a speech he copied off of the Australian Prime Minister. Ok...who cares really...it was in 2003...we're 2008 now...people are dying, the economy is going through a rough time, the weather is awful, the price of gas is ridiculous and we're worried about a speech in 2003?? Is there a need, really?! News Flash: ALL POLITICIANS PLAGIARIZE because they NEVER write their own speeches! Someone writes it so if you asked me, they're plagiarizing by reading it to the public. It's not their thoughts...it's the thoughts of the person who wrote the speech. I don't care that the Prime Minister said the same thing the Australian one did...the US Presidents and Candidates all say the same thing day in and day out...part of politics...lets get over it. There's only so much you can say about the same topics year after year....geesh, enough already!

I love listening to the Comedians during these election times. I especially love the actual quotes people say...just don't think before they say it.

Here's a few:

"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it." Dan Quayle

"A low voter turnout is an indication of fewer people going to the polls." George W Bush

"One word sums up probably the responsibility of any Governor, and that one word is 'to be prepared'." George W Bush

"The single most important two things we can do...." Tony Blair

Here's another George W Bush one...sorry George, but this one is quite funny!

"What I am against is quotas. I am against hard quotas, quotas they basically delineate based upon whatever. However they delineate, quotas, I think, vulcanize society. So I don't know how that fits into what everybody else is saying, their relative positions, but that's my position."

Hehehehe...see, this is what happens when they simply talk off the top of their heads! Please bring back the speech writers.

"Say what you need to say..." - John Mayer

Letters and feet...

...so remember I told y'all about sending a letter to the local MLA? Anyways, I did, complaining about the lack of maternity benefits for self-employed women. I got a response listing a bunch of stats strengthening my position...like this statement:

" According to Statistics Canada, in 2007, more than 900,000 women were self-employed in Canada. This represents 35 per cent of self-employed workers, and about 11 per cent of Canada’s female workforce. It is unsettling to note that the vast majority of self-employed women take less than four weeks of maternity leave, compared to an average of nearly six months for employed women."

Well that's wonderful...thanks for letting me know I'm not alone...now what? Solution anyone? So in his letter he urged me to write to my local MP. I thought, what do I have to lose...after all, it is an election year. I wrote to him the exact same letter and to my surprise, he phoned me personally last night. He advised that the Liberal Platform had a plan addressing exactly what I'm looking for: Maternity/Sick Benefits for the self-employed!!! YAY! He also told me that in fairness to the Conservatives, they also had a similar plan so no matter what happens during the election, it seems like I'll get my wish!! I thought that was very honest of him to tell me that both parties had something for me. Now I will do some more research before I make a decision on my vote. Thanks to both my MLA and MP for the responses...and note they are both from different parties...working together to help me.

DISCLAIMER: Just so y'all know, I don't want to use my blog to bash or favor any party or politician. I have some respect for all of them as they're doing a job that I wouldn't want at this point in time. I will remain neutral and just state things I find interesting about this election, be it the US one or the Canadian one.

Now let's move on to something more serious...my clumsiness! I failed to tell y'all about my falls over the weekend...kinda embarrassing, but funny now that I think about it. Picture this....so me and my two friends get ready to leave the hotel and go out for some supper. We get to the elevator and the door is closing. I run to catch it, but it's too late, the people in the elevator are staring at me while they do absolutely nothing about the fact that I want to go down and that's where they're going. I hit the down arrow and all of a sudden, the doors open again! The man by the buttons must have felt bad and pressed the open door button...YAY...so I go to walk in the elevator...and it happens...I take one step and fall flat on my face in the elevator at this guy's feet. Ya..I know...do do do, I'm walking straight then BAM...in the elevator I go. Apparently when the doors closed the elevator went down a little so when it opened again there was about a half a foot drop between the hallway floor and the elevator floor. Basically it was like I walked from the dining room into a sunk in living room, missing the steps. Lovely...so I get up and dust myself off...trying not to laugh and noticing everyone else was biting they're cheeks too. How embarrassing? Anyways...let's fast forward to Sunday morning...walking into the breakfast place. We're going up the stairs and I completely ram my big toe into the cement stairs. I fumble to stay up and catch myself on the rail...I'm ok, but my toe - not so much. I think I broke something on the top of it as it still hurts to move. I've come to the conclusion that I'm unfit to be out in public. I am my own hazard. People worry about having a car accident, crashing in a plane, falling off a high building...not me...I worry about hurting myself...with myself!

"...Then I ran into your garden,But I tripped out the gate" - Hedley

Sir Elton John...

...so I had the honor of going to see him on Saturday Night...one word...PHENOMENAL! He was even more talented than I thought. His piano skills were amazing and his way of connecting to his audience was even better. He sat at his piano and played for nearly 3 hours with no breaks. He had a standing ovation after each song and mouthed the words "Thank You" many times throughout the night. I waited patiently for "Benny and the Jets" and was overjoyed when those glorious chords starting coming out of the speakers.

The fans were a little crazy though. The lights were getting dim and we were trying to find our seats. We were a little late cause we had just spent $5.50 on each a beer and realized we couldn't bring them to our seats so we stood there and guzzled them like boys at a frat party....we were hot... so anyways, when we finally got to our row we realized our seats were all the way at the other end of the row. We apologized to the people we had to sneak by and they were all real nice till this one lady one row behind us yelled "SIT DOWN!!" in the meanest voice ever. I looked up, puzzled as Elton wasn't on the stage yet and we were simply trying to get to our seats...then she yells it again! I couldn't believe it so I stopped, looked at her and said "Listen lady, we've paid the same amount of money as you and we're trying to get to our seats...HOLD ON!" I was surprised someone could be so rude. We got to our seats and were still kinda annoyed with that crazy lady...I mean, could they get any rude-er? OH YES...we met her match...the lady in front of us! Elton starts "Our Song" and we were totally mesmerized. We were such in awe that we just sat there with our jaws wide open the entire song and didn't say a word. Once he was done and people were clapping, we talked amongst ourselves to say how exciting this all was...then it happened...the rudest lady ever...she turns around and says "SHHHHH!!!!". I chuckled cause, I mean, she couldn't of been Shhh-ing us...then she does it again.... "SHHHHHH!!!!"....UN FRICKEN REAL! Here we are...section 43...almost touching the roof...thousands of people screaming and crying....and this lady says "SHHHHH" Nuh-uh!!!...wasn't having that. We started to laugh...and laugh some more....and are now crying cause this lady had the nerve to tell us to SHHHHH...boy was she in for it once we started singing along!!

So to the lady in Section 43, with the Blond out of date hairdo, and the real acky sweater, who thought that by Shhh-ing three ladies out of a whole stadium of people she'd hear the rumble of the crowd better....GET A LIFE! HAHAHAH!

"...how wonderful life is, with you in the world." - Elton John

Angels...

...so today is a somber day. Two of my good friends lost a very special Aunt last night. I know today will be a very difficult day for them and their families as they were all so very close to one another. She was a vibrant woman who had so much to give. She was very athletic and a great mother, sister, wife and Aunt. Although it is hard to see her go, she is at peace now and has left her loved ones with many great memories that I'm sure they're cherish forever.

Thinking of you Nursemaid and Preggo #2...XOXO

"You're in the arms of the Angel; may you find some comfort here" - Sarah McLachlan

Lovely, fricken lovely...

...so I went to the Dentist yesterday to fill a cavity. Haven't done that in years and I was soooo nervous that I chewed the inside of my cheeks all day. I got there and the dentist told me the needle may hurt a bit but after that I wouldn't feel a thing...he promised! So, he did the needle and that didn't feel great, but I dealt with it and slowly my cheeks and tongue started to get numb. After a few minutes of watching some kind weird show on Discovery, the dentist came back and started to drill. He did it for a few seconds then stopped and asked if I was ok...I responded yes and then he said "See, I told you that you wouldn't feel anything!" After that he proudly drilled my tooth again till I jolted! He stopped and I told him that I felt something...kinda resonated down my jaw...not cool, at all....so he said "oh great, I guess you made a liar out of me, more freezing for you!" Lovely...fricken lovely...so here goes another needle in my mouth and it hurt a little so clearly I needed it. After a few minutes he started again and everything was fine. Now, you can only imagine what my face looked like...frozen from my ear to past my nose, up over my eye and halfway down my neck. I could barely smile and now I had to face the waiting room...AND talk to the receptionist! Lovely...fricken lovely. I managed to make a fool of myself by talking with a really bad lisp, along with a pile of drooling coming down the right side of my face...hot stuff ,I was. If Botox feels anything like that then I definitely know I'm never getting any!

Today things are back to normal, but I had a rough time with the coffee maker. The filters we have are round and we really need the cone ones but we've made do for the last few months...but NOT TODAY! I made 3 pots and all of them resulted with grains all over the place and coffee all over the counter. I was so grumpy...this girl needs her coffee...I even tried my paper towel trick and still had coffee everywhere...(note to self: don't use industrial strength paper towel as it soaks it all up ...lovely, fricken lovely.) I ended up going to my favorite bakery to get some coffee instead...and this is the first time I've gone there and not bought a treat. It was real hard resisting the shortbread with chocolate drizzle cookies...and the cheesecake....and the new chocolate clumps that look like bird poop but taste like a little bit of chocolate heaven...I felt like it was too early to eat sweets, plus I drove and I really should walk there to get my treats...makes me feel better...or so I try to convince myself.

"If a picture paints a thousand words then why can't I paint you..." -Bread

"Things that make you go hum?!"

...so in today's paper I read an article about a lady in Bridgedot that was permanently injured by her own tombstone....yes, you read that right...her tombstone. According to the Chronicle Herald, her tombstone fell on her ankle and she is seeking compensation from the manufacturer for her pain and suffering. She claims she advised the company that it wasn't set properly and they advised her they had fixed it, but apparently they hadn't...or so she claims.

Now, let's get to the burning question in my mind...What on earth are you doing visiting your tombstone and jiggling it around? Do you not find that a little creepy? I certainly do. I know many people buy their tombstones ahead of time and have then set in place for when the time comes they need to "use" them. I can assure you this is not something I would do as I plan on leaving money for someone else to order one. After all, it means something to those left behind...what do I care what it looks like if I'm 6 feet under? Anyways, let's get over that and assume I did buy my own tombstone...I can't see I'd go visit it...let alone touch it. The cemetery is not a place I like to go...and especially not to go visit my future home. Rather odd, don't ya think?!

"How bizarre, how bizarre" - OMC

NO NEED!!!...

...so I'm quite irked right now. Remember I told ya'll I bought a Satellite Radio...it was in March. So I bough a year of service ($206.00)right then and everything has been hunky dory. Well in July, my radio stopped working so I brought it back to the dealer and they gave me a new one right on the spot...I was pleased cause I'd only had it for 4 months so I was relieved it was still under warranty. Now we get to today where I check out my credit card statement and notice a charge from them for $135.00...that's odd cause I haven't spoken to them since I bought the radio in March. So I call to find out what's going on.

Here's the deal...according to the lady I spoke to... when I got a new radio in July I had to activate it so they charged me an activation fee of $75 ish and the rest is the cost of using the radio from March to July and now my radio service is good from July 2008 to July 2009 instead of March 2008 to March 2009 like planned. That's stupid...not my fault the radio broke...I'm NOT PAYING $75 to activate a radio that only worked for 4 months!!! They agreed and are refunding that fee...I WOULD FREAKIN' HOPE SO!! I said to her: "This is real convenient for XM RADIO as they could make sure their radios break down a few months after activation so that you have to go get a new one and pay for the activation all over again to use the service you've already paid for!" That makes no sense!!!

Now let's get to the second part. Apparently, XM RADIO has decided that with the new radio I still get a year's worth of service so since I paid from March 2008 to March 2009 and this new radio was activated in July 2008...I need to pay to have it go till July 2009. I don't have a choice...nope...they've decided that I NEED to do this. I was livid. I told her that I did not authorize the charge on my credit card and I only want the service till March 2008....she told me that it's policy and basically it was too bad. I said to her: "again, this is real convenient as XM RADIO now can have people extend their subscriptions by having the radios break down and forcing them to renew for the new time period"...that's unfair, unethical and really should be illegal. I didn't tell them to charge me...heck, I didn't even know they were going to charge me!!!!

I'M SO ANGRY RIGHT NOW...and that lady knew it...I realize it's not her fault, but I wanted her to know that I was NOT impressed. I'm not done with this...it's not fair...I should decide what I want to pay for...not them...this is totally ridiculous.

I don't have a song for this one...I'm too mad.

The younger years...

...so I dropped off the little one at Daycare this am. He just loves it there! He can't wait to go and gets all excited when I ask him to get his shoes. Once we get there, he runs right to the truck table and plays with the dinky cars...he's in his glory! Today I noticed that this same little girl is always playing at the table with the little one. It's almost like there's a little daycare crush going on...kinda cute really cause they're way too little to understand the meaning of a relationship.

My little one is really affectionate. The other day I brought him to the doctors office for a check up and he got ready to leave...he made it to the door then stopped, turned around and ran back to the Dr. to give her a hug and kiss. It was too cute. Once we got out into the reception area, I asked him to say bye to the receptionist and instead of waving he ran and gave her a hug and kiss...then he went around the room and hugged everyone that was sitting there waiting. There was this lady there was was 97 yrs old...she was tickled pink that he gave her a hug...you could see it in her face....it was very cute. I'm glad he's not shy but I guess I wouldn't want him to hug everyone for the rest of his life. I think he'll learn not to hug people just at random in time. I don't want to tell him not to hug the people in the waiting room as I don't want to him to think that hugging is bad...he doesn't understand...I guess he sees his Dada hug me all the time so he thinks he should do the same...or I hope he sees his Dad hug me and not other women out and about...hum...makes me think now... hehehe

It reminds me of my preschool days. I had little crushes on boys. I even had one boy really like me. I wasn't too keen on him and he was always after me for a hug or to sit in the chair beside me. I guess he got fed up one day of me brushing him off so he wrote me a poem. I'll never forget it...it goes:

"Roses are Red
Violets are Blue
I like big butts
That's why I like you!"

How hilarious is that?? HAHAHA I guess he didn't realize that commenting on my large rump probably wasn't the best plan...but I guess I can give him some credit for trying. He did make a mark on my little grade days as I still remember it. Actually, I might still have it somewhere...I'll have to look. My hubby never wrote me a poem...I'm scared to see what he'd come up with.


"I like big butts and I cannot lie..." - Sir Mix A Lot

"A wee um mum a way..."

...so on Saturday night we went to a gathering at one of our friends' house. While there this couple got in an argument...apparently this is a common occurrence...anyways, he was jealous because she went to the store with some other guy and another girl. It was a very ridiculous argument, but it got really heated. Once they were separated, the gathering host went to talk to him and try to get him to calm down and make up with his wife. The guy was saying, "but you don't understand, I'm always wrong...like all day she tells me I'm wrong...nothing I do is right..." the the gathering host cuts him off and says "WELCOME TO MARRIAGE BUDDY!!...get used to it!!" HAHAHAHA I laughed a lot over that one...kinda one of those funny moments that you have to be there to find it as funny as I did.

So today I'm starting to wonder if my car makes animal calls or something. Everywhere I go I have animals coming out from the wood works at me. This morning I almost hit a bird coming down my driveway. I thought he was gonna move, but he stayed right in the way till the very last second. Then I went to an appointment and on the way down their road there was a dog walking in the middle of the road...just minding his own business, not caring that I was right on his tail. On the way back from my appointment on that same road there was a deer standing on the side of the road. It was kinda weird cause at first I thought it was one of those fake deer lawn ornaments...then it moved so it freaked me out. It was right there on this guys lawn, half in the ditch, half on the side of the road. After that I go to town and have to wait for a few minutes for a whole duck family to get out of the road. Really odd, eh? I hardly dare drive anywhere later on...scared to see what else will pop out at me...

"In the jungle, the mighty jungle..." - Unknown

Uh huh...

...So this is a quote from the Chronicle Herald today:

"Lt.-Gov. Mayann Francis says it’s been disappointing that after two years she still hasn’t been able to move into Government House.

The stone mansion in downtown Halifax has been undergoing $5.7 million worth of renovations, so unlike her predecessors she hasn’t yet been able to live in the official residence of the province’s lieutenant-governor.

"It’s not something I dwell on or get sad over because I just don’t have the time," Ms. Francis said in an interview Friday to mark her second anniversary in the post.

"If I were to dwell on disappointments because I’m not in the house, then I probably wouldn’t be as successful as I have been in what I have been able to accomplish in two years — and that is a heck of a lot."

She has instead remained in her own condominium while receiving a $6,000 monthly housing allowance from the province. For her official duties, she has 2,800 square feet of space in the Maritime Centre, a highrise office building.

She said her role as the Queen’s representative, for which she’s paid $100,000 a year, involves visiting communities throughout the province — a map in her office space indicates the ground she has covered — and hosting dignitaries for various dinners and receptions.

"It’s a challenge," Ms. Francis said. "Is it easy to do it without the house? Of course it’s not. Does it mean I work 10 times harder? Yes."

She realizes the house required upgrades. But not having the staff on hand at such a location — such as housekeepers, doormen and a chef — has cost her some important company, she said. " - Chronicle Herald (http://www.thechronicleherald.ca/NovaScotia/1077134.html)

Not right sure what to say after that. Some people can't afford to heat their homes...some don't even have homes...and she's upset cause her multi-million dollar home isn't ready for her "dinner parties". Oh and who can forget the servants...apparently without waitstaff it makes you need to "work 10 times harder"...WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD HONEY!!

"Won't you look down upon me, jesus
You've got to help me make a stand
You've just got to see me through another day
My body's aching and my time is at hand
And i won't make it any other way" - James Taylor

Election and other stuff...

...so I try to keep up with the US politics as I find it very interesting. One reason is that what they do affects our country economically so it's best to understand what's going on rather than complain about it. I know many people criticise the idea that we dig into the Presidential Candidate's backgrounds too much...we should leave them alone. I disagree. I know right now people are really wanting to know how Gov. Sarah Palin plans on holding it together should she be Vice-President. She has five kids and one of her teenage daughters just had a baby so basically she's taking care of 6 children. I think that's a valid question. I was working full time with a baby at home and found it very difficult and stressful...how on earth does this lady plan on doing it all? I realize that her husband may stay at home and take care of the kids, but I still want her to comment on it. I feel that women are equal to males in many respects so I surely feel she can do the job, it's just it'll be hard for her. I want to know everything about all the people running in the election...Do they smoke? Are they in good health? What are their hobbies? Are they're kids well behaved? What jobs did you have in the past? Were you a problem student? These are things I want to know on top of what they plan on doing for our country. I treat this like scoping out a Daycare. I want to know everything about a person before I allow them to tend my child...why is this any different? We have to trust that the President and Vice-President can take care of us and our children...so give me some answers...it's not being nosey, it's be cautious.

Ok enough of the serious stuff....did you know that there are 11,000 Millionaires in the Atlantic Provinces? I don't find that to be that many people considering that Ydot has about that many people for a population...magnify that over a few provinces and it doesn't work out to be many per capita. Sadly, I'm not one of those 11,000...but at least I feel better knowing there's many others that are in the same boat as me! I'm in the majority, for once...YAY!

So I watched the model show the other day and don't really understand why they think that putting makeup all over their face like a clown makes ladies look beautiful. I think the less the better. Plus, when I go to the store I don't buy something cause it'll look good with my Halloween makeup. Right before they're photo shoots, they turn the models into these crazy looking creatures and make them bend themselves like origami to take the photos...doesn't really make sense to me. Maybe that's why I'm not photogenic...I need to put makeup from my forehead to my neck in a polka dot pattern then stick out my arms and legs like an octopus, then smile. That should be my next family portrait. Why can't they just put nice makeup on and smile. "Smile with your eyes" is what they say...how about smile with your mouth? Why doesn't that work?

"Circus life, Under the big top world. We all need the clowns, To make us smile..." - Journey

Good times...

...so you all know I hate shopping. I hate shopping for lots of reasons: A) you need to spend money and I'm cheap B) I get annoyed trying stuff on C) heavier people clothes have pleats and elastic waistbands and D) it's just not that fun.

Here's what I don't like today about shopping. No offence to the thin people of the world, but I get real annoyed when they say "I couldn't find anything that fit me!" I understand that you couldn't find something to fit as you're too small...BUT AT LEAST YOU HAD OPTIONS! Geesh, I have 2 pair of pants to try so if they don't fit it means no pants....you have the whole store and if they don't fit it means someone needs to take them in! Hum...Let's go to the mall and buy a shirt for tonight...ok...I like this one...oh wait, none in my size....what about this one?...oh wait, too tight...let's try another store with all the sales...oh wait, that's right, size 2 is on sale for $2-$5....size 16 plus is twice the price...let's go somewhere else...I'll try this on...then here comes the sale-lady "can I get you another size?"...well you could if there was such a thing as another size!....do you see how fun this is?! Now that's what I call a good time right there...fun fun fun...oh joy, oh bliss.

I bought "Wii Fit" the other day thinking this could help me lose weight. I was super pumped the day I got it...proud...best shopping day yet...so I get home all excited to start losing weight by playing video games. I have to create my person so that it can track my success, which is rather cool. It asks for my height and age then you stand on this board and it takes your weight to then figure out your Body Mass Index (BMI)....this was OK with me UNTIL the machine makes the same noise the lotto thing does when you lose and shows me that I'm obese. Well that's real motivating. I could get over that as really, it's personal and no one needs to see it...then it happens....the icing on the cake...my person goes from thin to plump right there on the screen! Can you believe it? Now I have to stare at a FAT video game character every time I play...fricken lovely. I get the point, but seriously...let me have a skinny character...that's all I ask...no need to have large hips and gut on TV...I have them in real life so really, I don't need to see it on a cartoon character of me.

Anyways, despite my fat...oh sorry...obese "Mii", I'm enjoying the game. I'm sure I look like a crazy person in the living room window doing the imaginary hoola-hoop....or ski jumping...or air boxing...the neighbors must think I'm losing it :)

"You look so dumb right now...standing outside my house..." - Rihanna