What is it doing outside?

 

I need to rethink this invitation thing

I had my lovely dustless friend come over today. "What was I thinking?" I ask to myself... (at the time & many hours later). I have decided that you can not be obsessive compulsive, and have people over, it just doesn't work. Here are the reasons why:

It all started with the fact that it is Tuesday, and I do not wash my hair on Tuesdays. I can not figure out for the life of me why I do not wash my hair on Tuesdays... but a fact is a fact. It just doesn't happen. Tuesday is just not the day to wash my hair. And that's it. So that's one issue. Then with my not washed hair, I was about to set off with the chicklets to walk them to school.. which I had been telling them, and telling them that we would be doing... because it was beautiful and sunny out... When we step outside to begin our RUN to school, our neighbour pulls in, and I continue nattering that 'WE ARE WALKING' ... the chicklets just look at me, smile, and get inside the neighbours car, off they go, and I am left standing in my driveway with unknowingly dirty hair, and an extra half an hour on my hands. This will not be good... I think to myself. See, it's the Tuesday morning issue, and I always find that I need to do other things than what I should be doing on Tuesday mornings. (These details just keep getting more bizarre, but do not fear, it gets worse). This morning would have been a good time to start CLEANING the dusty home, for my wonderful and dustless friend. But no, instead I retreat to the piano bench where I find it totally justifiable to start digging through the piano music that I have not eyed in many months, and couldn't play that many months ago, and certainly could not play this morning. Although I had great fun tinkering with the many sounds on my digital piano, once again, with the lovely guest arriving on the doorstep in a short period of time, one would think that I could be doing something to dust the place up. The problem with my dusty home is that it faces south east.... which means that the sun finds it's way through the windows, and all the shiny surfaces that the sun hits, just don't seem so shiney, because all I can see is dust. Of course this only happens when you take the time to look at the shiney surfaces, unlike myself, where I was sat facing the wall, playing the piano mindlessly. Eventually I had heard enough of myself playing the piano, and then turned on the stereo to listen to real music. It was at this time that I noticed my life in real time, and hissed a OH CHRIST... it's 10:30... my lovely dustless friend will be here in an hour, and I am still swamped with dust, rolling dog hair balls, laundry, dishes, finger printed french doors and messy bathrooms. I was set to frenzy mode... everything had to be done all at once, and in a dust sucking fashion. I then set to making our bed, and cranking up our 20 year old air ecologizer to HIGH in our bedroom. Yes, this will definitely impact the lovely dustless guest, a HIGHLY air ecologized and tidy room that she will never see. A remarkable use of precious minutes, I impress myself greatly sometimes. But as I speedily worked away I was most thrilled with my stat-like cleaning abilities. I did manage to clean the things that needed to be cleaned, which also included two loads of laundry, some walls and shelves washed, and a couple rounds of watering the plants. Life came to a crashing halt when it came to mind that I should put out something to eat. Afterall, I had been here all morning doing things, and accomplishing nothing... I was now definitely hungry. Even the store bought heart cookies couldn't cure my thoughts of being a nice dustless hostess. Of course, this is when horror struck. I immediately retraced my steps on thinking why it was that I thought I had food in this house... surely I should have something... I did manage to spend $300.00 last week at the big box store... but then I also realized that I had bought scrapbooking albums, and a carpet, and laundry soap... which is not something that I was interested in snacking on. DAMN! I had to think fast, well, at least I had cheese. I had lots of cheese... only because I bought cheese twice last week, not remembering that I had bought it the first time around. It's too bad that I didn't have much to go with that cheese. I went to the cupboard to pull out the fresh box of crackers that the husbandman had just bought the night before. I was horrified to notice that I was able to set out about 8 crackers, and the rest were broken. OK not good. This is OK, I thought.... so we will have a big plate of cheese... surely my lovely dustless friend will be too polite to say anything. I moved onto making the coffee next, because after all, this is the only reason she was coming over for. I was frightened by what I saw, or more like, what I didn't see. I had just bought coffee last week, or maybe it was the week before last...anyways.. I just thought I had coffee, which I kind of did, in a HALF CUP FULL sort of way. Except that the vacuum sealed package had been opened. SHREAK! SHREAK! SHREAK! I had to come up with coffee.... NOW. I looked beyond the vile opened package and saw a lonely well loved bag of columbian. It smelled lovely. I had to think quickly, at this point, no move was a right move.. I closed my eyes and quickly added two packages of coffee together (there nothing happened!).... which gave me a full pot. Lucky me, I was back on track. Then I reached into the fridge to pull out the cream. HOLY SHIT NO! I looked at the date on the cream. It expired on February 11. I couldn't believe this. So, me being the warm and inviting now dustless hostess taped a note to my front door. "L., B rite back D"... and then added 1130 on the note, just so she knew that I decided not to up and leave, when she was more or less set to arrive. Lucky for me, she would never have known about the note..... had I not told her... I made it back before she did. OK, one thing going right. Then, I had a bit of a brainwave. I decided to make sandwhiches, but since I had already set out two tons of cheese on a plate.. I didn't quite know what to do next. I spied in my cupboard for something.. and found some salmon. Once again, luck was with me.. except it wasn't sockeye, it was a pink, and I don't really like pink salmon, it's mushy, and I was in a bit of a pickle.... but you don't really notice when you add some hot dog relish to it. OK, I know, I know.. hot dog relish sounds bad, when you are adding it to salmon... but really, it is very good. You just have to trust me on this one. I eventually heard a little knock on my front door where I yelled 'come in', but my lovely dustless friend (and her sweetpea daughter) couldn't hear me because the music was cranked. Well, actually I had just turned it down, but generally I keep it up, to keep the jehovahs away. I kid you not. AND.. in more unbelievable things.. I have a number of friends who are jehovahs just in case the inquiring minds need to know.... including one that comes to see me regularly at my front door, where I stand and keep her chatting for a huge amount of time, then instead of heading to the neighbours front door, jumps in her vehicle and speeds off down the street back to her real life. Anyways, the long and short of it... my lovely dustless friend, her sweetpea daughter and myself had a lovely visit. She even supplied the banana bread, which was quite quite tasty.. and I will not even begin to speak about my loaf I made once upon a time, the one and only time she ever came to visit. For some fairly odd and unexplainable reason my loaf failed, as in failed because it was still raw inside. Once again being the fairly strange hostess, I served the outer edges... because the cooked part of the loaf was really quite tasty. I could not have history repeat itself on that one. So when I started thinking that I was going to bake something before she showed up today... I forced myself into playing some bad music instead. So there you have it... an invitation into my dustfilled matchbox home.

In case there are added thoughts or comments... I just wanted to let the human public know that once upon a time I did plan, and organize a wedding reception for myself, and the husbandman for 170 people... and I find it highly odd that I can not orchestrate a simple coffee visit.

Get with the program!

Dinner done - leftovers, lucky me. check
Children happy & content - kind of, temporarily. check
Dog fed -- yes, but she doesn't believe that herself. check
Laundry done -- in the process of doing. check
Homework -- have to listen to speeches, eventually check
Husband home -- he doesn't talk to me anyways check
House organized for friend tomorrow --
there's always the morning check
School obligations -- not for tomorrow check
Any reasons to harp, nag or query: none at the moment check

Time to read my book FINALLY.

Oh yes, the lovely day.

I think we should really rethink valentines day. I think I would like to have it renamed as international cookie day. On this day we can hand out cookies to people that we just plain and simply like, and this is a mixed gender thing as well. Kind of like a halloween of sorts, except we don't have the little beggers coming to our doors, it's actually us doing the stepping out, handing out cookies. The nice part about international cookie day is the fact that no love has to be involved. You just have to have enough cookies to give out, that's it. It's very simple. Say good bye to all of the cash grabs that go along with this day of festivity and pretend love and go-go-ness. It is all rather revolting.

Here here to International Cookie Day!

What's my line?

While at work today, I was happily hidden while one of my friends posed a question to a visiting family member.

"Where is Mr So & So?" asks the visitor.

"Oh, he's in room 209, you must be his brother, you look just like him", says my friend the nurse.

"Uhm... I'm his son" says the visitor. ~~~~~~


My friends face turned as red as a tomato ready to bust it's juices with the offending question just floating in mid air. It didn't help when her very nice coworker (me) scolds her on the relation comparison factor... "listen missy, you are not to concern yourself with the dynamics of who's who in the zoo, what you want to establish is the fact that they might be related, because they do have a similarity in features...."

I further aided my friend with a quick step by step technique as to how to go about finding out relationship factors with the unknowing visitors that stop by. This example was followed by notes, and a quiz at the end of the inservice. It goes as follows:

OH (raise eyebrows)......

(direct gaze to visitor) are you related?

(pause, wait for answer).

I told her that this method is a sure fire way of keeping her feet on the floor at all times, and not unknowingly stuffed in her mouth.

We did have a really good laugh... considering that she had just compared an 81 year old guy to a 35ish old looking fellow. Oh well, she's blond, she has an excuse.

circling and circling....

Alright,... just between you and me, and you and me only.

I HATE SCHOOL.

Yes, and I don't even go to school, well, except to drop off and pick up children. It's the crap the happens between those two times, that is the stuff I hate the most. Not that I am picky about things or anything...I think come Monday I am going to ask that the two of them become wall flowers, and "yesmen" all at the same time, while being in the classroom. I have had enough of them sticking out like little green men from way "out there".

In the meantime.. I am on damage control duty.. and I am not sure of the reason why.

It's sunny out

All is good when the sun shines. All is good when the sun shines. All is good when the sun shines. All if good when the sun shines. All is good when the sun shines. All is good when the sun shines.

If I keep typing that I will be able to believe it... eventually.

The growler son has temporarily quit growling, but he might only be taking a break. Oh lucky me.

The little scaredy catdog Ellpee has quit limping, for the time being, until she might do something else to herself.

The Pipster now has a completely typed speech with a big thick staple in the corner of her pages, and she almost has half her speech memorized. Her psycho teacher is done for the week, and will be returning on Monday.

The husbandman has fixed my back window that had the broken key stuck in the lock. The world should fall apart in the 1365 square foot rancher more often, that way he can go and hide out in the driveway/outdoors/out in the shed/ and do other great useless tasks, because that was quite the accomplishment!

I just got back from buying a great many things at the big box store,... and the one thing I went for, I have forgotten.

But it's OK, because:
All is good when the sun shines. All is good when the sun shines. All is good when the sun shines. All is good when the sun shines. All is good when the sun shines. All is good when the sun shines.

It's not the Vampire Life for me.

Oh, I don't think so. I am too much in love with the light. I have come to the realization that at this time of year, I start counting the hours of light that we get. In the evening I watch to see that it will stay light out until six oclock. In the morning I like to note the times when the sky begins to turn it's closet black into the ever lightening shades of grey, and then begin to burst with the colours of the day. I look forward to the colours of a pink grapefruit that throw themselves over the mountain tops, and fill the sky. OK, and the best part... the chicklets rise in the morning earlier when the light hits their bedrooms...

On thinking about the light, I am not so much in love with it that I need to move to Alaska or the North West Territories, now that is light gone crazy. I couldn't do light 24 hours a day... for a couple of months at a time. I do require a certain amount of darkness, so I guess there's a little vampire in me somewhere.

Yes, it's Monday

I can tell that by all the things that have happened so far. It's Monday, I need to remember that.

The boy is unusually grumpy, very grumpy. He isn't normally at all like this, he slugged his way to grade 5 school today, in a resistant growling sort of sluggish form. It was all very wierd, including the fact that we walked to school today, and we never walk on Mondays.

My Stroke Group was exceptional today. So I was told. That comment I didn't make up. People were leaving quite happy today, and yet, they leave quite happy every Monday... so I really want to know how bad I am screwing up on other days, if today was exceptional? Perhaps the comparison factor is off... in comparison to yesterday, when there wasn't a stroke group... you know, that sort of thing.

The lovely and overbearing teacher has totally scared the dark hairs out the miss blondy lady Pipster. I have heard this woman natter, natter and natter about the SPEECH, SPEECH, SPEECH, for weeks now... and now I have been hiding from this woman for days. She even called the house today, and was pretty much psycho about the non-speech work that the PIP didn't do this weekend. My phone vibrated into my ear as I heard the grade three teacher yell...."she is very, very far behind".... it was too bad that I had to wait through the whole freaking message so I could delete it... otherwise I would have to hear it again, and again, and again, and hearing it once, was bad enough. Good lord. I can only imagine how much squawking this grade three teacher did at the PIP, because the PIP burst into tears at the end of the day, and couldn't even fathom the word speech by 3:30 PM. I decided at this point to let the girl have some quiet time. I believe it was a good thing that I did not head down the street for the boys piano, it would have put the PIP over the absolute top had she had to go to piano.

In the meantime, the growling scowling grade 5 boy came out of the school in a happy mood this afternoon. It's too bad that I cancelled his piano lesson for today, as he hasn't picked up his books all week, and now that he had his smile back, he probably would be able to play magical music... ok maybe he could. Well, I mistakenly thought I had my boy back. He was pleasant for a number of hours, and he even played with the evil little sister on the trampoline for a great number of minutes, including cleaning up a ton of her stuffed toys they managed to amass outside in a very short period of time. But soon enough the growler came back to haunt the 1365 square foot abode... and since I didn't have the patience to even start to delve into his warped sense of right and wrong, I decided it was his bedtime. HA! ... at 8:30 PM, I even left the husbandman standing in the growlers bedroom in the dark, next to the growling boys desk... as the two of them had been doing his homework. There was no breaking through with the boy... the growler had to go.

Since the boys life had suddenly taken a spiral nose dive into hell, the girls life perked up. Little Miss Pip happily sat next to myself, and the computer, and narrated her "somewhat" acceptable speech, all about the desert. In this very amazing feat, it also included a huge amount of cooperation, and a pleasant attitude, plus, all free today, one free reading of the six paged beauty. The little lady PIP even managed to score up a couple of jokes and humour into this very dry subject. After I had witnessed the amazing presentation, we moved into her big pink book that she is trying to read aloud to me. Once again, this involved cooperation at it's finest. I can't believe that I have eyeballs left... the PIP usually tries to take out an eye or two, when we have to do such SMALL projects together. I am blessed!

Then... around the dinner time hour the husbandman called and wished for me to make him dinner(these demands just frighten me), instead, I decided to go out and try and put the window up in the 16 year old SUV. Upon re-entering the home I noticed that the little dog, L.P. was limping around the livingroom in a great way. I absolutely know she wasn't like this only 2 minutes before. She had no comment when I asked her what it was that she did to herself. As of this evening, she still seems tight lipped over the whole ordeal, and continues to limp.

And now... it is late. I have just watched my most favourite Monday night show "Dead Like Me", where no book too good can infiltrate my viewing pleasure...and then, the finest of creams to sit upon my cake.... I realized that is filmed in Vancouver. Hm. I like that.. and even better than that... I love the show.

I think there are two full moons sitting out there somewhere....

Happy Holidays!!

In a casual conversation with the 15 year old "Teen Tina" childcare girl yesterday:

"Well, I like your kids, and thanks for writing me the letter to my new manager that gives me the extra hours that I need to make more than minimum wage, but A & W pays more".

I have officially been discharged as her once monthly employer. At least I think I have.

Now all my vacation days will consist of not working when the husbandman is doing is Saturday working... and on second thought... what a nice thought.

Finally

Undead and Unappreciated.

A quick fun easy read... This book is best read underneath the lamplight shining through the sunroof of the 16 year old SUV, outside of the pretend TKD. Now back to the painful book...

Real sun, handing out real colour.

Life is messy.

I want to know how a 1365 square foot rancher finds itself in such a state. There's bits and pieces floating over here, and other things floating over there. I want it all gone... SNAP.


AND SO IT WAS DONE.

OK, moving on to more boring things of the day.

The stalker sister has not bothered to come and find me this morning. I figured she would hunt me down... and demand that I do things with her... like go for SUSHI. This is her very new, and very favourite thing to do. ALL THE TIME. Which is funny, because she quite hated sushi for the longest of times, and couldn't even speak of it. Which was quite sad for me, because that was all I ever thought of... all the time.


PAUSE.............PAUSE.........................PAUSE.................. .............NEWSFLASH~~~NEWSFLASH~~~

The sun has come out here on the Canadian portion of the West Coast. Exit your homes and vehicles slowly.... we don't want to scare it away.....AND don't look at it through your windows... as it will only depress you to see the amount of dust and film that has gathered on the windows and furniture during this time of continuous rain and cloud.....NOW GET OUT THERE AND ENJOY THE SUN.... WHILE YOU CAN...................

now....back to the regular sushi story

Now that she loves sushi so much all the time... there isn't a question as to where we will go for lunch, when the stalker stalks by.... like yesterday, ( I was just leaving the home on an orthodontic emergency with the superson.. somehow a wire had fallen out and into his cheek, which then left him bleeding, and MIRACULOUSLY silent,.... as he was unable to talk with a wire in his cheek... ) when the sister stalker walked in my front door and decided that she needed to immediately escort myself and the broken brace faced superson to the orthodontist office, then back to school again... the whole while keeping me in the passenger seat... so she could eventually end up with a sushi partner at the favourite sushi eating place. That was OK for me... because as paypack for the escort/stalker sister... I made her do a popcan return run with me...

Well, I must leave now... I am not certain how long the sun will be out for, but it's worthy of my complete and full attention.

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!

Let's see....

I realized that flyers really can be helpful. I happened to see on the front page of "Canadian Tire" that they had a computer desk, and a 4 shelf book case that was separate. Being the kind and practical parent that I am.... I think the boy can have that for his birthday present. He might cringe at this most practical birthday gift, but then again, I am also a bad gift giver, oh well, he loses this year.

OH, and since I did let myself out of the house today, it came to light that I do not ever want to work at "Canadian Tire". I had to go to two Canadian Tires to get the computer desk thing, so that meant I had to talk to people in the process. I am certain that they could not have paid these employees enough to be happy, crack a smile, or even be helpful, or wait, look like they have an ounce of energy even. I didn't find this in the one store, I found it in both the stores. I even got to watch this short haired short person dispute the abilities of a blow dryer return... (I started thinking to myself.."Alright little short girl, with little short hair, you are a customer service person, not a product specialist, shut up and let the girl with the BEAUTIFUL long red flowing locks return the god damned blow dryer.....FUCK!"...). Perhaps instead of getting a Christmas Bonus.. all these poor suckers got were Canadian Tire Christmas Cutbacks!

In other things worthy of a late night mention....the catdog is tired today. She had to be outside earlier to sit in the lawn. Being winter, it may have been a bit too damp on her precious fur and delicate paws. Then later, she had to entertain other guests, by sniffing out other cats. That tired her further. She did get to go for a walk, and had an encounter with a fearsome little yappy thing that was locked behind a fence, which she hid behind me as we walked past. A little later she frantically paced about the 1365 foot rancher in great worries about her food, whether she should eat it, or wait for the king to come home. She took a little rest at that point, and stared at her food in her bowl, just in case some of it tried to get away. Finally, the husbandman came home, which expended the rest of her energy wagging her tail, and running back and forth between the laundry room, and the livingroom. We are not sure of the reason for this random running, but it seems to make her happy. A short while ago she was zonked out on the couch. Now I have found her sleeping beneath the Christmas tree, again zonked out. I think this is her pre-bed time nap. She should sleep well tonight. I might have to curtail the clicking of the keys, as it may be disturbing her.

Quiet as a cucumber

Things are going to have to change. I need to put on my walking shoes on and spy glasses and start to mingle again with the human race. I have been far too quiet this past week... and now I am hearing voices in my head. These voices are getting rather bossy as well. I could start off by marching over to the neighbours that I do not know and start freaking that I can see the fire in their fire place from my front window.. and it is really freaking me out. But I guess since I can still Oprah on the big screen TV, that I shouldn't be too worried.

Another realization just came to light... perhaps I am migrating to the silent Mr. Husbandman way of life. It's time to start drinking.

Quick as a bunny...

I have some Majong players coming over today. I need to do some speed tidying so the regular clutter wont mess up the christmas clutter. I could get rid of the christmas clutter, but then that would make the regular clutter stick out.

The sick man is tired of me calling him sick man. He is no longer ill at ease with badness. He told me that while he was eating some turtles and other assorted chocolates. I guess I believe him.

Well...

I have stalked the recycle truck today, put away some christmassy things, cleaned out the fridge of any form of turkey dinner remnants, (except for the coleslaw), planted some tulips (because I just happened to find them), and washed ALL of the bedding on our bed. Currently the door is shut to our room, with the window open just to air it out a bit. One day of sickness for the husbandman, and that's it for me. Everything needs to stripped and cleaned and disinfected and then once overed. Oh, I might add that he went to work this morning.. and is still not home with his sickness factor. Anything that the bug infected man might have touched has been cleaned. A bit psycho yes, but it probably needed it anyways.

 

 

 

Oh NO!

To eat or not to eat...that's the question of the hour...... the husbandman came home from work. he was rather vomitus. He wasn't like that at 5 oclock, but was definitely ill at 6 oclock. After a quick review of the types of food eaten today... THE TURKEY... was the frightening item. None of the others in the homestead today had turkey... except for him. He also had an orange, and some coffee, and a beer afterwork. Now that menu alone would be enough to make a stomach turn, but he managed until late in the day. So... is this now a case of a turkey gone bad?

The season of change.

December 21st is the first day of winter around these parts. Interesting, because I believe that January 1st is the first day of spring.. for me that is. It is from this point onward that the days start to get lighter out, and the darkness trickles in later and later. I enjoy this little madcap headgame that I play with myself. I am even considering the garden, and the spring flower placement, and the pots for the summer time. I haven't even hit the New Year yet and this is where my minds wanders to. I even hear birds outside.... that are chirping. This excites me greatly.

H...E....LLLLLLLLLPPPPP

I seem to be trapped in a home where children refuse to get dressed, brush their hair, or teeth. It's 1:00 in the afternoon. I need to go places.. and I am not able to take them out.. people would most certainly stare!!

Today I will....

I think today I will start dismantling the Christmas craziness that has taken over our home. I am not certain the chicklets will notice, and if they do.. I will have the standard phrase ready...."I'm just in the middle of dusting and had to move things...." It should work.. that is until I throw the christmas tree out the back sliding doors. Let's just hope that they are engrossed in the french copy of "cats don't dance", which came out of an english cover. Interesting marketing technique. Even the Pip wondered about this very thing.. and she said that the ladies at factory could not have been paying attention when they loaded the tapes... "they weren't very good video ladies".... The Pip continued to watch the movie anyways.

In other things that I will do today... I will continue to read a 'manual' about tweens. I of course am reading out various interesting parts to the Hamsterson himself, with an accentuation on the word TWWWEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNN just to get his attention. Actually, it's very therapeutic for myself and him. He now believes he's just a regular kid, and I believe that he can't graduate from university fast enough. In the meantime, I will continue with my drawling tween business, and he will guffaw himself all over the place and tell me that he needs to read that book. Just as soon as he puts down his Archie comic. Hmmm.

A fun little story at Christmas time.

A story of crisis, hope and determination.

Oh, the stalker sister strikes again.

The stalker is ever so helpful.

I am here, on this Christmas Day, doing working things.. because that is just what I do. I eventually come in this morning at a lovely 0900. Everybody else has been here since 0730, but then I do not do the same job as the other people.. and don't "count" for needing to be here at such a time.

Earlier this morning:

The husbandman and myself got to watch the very excited Pipster squeal in glee with her presents from Santa, although she was terrified to go to bed last night, because she is afraid of him. I love the fact that she still believes in Santa Claus. Especially since I wrote her a letter last night, and placed it with her gift for this morning. She was too estatic to even try to read it. Her eyes twinkled in excitement as I read out some of her achievements that she made throughout the last while. Oh Pip, she is just so cute and blond some days.

The Boy on the otherhand is a gentlemanly one. He takes his time opening his gifts, cherishing what might be beneath the paper, and then looking at it, and then thanking us, and then talking about it, and then talking about other things about this gift, and then asking questions. OH MY GOD!!! GET ON WITH IT!! I managed not to hiss at him. The girl on the other hand is in a frenzy below the christmas tree, and then there's Mr. Stillshot.

While at work....

The sister stalker phones the ward.. and being the stalker girl that she likes to be.. spilled the beans that not only do we celebrate the "reason for the season" birthday boy, we celebrate mine as well. Oh thank you stalker sister..... there I just spilled the beans about myself... and if the stalker could find her way here, she would have spilled the beans first.

Merry Christmas !

Long range...

I was up bright and early today... just so I could hear the weather report. Nice and early... like 3:30 early. I wanted to be up before the birds, wait, there aren't any morning birds around here right now. Anyways.. I was hoping for some news of some white stuff heading our way for Christmas day.... this was the outcome: I think it will be so green this Christmas Day that Santa may be mistook for an alien, the other thing is.. he should be holding an umbrella, perhaps he should have a back up as well.

Telephone email

Just be thankful that you are not my friend KIM right now. I think I just sent the worlds longest email to her. I even sent her a warning message in BIG RED LETTERS informing her on how and when to read the email. There is nothing wrong this email, it is just long winded, no really very very long winded, and she has two very small children... and she could be easily distracted by the complete natterings from myself. Not that I had anything great to say... I just kept typing as my brain kept thinking of things to write. It wasn't even one of those evil letters that you get in your once a year christmas card correspondence from THE AMAZING FAMILY who have REALLY AMAZING CHILDREN, and AMAZING ADVENTURES, and EVERYTHING IS WONDERFUL. It wasn't one of those at all. (OK, please tell me that everyone receives one of these letters from some distant friend/relative). I used to IM-patiently await the arrival of this christmas card every year... just so I could read all about THE AMAZING FAMILY. This was one of the first realizations that I had that I just love to people watch, and at this point, it was people reading. Anyways.. my email to my friend KIM was nothing like that. Although I did talk about the misadventures with my lovely Pip, and her landing on her head, or something to that affect in gymnastics.... and although we got it checked out by an xray... she definitely did do something to herself, and it certainly wasn't knocking any sense into her. But that was all, I didn't go into detail about MY AMAZING PIP. I'll save that... for tomorrows email!

Not quite early

It isn't to too early, but early enough .. that if I ask the chicklets to ready themselves, we can make it out of here and go get some breakfast... so they will have pleasant and helpful smiles on their faces when we travel over to mall, and other places for some errands. This is just a thought, I am not quite certain what the outcome will be. I do know that the husbandman was looking for cookie cutters last night.. and kept asking me where they were... and I do not have a freaking clue where they might be.. afterall, I am not the person who uses them.. he is. Perhaps that will be the first purchase of the day... well, the first purchase after some coffee. I am going to need a kick to contend with the antics of the offspring....

Festivus.

There was a christmas party last night. I had all the intentions of going, and then I made a list of all the things that were required to go, and somehow this party wasn't so favourable to me afterall. Party list:

1. Buy a gift under ten dollars. (I can do that)
2. Bring a dish for the pot-luck dinner (Alright, I can do that too)
3. Iron up my pants. (Attempt not to look like a hobo)
4. Fluff up my sweater (Make it look like it is fresh out of my closet, not fresh from the bottom of my closet)
5. Apply some perfume ("No scense makes good sense" at work.. I know these people will be bathing in it tonight.. might as well add to the competition)
6. Realized that I had a wicked headache at 2:47 in the afternoon. (Ate some Tylenol)
7. Started the boys laundry (bedding) at 3:45 PM. (No, it's not a party requirement, but the laundry had been put in the laundry room in the AM, but I of course totally forgot about it, and I had to get it done before the husbandman came home, otherwise that would be quite rude of me to ask him to finish it as I toodle out the door).
8. Looked in the mirror around 5:15. (wondered who it was staring back at me)
9. Contemplated making a dish for the christmas party. (Thought making soup for the girl out a can was already a lot of work)
10. Called Mr. Husbandman at 5:50 and told him to not hurry home. (I was going nowhere, and if he could stop and buy a fresh turkey at the grocery store... because that was too much of an effort to try and buy today while I was out).
11. Finally came to the conclusion that even with a smattering of brightly coloured lipstick and a wave of the curling iron for the "dreaded" locks was not going to help this party girl.
12. Took more Tylenol at 7 PM, and sat in the living room and stared at the glowing Christmas tree.
13. AAAhhhh... now that is festivus, for the rest of us!

Libraryitis

My list of books has grown very long. I have spent many days collecting and returning books to my little library across town. The sad thing is, some of the covers have come home, spent time on my night table, and returned.. in the knick of time, before the fine collector starts it's quarter a day thing, (for the next purchase of the libraries latest greatest books)!

In the meantime, I have a stack of books on my night table, and the return policy is simple... just return when I have finished reading them. You have to love that. Included in the friendlending library frolics, I now have another contributor to the libraryitis cause.... someone from work has lent me their copy of a book that I had to return last week, that I was a third of a way through. That is close to illegal for me, but then again, I do speed, and I don't mind doing that... so I had to give in to the book loss while still reading issue... and I did wait for about three months for the book from the library. What a winfall!

On that note... I must go and check the library for a book that a youngish lady told me about. I absolutely need to read it. She read it. It took her seven months to read. She also had a stroke a year and a half ago, which affected her speech side of her brain, which also affected her ability to see letters and numbers as they are written on the page. People and their perserverence keep me awestruck on many levels.

Comatose realizations.

The other day I had to ask my stalker sister how much she loved my children. I know that she loves me lots because she wouldn't travel around this great big earth looking for me half the time. That is especially when I do not have my cell phone with me.... she turns into a stalker more on those days.

Anyways... back to the love portion of the thought process..... I have mailed about thirteen zillion christmas cards, OK, I fall short by a couple zillion, but it's close enough. I have been very good at tucking in pictures of the aging chicklets with these cards, as the people that receive them on the other end like to see their smiling faces. As I worked feverishly through my envelope of pictures I realized that I did not have enough smallish pictures to hand out to my immediate family... you know the cousins that you only see every two months, and they sometimes forget their names.. that sort of thing. It was at this moment that I had to re-think the picture distribution procedure.

I am thinking that my stalker sister needs the 8 x 10 format of the chicklets parked on her big wall unit in their living space. I have come to this resolution by the fact that after I had put her two sweet chicklet boys to bed, I comatosely sat in her familyroom and stared at her wall unit for hours. Well, I did flick through channels to find a good movie, but the movie was only on for noise. Yes, a the big picture would surely look good sitting on her wall unit thing.. she might even be able to snag me for more evening children watching adventures.

Amusement factor

I do not have to go very far some days for myself to be amused. The chicklets are busy doing some special mirror dance to the third song "My Little Drum" from a Charlie Brown Christmas. It is a pleasant sight to watch them with smiles on their faces, because in about 10 seconds the special dance will disintegrate to rage and fits of "each other being in their space".... and thus end the dance. ActuallyI got lucky this time, and the song ended before they did! However; the Charlie Brown Christmas will continue to play on... I think by the time Christmas is over, I may even be sick of this music... but that's a big maybe.

We've left the ice age

The other night when I went to bed, I said good night to a landscape filled with lovely white frost. Yes, it's a bit cold, and a bit dicey when talking a stroll, or if you happen to tumble down your steps, or across your driveway for that matter. But all that aside, it is quite beautiful to behold, and with the big day arriving, and all the requests that go in for a white christmas... it was nice to think that here on the "wet" coast, we may have a white christmas, even if it was just Mr. Frostman coming to visit. That wouldn't be the case.... I awoke yesterday morning to the sound of rain. But snow doesn't make sound when it falls... so how could I hear rain. And there you have it, we are all green again, very green in fact, almost like the grass and evergreens are thankful that the frost is gone, so they seem brighter than usual. Maybe the jolly guy visiting from the north pole will bring some of his winter magic with him.

This is probably the best picture of all time to watch during the Christmas season... and now that I own the music, it is lovely... very lovely to listen to!!!

Da-da, da da da da

Yes, I am singing a song.... in my head, you can begin your "thank you's" NOW! It's the song by the Mama's and the Papa's.. Monday morning, I think that's what the name of it is. Anyways, it's Monday morning, and although I have to be someplace rather soonish.. I do not have to be anyplace right now.... like scurrying the chicklets off to their wonderful palace of learning. I do not think that I can hiss YESSSSSSS loud or long enough.

In other boring news... I realized a couple of weeks back that the font that I see on my blog is not the font that others see on their blog. Most interesting.... all of two minutes ago I changed that very fact... now I believe I see myself as others see me.

Giftograma

You have to love line ups. I have encountered many over the last week, as I am sure many others have done just the same. I do chuckle though when I finally find a pair of pyjamas for the almost 11 year old son, and the line up to buy them is three miles wide. Sorry hamsterson I love ya, but not that much to spend hours in a line up for a pair of PJ's. That's just a little secret of mine... nobody needs to know!

IN other gifting business... the stalker sister showed up for another session of gift buying. We encountered the lovely and line up ridden Zellers today. The line up was long and tedious, and I wasn't about to put back the 2 items for purchase. The lady on the till was an older woman, and when she grabbed my goods, she also got on the phone, she said she needed a break. She then started hollaring into the phone that she didn't care who arrived to relieve her, she needed a break, and she did. I almost grabbed the phone and started to yell to get someone down here... she looked beat, and plus she was cranky, and she was out of big big bags, which is what I required... which sent her into a frenzy. She might not be a christmas enthusiast, or so it seems.

Finalizing, organizing, realizing.

This time of year always brings about a wave of renewal, and also a time of reflection upon the past 12 months. What are my accomplishments, where have I been, and where am I headed? The paths that I choose to follow are of my own design and distinction. I am wondering at this moment in time if I should be giving up my very much loved group that I coordinate every week. I am always on the verge of looking for something else, something a little bit more than a once a week group, although I am caught up in the benefit that I see in being part of such a group. But my question to myself this week, is the very group that I love very much the one thing that is holding me back from something more that I could be doing, and I haven't given myself the chance to explore? I would hate to take that step and leave this remarkable group of people behind, but then if I do not leave I may never find the right path either. I think that I should at least try.

In other moments of clarity and realization of life as it happens:

My sister and I were out together today... and we heard a sound that was so profound in both our minds, that it set me fleeing in the opposite direction. The sound followed, and eventually caught up to both of us. It was the sound of an autistic boy communicating either his love or his disdain to his mother. His bellow pulled tightly at mine and especially my sisters heart strings, and being the sensitive fools that we are, both burst into tears in Walmart. My sisters boy is autistic, but if there are things to be continually thankful for in life, her son is on the high functioning end of the spectrum. Where he complains about people not following rules, and asks mathematical questions that would put a Harvard graduate to shame. Who requests more information on the touring conditions in an automobile in the year 1904, and knows the make and model of almost every car built since the invention of the four wheeled beast, and that he doesn't really care if he is still pulling up his pants when he leaves the bathroom, or points his middle finger at you when asking big bold questions about the sky and universe beyond, but these are all things that we need to be thankful for, which of course made us both cry when the bellowing boy walked by.

Rev your engines....

I am looking to accomplishing many things today. I haven't made a list, on paper, or in my head. I do not want to admit failure at the end of the day, when I have the sudden realization that I forgot to do something very important. So, for the moment I am drinking a very strong cup of tea, ((due to the extended (forgotten) steeping time)) and am "whoa-who-whoing" along to the lovely and wonderful sounds of Glass Tiger that is playing on the stereo.. I think it is Diamond Minds at the moment. And, for the moment I am in love with the remote control for the stereo, that way I can drag it around with me, or keep it by my side and can crank any good tunes whenever the whim strikes me.... meanwhile the volume is turned down while the station ploughs through it's pile of advertisements.

OH, and in other engine reving events.....I am obsessively waiting upon the stalker sister arriving at my house today. Don't ask me why... I just have the vibe.

In the meantime.... I will hunt around for cleaning utensils and fill the washing machine with laundry. Pip decided that she was not going to school based on the fact that she didn't like the clothes that she had to pick from. Hell, I would have to agree with her there... but I had to play it up that she looked comfortable in her Tuesday wardrobe selection.

One more thing.... Mondays 10 PM Channel 39 "Dead Like Me".... my next favourite show in the world... all because it has Mandy Pantankin in it. I love him. A lot.

Welcome to Monday Part 2

Little did I know this morning how the day would turn out. The day turned out fine, very fine indeed. I was a tad bit nervous about people showing up for the lunch. Something always manages to go amiss in these circumstances. I even managed to have enough gifts for all the people that showed up at the group today. Although, I did have to give up some of my christmas bags to some of them! ( I have great issues about gift bags..... and gifting them away!!!). I furthermore had enough of the christmas humour packages to hand around to everyone, with extra for those that couldn't make it today. I am even more amazed that I had enough time to whip over to the Senior's Centre to photocopy the group a lovely red and green package of papers before we met for lunch.

Also included in this mornings events was the realization that the Senior's Coordinator had asked me to do a report for our group for this morning, as she had a meeting at 10:00 with the Advisory Board. This is some advisory board... about twenty five people huddled in around long tables. All nodding and shaking their heads at the details that I hand out to them, when asked, like I was today. I realized this at 09:39. SHIT. I started off the letter with a great degree of enthusiasm.. "Season's Greetings"... that gave me momentum to start thinking and typing and at breakneck speed. I managed to have it emailed to the Sr's Coordinator at 10:01, so being the polite and responsible person that I sometimes am.. I printed off a copy of the report, and brought it with me to the centre. I then handed it to a person in "the next office", and asked her to drop it off.. because I couldn't do it in person... I would have been made to read it out loud. Can't have that!.... The Senior Advisory Board would have way more questions, than I would have answers... and I had to be someplace, like the date with the photocopying machine!

As the lunch passed people were asking me about whether or not that we would meet again before the holidays started.. I was hoping that the answer would be NO!, but that wasn't going to be the case... we all now have a date back at the Seniors Centre for next week... for an intense game of Majong, and some Christmas tune entertainment from a couple of people that play the piano..the Mr. Hamnsterson himself, and an intriguing person that attends the Sr's Centre, and myself. I have a hell of a lot of practicing to do before next week. The fellow that attends the Centre is a concert pianist, or so it seems. His hands pound out music like water that flows from a tap, it's that beautiful.

I will welcome in Tuesday with open arms, I have no place to be, with no requests for driving someone somewhere from the school, no christmas concert to attend, or additional help in the classroom... although I have the stalker sister that is going to want someone to attend her boys christmas concert... I can feel her brainwaves heading my way....

Speaking of stalking... I have managed over the last week to become quite the stalker, although I haven't had any success at my stalkingness. I keep driving through my friends parking area at her townhouse complex with the same book in the back of the truck. She may be home, but then again I do not recall her being a mole (as in living in the dark). I am teaching the boy the same ways, as he has been with me everytime I am whipping past... today he reminded me to take the turn through the parking lot... but of course again, we are coming home with the same book in tow. Perhaps it's not meant to be! Of course, I could be looking at the wrong house number as well, I have clearly demonstrated over and over again that I do not have a memory. Oh the pressures.

Welcome to Monday

Right now... I have batteries on my counter charging, and my cell phone charging, and a hot cup of tea steeping in front of me, and one person that needs charging. I am going to sneak to the little cupboard and rifle through every single vitamin container I can find, and down them all....

I am thinking that I would like to join up on Survivor. Not for the game itself, but for the makeovers. The winner from last nights episode was downright... Miss America Worthy.... but that is only one tired mothers perception.

Our group is going out for lunch today. I am hoping for smooth sailing. I was asked to watch someones "drinking" while we are out. Hopefully the only drinking I am watching is endless cups of coffee, but who knows... I will bring the trusty digital for any goings on.

Must go and face Monday as it happens....first stop... laundry room.

Spray, puff and sparkle.

We are going out to a christmas "do". I had a hot shower, and I scrubbed my face extra hard so I had lots of colour.. so now everything is cleaned up, sparkly and pink....my face, sweater and painted lips are all kind of a blend of pinks. Except my eyes are not pink, they are blue, and even a bigger hint of blue since I am wearing eye liner. Now I must go and be my Mr. Husbandmans DD... it's his christmas party.

Through the dark and the fog.....

The gingerbread lady rises to make herself a cup of coffee with her unbroken coffee maker. I will drink and be happy at 0615 in the morning.

Envision this....

I have started taking ginger root along with the list of other vitamins that I gulp down the hatch. If I add a little extra flour and sugar, I should be the perfect gingerbread woman by Christmas time. Oh lucky me.

The crazed christmas shopper.

Today while I was out doing some christmas shopping errands I had to laugh at myself. I found this parking spot, just sitting there, vacant.. and it was calling to me. So I tried to get the 15 year old RUSTING around the wheels SUV into this space. My vehicle is not big, and yet it seems to behave like one when I wish to park it. There was ample room for my 15 year old SUV, but of course with a mind of it's own, I managed to hop the curb and the back wheel was insistant on resting upon the little curb. It kind of reminded me of a December 24th 5 P.M. desperate shopping event. Kind of like a skid, go and grab anything you can get your hands at the last second. The difference here was I came out empty handed, and then had to unload my vehicle from the curb.

On a whim...

1. I turned the "broken" coffee maker back on... and it worked. I am ever so happy, except that I do not have any cream for coffee. That doesn't make it the end of the world, but it does make it a little less stimulating.
2. I wonder what Pips reaction is going to be when she comes home to find her paper village packed up. She has monopolized the kitchen table since Sunday, today is Thursday, and her hand crafted paper village seems to have come a crashing halt. On second thought... one more day or two or ten will not kill me to have a whole village residing on my kitchen table.
3. I was hoping for a coupon for AIRMILES from the paper... it didn't happen, now I must go spend money and collect a minute amount of airmiles... that just doesn't work for me.
4. I am thinking of changing my headlight for the truck... but first I have to hunt down a screwdriver or something... and so help me... if I screw it up!
5. Hopefully I will find the inspiration to write out a christmas card or two.

Things are looking a bit drab around these parts.

These were last weeks field trips antics. Little Miss Tentative and Mr. Prankster.

WOW!

Those blogger helper people are fast... I have spent the last number of hours between flashcard drills and piano practicing looking for myself. I finally sent an email to the blogger helper people not too long ago... and PING-a-DING... here I am. I'm back, right where I left myself at 4:00 this morning when I was awake, and cruising around the world looking into other peoples lives, since apparently sleeping wasn't cutting it for me at that moment.

I sent them a little note. I had to embelish upon the fact that my blog was important to people, it made their lives whole. That this blog has a purpose and represented to those that passed by, a peace of mind, or hope and a path to understanding this life that we lead. OK, so I didn't really write that, but I am sure that is what they will be thinking when they read the note that I really did send:

HELP!! I am lost, I can't be found, and I can't go on if can not have my blog.

But surely the sophisticated blogger helper people will read between the lines and interpret the previous line as the above paragraph.. surely they will!

I am just happy that I have my wonderful little island of happiness back to write all my natterings upon. I would also like to thank my 9 other personalities for backing me up when I wrote to the blogger helper people that 10 other people relied on this blog as well to make their day whole.

OH, and for those that know me personally, I did buy a bottle of wine today... but I just never got around to opening it.. in case you have your eyebrows raised at this very moment.

Lost and found

For some reason blogger can not find me. Everytime I look myself up, I am not there, or here, or whereever I am supposed to be. That's OK, because I can not find me. I have been searching for years, and I still haven't caught up, or onto myself. I am sure that my question is no different than those of others: Is today the day that I find myself? I am more curious what my reaction will be once I do find myself... will I find the person that I think I am?

NO sushi for you!

Well, that is if you want it on a Sunday. Apparently there is to be no sushi eaten on a Sunday around these parts. The sushi people are happy sushi makers for six days out of the week, but never on a Sunday. I wonder if that is the day that the sushi people sit, and eat sushi just for themselves. I am perplexed. Although.... I still have a container in the fridge from Saturday nights sushi fest... SSSShhh.. this must remain a secret.

Score one for the memory.

Luckily.... I remembered before the stores were ticking down to closing time that the Pipster had been invited to a birthday party tomorrow. We have a freshly purchased present ready for tomorrow. Yae for me.

Luckily.... the gangster thieves were not out in full force breaking into vehicles last night because I had conveniently left the doors to the newly repaired 15 year old SUV unlocked, and a spare set of keys under the floormat. AND, for the sake of extreme convenience.. I didn't have the club on the steering wheel either. Yae for me.

Luckily.... the husbandman had a day off... so I didn't have to take the chicklets to school, and actually had a real long shower. Besides he really wanted to drive the chicklets to school due to the sheet of ice that was passing for a road this morning. Yae for me.

Luckily....I remembered that the hamsterson had an orthodontist appointment... in the knick of time. Yae for me.

Luckily... I had some treats at home for the Pipster today... as she had an extreme repulsion to her new set of 'swimming lessons' that were going to start. Yae for me.

Luckily.... I met up with a friend at the pool who had a daughter that was just as gregarious as the Pip, and who was able to dress herself after a swimming lesson. I made Pip follow this younger gregarious girl.... and WALA Pip magically dressed herself after her swimming lesson. Big yae for me.

Luckily....Pip loved her swimming teacher... so the next 3 lessons should be a breeze. Yae for me.

Luckily.... I went to Costco with the husbandman, and he pointed out a christmas gift that he would like. I went back later (to get the birthday present purchase) and bought him his christmas present. Yae for me.

Luckily..... I have always pointed out to my two chicklets the beauty that surrounds us, and take a moment to enjoy the simple things in life that nature brings us... and my boy pointed out that very thing to me today... as I was trying to rush him to the orthodontist. Yae for me.

Luckily.... there is a Mr. Neatandtidy that arrives on the weekends while I am away at work. Hopefully he shows his face tomorrow. OH PLEASE.. yae for me.

Luckily.... it is late, and I must go. Yae for me...and yae for you.

Hi! Slam!

I am the friendly door opener lady somedays. Unless of course you have a dog at your side. Which then you are met with a scream and the door slammed in your face, not once, but twice. All because I have a little dog at my side, who is terrified of other dogs. Things could get ugly if our little scaredy catdog met up with another unsuspecting dog dog. Life can be scary at the front door opener ladies house.

Bye, SLAM!

And here we have....

The month of number twelve.

On the very first day of the month we are kicking it off right... with a little white stuff to go with the start of the festive season. But it wont be here for long... so we will take it while we can get it...

LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW!!!