Study Break for Rachel

(Remember Skinhead? *laughs*)


I felt bad for not updating my blog. I really meant to do it last night, but it just didn't happen. So here are some funny cartoons for you to have a laugh on your next study break. *smiles*

Nothing in Particular

I'm getting tired of thinking up titles for my blogs. This stems from my frustration with email subjects. It's the same idea and honestly I'm just not creative enough! Just let me type my thing and don't make me label it!

Okay now that I've got that out of my system, I can move onto the little rant that I was planning to write. As I mentioned on my previous post, I was planning on stopping by Tammy's open house for Mary Kay. I wanted to go around 2:30ish and I had invited a couple people, but only Melody called me back. I couldn't get through to Melody on Saturday, so I had a nap on the couch and ended up actually falling asleep for longer than I thought, so we only left at about 3:30. I got there and it was just me and Tammy and her neighbour, who turned out to be the Mary Kay Regional Director or something for the area. I was thinking of maybe buying something small, but the smallest thing there was a lipgloss for $16.50 and honestly they were kind of gross and felt tacky on my lips. Seriously - $16.50 for lipgloss? I wonder how much it actually costs them to make - there must be like 12 people getting a cut along the way when it's that much! I don't know what's with all these party based companies - Partylite, Tupperware, Avon, Mary Kay, Amway - and Michael tried to recruit me for a new one, Arbonne, on behalf of his co-worker's wife. Apparently this woman makes $4000 per month, drives a mercedes (from the company I think) and is now able to stay home when they have kids. I really don't think I am the type of person to be able to do that. The lady that was there with Tammy said that she was staying home with her kids because her Mary Kay was going so well. I don't know that I would even want to do that if I could. Then it becomes like you're running a business out of your home, and would you have time for your kids? Anyways, I think I'm analyzing this a little too much. Something I did find out though, was that there's a lady in the church that is a Mary Kay rep just to buy stuff for herself and she sells the stuff at half price. I tried a lotion that I really liked, it was $20, but even $10 seems a lot. It wasn't a very large container. Okay, moving on.

I'm not sure if I mentioned this or not, but I have started working out again. I'm quite proud of myself for even starting again and for staying with what my goal was at first. I was just going to do 20 minutes 3 times a week for a month and then move up to 30 minutes, but last night was so much easier than last week, so I just kept going and made it 30 minutes!! I was really happy about that. So I'll stay with 30 minutes 3 times a week for a couple weeks and then move up to 40 minutes. I used to do an hour straight on that thing. After that the floor feels really weird because it's not moving under my feet. The only downside to working out again is that either I eat a small dinner early and then am hungry again after working out or I eat a really late dinner which I'm not sure is very good - you hear all these studies about how it's bad to eat late at night. Although, I'm sure there are studies for everything. If we followed all of them we wouldn't eat anything at any time because it would all be bad for us. Last night it was 9:45 before I sat down with my dinner. Kraft Dinner, mmmm good. I was only going to eat half the box and save the rest for Aidan's dinner on Wednesday, but by then I was so hungry that I polished the whole thing off! Michael had made some burgers and tater tots earlier and they smelled sooo good, but I declined any because I figured it would sort of cancel my workout. I'm not sure how much farther ahead I was with my whole box of kraft dinner, but at least I was full. Lately I've been hungry all the time and that gets annoying real quick. Strangely enough, chocolate seems to help ;) Doesn't it always?

Speaking of eating, I bought these Veggie Breakfast Links on the weekend to try. Fake soy meat. I've tried the veggie burgers and they were okay, but pretty fatty so I didn't buy them again. I made the breakfast links this morning along with some eggs and fresh cut pineapple. It looked like a pretty good breakfast except that the Veggie Breakfast Links were totally disgusting. Aidan liked them which was kind of weird, so I gave him mine.

Last night we got our first bunch of Christmas cards - 3 in total - plus a big box from Nanny and Grandpa. Every time Nanny and Grandpa send a card they write 'tick tick' on it and then I tickle Aidan and he giggles. There were 3 presents in the box for Aidan. Again, he was quite matter of fact about it, as if it was quite normal that there should be not one, but three presents in there and all for him. Fortunately he didn't ask to open them right away so we avoided that meltdown. We also got cards from my aunt and uncle in Abbotsford along with a family picture that Aidan found most fascinating, and from Michael's aunt and uncle in Nanaimo. It was nice to get a pile of mail and none of it bills! I still have a few cards to get out as well as our own package to Michael's family. Aidan's pictures are back this Saturday so I'm waiting until then so that I can save that tiny bit of postage.

I think it's official - driving makes me grumpy. Among my latest pet peeves are:
Do we need to use our high beams in the city or even on back roads in city limits? Can't we save them for those long empty stretches of dark highway with no one in sight?
Why are there so many freakin gigantic trucks in Grande Prairie?

And a classic:
Just because it's winter and there's lots of snow and ice on the road doesn't mean that we can all act like idiots on the road!

Lately I've been taking the back roads to Darlene's house and I haven't really been finding them any quicker. These are the same roads that I had my first and only incident. I was going 90 on a gravel road in summer and did a 180 and landed in the ditch so ever since then I've been terrified of gravel roads - not to mention gravel roads covered in snow and ice in the dark with trucks breathing down your neck because you're not going any faster. The upside of driving these roads in winter is that the deep ditches are filled with snow, so I might just ping off them if I got too close to the edge instead of plopping into them.

This morning I went through town and changed lanes to get in the lane I thought was moving faster, missed my turnoff onto the bypass and was wandering down the main drag with no idea where to go next. I found a meandering long cut and made it back onto the bypass but that was kind of embarassing.

Okay I think that's all for now. I'm taking Aidan out for 'libs' tonight so I'll post about that and all the other cute things he says and does tomorrow.

The Benefits of Repeatedly Getting Stuck in the Snow

This morning I woke up and I was trying to answer my alarm. To be fair, I use my cell phone as an alarm clock (saves me having to either lunge over Michael to reach it or leap out of bed and run across the room to turn it off) and the alarm does kind of sound like a phone ringing. I was kind of still half asleep while I was saying 'hello? hello?' and since the noise wasn't stopping, I was going to say it louder and then I woke up enough to figure out that it was my alarm and not the phone. The weirdest part was that I had already hit the snooze button at least once. I'm glad it's a Friday today because a sleep-in day is just what I need. Maybe I can coax Aidan to sleep in tomorrow, that would be great.

So this past weekend I got stuck 3 times in my own driveway and on Wednesday I took it one step further, by getting stuck all the way across town. This snow is really ticking me off. Actually, the lack of snow removal is what's REALLY ticking me off. I was picking Aidan up and I was trying to pull into a driveway to turn around, but I didn't go far enough and just stopped in the deep stuff and got myself stuck. Michael was really annoyed, especially since he had to drive across town to see if he could push me out. This being only 2 days after I got stuck in the driveway and he had to get up super early to push me out. It's a little funny to me, maybe it shouldn't be. Anyways, as we're standing there wondering what we should do because I had gotten myself pretty far down, he says 'The next vehicle we get you is going to be a 4x4'. This coming from a guy who absolutely flat out refused to even consider getting a Honda CRV or Jeep Liberty or other small jeep like vehicle because they are mini SUV's and suck up gas. Ha! Maybe I should just keep getting stuck in the snow anytime I want something and see how it works. So now I'm busy thinking up what kind of vehicle I want. I'm thinking maybe a Jeep Cherokee. I could get one that's about 5 years old and it would still be nice...I don't want something too big. A Toyota 4Runner might be too big, but lots of room inside. That could be a compromise between a van and a jeep-like-thing. Why is it that the guy always wants the van but it's the woman who has to drive it? I have told Michael that there is no way we are getting a van. But what about a truck? Michael hates trucks, so if I get a truck he might just never drive it, that would be cool. He loves the Sebring and drives it whenever he can which is kind of annoying, though I try to be understanding. But then I'd have to get an extended cab for Aidan and I don't think I really have a need for a truck. If I got one, I would fit in with everyone else up here.

Anyways, enough about vehicles. We probably won't get another one for quite awhile so for now I just have to keep charging through the snow in my Sebring. Usually if I just kind of aim and press the gas down I can get through it. I've heard that they are supposed to be clearing the residential streets - they haven't thus far - and that would be very wonderful. It's just stupid that they haven't yet.

Last night I went out with Tammy to Baron's Christmas Party. They're one of our suppliers and since we both didn't go to the ATI Christmas party we figured we'd go to this one together. It was alright, really smoky which was weird. I guess since it's privately owned they can allow smoking but I'm not used to being around smokers so that was gross. They had a ton of food and like 3 big cakes - it was their 20th anniversary this year. We mostly just sat and looked at people and made fun of them. There was Strange Drunk Man which was a source of great amusement - I still don't get the drunk thing. Why would you want to go out and act stupid? Clearly I'm the minority on that issue though. We left a little before 10 so I could get home to the babysitter on time so it wasn't a late night which was good.

This weekend looks like it's shaping up to be busy. The house is a disaster as usual, Tammy is having an open house for Mary Kay on Saturday, Michael's work has a kids party on Sunday and we're going over to Bev's at some point to check out her tree. Plus I've got to do a little grocery shopping and Christmas shopping for Michael's family. Yesterday we received a big package in the mail from Michael's sister Amber and her boyfriend Jordan. There was a present for each of us in there - Aidan was impressed that his was the biggest (this seemed to be something that he expected) but upset that he couldn't open it right away. I'm going to have to wrap his other presents and put them under the tree so these presents aren't lonely. He's getting a present at the party on Sunday so hopefully that will tide him over for awhile. Michael said there was a sign up sheet at work and you write your kids name, their age and what you want for them and then his work would go out and buy it for you. He called me and asked me what I wanted his work to buy Aidan for Christmas and I thought he was joking, I'd never heard of anything like that before. I said a transformer or Hot Wheels cars but then Michael went back and changed it to a Go Diego Go Rescue Center. I think it might be a Diego lego or duplo set and I'm not sure if he'll get exactly what was written down, but I was told Santa would be there so I think whatever he gets will be pretty cool. Aidan's been learning all about Santa at his new dayhome. Since we don't really do the Santa thing, I was going to tell him that Santa wasn't real but Michael said I couldn't because then Aidan would tell the other kids. He's probably right...I'll wait until he's a little older. I don't really want him to get into the whole Santa thing - kids aren't dumb, can't they tell each Santa looks different? Maybe I'll just let him watch Miracle on 34th Street when he's a couple years older and break it to him gently.

Aidan words that crack me up:
Hub-lay - Subway "Look Mommy! I see Hub-lay!"
Hanta - Santa
Pessto - Presto
Take - Steak We went to subway yesterday and he was very upset with me because I wouldn't get him a steak sub

I'm sure there's more, I just can't think of any. He came up with hub-lay yesterday, so the whole list was mainly just for that.

Peppermint Mocha

I completely forgot to mention that I had a peppermint mocha this past weekend. This event was just so important that I had to start a new post just to inform everyone :) It was pretty good - actually I should say it was excellent, especially considering how totally disgusting a regular mocha is. I asked for sugar free and they said they couldn't do sugar free so I had to go with half sugar which is weird because I thought they had sugar free syrup there, but whatever. Aidan and I swapped sips (he was having a kids apple juice) and then he decided that we were going to share my drink, so he drank about half of it. I should really figure out if it's true that coffee is bad for kids because Aidan probably drinks too much already.

I guess the cleaner here is leaving, so Al asked me if I wanted the job of cleaning the offices. I said no, but what I really wanted to say was 'Seriously? What on earth makes you think I would want to do that???' Does he think that just because I'm a girl that automatically means that I like to clean? I hate cleaning so much! I like having a clean house but as for getting it clean...not a big fan of that. I thought it was funny that he would even ask me that. Then I mentioned it to Tammy and she said that they already had someone lined up so that makes it even more weird. I guess he's got a lot on his mind...

Today I have a doctor's appointment to make sure my stomach is healing properly. I was pretty much back to normal after 2 weeks (whether because it was a really small procedure and I healed quickly or because I forced it to heal quickly I'm not sure) but I guess it's good to be sure. The exciting thing about today is that I'm finally allowed to have a bath! The other exciting thing is that once I'm given the 'all clear everything looks good' is that I can start on my treadmill again. It is high time I get back on that thing and lose some more weight!! Especially given my eating patterns as of late. It's almost like I'm trying to eat everything that's bad for me and I can't stop! Hopefully I'll start to feel a little more motivated once I start treadmilling more regularly.

Christmasy Weekend

I really honestly meant to post over the weekend, but on Friday I made a list of everything that needed to be done, and it was a pretty ambitious list...so I did my best to try and complete it. Unfortunately posting on my blog was not on the list. Among other things I cleaned the living room desk and filed away all the old bills and stuff, set up the Christmas tree with Aidan, made a cheesecake and actually cleaned the bathroom. Some of you know how much I hate cleaning the bathroom. Growing up it seemed like every weekend I had to clean the bathroom. I was very happy to leave for college because, among other things, I finally got to quit my paper route and I got to quit cleaning the bathroom at home! Imagine my disappointment when I found out my student work (everyone had 'chores' to keep tuition down) was cleaning the bathroom in the chapel! So not cool. Then I get married and discover that Michael hates cleaning the bathroom as much as I do. So I'm just biding my time until Aidan is old enough and I can make him do it. In the meantime though, I'm stuck with it. Michael and I have very different definitions of cleanliness in regards to the house, but he's getting a little better.

Friday night was my work's Christmas Party and I had taken care of booking a room with dinner and entertainment at the Great Northern Casino. In the end I couldn't get a babysitter and Tammy decided not to go, so I didn't go either. I wasn't really all that crazy about going in the first place because I was sort of getting the feeling that the whole point would be to get drunk and I've never really understood that. And since I'm still on the graduated licencing program and would have a babysitter I would have to drive home, I wasn't going to drink, which made the idea of being sober while watching a bunch of people get drunk and act dumb even less appealing. So I wasn't all that sad about missing it.

Instead I decided to take Aidan out for a pita and then catch a movie and have a fun evening with him. Initially he wasn't all that excited, but I made him watch the trailers from Happy Feet (which are hilarious, by the way) and then he wanted to go see it. The movie was very cute, but it was 2 hours long and I hadn't realized that. We got home and Aidan in bed by 9 which was a lot later than I wanted. Aidan asked to sleep in my bed and I told him he could if Michael was away working. It benefits both of us because usually I can persuade him to sleep in until about 8 and he thinks it's a special privelege.

Saturday was a very Christmasy day. It was snowing lightly but steadily all day and I had Christmas music playing all day, it was really nice. I got the house all cleaned up and then Aidan and I set up the Christmas tree and some other decorations. Aidan wanted to help set up the tree, but I let him unpack the Christmas boxes instead. When I was working at Don Golden, Debbie had 2 sets of Christmas nesting boxes that she set up under the tree at work. When Christmas was over, she let Aimee and me each take a set. I really like them.

He did a really good job all by himself

And when he was done he had a tower taller than him!

After his nap we went out grocery shopping and Aidan went as Winnie the Pooh in his little halloween suit. It was actually almost too hot for him - maybe I should dress him up in that when he goes out to play in the snow instead of his snowsuit!

For some reason the church hasn't been getting the parking lot cleared properly. I came home one day last week and it looked like the lot had been cleared because there was more snow up on the sides than usual, but the ground wasn't smooth and there was still a lot more snow than I thought should be there if it had been cleared, so I didn't know what had happened. Well Sunday evening I finally figured out what they've been using - a quad with a little blade attached to the front! Last year they had a big front end loader and this year they're using a quad?? The parking lot is really bumpy and hard to drive through, especially with a car. I got stuck twice yesterday and once this morning - all three times in my driveway.

Well, time to get something else done - hope everyone had a great Monday!

Yay!

It worked! I'm so smart.

(feel free to agree *smiles*)

Yay for Fridays!

This morning I got to work and checked my email and Rachel had sent me this hilarious little video. I am attempting to post it on my blog, and since I've never done that before, I really hope it works.

Photo Sharing - Upload Video - Video Sharing - Share Photos

BC people and snow....