Life According to lights

Adventures in Dating...Chapter Two: Guys Don't Talk

2010-03-20T23:34:00.002-04:00

Who knew that the latest chapter would come along so quickly. So this week I was contacted on MSN by a guy that I'd first heard from last summer. We'd chatted off and on for a few months before I met him for a coffee last September. He seemed nice enough but I didn't really think there was any potential with him. When he said hello this week he asked if I was interested in meeting for coffee again. I wasn't really sure if I should seeing as I didn't see potential but thought it is just a coffee....no harm in that.

He had asked about meeting for coffee a few other times and said he'd call but never did so I said that to him. He suggested 8pm Thursday night. I quickly checked to make sure Survivor wasn't on and then said okay. After I agreed he didn't say anything. I waited for him to chat but nothing popped up on my screen. Eventually I typed that he was awfully quiet tonight and that I hoped he was more talkative when we met for coffee. His reply was that "girls talk...guys don't talk". I wasn't quite sure how to answer that one but wrote back that girls like when guys talk. At this point I was trying to figure a way out of the coffee date.

He didn't reply for a bit and I could almost picture this non-talking guy trying to figure out what he could talk about. Apparently this was the best he could do. His response was that he sold his snowmobile and didn't get paid for it. Because he had made an effort I tried to make an effort too. I said, "well that sucks, why didn't you get paid for it?" What came next floored me. He said that the guy who bought it paid him part of the money but still owed him about $200 so he went to the guy's house and demanded the money saying that if he didn't get it he'd KILL him! He said the guy called the police and they came but didn't do anything other than tell him to stay away from the guy.

When I finally got past the initial shock I had a couple thoughts. 1. No way in hell am I meeting him for coffee. 2. How do I reply to THAT? and 3. Sometimes guys really shouldn't talk. I told him that I was now pretty nervous about meeting someone for coffee who made death threats over $200. He responded by going offline without saying anything. Guess he was back to not talking again. A few minutes later he signed back on and sent a message that wished me good luck and that he was deleting me. My thoughts? 1. You're deleting ME? Somehow I don't meet YOUR standards now? 2. You can't delete me...I'm deleting you first. 3. Now I understand why some guys don't talk. After deleting and blocking him I sat and laughed thinking that maybe it was time to give up the online dating thing for now but there are still a couple "irons in the fire" so there may be a couple more chapters coming soon. LOL!

Adventures in Dating....Chapter One: Bad Cop

2010-03-13T23:00:00.004-05:00

Buggy made me do it!

It's been over a year since I wrote anything here but I think it's time to dust off the blog because I seem to have some stories to tell now that I've entered the dating world. What a long strange trip it's been.

I think most of you are aware of the change in my marital status since I last posted here. Dusterboy and I separated after 30 years and for the first time in my life I'm dating. Who knew that dating would be such an adventure.

The latest chapter in my dating life came to an abrupt end yesterday. I met "Bad Cop" on a dating website. He contacted me at the beginning of February shortly after I had broken up with "Mr. Perfect" (which is another blog for another day). Bad Cop is 44, single, never married, no kids. That alone should have been my first clue. He lives in Toronto and has a camp up here where he said he planned to move in a couple years when he retires. His job now is a desk job but he spent 20 years on the road as a cop in Toronto. We talked online, on the phone and texted each other for over a month before finally meeting in person last Friday.

We were both very excited about his week of vacation that he was spending up here. Plans were made to meet on Friday at his camp. I had gone out there the previous weekend to check it out before agreeing to meet him there and felt comfortable about it. My friends and family? Not so much. Friday night finally arrived and the big moment was upon us. There were a lot of laughs and plenty of sparks. He had made dinner and had country music playing for me...candles, wine and it was a great date. As luck would have it I had to leave for Toronto the next morning to attend my cousin's 25th anniversary party so I had to be up early the next morning. We talked and had a few drinks and danced in front of the fireplace until very early in the morning when I had to go home.

We texted each other all weekend while I was in Toronto and I couldn't wait to get home Sunday night because the plan was for me to go back out there for dinner when I got back. I got home Sunday night around 4:30 and was back to his place by 6pm. He was drinking rum when I got there but I kept thinking, he's on vacation....no big deal. It was my turn to cook and we had another nice dinner with wine and then watched the Academy Awards together. He had a couple beer while we watched tv. He told me how much he missed me while I was gone and that he couldn't wait to get moved up here and build his retirement house....adding that he would love to share it with me. I had to work in the morning so I left after midnight to try and get some much needed sleep.

Monday we talked on the phone and he said that he wasn't feeling well. I joked that I hoped it wasn't my cooking and he assured me it wasn't. He thought he'd caught a flu bug and I hoped that I wouldn't get it too. We didn't see each other Monday but we talked online and made plans for me to go out to his place again Tuesday night. He had filled up the hot tub and said he'd cook a roast for dinner. His internet connection died on him and I never heard back from him so I decided to just show up Tuesday night and hope that the plans were still in place.

He was sitting on the deck waiting for me on Tuesday when I got there. He said he still wasn't feeling all that well but that he'd be okay. We walked down to the ice hut on the lake where I met his friend/neighbor. I had come directly from work so he gave me a pair of his boots and a coat to wear because my little boots and leather jacket weren't really appropriate for walking on the lake. I was swimming around inside his rather large boots and coat and I'm glad there was no camera present. The neighbor and his wife were having major marriage problems which were discussed in front of me. After visiting for a bit we headed back to his place for dinner. He opened a bottle of wine with dinner and he drank most of it during the evening. We sat in the hot tub outside under a star-filled night for a couple hours. It was a very romantic setting and things seemed to be going really well between us. Unfortunately, I had to work in the morning so I had to leave around 11pm. He had to take his icehut off the lake the next day so he was going to be busy but we made plans to get together Thursday night. He would come to my place for dinner and then come watch me play volleyball at 8pm.

Wednesday afternoon we spoke again. He said he was still sick and feeling even worse. Said that he spent most of the day in bed. Not sure if he even got the hut off the lake. I spent the evening getting things ready for dinner the next night. Thursday morning I called him to see how he was feeling and he said that he was feeling really crappy and that he wanted to see a doctor. I made some calls to find a walk in clinic he could go to and called him back with a number. He called me back to say he had an appointment at 5. I asked him to stop by my apartment before his appointment and we'd make plans from there. He agreed and said he'd see me at 4:15 when I got home from work. That was just before noon.

I got home from work and waited....and waited.....and waited. I sent him a text, no reply. I called his place, no answer. Went to volleyball and still not word from him. By the time I got home from volleyball at 9pm I was getting very worried. I had visions of him being in the hospital or worse. My first instinct was to drive out to his camp and check on him but I thought that might not be the best idea going out there alone so late. My Mom would have heart failure at the thought. So I went to bed and tried to sleep. I had made arrangements at work that I might take Friday off to spend the day with him seeing as he would be heading back to Toronto on Sunday. I barely slept.

Woke up at 5am and still no word so I showered and dressed and decided to drive out there. I stopped and picked up some muffins thinking he might want something to eat. While I was driving out there my imagination was running wild. Was I going to discover a dead body? Would he be in bed with some woman? Would he think I was an intruder and shoot me? Ya, I've got a vivid imagination. When I pulled in his driveway his vehicle was there. His snowmachine was sitting in the yard and there were fresh tracks in the yard. I thought that was strange seeing as it hadn't been out on Tuesday when I left and he said he was sick in bed for the past two days.

I went to the door and called out his name while knocking. I may have even ducked slightly in case the bullets started flying. There was no response so I went inside and continued calling out to him. I found him in his bedroom....naked....damn, he has a great body. *sigh* Sorry, got lost in thought there for a minute. He wasn't moving at first and I was afraid that my vivid imagination wasn't so far off the mark but then he began to stir. Phewww! Relief filled me. I sat down on the edge of the bed and asked him if he was okay....told him i was very worried about him. He was totally incoherent in his answers. He started saying something about Demerol. I had no idea what he was saying so I asked him if he took Demerol. He said that nobody told him it would make him so sleepy. I questioned why he had taken Demerol for an upset stomach and he answered that I had told him to. I said that I had told him to take GRAVOL, no Demerol! He said, ya....that's what I meant.

I was somewhat relieved that he hadn't taken Demerol but was still trying to figure out why he was so incoherent. He seemed totally out of it. I asked how he was feeling and he said he was still feeling crappy. His stomach was making noises like it had been on Tuesday. I asked him what the doctor said and he mumbled that he slept all afternoon and missed the appointment. I asked him why he didn't return my calls and said that I was very worried when I didn't hear from him. He started snoring. I asked him if he wanted anything, that I had brought him some muffins if he wanted to try eating. He asked for water. When I went to the kitchen to get him water I found about 8 empty pop cans and an empty bottle of Captain Morgan's. Suddenly all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place.

I went back into the bedroom and asked him if he'd had anything to drink while he sipped on the water. He said "not as much as you'd think". Still not sure what that was supposed to mean. He then said that the neighbor lady had come over last night to cry on his shoulder. I told him that I had made arrangements to take the day off to spend with him and asked if he was going to wake up soon. It was after 7am and if he'd been sleeping for as many hours as he lead me to believe he should be awake. Even a couple gravol wouldn't lay a 6', 205 lb man out for THAT long! He kept falling asleep and I had to ask him again if I should just go to work or if he wanted me to stay to take care of him. He said he needed to sleep another 4 hours at least. At this point I didn't know what to do. I went out to the sunroom and drank my hot chocolate and tried to think. I decided that this was ridiculous....I had to leave. I went back in and told him I was leaving. Said that he should call me later and let me know how he was. It's now very early Sunday morning and I still haven't heard from him.

Bad news? It didn't work out between us. Good news? I found out before it went too far. With each new dating experience I learn. What I learned from this one is to trust my gut. Friday night I thought he was drinking quite a bit but I wrote it off as his first night of vacation and maybe some nerves about our first meeting. Sunday? He drank three different kinds of alcohol while I was there. That reminded me of an old friend who used to drink whatever was available....he was an alcoholic. Even on Tuesday when he said his stomach was upset....he still drank. I had a feeling he was drinking too much but I may have dismissed it because everything else about this guy was so good. From now on I'll try to listen to my gut.

PS: I've missed you all. Yes, even you. *grin*

We Adopted a Family!

2008-12-17T21:22:00.002-05:00

I think I may have finally found some Christmas spirit! My family ~ Mom & Dad, sister and her family, and us ~ are adopting a single mom and her two young sons this year. We're bringing Christmas to them and I couldn't be more excited.

My sister works for Children's Aid and when she emailed me the details about the family I sat in my office and cried. I'm more excited about buying for them than for my own family...mostly because nobody in my family is in dire need of anything.

While shopping tonight I found a silver angel ornament that says "Believe" on it. Also picked up a Jenga game, some Blistex Silk & Shine, and some Sponge Bob Bandaids. I'm going out again tomorrow to buy more stuff. My sister bought a little baby sleigh because the mom walks the 9 year old to school every morning and was trying to push a stroller through the snow. We're going to fill the sleigh up with things and then wrap presents for each of them. Then we'll likely buy her some grocery store gift cards. Any other ideas? We have to have this ready for Monday.

Incredibly Sad PSA...

2008-12-03T18:11:00.003-05:00

http://www.nugget.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1327035

I work with Tom Sr., the father and grandfather of those who died. Please make sure you have a working carbon monoxide detector on every floor of your home. If you're stuck for a gift? Give someone a detector.

I don't know how Tom and his family are going to get through this.

Holly is a Bonehead

2008-11-23T15:34:00.002-05:00

She has developed this weird habit of needing permission to jump up on the footrest of the lazyboy chair when I'm in it. As soon as I sit down she comes running and wants up. I can't sit in the chair without reclining because she needs her spot. But she can't just come over and jump up...she has to sit in front of it and sneeze and bark until I "invite" her to come up. The invitation involves me saying okay and tapping the arm of the chair. *rolls eyes*

More Holly weirdness? When she comes in to get up on my bed, she will only jump up on it in one spot. If there are cords from my laptop on the floor at that spot she'll sit and whine because she can't get up. *shakes head*

She had another seizure last week. The vet isn't overly concerned. She had bloodwork on Thursday and we'll probably have to increase her meds when we get results. She's also gained some weight. She's 5.3kg now. Up from 4.9kg. She's such a little porker. This picture was taken a few months ago. There's no green grass showing at the moment.

What's new you ask?

2008-11-12T21:09:00.003-05:00

1. I'm staying at my sister's house until Friday while she's away. For the next two days I get to play Mommy to my 17 year old nephew and 14 year old niece. Woohoo! Actually, I'm having fun with them. Matt and I were just messaging each other. He's downstairs on his computer and Sara and I are upstairs replying to him on my laptop. *giggle*

2. Any word on OT? It sucks that I have wireless high speed and no OT. *pout*

3. Dusterboy and I have now been married for 3 entire decades. *groan* I feel so effing ancient. He sent me the most beautiful flower arrangement last week and it made the entire office smell like a funeral home. *snort* Who knew lillies were so fragrant?

4. My anniversary surprise for Dusterboy was a hotel room last Friday night after work, then dinner out with people from work and then a night at the bar listening to one of my co-worker's band. Then the next morning we were going to meet up with friends and go to Sudbury for shopping and Red Lobster. Unfortunately, Dusterboy was too hungover on Saturday morning so I ended up going with our friends while he went home. *rolls eyes* He topped that off with a speeding ticket on the way home last night. $115 Grrrr!

5. Looks like Dusterboy's family is all coming to my house for Christmas Eve this year. Sure hope I don't have to work that day. They'll come up in the afternoon, have dinner, and then head home that night. We'll come to North Bay to my sister's house on Christmas morning.

6. My niece has been sitting here watching me type. I told her to find something to do so she pulled out her MP3 player and tried to show me some video clip of singing bread and vegetables. I think it was from Sesame Street. She's weird.

7. Tomorrow I have my 6 month appointment with the eye specialist where they dialate my eyes and I'm not supposed to drive. Niece has another volleyball practice at 6pm so I'll have to drive. Good thing it will be dark by then. They're down to 14 girls and he's cutting two more. Keep your fingers crossed for her!

8. I thought I sprained my finger last night at volleyball but it turns out it wasn't. I was so freakin' tired last night I could barely move and forget about jumping to hit. Been having some sleeping issues lately. Six hours a night just isn't enough but my body seems to think that's all it requires.

9. Just came back from the kitchen with a bowl full of Doritos. My niece wasn't impressed that I waited to open the bag until she had brushed her teeth before bed. *snort* I thought it was hilarious.

10. Is it wrong that I was happy that Dusterboy decided to stay home instead of coming to babysit with me? Last week so many people asked me how many years I'd been married when they saw my Happy Anniversary flowers. When I told them 30 years, they said that I should be proud because people just don't stay married for that long anymore. After this past week I can understand why. *sigh*

My bird is sleeping...

2008-10-20T18:55:00.002-04:00

On Saturday we had a few friends over for a 4 wheeler ride. It was the first time one of my girlfriends had ever been on a 4 wheeler and she LOVED it. We left our house and headed up to the tower (where I took Carey and Breezy last fall). We took some drinks with us and had a really fun day. The second stop was at a camp on the Ottawa River and the third stop was at a remote lake.

It was at this third stop that we met up with a guy who was out partridge hunting with his Dad and two daughters. The girls were sooooo freakin' cute. They were 7 and 3 and had long blonde curly hair. They wore hunter orange fleece and were having a blast. The 7 year old was walking around carrying a dead partridge and cradling it in her arms like a puppy. The partridge's head was flopping around and she's gently pick it up and reposition it as she petted it. She told my friend that her bird was sleeping. *snort* We had had a couple drinks by this point and had a lot of trouble keeping our giggles on the inside.

Can you say redneck?

Things I'm Thankful for...

2008-10-13T19:52:00.003-04:00

My family. We had a great day together yesterday. Everyone is healthy and happy and it really was a lot of fun. We played a beanbag baseball with the entire family and my neice Melissa hit a grand slam homerun. She was so excited.

The weather. I could not have asked for better weather for Thanksgiving weekend! Sunny and hot! I felt more like laying on the dock suntanning than pulling it out of the water and it was so perfect for our family pictures yesterday. We were actually looking for shade.

Health. While I have a bit of a sore back from all the work we did this weekend, I can't complain. My Mom took my blood pressure yesterday and it was 106 over 64. I had been concerned because I have been having pressurey type headaches lately that I thought were related to my neck problems but I was a little worried they could be high blood pressure.

Friends. Not only my wonderful real life friends but my fanastic on line friends. Next weekend we're having a bunch of people here for a 4 wheeler ride. Carey? Breezy? Wanna go? We're going to be going up to the tower again.

My Favourite Websites. OT, BNB, Blogworld, Facebook and a couple others. Without them I'd have to do a lot more housework.

Phone Call. The one that came in last week to say that I don't have to show up for Jury Duty tomorrow morning. I think it would have been interesting to see how the process worked but I wouldn't have wanted to end up involved in a gruesome trial.

Clorox Wipes. I have containers everywhere now. They're so handy for quick cleanups.

Hope all the Canuck bloggers had a great weekend and are sufficiently stuffed. :D

There's a Happy Fox Nearby

2008-10-06T17:34:00.003-04:00

Saturday morning Dusterboy and I went up to the cottage to take the boat out of the water and pick up a few things we needed. He drove the truck and trailer over to the landing while I drove the boat. It took him a while to get there so I did a couple circles around the lake. I love taking the boat out by myself. Makes me feel so independant!

When we got home I started making stuffing and getting a turkey ready for the oven. When I took it out of the plastic wrapper it smelled slightly "off". Not bad, just not quite right. I went ahead and stuffed it and cooked it and then ended up throwing it out when it was done. It didn't have the good turkey smell that it should have had and it, again, smelled slightly "off". Has that ever happened to you? Dusterboy took the turkey over to the sandpit across the highway and dumped it in the bush. I can just imagine some little fox stumbling upon that and thinking he's hit the motherlode! :P

Tony Stewart sucks.

We're having family portraits done at my parent's house next weekend while we're there for Thanksgiving. Any suggestions about what to wear? The photographer thought fall coloured tops and jeans.

Moving Day

2008-09-27T14:27:00.004-04:00

Tomorrow is moving day. Time to head home for the winter. I'm excited and sad at the same time. I'm looking forward to an extra 20 minutes of sleep in the morning but I'm going to miss the view.

Had to post a picture of my Mums for Augie.

This is a road we take on the way home. It's a back way that saves us some time and at this time of year the leaves are spectacular!

In other news...Holly is now a week into her Phenobarbital and we're calling her Cheech because she's so stoned all the time. It's affecting her squirrel hunting activities. Look at those eyes! *snort* No seizures but it's awful seeing her so groggy. We'll take her for bloodwork in a few weeks to make sure the levels are okay. They told us to expect her to be very drugged for the first two weeks until she gets used to the meds.

The Wedding Crier

2008-09-07T20:51:00.002-04:00

That was me this weekend. My cousin's daughter was married on Saturday and I've never cried so much at a wedding. It was a beautiful wedding and the best ceremony I've ever attended. Why the tears? Amanda's mom died suddenly when Amanda was only 8 months old. My cousin has dedicated his entire life since then to raising her. He did an amazing job and she's a beautiful person inside and out. I couldn't help but think about everything they've been through. My cousin and his wife were so in love. They were "that couple" that everyone aspires to be. The speaches and the first dances had me all choked up again. When Amanda thanked her Dad for being both the Father and the Mother of the Bride I almost bit through my cheek trying to hold it in.

On the lighter side...
The minister used a Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head as props during the ceremony.
I had a "quicky" with Meemo on Friday afternoon.
Dusterboy is so directionally challenged that he got lost across the street from the hotel.
We bought new dishes for our redecorated dining room. Now we need a table and chairs.

Back to work tomorrow morning. *pout*

Summer's Here!

2008-08-29T19:26:00.002-04:00

Looks like summer has finally arrived in Northern Ontario. And I? am a genius for booking my holidays on the week that it made it's first appearance! The forecast shows sunshine all next week and no rain! Of course, I'm sure I've just jinxed myself and will end up with rain all week. :P

So while the rest of the world is going back to school, I'm going to sleep in! <----my favourite part of vacations

Things I'll be doing when I wake up.

1. Make chili sauce with the bushel of tomatoes I bought yesterday.
2. Picking and freezing green beans.
3. Swimming, kayaking, tanning, reading and drinking. :D
4. Entertaining a few visitors.
5. Going to wedding in St. Catherines next weekend (and hopefully seeing Meemo again).
6. Possibly re-shingling the cottage roof if Breezy and Carey show up to help.
7. Picking up 6 cord of wood from the old woodman. Remember him from last year?
8. Play with a new toy Dusterboy brought home last night.
9. Catch up on Holly time. I've been neglecting her lately.
10. Go for a 4 wheeler ride.

Just shoot me now

2008-08-15T18:46:00.002-04:00

I have a summer cold. It's been years since I've had one and I had forgotten just how much they suck. Dusterboy had it a week ago and I thought I'd fought it off but playing ball in the rain all last weekend gave the cold the win.

It's been a loooooong week. My boss was away so I had to go in even though I was sick. I had ball games on Monday night and Wednesday night as well. Today I could hardly talk. After five full days of being sick I'm really happy to see Friday night. Too bad I have to get up tomorrow and go to my BIL's wedding. I'd call in sick but Dusterboy is in the wedding party so I really should be there. Plus, I have a smokin' hot dress to wear. *grin*

On Oprah last night the were asking the question, "Why did you get married?" I had a one word answer...pregnant. *snicker* I'm wondering why my BIL is getting married. He's in his 4os and they're not having kids. He's been married before and it didn't go well. I'm not sure if I see this one working out all that well either. I hope they prove me wrong.

So why did you get married?

Back to Work Tomorrow

2008-07-27T15:54:00.004-04:00

Another week of vacation is coming to an end and for the first time in a long time I'm okay with going back to work tomorrow. Not that I didn't enjoy my vacation. I did. It was a very relaxing holiday. We didn't stress about what we did. We didn't try to jam too much stuff into it. For the first time in a couple years I feel very content about going back to work. I think that's a good thing.

I started my week of vacation with a mouth full of stitches, on antibiotics, and a long-range forecast of an entire week of rain. The first day I cried I was so down in the dumps. My vacation had nowhere to go but up. And it did. We didn't dwell on the forecast and decided that it is what it is and we'd just take it as it came.

Saturday and Sunday were beautiful days. Warn, sunny and quiet. We hung out at the cottage by ourselves and just relaxed. Monday we went to my parent's house about an hour and a half south of here. They're selling their cottage and wanted us to trade paddleboats with them. Theirs is better than ours was and they figured we should have the good one and let the other one go with the cottage. They also wanted us to see if there were any treasures that we'd like from their cottage for ours. We had a nice lunch at their house prior to heading out to their cottage (another 20 minute drive).

My Dad made me this coat rack and I absolutely LOVE it! I found a picture of one and asked if he'd be able to make one for me. We have a bear theme at our cottage and I thought it would be a cool addition to our bear collection. Dad is really good at woodwork and the coat rack turned out even better than I had imagined it could.

At the cottage we found a few more treasures and filled the truck. I said goodbye to the cottage. They've owned it for over 20 years but now that they have a new camper they never go out there.

We then drove out to visit some friends. We'd never been to their house before so while we were in the neighborhood we drove another half an hour to get to their place. They were coming to the cottage on Wednesday and we wanted to confirm our plans. After a short visit with them we headed back to Mom and Dad's for dinner. We had thought about going to see The Dark Knight on the way home but we were anxious to get all our new treasures home.

On Tuesday we went and bought some wood and patio stones to start working on the new support piers for the cottage. The ones we're sitting on now are old, sinking and rotting. I looked really cute shovelling sand out of the back of the truck in my bathing suit and sandals.

Our friends came to the cottage on Wednesday morning and we sat on the deck and had a couple cocktails before heading down the lake to swim in the fast water. We putted along and showed them the lake and when we went under the bridge the husband stood up and grabbed the bridge and climbed up on it! We had to circle back and pick him up. He had hoped to be fast enough to get to the other side and jump back in on the other side. *snicker*

We swam and played in the water for a while, swimming across the current until the skies opened up and it poured rain. Our friend saw a tire on the bottom of the current and he was determined to get it from the bottom. Even the rain didn't deter him. He was finally triumphant.

Reluctantly, we decided to head back to the cottage and when we got there the dock was dry. It hadn't rained at all at the cottage. We swam again off the dock and all had a good laugh watching our friend try to get in the kayak. We had more drinks and a fish dinner before getting lazy and relaxing for the evening.

One of our friends had to work at noon so after breakfast they had to head out. Thursday was another work day for us and I filled and delivered pails with sand for Dusterboy who was under the cottage building piers. We were really happy with the amount we got done seeing as we hadn't even planned to work on this during our holidays. By 5pm we called it quits and went for a nice long boat ride to a corner of the lake we'd never been to. We made it back just in time as it started raining about 5 minutes after we got back and covered the boat.

On Friday we started getting ready for the weekend. Voyageur Days is a weekend festival in Mattawa (about an hour away) and they have a huge turnout. http://www.voyageurdays.com/home.htm It's one of the top 100 festivals in Ontario. We drove out on Friday night to see Michelle Wright. Dusterboy was the DD and I had my fair share of $5 drinks. We met up with the friends who'd been up to the cottage Wednesday as well as another couple from work and some friends we hadn't seen for ages. We got back to the cottage at 1:30am and watched the last bit of Swingtown on a late feed.

We slept in until 10am and then packed up and headed back to Mattawa. The music started at noon and went until midnight and we decided to stay the night. All the campsites and hotels are booked well in advance so we took our truck tent that sets up in the truck bed and parked in a friend's driveway for the night. It had poured buckets just before we got there and the street beside our friend's house was flooded. It drained away fairly quickly but not before killing a couple cars. We headed down to the festival grounds and listened to the music and hung out with a bunch of friends we met up with. It was hot and sunny and the ground was saturated with water so our feet were quite a mess. I was glad that I packed a box of baby wipes to clean up with before the evening session. We stayed until midnight and then headed back to the tent. We were wiped and our legs and feet were done. We slept, but not very well, until 7:30 this morning and we packed up and came home. It's been a very lazy day today. I've been napping off and on while we watch the Brickyard race.

All in all it's been a great holiday. My stitches are gone, I'm relaxed and tanned and I think I can handle another month of work before we have another week off.

The Fortune Teller & Lasso Girl

2008-07-12T18:27:00.003-04:00

One of my co-workers plays in a band and often play at a bar in North Bay. Whenever they do a bunch of us from work get together and go. Last night was one of those nights. We went out for dinner first and then headed over to the bar around 8:30 so we'd get a good table close to the dance floor.

The bar is not one of the most happening places in town. The patrons are um, colourful to say the least. *grin* The place is always packed when our friend's band plays and our group normally stick together in one corner and travel in pairs to the bathrooms. Last night as the place was filling up with these colourful characters I thought of that music video for Toby Keith's "I Love This Bar".

We spent half the night laughing our asses off at them and the other half feeling guilty for doing so. Watching them dance was like watching a train wreck, we just couldn't look away. Now I'm not a great dancer by any stretch of the imagination but never in my life have I seen so many unique dance styles under one roof.

At one point I was dancing with my co-worker and this chick who'd been looking at me all night came over and starting talking. We didn't catch everything she said but from what we did hear, she was telling us our "fortune". She said that we were going to be very happy together. *snort* Um, okay.

Near the end of the night there was only Dusterboy and I and one other couple left. Two young guys and three young girls came in, I'd guess them to be college students. They were having their own little party and were told they couldn't have their drinks on the dance floor so they set them on the end of our table after asking if that was okay. The girls were beautiful, absolutely stunningly beautiful. The stood like sore thumbs in the motley crew that were on the dance floor. The tallest girl was a very sexy, seductive dancer and we were all hypnotized by them although I'm sure Dusterboy and my co-worker were enjoying it more than his wife and I were. *grin*

The tall, dark haired girl got my co-worker and his wife up to dance and during the next song she tried to get Dusterboy and I up. Dusterboy doesn't dance. Ever. I got up and danced with her against my better judgement. I didn't even want to be in the same room as her let alone dance beside this tall, young beauty. I don't think I've ever felt so old and frumpy. But what the hell I wanted to dance. While she was dancing with me she made a motion of twirling a lasso and then throwing it at Dusterboy. Once she had him "roped", she then started to try to lure him onto the dance floor. The look on his face was PRICELESS! I was LMAO at his inner turmoil at not wanting to dance but not wanting to say no to her. *snort* She never did get him up...on the floor at least. *snicker* She started dirty dancing with me a little and I had a moment where I thought I might be able to switch teams. Wow. That girl oozed sex appeal.

What a fun night! We didn't get home until 3am so we were heading towards 24 straight hours. I'm having a lazy day today but I did manage to make French Onion Soup, ribs and salad for dinner which is ready now.

Bling Bling!

2008-07-05T21:20:00.003-04:00

Or how I celebrated the 4th of July!

Last night after work we went to the mall to start buying replacements for some of the items that were stolen during the breakin. We were just going to have a look at stuff and not buy it all but we were thinking of picking up Dusterboy's watch and my anklet.

We went to one store and then wandered into Dusterboy's favourite store, Peoples. They were having a 30% off sale as well as a save the tax sale. It was a really good sale and the saleslady was really nice. She showed us watches first and we decided on a Seiko Titanium. I love it and Dusterboy is so excited that it is soooooo light. Then she found me the exact anklet that was stolen. I immediately put it on my ankle and wouldn't take it off. I finally felt dressed after feeling naked all summer while wearing sandals and shorts or capris.

Then I mentioned that I needed to start looking for a wedding ring replacement as well. Her eyes lit up a little at that. She showed me a three stone ring. It had one large stone in the middle, two smaller ones on either side and then 5 tiny stones in a line on either side. On the inside of the ring it says Past*Present*Future. Where the asteriks are there are two tiny diamonds as well. Then the wedding band has five more stones with the same 5 tiny ones on either side of them. All together there are 30 stones. It's so pretty. And sparkly too. I wasn't sure if I wanted to commit myself but I have 30 days to decide if I want to keep it and 90 days to pay. It was such a good sale and the ring was so perfect that I had to go for it.

Thirty stones for 30 years of marriage. Past*Present*Future. I really think it was meant to be. I can't stop looking at it. I almost started crying in the store. It was strange. I wasn't expecting it to be an emotional night but it was.

To make it even more emotional the saleslady was Michelle's neighbor and she recognized us from the funeral. We told fun stories about Michelle and talked about how much we missed her.

I will always remember how I spent July 4th, 2008.

2008-06-25T18:32:00.002-04:00

1. WHAT DATE IS YOUR ANNIVERSARY? November 4th (1978 making this year our 30th anniversary)

2. WHERE DID YOU GET MARRIED? Powassan United Church.

3. WHO PROPOSED AND HOW? Neither. I think we both just thought it was the right thing to do seeing as I was pregnant. I've always wished that I could have had a real proposal.

4. HOW LONG WERE YOU ENGAGED? Two months.

5. WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF YOUR WEDDING DAY? (AND IT CAN'T BE YOUR HUSBAND) . Dancing with my Dad and Dusterboy rubbing my feet on our wedding night.

6. WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE IF YOU COULD? What wouldn't I have changed? *snort* Actually, I would have changed the disc jockey. He was about 80 years old and his music was older. I wouldn't have dropped my cake and broke it when delivering it to the hall and I would have done my hair differently.

8. REMEMBER ANYTHING SPECIAL ABOUT YOUR WEDDING CEREMONY? My MIL was 20 minutes late because Dusterboy's old girlfriend had ditched her car on the way to the ceremony and they stopped to pull her out. The minister called Dusterboy by his last name which is also a girl's name. Made us giggle.

9. WHERE YOU CLEAN OR MESSY WHEN YOU CUT YOUR CAKE? Definitely clean. I've never been to a wedding where they squish cake on the other's face. I don't think Canuckians do that. *snicker*

10. WHERE DID YOU GO ON YOUR HONEYMOON? Back to work. We didn't do a honeymoon until our 10th anniversary when we spent a week in Daytona Beach.

Thanks Swami...I was trying to figure out what to blog about. It was either this or the neverfreakinending thunder storms we've been having. This was much more fun.

Bitching about Bifocals

2008-06-10T20:30:00.002-04:00

Anyone care to join me? *grin*

I'm trying out bifocal contacts and am going on trial pair #3. No luck so far. One pair I could see mid range but not long distance or close up. Second pair I could see mid and far range but couldn't read the paper. Tonight he ordered me a pair that are long distance in one eye and up close in the other. If they don't work it'll be new glasses for me. I decided to get a jump of frame selection tonight just in case.

My objective was to avoid having to buy new glasses and prescription sunglasses. So much cheaper to buy contacts and cheap sunglasses. Anybody wear the progressive lenses? I've been told they don't get dark inside a car.

I remember hearing people bitch about bifocals before I needed them and used to laugh. Not so funny anymore. *snicker*

Michelle...

2008-05-22T18:53:00.002-04:00

I lost my friend today but more importantly, my best friend lost her sister. Michelle died this morning after a long and courageous fight. My heart is breaking for Nicky, her family and Michelle’s daughters.

The phone call came while I was at work. I knew things weren’t going well. This morning on my way to work I met Nicky at Tim Horton’s. She was on her way to the hospital after a rough night with Michelle. We stood in the parking lot at 6:30am crying and hugging each other. I had a bad feeling as I drove away and when I met them again on the highway something inside me wanted to turn and follow them to the hospital rather than going to work so I could see Michelle, just in case.

While I tried to keep my mind on work I thought of my own sister and how much she meant to me. Even though we’re very different people we are very close in our own way. Nicky and Michelle had that sister bond and then some. When you give your sibling a part of your body you can’t help but have an even stronger bond than most. There was nothing that they wouldn’t have done for each other.

I left work after trying to muddle through after the phone call. I had some time before I could pick up Dave so I drove down to the waterfront and sat in my car looking out over the lake remembering fun times shared with Michelle.

We met on the ball field. When I moved to my current town I became friends with Nicky before finding out they were sisters and then discovered that Michelle had worked with my brother. Her snarkybitch comments made me notice her but her heart made me love her. She liked to portray herself as a big toughie but she was so kind hearted.

Playing ball with Michelle was always an adventure. I remember one tournament where she tripped as she crossed the hog line (a chalk line halfway between third and home) and wiped out head first as she crossed home. She came up spitting dirt and covered in dust and chalk. She dusted herself off and announced to all in earshot, “If anyone finds a nipple it’s mine. I‘m pretty sure I just lost one.” The entire bench and bleachers erupted in laughter.

I remember another tournament where she was wearing a minipad and as she rounded 1st she felt it start to slide down her leg. Rounding 2nd she could feel it was about the poke out of her shorts. Always a quick thinker she fell to the ground and faked a pulled muscle rather than humiliate herself in front of a huge crowd on hand. Everyone was concerned about her until she got to the bench and let the team in on her situation.

I thought about the night that Nicky, Michelle, Tammy and I sat up half the night playing cards in Michelle’s camper. Until the generator ran out of gas. All the boys were sleeping so Michelle and I decided that we’d seen the boys fill up and restart the generator enough times that we could do it too. With Nicky and Tammy holding the flashlight, Michelle and I giggled and stumbled (did I mention there was alcohol involved?) through the bush to the generator and struggled to get it started. After what seemed like a half hour of pulling on the cord we finally admitted defeat. We did, however, spend many hours laughing about that night in the years to follow. She loved to tease me about that night.

I thought about the girl’s weekend at my cottage with Nicky, Michelle, Cathy and Kim. We sat in the screened in porch, ate far too much food, drank just the right amount of beverages, played Humzinger and laughed until we couldn’t laugh anymore. That night will stand out in my memories as one of my favorite nights at the cottage. Michelle loved it there and it pleased me to no end to share it with her. We planned another girl’s weekend this time last year but Michelle wasn’t well enough to come.

She loved Dave. She always called him “her man”. I was fine with that. He would have done anything for her as would I. Michelle was a proud and independent woman. She never complained and was always more worried about others rather than herself. Her sense of humor was a sharp as her tongue. So quick, so funny, so down-to-earth.

Michelle loved animals. When she hit a deer with her car and smashed her car she was more upset and concerned for the deer than for her car. I thought today of her beloved dog Shadow. She was heart-broken when he died and I pictured him waiting for her today, greeting her with a wagging tail and a big drool-filled lick. Take good care of her Shadowman.

Rest in peace my dear friend. I love you and miss you already.

To Catch a Theif & Fainting Puppies

2008-05-14T20:51:00.002-04:00

1. They caught part of the breakin crew. The person we thought was involved right from the start? Was involved. The 15 yr old son of a friend. On one hand I feel relief because we weren't randomly chosen for the breakin but, on the other hand, I feel sadness for the whole situation. It's awkward for everyone.

2. I should be picking up my new laptop either tomorrow or Friday. It is an HP instead of a Dell because I didn't want to have to wait the week or two it would have taken Dell to deliver one. I ordered it at Future Shop today. They are loading XP on it before I pick it up. I will also be picking up a lock which will secure it to a hardened steel anchor on the floor beside my chair. I ended up losing all the pictures I'd taken from last July until just before Niagara Falls. They hadn't been saved on my stick. *pout*

3. We've installed an alarm system in the house and the garage. It cost us a bunch of money but at least we can feel better about leaving the house now.

4. As we were getting close to home tonight I said to Dusterboy, "I've got that feeling again. What will we find tonight when we pull in the yard?" I get that queasy feeling every night now when we approach home. Tonight we found an OPP cruiser in the yard. I was glad we got there when we did or we would have missed him again. He and I have been playing telephone tag all week. He seems excited about the new leads to follow.

5. I'm going to the cottage for the long weekend on Friday where I plan to drink massive amounts of alcohol and do very little work.

6. Holly scared the bejebus out of me on Monday. I got home at 5pm after stopping at Future Shop for estimates on a replacement laptop. She had an appointment at 6:3o at the groomer's. When I walked in the door the phone was ringing and it was "Fucking Idele" the groomer. She asked me to bring Holly up right away. I grabbed Holly, jumped in the car and headed to town. Holly KNEW where I was taking her and started shaking and panting. By the time I got to the big hill (Carey and Breezy might remember it) Holly was sitting on my lap with her front paws on the window. All of a sudden, when I was at a spot on the hill where there's no place to pull over, Holly went limp and fell over. I managed to catch her without crashing the car over the cliff, put on my signal light and slow down safely to stop on the hill. The car behind me went around me and I tried to revive Holly. I thought she was dead. Her eyes opened and she slowly came around. I think she hyperventilated and passed out. Who knew dogs fainted?

7. Michelle, my dialysis friend, isn't doing well. She's been in hospital for a couple days and is finally home tonight. It's not good. Tonight is her sister's anniversary (Howie & Nicky) and I think she just wanted Nicky to go home to Howie tonight.

8. My Mom and Dad are in Branson on a bus trip. They weren't sure if they'd be able to go because when they got home from Niagara my Mom's heartbeat was irregular for a day. It scared us all because a year ago, just before their scheduled trip to Branson that they ended up cancelling, my Dad had some heart issues. So far so good. Sure glad it wasn't anything serious.

9. I really miss my Microsoft Money. I'm lost without it. It won't be long before I start bouncing checks all over town. Yes, I'm one of those anal folks that records every single transaction. *grin*

10. What would you do if your wedding rings were stolen? Would you want to replace them with something very similar or would you go for something completely different? I already have an anniversary ring that I wear every day. I'll have approx. $1200 to work with and I don't know what to do. I wish I could just take the cash.

Okay, now I'm PISSED!!!

2008-05-05T21:09:00.003-04:00

Got home from work tonight and found the house had been broken into and the garage broken into AGAIN!

They stole my wedding rings, Dusterboy's ring made from his late mother's wedding ring, my laptop, CDs, and other little stuff. Police have been here and I'm ready to buy the meanest effing guard dog I can find. Thankfully, they didn't hurt Holly who was here in the house the entire time. I would have had to hurt someone really bad if they had.

I need a hug. And some sleep. I'll be hit and miss around here until my laptop is replaced. Anyone have good security advice? The only idea I've come up with is to have a "friend" of ours, who isn't always on the right side of the law, to house sit for a few weeks. He's up for the job if I say the word.

*sobs*

Good News...Bad News

2008-04-29T20:01:00.004-04:00

First the good news! I had a quicky with Meemo on the weekend! *giggle* A quicky visit that is. After playing telephone tag with him on Friday night and Saturday morning we finally managed to catch up with each other late Saturday morning. And yes Weltek, I was still lifting up my phone with two hands. *snort* We met up at the mall where we both got to show off our beautiful babies. Of course, my "baby" is 29 and wouldn't ride around in the car stroller like mini meemo. It was a quick visit but fun just the same. Always good to get to spend time with the babyhead and his beautiful family. Mr & Mrs Meemo make beautiful babies. Hope it's okay for me to post this picture of the kidlets. Let me know if you want it removed.

Now the bad news...

When we got home we found out that someone broke into the garage while we were gone. They stole a welder, two pressure washers, the boat battery, two axes, a grinder and a pry bar. About $1100 worth of stuff. Not sure if there's enough to make an insurance claim. Piss me off! Welcome home. *rolls eyes*

Tooth Trouble

2008-04-02T18:47:00.001-04:00

Guess who just came back from an emergency trip to the dentist. For about a week I've had a sore front tooth. It's my front tooth and one that is part of a four-tooth bridge. Apparently it has abscessed. *sigh*

He gave me a prescription for anitbiotics and I have to contact my old dentist tomorrow to find out if it has had a root canal and if there's a post in it. If so I may be looking at oral surgery. *groan*

When I arrived at the office tonight the receptionist presented me with a $700 bill for my crown I had done in January. 2008 has not been a good year for my teeth or my wallet. *sob*

What To Wear

2008-03-30T12:34:00.002-04:00

What are the well-dressed, smokin' hot, middle-aged women wearing to fancy schmancy weddings these days? Cause I want to pretend I am one in September at my cousin's wedding. *snicker*

I need ideas. Haven't been to a wedding (other than outdoor casual ones) for almost 20 years. It's on the first weekend in September so it could be hot.

Help!

Spring Schedule

2008-03-15T11:57:00.002-04:00

It seems my spring schedule is beginning to fill up. Normally this is the time of year that I don't have much planned but this year is different.

1. Next weekend we're going to the cottage for Easter. It will be our first weekend there since October. I'll be missing Carey and Breezy when I get there seeing as they were there just before we closed up for the winter.

2. The first weekend in April is my parent's 50th Anniversary. We're planning a trip to Niagara later in the month but we'll get together when they get back from Florida for a dinner. It's Mom's birthday, their anniversary, my brother's birthday, my SIL's birthday and my son's birthday all in a row.

3. April 18th we're going to Sudbury to a Blue Rodeo concert with one of the girls I work with and her hubby. We'll probably stay overnight and shop at Costco the next day before heading home. I am in love with Jim Cuddy from Blue Rodeo and I can't wait to see him again so he can sing directly to me like he always does. *grin* I'm a Cuddyslut!

4. The next weekend we have our big Anniversary trip to Niagara Falls. We're leaving on the Thursday night and I'm really looking forward to it. We're booked into the Marriott Fallsview, the same hotel where Jimbo and Catt stayed during the Niagara Peep Meet. It will be fun to be back there again.

5. The next weekend is the Celebration of Marriage in North Bay. It celebrated marriages over 25 years, focusing on marriages over 50 years. Mom wants all her married kids to go with them. Last year they had Jim Eubanks from the Newlywed Game there. Not sure who will be here this year. Mom and Dad are taking us out for dinner afterwards.

By the time this stuff is all done it will almost be time to move to the cottage for the summer. Woohoo! There is a light at the end of this winter's tunnel.

So? What have you got planned for the spring? Tell me about it!

Doggie Downers

2008-03-07T19:20:00.002-05:00

It's been a rough week for us. Last Thursday we left home to spend the weekend with my niece and nephew while my sister was away. We had to pack everything Wednesday night because when we left Thursday morning at 6am we wouldn't be coming home again until Sunday. Holly would come with us, of course. It was -33C that morning as we packed the car and headed to my sister's house. We dropped Holly off and went to work and then I had a hair appointment after work. It was around 6pm by the time we got back there. When we did get back I noticed that Holly just wasn't herself. She was shaking and panting and we thought she might have an upset tummy. We tried to get her to play but she just wanted to lay around and she kept sticking her butt up in the air.

Friday night she was still acting strange and we called the vet. They couldn't get us in then but said we could bring her by on Saturday morning. She still wouldn't play and was still shaking and panting. Saturday morning she seemed a little better so we decided not to take her to the vet. She's had these bouts of shaking before and we always thought she had a sore belly. This time we wondered if she was having some anxiety about being away from home. She really doesn't like change. All our renovations seem to put her into a spin and lately she's just one big ball of nerves.

Saturday we went curling and by the time we got home she seemed to be feeling better. On Sunday afternoon we packed up and were getting ready to head home when I saw her chewing on something. This is where the story may be a little graphic. Sorry. I reached to see what she was chewing on and it looked like a piece of liver was in the corner of her mouth. I touched it and it seemed to be attached and then it went back into her mouth as she swallowed it. My fingertips were tinged red where I'd touched "the thing". I had gone out to a bar with some friends the night before so I was feeling tired and a little zombieish *waves @ Zombs* when this happened and I was almost hesitant to tell Dusterboy.

On the way home Holly was really freaky. She doesn't like going in the car much these days and it seems that longer trips really freak her out. She was pacing and panting and shaking until I finally put her on the floor and tried to ignore her. I've been reading that you shouldn't react to your dog when they're scared. If you do, you just confirm that there's something to be afraid of.

I told Dusterboy about "the thing" on the way home and told him it kind of looked like liver and was about the size of my thumb. She settled down Sunday night and seemed to be okay most of the week but still not completely herself. She was eating and drinking and playing a little but not 100%.

Yesterday morning she started to hack around 5:30am and "the thing" poked out again. Of course, Dusterboy didn't see it but when he took her out for her pee she threw up blood. We called the emergency line and they told us to bring her in. I was totally freaked out and cried most of the way to town. I dropped Dusterboy off at work and then took her to the hospital. While we were admitting her she threw up a large amount of blood and "the thing" appeared again. Again, only I saw it.

They told me to call by noon if I didn't hear from them. I went in to work but I was a basket case. My eyes were red, puffy and sore from all the crying. I called after lunch and the vet told me that he had no idea what "the thing" was but suggested it might be a blot clot. He said that Holly had some type of ulcer in her stomach and that was causing the blood. They started her on two different meds and wanted to keep her until 6:30pm to keep and eye on her.

We discussed possible causes and I told him about how stressed she is all the time. She shakes during thunder, she shakes when the power goes off and then again when it comes back on. She shakes when a camera flashes. She shakes for firecrackers and loud noises. She shakes in the car. It's getting ridiculous. She's afraid of everything! I asked about something to settle her down and he said he'd get me something to try when necessary. I don't want her on it all the time, just when necessary. Holly now has her own special doggie downers. Too bad the vet couldn't give me some.

We picked her up and paid the bill - $414 - and talked more to the vet. He said she was fine all day and didn't throw up anymore. He said to call if "the thing" appeared again and to call in on Monday to let him know how she was making out. She was very calm on the way home. I think she was pretty wiped out from her day at the hospital.

This morning we gave her the meds and she started hacking and "the thing" came out again. I couldn't believe that Dusterboy still hasn't seen it. I'm having friggen' nightmares about this and he still hasn't seen it once. It's so disturbing. I called the vet again and he said the only other option is to sedate her and try looking down her throat to see what it is. They don't have a scope at their hospital ($3o,000 to buy one) so sedating her would be the only option. That would cost more money but I'm really disturbed by "the thing". He suggested we see how the weekend goes before we decide.

Tonight I'm sitting here with my baby girl curled up at my feet. Every half hour or so I give her a little cuddle and tell her Mommy loves her. I can't even think about losing her. All week I've been saying I'm never getting another dog. Then last night at the vet's there was this 8 wk old little puppy that we were playing with and it reminded me of Holly when she was a baby and my position softened a little. Now I'm going to say that I'm never going to look at another puppy because that leads to wanting one.

I'm so worried about my baby girl...

jumps on the no smoking bandwagon

2008-02-10T19:02:00.001-05:00

*grin* As of 12:30 pm yesterday, I am a non-smoker.

http://www.hypnosisforachange.net/index.html

I did the weight loss too to combat the usual weight gain. No cravings, no bitchiness (other than the usual), I seldom even THINK about a cigarette.

Rescue Ray and his wife came with me. Ray was really ready to quit. His wife wasn't as convinced. She fell on the ice while we were curling the night before and I think she was in more pain than she let on.

There were about 30 people in the session. A few teenagers, a few twenty somethings, lots of overweight older people and one very big lady in a wheelchair. Only five men. There was a lot of coughing going on while she spoke. One guy in front of me was wheezing loudly and when he said that he smoked 5 packs a day, I understood why.

The first hour she talked about reasons why we should quit smoking/eat better. She explained that by planting the right thoughts into the subconscious we could change our behaviour. We would remember that we use to smoke but that it was not something that we did now. It's weird. The hypnosis was weird too. Dusterboy had questioned if he had really been hypnotised when he did this in November. I understand what he meant now. I know we were but it's such a low level of hypnosis that we wondered if it had really happened.

I'm completely convinced that I'll never smoke again. And if a bunch of pounds happen to fall off that would just be a bonus! *snicker*

Chicken Pot Pie

2008-02-06T20:00:00.000-05:00

I have no idea why I've been craving it but tonight we had nothing out for supper so I came up with a new recipe for Chicken Pot Pie. OMG!!! One of the best ever! And it all came out of either the pantry or the freezer! We had part of one for supper and I froze the other one.

Two frozen boxes of 2 pie shells.
Two cans of cooked chicken (Kirkland brand from Costco)
Two cans of cream of mushroom soup (because I didn't have cream of chicken)
One can of mushrooms
One pkg of frozen green beans (from my garden - about 1 cup or so)
Frozen corn niblets (not sure how much I added - about 1 cup if I had to guess)
One can of sliced potatoes cut up into pieces

Took the pie shells out to thaw while getting everything else mixed.
Opened all the cans and thawed the veggies.
Divided the chicken, mushrooms, veggies, potatoes, and soup into two bowls and mixed.
Poured one bowl into each pie crust and covered with top crust. Poked holes in top crust and baked at 350 for about 40-45 minutes.

I? Am a domestic Goddess! :D

Winter can go now...

2008-01-30T18:54:00.000-05:00

...I've had enough. Yesterday it was pouring rain and a few degrees above zero. This morning we had a flash freeze warning and whiteout conditions. The snow has been blowing sideways all day. Power was out when we got home so out came the generator. Power just came back on. Hope it stays on all night.

Seeing as I haven't updated since before Christmas I should probably give you all an update on what's been going on in the Great White North.

~ We got our new tv for Christmas and a dishwasher. The tv (42" Panasonic Plasma) is now mounted on the wall and we bought the HD satelite receiver for it so our friends had better not complain about watching tv at our place anymore. *grin* The dishwasher is installed and is very quiet compared to the old one. It was a door crasher special for $200 so I was concerned that it might be loud but I hardly even hear it running.

~ The trim is finished around our windows finally and I ordered new drapes for the DR window. The kitchen/DR are painted Hunter Green on the bottom (3') and Daquiri Ice (think margarita colour) on the top. The drapes are called Chili Red. Next step is to rip out the pink carpet and replace it with laminate flooring.

~ Our kitchen floor has to be repaired which means we have to disconnect the water lines to the kitchen sink in order to move the cupboards away from the wall. We had a leak under the sink that warped the flooring so we have to replace it. We'll save that job for this summer while we're staying at the cottage. When we get it repaired we're going to put down the "ceramic look" laminate flooring. We would have gone for real ceramic but we don't have a basement and the floor would be cold unless we put in radiant heating.

~ Dusterboy's brother is recuperating after falling off the ladder and breaking his hip. There is a benefit dance planned on February 23rd, much to his chagrin. He will be at least six months before he can even think about going back to work. I'm not sure if he'll ever be able to work as a mechanic again.

~ Dusterbaby broke his ankle three weeks ago when a porch he was dismantling fell on him. He went to the doctor this week and they discovered that another bone (the smaller of the tibia and fibia) was also broken.

~ Volleyball has taken up a lot of my time lately. Still playing on Tuesday nights and I've spent a couple weekends watching the highschool team play in tournaments. I can't tell you how much I love this game! I really hope I can continue to play for many more years. I bought a new pair of volleyball shoes and promised Dusterboy they'd be the last pair I'd ever have to buy. *giggle*

~ My 16 year old nephew called me at work yesterday. He didn't know my phone number and had to look it up on the internet because it's hard to find in the phone book. Then he had to navigate through the voice mail hell to get to my extension. He was home because he's in the middle of exams. He asked me what I was doing for lunch on Thursday or Friday and asked if I would come to his house for lunch. I had to explain that I only had a half hour and it would take me that long to drive to and from his place but that we were coming to his place for pizza on Thursday night. He hadn't been told about that yet so he was okay with that. What a sweet kid he is. I just love that kid!

~ On the way home tonight we heard "Centerfield" by John Fogerty. Dave said that song made him want to go home and pull out the album to play it. I said it made me want to play baseball. That? demonstrates just how different we really are. *grin*

~ Anyone watching Moment of Truth? Is there ANY amount of money that you'd agree to to go on that show?

~ We have two curling bonspeils coming up in the next month or so. Go ahead, laugh at the crazy Canuckian.

~ I really miss the MIA bloggers. Hope you're all well and will check in once in a while. *hugs*

I Got Mail...

2007-12-20T18:52:00.000-05:00

...and it was FUNNY! :D

Anyone want to play Guesstures? *giggle* I have some very fun words to play with!

*smooooches MTW*

I'm late!

2007-12-09T21:20:00.000-05:00

No, I'm not pregnant, I'm late in wishing my Swami the happiest of birthdays! *grin*

Happy Birthday Swamibaby! Hope that Tom has something special planned for you. *wink* I also hope that 2008 brings us the chance to finally meet in person.

I celebrated until 4am in honor of your special day. Now I'm off to bed.

You are getting sleepy...

2007-12-01T22:07:00.000-05:00

Apparently that's not how one gets hypnotized regardless of what you see on tv. Dusterboy went to a hypnotist on Monday to quit smoking. So far, so good. He's had a few cravings but not nearly as many as I thought he would. He actually goes long periods of time without even thinking about a smoke.

One of the girls I work with said her husband quit through hypnosis. He quit for 5 years and then started again. He smoked for three years and then quit again 3 1/2 years ago. I sure hope it works for Dusterboy. They hypnosis cost $80 but he can go back as many times as he wants for free if he feels he needs a little help the next time she's in town.

He has been snacking a little more. Tonight he was having a particularily rough craving for a cigarette and he was repeating, "I'm a non-smoker, I am smoke-free" as he walked through the kitchen looking for something to snack on. He then changed his chant to, "I am an eater, what will I eat next?" *snort*

I am still smoking. For now. I don't smoke in front of him and I'm down to about 3 a day from about 7 a day. I do plan to quit once I'm convinced he's going to stick with this and when I'm ready. One thing I've learned about quitting is that I have to be doing it on my own timetable. I've quit before while he was still smoking and ended up starting again because he was always smoking in front of me. For now I'm smoking in the bathroom (or the car) because it's too effing cold to go outside! It was -25C here this morning! It's freaking December 1st! It's not supposed to be THAT cold until January!

Any good vibes and non-smoking thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

So...uh, what's new?

2007-11-17T17:45:00.000-05:00

1. I love the Whiskas "Hubert" commercials. Talk to me when there's meat. *giggle*

2. Today I saw a dead 10 point buck riding a 4 wheeler in the back of a pick up truck. I only wish I could have got to my camera quick enough. Friggin' rednecks. *snicker*

3. This morning I left home at 8am and did some power shopping. My goal is to be completely finished my Christmas shopping prior to December 1st. I want to enjoy December this year and not be totally burnt out by Christmas Day.

4. Even though Carey told me that I had to buy for "other people" and not myself again, I came home with some volleyball socks, new shoes for work, OPI "The Grape Lakes" nailpolish, bodywash and vitamins. At least today the me to other people ratio was improved.

5. Ran into one of my girlfriends in the mall today and we had fun being goofy and making the store clerks laugh.

6. My co-worker lent me some scrapbooking tools for the weekend and I haven't had a chance to use them. Tomorrow is dedicated to scrapbooking. All day. In my pajama pants. :D

7. Listening to Blue Collar Comedy today and heard a bit about Pictionary being an evil game. I was sitting at a traffic light laughing my fool head off and thought the people in cars around me must have thought I was loonie.

8. At Zellers today I got ripped off twice. Even though the signs said that greeting cards were selling at US prices I still got charged the Canadian price. Four card cost me over $9 extra. I caught that before leaving the store and got a refund. When I got home I realized that the Bionicles I bought for my nephew that were supposed to be buy one get one half price were both charged at full price. They got a phone call from an unsatisfied shopper. Now I have to go back to get ANOTHER refund.

9. I tried on a couple of party dresses today for my upcoming Christmas Party. I think I'm going to recycle an old dress again this year. The one I tried on was little, black and covered in sequins. I liked it but the sequins were itchy.

10. On Tuesday nights I play volleyball. It's normally mostly women and the highschool girl's volleyball team. The past two weeks the Junior A hockey team has been coming out to play. They are all 16 to 20 years old. Is it wrong that I had to suppress my inner cougar after seeing a couple of the older ones running around shirtless? *hangs head*

The Great Canadian Peep Meet - Chapter 1

2007-10-09T18:11:00.001-04:00

After 9 months of planning the big day had finally arrived! Carey and Breezy were in Canda and on their way to me. I didn't find myself pacing as much as I did waiting in a hotel room prior to meeting Nookie but that's only because she was my first and now I'm a seasoned peep meeter. Dusterboy and I were relaxing and watching Survivor when the phone rang and Carey announced that they had made it to Quebec but were stuck on the wrong side of a closed bridge (which re-opened two days after they left). Apparently google doesn't keep track of such things. *rolls eyes* I talked them back on track and told them I'd meet them at the end of the cottage road so they could follow me in.

That's when the excitement really hit for me. It seemed like an eternity sitting in my car watching for headlights to come over the hill. Three false alarms later a turn signal came on and they were here. Breezy didn't seem very friendly at first not wanting to roll down her window say hello. *grin* As I pulled in front of them I realized that Oh Canada was playing on my stereo and I giggled to myself thinking they probably wondered just how patriotic us Can'tadians really were! It wasn't something I planned, it was a CD with songs played at hockey games that just happened to be in the CD player.

It was an early night for us all. Thelma and Louise were worn out from their long drive and the stress of having to count their change in loonies and twoonies. We did manage to watch about 5 minutes of Survivor together but I couldn't for the life of me tell you who was booted because I was too excited to have Breezy and Carey sitting in my cottage. How I got any sleep I'll never know.

Friday morning I got up and found Carey out on the deck checking out the scenery and probably pooting in private. It was very dark when they arrived the night before so this was the first chance to look around. We had a light breakfast, talked about all of you, learned the proper pronounciation of poutine, showered and got ourselves ready for a day of touring and poutine. Augie warned me that I'd be playing referee all weekend and it didn't take long before I had to break up the two of them.

Our first stop was at the store on the nearby Reserve. A friend of mine is the police chief there and I told them that I had thought about having him pull us over and "arrest" them and throw them in jail but didn't get a chance to put the plan into action. After a couple of quick stops looking for American cigarettes we headed to the chip stand for the long awaited order of poutine.

While we waited for our order Breezy and Carey entertained another customer with talk of smokey weiners. I'd never seen the guy before but I ran into him again on Friday night and from the look on his face he was thinking about the smokey weiner girls. *grin* They seemed to enjoy the poutine. I know I enjoyed being there to break their poutine cherry, so to speak.

After filling our faces I thought a bit of exercise would be a good idea so we went to the falls for a walk. I've lived here for 16 years and never been to the falls so I figured it was a good time to change that. Walking down the hill was so much easier than walking back UP the hill. Once again I was called upon to referee between them. Thankfully, nobody went over the falls and we all made it back up the hill and jammed Breezy into the back seat once again.

We made a quick stop at the bank machine and the went to see if my friend Nicky was working at the hardware store. She was serving a customer when we walked in and Carey kept asking about the fudge. Nicky was getting a little bit pissed off until I poked my head out from behind Carey and Nicky finally figured out who the "rude customer" was.

Dusterboy had asked me to pick him up some beer and we were still searching for American smokes so we stopped at the Depaneur. Next door was a cafe that serves those fancy drinks for those fancy city folks. *giggle* We looked through the gift shop next door and then sat outside on the patio where we met up with my friend Darlene, aka potty mouth. She told us about the hockey game that night. Her son is one of the star players. It's a brand new team and they're on a roll with a 5 and 0 record.

Our next stop was at the scenic lookout that overlooks the Ottawa River and not Lake Ontario as previously reported. Breezy talked to Breezygirl and couldn't figure out why she was calling from school until we noticed how late in the day it was.

The final stop on the big tour was on the island at the Native gift shop where Carey wanted to climb the totem pole. I explained that they kind of frowned on such things. As we were crossing the bridge back to Quebec I tried to get Carey to call Sam, the town drunk, Sweetcheeks but she chickened out. *giggle*

It was time to head back to the cottage for a glass of milk or two. Dusterboy suggested a boat ride so we filled up our milk glasses and headed out on the lake. We went up to the other end of the lake, through the chute where the current is fast and we like to swim but nobody felt like a dip for some reason.

Carey really had to pee and when the boat touched the dock she sprinted up the hill and was in the bathroom before the rest of us had out feet on solid land.

We started making supper, walleye and moose meat. I only had one bag of fish in the freezer and had tried to find more but didn't have any luck so we decided to add the moose to the menu. After supper we decided not to go to the hockey game seeing as we were running late so we stayed at the cottage and played cards. Breezy accused me of cheating and I tried to explain that it was true that cheated and not me. *grin* They weren't buying it though. By this time it was getting late and we had another big day ahead of us so we called it a night.

That's all I have time for tonight. More to follow...

Top Ten Quotes from this Weekend

2007-09-30T13:43:00.000-04:00

10. Breezy's mean.
9. How do you pronounce that stuff we came here to eat?
8. We forgot Sanjana!
7. People in Quebec say "fuck" a lot.
6. I wanna move to Canda. <---not a spelling mistake
5. Lightsy cheats!
4. Is this a loonie or a twoonie?
3. So how did you meet?
2. I love you Breezy. Happy Birthday!
1. Even a gay girl like you can bake a Lemon Meringue Pie.

That's all for now. I'm doing laundry, ironing and trying to keep a red-headed woodpecker from pecking a hole in the side of the cottage. I'll post more soon. I'm about to have my Nascar nap.

Happy Birthday Dusterboy!

2007-09-23T16:43:00.000-04:00

I'm married to a 50 year old. How the hell did that happen? *grin*

Yesterday we had a big birthday bash here at the cottage to celebrate his 50th. About 25 people and so much food that Carey and Breezy may be eating leftovers with their poutine when they get here.

The front lawn was decorated with 50 pink pigs. The sun was shining and it was a beautiful starry night. We had three guitar players and a roaring campfire. It was a near perfect night.

We all chipped in and bought him a Sirius satellite radio with a boom box. He's been wanting one for well over a year and I've been telling him no, no, no. It got to be a little game between us. Who would win? I'm calling it a draw. The friends chipped in on the actual hardware while I paid for the subscription. Technically, I did NOT purchase the radio. *snicker*

Happy Birthday Baby! Love you forever and forever, love you with all my heart. Love you whenever we're together, love you when we're apart.

Firewood & Rhubarb

2007-09-08T20:33:00.000-04:00

It's that time of year again when we have to fill the woodshed before winter arrives. This year we had trouble finding wood. Our regular supplier didn't have time to cut any for us so we had to go with a guy we bought from one other year when none was available from our regular guy.

The backup wood man is 78 years old. His yard is full of neatly stacked cords of nice, clean, dry firewood. Up until just last year he would cut, split, pile and deliver it all by himself. This year he hired a couple teenagers to help him because, as he said, he's not as young as he used to be. He costs more than our regular guy but you definately get quality for the price. A couple weeks ago Dave ordered 10 cord and was told it would be $70 per cord and we had to pick it up ourselves. He also said he could deliver it for a little bit more. We were going to pick it up ourselves but our truck isn't running well and it's drinking gas like Bravie drinks tainted milk so I decided we should check with the wood man to see how much it would be for delivery.

We stopped in to see him on Tuesday after work. I sat in the car while Dave went and talked to him. I had a feeling it was going to take a while knowing how old men like to talk but I had my book and it was a nice day so I wasn't in a hurry. Dave and the woodman walked around the wood and chatted and finally ended up back at the car. He would deliver it three cords at at time for $15 per load. We decided to change our order to 9 cords so it would end up costing us $630 for the wood and $45 for delivery. That was perfect. It would cost us at least that much in gas to pick it up ourselves to say nothing of the time and labour. Wood man said he'd deliver the first load on Wednesday morning. We told him we'd drop off a check when it was all delivered. He is a very sweet old man and we both drove away with smiles on our faces after talking to him.

By Thursday night there were two loads of wood dumped in the woodshed and as we drove by his house on Friday morning we noticed that his truck was loaded and ready to go with what we thought was our final load. Friday after work we stopped again to drop off the check. When we got there Dave went looking for him, check in hand. Wood man's wife said he was out back picking rhubarb so Dave went to find him. I started reading knowing it may be a while.

When the two of them came back the wood man asked me if I wanted some rhubarb. While I like rhubarb I had no idea what to do with it so I politely declined his offer. We started talking gardens and soon I was out of the car inspecting his tomato plants and his wife's flowers. The neighbor's little dog came over and we told him that we had a little dog at the cottage waiting for us and that we should get going because she'd been there all day and was probably crossing her little legs. I mentioned that I'd seen the neighbor's dog earlier in the week when we were there and wood man asked if we'd been here when he wasn't home. Dave and I kinda looked at each other and reminded him that we'd been here on Tuesday to ask him about delivering our wood. Wood man looked confused and asked if he'd taken us any wood yet. Again, Dave and I glanced at each other and then I quickly said that yes, he'd already delivered two loads and we just needed one more.

On Thursday night we found a handwritten invoice for 6 cords of wood at $80 per cord. That confused us but we figured we'd work it out when we paid him. Now we were really confused but I don't think we were the only ones. I didn't have a pen so I asked if I could borrow one. He told me to go ahead in the house and his wife would find one for me. I headed inside and his wife greeted me at the door and said that she wished I'd been there a few minutes earlier to see the young girl singing opera on Oprah. I wrote out the check for $675 and told her that he'd already delivered two loads and we just needed one more. I figured if I told her too they might be able to remember between the two of them.

His wife and I talked inside while Dave sat out on the back porch with him and chatted. They're such a sweet couple and they seemed so happy to have company so I said a silent apology to Holly waiting to get outside for a pee and spent a little more time visiting. She told me how they'd only been married for 4 years. Wood man was her third husband. She said that she'd married three very wonderful men and had a daughter that was a doctor. When her friends arranged a meeting between her and wood man she said the first impression she had of him was that he was a man who was comfortable in his own skin. I said that that was a very good thing and agreed that she was a very lucky lady to have been blessed with three good men in her life.

She's 79, a year older than him and she mentioned that her mother lived to 92 and her dad to 103. Both wood man and his wife seemed to be pretty healthy other than maybe a little memory slippage. After about 45 minutes we again said that we had best be going and they insisted that I take some rhubarb. She even told me exactly how to stew it for a tasty treat. I left with a bag of rhubarb and a huge smile on my face.

Dave and I were both giggling as we drove away. They were such a cute couple. So friendly, so nice, so sweet. We're not sure if he'll remember to bring us another load without another reminder but if we have to make another visit it wouldn't be terrible. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy to spend time with them. I remember when I was in my 20s and 30s I wasn't comfortable around seniors. I didn't know how to talk to them. I was always envious of my Mom and how good she was with them. That's changed now. I really enjoy spending time with older folks and love hearing their stories. If I was to win a lottery I'd love to spend time visiting with seniors. It gives me a good feeling and I know they love the company. I'm not sure who benefits more.

Tonight I stewed half the rhubarb and made a pie out of the other half. I just finished snacking on some of the stewed rhubarb with ice cream. Mmmmm!!! I think that from now on, whenever I think of rhubarb I will think of Mr and Mrs wood man.

Best.Donut.Ever!

2007-08-24T22:05:00.000-04:00

Today was our summer student's last day so she brought in donuts. I'm not a big donut eater. I can take them or leave them but I was hungry this morning. I chose what I thought was a plain apple fritter and after I picked it up I realized it had some sort of filling inside. All I could think of was please don't let it be maple because I've already touched it so I'd have to eat it.

Imagine my pleasure when I stuck my finger into the filling and discovered that it was caramel! I rushed back to my desk and couldn't stop eating until it was gone. Just as I was savoring the final bite one of my co-workers poked her head into my office and witnessed my almost orgasmic delight. She said I actually moaned and licked the napkin to get the final caramelly goodness. She asked if I wanted to be left alone because it looked like I was having a "moment". I told her it was okay but I did feel like going for a smoke. *grin*

In other news, I bought three pair of shoes after work tonight. Dave had to work late so I waited for him at the mall. I don't often get me time at the mall so I took full advantage of it. One pair of strappy black high heels that I absolutely love. They were regular $39.99 on sale for $14.99 and I got an extra $6 off at the register. Then I picked up a pair of flip flops for $3 and a pair of sandals for $9 at Walmart. I've NEVER bought three pair of shoes in one month let alone one hour!

We have a bat in our fireplace. As I'm typing this, I can hear it squeaking.

Tomorrow we're going to go home for a while and start preparing our walls for drywall and paint. So much work to get done before we move home.

One of Dusterboy's cousins posted this picture of him on Facebook the other night. Isn't he cute?

Cleansing - a companion blog post!

2007-07-25T20:42:00.001-04:00

*grin*

While Carey was busy drinking green goop, I drank two cocktails that tasted somewhat like lemon NeoCitran, one at 9am yesterday and the other at 3pm. They did the job...completely! I could barely manage to sit on the deck to suntan. From Monday night until this afternoon I could only drink clear fluids - broth, gingerale, gatorade and water. I must have been hungry this morning because as I watched Holly eating her dogfood my stomach started to growl.

My "cleansing" was for my very first colonoscopy today. Yesterday was the worst part. Today was a breeze. They gave me enough sedatives that I don't even remember the procedure and I was back at the cottage swimming about 4 hours later.

In other news, the replacement laptop is on it's way to me now. I returned the one with Vista and ordered a new one with XP due to the issues between Vista and dial-up. The high-speed access that I'd heard was in the works for my area isn't a for sure thing yet so while I do have the computer here at the cottage it still takes me forfreakingever to surf and post.

It's hot here. You sure can tell that my vacation is over. At least I snuck in a little suntanning yesterday and this afternoon.

Back to work tomorrow

2007-07-15T18:28:00.000-04:00

I guess it's about time that I checked in and updated. It's back to work tomorrow morning after a week of vacation. We had a very relaxing and quiet holiday. Thankfully we had no major storms like last year even though the weather really didn't co-operate very well. I don't think we had a single day that it didn't rain at least once.

I played ball a couple times. We went fishing and caught enough walleye for a delicious meal of fresh fish. We had dinner with Rescue Ray and his wife and last night friends of ours from across the lake invited us over for dinner and drinks. All in all it was a nice vacation and I actually don't feel extremely depressed about going back to work. We still have one week of vacation that we're saving for September so we still have that to look forward to. *hops*

The laptop is going back tomorrow and the new one (with XP) is on it's way to me. They agreed to give me the same laptop with XP for the same price. Otherwise I wasn't going to order another one from them. Hopefully the new one will give me less grief than the first one did.

We spent a bit of time at home this week while Dave did some work on the vehicles. While he did that I started taking the living room and kitchen apart so that we can get it painted and drywalled. We won't be moving back home until it's all done so that should be some kind of incentive.

Sure hope I can wake up at 5am tomorrow without feeling too groggy. We've been staying in bed until 8 or 9 am each day during our holidays. Man I love vacations!

Oh ya, I read three books this week. First was Stuart Woods - Iron Orchid, next was Janet Evanovich - 12 Sharp, and I'm almost done Mariah Stuart - Dead Wrong. 12 Sharp was read during the one sunny day, sitting on the deck with a drink by my side. It was a good day. *grin*

Does anyone miss me?

2007-06-20T17:30:00.000-04:00

I sure hope the answer is yes, because I just ordered a new laptop so I can get online at the cottage! *big sappy grin* I'm hoping it will be here by the weekend but probably not until next week.

This weekend will be my annual "Girls Gone Somewhat Wild" weekend at the cottage. I'm really looking forward to it! Any suggestions for food?

checks the calendar

2007-06-05T18:40:00.000-04:00

Yep, it's June in Northern Ontario. *rolls eyes*

On a positive note, it might freeze a few blackfly butts.

Tagged by Breezy

2007-05-30T18:20:00.000-04:00

1. I have a fur covered vibrator on my knee right now. Holly finally heard the thunder outside and now she won't stop shaking until the thunder goes away.

2. Be back after the storm. Okay, I'm back. Wow. That was quite a light show! Lots of snapping and cracking too. Had to unplug everything. I'm really beginning to dread thunderstorms because of how much Holly reacts to them. I think she needs doggie downers.

3. I hope my freshly planted flowers at the cottage didn't get washed down the hill into the lake.

4. My cupboards need to be cleaned out. At this point I think moving would be a good idea so I could get rid of a bunch of stuff.

5. I still have some of Augie's favorite easter eggs in a bowl on the table.

6. My bedroom/bathroom is still not put back together since our renovations in April. Hopefully it will be finished by September.

7. Mary on "So You Think You Can Dance" drives me crazy when she laughs.

8. My Mom & Dad want us to go to a family reunion on the Canada Day long weekend. I just looked up the little town where it will be held and the next town over is called Maple Leaf, Ontario. Somehow that just seems like an appropriate place to spend Canada Day if I can't be at the cottage.

Not sure who is left to tag so I'll say MTW, Meemo and Supes <------- goes with a male theme

Who's hungry?

2007-05-16T19:23:00.000-04:00

I? Am a bonehead. A couple weeks ago one of my friends gave me the "starter mix" for Amish Friendship Bread. If you haven't heard about it, you get a baggie with a cup of liquidy mix that you have to nuture and squish for 10 days before you bake. Last week I baked up my two loaves. I took one to work and kept one for us. It was delicious and everyone at work raved about it. Before you bake you put one cup of starter into 4 more baggies and pass it on to your friends, or you can keep one for yourself so you can make it again in another 10 days.

I gave two ladies at work a starter and was going to keep one for myself and give one to my Mom as part of her Mother's Day gift. We were supposed to go to their place last Friday but I ended up visiting the hospital instead (long story but I'm fine other than a future colonoscopy). I asked my Mom to drop by my office and pick up this thing I had growing for her. I'm pretty sure she thought it might be a puppy and never showed up. Today was day 10 again so I gave Mom's package to another lady at work and came home to bake another two loaves.

The recipe tells you to sprinkle a cinnamon/sugar mixture over the top before baking. It makes a very nice "crust" on the top. I may have sprinkled too much on top this time because I had extra mixture sitting on top when I pulled the loaves out of the oven. I picked up one loaf with the oven mitts and decided to dump the excess off by tipping the loaf over the sink full of soapy water that was waiting for the loaf pans to be washed. Can you guess where this is going?

Plop! You guessed it. The entire thing slipped out of my hands and into the soapy water. I grabbed it back out as quick as I could but the loaf had already soaked up about a quart of water. *snort* How bad is it that I considered putting it back in the oven to dry it out.

Anyone want cake?

Storm Warning!!!

2007-05-01T17:30:00.000-04:00

Finally, for Carey and any other Storm fans out there...

Three weeks ago Storm Large and Gilbey Clarke came to North Bay. We had front row seats. Storm came out after the Canadian warm up band, Channel One. They were annoying trying to tell everyone to stand up. Hey kids, we'll stand up when Storm and Gilbey show up. You should just sing and get the hell off the stage. *grin*

Storm came out and told us that she was there with only one Ball. She said that she was going to show us her vulnerable side and that she'd be back later in the summer with all her Balls for a rockin' concert.

She was amazing! Absolutely freakin' amazing. Funny, powerful, raunchy, hypnotizing, soft, and sexy as hell. After her first song I was ready to switch teams. I had joked earlier that I was going to be the only one of our foursome that wouldn't be drooling over Storm (we went with our real-life lesbian sidekicks) but it didn't take long before she captivated me completely.

After an intermission where I tried to find out where she was signing autographs, Gilbey hit the stage. He's um, very tiny in person. I wasn't even completely convinced it was him at first. He looked different in person. We had all knew that Gilbey could play guitar but the burning question was could he sing? That question was answered fairly quickly. Not so much. I would have been quite happy if the entire show had been Storm. I'm fairly certain the majority of the audience agreed. Near the end of his show Storm wandered out on stage wearing jeans under her dress she'd worn earlier. The crowd went wild.

We left while Gilbey was doing his encore (minus his t-shirt). It was 11:15pm and we still had to go rescue our friends who ran out of gas on the way to the concert (in my old car). It was 12:30am by the time we got home and we had to be up at 5am. But Stormy made it all worthwhile. My friend's daughter bought a tshirt and Storm autographed it. I was so disappointed that I didn't get to take my picture with Storm. *pout*

I had really meant to get this posted sooner but life just keeps getting in the way. From Friday night to Sunday night we're at the cottage without internet access, Monday night I'm playing catch-up on laundry and stuff at home, Tuesday night is volleyball night (on my way shortly), and that only leaves Wednesday night for free time because on Thursday night I have Survivor and packing for the cottage. Must.buy.laptop.soon!!!

We Will Rock You is playing in Toronto right now and Sweet Suzie McNeill is in it!!! I've GOT to see it!!! This summer just won't be the same without RockStar to watch. *pout*

Grrrrrr!!!

2007-04-26T19:55:00.000-04:00

I WAS going to do a big update, but it just took me 20 minutes to sign in to blogger. Now it's time for supper and Survivor.

I WAS going to post my pictures of the Storm Large/Gilby Clark concert for Carey but Blogger hates me.

I AM going to buy myself a laptop soon so I can have a computer at the cottage.

I AM still alive.

I DO miss you all. A lot.

Two weeks and counting...

2007-04-01T18:38:00.000-04:00

It's been a crazy week here. Last Saturday we drained my waterbed and emptied everything out of my bedroom so we could begin the drywalling. Jamie came up to help and ended up cutting his thumb while cutting the drywall. Mommy had to take her baby boy to the hospital. They glued it up instead of stitching and I had to keep redressing it because it wouldn't stop bleeding. Fun, fun, fun.

While the drywalling is going on I've been sleeping on the couch and that is wearing very thin. I want my waterbed and bathroom back!!!! My clothes are all in the front living room and my bathroom stuff is crammed into Dave's tiny bathroom.

We finally got the car back. It was in the garage for a week before they finally got it back to us. We had a rental but it was sure nice to get my pretty red car back.

Work has been crazy too. Not a single minute to myself. The flirters have toned it down a little although Mr. Filled Jeans brought me a donut last week.

I'm counting down the weeks to cottage time. Next weekend we have to finish the painting and getting my bedroom back together as well as spending Easter with my parents and siblings. The weekend after that? It's cottage time! I'm taking books, booze and movies and plunking my butt on the couch for two whole days of relaxation!

Still not smoking full-time but I have been having one a day. I'm okay with that for now.

My parents are on their way home from their month in Florida. I miss them.

Dave's been working with some guys from Pennsylvania at work for the past few weeks. They took us out for dinner last Sunday night at the most expensive restaurant in town. I thought about having dessert but couldn't justify someone having to pay $10 for a piece of cheesecake. *grin* They took yesterday off and came to visit us. They wanted to see some of the sights and wanted to visit our cottage. They wanted to rent it for the remainder of their stay once they saw it. Unfortunately, the lake is still covered in ice so we can't hook up the water quite yet. They enjoyed their little visit into Quebec and took a ton of pictures.

I made banana muffins today. And chili. Then I cleaned out my recipe drawer and made copies of favorites for the cottage. I probably do more cooking and get more creative there than I do at home.

Dave would never made a living as a drywaller. He extremely talented when it comes to a lot of other fix-it things but drywalling is not his forte. Sofa king slow! My arms are sore from the sanding I've been doing. I swear he thinks this is a body job on a car. The best laugh we had all weekend was when he took a break for a blow job. Blowjob=blowing the drywall dust off himself with the air nozzle in the garage. *grin* After that, every time he needed a break he'd say it was time for a blowjob.

Is it September yet? *pees* As much as I don't want to wish the summer away, I just can't wait for September to roll around this year.

Flirting at work...

2007-03-19T18:51:00.000-04:00

How much is too much? Do you do it? What is crossing the line?

Background story. Two guys that I work with have both been pretty flirty with me lately. I'm not offended by it. I might even be a little flattered by it. But I think I might be a little confused or surprised about it. They are both really nice guys that I've developed a fun, joking around kind of relationship with in the year that I've worked here. Both have been married for quite a while. I'm a bit of a flirt myself but usually only with people that I know really well.

One of them left me a voice mail message a while back with some part numbers. He read them off and one of them had a "69" in it. When he read that he hesitated and added "that's a good number". That was the beginning of it. I laughed about his voice mail and ever since then he's been really flirty with me. The other guy commented on how well I filled out my jeans on Friday. That one really floored me because he just didn't seem like the kind of guy to say something like that. I laughed it off but it kind of stuck with me all day. I wondered if I'm sending out some kind of vibe. I'm really not offended by the comments but it has made me question myself.

Mr 69 calls me every day now. Most of the time there's something work related but there's always a non-work conversation involved. He's a lot of fun and we always have a couple of laughs. I'm pretty sure it's all harmless but I don't want any misunderstandings.

Comments? Related stories? Talk to me...

THE SEATBELT LIGHT IS ON!!!!

2007-03-15T18:20:00.000-04:00

Gaaawwwd!

That was me today. Day 6 and I've turned into the flight attendant in the quit smoking commercial. *giggle*

Things that made me smile today...

1) Speaking to a supplier in Spartansburg, NC this morning I asked him if he had received the parts we had sent them for repair. He said he did and then added, "I just caught a peek of your box in passing." I managed to remain professional until I ended the call and then I cracked up. I could just picture him sitting at his desk in NC thinking, "Did I just say that?"

2) One of the mechanics left me a voice mail this morning and said, "Good morning sunshine." That's my pet name for people but it was the first time anyone had used it on me.

3) When we got home I was standing at the kitchen counter opening mail when I heard the unmistakable sound of Southern Comfort being poured into a tall glass. Mr lights is THE MAN! I didn't even have to ask, he just knew it was a good idea.

4) Reading my bloggy friends and their threadjacking ways on OT with said drink. I do miss being able to take part in it though. By the time I get online, playtime is over.

Typing "cracked" up in #1 reminded me about something that happened at the curling bonspeil a while back. There were six couples sitting around the table after dinner. We had two round tables pulled together and one of the husbands was sitting in the "crack". He made some long forgotten comment about what it was like to eat at the crack. My coworker, his wife, turned to him and said, "You should be used to that." She said it as if it was meant for JUST him to hear but it was definately her outloud voice. She blames the beverages. EVERYONE around the table heard her. We all hesitated a moment while we processed what she had said and then everyone "cracked" up. For almost two weeks now the "crack" comments have been flying. Better her than me. *grin*

Still alive...

2007-03-12T16:41:00.000-04:00

I think I'm going to make it. The flu is every bit as miserable as I remember it being. It hit me hard on Saturday morning and had me down for the count for two full days. It's been a long while since I've had the flu and I certainly hope it's at least a few more years before I experience it again.

It's Dave's fault. He brought it home last week and as much as I tried to avoid it, it caught me. *pout*

In other news...

1) North Bay made the top five cities for Hockeyville 2007! Woohooo!!! If you have some time, please send a vote or 10 our way. *grin*

http://hockeyville.cbc.ca/Vote.aspx?Language=en-CA&video=1

2) I had to upgrade to the new blogger when I tried to make this post. The hardest part was remembering my sign in name. *rollseyes*

3) Today was my first sick day at my new job. I almost made it a full year without having to take a day off. I just couldn't do it this morning.

4) There have been a bunch of blogs that I really wished I had time to reply to lately but with Dave sick last week and me on the weekend I only had time for a quick peek.

5) I need to do my income tax. *pout* Where's Breezy when you need her?

6) Should I give you all the answers to my friend's test? I did get a chuckle out of many of your answers.

7) I haven't eaten, smoked or had a drink for three days now. Maybe I should get the flu more often.

8) Having not smoked for three days I'm seriously thinking that I should just quit. Problem is, I'm not sure I want to. I do WANT to, but I don't. Only a smoker would likely understand that.

9) Not sure what to make for supper tonight. I've got to eat something but I'm afraid of how my tummy's going to react. What's your post-flu food suggestion?

10) Dave is almost finished the laminate flooring in my ensuite bathroom. It looks so purty!

Jumping on the bandwagon...

2007-03-04T10:12:00.000-05:00

Create your own Friend Test here

Four Weddings and a Fish

2007-02-25T18:18:00.000-05:00

Saturday morning I determined to find a picture from my BIL/SIL's wedding where I was a bridesmaid. I thought that was the only wedding party I'd ever been part of. To my surprise I found pictures of me in three other weddings but none from their wedding. It took me all weekend but I've finally managed to come up with a post.

Wedding #1

Here's the first wedding I was part of. It ended in a Tammy Wynette song, D-I-V-O-R-C-E!
This was my uncle's wedding. My Mom and I are on the left of the bride. I don't remember much of the wedding but I do remember the divorce pretty well. My uncle stored some of his furniture in our basement and the bride and her twin sister (the bridesmaid on the right) threatened to drive a truck through our brick house if Dad didn't let them have the furniture back. I remember that as plain as day. *giggle*

.

Wedding #2

The next wedding I was part of was my own. So far, it has fared better than my uncle's. *grin* I actually got married two weeks after he got married for the second time. His second marriage is still going strong

Wedding #3

Mr lights and I standing up for our best friends (at the time). No, they were not standing on a platform. He is 6'3" and she's 6' tall. DO NOT laugh at my glasses! I'll know if you're laughing at my glasses and I will be making a list. Looking at this picture it appears that he groom likes me more than the bride likes mr lights. *snicker*

And just for mm, here's a picture of me holding a fish I caught just to prove that I'm not a city girl. *grin*

Not one of my better pictures. It was taken on a weekend when we stayed at a cabin with no running water. This was taken on day two, hence no makeup or blow-dried hair. Although, compared to the other ones posted above... *giggle* So have at it and have a good laugh. *grin*

Taking notes...

2007-02-08T19:07:00.000-05:00

I just tried to post on Carey's blog and was denied. Was it something I said? *grin*

Like Carey, I sometimes sit in front of the keyboard and feel like I have nothing to say. I miss the days when I had play time at work and I could just post the minute an idea came into my head. Now, I'm reduced to making lists. Somehow the inspiration is gone by the time I get home at night and can actually post. So here are my notes from this week...

All this talk about the crazed astronaut and her diapers got me thinking today. I was sitting at my desk this morning and had to pee so bad but I was so busy that I just didn't have time to go. At that moment a lightbulb appeared above my head. Instead of going commando, maybe I should be going astronaut and wear Depends at work. Just a thought.

I have a new crush. Scooter the Geek is making me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Seeing him spraying water over his shirtless torso last night made me tingly. Is there any hope for me?

Earlier this week one of my co-workers came in and sat down in my office. The overpowering smell of onions made my eyes water. I've experienced onion breath before but this was way beyond that. I swear it was oozing out of every pore in his body.

We went to the dentist last night for our six month cleaning. Our current dentist is in Quebec and is very french. The radio is tuned to a french station; the assistant speaks mostly french and when the dentist speaks to her its in french. My previous dentist was a big talker and it always drove me crazy not to be able to take part in his conversations. Not sure which situation I prefer. On one hand the french conversations don't make me crazy wanting to join in, but on the other hand the english conversations distracted me. Now I just sit there trying to translate one or two words to follow along.

I LOVE The Unit! Get your mind out of the gutter, I'm talking about the tv show. Anyone else watch it? It kind of reminds me of my Suzanne Brockmann books about the Navy SEAL team.

That's it for now. Hugs for everyone but extra big one for Carey!

Brrrrr....

2007-02-03T20:36:00.000-05:00

It's cold here. Just thought you'd all be shocked to hear that. *grin* It warmed up on Thursday and Friday but snowed like crazy.

We're on day 97489 of home renovation hell. Okay, I may be stretching it a little but it feels like that.

I called a friend on Thursday to see if him and his wife would like to curl with us at my company's bonspeil next month. We haven't had an opportunity to get together lately and I missed them a lot. When he called back he told me that he'd been having some health issues. His prostate in very enlarged and he's pretty freaked out. He's had two opinions from separate doctors and is very confused. We talked for over an hour about it and then again today. Seems like I picked the exact right time to get in touch with him. I'm really worried about him. They're going to curl with us. He said it's just what he needs right now to give him something to be excited about.

So how exactly does one sign up to drink the cool-aid? I have no idea how to update blogger.

Renovation Hell - Day 6 and counting

2007-01-25T17:15:00.000-05:00

I want my house back to normal. I want my bed back. I'm bored with this now.

Painting has never been one of my favorite things. I'd much rather build something than paint it. Hammers are so much more fun than paintbrushes. On Saturday we tore Dave's room apart and started pulling off trim. We even removed the wood around the windows that had swelled from condensation. It's all going to be replaced. We've got the primer coats on and are ready to start on the color now. I can't wait for it to be DONE! Not only is the rest of the house cluttered with all the stuff from the bedroom but I've had to share my bed with Dave and Holly for the past 5 nights! *grin*

Confession time...my home started out as a mobile home. Yes, I'm trailer trash. When we moved here we needed a place to live (our other home sold quicker than we had anticipated) and there were no homes for sale (unlike now when every second home is for sale). We decided to order a brand new mobile home and live in it for the winter until we could build a full size addition in the spring and make it into a non-mobile home. I had reservations about it at first until we found one that was really well built and had it built to our specifications. None of that tacky flowery wallpaper for us, no sir. We ordered the entire house with off white, non-patterned walls. The people at the factory dubbed our house the "White House" because we were the only people to ever order one in all white. To me, it seemed to be the ONLY choice. Maybe I'm not true trailer trash after all.

So that was 15 years ago and the vinyl covered drywall is looking very tired. We've heard horror stories about trying to paint over the vinyl and the only other solution was to remove it and put up all new drywall which would be a very big job. I decided that it was time to give it a try and attempt to paint it. After much research we decided to go for it and if it didn't work we'd bite the bullet and change the drywall. We did the small bathroom first and it turned out great so now we're working on a bedroom. After that we'll have the laundry room, my bedroom and ensuite, and the kitchen/living room. So much painting and I'm sick of it already.

On Saturday while we were tearing the room apart we were remembering all the living that's been done in our home over the past 15 years. Jamie grew up in that bedroom. He had the walls covered in posters. Guess he didn't like the plain off white walls. There were a ton of pin holes that had to be filled with plaster as well as a couple of "dents". We saw him tonight and I mentioned them to him and he said they were likely the result of some of our "debates" when I sent him to his corner to cool off. He had a habit of taking his frustrations out on his walls. *grin* It was very nostalgic thinking of all the stories those walls could tell. Probably a good thing we're painting over them.

It's so hard to believe we've been here for 15 years already. This is the longest I've ever lived in one home. Sometimes I wish for a different house but other days I can't imagine living anywhere else. On the days that I want a new house I think about having to pack all our shit and suddenly I love my house and never want to leave it. We've got lots of plans. Laminate flooring, new paint, new decorating. If only we had the money to do it all quickly. It seems like we've been neglecting the house since we bought the cottage. I'm sure in about 3 months it will be neglected again when cottage weather arrives again.

Enough rambling for now. Talk to me about your home renovation woes. Misery loves company.

What's new you ask?

2007-01-18T18:59:00.000-05:00

1. Winter has arrived. It was -35C yesterday morning. Today? -4C and snow.

2. I broke a tooth this morning eating cereal. I thought cereal was supposed to be good for you. Now I'm looking at a root canal and a crown. $$$$$$$$!!!!

3. I spent last weekend with my girlfriends. It was sooooo good to spend time with them. We watched one of the daughters play volleyball on Saturday then went out for supper together. Sunday we shopped. I splurged and bought myself a bunch of new clothes.

4. I've become one of the people I used to mock. I now have three pairs of shoes beside my desk at work. I remember dubbing a former co-worker "Imelda" for having that many pairs of shoes beneath her desk.

5. We're renovating our house. Now that we've decided to stay here it's time for an overhaul. The bathroom has been painted. Next up is Dave's room. Then laminate flooring in the kitchen and dining room. $$$$$$$$$$$$!!!!

6. My son made it home from Cozumel safe and sound. I'm so grateful. They had a blast! He said the funniest moment came when his girlfriend's brother joined them on a horseback ride the day after being hit with Montezuma's revenge. They began to gallop and the brother yelled out, "Slow the fuck down or I'll shit my pants!"

7. Two of my friends have told me things this week and asked me not to tell anyone. I've gone an entire week without spilling to Dave. Tomorrow is the big day for both of the secrets. I can't wait to hear everyone's reactions to their secrets.

8. The honeymoon may be over at work. My boss is pissing me off a little bit. She's taking all the glamorous jobs and giving me all the shit ones. It's still better than dealing with Mean Jean though.

9. I'm thinking about having another drink. Should I?

10. Forgive me, but I LMAO at American Idol last night. The chick that brought her Mom in for the audition almost made me pee my pants. I've been mocking her ever since. Bad, bad lights.

Woohoo! Another 10 in the bag!

A Beautiful Spring Day...

2007-01-04T19:40:00.000-05:00

...in Janufreakingary!!!

I've come to the conclusion that us Canucks truely are strange creatures. It's January in Northern Ontario and earlier this week I saw a woman walking down the street in shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt! Today? A guy driving around in a convertible with the top down. The weather has been unbelievably mild but come on...it's still January in Northern Ontario. There are a few little spots of snow to be found but other than that, there is green grass on the lawn. If this keeps up I'm gonna have to cut the lawn! The long range forecast says it will stay above zero until next week when we will get some real January weather.

Other stuff...

1. We're thinking about getting studs put in our winter tires. It's legal in Ontario now and with this weird weather we're getting a lot more freezing rain and black ice.

2. I received a parcel today from my wonderful Swamilicious! I wonder how she knew how much I'd LOVE a Shih Tzu calander? *smooooooches Swami and Tom* Thank you!!! It will be going up on my office wall tomorrow morning where it will remind me of you every day at work.

3. Got an email from our friend in Alaska today. It was the first time we've heard from him in almost a year. After his visit last summer and our other friend's separation, he stopped replying to our emails. I sent him a Christmas card last month just to let him know we missed him and it was really nice to hear from him.

4. I exchanged my plus size gift from my DIL this week and bought something that actually fit me. The sweaters she bought me were plus size large. Way to impress the future MIL huh?

5. Dave bought me a Raclette for Christmas but it was a cheapy one (the only one he could find) so I returned it and bought a good one tonight. Tomorrow night we're having a Raclette dinner! Woohoo!

6. Had a good visit with my thyroid doctor today. He said my thyroid has actually shrunk and says that is good news. My levels are well within range and he's happy with my progress.

7. Thyroid doctor gave me a prescription for Ativan. It's for those nights when I'm having trouble sleeping. I don't need it often but he said it wouldn't hurt to use it when I need it. I didn't sleep at all on New Year's Eve and was a mess on New Year's Day because of the lack of sleep. Has anyone ever used Ativan? Comments?

8. My dialysis friend turned 40 today. We're going to celebrate her birthday by showing up at her house some night soon (just the girls) with some food and play cards. She's not up to a big party and her sister said this is what she'd love most.

9. The boss is still on Christmas holidays so I've been on my own all week. Have I mentioned how much I love my new job? What a difference a year makes. This time last year I was still battling every day with Mean Jean.

10. My Mom bought me one of those stacker things for plastic containers for Christmas! As soon as I opened it I thought of Breezy! Anybody need a bunch of mismatched plastic containers?

I can quit writing now that I've made it to #10. *grin*

Aaaaaaahhhhhh!!!

2006-12-27T14:38:00.000-05:00

It's over! Now onto the relaxation part of my holiday. *passes around leftover appetizers*

We got home around 2pm yesterday after a whirlwind 48 hours of eating, visiting, opening presents, and poker playing. It was a really nice Christmas but I was wiped out when I got home. Had a nap in my lazyboy, ate leftover pizza, and watched the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie that I got for Chistmas. Dave had to work today so it was an early night. Even though it was a nice Christmas, there were a few "bumps" just to remind us how lucky we all were to be there and healthy.

On the 23rd, my cousin had her baby boy, two months early. He weighs just over two pounds but is doing well. She's all by herself in Kingston (southern Ontario) because that was the only hospital able to take her when her water broke a few weeks ago. She's almost 40 and single and decided she wanted to have a child. Her Mom, my Mom's sister, doesn't drive so she wasn't able to be there with her. None of her siblings could be there either so she had to go through this by herself. We were all pretty worried about her but she's a very strong person and has pulled through with flying colors. Our Grandmother was born in the early 1900s and only weighed 2 lbs so hopefully this little baby will have as long and healthy a life as she did.

When we arrived at Mom's on Christmas Eve we heard that my Aunt had fallen down the stairs and broken her leg. My Uncle has agoraphobia and doesn't leave home so he had to send her to hospital by ambulance with their daughter. She was supposed to have surgery on Christmas Eve but ended up having her leg put in a temporary cast until they found a slot in the OR and a doctor. She broke her ankle and her leg so she'll be laid up for a while.

Then on Christmas Day in the middle of our Hold 'Em game, my Mom called for my Dad from the downstairs rec room. She sounded a little concerned so he went running. The downstairs bathroom had backed up and was flooding the basement. Woohoo! I send Dave down to help Dad out because as a maintenance millwright he's good at this kind of stuff. They had to bail out the pump to find out why it wasn't working. Crisis averted. It only flooded in the furnace room and didn't wet the carpet. Regardless, we took a vote and decided that my BIL should carve the turkey because we knew where my Dad's hands had been. *giggle*

Mom delegated the jobs for getting the dinner on the table and I was given the job of making the gravy because she thinks I make the best gravy. Nothing like having pressure to have lump free gravy. The whole meal was delicious and we all sat at the table, kids included, without any mishaps. It was the first year that we've been able to do that because normally my brother's kids have a meltdown around supper time. My SIL was telling us how Billy has so much anxiety on Christmas Eve that he can't sleep. Back when I was a kid we called it excitement, not anxiety. *rolls eyes*

This was a year for gift gaffs. I bought my sister a purple sweater, black cords and a white shirt. When I walked in the house on Christmas Eve, there she was wearing the purple sweater I'd bought her. Then my parents bought her and BIL an electric frypan and apparently they'd gone out and bought one just before Christmas. Darn people that buy things for themselves that they put on their lists. *grin*

I bought my Dad a bunch of Westerns on DVD for his birthday (which is today). As he opened his Christmas gifts it seemed that every one of them included a Western DVD. He was joking about how he had enough movies to open his own movie rental store. I giggled because I knew that the next day when he opened his birthday present he was going to double the number. Hard to believe but he ended up with 46 movies in total and not a single repeat. Who knew that John Wayne made so many movies? *snort*

My son's girlfriend drew my name in the gift exchange. This is her first Christmas with us and she bought me two sweaters. Nice present, yes. Only problem was that the sweaters were from a plus sized store and were huge on me. A size 10 I'm not, but I'm not into plus sizes either. Yet, anyway. Way to impress the future MIL! *grin* I was telling my Mom about it yesterday and then felt bad because when I got home I noticed that the shirts my Mom bought me were a plus size too! I'm really thinking that they're trying to tell me something. *snicker* The shirt Mom bought me is too big too but now I'm not sure if I should exchange it even though the seam under the arm on one of them is coming apart. I just thanked them both for the gifts and didn't let on about the sizes. Maybe next year I should specify a size.

It's so nice to be home and have a few days to relax before New Year's at the cottage. I got a call from my friend this morning. She was telling me that her sister got very emotional when she opened the present I gave her. This is the dialysis friend. I made her a blanket thanks to inspiration from my internet friends. Apparently she really loved it but didn't realize I had made it. I was telling her sister this morning that I'd made it and she said that when the sister hears that I made it, it would be even more special than it already was. Out of all the gifts I gave this year, this was the one that made me feel the best.

Christmas lights out...

2006-12-24T11:24:00.000-05:00

Just getting ready to head out to Mom's for Christmas. We'll be there until Boxing Day. I hope you all have a very happy, healthy and safe holiday. I wish I'd had time to get around to everyone's blogs to wish them a special greeting but I'm running late.

I'm so grateful for every one of you! Thanks for being my friend, my sounding board, and just for being you.

See you in a few days!

love & hugs,

lights

The Spa According to lights

2006-12-20T19:35:00.000-05:00

How lucky can I be? My friend wins a draw and the prize is a "night of pampering" for her and three friends. The night of pampering is described as a foot massage, a facial and a hand treatment. Just what a busy woman deserves at this crazy time of year. And this busy woman has never experienced any of the above so I was doubly excited about what was to come.

Last night after work I stopped here at home, made myself a drink and checked the blogs to wind down after a hectic day that included my first solo business lunch as a Buyer. Imagine my surprise when I walked into the restaurant and found four men at the table waiting for me. After an initial moment of panic I calmed down and actually enjoyed myself. More about this another time.

I picked up my friend and her two daughters and off we went. Now I must admit that I was curious about how long this was going to take seeing as there were four of us. That's a lot of feet and faces to rub. When we walked in the door we found a table with products proudly displayed all over it. This was my first clue that my first spa experience was going to be a little bit less than spectacular. The lady met us at the door and invited us in to relax, have a coffee, tea, or pop and a cookie. I passed on the pop because, unfortunately, I didn't have a travel bottle with me. *waves @ Kimmers*

She invited us to follow her into her kitchen where she had four chairs set up at the table. She asked us to sit down and take our socks off and brought us rectangle dishpans filled with hot water for us to soak our feet in. While we soaked, she asked us to fill out cards with our names, address, phone number, birthday, husband's name, etc, etc. This? was my second clue that there may have been a little false advertising happening with my spa night.

After soaking our feet for a while, she gave us each towels and told us to back our chairs away from the table so we could put the towel on our leg and put our other foot up so that we could do our own freaking foot massage! My friend and I had been giving each other eye signals through this and how we managed to not completely crack up is beyond me. So there we sit, with our dripping feet covered in little dabs of goop as we massage our feet. Once the feet were done it was time to do our own facials. The hand treatment consisted of us rubbing two different creams on our own hands.

She was a Mary Kay cosmetics saleslady and I guess this was her way of getting sales before Christmas. This "evening of pampering" which we renamed, "an evening of pampering yourself" was advertised as being worth over $150. I'm not sure if the little dabs of creams and microdermobrasion goop are worth $150 but her foot massaging efforts certainly didn't amount to much.

We were done in just over an hour. And of course I felt I had to buy something even though I know I didn't have to. I ordered an eye soothing cream and a lip gloss and it cost me about $35.
We got far more than $35 worth of laughs once we got in the car to head home. We giggled like schoolgirls all the way home. Too funny. I knew it was too good to be true.

*props feet up and waits for a real foot massage*

A Conundrum...

2006-12-18T17:56:00.000-05:00

What to do? Situation is as follows. We've been planning to spend New Year's Eve at the cottage with two other couples (each bringing one 12 yr old child). That makes eight people. We have beds for six and a couch and love seat for the kids. Sounds good so far huh?

Saturday night I hosted my annual "Friends" Christmas dinner. The two couples who are coming for NYE were here as well as two other couples. One of the couples (the birthday girl and her 911 calling hubby) brought up the topic of NYE plans. The two couples that are coming to the cottage spent last NYE with 911/birthday girl and decided they wanted to come to the cottage this year. I didn't invite 911/bgirl for NYE because of space restrictions. It's just too crowded during the winter when you have to carry water, pile snowsuits and boots, use a porta-pottie, and have firewood stacked inside. During the summer it's no problem to have more people around.

So bgirl brings up NYE and asks the other two couples (not me) what THEY'RE doing for NYs. They looked a little uncomfortable but replied that they were spending it at the cottage with us. Bgirl didn't say much right away and I was busy getting the turkey dinner ready. A few minutes later she came into the kitchen and asked if it was okay if her and 911 came to the cottage too. They never go anywhere without their 15 yr old son (had to specifically tell her that it was an adults only dinner and even then she wanted to bring him). I said that it would be okay but that they'd have to bring an air matress and find space on the floor to sleep because the beds were all filled. Then she laid the bombshell on me and told me that her whole family would come. And not only her two teenage daughters, but their freaking boyfriends too!!! That's SEVEN more people! I told her that I didn't think we'd have room for everyone and she just went on saying they'd make room on the floor.

I was in the middle of serving dinner and didn't need a dramafest so I just said that we could try. All night I was inwardly fuming about this. Sunday morning I woke up and immediately thought about this and got so pissed off that I couldn't get back to sleep. It's not just finding floor space for sleeping, it's having enough room for everything we need for winter cottaging.

1. Do you think she was rude to invite herself...AND her entire family?

2. Would I be rude to call her back and tell her that there just isn't room for her whole family?

3. What would you do?

On top of the inviting herself thing, she was particularily annoying all night. She started talking about how people who don't attend church services but say they're religious are hypocritical and how she was told by her chiropractor that she's too petite to work. *rolls eyes*

Her hubby is a sweetheart and everyone loves him but I'm getting to the point where I can barely stand to be in the same room with her. I'm considering telling her that they can have the cottage for NYs and I'll just stay home.

Help me o wise ones of blogland!

You are cordially invited...

2006-12-07T19:45:00.000-05:00

...to celebrate Swami's birthday in my blog while I'm at work tomorrow. Pants are optional. My only rule is don't do anything Carey wouldn't do.

Help yourself to the frozen margaritas in the freezer. The appetizers are in the oven. The cabana boys should be here by 8am to cater to your every whim.

Happy Birthday Swami! Love ya!!!

Freezing Rain Sucks!

2006-11-28T19:08:00.000-05:00

Today was our second day in a row of the nasty shit. It make me cranky. And teary.

The parking lot at Tim Horton's this morning was a complete sheet of ice. I sat in the car waiting for Dusterboy and watched one car miss the drive-through completely and end up crashing into a curb. Then watched a guy with a large double double in each hand slide down the parking lot to his car. I actually covered my eyes and swore when I saw someone heading for the parking spot beside my shiny new baby.

By the time we managed to slide on out onto the road I was a basket case. Dusterboy looked at me and asked if I wanted him to drive me to work even though he would then be late. I managed to whimper, "Uh huh" through my tears.

The road to my office is very twisty and turny. We were just crawling along and as we came around one corner we found a van, that had just completed a 360, sitting in our lane. Dusterboy managed to slide around him and get us both to work without so much as a scratch. I love my Dusterboy.

The silly thing is that I was more worried about the new car than anything. I know a dent or scratch in inevitible but I'd like to make it to next summer at least before it happens.

What's the shortest time you've had a new vehicle before it's been damaged?

Things I DIDN'T say today

2006-11-23T17:54:00.000-05:00

Scene 1: On the phone with a supplier. Every time I call this company I get a big-assed helping of stupid. I didn't say, "Can I stop you for a minute because I'd really like to speak to someone even stupider than you this time."

Scene 2: Reading an email from a director at our company. She was replying to my simple request that she fill out a requisition to return a card file she bought in March but had neglected to mention that it didn't suit her needs until November. Her one word reply was...Amazing. I didn't say, "Why yes, yes I am. Thank you for noticing."

Scene 3: Sitting at my desk listening to bubblehead blond (or is it blonde) as she walks by my boss's office. Bubblehead exclaims, "You're eating an apple!" to my boss. I didn't say, "That's pretty observant for someone who's IQ is likely less than the apple's."

Bits and Pieces

2006-11-13T19:33:00.000-05:00

I'm making Spanish Rice for supper tonight. It's almost ready. The last time I made Spanish Rice was in Home Ec in grade 7. I've been craving it ever since.

My brother missed another family gathering on the weekend. My Dad is pissed, my Mom is hurt and my sister is fed up. I called him last night to ask him about Christmas and I'm worried about him. He's having marital problems but he's not big on talking about it.

My son and his girlfriend spent Saturday night here with us. They brought $120 worth of steak and lobster tails for supper. Damn it was good! He told me on Friday night he wanted to come visit and have Dad do some work on his vehicle. Apparently he had a rusty dipstick. I asked no further questions.

We rented History of the World - Part I on Saturday night. Still laughed at the "pump the shit right outta your house" line.

My friend that is on dialysis is back in hospital. Prayers and healing thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Do you exchange Christmas gift lists with your family? What's your opinion on giving out wish lists?

How I celebrated Carey's 40th Birthday...

2006-10-29T14:11:00.000-05:00

I was feeling really bummed out about missing all the fun and festivities this weekend and what better way to cheer yourself up but to go shopping. Look what I bought.

You think I should paint a big #8 on it? *grin*

Side story...Years ago I bought a red Columbia jacket. When my Mom saw it she made an off-hand comment about wanting attention by wearing a bright red jacket. As we were testdriving the car I thought of that comment and wondered out loud to Dave what Mom would think of this choice of car. It's not just red, its "fucking red"! When I called Mom last night to tell her about the car I said we'd bought a 2005 Monte Carlo. The first thing she said was, "And it's bright red too, isn't it." I almost peed my pants laughing. Do I know my Mom or what? I guess that makes it an ultimate DAWmobile!

Weltek's Dream...the rest of the story

2006-10-24T18:08:00.000-04:00

When we last visited Kim's wacky dreamworld, we heard that some strange man had stolen Nolay's pride and joy. I'm sure you're all wondering what became of Deere, John. Word has it he was kidnapped and given a new identity.

------------------------------------------------

Jehovah's Witnesses, Dead Hummingbird, and the QPP

2006-10-16T18:16:00.000-04:00

Friday night we headed up to the cottage for the weekend. There were plans for a 40th Birthday party on Saturday night and we had friends coming to decorate the place after supper. While Dave got the fire going to warm the place up I picked up some groceries. We had received about 5" of snow overnight Thursday and Friday morning so it was a little sloppy to say the least. As soon as I got there I turned the oven on to make supper. Ten minutes later when I went to put the supper in, the oven was still cold. WTF! I had 20 people coming for a pot luck dinner the next day. This was not good.

Dave spent the rest of the night trying to fix it. We thought it had something to do with the automatic timer because I remember bumping the dial last weekend while cleaning up after cooking the turkey for Thanksgiving. He's a pretty handy guy and after about 4 hours of working on it he was getting a little frustrated so we called it a night. The decorations were up so we made toasted turkey sammiches (for the fifth consecutive day) and went to bed.

Sunday morning the sun came out and things looked good. I started making my contributions to the pot luck (crab dip, nacho dip and pasta salad - and wings that required an oven to cook). Dave headed to town to try and find a solution to the dead oven and take Holly for a haircut. By the time he got back I was cleaning up but still wearing a pair of green shorts and a white t-shirt with no bra. While he was in behind the stove I heard a knock on the door. Who could it be? None of our friends knock on the door. I ran to the bedroom and grabbed my red jacket and went to answer the door. Two women, dressed in skirts carrying briefcases. I knew exactly what they wanted. As soon as she started to pull out her Watchtower pamphlets I told her I wasn't interested. She was good about it and said another time maybe. Sure, when hell freezes over come on back. It was bad enough when I got a telemarketer calling me on the cottage phone, now Jehovah's at my cottage door! Is nothing sacred?

We never did get the oven working but decided that we'd make do. There was the BBQ, the oven in the camper and neighbors who would lend their oven if we needed it. The guests began arriving around 1:30 pm and the party started. One of the guests was out in the porch having a smoke and noticed something hanging off a fishing rod that was suspended from the ceiling. He asked Dave what the hell he was trying to catch using a dead hummingbird for bait. We thought he was joking but when we went to look, sure enough there was a tiny little hummingbird hanging upside down from the fishing rod with his little tongue hanging out. Poor little bastard. He must have got trapped inside and either starved or froze to death. So now we've got a dead oven and a dead hummingbird. No wonder the Jehovah's were at my door.

The party was going well. Lots of laughs, lots of drinks and TONS of food. We made do without the oven and a good time was had by all. We had a campfire going outside and some stayed inside out of the cold. The birthday girl's husband came in from the campfire and was totally hammered. Staggering and babbling and we were all getting a good laugh at him. For some unknown reason, as he was gettting ready to go back outside he picked up the phone and dialed 911 and then hung up. It's completely out of charactor for him and we were all quite surprised. Everyone gave him hell and told him you could get charged for doing that. He was too drunk to care at that point. The phone rang and he picked it up. He spoke french telling the caller that it was an accident and apologized. They asked him for his name and he didn't want to give it so he hung up again. At this point I'm getting a little ansty. He was laughing about it. How stupid did they think he was? No way he was giving them his name he said. Um, ya, like they don't now have MY name and address. I tried to pick up the phone but there was nobody there.

He finally went back outside and I started cleaning up dishes and putting food away. As we were doing the dishes everyone was still shaking their heads about him pulling this bonehead move. Next thing I know, someone tells me the police are at the door. Sure enough, two Quebec Provincial Police are standing in my doorway. This just isn't my weekend. Then I got a good look at the male cop and kind of hoped he'd frisk me and cart me off to jail. Hubba, hubba! He was HOT!!! As I'm trying not to drool he's asking me my name and birthdate. Suddenly I had this awful feeling that the birthday girl might think this had all been a set up and that the cop was really a stripper for her! I couldn't help but picture her coming over and trying to help him out of his bullet-proof vest. That would have been just my luck.

I apologized and said that it was an accident by a drunk and assured him that I wouldn't let it happen again. He was very nice about it and joked around with us a bit and then left with no damage done. He felt pretty embarassed about it the next morning and the birthday girl was pretty pissed at him but I told her not to give him too much of a hard time. I'm sure nobody will ever let him forget it.

This was the third 40th birthday party I've hosted at the cottage in as many years. Each party has had some sort of drama happen. This year we kept saying that it was to be a drama free zone. I guess someone didn't get the memo. *snicker* Anyone have a 40th birthday coming up? Want me to host the party?

We Were The Champions!

2006-10-04T17:55:00.000-04:00

I've been waiting to post my recap of the baseball tournament until I got a copy of the team photo wearing the jackets we won but it still hasn't found it's way to me so I'd better get this down before I forget all the details.

As I said before, I hung up my ball cleats and glove about 6 or 7 years ago after about 20 years of slo-pitch. My last couple years were riddled with injuries and then my Dad got hit above the eye while pitching in a family game and I really started losing my nerve. For years I had played 3rd base and pitched where good reactions are essential to avoid serious injuries. So it was with great fear that I stepped out onto the ball field again.

I had stayed away from the ball field completely for the first couple of years and this summer I started going to watch a few games and had the feeling that I really wanted to try it again. It looked like so much fun. My friends Nicky and Howie played on a mixed team and they were going to put a team into a nearby tournament and asked if I would mind being a spare. I agreed but kept saying that I didn't want to be counted on to play all the games because I didn't know if I was still GOOD at it. And I hate doing things I'm not good at.

We went to the ball field a couple nights prior to the tournament to see if I could still hit, run, catch and throw. The first practice I was HOT! I was hitting and throwing like I'd never stopped playing. Until the muscles decided that they really preferred to be lazy and decided to revolt. The second practice was so much less spectacular. I could hardly lift my arm above my shoulder let alone throw the ball. At this second practice they told me that they needed me to play full time on the weekend and being the giver that I am, I said I'd be there for them.

Saturday morning dawned, scratch that, I had to get up BEFORE the dawn, a foggy mess. Our game was at 8am and we had to be there a half hour before the game. Well, at least those of us who take rules seriously had to be there half an hour early. I left home shortly after 7am and found my way through the fog to the field. The good thing about following rules is that you get a great parking spot. The rest of my team showed up at 7:50am. I spent the time stretching and trying to psych myself up for what was to come.

My first at bat was scary. I stood in the on-deck circle wondering WTF I was thinking when I agreed to play. At least there was nobody in the stands to laugh at me. I stepped up to the plate and let the first pitch go by. It was three pitch, which means that you pitch to your own team and only get three pitches, so letting a good one go can be dangerous. I needed to settle in and get ready. The next pitch was good so I swung hoping to at least get it past the pitcher. Imagine my delight when it headed out into left-centre and not into anyone's glove. In hindsight I may have been better off if it had ended up in a glove. It would have saved me large amounts of pain.

At the crack of the bat I tried to launch myself toward first base but realized that I had to crawl out of the hole that previous batters had dug at home plate. The ground was soft, like running on a beach. Now I've never been a particularily speedy runner. I'm built for comfort, not speed. *grin* I ran as fast as I could to first and made it there safely. Somewhere along the way I felt a burning pain in my left cheek. As I stood there waiting for them to put in a courtesy runner for me I rubbed by butt and hoped the pain was temporary. When no courtesy runner showed up to run for me I realized that I was going to have to run ALL the way around the bases. During my previous ball career, I'd always been given a runner because of my less than blazing speed. However, on this team, I was not the slowest so therefore, no runner for me.

The batters after me moved me around the bases, one base at a time thankfully, and I ended up crossing home plate. With a still burning butt cheek I grabbed my glove and finished the game. I was completely suprised that I ended up on base with every single at bat. By the end of the first game I was ready for a hip replacement and a soft place to sit.

There was a pancake breakfast across the highway at the senior's hall and the whole team was going for breakfast. I seriously thought about driving over but the teasing was too much so I sucked it up and walked. At the highway they almost had to stop traffic in order to give me enough time to cross two lanes. I seriously considered staying at the senior's hall with my peers rather than going back to the ball field but my pride made me go back for more.

We played three games on Saturday. Each one more painful than the last. During the afternoon game I hit a double and had to run all the way to second without.a.break! Then, as I was standing on second gasping for air, the batter behind me hit a long ball and I ended up having to run home without a mandatory rest break. Talk about your amazing races.

Between the games I sat as much as possible but every once in a while I had to get up and walk so that I didn't completely cease up. It was a blast even though I was feeling every single year of my age. Everyone was telling me how impressed and proud they were that I was playing so well and sticking it out. Bastards. *grin*

We won all our games on Saturday and got home around midnight. Our first game on Sunday wasn't until 10:10 so we got to sleep in a little. After the first game on Sunday morning I was really starting to wish that we could just lose a damned game. We were hot though and were cleaning up on the field. Our centre fielder was unfreakingbelieveable! He has blinding speed and would dive for the ball and pretty well always came up with it in his glove.

There were four local teams playing. We weren't one of them even though we did have some fairly strong ties to the community we were playing in. Even so, for some reason, we were the team that everyone seemed to be cheering against. I don't really understand it. We were a fun team to play against. We didn't argue calls, we weren't rude or obnoxious. We cheered on the opposing team when they made a nice play. Still, nobody in the stands seemed to be cheering for us except Nicky's Mom and Dad. Nicky and I talked about this later and wondered (hoping it wasn't the case) if we were unloved because the team was mostly composed of native players. I have to admit we were a pretty motley looking crew and the team had intimidated me a little before I played with them. But, after playing with them I found them to be a very fun, supportive bunch. I really hope it wasn't the Indian thing.

We ended up having to play three games on Sunday including the final game. By the time I made it through the second game I asked the team if I could just write them a check for the amount they could possible win and we just call it a day. They wouldn't go for it.

I was seriously hurting. My legs felt like jello. I was giggling all by myself about silly things. I was so tired and sore. But every time I went up to bat I felt a little better and hit that ball as far as I could.

We won the final and none of the fans came by to congratulate us. Oh well, we won and they didn't. *giggle*

The team was a fun bunch. They scared me a little before I got to know them but they were all so encouraging and supportive that they made me feel like part of their family. I'm glad I did it. It was something I would have always wished I'd done if I had wimped out. With that being said, my cleatless feet are now planted firmly on the retired bench.

For sale...

One well used right handed ball glove, one bloodstained right handed batting glove, one pair of size 8 cleats and numerous bats and ball bags.

Have I completely lost my mind?

2006-09-11T21:20:00.000-04:00

This weekend I've agreed to play slo-pitch in a mixed tournament. I haven't thrown a ball in over five years. I don't even know where my glove is. I've have knee surgury since I quit playing and I am 4o freaking 5 years old.

So what's your vote?

Sleeping in tomorrow morning!

2006-08-28T18:18:00.000-04:00

Woohoo!!! They're having a power shutdown in the plant tomorrow for maintenance which means that I don't have to go to work until 9:30! That's a full 2 1/2 hours of extra sleep.

Who am I kidding? I'll be awake by 6am.

Any ideas what I should do with my spare time tomorrow morning?

**whacks to anyone suggesting anything related to housework**

A Mean Jean story for old time's sake

2006-08-14T20:47:00.000-04:00

Hey bloggers! Remember me?

For those of you who miss my Mean Jean stories, I called one of my ex-coworkers last week and heard that she's running around telling anyone who'll listen that I cost the company a bunch of money over a Value Added Tax that we had to pay on purchases from South Africa in order to expedite shipment times. She seems to think that I just started paying this tax for no reason and that we didn't have to pay it. Too bad her spineless hubby wouldn't own up to the fact that he was the one that okayed the VAT on those purchases. *rolleyes*

She also told the ex-coworker that she wasn't the only one, lots of people didn't get along with me. He shot right back at her and asked who that would be. She couldn't come up with a single name.

I ran into another guy I worked with at the pharmacy on Friday night. When I saw him he came up and gave me a great big bear hug right in the middle of the store. I wonder why he'd do a thing like that when nobody could get along with me. *giggle* He told me that Mean Jean has reached another low. On Thursday a couple of the guys were outside working and singing away to themselves. They're not allowed to have radios so they sometimes sing while they work. Her window was open and she marched out and told them that they were not to sing anymore because she couldn't concentrate when they were singing. *shakes head* Some things never change.

After hearing this stuff I'm more convinced than ever that I made the right move. Not that I was doubting it or anything but it sure reinforced it. The same bunch that took me out on my last day are talking about getting together soon and going out on a pontoon boat for a few drinks and a good session of Jean bashing. I'm thinking we should invite her along and then use her as the anchor.

In other news, we've been spending lots of time at the cottage. We finally managed to kill the pile of earth we got two years ago to spread out to plant grass. The entire long weekend was spent shovelling and raking. The final little bit was finished on Saturday morning and then we planted the grass seed. Wooofuckinghooooo! I have blisters on my blisters from shovelling. Dave and I sat in our lawnchairs Saturday afternoon and toasted the demise of the sandpile and then toasted again to the beginning of our new lawn. We considered staying there and drinking until the first blade of grass popped up but decided to go to a party Saturday night instead.

Yesterday we went out on the boat with some friends. We took a couple drinks and some subs for lunch and just cruised the lake (not our lake, another one nearby). It was a beautiful day but it got a little choppy on the way back and I was wishing I had a sports bra, actually scratch that, smaller boobs as we crossed the open part of the lake. I got a quite a bit of sun on my shoulders but nothing too serious. The only bad part of the day was that we took three Shih Tzus with us. Next time the dogs stay home. My legs are scratched from them trying to dig in to stay on my lap while bouncing across the lake.

A couple weekends ago we went to Mattawa Voyageur Days. Dr. Hook was playing (amongst others). We ended up right in the front row by the time Dr. Hook came on. It took some work and we were hanging with the twenty-somethings, but it was a blast. I even got to shake Dr. Hook's hand after the show, twice.

A Green Sky is a bad thing

2006-07-23T18:14:00.000-04:00

First, sorry Weltek. I hadn't thought about your "picture" being on top during my entire vacation. Here, have some cheese curds from Quebec and some fries and gravy to go with them. *grin* This story should be long enough to bump it down to the bottom.

Now, onto the news. Our vacation started out simply enough. We had a great weekend and had lots of plans for the week. Until the sky turned green on Monday at 6pm. At 5:45 pm the power went out at the cottage. We were just about to fire up the bbq. I had the potatos, salads and mushrooms ready to go when out went the lights. I went out on the deck and looked across the lake because there was a severe thunderstorm warning. Over the tree tops I saw what looked like smoke. Hmmm. As I looked again, I realized that it wasn't smoke but a mini-twister of water pulled up from the lake. The wind gusts were really picking up and the sky was black and nasty looking. The mini-twister of water scared the bejesus out of me and I ran back into the cottage to tell Dave. He looked outside and the wind was getting extremely strong. He yelled to me to close all the windows in the cottage. Our cottage sits on blocks and has no basement to hide in during scary weather.

Once we managed to get the windows closed we stood by the kitchen windows that look out over the lake and into the screened porch. The sky turned an eerie green and the gusts of wind were unbelieveable. Like I've never seen before in my life. The whole cottage was shaking, although, not quite as much as Holly or I. I watched as the rain drove in horizontally through the screened porch and soaked the inside windows. The lightning was wicked. Five and six strikes at a time. A dead spruce tree beside the cottage broke about seven feet up and hung there swinging back and forth for a few minutes before it finally came crashing down towards the front of the cottage. It landed within a couple feet and that sent me into a panic. You could hear other trees cracking and we have some massive trees very close to the cottage. I immediately began thinking of a safe place to hide. I took Holly and crawled up into the lower bunk bed in the spare room. I knew it was a very sturdy place and thought it was the best spot. Still not feeling completely safe though, I though of putting on my snowmobile helmet just in case.

Dave, trying to keep me calm, turned to humor. He came in the bedroom and said, "Holly, I don't think we're in Temiscaming anymore." It was funny afterwards, but it didn't cheer me up much at the time. Then he completely ruined my happy place by telling me that sitting so close to the panel box might not be such a good idea. He RUINED my happy place!!!

I could tell that he was worried too but trying to keep Holly and I calm. The wind was unreal and hearing trees cracking outside left me waiting for one to come through the roof. It was terrifying. After about 20 minutes of this, the wind began to die down and the rain eased off and finally stopped. We cautiously ventured outside to see what had happened and tried to find batteries to power the old radio we found. The radio didn't comfort me though as they were reporting major damage in North Bay and surrounding areas. This was a HUGE storm. Power was out in all of North Bay, roofs were missing off of businesses and transport trailers had been blown over.

We saw people walking down the road and when we went out to the end of the driveway we found a large tree hanging on the power lines and another tree across the road. After hearing how bad the damage was in North Bay we knew we had to head home and get the generator because power wasn't going to come back in an hour or two. The people walking had moved the tree across the road so we headed out to see if we would be able to get all the way home. I'd heard that the highway was closed because of trees down but we had 4 wheel drive and thought we might be able to make it around them.

The highway into Temiscaming was littered with huge trees. We had to drive around at least 10 of them on the highway and we hadn't even made it to Ontario yet. The actual town of Temiscaming didn't look bad at all so we were hoping that it wasn't going to be too bad. As we crossed into Ontario we found many more trees on the highway and on top of the power lines. Many of the poles were snapped like toothpicks and there were wires hanging everywhere. I was driving because Dave felt like he was getting a migraine. With the wicked barometric pressure change I'm amazed that it never developed into one.

We pulled into our little town and were completely shocked by the carnage there. So many huge trees down. So many power and phone lines down. It looked like a war zone. Thankfully we didn't see any homes damaged. How they weren't I still don't know. There was a line down across the highway and cars were driving under it but the truck couldn't go under it without hitting it. Dave assured me it was safe seeing as there was no power in the lie so we scooted under it. We made it home and found a few trees down, but no damage to our home or garage. We loaded up the generator and packed up the food in the freezer and fridge and headed back to the cottage. At the store we heard a number of stories from people we knew. We filled up the truck with gas - they had a generator going to pump gas - and then made our way back to get set up for the night.

By the time we made it back to the cottage the trees were all removed from the highway. It's amazing how quickly people come together to get things done. There were extension cords running everywhere but we finally had the fridges and freezer running along with a light or two and the tv and satellite dish. I watched the weather network and the local news to hear what was going on. The phone was dead and even the cell phone was showing no signal. At 10pm we finally sat down to eat our steak, potatoes and salad. We went to bed with the generator running right outside our bedroom window. By the time morning came around, I had decided that it was going to have to move if I was going to get any sleep during the next couple days.

Tuesday morning dawned bright and sunny and looking out over the lake it was hard to believe what had happened the night before, except for the trees laying on the lawn. We made breakfast on the deck on the bbq and I went over to check on one of the ladies who lives alone two doors over. It turned out it was her birthday and I told her that Dave had the coffee on and that made her day. We sat on the deck and her and Dave had coffee and we chatted for a while. We told her that we'd bring the generator over to run her freezer and fridge for a while later in the day. After a trip to town to pick up a few things and another run home to pick up a few more things we were back at the cottage. Around 4pm we took the generator in to our friend's house to run their stuff and while we were there their power came back on. We were sitting on their front deck and the hydro trucks were driving down the street so we clapped and gave them a woohoo. They didn't see us and I suggested that the next time maybe we should flash them to get their attention. *grin*

When we arrived back at the cottage we were told by other neighbors that when the power came back on in town the tree beside our driveway had lit up like a Christmas tree and the live wire broke and was sparking in the ditch. They were on their way to call the fire department but as we watched it there were no fires. We hooked up the birthday lady and her neighbor hooked into it too. By 9pm we were hooked up again and I got to catch Rock Star on the late feed.

We made sure the generator was moved away from the bedroom and had a better sleep on Tuesday night. Wednesday we decided to go for a drive and see how the repairs and clean up were going. We'd heard that the highway between North Bay and our house was unbelieveable. As we drove down the highway we began to think it would be at least a week before we had power at home. The phone at home was working so I called and checked on my parents and sister. They were happy to hear that we were okay. We ended up visiting other friends in the next little town and heard their stories about the storm. Everywhere you went people were talking about it and nothing else. The storm covered over 300 kms of straightline damage. No tornadoes but a ton of microbursts that completely flatted huge areas and left others relatively untouched.

We stopped at home and emptied everything out of the fridges and freezer, unplugged them and shut off the main breaker. There had already been a number of fires due to things left on after the power was restored. During the day we made plans to go check on another friend who was out in our old campground during the storm. They rode it out in their truck down at the beach while many trees were falling around their campers. When we got back to the cottage we ran into the hydro crews and about 10 minutes after getting there, the hydro came back on. Just over 48 hours at the cottage. The trip to the campground was unreal. Some areas were flattened and others untouched. We saw campers with trees on top of them, through them and others perfectly fine. As scary as it was in the cottage, I would have shit my pants in the camper.

That night I had a really frightening nightmare. I had to wake Dave up and have him talk to me for half and hour before I could go back to sleep again. I decided that on Thursday we were not going to talk about the storm or go looking at any more damage. We spent a quiet day at the cottage and just relaxed after a couple of really hectic days.

Friday was a nice day too. We went to our friend's house for a bbq and birthday party. It was quiet but a nice change. Yesterday we puttered around the cottage and cleaned up the trees that had fallen. Around 5pm we headed out on the river to fish. Dave caught one keeper so we had it for breakfast this morning. Mmmmm! The best news was that by Saturday night at 7pm the power was back on at home. Such a relief for so many people. We were fortunate. We had a generator and we had the cottage where the power was only out for 48 hours.

So this morning we packed up and prepared to come home after our week of vacation. It certainly wasn't boring. I'm glad we were on holidays when this hit because getting to work would have been a real hassle without water or power.

This storm was a real wakeup call to us all. We get snowstorms and icestorms but this was the first major wind storm ever in our area. I can't even imagine how people handle living in tornado prone areas. *shiver* On Thursday there were storm warnings again and we did have more thunder and lightning but thankfully the wind wasn't anywhere near as bad as Monday. I was extremely nervous just the same. It amazes me how people pull together in times like this. It makes me proud to see how these little towns manage and take care of each other.

Back to work tomorrow morning. I'll never forget this week of vacation. I'll try to post a picture or two sometime this week.

Stay safe everyone.

By Popular Demand!

2006-07-13T18:42:00.000-04:00

Weltek, they MADE me do it! *LLMC*

See you all in a week or so!

Pretty in Pink - Part Six

2006-07-12T20:29:00.000-04:00

With Nolay tending bar and personally selecting who would get Totally Naked, and Jimbo getting comfortable, the snorting began. We were once again reduced to fits of laughter and sore ribs. We attempted to call Carey but Jimbo told us that she didn't want to talk to us. Shattered, I poured myself a double Southern Comfort.

I have to say that my ancient old cell phone looked all that much more like a dinasaur compared to the lovely pink phone of Meemo's and Byoffer's picture taking, speaker phone. I had no idea that new cell phones were so talented. Well I did know about the picture thing but I had no idea about the speaker thing. We all talked to Dragonflies and thanked her for the beautiful candles she sent for us. So sorry she didn't make it in person so we could have really thanked her. It was at this point that I realized that all the little gifts I'd picked up at the last minute were safely tucked away on the shelf in the closet at my hotel. Oh well, I guess I'll save them for next time.

Another highlight of the night was getting to talk to Mon again. Wow! Two days in a row. It would have been just too cool if she had been able to surprise us!

We laughed about the Maid of the Fist, we laughed about Jimbo's lack of a slip, we laughed about the snorting, we laughed about laughing like maroonclown, and we just plain laughed.

It may have been because we were tired, it may have been the Cheesehead beer, but I think it was the company. What a crazy, fun bunch of people to spend a weekend with. I'm getting a little nostalgic just thinking about it all.

But all good things must come to an end and when this picture was taken we figured it was time for us to go. As we were getting ready to leave the famous pose was recreated on the bed, first by the girls and then the guys. Like Weltek said, by the time the last picture was snapped I was definately feeling the burn. I'm not nearly as flexible as mr maroonclown. *grin*

After many hugs and goodbyes, we left the sweet suite and the Nolays offered us a ride back to our hotel. Thanks again! It was so nice of them to do that.

We hugged them once more and waved goodbye for the final time and headed to our room with precious memories of an extremely enjoyable weekend. I may be back with more thoughts sometime down the road, but for now, it's lights out.

Pretty Things...Part Five

2006-07-12T20:15:00.000-04:00

Bet you thought this was going to be a picture of the cross-dresser huh?

*giggles*

Guess who got new shoes?

Tu Tus and Cross-dressing - Part Four

2006-07-12T19:01:00.000-04:00

As people started arriving the real fun began. The Tu Tu Tango Cafe is not a place I'd likely have ever chosen to try if not for this event, but I'm so glad we experienced it. They even had Southern Comfort so lights was a happy camper.

Meemo and family arrived and we finally got to meet his beautiful wife and cutie pie daughter. I wish I had had more time to visit with them like a lot of people. Seana and family showed up for a bit to say hi and bye to us. It was too bad they couldn't stay but it had been a long day and the kidlets were tired.

It was here that I got to have a little chat with Pippy. He's quite the little charmer. I asked him for a hug and he jumped right up into my arms and we chatted while talking to a girl who was painting a picture of a cat, of all things. Pippy told her that he had a cat that went away to another home. The artist told me later that his story struck a chord with her because her cat had just disappears recently and she thought it might be because she hadn't fed it soft food.

The Silverfamily called to say they couldn't find the restaurant so Meemo, Nolay and I all tried a hand at directions. After a couple of calls, they finally joined us and presented us all with lovely chocolate starfish. Thanks Silver!

After dinner there were bananas and tequila. We gathered outside on the sidewalk where we snickered over Jimbo's lovely handbag and took our group shot with the help of a stranger or two.

and a walk to the falls while the gamblers headed to the Casino. We walked down the longest hill ever and finally got to see and feel the mist - the maid of the mist, not fist. *giggle*

The climb back up the hill turned into a stroller race with Byoffer and Nolay (pushing babycq) making the dash for the finish line. We said our good-byes to the Silverfamily and headed to the Casino to meet up with the rest of the group before heading back to the sweet suite to sample Nolay's fine selection of beer. Babycq took a short dip in the fountain and let it be known to Mommy that she wasn't impressed. When the gamblers returned, some a little lighter in the wallet, we said good-bye to cq and headed to the sweet suite.

What a Zoo! - Part Three

2006-07-12T17:34:00.000-04:00

Saturday morning we woke up early and showered and got ready for another day of peep meeting. We were meeting at a breakfast buffet place near our hotel at 9am. Dave and I were the first ones there so we picked a corner table on the patio to await the arrival of the rest of the group. Meemo was the first to arrive and shortly after came the Byoffer family along with the Mystics. Babyby munched away on a banana (how appropriate I thought). Soon after the Maroonclowns showed up and that's when the fists started flying. Well not really fists, it was more of a backhanded slap. I don't know what Mystic said to Maroonclown, but I was a little more cautious about what I said to her after seeing her take a swipe at Mystic. *giggle*

The LePews were next and it was so great to finally meet them. After so many years of hanging out with them on OT, it was fun to finally meet them in person. What a beautiful family (even if it wasn't the complete family). Pippy is such a happy little guy and Poppy is just as cute as a little skunk can be. About the time they arrived, my cell phone started ringing. Silvergirl called to say that they wouldn't be joining us for breakfast but wanted to know what the plan was for the day. I told her we'd call her back once we nailed down our plans. Seana and family arrived while Mystic, Dave and I were in the parking lot having a smoke. Seana's son was pretty timid but her daughter came with her to meet all us axe-murderers. The next call was from Kim and Chris to find out what the plan was. They were going to do the wing thing so they said they'd call later when we were done with the zoo.

After breakfast some of us made quick stops back at our hotel rooms to get ready for the day. I had to make a quick run to Shopper's Drug Mart to buy ANOTHER pair of sunglasses and sunscreen. I knew there was something I was forgetting at home. We found Zooz without any problem and called Silvergirl to give her directions. Everyone else was already there when we arrived. And yes, I did say that I'd love to try out the bungee thingy Seana discussed, but I knew that my neck wouldn't love it so much so I passed.

We wandered around the zoo hearing wonderful stories from the Mystics and searching for just one single cat that would come outside of their house. Damn cats. *snicker* We stopped for a cold drink part way around the place and I had to talk a server through making change from a $10 for a $2.65 slushy. After five minutes of counting and recounting and almost giving me back change for a $20, I finally told her to give me $7.00, a five dollar bill and a twoonie. Honestly, it was that bad.

About halfway through, some of the kiddos were getting tired. Well, some of the adults too. *points to self* Dave and I decided to head back to our room and maybe have a swim and and drink before getting ready for dinner. As we were leaving the zoo, Silvergirl called from the parking lot and so we finally met the Silver family in the parking lot. There were hugs and laughs and pictures happening. While we were taking pictures, Kim called to say that they were done their wing and beer tour. I gave them directions to our hotel and they said they'd meet us there. We said goodbye to the Silvers, who said they were going back to their campground for a swim before supper.

When we got back to the hotel we had to park in the back. On the way through the indoor pool/bar/cafe area, we walked right smack dab into a wedding taking place. One of the bartenders was kind enough to take us through the staff area so we didn't have to interupt the nuptuals. When we got to the lobby the Nolays were waiting for us. We headed up to the room to have a drink. It was a blast to have some one on one time with Weltek and Nolay. They're such a fun, cute couple! We all changed for supper and they gave us a lift to the restaurant so we didn't have to call a cab.

We headed for the Fallsview Casino parking area and then Weltek went into the Casino to get her free parking pass (thanks Meemo). Nolay, Dave and I waited beside the big "thing" in the main area. Later when we got home, my sister asked me about it. I must have been to wrapped up in Nolay's conversation to notice it because I had no idea what she was talking about. *snicker* Next on the agenda were Nolay's cigars, you know, the kind that are actually legal in Canada. While the boys were in the little room with all the expensive stuff, Weltek and I browsed the rest of the store. We found the cutest Zippo lighter with a lady bug on it. I soooo wanted to buy it for Buggy, but sadly the weekend had already taken a toll on my mad money.

It was almost 6 so we headed across to the Tu Tu Tango Cafe. Inside we found a beautiful dark-haired young woman with a cute-as-a-button baby. It was cq and baby cq. I've seen pictures of cq before but none of them do her justice like meeting her in person. She's just the sweetest! Sorry if you didn't want that to get out cq!

I've tried twice to post pictures with this entry but blogger isn't cooperating tonight. I finally managed to post these three pics, one at a time which took at least 15 minutes. Damn slow dial up! I'm going to try to finish this up tonight because I'll be leaving for the cottage Friday after work for a week of holidays. Unless I can talk Dave into letting me bring the computer (and then figure out how to get online from a different province) I'll be away for that time.

Bits and Pieces from a Friday Night - Part Two

2006-07-10T20:34:00.000-04:00

So we were in the sweet suite and guess what topic came up. That's right, we discussed reality tv shows! Imagine that! Weird huh?

The Maroonclowns were so much fun. Dave and mr mclown are both car guys so they had something in common other than being married to weird internet freaks.

I wish we'd had more time. I would have loved to have had more one on one time with each and every one of the people there. So much to talk about and so little time.

Jimbo and Meemo in one of their more animated moments.

Kim was the first to strike "the pose". I have a picture if anyone is interested. *evil grin*

Byoffer's shirt was much funnier once I heard the background story. I'm so out of the loop sometimes. Mrs Byoffer and Babyby had gone back to their hotel. Mrs Byoffer is beautiful (and smart and funny and I think I hate her just a little bit - kidding). Babyby is a sweet and happy little guy.
I think this may have been Nolay's "You guys totally suck" face. Or it may have been the mention of gay penguins. I'm not really sure. *giggle*

So this brings me to the end of Friday night. Around midnight we all said our goodnights with plans to meet Saturday morning at 9am for breakfast. Dave and I headed back to our hotel. We were both starving because we'd missed supper but were too tired to even walk across the street to Wendy's. We fell into bed and were soon asleep.

To be continued...

The Meeting of the Peeps - Part One

2006-07-10T18:35:00.000-04:00

Where to start. Everything is such a jumble in my head right now. I guess the best place to start is at the beginning. For me that was Friday afternoon at 3:15 pm when I walked out the door of my office to find Dave waiting for me in a Zoom-Zoom (that's a Mazda 6 in Davespeak). We rented a car for the weekend because our AC doesn't work and I wasn't about to head to Southern Ontario in July without it. It was worth every cent.

Dave bitched and moaned about Zoom-Zoom for the first 200 kms because he really wanted an Impala or a Chrysler 300. Oh well, I didn't really care what kind of car delivered me to Niagara Falls, as long as it went Zoom-Zoom and got me there quickly. Well Zoom-Zoom didn't let us down. We arrived in Niagara Falls around 7:30 pm, well ahead of my ETA. Everyone was meeting at the Fallsview Casino at 8pm so shortly after we stepped into our room I was dialing the phone to Meemo right at 8pm as the rest of the peeps were arriving. I told him we'd be ready in about 45 minutes and would call him then.

We downed a quick drink in our room while unpacking and then headed out to the Fallsview area. Now I used to be a pretty regular visitor to Niagara Falls but it's been a few years since I've been there. Holy smokes! It's changed! After one missed street and one very funny reverse manouvre by Zoom-Zoom in order to make a turn that was missed, we found a place to park. As we walked out of the underground parking the first thing I saw was Coco's Bar and Grill! It had to be a very good omen!

As we walked up the street I called Meemo to find out where we should go to meet them. Like I posted on OT, his next words threw me a little when he asked me what I was wearing. Somehow I never expected to hear those words from him. *giggle* He told me that they were across the street on the outdoor patio at the Hilton. As soon as he said that I looked across the street and there he was! We did the run with the arms outstretched thing and he was a perfect gentleman and asked Dave if it was okay if he hugged his wife. Be very jealous ladies! Next up were Catt and Mystic. I recognized Catt right away (even with both feet firmly planted on the ground) but Mystic threw me a little. Even though she was wearing a shirt with a wolf on it I still couldn't come up with her name for some reason and called her Lone Wolf. *smacks head* I think she forgave me as I was still a little overwhelmed by mearly being in the prescense of more than one OTer.

This was my third peep meet. Nookie will always be my first. Jep being my second, but nothing prepared me for this. Introductions followed and my head was spinning. After hugs and hellos we ordered drinks and sat down and got to talk to Maroonclown and her hubby. I have to admit that I really didn't know much about Maroonclown due to my absence from OT lately but I can tell you that she is a complete doll! Her hubby's not bad either. *wink*

While Babyoffer boogied to the very loud band we finished up our drinks and headed to the sweet suite of Catt and Jimbo where we hoped to see some fireworks. We were met at the door with the bad news that while we could "hear" the fireworks, we couldn't really "see" them. That wasn't a problem though. I didn't come for fireworks, I came to see peeps and see peeps I did.

There were lots of laughs, drinks, a few *snorts* and some gay penguins. I missed the gay penguin story somehow but was filled in at breakfast the next morning.
S
Seana looked like a very hot housewife and not at all trampy. Catt was very pretty in pink. We were all caught up in Maroonclown's contagious laughter. Mystic's voice is so sultry that I'll never be able to read another of her posts without "hearing" it in my head. Weltek is ten times as funny and sweet in person as she is on the boards and blogland.

The guys were all as handsome as you've all imagined. I hadn't had a lot of interaction with Jimbo or Byoffer prior to meeting them in person but I found them to be as funny and charming as they were handsome. Meemo mentioned that he was a little reserved and while that may be true he certainly looked to be enjoying himself while being a very gracious host.

I'm going to post this now in case blogger decides to have a hissy fit - I'll edit more into this in a bit. It doesn't seem that blogger will let me add any more pics so I'll have to start another post.

Three more sleeps!

2006-07-04T19:38:00.000-04:00

*bounces up and down*

The countdown's on! It's going to be a busy week here but I've got so much to look forward to this weekend! I'm really looking forward to a weekend that doesn't involve manual labor or sleeping in a musty camper.

Seems all we've been doing on weekends lately is work, work, work. The only weekend we took off was two weeks ago when we went fishing and our accomodations were a musty old camper that made me gag when I opened the door, so a nice hotel will be very welcome indeed. We went fishing with friends and caught a boatload of fish (which made me very happy) but the camper they had for us to sleep in hadn't been aired out in about a year. *gag* Mr lights didn't notice it because his sniffer doesn't work very well. Unfortunately, mine works double time.

We just finished a nice three day weekend (four days for mr lights) and while it was nice to be off work, Miss Holly chose Sunday night to have one of her reverse sneezing episodes. Any of you dog owners know what I'm talking about? It's more of a snorting fit and it lasted from 10pm Sunday until this morning when she finally started feeling better. I had to ask me friend to come pick her up today while we were at work because I was worried about leaving her alone. She's okay now! YAY!!! I swear I'm NEVER getting another dog if/when something happens to Holly.

Update on the injured/ill list. No change on the paralysed kid. He's holding his own though. We visited with the Crohn's kid on Sunday. He's doing well. His appointment to determine how successful the surgery was happening today. The blood clot friend is continuing to do well and is now home. She's such an inspiration. It's absolutely amazing how well she's doing after almost losing her. The acid burn friend was at the cottage on Friday night. His burns are healing well and he said it doesn't even hurt much anymore. He was very lucky. He joked that he was just happy that the burn didn't happen any lower. *grin*

I only wish that more of the blog peeps could make it to Niagara this weekend. I'm very excited about meeting the ones who'll be there but it would have been even better with more of you there! *waves to all the Niagara peeps* See you all soon!

Long roads ahead...

2006-06-22T17:34:00.000-04:00

I hate to just pop in here and be full of crappy news but I wanted to write this all down.

Two weeks ago a kid who just turned 17 went over the handlebars of his mountain bike and broke his neck. We've known him since he was just a baby and watched him grow up. His parents are separated and neither one of them is the brightest bulb on the tree. The kid had enough challenges in life with the parents he was dealt, often waiting around outside the Legion while his Dad sat and drank. We used to snowmobile with the Dad and the kid would always ask to ride with me. I always let him because I felt he was safer on my machine. He's paralyzed from the waist down and now has a huge challenge ahead of him. I felt sick when I heard about it and wished there was something I could do. They had to do surgery to remove part of his hip bone to attach to his spine to enable him to sit unassisted in his wheelchair. I've been told the surgery went well.

A couple days later a close girlfriend's son who has Crohn's Disease had to be rushed to Ottawa to the same hospital that the other kid was in. He ended up having to have a section of his bowel removed on his 12th birthday. Two out of three of their children have Crohn's and the treatments and frequent trips to Ottawa have been very financially draining on them. The dad had just returned to work - he's a logger and self-employed - and ended up having to take another week off to be with the son. Again I felt very helpless, not being able to go and support my friends while they went through this. His surgery went well and they are hopeful that this will enable him to not have to have the monthly treatments to keep him out of the hospital.

Then, late last week my other girlfriend, who is on dialysis because of kidney failure, developed a blot clot. At first the clot was in her arm and it threatened her fistula (the permanent thing in her arm for her dialysis). Then the blod clot moved to her aorta and threatened her life. Her blood pressure skyrocketed and she stopped breathing a couple of times and it was very touch and go most of this week. On Monday night they didn't think she was going to make it through the night. Her sister, my other girlfriend, was terrified of losing her sister. They're so close. The sister had donated a kidney to her in 2000 but after two years of relatively good health, the kidney rejected and she had to begin daily dialysis. The girfriend with the son with Crohn's and the sister's and I are all best friends. If you remember me talking about the girl's weekend at the cottage in May, it was these girls who were all there.

On Tuesday night the sister stopped by on her way home from the hospital and we bawled our eyes out together. She was so emotionally wrung out from all of this. She told me how her sister had become so afraid of dying and had begged her to take care of her two daughters if anything happened to her. My friend has always been such a fighter and has fought her way through so many surgeries had almost lost her will to live. It was gut wrenching. The nurses said that her blood pressure had to come down or we would lose her. Last night we finally got the call we'd been hoping for and heard that her BP was down and, while she isn't out of the woods yet, she is doing much better. Like the other two, she still has a long road ahead of her.

After my friend left the other night I called my sister and cried on her shoulder for a while. I told her how much I loved having her for a sister and how grateful I was that we are all healthy. It's been a long couple of weeks and I haven't been online much because I was trying to keep the phone line free. I've missed you all.

Last night Jamie called. I can't remember if I told you about him having a car accident a couple weeks ago. He was driving to work in Sudbury and met a half ton truck who lost a tire. His car was a write off but he was not hurt which was the important part. Last night he called to complain about how bummed out he was because he had to give the rental car back and he still didn't have a replacement car. I swear I turned into my Mom and gave him the "Don't sweat the small stuff" speech. He needed to hear it. I know I've been guilty of whining over small stuff many times too but every once in a while we all need a reminder of just how lucky we are when we have our health.

love & hugs...

RockStars & Capri Cults

2006-06-06T17:44:00.000-04:00

As promised, here are a couple pics from the concert. There would likely be more if it didn't take me 15 minutes per pic to load them. Stooopid dial up!!! One thing I miss about my old job is high speed internet access!

It's been hot and sunny a lot lately and I ended up having to buy MORE clothes because every pair of pants I owned were dark black or blue. I've been watching what the other ladies at work were wearing and every last one of them were sporting capris! I've hated capris ever since they became popular and swore I'd never own a pair. Well, never say never because today I joined the capri cult and wore my first pair to work. On top of the fact that they were capris, they were beige and I haven't worn beige on my bottom half, in like, ever! I topped it off with a chocolate brown sleeveless tank (another color I haven't worn forever) and I have to believe that they've brainwashed me somehow! What's happening to me? *giggle*

We've been busy at the cottage. We're still having water issues. Two weekends ago we spent $260 on a new pump/motor. This weekend it was $240 on a new pressure tank. Still not working right. It's either an air bubble in the water line that's in the lake or the electrical line isn't heavy enough for the load. I'm leaning more towards the bubble. That means we have to go out in the paddle boat and somehow get the bubble out of the pipe. If the lake bottom was sandy it wouldn't be a problem but it's what I loving refer to as loonshit. Even Holly sinks up to her belly when she walks on it and she only weighs 10 lbs. On Sunday we took the day off and went fishing. When we got back to the cottage I cut the grass and wanted a quick shower to get the grass off me. That's when we discovered that the tank hadn't solved the problem. $500 later and still not right. Needless to say, we were not happy campers.

On the bright side, we managed to get the garden planted, even though one of the neighborhood dogs came tearing through it as soon as I was done. I'm thinking I may end up with a row of mixed vegetables. *grin*

I'm so excited about Niagara now. I've been bored to tears lately and I can't wait to get away and see some people. Things are so different this summer without our friends (the ones who split up) on the other side of the lake. It's been pretty quiet at the cottage. Dusterboy doesn't mind. He's a bit of a hermit while I'm more of a social butterfly.

Work is going well. I haven't been terribly busy and it's driving me absolutelyeffingnuts to have high speed internet access at my fingertips and not be able to use it. It's taking every single ounce of willpower I have not to check up on the blogs from work. I've got about 4 1/2 more months of probation before I'll even think about chancing it. *sigh*

As always, miss you all! *smooooooches* Special hugs for my Buggybaby! Love ya Bug! I'm thinking of you!

Ouch!!!!

2006-05-29T18:59:00.000-04:00

Quick update.

1. I booked my room for Niagara Falls! Can't wait! I was going to book a room at Weltek's hotel until I found out it was on the US side. Not that I have a problem with the US of A, it's just easier for us to stay on the Canuck side. I ended up getting a deal by cashing in my AirMiles so the room is only costing me about $130 Cdn for two nights. I only wish I was buying a new car BEFORE the trip instead of in the fall. We may see if we can borrow a friend's car for the trip. Our a/c is toast. One friend of ours borrowed our car (when it was all shiney new) for a trip to southern Ontario so turn about is fair play.

2. While weeding my vegetable garden and preparing it to plant on the weekend, I somehow managed to completely FRY a three inch strip across the small of my back. I'm serious. Totally fried! I spent most of yesterday on the couch laying on an icepack. I had no idea my back was exposed as I was bent over picking weeds. I really wished it had been Pantless Wednesday today because wearing pants was very painful today.

3. I finally got the disc with the RockStar pics today. I'll try to get the pictures posted this week. I may even post a picture of my sizzling back.

4. It's freaking hot and humid and there are scary dark clouds and extremely loud thunder happening outside right now so I'm signing off.

Miss you all! *smoooches*

The Concert!

2006-05-17T19:43:00.000-04:00

WOW!!! What a show! We were blown away by it! I'm still kicking my ass that I left my camera in the car. I could have had unbelievable pictures. We were about 20 feet from the stage and at times Suzie, Mig and Tye walked right past us. One of the girls I work with took pictures and she's promised to email some to me. She was telling me about the picture of Mig's bare abs that she kept enlarging and drooling over last night.

Suzie was definitely the star of the show and Mig was pretty awesome too. A girl sitting beside Dave yelled out for him to take his shirt off and he finally did after more prompting. He threw it out into the crowd but wanted it back, and actually got it back! Suzie's family was sitting across the aisle from us and she spent lots of time singing to them. Tye wasn't my favorite on the show but he blew us away. He's a great entertainer. When he sang No Woman, No Cry I was completely hooked.

Tara was okay. I barely remembered her from the show but she can sing. She sang Rock & Roll by Zepplin, or as Dave would call it, the Cadillac song. Mig's "Baby, I Love Your Way" was a big hit for me because of my love for all things Frampton. Suzie sang Loosing My Religion, Start Me Up, and Believe (one of her own songs). There were more but neither Dave or I can remember them. Someone sang All Right Now. As an encore they all came back and sang Bohemian Rhapsody with Suzie and Mig taking the lead. It was so fucking cool! I was dancing in front of my seat all night!

North Bay is known for having a laid back crowd at concerts but everyone was on their feet through the whole show. It lasted about 3 hours with a warmup band, a 20 minute break and then the RockStars. They only played in Toronto (at a bar after the INXS concert on Sunday night) and North Bay. The concert in North Bay was put together in two weeks and sold out. Suzie has relatives in North Bay and that was a big reason why they came here. She even had her Aunt Lisa up on stage during one song.

It really was an amazing show. I'm not a big concert goer but I jumped at the chance to see them. I only wish that I hadn't had to get up so early the next morning. The girl I work with ended up meeting all of them after the show in the parking lot after the crowd left. They all signed autographs for her kids and took pictures with them all. Mig got a phone call from his wife while they were doing that and he talked to her right in front of them all. She said that they were all very genuine and nice. She told me today that while Mig was arranging himself and the kids for the picture she had to fight off the urge to shove her children aside and jump into the picture with Mig.

One of the guys Dave works with was there with his kids too. His daughter was pulled up onto the stage by Tye and he sang to her. She also got autographs and pictures after the show in the parking lot. Again, I'm kicking myself that we took off so quickly. Dammit!

Here's a link to some pictures from the local radio station.

http://www.foxradio.ca/station_info/photos_interviews.jsp

I'll post some pictures when my coworker gets around to email them to me. It won't likely be until next week though. We're heading to the cottage (maybe even tomorrow night) for the long weekend. It's MAY TWO FOUR!!! That's a big weekend in Canada in case you didn't know. I've got 4 girlfriends coming to the cottage on Saturday night and the guys are going to battle the blackflies at a friend's camper. Then on Sunday we're all going for a four wheeler ride. Should be fun.

Gotta run! Miss you all! *smoooches*

The Co-Workers...

2006-05-08T18:26:00.000-04:00

As promised, some thoughts and observations on my new co-workers.

Aging Dumb Blonde

I swear these are the only words to describe K. She babbles non-stop about absolutely nothing in a completely stereotypical "dumb blonde" type voice. The first couple weeks I would stop working and chat (read: listen) with her but now I try to look busy when she loiters outside my office door. She's nice enough but it only took me a couple weeks to figure out that she likes to babble. K has told me that she has a vertigo problem and feels dizzy all the time. I'm not completely convinced that it doesn't have more to do with the color of her hair rather than an ear issue. She's also known as the "drawer police" around the office. Should she walk by your office and see that your drawer is open she'll stop and warn you of the dangers of leaving it open. I thought I was the only one to receive the lecture until I mentioned it in passing to my boss and she laughed and said that was K's thing. The other girl who started the same day as me (M) has already received the lecture too. *giggle* We were talking about it today and laughed how we felt like naughty children being scolded about open drawers. I've left my desk drawers open for 20 years and have yet to injure myself because of it.

George Carlin the Safety Dude

M and I had a plant tour with the Safety Dude during our first week. When he showed up to get us I immediately thought he had to be George Carlin's younger brother. He has a goatee that hangs about three inches from his chin and he sounds just like Carlin. He does not, however, use the seven words. At least, not yet. He's a Harley owner and into yoga and he bows to me every time he leaves my office. Nice guy, just kinda unique.

M the Other New Girl

M and I started on the same day and everyone gets our names mixed up. We're getting used to it. She's a couple years younger than I am and I really like her. She's fun and we share a bit of a bond because we started together. The first time I saw her walk away from me I couldn't help but think that she looked like she'd spent too much time on a horse. I hope that doesn't sound mean, it was just a silent observation. I couldn't help but giggle to myself when I found out that she does indeed own horses.

Mean Jean - Part Two

So on my first morning G, my boss, took me for a tour to introduce me to the co-workers. The first office we stopped at was the lady who does hourly payroll. Her name is Jeanne and she's anything but mean. It did make me snicker a little though. Last week the operations manager met her in the hallway outside my office and asked, "How's Mean Jean today?" My heart skipped a little beat and I had to go down the hall to her office to tell her about the Mean Jean thing. I did assure her that I didn't think she was anything like the other Mean Jean.

That's all I can think of for the moment.

*smoooches*

Rock Star INXS heads north!

2006-05-01T17:53:00.000-04:00

On the way home tonight I heard on the radio that some of the contestants from last summer's Rock Star were coming to our fair city. I couldn't wait to get home to call the box office and reserve our seats. Unfortunately the box office was closed by the time I got home so I had to reserve online. It was a first for me but I've got 3rd row seats! Woohoo! Sure JD's not going to be amongst them but Sweet Suzie is and so is Mick! Dusterboy and I are so excited about this. For $20 each we get to see them and the house band (which in our humble opinion is far better that INXS). Two weeks from tonight we'll be rocking with the Rock Stars! Woohoo!

The job is still really great with the exception of the internet thing. I really miss being able to check in and play with you all but sometimes you just have to do what you gotta do. Friday's paycheck made my sadness about the internet usage a little easier to take. We spent the weekend at the cottage hooking up the water. On Saturday night we had two other couples and their kids up for a rather boisterous game of horse race. It was so much fun. There were 6 adults, 3 kids and 4 dogs. Quite a cottage full.

We were puppysitting my sister's dog, Casey. On Saturday morning I was in the bedroom trying on some new clothes from Sears when I looked out the window and spotted Casey across the road. I freaked! If something happened to Casey on my watch I'd have to leave the country. I ran out the door and slipped on the floor and my shoulder landed on the uninstalled water pump but I bounced back up and kept running for Casey. Thankfully, I got her back in the yard without a scratch. This was the second weekend in a row that we puppysat a dog and I'm ready for a weekend off. Holly knows her parameters up there but visiting dogs don't so you have to watch them every second.

I'm feeling completely out of the loop lately but trust me when I say that you all are never far from my thoughts. Miss me just a little, k?

Six Weird Things

2006-04-19T18:10:00.000-04:00

Here are the rules-
1. Reveal six weird facts/things/habits about yourself and then tag six people
2. Leave a "You're Tagged!" comment to let the people you have tagged know they have to reveal six things (or the entire blogosphere will explode and it will be their fault)
3. Leave a comment HERE to let me know when you have completed your mission

SIX THINGS

1. I can't stick out my tongue. The little flap of skin that attaches my tongue to the bottom of my mouth is very close to my teeth. Jamie was born like me but the dentist suggested that he should have it snipped for the benefit of any future girlfriends.

2. My desk at work must be free of clutter. Everything must be in organized piles or I'm totally distracted. Today I had to spend a little time organizing my temporary desk so that I could function.

3. The smell of coffee make me gag. The taste of coffee makes me vomit. I've only drank about a half cup of coffee in my entire life.

4. My highschool had about 2000 students. The population of the school was larger than any of the communities that it served. We didn't have numbers that I was aware of.

5. I hate wearing colored socks. Up until yesterday I didn't even own any colored socks. All of my socks were the same Nike sport socks but yesterday I went out and bought five pair of trouser socks to wear to work with dress pants. One pair is covered in monkeys for Buggy because she said that you can't have a bad day when you have monkeys on your feet.

6. I can say I love you to my son, my neices and nephews, my husband and my friends but I have trouble saying I love you to my parents and brother and sister. I absolutely do love them but just can't say it out loud.

This was hard and my weird things might be kinda boring. I'm sure that nobody would describe me as normal so why was this so difficult?

The job is still going great. My head is so stuffed full of new information that I'm finding it difficult to think of anything else. I can't wait until I get to the point where I feel like I know enough to be comfortable. I've decided that I like being the trainer rather than the trainee.

Onward and Upward, no looking back

2006-04-15T11:28:00.000-04:00

That's the motto I came up with on Thursday morning as I prepared for my last day. I was kinda nervous about how things would go. On Wednesday Mean Jean interviewed Katie, and I was asked to speak to her for a while. She impressed me and I found out that she knew our computer guy so I called him and asked him what he thought of her. He told me that she'd likely be running the place in three weeks if we hired her. She was no shrinking violet like the chinese girl or the deli clerk. What I liked about her, other than the fact that she actually spoke english and had lots of sales desk experience, was that she didn't seem the type to take any shit off of Mean Jean.

Thursday morning Katie came back in to meet the boss who had been on the phone when she was in on Wednesday. She spoke to both of them for a couple hours and it seemed like they were going to hire her but Mean Jean was holding her captive in her office. By 11am the boss came to me and asked if I thought she'd be the right choice. I told him most emphatically that she was far and away the best candidate I'd seen, the other two not even being in the same league. I also mentioned to him that if indeed they were going to hire her that they should get her into me because any training had to be better than none. He immediately went running down to Mean Jean's office and suggested that I should spend the rest of the day training her if Katie was available. After Mean Jean gave her a tour of the shop, which could have been done on Monday instead of burning training time, she was sent to me. We did about 4 hours of power training and I filled her in on some stuff about Mean Jean. I tried to be professional about it. I just felt that she was behind the eight ball enough starting the job with no training that she should have the benefit of knowing what she was up against. She knows she's got a huge challenge ahead of her but I think that if anyone can do it, she can. I also think that she could be Mean Jean's worst nightmare if crossed. *evil grin*

At 3:15pm Mean Jean arrived back at the office with a present for me. I was trying to finish up some stuff with Katie, take phone calls from customers and vendors calling to wish me luck in the future, and say goodbye to everyone. The present was a little Easter arrangement with a little flower and ivy plant in it. I'm sure it cost less than $10. Canadian. I shook her hand and that was it. She thanked me for all my help and away she went. The boss was hiding in the warehouse when it was time for me to leave. I went out and shook his hand and he thanked me for everything and I left. It was bizarre leaving there and I know I have to go back one day next week to get my last check and my printer that I left for Katie, but I'll do that early in the morning when they're not there.

After work four of my co-workers, the ones I've been closest to and have worked with for 20 years, took Dave and I out for dinner and drinks. They bought me a satin camisole and panty set to wear with my new wardrobe. They wrote a poem that had us all laughing like crazy (I'll post a copy of it when they email it to me). It was an absolutely perfect ending. I couldn't have asked for anything more. My best friends from work were there and they all told me how much they'd miss me. My work husband's wife hugged me when we were leaving and told me that even though he might not say it, that he was really going to miss me. I managed to get through it all without tears but just barely.

I was floating by the time I got home. Mom had sent me an email earlier in the day telling me that she'd been talking to my childhood friend that I'm going to be working with in the new job. The friend had told Mom that they were all really anxious for me to start and that it was a great bunch of people to work with so I'm really looking forward to it now that the other chapter is closed.

Onward and upward, no looking back.

Spring has sprung!

2006-04-11T18:49:00.000-04:00

We spent the weekend doing spring cleaning. On Saturday we did windows, dusted, and washed everying in the rec room to get rid of the layer of dust spread by the woodstove over the winter.

Sunday I borrowed a carpet steam cleaner and shampooed all the carpets in the house. It was amazing how much sand was in the dirty water from the rec room.

Yesterday I looked out the kitchen window and saw the red buttons and black eyes from our snowman we made before Christmas. It made me giggle.

There's still snow on the front lawn and in other spots where it was piled by the snowblower this winter. I can't wait to see it all gone. The forecast for the next week looks good. We even put the summer tires on last night.

Friday night we picked up subs for supper and went to the cottage and ate them in the porch while looking at the stumps popping up out of the ice. For those who don't know, our lake level has been dropped by about eight feet while they repair a dam at the end of the lake. We won't have water right up to the shore this summer but once the dam is replaced we won't have to think about it ever again. This has been hanging over our heads ever since we bought the cottage. It's so bizzare to look out and see all the stumps that lurk under the surface during the summer. Dave is planning to shorten a few of them up from the paddle boat this summer. I'll try to get pictures.

Mean Jean still hasn't hired anyone for my job. I'm feeling something but I'm not sure what it is. Am I pissed? Am I hurt? Am I insulted? I'm not sure what it is. Everyone at work is saying it's just plain bizzare and weird. It's like they don't realize, or don't want to acknowledge, how much work I do. I've been getting lots of compliments from customers and co-workers though so I'm trying to keep that in mind. I just can't wait for Monday and the new chapter in my life to begin. This job is so huge for me. I spoke to my chiropractor/accupuncturist today and told her I got the job and she asked about my headaches. I told her they'd all but disappeared and she told me that she wasn't surprised.

I've been trying to get around to everyone's blogs and the websites that I frequent. My access at work is limited due to a computer change where I deleted all my favorites and a ridiculously slow connection speed at home. I finally called Bell Canada yesterday and they came today and advised that the problem was inside the house. The regular Bell guy (who is a friend of ours) wasn't working but the guy who showed up was pretty cool. He knew that we had lines we weren't paying for and said that he'd put it through as a no charge. He unhooked the line that was causing the problem and said that I could get Dave to fix it himself. He even told me how to do it. So after a week of connecting at 12 I'm back to a "speedy" 21.6! Woohoo! The joys of living in the boonies.

Tomorrow is my baby boy's 27th birthday! Whatcha getting him? *waits for T-Kitty's answer*

Gather 'round kids, I've got a story for you!

2006-04-04T18:42:00.000-04:00

So this morning Mean Jean comes to my office door and tells me that she has a lady coming in for an interview this morning and makes sure to point out to me that she's Chinese. Then she tells me that this lady applied for the accounting position she had advertised for a few months ago and that she wanted me to talk to her while she was here. I said okay and wondered why she would be interviewing this lady for a Sales/Purchasing/Inventory Management position when she had applied for an accounting position but I thought, what the heck, the sooner they find a replacement the better.

Later I was standing in the office when the Chinese lady arrived. I asked if I could help her and could barely understand a word she said but I knew she was there to see Mean Jean so I just went and got her. After their chat Mean Jean deposited the lady into my office. I offered her a chair and she sat then I picked up a list of questions that I had to ask her and mentioned that I had some questions for her and she jumped up and came over and took the list from my hand and started reading them outloud. I asked for the list back when she finished and began asking the questions. Most of them were about any prior experience she might have in the areas required for my job and each one was answered with a no. I then asked her what computer software she was familiar with and she didn't understand the question. By this point I was pretty sure that she wasnt' meant for this job but I continued with the questions to be polite.

She told me that she had worked in a manufacturing plant in China previously. I asked what they manufactured and all I understood was something involving tin. I asked her if she was good with Excel because many of my spreadsheets are Excel based. She didn't know what formulas were so I dropped that line of questioning. I had the feeling that while she could speak English somewhat, she really wasn't fluent and didn't really understand everything I was saying. To me that is a bit of a deal breaker in a position that requires phone and email communication with customers and vendors alike. She kept repeating something about China being a different culture. No shit Sherlock.

Once I figured that I had given her the required amount of time I deposited her back in Mean Jean's office. The talked some more and then went in to meet the boss. He was getting ready for a business trip and didn't have much time to spare so they didn't stay long. Next they went out to the shop and warehouse to tour around. Finally they ended up back at my office door. I'm thinking that Mean Jean was just going to let her say goodbye to me and that she would ask my opinion and then we'd interview a few more candidates and make a decision. But no, Mean Jean informs me that she had taken the lady out to the warehouse to look at all the parts and that she was impressed and thought she could do the job because she was good with numbers.

Mean Jean then tells me that she will be starting tomorrow morning at 8am. *thud* That was the sound of my jaw hitting my desk and then bouncing back up into place. I have never been so completely stunned in my entire life. I immediately looked around for Alan Fundt and his Candid Cameras because this was just way too bizzare to be real. I think I managed to keep my face from giving away my shock but I'm not really sure.

After the lady left Mean Jean didn't bother coming back to ask my opinion, she just went on her merry way confident that she had solved another problem with her superior hiring abilities. Once the initial shock wore off I went and spoke to the co-worker who is still trying to train the last "rocket scientist" that Mean Jean hired. The co-worker said she was going to speak to the boss. When she did, he immediately pulled her into Mean Jean's office where they closed the door and discussed the situation. Of course, I wasn't invited even though I had been the one to ask the important questions and it was me we were looking to replace.

Apparently this lady has been attending a practice company here in town in order to gain experience for the workplace. While I think that idea is great to prepare people for entry level positions, I don't believe that they prepare them for a position as critical as mine. I'm not trying to pat myself on the back, it's certainly not brain surgery, but it's definately not an entry level position either.

If she understood the language and could communicate proficiently I'd have no problem with her but that's just not the case. So after an afternoon of phone calls between the co-worker and Mean Jean they've decided not to hire her. I felt terrible for the girl. She was probably so excited about finding a job only to have the rug yanked out from beneath her feet before she even started. On top of that, they've been discussing the lack of progress that my co-worker's replacement is making and how poorly she's doing. They suggested that maybe they should find someone else for the accounting position and move the accounting girl that can't answer the phone over to replace me. ARRRRRGGGHHHH!!!!

This is a new level of stupidity, even for Mean Jean. What the heck made her think that she'd find a suitable employee for a Sales/Purchasing job in the six month old reject pile of resumes for an accounting position? She has no idea what I do but she is too stupid to even ask. How the hell was I supposed to train a person who doesn't even understand english completely?

From what I understand now, they're going to post an ad on the local job board but that means they won't likely get any replies until the end of the week and that gives me four days to train someone. They are so fucked. *evil grin* Oops, was that my outloud voice?

*chants* It's not my problem. It's not my problem. It's not my problem. It's not my problem. It's not my problem.

I'm so happy I'm getting out of there but I do feel bad for my co-workers that will still be there. The semi-retired guy I work with has been threatening to leave too and he told me today that he's likely going to give them his notice on my last day. *tries hard to stiffle a giggle* Poor Mean Jean.

Anyone want to help me write a letter of resignation?

2006-03-30T15:13:00.000-05:00

I GOT THE JOB!!!! *grins from ear to ear* They called this afternoon just before 2pm. I have to go sign some papers tomorrow and I start on April 17th! I'll be making more than I've ever made before and I get full benefits AND a pension plan! Life is good.

I will get one week of vacation this summer and two next year. That's going to be the hardest part but I'll live with it.

*does a happy dance*

Patience is a virtue

2006-03-28T18:26:00.000-05:00

First of all, I want to say a big thank you for all of you who've been sending good luck thoughts my way. I still don't know if I got the job so if you wouldn't mind keeping those fingers cross a little longer, I'd really appreciate it.

I woke up this morning with a very calm, meant-to-be kind of feeling about today's interview. At noon I left work and went to my sister's to get changed into my new power suit, hoping that it would bring me lots of luck. I didn't have enough time to have lunch but I probably wouldn't have felt like eating then anyways so I changed and headed to my appointment. I was a little early so I drove in circles to waste time. As I was getting out of the car my friend (the manager) was walking to the entrance so I said hello and asked how she was. She said she'd been better because she has a couple of pinched vertabraes and she'd just been told she has to spend two weeks FLAT on her back. We talked about it a bit and she wished me luck and I wished her a speedy recovery and she went on her way.

The HR assistant saw me first and told me that she wasn't going to hide it, that they were VERY interested in persuing an employment relationship with me. She took down all the info required for the background check and said that they'd like to finish this up by the end of the week. I was getting the feeling that I had the job as long as my references and background check were good. Through all of this I was playing it cool and trying not to get too excited because I wasn't sure if I was reading what she had to say correctly. My gut instinct was that the job was mine as long as everything checked out okay, which I am confident it will. She also said that they hoped to finalize this by the end of the week.

Next I went to see the lady that would be the boss. She wanted me to meet the Maintenance Foreman who I'd work closely with if I got the job. We met and he started saying things like, "You'll be doing this and you'll be doing that." The boss lady interupted him and added, "If I was the successful candidate" and then went on with the questions. We chatted and everything went quite well. I was paying much more attention to her this time because I wanted to try and decide if I'd be happy with this woman as my boss. I was pleased with what she had to say.

After the Maintenance guy left we discussed a few more things and then she asked if I had any questions. I asked about benefits and a few other things. Then I asked what the next step was. She said that they had talked about having a panel type interview next week when the HR manager returned but weren't sure if they'd do that. I then asked how many people were still in the running for this position. She hesitated a minute and then said that I was definitely in the top three. My gut thought was that she might be trying to be cautious but it's difficult to read someone that you don't know all that well.

So by Friday I'm guessing that I'll hear one of three things. Either a yes or a no or a come back for a panel interview. I can't imagine why they'd want to have another round of interviews at this point. I've already spoken to her twice and to four other people once. What ever happened to a one-person interview and a decision?

I found out that the potential boss lady had recently been promoted to the Purchasing Manager's position and before that she held the position that I'm vying for. My sister said that this could be the first time she's had to hire someone and could just be doing the cautious thing because of that. Who knows?

All I know is that I really want this job but I won't give up if this doesn't work out. If nothing else, I've received a big boost in my self confidence and I've realized that I am very ready to move on. Last summer when I came in second for a different job I don't think I was ready. I wanted the job and I would have accepted it if offered but I wasn't totally ready. Now I am. And at the very least, I got a great new suit out of the deal and if I do say so myself, I looked great!

As a side note, after the interview I had to go to an auto wreckers to pick up a part for Jamie's car. Jamie had called them and asked me to take the old part in so they could match it. There was some confusion about where I was going and I ended up at the wrong place the first time. When I left there and called him to say that they didn't have the part I found out I was at the wrong place. While talking to Jamie on my cell I saw the truck go by for the correct place so I tried to find a place to turn around and follow him. I couldn't so I ended up finding the place on my own. Have you ever been to a wrecking yard? When you show up in a business suit they look at you like you're from outer space. I stood there waiting for them to try to find the part aware of all the stares and trying not to rub up against anything. I was quite happy to get out of there even though I didn't come home with the part.

Again, if you can keep those good thoughts heading my way for a couple more days, I'd really appreciate it. I realize now how much I need to make a move and I really want this to be the move I make. Thanks for all the good thoughts. You all are the bestest!

Kibbles and Bits

2006-03-24T12:51:00.000-05:00

Is it wrong that I've been having lusty thoughts about Slater from Saved by the Bell as I've watched with Matt and Sara while having breakfast this week? Man, he looked hot in his wrestling attire.

I miss my bed. And my Lazy-boy chair. And my satellite provider. And being able to sit down in my comfy chair and have a smoke. I get to go home tomorrow.

I'm going to miss Sarabelle and Matt. I just love those two kids to pieces and I can't even begin to hide it.

Tomorrow I have to go shopping for something to wear should, strike that, when I get called for the second round of interviews. I can't wear the same pants to both. I'm thinking of buying a suit.

Last night I got to watch Sara at her step-dancing class. It looked like a lot of fun. I asked her if she'd mind if I joined her class and she didn't like that idea. No fun at all that kid. *grin*

Checking in...

2006-03-22T19:20:00.000-05:00

Things have been pretty hectic this week. We're in the middle of our week of babysitting duties and so far, so good. The kids have been really good. Sara's missing her Mommy but other than that it's been cool. Busy but cool.

Being responsible for two kidlets is quite a shock to the system after years of empty nesting. Matt got his report card today and parent teacher interviews are tomorrow but I'm just going to call the school and let them know that my sister will contact them when she returns.

Mean Jean stuck again Tuesday. She had me in tears after another confrontation. Ten minutes after that I got a call from a former co-worker who asked me if I was still looking for a job. I answered yes before she even got the entire sentence out. She recommended me for a job after getting my permission and I got a call at 6:15am this morning asking me to come for an interview at 9:30. At least I didn't have much time to fret. I did manage to pace quite a bit in the three hours though.

The interview went well and I really want this job. It seems to be a perfect fit for me. Right after the interview I had an optomitrist appointment and my head was still spinning from the interview. That just made those questions about which one was better even more difficult. *grin*

One of my childhood friends is the controller at the company I interviewed with and when she heard I was in the building she asked the HR guy to bring me to her office after he was done with me. We chatted for a few minutes and she joked that if I got the job that I wasn't allowed to tell any stories from our childhood. I assured her that what happened there stayed there.

Other than that, it's just been a crazy few days. My sister has called from Florida and it seems like the weather there has been great. They're having a lot of fun with Mom and Dad. I can't wait for them to call again tonight so I can share my interview news.

It's been difficult for me to get any computer time. I'm really busy at work and at night the kidlets seem to hog the computer. I'm so not used to having to share. *giggle* We'll be heading home on Saturday night so hopefully I can get caught up then if not at work tomorrow or Friday. I feel like I'm so out of touch, not only with my RL friends but with all of you too. See you soon. *smoooches*

The Convenience Store Incident

2006-03-14T19:11:00.000-05:00

I've mentioned a couple of times that I became a lifelong Swami fan after reading her 2002 entry in the Story Competition over at the other place. I laughed so hard the day I read this and it stuck with me for weeks and I'd find myself giggling just thinking about it.

With Swami's permission, here is her story...

*************

**Just a note before I begin my story. After following Spoilers & Bashers thru most of S3, I finally scrolled down to the bottom of the lobby, past Mole & Love Cruise topics (which shows I didn't watch), and found two more message boards I'd been missing! Gol-darn!! I feel really stupid, but at least I finally found them.
***Okay, one more note before I start. This story has a high gross-out factor. I would give it 5 out of 5 yucky faces. If vomit & diarrhea disgust you, read no further. If you choose to read on, you will laugh, you will gag, you will reach for that back button--but it is all true, I swear!
The Convenience Store Incident
Some years ago, my husband Tom and I took a quick driving vacation up to Lake Superior. We got a room just yards from the crashing waves of that greatest of the Great Lakes, and had a wonderful, romantic week-end. On our last morning there, before starting the long drive home, we went into a little restaurant in town and had the big Lumberjack Breakfast Special. As you know, calories don't count on vacation and besides after eating that much we wouldn't have to stop for lunch anytime soon.
Man it was a great breakfast--pancakes, hash browns, toast, eggs over easy, OJ, coffee--and sausage. The sausage was my undoing. I love sausage, but have zero tolerance for bad meat. I ate one and a half darn sausages before I finally realized that they were (just barely) past prime.
Anyway, I was feeling a little iffy as we jumped into our car and cruised off into the Wisconsin woods. We like to drive back roads instead of freeways (how else to see America?) and soon we were driving through mile after mile of apparently vacant woods. I felt more & more nauseous, and suddenly my gut started twisting and protesting.
"We've gotta stop somewhere," I told my husband. "I think I'm gonna be sick."
"The sausage?"
"The sausage," I replied, swallowing bile. "I need a restroom too."
"Oh God," my husband answered, "We're miles from anywhere!"
Then, like a miracle, we rounded the next curve and there it was--a genuine convenience store, nestled into the woods in the middle of nowhere. My husband pulled up to the gas pump, and I headed inside.
By this time I was totally nauseous, swallowing non-stop, and walking that kind of duck walk you do when your anal sphincters are locked in a despiration, strangulation, death-before-dishonor super-clench.
I somehow made it into the Ladies room. I entered, turned, shut the door, and then vomited explosively on the door. I was stunned by the ferocity of ejection, and stared at the door like an idiot. Then suddenly my anal sphincters gave their last gasp. My gut writhed uncontrolably. I twirled and ran for the can, vomiting a swathe across the wall as I spun around. I barely made it to the toilet.
What to do? I had terrible diarhhea, but I still had to vomit! I managed by sitting sideways on the toilet and rocking up to lean over the sink, which was beside it--but not close enough. It was awkward. I fell into a rhythm of rock-vomit, and sit-s.hit. It almost worked. Okay, I missed the sink now & then. But all things considered, it could have been worse. I never missed the toilet! Yay!
Finally, after who knows how long, I was finished. Wrung out. Drained dry. I sat there--shaky, faint & sweaty--and looked at the mess I had made. It was a collossal mess. An unbelievable, stinking mess. How could one person vomit so much? And onto every surface in the room? Oh God, what to do?
I looked around & spotted a large paper towel dispenser. Saved! I could clean the disgusting mess myself and no one would ever know. So I stood up, flushed, and reached for the paper towels.
One towel came out, then nothing. The dispenser was empty. I looked for toilet paper--nope, all used up, mostly by me. There was no way to clean up the room. Damn, I was going to have to tell the store clerk what I'd done. So I wiped my face with the one towel, threw it on the vomitous floor (what difference did one towel make in that mess?) and left the restroom.
(Before I continue this story, I need to remind my readers that there are in this world people of a certain counter-culture, a tribe, a breed--whatever you care to call them. These strange people live in remote valleys and deep woods all over the country. I call them the Back Woods People. Remember the movie 'Deliverance'? The baddies in that movie were Back Woods People. The BWP are scarey, mean, inbred, wierd as hell, and not to be taken lightly. Okay, now on with the story.)
I left the restroom, trying to appear courteous, kind, concerned, helpful. Ready to do my duty, confess and then clean up my mess. But one look at the store clerk stopped me in my tracks.
This twenty-something guy was not a regular person. He had a wierd amateur tattoo scrawled down one arm. His face was set in a twisty sneer because of a rough edged scar beginning at the corner of his mouth and continuing into his cheek. Like he'd had his mouth ripped open in fight and then never saw a doctor to get stitches. He was dirty. He had a big hunting knife straped on his belt. He was one of the Back Woods People, Wisconsin branch! Awww s.hit.
I stood with my mouth open. He swivelled his ratty little eyes in my direction & laid them on me. My anal sphincter gave way. If I'd had anything left inside me to release, I would have disgraced myself right then and there. Instead I ran. Outside, to where my husband--done gassing up long ago--waited for me, leaning on the hood of the car.
"We gotta get out of here - quick!" I exclaimed as the convenience door swung shut behind me.
Bless his heart, my husband didn't hesitate or ask any dumb questions. He just jumped and moved it. By the time I had my car door open the engine was running. He was pulling away even before I had both feet in the car. I looked over my shoulder and saw the freak clerk come running out of the store, both hands fisted.
Tom saw him too.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Yeah."
"Is it something I should know about?"
"Well, I kind of made a mess. In the bathroom. You know. All over the bathroom. That guy might be mad."
"Okay," Tom answered, and speeded up even more.
End of story. We made it home without any further events. But I have always wondered, what is there in my husbands past, that he was so quick and unhesitating as we made out getaway? I even asked him once, but he just laughed & changed the topic. I still wonder about him sometimes... And I don't eat sausage on road trips anymore.
The End.

*************

Here's the link...

http://http://community.realitytvworld.com/boards/cgi-bin/dcboard.cgi?az=show_thread&om=30&forum=DCForumID31&archive=yes

All about ME!!!

2006-03-09T12:05:00.000-05:00

I got this in an email this morning. Anyone wanna take a stab at some answers?

Real Name? (just first one will do)
Where did we meet?:
Take a stab at my middle name:
Do I believe in God?:
How long have you known me?:
Do I smoke?:
What was your first impression of me upon meeting?:
Color of my eyes?:
Do I have any siblings?:
What's one of my favorite things to do?:
Do you remember one of the first things I said to you?:
What's my favorite type of music?:
What's the best feature about me?:
What's my favorite alcohol drink?:
What's my favorite non-alcohol drink?:
Am I shy or outgoing?:
Am I a rebel or do I follow the rules?:
What's your favorite memory of me?:
Any special talents?:
Would you consider me a friend?:
If there was one good nickname for me, what would it be?:
If you and I were stranded on a desert island, what one thing would I bring?

Add a question that you are sure you know the answer to.

Niagara Falls!!!

2006-03-08T08:35:00.000-05:00

Woo and Hoo! I am so looking forward to this! Who's going from blogland?

I'm hoping to be in the same hotel as the majority of you. It's always more fun to be in the same place. I don't really care about a view of the Falls from my room. I don't plan on sitting there looking out the window anyways. *grin* As long as the rooms are clean, I'm not terribly fussy. I prefer chains like Days Inn, Comfort Inn, Travelodge, etc. but I will likely go with the flow as long as my bank account can manage it.

I've stayed in many hotels in the Lundy's Lane area during my ball tournement days and it's not that far to walk to get to Clifton Hill (where there are bars and stores) and then on down to the falls.

We stayed at the Marco Polo Hotel for years but near the end it was starting to go downhill and the hookers were becoming more and more prominent in the area. It was always good for a laugh to see some of the outfits they wore but we didn't have kids with us.

Unless something really bad happens *knocks on wood* Dave and I will be there. We will likely drive down on Friday afternoon so that we're there at a half decent time. I'm thinking of taking Monday off so that I have a day to rest up because I have a feeling I'm going to be a little short on sleep that weekend.

Cottage Weekends

2006-03-06T07:47:00.000-05:00

This past weekend I got to spend a time with some of my best friends at the cottage. It was just what I needed to give me a much needed mid-winter lift in my spirits. The cottage is a very soothing place for me and whenever I feel the need to escape everyday life, that's where I want to go. They kept thanking me for inviting them and I told them that even though the cottage is a favorite place for me to spend time, that nothing makes me happier than having it filled with great friends, and that I thanked them for being there. That's when it is most special for me. We had the living room floor covered in makeshift beds for the kids and the place was kind of crowded but we all had a great time.

Howie and Nicky and Bob and Kim and three of the kids came up. We barbacued steaks and had salads and stuff to go with it. I baked a lemon meringue pie once I got there and it turned out perfectly. The boys did a little snowmobiling, we watched the hockey game and "Walk The Line", we played cards and some wild games of UNO with the kids, and made a huge breakfast of bacon, eggs, homefires, leftover steak and booze-filled coffee.

For me this is one of life's simple pleasures. Tell me about yours.

Happy Monday!

2006-02-27T11:19:00.000-05:00

Yay! It's Monday and the beginning of another work week! I'm so thrilled. *rolls eyes* I woke up yesterday morning with a sinus headache. As the day went on the crappy feeling travelled down into my throat and lungs. I'm doubling up on the Vitamin C hoping to nip it in the bud. I also made Turkey Soup yesterday hoping it will make me feel better.

We had another quiet weekend. Friday night we watched the Gold Medal Curling match and then went to bed. Saturday morning Dave shovelled the roof of the house. Poor guy was worn out by the time he finished. I went to town and ran some errands and picked up a couple movies. By the time I got home it was about 4pm so I started supper and then we watched the new Zorro movie. Dave reeeeeally likes CZJ and I figured I could handle watching Antonio in order for him to see CZJ. I'm so good to him. *grin*

After supper we went to visit Howie and Nicky. It was their daughter's birthday and she had 6 little girls staying for a sleepover. It was a little loud but we had fun. We made plans for this coming weekend. We're going to spend Saturday night at the cottage with them and another couple. Finally, something to do on a weekend!

Yesterday I watched Flight Plan. That's the name of the one with Jodi Foster, right? I enjoyed it. I started crocheting again last night when Dave finally brought my crochet hook home from the cottage. I had bought this different kind of yarn that I'd never crocheted with before. I am fairly confident in saying that I'll never crochet with it again after this project is finished.

It's Wheezy's birthday today - go wish her a happy birthday!

Life According to lights

Adventures in Dating...Chapter Two: Guys Don't Talk

Adventures in Dating....Chapter One: Bad Cop

We Adopted a Family!

Incredibly Sad PSA...

Holly is a Bonehead

What's new you ask?

My bird is sleeping...

Things I'm Thankful for...

There's a Happy Fox Nearby

Moving Day

The Wedding Crier

Summer's Here!

Just shoot me now

Back to Work Tomorrow

The Fortune Teller & Lasso Girl

Bling Bling!

Bitching about Bifocals

Michelle...

To Catch a Theif & Fainting Puppies

Okay, now I'm PISSED!!!

Good News...Bad News

Tooth Trouble

What To Wear

Spring Schedule

Doggie Downers

*jumps on the no smoking bandwagon*

Chicken Pot Pie

Winter can go now...

I Got Mail...

I'm late!

You are getting sleepy...

So...uh, what's new?

The Great Canadian Peep Meet - Chapter 1

Top Ten Quotes from this Weekend

Happy Birthday Dusterboy!

Firewood & Rhubarb

Best.Donut.Ever!

Cleansing - a companion blog post!

Back to work tomorrow

Does anyone miss me?

*checks the calendar*

Tagged by Breezy

Who's hungry?

Storm Warning!!!

Grrrrrr!!!

Two weeks and counting...

Flirting at work...

THE SEATBELT LIGHT IS ON!!!!

Still alive...

Jumping on the bandwagon...

Four Weddings and a Fish

Taking notes...

Brrrrr....

Renovation Hell - Day 6 and counting

What's new you ask?

A Beautiful Spring Day...

Aaaaaaahhhhhh!!!

Christmas lights out...

The Spa According to lights

A Conundrum...

You are cordially invited...

Freezing Rain Sucks!

Things I DIDN'T say today

Bits and Pieces

How I celebrated Carey's 40th Birthday...

Weltek's Dream...the rest of the story

Jehovah's Witnesses, Dead Hummingbird, and the QPP

We Were The Champions!

Have I completely lost my mind?

Sleeping in tomorrow morning!

A Mean Jean story for old time's sake

A Green Sky is a bad thing

By Popular Demand!

Pretty in Pink - Part Six

Pretty Things...Part Five

Tu Tus and Cross-dressing - Part Four

What a Zoo! - Part Three

Bits and Pieces from a Friday Night - Part Two

The Meeting of the Peeps - Part One

jumps on the no smoking bandwagon

checks the calendar