Everyones a freak.

Earlier this late afternoon.... he he ehe heheh... that's a good start I say... ANYWAYS...

I had to take the boy and the girl that knows all from across the street, to Tae Kwon Do. I had great thoughts of going inside the School of TKD greatness.... but I couldn't face the MASTER. No I could not....and I am not sure if the real reason was the fact that the 16 year old SUV was nice and warm, (and I really wanted to continue on reading my lovely book) or I didn't want to face him, or have to watch what the CHICKLETS did, or didn't accomplish in TKD today. I decided that the less I know the better. I will surely be certain that by Thursday he will have completely forgotten that he saw me with the TWO other traitors....(the lovely friend "L"), and the person that he trained for years, but then somehow forgot that he said he could get her to the Olympics. Well, she moved on, so did a bunch of other people. Except me.... I am still at the pretend school of TKD. I am willing to move, except that the boy isn't. ISN'T. ISN'T. ISN'T. In a very big way.... that's OK, the boy doesn't really like TKD anyways. So really, why spend good money on good instruction, when you can spend the same good money for half-assed kind of OK instruction... sometimes.

We're all freaks.

Ode to lateness

Oh to be late,
is not always great.
Except for the fate,
Of the great parking lot debate.

Hundreds of parents,
arrive right on time,
where they park so close,
there might be enough room for a dime.

They sit in the car circle,
and wave to their chicklets
and continue to wait, and take up space,
like complete dimwits.

Now, I have my theory
And it's a good one for me.
The line up of cars and stunned parkers have left,
And it's clear sailing for me.

Look at the clock, it's 3:04.
Time to jump in my truck, and lock the front door.

Piano lessons.

This is what happens when the boy goes to his piano lesson after school...... it's just me and the PIP taking a walk, through bear country, minus the bears, and the camera.

Shock Value

OH what a difference a year makes. I would just like to say I am greatful for time and memories that eventually fade.......

Moving on to this year.....I was just a passenger the other day, visiting a Tae Kwon Do tournament for 10 hours. My friend stated 8, but she was wrong... it was 10!!! Even at that, we left at the exact moment "What's that guys name" started his fight. I think I must have asked that same question a half a dozen times, and each time my friend "L" would roll her eyes, laugh, and say KEVIN!. Anyways, after a day of trying to remember KEVIN's name, we didn't even stay to watch. OH well. WE had watched a couple of hundred other strangers spar and do other things that they do at Tae Kwon Do championships, why stop now and watch someone that you actually know. (chuckle chuckle).

Anyways, I think the best part about the 2nd competition I have ever been to was the half time show. We didn't know they were even doing a half time show, until half way through the show. But that's how these tournaments run, lots of people, doing lots of things, and lots of chaos.

In other great things: I got to spend a lovely day with a lovely friend, on an unlovely hard bleacher. But I knew that going in, and had to balance the lovely with the unlovely. Besides, we talked scrapbooking when were weren't busy spying on the "MASTERS" from the Tae Kwon Do world.

Prass

Life has been very different since the evil one said her final good-bye that early Sunday morning of last year. That left us down to only one German Shepherd dog, and this one is afraid of her own shadow. Little Ellpee, on her own at last. Not frightened of the Evil Beast Cicely that stalked this 1365 squarefoot rancher in stealth mode in the dead of night, or ruled all of the green space in the great outdoors. Now Ellpee is the queen of the castle, and has taken it upon herself to act in a queenly manner... just like yesterday when I found her sitting like this..................





She helped herself to the couch, because the new addition named Cicely/Prance/Prass was quietly sitting on the couch waiting for the Pipster to come home... so little miss Ellpee decided that she would have a little sit down on the couch as well.... being the older wiser of the two beasts that now roam our home once again.

Save me from myself

The very last time that I tried to help little lady Pipenza, I was accused of writing her "out there" assignment. Thank you very much, I did type it, I did read her blips of information, and I did ask her very obvious questions, which she then very obviously answered. I might add that she answered them quite beautifully, so beautiful in fact that the teacher blatantly pointed fingers at me, and wanted to know if I wrote the Pips report, or did she.

OUCH.

I bit my tongue with the answer I wanted to give her.

At any rate, the class is back at working on a big assignment. It's speech time in this town; and why not make it a TAD easier on all the chicklets in grade 3, by handing out ideas, with an obvious format in mind, with clear directions as to what 'THE TEACHER' is looking for. That couldn't possibly happen when the lovely teacher person that she is, believes that a speech has to be ABOUT something that involves research. RESEARCH, AND MORE RESEARCH. Holy freaking smokes. How about throw out a format of what a speech looks like... and go from there. The high achievers and black and whites will want facts, facts and more facts. The more facts the better, except with an added punch, as there is the expectation that the speech has to have a little zip in the words to keep the rest of the classroom awake while they fumble through 'THEIR SPEECH'. I am not certain of what the goal is here; public speaking or a research project presented with a smile.

Earlier today while picking up the boy early from school for god knows what reason.... the lovely and loud grade 3 teacher spots me... and stops me... that's always scarey... "the unexpected stop". GOD........I just wanted a quick in and a quick out... hmmmmmm. ANYWAYS.... the lovely and loud teacher then starts talking all about PIP's project, and she is behind, and the lovely and loud teacher wants her to present "these certain details" because "they are interesting"... and on and on and on and on and on...........while standing, listening to her ramble I started thinking in my head... "well who's speech is this anyways?"... and if the Pip wants to interpret her "research" into whatever "details" she wants, shouldn't we just let her be.... because now I feel like pointing fingers at the lovely and loud grade 3 teacher and ask the same question "Who wrote Pip's speech?"

It's a very scarey cruel school world out there..... don't be scared, be very scared!!!!

Beep

There's something eerie associated with the sound of a beep. Especially when it comes from the Carbon Monoxide detector, in the LATE middle of the night. I then have to have the great internal thinking debate.. am I tired because it's the middle of the night, or wait... am I tired and sleepy because .......... I AM BEING POISONED TO DEATH!!!!!!!!!! On that thought, I got up, made some coffee, and continued to leaf through the book with 1247 pages that I mistakenly got out of the library. The book was kind of interesting, if you are really really really into American History, which I don't mind, except that I am not really really really into it. I read as much as I could, and besides... I have to return it today, so I did flip through every single page in the book, even if my eyes didn't catch every word in the book, at least my fingers got a work out.

Ah ha!

So here I am..... I was wondering where I have been hiding. I haven't been far, but I have been away. The hours and days sometimes seem to run into the other, and before you know it the favourite haunts are quickly forgotten. To re-aquaint myself:

Hi, my name is Deanna, and I have been coming here since June of 2004. I can't help it, this place calls to me, where I then speak to it, or in this case, type at it.

I found this yesterday... and it was free for everyone.

. or those that chose to part take in it:

Blue skies, a dry park bench, and smiles.

From the booklady lender....

by Kaye Gibbons

You are so smart....

Smart girl!

That's what I had to say to the girl that answered my phone call today to the people that hand out money. I had questions amongst questions, and smart girl answered every single one of them. Smart girl was so smart that I didn't think that I was calling the same number as I called last week, where I got Micheal the Moron answering only random questions, and most certainly none of my questions sparked any information sharing from him.

hot cold and other things.

At 0913 the house is far too hot, now at 4:46 the house is far too cold. It was just right earlier, when I was busy finding missing socks, and loads of other items that I had to do things with in the Pipsters room. Well, some of ther other things were: organizing her 15 tons of stuff and throwing out her home made maggot collection (made out of rolls of flat styrofoam), and New Years Party leftovers. I am certain she wont miss her newly formed maggot family, as Mother Maggie's Maggot felt pen face faded over time, and she only looked like rolled up styrofoam. I do believe mind you, the ultimate mission was to find matching socks. I managed this, plus I also reorganized a top drawer that houses the problematic socks that somehow find great hiding spots in her room.

I am freaking frozen, I must go fiddle with things that bring about warmth.

OK, moving on.....

whew....

Colour, in the knick of time. The badly faded quad-coloured head of hair needed some extreme attention... and it finally got it today. I now have one colour, for the one personality, that I sometimes possess.

In other enlightenments... I have had a litre of juice in the fridge, it was cranberry apple cider. Interesting that I finish up the container a while ago... and read where it says to "serve warm". I am not sure where the word "cider" escaped me, and I managed not to clue in... but I did think it was rather interesting how the cider people started making cider served cold, (except for the alcolhic kinds that is). The pipster even enjoyed a couple of glasses.

ho hum .... what to do.....

Well here I am .... sitting with my feet up, on the stereo speaker for the computer, relaxing... listening to.. none other than the pouring rain, and the crazy hysterics of the chicklets ACTUALLY PLAYING TOGETHER, in the den. The husbandman is just finishing up doing the dishes from the dinner that he made earlier. I really wish I could keep him around more often during the day. What am I thinking.. I think I should go off to work, and let him be the stay at home person, he is much more of a "one thing kind of guy". He just informed me that all the laundry was done as well. You have to like that. I am much too scatter brained for ho-hum chores of the daily kind. I go off on a tangent of some sort... and then forget what I had started in the first place. So ... I am thinking... if I call his employer and have him "de-employed" for one day a week.... I could still do all my useless tasks of the day, and then have him at home to do all the "useful tasks for the week" we would still come out money ahead... because I am thinking that I need a housekeeper for these kinds of chores.. and he seems to be fitting the job description way more than me.

So, how is it that it's not quite 7:00 PM and the Pipster is in her pyjamas, in her bed and playing with a "noisy" math addition thingy.... she thinks she is staying up late tonight. I can't believe that she hasn't even looked at the clock. She is one silly princess.

Speaking of silly princesses.... it's my friends birthday today. How's this for a friend... I bought her a chocolate bar with the title "Mr. Two-big". I think that is better than flowers.... well, I think it is at least. She has two teenaged daughters that will probably inhale all of it, leaving her a whiff of the package if she is lucky, and then they will burn it off in 3 1/2 minutes... compared to my friends elderly aged metabolism...... but then again, she's of the slim sort too, so nobody will see that she had "Mr. Two-big" for her birthday. Unless of course she wants to tell someone that LARGE feat.

Announcing....

A garage sale... coming to a street corner near you. Yesterday while I was busy being away doing workish things the husbandman got into the boys bedroom, with the boy, and 11 years of amassed "things"... were organized. Now my kitchen looks like a butchered santas workshop. There are parts missing pieces, and pieces missing parts. All the boy can see is dollar signs in his eyes... because he is selling every last piece of toyville that he owns.... or so he thinks. He politely asked me not to say to him "oh, you can't get rid of that.. you used to love that". I didn't have the heart to say to him... that I USED TO LOVE THAT. Which is why now the reason I have a toy factory in the kitchen. AND... the most amazing thing happened yesterday.... the boy was able to put clothes in his closet. A foriegn idea... something that I am still getting used to.

The larger more dangerous feat of the year may still be in the works. The husbandman may tackle little Pip's room. OK, someone may deserve one big trophy after that one.... I will wait before I rush out to the big trophy store until I see that job in the completed stages.

In the meantime... I think our little 1365 rancher is lopsided.... with the unearthing of 20 zillion tons of toys out of the boys room... oh wait that is the reason I can see the horizon again from out of his window... I so get it now.

Christmas is over but....

Hamsterson insists on singing his favourite tune of the Christmas season, although now it is January, he claims he is warming up for the "upcoming festive time". The song that stole his heart "last" year was Feliz Navi Da... or how ever we are wording that song today. I know in my mind it isn't spelled like that at all.....

Many moons ago...
When I didn't live in this house, but way way across town in another house......
And a couple of moons beyond that....
Or more to the point: when I was YOUNG.

The Christmas Season would come flying into the homestead with decorations and christmas trees, and of course Christmas music!

There was always the one song that had me perplexed, well generally confused me really. The lyrics had something to do with a Mexican family, and their mother and a mexican prison. Year after year I listened on our tinny little stereo about the Mexican family plea to the officials at the mexican prison to "RELEASE MOMMY DOT," because all her loving family wanted to do was: "wish her a merry christmas". Now this confused me, why on earth would they only want MOMMY DOT home at christmas time, was she the only one that could stuff the turkey? What about the rest of the year, who did the cooking for them then, and why didn't they want her home the rest of the year? Every time I heard "RELEASE MOMMY DOT" on the radio, I envisioned this family sitting at the entrance gates with big white signs with the writing: "Release Mommy Dot!", "Merry Christmas Mommy Dot!" on it, and the Mexican prison guards shaking their heads and their bushy handlebar mustaches hiding the frowns on their faces. I guess Mommy Dot has still not been released from prison because I am still hearing the song on the radio, but funny enough they have changed the words....

People this week:

The other day while I was reading the paper and waiting for a "Box A" at my favourite Sushi place another person approached the "spot" where the papers were kept. The fellow ruffled and ruffled through the papers, frothing and flipping and shwooshing and fluffing. He didn't stop, until his hand reached the edge of my paper and he tugged, then asked "Are you done with that?". I shook my head and said yes.

Earlier into the other day, I went and purchased an inversion table for the bulging disk husbandman. It was a rather big box, that I dragged up from the back of the store. At the checkout I asked for some help out. This little lady with two telephones and a clipboard, and an assistant came to my rescue. She tried picking up the plastic strap from around the box and squeaked "ouch". "Oh, my employee can not help you, she might hurt her back, and she can't hurt her back because she is too valuable of an employee to have off", the two telephoned clipboard girl says. Then she unleashes a microphone from someplace hidden and quickly talks into the end of it. "Someone else will come", clipboard girl says, and disappears into the depths of the big box store. I stand for a while, (luckily I'm being patient probably due to the stupid factor of being in the dentist chair earlier). Eventually I say to the checkout lady that I am going to move my 16 year old SUV up to the front doors. Upon returning, I am barely through the front doors of the place when another new person starts on to me about how I need to bring the receipt in to show the girl that I have actually bought this item. OK, actually she is yelling this at me. I walk the 22 steps closer to her, and the box, and to a nice cashier girl that has witnessed the whole purchase/helping event. She nodded her head in agreement. Yes, just another day at the STUPIDSTORE. But I have to say, this store is clean and organized, and seems to have an abundance of staff willing to help, maybe kind of.

TTtttllling

That is the sound, and the feeling and the very word that I can use to describe how my turn in the dentist chair went this morning. This went on for an hour. I tttllllinged for an hour, and have made an appointment for 3 months from now, to do it all over again.

I don't know why I tttllling at all. I use enough "crime fighting" cleaners and mouth weapons to keep the placque bugs away, but they seem to like me, and no amount of ttttlllinging will keep them away.

I also want to know why I suddenly turn stupid when sitting in "the inverted position". They ask me to move my jaw to the right, and I have no idea which direction I should be heading in.

Today while out I stopped to find even more vitamins. Now I am looking at bottles that strictly say 'MEMORY'. Although, I was distracted from the shelf, and moved on. I forgot to buy memory pills, but I have a brand new beautiful tube of REVLON Plumberry 16 hour lipstick. You see, there is no memory in that, you put it on, and forget about it.

At the cakewalk factory.

Nothing is ever as simple as it seems. My friend would like me to clarify whether the Assessment on my house is correct, or incorrect. That way, she would know if her house has been incorrectly assessed. But she is not willing to call the assessment people and find out if her house has been assessed incorrectly, because that may just end up costing her money. In the meantime, I have already told her that I am not interested if my assessment is wrong only due to the fact that it will become a big long EVENT. So, if we are paying too much in taxes for our over assessed house, then so be it. WE know two things in life.....

I had to read this... I requested it from the library, and waited forever to read it, so I couldn't turn it away. Not that I didn't know what was going to happen. I can say.. that the movie was pretty much as good as the book. Part of the fun about reading the book was visualizing the parts from the movie. Most importantly.. you have to love Colin Firth, and Hugh Grant!

I will be the judge of that!

I am left in a difficult thought process. As I was busy diving through a "lost pile of papers" locked up in a plastic bag which also included old receipts, cards (that never got given!) and assorted envelopes; I managed to find 50 bucks. Yae....! 50 bucks! Just what I need. The reason that "I NEED IT" is the lovely mother, stalker sister and the SIL are going "not quite away, but away from the homesteads" for not quite two days. We are going shopping, in a non shopping way. Actually we are going looking for the "perfect" machine to plunk some pennies into. The big question now is... I am sure that I have spent that 50 bucks on whatever that 50 bucks was in the envelope for. I am just certain of it. So, do I just go ahead and help myself to it and use that for my spending money for the weekend. ..... or, do I do the morally right thing and give the husbandman half of the 50 bucks. I already told him it was there. I am thinking... (((tap tap tap))) I am going to give him the money now, and then just borrow it back from him again next week. There, now that's good judgement.

The cake of the 21st century.

When it was our birthday when we were kids, our mother would bake us a birthday cake. She would always wrap up money in waxed paper, and neatly lay it inside the cake, and then ice it. It was very exciting to have a "money cake" for your birthday. Sometimes you would find a QUARTER, or two NICKELS wrapped together. The tradition for us has stayed the same except the denominations have changed dramatically! WE just had cake last week, and my nephew managed to find TWO toonies while eating his cake, and finished off someone elses. Lucky kid!

Yesterday morning the kind and everly so sarcastic husbandman asked me if I was going to bake a cake for the Hamsterson. He said that I should think about safety first, and any cakes that I would consider, should come from a bakery ONLY. He is such the bastardly fellow with POT STIRRING comments! Anyways, that is really OK, since the stalker sister, and my mother had plans for us yesterday, and it wasn't for me to be standing baking a cake for the lovely Hamsterson. Besides all of the extra coins that I happened along yesterday were not going to be stuffed into a cake, they were being personally escorted to the CASINO!

In the meantime, I had to consider my options of the day.. the boy had to get some lucky money for his birthday, and the cake wasn't an option. (And a card was just too boring) It struck me as his peanut butter sandwhich was being put together. Hamsterson has it all going on when it comes to these details of life. He came out from school holding his toonie yesterday afternoon and asked if his money cake was his peanut butter sandwhich. I told him it was the cake of the 21st century.

Happy Birthday Hamsterson.

This picture is all squigyish for a reason. I found my Hamsterson sitting in the dark playing his Gameboy Advance that the lovely stalker sister and truely wonderful grandmother masterminded together. I will now find my boy sitting in remote places with a little smile on his face, just him and his gameboy. He claims he is the happiest boy in the world. It's a good thing for great gift givers.. because when you have a mother that buys computer desks and bookshelves for birthday gifts.. you have to rely on somebody doing something right! I did get a smile from the boy, as he was happy that he had a bigger place for his book collection. 

In other realizations:

I have VACATION TIME again!!!

Oh yes, what a fancy thought it is. What a special feeling to know that there are vacation hours on the horizon... it makes me all warm and cozy inside. The seven day a week RUN cycle can be momentariy stopped for an actual week-end to happen. Oh what a feeling ! Maybe that is what Irene Cara was busy singing about once upon a time.

Miss Blondie

 

Sorting out the past.

With the swift arrival of the new year, it has now come to my attention, that last year was last year. I need to do something with all of the leftover papers from last year.. and quickly, because now with the new year, there are new papers to be had! I now have papers scattered and strewn all across my table top and counter space. I am not quite sure what to do with them. I would like to wrap it up in a big bag and put it somewhere... but I can't do that. I need to file it all neatly away for some important moment when I will be required to look back at something. I know I could go through things on the scale of importance, and that once again leads everthing to sit in one big container. The sad part is.. this isn't the bills from home filing sorting either. All of this paper filing CRAP is from my Stroke Group. It's too mind boggling.. and more importantly... BORING!

In other paper news that is not so boring at all: I went the other night and bought myself a plastic storage container with wheels that (now) houses my 15 BILLION PIECES of scrapbooking supplies. I also have a secret compartment ready that has a dirty hypodermic needle that I will poke myself with if I purchase one more item for my scrapbooking endeavours. OK, I don't have the needle, but I will stick myself with a pin if I bring home one more item, before I use up the supplies that I already have. Not only do I have this wonderful inof lovliness now taking up SPACE in my home... the stalker sister has bought the same one, and has filled it with her own scrapbooking supplies.

In other things from the past: I have had these for almost 14 days. The husbandman brought them through the front door on Christmas Eve, and they were inside long enough to be arranged and watered, and walked out the back door in the very same hour. I decided today to give the stems a bit of a "stem-cut", and I believe I may get some more time to marvel at their beauty.

You have to love brick buildings

Yes, a certain love for brick buildings (and even if they aren't brick buildings, but rather four walls with a cowbell.. it doesn't matter) .... that call children to the inside of them, where they are controlled by bells and adults that command respect, other than their parents. Yes, it's back to lovely school time. There's a certain amount of happiness in the voice of a mother as she bids her offspring a: HAVE A GOOD DAY AT SCHOOL! It was so mild this morning that we briskly walked to school today, we even made it before the bell. It has been a miraculous day.

While the chicklets were at school, the sister stalker found me... and dragged me out in that vehicle of hers that warms the seats... you have to love that. Especially when a cold front comes flying in, with lots of rain and wind. EEke.

In other useless details of the day that will impact me in the future, or when I am least expecting it: our house assessment arrived in our mailbox earlier. This piece of paper tells me that the value of our "building" (1365 sq foot rancher) and land have gone up close to $40,000.00 in the past year. Score one for the tax man.

Grind time

I am not talking about coffee either. It is time to face reality and have life back on track. So far I have managed for the Pip to have an extended bath, and have her hair washed and blow dried. That is already an amazing feat this early into the New Year. Now I am just trying to get her to go to her bed. Yes, a huge injustice after the last two weeks of fun fun fun!! The boy is suffering from the same indiscretion. Although I am letting him stay up until 9:30 PM, and will put up with his HOUR of reading, even though I will only give him a half hour. If I was a truly amazing mother I would have set both their alarms for the morning... well, on that note.. I will go in search of their alarm clocks. I can't stand idly by if I can truely be amazing. HA!

Pose for a pic, PIP!

 

Little Lady Pipster was the colourful scooter girl today!

 

My Boy is back!

Well, he wasn't actually ever gone anywhere, but it as hard to capture a picture of the good ole' fellow!

 

I found these a couple of weeks ago....

Then I went visiting to my friends place Susan and she had published a picture similar to this:

I missed the new year!

Here's a wish for all of those that take the time to visit this space:

A

Healthy,

Happy

and Prosperous

New Year !

I have only made two "resolutions" this year... only two, because a greater number than two creates great confusion and anxiety over promises made and promises kept. I will eat more salmon this year, and FIND the recipe for the soup diet. That's it. That's the two things that I can come up with. I have many more that I probably should come up with.. but these are the two that will be met with the greatest amount of success. Probably since I can't remember what I had for dinner 3 nights ago.. so I pretty much could say that I ate salmon all year long.. and not know the difference. Although the underlying motive is the smart factor that I am trying to regain. I will see, next new year...perhaps I will remember to write something on the very new years day. Who knows. In the meantime... I have to go and find the soup recipe that we once had.. and it's not that cabbage crap that everyone first thinks of!