From Swistle:

Eggnog or hot chocolate? Neither. Not a fan of hot drinks.

Does Santa wrap the presents or leave them open under the tree? I usually pick a couple of gifts that are a big deal to be from Santa and wrap them in separate Santa paper that nothing else gets wrapped in. The rest are from me and the hubby because I refuse to give all the credit for fantastic gift selections to a fictional person.

Colored lights on a tree or white? I like white lights – but they have to be the soft white, which is why I haven’t purchased LEDs. I’m not convinced that even the soft white lights will be as nice as regular bulbs and the cold white lights make me want to poke my eyes out.

Do you hang mistletoe? No. Do people actually do that? Not sure I’ve ever seen someone actually hang mistletoe and expect people to kiss random people. I don’t plan to be smooching on anyone except my family members during H1N1 season!

When do you put your decorations up? The very end of November or early December. If the hubby whines that it’s too early for Christmas decorations when I pull the boxes out then I’m pretty much right on time.

What is your favorite holiday dish? Stuffing and mashed potatoes with gravy. Which is weird because I never really like stuffing until I was pregnant with my second baby and it became a pregnancy craving. Now I really enjoy it at Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? No. We are mean parents and make everyone wait for Christmas morning. Although the kids each get a new pair of pajamas on Christmas Eve night to wear that night. Mostly so they will look cute in the pictures on Christmas morning and not wearing ratty mismatched pajamas.

How do you decorate your Christmas tree? When I first had a home of my own I was determined to have a “theme” on my Christmas tree. I thought that was super classy. So I bought a set of wooden angels with phrases on them like “peace on earth” and “joy to the world” as well as some copper coloured metal ornaments in a variety of shapes (star, stocking etc.).  And lo, it was a theme.  But it turns out I really didn’t have enough to decorate a whole tree with those ornaments. And I had a collection of old ornaments, given to me throughout my childhood, that I took with me when I left home and I felt those deserved a place on my tree. So they were added even though they didn’t fit with my theme. And then it turned out that my carefully chosen angel ornaments soon showed themselves to be of the “country kitchen” decorating style which really isn’t my style, and yet I find them hard to part with. But I slowly began to fill up with other ornaments that I received as gifts or purchased here and there. I decided my new theme would simply be “angels” in general. Because I like angels and there are so many pretty angel ornaments out there. And then I had kids. And the kids are quickly collecting ornaments of their own and only a few of them fit with my theme. So finally I admitted defeat and accepted that I will have a mismash of new and old and totally random decorations on my tree and that is ok because each of them is special to me and make me feel happy and that is what the tree should be. It also gives me permission to purchase any pretty decorations I happen to find on post-Christmas sales! Oh, and despite my angel fixation, I like to have a star on top of my tree.

Snow: love it or hate it? I’ll admit it looks pretty when it’s fresh and powdery. But I’d have no problem accepting a snowless Christmas. I hate the cold.

Can you ice skate? I used to be able to skate. It’s been a lot of years since I last did it.

What is your favorite holiday dessert? Butter tarts. I know most Americans don’t know what these are. It’s basically a raisin tart which doesn’t sound at all appetizing. But it’s got lots of brown sugary syrupy goodness in there and if you’ve never had them you are absolutely missing out. Merry Christmas.

What is your favorite holiday tradition? I love advent traditions. I’m still chasing after the perfect advent calendar. I made one this year that I am only moderately happy with. The kids enjoyed it. We also tried wrapping our Christmas books and opening one each night to read, a la Amazing Trips which was a really nice idea and I think we will continue to do that in the future. Also, Christmas Eve, when we go to a candlelight church service early in the evening and then come home to sit in low lighting with candles lit and Christmas music playing and eat all kinds of yummy treats until our stomachs hurt.

Candy canes: yum or yuck? Not a fan.

Favorite Christmas show? White Christmas.

And it’s now just 20 minutes until December 26 so I am just squeaking this in as a Christmas post. Wishing you and yours a peaceful holiday and contentment in the New Year.

Tune in tomorrow to hear how the hubby nearly single-handedly spoiled our daughter’s Christmas morning but saved the day and then rocked my world with what could be the world’s most awesome Christmas present.

Christmas, narcissism | 2 Comments »

Amanda at Shamelessly Sassy posted her personal life rules not too long ago and I thought it was a great idea. Composing the list turned out to be an Lose Weight Exercise in brevity as I am such a rule-person that I could compose an encyclopedia of my own life rules. Here are the ones that came to mind first:

1. There is almost no excuse for bad manners – except if someone is in immediate danger. (Not to say I’ve never behaved poorly, of course!)

2. Cross at the crosswalk, when the pedestrian light is illuminated. They’re there for a reason. If you choose not to do so, DO NOT amble across the street expecting traffic to stop for you, or worse, make rude gestures at a driver who honks at you (not someone did this to me recently – ahem.). You are the one disobeying traffic laws.

3. Coffe breaks with good friends and family are the best way to brighten a day.

4. Hugs make things better. If you are a hugger. Not everyone is. But if you are, they’re awesome.

5. Pick up your own garbage. Littering is a terrible habit. Added on to that, clear your own table at fast food restaurants. Yes, employees are paid to clean up in the dining area but it’s not their job to put your nasty half-eaten french fries in the garbage can.

6. Telling your loved ones that you are proud of them is one of the most important things you can do for them. Don’t miss opportunities to do so.

7. Learn to give compliments.

8. Learn to accept compliments. (Hint: You say “thank you”.)

9. Learn your family and close friends’ love languages and practice communicating your love to them in ways they will understand and appreciate.

10. DO NOT talk with your mouth full!!!

11. Some people will always hear what they want to hear or continue in patterns they are comfortable in, even destructive ones.  As frustrating as it is, resist the urge to try to change them. People only change when they are ready to do so.

12. Speaking clearly and  concisely is a good skill to learn.

13. Don’t give unsolicited advice.

14. Avoid relationships with people who are too needy.  Emotional neediness is a black hole that will never be filled. (Of course this is totally different from friends who are going through a particularly rough time or going through a bad time yourself. We all need people to help us at times. I’m talking about those who completely rely on other people to boost their self esteem or hold their hand through the simple ups and downs of daily life.)

15, Avoid one-way friendships (courtesy of Shamelessly Sassy).

16. Beating yourself up for past failures is a waste of time.

17. Hate is a strong word. Use it sparingly.

18. Laugh at yourself a lot. At others infrequently. With others, as much as possible.

19. When people are counting on you, don’t let them down.

20. Visit your deceased relatives at a graveyard at least once a year if possible. Bring flowers. Wash the grave marker. Remember.

21. There are two sides to every story. Try to see things from another perspective as often as possible. It’s a good Lose Weight Exercise, even if you strongly disagree with someone.

22. Religious literacy is important, even if you hold no religious convictions. Educate yourself.

23. Respect for people is one of the most important qualities you need to get along with people in life. Learn it and practice it!

24. Rules are mostly good. The fact that a rule exists is not an intrinsic challenge to your way of life (ahem, the hubby). Yes, sometimes rules need to be broken and sometimes it is basically harmless to bend rules here and there, but breaking them just for fun or spite is pointless and sometimes harmful.

Yes. I am a total rule-worshipper. It’s obvious to me now. Slave to convention or tradition or authority or whatever you want to call it. Sue me.

narcissism | 1 Comment »

I’m not the first on the internets to do this meme and I won’t be the last. Let’s call it some mindless Friday fun…

 

What are your middle names?

Tracy and Edward. Nothing dramatic. 

How long have you been together?

We started dating early in 1999. Engaged by New Year’s Eve 1999 and married August 2000.  So I guess that makes just over ten years together. Wow.

How long did you know each other before you started dating?

We met in September of 1998. So I guess I’d say about 6 months, maybe less. The official start of our romantic relationship is a bit blurry. 

Who asked whom out?

See above. The transition from friendship to romance was kind of hard to pinpoint. It was more like we realized we actually were dating (with a small push from a friend) and we just continued on from there.

How old are each of you?

I’m 28 and he’s 30. And I am kind of a pain in the ass about reminding him of that fact. Heh.

Whose siblings do you see the most?

Typically mine as we’ve lived closer to them. But in the past two years pretty much neither as we have been far from all of our collective siblings.

Which situation is hardest on you as a couple?

I’m going to go out on a limb and say we argue about the same things that most couples argue about. But as to what is hardest, I guess it depends on which of us you are talking to.  Since we are talking to me right now, I’m going to say his long hours and the demands of his job which I frequently think are unrealistic. As far as I’m concerned, unless people are dying as a direct result of the hubby not working (and in his tech-based business I’m going to go with NO), there is no excuse for him having to work in the middle of the night or all weekend all. the. time. 

Did you go to the same school?

Not in high school but I’m pretty sure we would have been friends if we had. We were both geeks. 

Are you from the same home towns?

Nope.

Who is smarter?

Definitely him. But if you’re looking for a name or phone number I’m usually your girl. 

Who is the most sensitive?

Depends on who you ask. I would say that I am. He would say I DEFINITELY AM.

Where do you eat out most as a couple?

We haven’t been in the same place with enough freedom to go out together in the past few years to be able to establish a favourite place.  Our prerequisites are: alcohol, food and alcohol.

Where is the furthest the two of you have traveled as a couple?

Quebec City and Boston are about the same distance. If you’d asked me when we got married if we would have left the continent by the time we were married nine years I would have said definitely. Reality, it turns out, is far less glamorous than fantasy.

Who has the craziest exes?

Neither of us have any real exes. I know, we’re so adorable it makes your teeth hurt, right?

Who has the worst temper?

I don’t want to talk about it.

Who does the cooking?

For the greater good, I do.

Who is the neat freak?

Both of us, in different ways. I am picky about uncluttered surfaces, counters and such. He is the organizational one who spends hours making closets and storage rooms neatly catalogued. With this combination of anal retentiveness you would think our house would look like it came out of a magazine. Alas, this is not the case. Unfortunately neither of us has the quirk of being anal about cleaning toilets or sweeping floors or folding laundry. Perhaps one of our children will be get that particular idiosyncrasy. 

Who is more stubborn?

I doubt there are two people more equally matched than the two of us.

Who hogs the bed?

He would tell you I do, but since he falls asleep seconds after his head hits the pillow you really can’t believe anything he says regarding blanket tug-of-war. The truth is both of us hog the bed. And we bought a king-sized blanket for our queen-size bed so that we could avoid fighting over the covers. All I have to say about that is…is there anything bigger than king-size?

Who wakes up earlier?

Usually he does.

Where was your first date?

After we decided we were “officially” a couple, our first real date was going out for vegetarian pizza (which I pretended to think was the greatest thing EVER because he did – now I’m slightly less enthusiastic about it) and a movie which I think may have been Shakespeare In Love but I’m not totally sure.

Who is more jealous?

I’m not really sure what kind of jealousy we’re referring to here, but I’d say probably me.

How long did it take to get serious?

Aside from the months of “just friends” dating we were serious right from the beginning. Neither of us take friendships or romantic relationships casually.

Who eats more?

Let’s not talk about that.

Who does the laundry?

It’s a combined effort. I sort, wash, dry and eventually fold the clothes. He complains about the basket of clean but wrinkled laundry that has yet to be folded.

Who’s better with the computer?

The hubby is some kind of techno-savant. I call him the computer whisperer.

Who drives when you are together?

He usually drives from behind the wheel. I drive from the back seat (actually, usually the passenger seat).

marriage, narcissism, the hubby | 5 Comments »

Daryl tagged me to blab all about myself on the internet and a few people tagged me on Facebook as well. So let’s kill a couple birds with one stone!

1. I believe that I am a person who causes Street Light Interference. Street lights go out while I walk or drive underneath them very frequently. More than can reasonably attributed to chance. 

2. I love old black and white pictures. I collect and frame pictures of both my husband’s and my own ancestors and I plan to post about that at some point in future.

3. I have a heart murmur. They can be quite serious but mine isn’t and it always freaks physicians out when they hear it for the first time and anxiously ask me if I know that I have a heart murmur.

4. I never thought I’d want to live by the ocean but I’ve fallen in love with the view from my bedroom window.

5. Right now I can see people walking out on that rocky outcropping.

6. Most of those rocks are covered during high tide.

7. I hope those people get back before the tide comes in. Apparently people don’t always make it in time and get stranded way out at the end where it doesn’t get covered by high tide.

8. My sisters are identical twins. Because I know how annoyed they often got by no one being able to tell them apart, I always try to find a way to distinguish between twins when I meet them.

9. I almost never take my jewelry off. I wear my wedding/engagement rings and a ring that belonged to my grandmother and a pendant that my husband gave me a few years ago. It’s too annoying to take them off and put them on daily. I change my necklace if I want to wear something different for the rare occasion. But mostly it’s just the same old, same old. 

10. I’m kind of a hugger. At least with people I know are huggers like me. I like hugs. But if I know people are uncomfortable I try not to do it.

11. I bake bread for my family. Mostly because all the whole wheat bread in the states has high fructose corn syrup in it and the stuff that doesn’t costs like $5/loaf. At least around where I live. It makes me feel good to be able to make something that’s such a staple in our diet.

12. I love buffalo chicken sandwiches. If a restaurant has a buffalo chicken sandwich on the menu I have a really hard time not ordering it. Strangely, I am not a huge fan of buffalo chicken wings. Except if they are boneless. I’m a big fan of what seems to be the latest craze – boneless wings. But I’ll happily order just about any other flavour of bone-in wings. Just not buffalo.

13. I’m not a real crafty person, but it’s not for lack of desire. The crafts I do ok at usually involved cutting and pasting paper together.  I’m reasonably good at copying ideas I have found online.

14. I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for adoption. The hubby and I are planning to add a third child to our family via adoption, hopefully within the next few years.

15. I had an extremely strong aversion to salsa during my entire first pregnancy. It was milder in my second pregnancy, but certainly not a favourite food. I quite like salsa normally.

16. I can see the Graves Light from my living room window.

17. I’m a huge believer in that Better is Better.

18. I kill (or fail to protect) houseplants, even when I try not to.

19. I have a lot of freckles, but not the delicate and cute, tiny ones. The big ugly splotchy ones. I look like I was spattered by mud. Particularly on my arms.

20. I don’t own a raincoat. I really need a raincoat.

21. The hubby and I were given five coolers for wedding gifts. We returned three.

22. My dad is a big joker. Once when I was a kid I went with him to his school (he’s a teacher) and he must have made a joking comment while disarming the alarm system about there being dogs that would attack if he didn’t press the buttons quick enough. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I made the realization that there couldn’t possibly be a pack of ferocious dogs in cages beneath the floors of a local elementary school, just waiting to tear intruders to pieces. But every time I went there with my dad I felt anxious until he had punched in his code to turn off the alarm.

23. My biggest baby weighed 10 pounds 12 ounces. I thought that was big. But since delivering him I’ve met mothers of bigger babies who delivered naturally (I delivered via c-section). I’m SO GLAD I had him via c-section!!!

24. My kitchen/dining room is currently a disaster because every piece of clothing my kids have worn from birth until those they have most recently outgrown is strewn about. I am in the midst of organizing, sorting, washing ironing and photographing them so that I can sell them on craigslist. This is proving to be a frickin’ HUGE task. Post to come about this as well.

25. While working on this list I have experienced fever, chills, severe aching in my joints, swollen glands and a throat that feels like it’s on fire. Yet, according to the rapid strep test I had at the doctor today I do not have strep throat, even though both my kids have strep and have been breathing, sneezing, coughing and drooling all over me all week.

narcissism | 4 Comments »

I’m playing Inside the Blogger’s Studio with Beth from So the Fish Said. Below are the questions she offered up for her readers to answer. If you want to play, follow these instructions and I’ll (eventually) send you some questions to answer on your blog.

The rules:

1. Leave me a comment saying you want to be interviewed. 
2. I’ll email you five questions of my choosing.
3. You update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions. They will answer these questions. If they don’t, you can post naked pictures of them on the internet. (I can help with the Photoshopping.)

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

1.  Remember the movie Brewster’s Millions? That happens to you, except on a smaller scale.  You receive a million dollars that you must spend in 30 days.  However, you cannot have any assets to show for the money at the end of the month (and you can’t buy something and then destroy it), you cannot waste the money, you cannot give it away, and you cannot tell anyone what you are doing.  How do you ditch the dough in a month or less?

• I’d lie. I’d lie and tell family and friends that I won some kind of contest or lottery and spend the money on travelling in style for the duration of the month and taking as many of the people I love along with me as I could.

2.  You are locked in a toy store overnight, with no way out until it reopens in the morning.  What do you play with all night?

• Am I a child in this scenario? Because as an adult I could see myself getting bored kind of fast.  If I was a kid I would have been all over the dolls, barbies, and dress up clothes. Probably paper dolls, stuffed animals and books, too. I was a girly girl. As an adult, I’d build a huge pile of stuffed animals and go to sleep. Because at least I’d be guaranteed an uninterrupted night’s sleep!

3.  If you could have a dinner party with any three famous people, living or dead, you would be wasting your supernatural powers on hosting dinner parties.  What would you do instead?

• My super powers would likely involve cleaning my house without lifting a finger. Because the world would be a better place if my toilets were less grungy and if I didn’t hear crunching when I walk across my floors.

4.  What’s the best thing since sliced bread?  Now, sliced bread ain’t all that impressive, so what’s the best mediocre, hum-drum improvement or advancement that has made modern life just ever so slightly more convenient for humanity, along the lines of saving yourself five seconds every time you want a piece of bread.

• I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. Dustbusters. Dustbusters are absolutely the best thing since sliced bread!

5.  What’s your best quality?  The response to this question must be a simple declarative statement.  You may elaborate on that statement, provided that your elaboration does not include the words “but,” “however,” or “although,” or any other hedging, equivocating, back-sliding, gerrymandering (which is not at all appropriate in this context, but I think it should be, don’t you?) or any other type of backing down from the simple declarative statement with which you began your response.

• It’s hard to say. I think my best quality is loyalty. I work hard to maintain friendships and I am devoted to the people with whom I have good relationships. I am caring and encouraging and invest my time and energy in my close relationships. (Oooh it’s hard not to add ‘but” or ‘although’!!!)

narcissism | 5 Comments »

Here I am, once again inviting myself to a party. The New Girl was doing this New Year’s Meme and I couldn’t resist. If you are so inclined, consider yourself tagged…

1. What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?

There are so many things it would take a series of blog posts to cover. The short list includes going through the process of choosing a new location for our family, moving to a new country, travelling across Canada and the United States for a total of over 6, 845km (4 253mi) with 2 young kids, living in by far the biggest city I’ve ever lived in and learning to navigate the city by car, bus, subway and on foot. All of these things were a stretch for me but I’m glad for the experience I’ve gained because of it.

2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?

I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions specifically. But if I did it would probably be something along the lines of learning to think more of others and less of myself when I talk. I tend to coast in conversations (partly due to my own insecurity) and let others ask me questions and I am trying to teach myself to spend more time communicating my interest in other people’s lives (not that I don’t feel it – but I’m just not great at showing it!).

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

Last February seems like a long time ago but my friend JB had a baby. And my BFF who visited in October is pregnant with her first which is probably the most exciting news I’ve heard in YEARS!!! Hello! I can’t wait to be an auntie!

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No. But there were some close calls and unfortunately I fear that we may not make it through 2009 unscathed.

5. What countries did you visit?

Canada and the USA. Wish it was more exotic than that, but it’s just not.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?

To not deal with bureaucracy of any kind. I know, I know, wishful thinking much?

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

June 30, July 4th, and…oh hell, pretty much the whole months of July and August were pretty memorable what with the cultural shell-shock and living in a big city with so much history for the first time. Despite the hassles, I have great memories of the summer.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Not completely losing my mind through the months of uncertainty of where we were moving and then again through the stress of packing, moving, travelling with small kids, living in one temporary place after another with little more than the clothes on our back and wading through one bureaucratic nightmare after another. I think that’s one effing big achievement and I’m not ashamed to pat myself on the back for it either!

9. What was your biggest failure?

Letting the stress get to me enough that I was not the greatest mom for many more moments than I care to admit in the past year.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Not unless you count mental. If you do, then there was illness a’plenty!

11. What was the best thing you bought?

Well not so much bought as rented, but this view is worth every penny we spend in rent each month:

Not the greatest picture because of the zoom, but we saw seals right out our windows on Christmas Day!

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

The American people as a whole, for electing what I hope will be an amazing and historic president! Also? My houseplants.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

People with transit rage.

14. Where did most of your money go?

See #11.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

See #11.

16. What song will always remind you of 2008?

2008 will always be the year of Disney Princess songs in my mind. The kids went to bed to a compilation disc of Disney songs for several months and I can now recognize the strains of “A Whole New World” in a fraction of a second.

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) happier or sadder? Happier.

b) thinner or fatter? ‘Bout the same?

c) richer or poorer? Considering the hubby was an unemployed student at this time last year, I’m gonna have to go with richer.

18. What do you wish you’d done more of?

Laughing.

19. What do you wish you’d done less of?

Crying.

20. How did you spend Christmas?

Digging out from under MOUNTAINS of presents for the kids and the discarded wrapping paper, wrestling toys out of their packaging designed to withstand nuclear holocaust, cooking turkey dinner and (yay!) walking on the beach because it was mild and lovely!

21. Did you fall in love in 2008?

Against all odds, I was able to fall in love with the big city. Or at least certain aspects of it. The history, the lovely old architecture, the pleasure of walking amongst old buildings and knowing their connection to the past, and I even enjoyed living in the midst of it in the summer! Oh, and my husband and kids are pretty ok, too.

22. What was your favorite TV program?

House and How I Met Your Mother.

23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?

People on the phone at every level of government, the RMV, the Social Security Number Office, hospitals, health insurance, pharmacies, anything to do with medical supplies and school administration. And automated voice messaging systems for all of the above.

24. What was the best book you read?

Sigh…I hate to admit that I read (and enjoyed) all four books in the Twighlight series. Yes, I’m apparently 13 years old. I also really enjoyed Like Water For Chocolate and A Thousand Splendid Suns.

25. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Kindermusik classes sometimes are all they’re cracked up to be – I was skeptical until I tried them out with Kieran this year. He loves it and I have not lost all dignity the way I thought I would.

26. What did you want and get?

My husband to be done school.

27. What did you want and not get?

To own our own home again, and to move back to Saskatoon.

28. What was your favorite film of this year?

Nothing especially notable although I did enjoy Across the Universe much more than I expected .

29. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

An angel of mercy in the form of a brand new acquaintance through the hubby’s work offered to babysit so we could go out to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory (YUM) and to see Mamma Mia.  I turned 28. It was good as far as 28th birthdays go.

30. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

I don’t know how to answer this. All the shallow stuff is, well, shallow! And all the non-shallow stuff…well you change one thing you change a lot of things and despite the difficulties, I’m happy with our choices and experiences in the last year. Perhaps telling the people mentioned in #23 to shove their bad attitude where the sun don’t shine would have made me very satisfied? Yes, I’m going to go with cursing at strangers on the phone for 200, Pat.

31. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?

Reduce (the amount of items in my closet), reuse (over the summer we had very limited clothing choices) and recycle (giving away what we no longer wear).

32. What kept you sane?

Is it hypocritical to say that my kids, the source of much of my INsanity, also help me maintain my sometimes tenuous hold on my sanity? And my husband. Also some truly wonderful friends from home who listen to my whining and encourage me to hang in there when things have been really difficult. You people are my anchor!

33. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

No question, Tina Fey. The whole Sarah Palin spoof was the start of a girl-crush that will likely last a lifetime.

34. What political issue stirred you the most?

The Prop 8 issue in California and the realization that the USA is in the dark ages when it comes to the rights of their homosexual citizens.

35. Who did you miss?

Oh so many, many people! But particularly my family in Manitoba and Saskatchewan and all our friends in Saskatoon. I miss you all so very much!!!

36. Who was the best new person you met?

I’ve met so many new people in the last year but I haven’t had the chance to get really close to any of them yet. But Karly has become one of my favourite new blogger friends and y’all should go drop by her place.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008.

I don’t know if you could say I exactly learned the lesson, but it is this: CHILL.

38. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

As much as I’ve had enough of this song, a lot of it does apply…

A whole new world
A new fantastic point of view
No one to tell us no
Or where to go
Or say we’re only dreaming

A whole new world
A dazzling place I never knew
But when I’m way up here
It’s crystal clear
That now I’m in a whole new world with you

Now I’m in a whole new world with you

Unbelievable sights
Indescribable feeling
Soaring, tumbling, freewheeling
Through an endless diamond sky

A whole new world
Don’t you dare close your eyes
A hundred thousand things to see
Hold your breath – it gets better

I’m like a shooting star
I’ve come so far
I can’t go back to where I used to be

A whole new world
Every turn a surprise
With new horizons to pursue

Every moment red-letter
I’ll chase them anywhere
There’s time to spare
Let me share this whole new world with you

A whole new world
That’s where we’ll be
A thrilling chase
A wondrous place
For you and me

narcissism | 2 Comments »

I’ve been seeing this meme around lately and because I’m never one to wait to for an invitation I’m showing up uninvited and I brought a few friends. Hope that’s ok.

(Actually this is a total lie. I’m totally not a party-crashing kind of person and I would be absolutely mortified to do this in real life but hello, it’s a blog, and no one gives a crap about memes!)

So the meme involves finding your sixth photo folder and then showing the sixth picture from that folder. Since I’m a mac-whore I translated that into mac and made it work in iPhoto and this is the picture, taken on our first digital camera which probably had all of half a mega-pixel:

This is a picture of my daughter from around November 2003 and it’s actually the 5th and not the 6th picutre but I figured you’d forgive me. They’re basically the same pose except in the other one Avery had one bright red devil-eye and one normal eye. The scene is this: I was taking advantage of one of the few moments of solace we’d had from crying in the 4 months since she was born and trying to capture a happy moment and taking pictures of her adorable smooshy self sitting on our wingback chair in the living room seemed like a good way to do that.

In truth, the majority of the first few months she looked more like this:

So chill-inducing precious, right? That’s from the same folder.

In hindsight, I am wondering if maybe she was scared of the bizarre assortment of freaky animals hanging over her bed and stuffed in every corner and crevice.  If I was stuck in a cage with some of those beasties I might cry, too! I’m not sure if it is better to think that I was just a terribly insensitive mother or that she was the most miserable, unhappy child ever to be birthed by a clueless mother.

Oh and since we’re poking around in that folder let’s take a closer look at that hair (and by closer I mean not really any closer because the crappy old digital pictures don’t allow much zooming and cropping):

Hard to believe that hair turned into this in a matter of months, isn’t it?

Look at those cheeks. Nom, nom, nom.

Avery, narcissism | 2 Comments »

The following results are almost completely right. Except for the part about coming from an abusive/alcoholic family. And I think that as a parent I am actually quite good at saying “no” and setting boundaries. But all the stuff about what’s going on in my head? Yes. Pretty impressive for a two question quiz!

Your result for Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz…

You Are a Marilyn!

Take Are You a Jackie or a Marilyn? Or Someone Else? Mad Men-era Female Icon Quiz at HelloQuizzy

narcissism | No Comments »

Jessica has tagged me to do the What’s New Meme which has been around since Jessica invented it last week. So I’m supposed to tell you five things that are new in my life. Except that right now EVERYTHING IN MY LIFE IS NEW. And you may not realize this, but EVERYTHING is kind of a big pool to choose from. Nevertheless, I did come up with something and here they are in no particular order:

1. Extended alone time with my son: Avery will be starting school on Monday and this isn’t exactly new since she went half days last year. But those half days were during Kieran’s nap-time and this year she will be gone all morning and a good part of the afternoon which means I will have mornings alone with Kieran for the first time…ever!  I’m kind of excited to get to know him outside of the shadow of his big sister.  I’m also a little worried that he has been so reliant on her for entertainment that we might be in for a rough transition.  Hold me!

2. Garbage Disposals: It appears that garbage disposals are commonplace around where we live. Every place we’ve stayed since arriving in Boston and every rental property and property for sale that we viewed had one.  And they weren’t all necessarily treasures, if you know what I mean. But still they had garburators.  Oh wait. They don’t call them that here. Anyway, in the places I’ve lived they have been much less common and I’m not sure why it’s deemed a necessity here.  I do know that the hubby and I needed some education on what I could and couldn’t put down there.  Turns out that watermelon rind takes a long time to grind up. Heh.  

3. Transit Rage: The uncommonly muggy weather definitely played a part in the explosive and distressing scene that played out on the subway today. It was hot, it was very crowded and everyone was feeling cranky. So when a lady with a bad attitude and a short temper started pushing her way into a train car and cursing at the slow moving crowd and her loud-mouthed husband it was not exactly surprising. We all felt on edge. But the lack of restraint and social awareness was appalling. As was the fact that another such unrestrained person with several children who let a string of curse words fly that would make a sailor blush when she was verbally assaulted for getting on before Bike Lady and her ill-mannered husband had disembarked. I’m not overly protective of my kids hearing “bad” words. I use appropriate language around them (most of the time) and I don’t want to make a huge deal of every little naughty word their delicate ears might hear. But I can’t excuse repeated and deliberate shrieking of c*nt and f*ck in front of other people’s children, let alone your OWN kids.  My 5 year old was really upset by the encounter and my 2 year old would have been if he wasn’t sleeping through all the commotion. Besides all this, I’m not a confrontational kind of person and this kind of screaming and raging made me really anxious. Hours later, I still feel tense. 

4. Video Games: I bought the hubby a used Wii for his birthday and we have been eagerly trying out a variety of sports, cooking games and old school Mario.  I didn’t grow up with video games, although I did play my share of Super Mario 3 at friend’s houses. But any skill I may have had as a kid has long since returned from whence it came.  Bottom line: there was a lot of cursing. (I didn’t say I didn’t approve of all swearing – just not in front of the kids or at random strangers on the subway!)

5. Politics: I have never had a passionate interest in politics, other than an unwavering conviction that EVERYONE has a duty to vote. But recently I find myself at least wanting to be more informed about both Canadian and American politics. Being in the US in the final months gearing up to an election has proven interesting. It has also inspired me to develop a better understanding of the Canadian system as all too often I find myself saying “Does Canada do X, too?” or “How does it work when Y in Canada?”. All too often I have no idea.  Just this morning in Canada parliament was dissolved and an election called for October 14.  Meanwhile the American election campaign has been going for something like a flobbity-gillion months (Why yes, I did just start watching the first season of How I Met Your Mother.) and still going strong.  It is interesting to see how our two countries do things differently and the ways in which that affects our cultures, governments and ideologies. 

So there you have it. I’m not going to tag anybody this time. But if you need inspiration for a blog post, consider yourself tagged!

America, narcissism, politics, rants | 4 Comments »

Interesting. I wouldn’t say it was totally accurate but it was fun to do.

narcissism | No Comments »