Category Archives: Blablabla

Oh hey, look at that, it's Saturday!

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Last night I nearly made a terrible mistake. As I got into bed, by reflex I reached over to my alarm clock and I turned it on. Luckily I realized what I had done before my head actually made it to the pillow because I would have been beyond ticked off if it had one off at 5:40 am on a Saturday.

To make up for my busy week I slept in a bit (though not really since the kids decided to play directly across the hall – they were playing well and not fighting but they were pretty loud), and then when George brought me a cup of coffee I curled up and read some of my book (I’m reading The Hollow \)while I drank it.

Other than that I cleaned up a bit and made pork tenderloin for supper, and not much more than that. It was so nice to have a relaxing quiet day.

Hope yours was great too!

Portrait of a Friday

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This morning my alarm went off at 5:40 am and I dragged myself out of bed a few minutes later. I had only gone to bed at 11 pm but I fell asleep within five minutes and slept all night so I felt more or less okay as I got up, dressed, and forced bits of plastic lenses into my eyes. Hayley got up at 6, I took the dog down to pee, and then Hayley and I were off to breakfast club.

It was my first time volunteering for the breakfast club and let me just say right now that although I am not – and likely never will be – a morning person, it felt so good to be there. I loved setting it all up, serving breakfast to the kids, and getting it all cleaned up. Although my own kid goes just because she likes to (and would get a good, healthy breakfast even if the club didn’t exist) there are some kids who really truly need something like this, a government program that provides them with food so that they can go about their day.

All my life I wanted to do something to help people and I never did. I wanted to go to third world countries to build schools and hand out food with the Red Cross or the UNHCR or UNICEF and instead I followed a path that took me away from all of that. More than once I’ve wondered what it would be like to make a difference like that. It’s not a third world country, but knowing that I was helping the quiet kids who don’t get breakfast at home for whatever reason made me feel like I finally stepped up and did what I’ve always wanted to do.

I hate to sound like I’m preaching but honestly, if you have the time and opportunity to volunteer somewhere, I seriously urge you to try it.

(After breakfast club I attended the holiday concert, helped one of the teacher’s aides (a woman that I adore), handed out pizza at lunch since it was pizza day, and delivered bread from our PPO bread drive. I arrived at the school at 6:30 am and left at 2:30. I am exhausted and am unwinding with a glass of Fuzion Alta red wine (delicious and smooth), a bag of chips, and some Criminal Minds re-runs on A&E. Beyond cleaning and purging pre-Christmas explosion around the apartment my main weekend plans involve a bit of sleeping in. Happy Friday!)

In my typical way…

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I have not bought a single Christmas present yet. Nope. Not one. Not even for the kids. What? Why yes, yes I *am* aware that Christmas is next week. Thanks for the reminder though.

Really, I couldn’t have done it much sooner since I had to wait for funds and whatnot. Pesky money! And it sucks because a) my gifts to my sister and Neal won’t get there before the new year, which is really disappointing, and b) I’ll be stuck going to stores with all of the last-minute crazy people.

By crazy people I mean the people who shop in the last few days before the big day with absolutely no clue what they want to buy. I have a game plan, I’ve got each item listed on a piece of paper with the price and the store location. If they happen to be out of said item, I also have back-up ideas just in case. I may be shopping in the last days leading up to Christmas but at least I know what I want.

I’ve seen people frantically grabbing at anything they can reach, shoving it towards their husband/wife/whatever and asking, “what about this? Will they like THIS?!” Their eyes are usually bulging and their voices lift up in a higher pitch the longer they talk. When I worked at Hallmark one holiday season I remember a man trying to convince his brother that it was okay to buy a Catholic rosary for his Jewish wife for Hanukkah because it was pretty. Um, yeah okay.

I just need to wait until next week because there’s no way in hell I’m stepping foot inside any major stores the weekend before Christmas, and then George and I will set out and do our best to conquer. I really do hope that one year I’ll manage to be all done with my shopping before the middle of the month, but clearly this was not the year for that. Again.

Then again, hey, it’s fun to live on the edge right? Right?

Hmm. Well, wish me luck and next week if I survive I will let you know how it went!

I should go to bed now and sleep all through Thursday

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After attending tonight’s PPO meeting I realized that Friday is going to be one busy day. I think I’m doing my first stint at Breakfast Club and if that’s the case I need to be there by 6:30 am. Also known as StillDark O’Clock.

After that, I’ll be sticking around to see the school’s holiday concert which should be cute and fun. Then I’ll have about an hour to kill but I’ll just stick around with the other PPO folks who will likely be there, and that’s nice because I’ve been enjoying getting to know them better. After that hour I’ll be in the cafeteria handing out pizza for lunch since it’s also Pizza Day (they do it once a month).

And THEN I’ll be sticking around for the rest of the afternoon because it’s also the day that the bread is delivered for the bread drive that we organized. I figured I’ll stay and help hand that out, as well as the prizes to the five kids who sold the most bread to raise funds for the school.

After that, I think I’ll get to come home since it’s the end of the day. And that’s when I will face plant on the bed and pass out.

It sounds crazy, I know. And seriously, I was at the school all morning on Friday, all morning on Monday, and all morning on Tuesday. Then I was back there tonight for the meeting (but made it home in time for “Criminal Minds”, yay!), and will be there all day on Friday. I know it’s a lot.

But the thing is, I’m really enjoying it. I love being so involved in the school now, especially after putting it off for two years because of my own issues. I love getting to know some of the kids, and not just the ones in my own kid’s class. And I really have been having fun getting to know some of the other moms. They’re all really nice and do so much to make the school a nice place for the kids and I’m glad to be a part of it this year.

However, I can guarantee I will have one HELL of a good sleep on Friday night.

Is it only Tuesday? Really??

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Today I thought it was Thursday. Considering it’s only Tuesday, that’s pretty bad. Being off by one day is annoying enough, being off by two sucks. On the other hand I still have Christmas shopping to do so it’s good to keep from rushing forward too much, right?

(Christmas shopping. Ugh. The easiest way to suck out all my holiday cheer and joy is to set me loose in a store with other Christmas shoppers. One year everyone’s getting gift cards and hand-drawn cards, I swear.)

I was up at the school bright and early to help out with the used toy sale. I brought Breanna in with me and I was worried that she might get bored or have some sort of meltdown and I’d have to leave early. She ended up being perfectly behaved and had so much fun that she didn’t want to leave at lunch time.

While I was there I bought her a huge (HUGE) tub of MegaBloks because she loves those, and I also got her a book of Princess paper dolls and a Caillou storytelling game. She was really happy to bring them home, and with the 50 cents I had leftover she picked out a little bus and a Sleeping Beauty figurine (no surprise there, it’s her favorite Disney princess).

Hayely was ecstatic to see me (and my money) when she came in for her classroom’s turn to browse around. She scored big and with only five bucks she bought a little Barbie house, a Barbie horse, a stuffed turtle, a rubber frog (no, I have no idea), a necklace that glows, and a hair tie that looks like a poodle. Lucky girl!

It was so busy and so much fun to help kids find toys they’d like that the time flew by and I couldn’t believe it when the bell rang for lunch. I thought I was only halfway through my shift. It was a pretty good way to spend the morning.

Meanwhile Breanna drew a ton of pictures, played with some of the toys (then put them back on the tables), talked to the other kids, and felt like a big girl having her snack at recess. She would have stayed the whole day but she was more tired than she realized.

Somehow I managed to eat some lunch, do all my work, make supper, and then get the kids out for a 45-minute walk around the neighborhood to look at all the Christmas lights.

Breanna fell asleep like she was knocked unconscious when I put her to bed. Hayley is still up because that’s just the way she is, but at least she’s reading quietly in bed.

As for me, I’m having my tea an hour early so I can go to bed and pass out too.

Just some random passing thoughts

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I am tired. Really, really tired. I’ve gotten so used to being at home that when I change up my routine it apparently slays me. This morning I was up early and went to Hayley’s school to help set up the PPO’s used toy sale. We collect used toys that are still in good shape and have all their pieces, price them between 25 cents and three bucks, and set them up on tables. Then kids get to come and purchase some toys for themselves or as gifts for siblings and the money raised goes into the PPO which is then used for more fun activities at the school; anything left over from the sale is donated to a local charity.

The sale is tomorrow so I spent a few hours with two other moms and a few great grade six kids getting it all ready. I’m wiped out and I even went to bed a little before 11 last night, having an excellent sleep. It’s almost pathetic how easily a new routine wears me out. I can’t wait to see how exhausted I am tomorrow since I’m going back to help out at the actual sale until lunchtime. I should be comatose this time tomorrow.

So instead of a highly entertaining entry, here are some random thoughts for you.

  • If it wasn’t Christmas and I didn’t need to do things like, you know, shop for OTHER people I would love to use a wee bit of money to get myself this book. I’ve been reading Kate’s blog for ages and so I know that she’s a ridiculously gifted storyteller, the kind that I wish I could be, so I can only imagine how amazing her pirate book must be. Hopefully they won’t all sell out before I can finally get a copy for myself!
  • Did I mention I have a new blogging job? I honestly can’t remember. I am too tired to go check. Anyway, if I didn’t, yes! I am blogging somewhere new now. Apparently all my obsessive behaviour about American Idol is finally paying off. My good friend decided to step down because she’s pursuing a different career path and I was lucky enough to be able to take the helm at Idol Stalker. I was already looking forward to next season, now I’m practically doing backflips over it.
  • We’ve been keeping up with the advent calendar activities. We’ve done such things as making hot chocolate with plenty of marshmallows (the 9th), seeing the Olympic torch (the 10th), family Christmas movie night (the 11th, which ended up being bumped in favor of family visit night), spending the day and evening with their aunt and grandparents (the 12th), and watching “the funny show” which is what Breanna calls “America’s Funniest Home Videos” (the 13th). Sounds weird, that last one, but we caught it a couple of weeks ago and the kids laughed so hard that I thought it would be a fun one to end the weekend.
  • Today’s activity was to watch the movie that we missed on Friday; we recorded the new Muppet Christmas special “Letters to Santa” and it was so cute. I love the Muppets!

That’s about all my sleepy brain can handle. So let me ask you a question – who’s your favorite Muppet? I have trouble picking one. I love Animal because he’s crazy, Beaker because he’s adorable, and the grumpy old guys in the balcony because they always make me laugh. If I was hard-pressed to choose though, I’d probably go with Kermit. What can I say? It’s not easy being green but Kermit never fails to make me smile.

A Winter day in pictures

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On Friday when Hayley got home from school both kids wanted to go outside. It was blowing snow like nobody’s business out there but I did what a mom has to do and bundled them – and myself – up as much as possible and ventured out. We only lasted about half an hour because the wind was brutal, dropping the temps down to -16 C (3F). Also, I need new boots because the ones I have are great for grip when it’s icy out but they only come above the ankles so when I’m in deep snow it all packs in there and my feet freeze.

Canada is fun in the winter, yes indeed!

Still, the kids had fun and I had fun watching them make snow angels and try to slide down the wee hill on the complex (next time we’ll take their sleds). And when I came back inside and got the dog, she had fun out in the snow too. Now that she’s over her, “wait, I don’t remember what this cold white stuff is” shock she goes completely crazy the second I open the door and take her out.

I’m trying not to count down to spring. Luckily the weekend saw an end to the wind so it’s not quite so bad.

Some photos from Friday:

Snow sisters

Snow dunes

Angel

Brrr

Snow bunny

I’d still rather be on a hot, sunny beach while I cool my feet in the Atlantic. How many more days until our next summer visit to Halifax?

One tired Friday

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Have you ever just instantly felt completely exhausted? It’s not quite like the hit-by-a-truck sensation of the flu. The abrupt tired feeling I had was more like that sudden shift between enjoying a drink and realizing you shouldn’t have had that last one. I was fine today, albeit a bit tired, and then all of a sudden it was all I could do to move.

It’s probably related to the fact that I got up and went into the school for 7:30 this morning to have a meeting with the regional coordinator for the Breakfast Club. Although the club was finally able to start up they still sort of need more volunteers and I’m happy to help out once a week. I met with her and will probably get started next week, otherwise it will be the first week after Christmas break.

After that wrapped up I went upstairs and helped three other moms on the PPO because it was the day for counting up the money for the once-a-month pizza day. They were also counting up the money for the recent bread drive that they did (I can’t wait to get ours, the bread was so good last year). When two of the moms left, I went with the other one to the storage room to pick out some prizes to give to the top fundraisers, it will be fun to hand those out to the kids.

I didn’t get home until lunch time and FINALLY got a cup of coffee which was much-needed judging by the pounding in my head – ah, caffeine withdrawal, you are a massive bitch.

I got a few things for work done and then crazily took the kids out to play in the snow after Hayley got home. It was insane because although the base temperature was perfect, there was so much wind that it felt much colder, plus snow kept blowing in our faces. All we could handle was about 30 minutes.

I managed to go right back out with the dog and as soon as I could we came back in. Somehow I got the kitchen cleaned up and made supper, then cleaned up again since George’s sister and dad were coming over to visit.

By that point I was Done with a capital D. DONE. I went into the girls’ room to get Breanna’s pajamas and I ended up sitting on Hayley’s bed for a few minutes just because I couldn’t get back up. Had I gone to bed right then I would have slept like the dead.

Of course I didn’t and then caught a second wind so George and I watched two re-runs of Criminal Minds, but I can feel the sleepiness setting in slowly. I think I’d better get to bed before I experience a third wind. Bed sounds like a better idea.

Canadian pride

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Normally I’m a quasi-Olympics fan. I like to watch them but won’t go out of my way to do it. I keep track of how Canada is doing, and if there are athletes competing that I particularly like then I check up on how they’re doing as well.

However, with the 2010 Winter Olympics being held in my own country (albeit at the complete opposite end!), there’s a certain level of excitement that I can’t ignore and I’m really looking forward to watching – and hoping that we don’t end up an embarrassed nation. There’s nothing more sad than the host country doing poorly!

In particular I enjoy watching the aerial skiing, alpine skiing, luge, and figure skating. Hockey is always fun too and seriously, Canada should totally win at that one so here’s hoping.

Today the Olympic Torch was coming to an area that allowed me to go and see it. I didn’t follow the torch route (though I might have for part of it if the kids were older) but the four of us went together to the end of the relay route to wait for its arrival. Yes, we kept Hayley out of school; I felt like it was a historic event that was really important for her to see and we wanted to see it as a family.

It was REALLY cold. It wasn’t technically that bad, but with the wind it was nuts, especially just standing around. Luckily the kids were well bundled up.

Breanna tries to figure this out

All smiles

They also had a stage set up with some entertainment, including these guys who played drums and got the crowd all hyped up.

Hyped up

Drummer

And then finally, after a lot of shivering, and after Hayley got to the point where she was just really cold, the Olympic Torch showed up. With it came a huge surprise for me. I had looked up the path and the destination and the schedule for the torch but I never looked to see who was going to be carrying it. It was mostly because I had figured it would be a local person I had never heard of. I was so excited when I found out it was being brought in by Josee Chouinard who is one of my favorite Canadian athletes.

Lighting the flame

Olympic flame

I wish I could have gotten closer to take a picture without all the chains and stuff, but it was really packed. Still, it was really exciting to see the torch and to see her. I shouldn’t have been surprised since I tend to cry at the drop of a hat, but I was actually a bit unprepared for how emotional the whole thing was. It was so amazing to be there and I’m glad we got to go.

Next on my list of things I want to do to show my support – I desperately want the official red Olympic torch bearer mitts!

I know that today was probably not quite as exciting for Hayley (Breanna didn’t care, she was just happily playing in the snow the whole time) because of her age, but I think she’ll be happy to look back on it when she gets older and knows that she got to take part in a historical Canadian event.

I guess we were due by now

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Our November was amazing by Eastern Canadian terms. The temperatures weren’t unbearable and we didn’t even get any snow (at least not any that stuck to the ground) until the very last day.

So I guess that we were finally due to get a big kick-your-ass blizzard. Which we did. The big disappointment was that while we were all hoping for a snow day (hello, sleeping in!) the snow didn’t actually start until almost 8 am so they remained open.

The thing is, although it got a late start, it didn’t stop all day. In fact, just over 12 hours later, it’s still coming down and hard. These two photos were taken about four hours apart. The first one was about two hours into the snowfall (the table had been bare prior to today) and the second one was four hours after that. Which was about four hours ago from this very moment that I’m typing at 8 pm.

Snow Watch

Snow Watch continues

(It’s higher now and the wind has blown up so high against the sliding doors that I can no longer see out unless I stand up.)

The worst part is the wind. Just plain old snow wouldn’t be the end of the world but the wind is blowing it every which way. In these photos of the streets, that’s not blur or overexposure or what have you, that’s snow being blasted straight across the street. Yep.

Rough going

Of course it wasn’t enough to stop me at 7:30 tonight when I realized that a) I desperately wanted chips and b) we had exactly zero chips anywhere. My salt addiction is such that, after about four days without any, I had to have some tonight and so I bundled up, leashed Pearl, and walked to the store. In a blizzard. Out on the street because we have no sidewalks right now. And I did it willingly.

That’s dedication.

Here’s hoping that it stops sometime overnight but the forecast says otherwise. Ah well. It IS December and this IS Eastern Canada. At least we’re faring better than the prairies at -30C and worse. See? It really can always be worse (stay warm if that’s where you are right now!).

How’s your weather right now?