A movie and a book

First, the movie.

Mad Hot Ballroom. AWE-Some. It is a documentary about grade five kids in NYC who have to take ballroom dancing for 10 weeks, and there is a competition at the end. So great. So so great. I am totally taking Sam to see it this week. Go if you can. You will laugh, cry, cheer, the whole works.

Then the book.

Rachel's Holiday. Marian Keyes. Fantastic. I have read lots of hers, but not this one yet. I started it Thursday night and finished it this morning. So not because I have all this time to read during the day. So because I carried it around with me and read it every second I had time. And so because I stayed up till two thirty last night reading it. So tired today. So worth it.

Now I must clean the cesspool that is my main floor. Toodles!
a.

Apres le coiffure

Short. Textured. Colored. Fun.

Buh-Fore

Hair Cut Day.

As much as I like my hair the day the hairdresser does it, with the straightening iron and the blow drying with the round brush and la de da day, I can NOT reenact the look. Ever.

So everyday, pretty much, my hair looks like this.



Blech. I am off to get a short razor cut. Something that I can wash, put some gel in, and then push around a little, and that's it. My hair isn't even long, but it bugs me. It's too short to put in a pony and too long to stay off my neck. So off with her hair, the Queen shouted.

Ciao.

A.

I'll bet she has a temper

What's with people and red hair? Pretty much every time I go somewhere with Lucy some busybody/noseyparker/loud talker type has to stop, look at her, and say, "WHOA LOOK at that RED HAIR! SHE MUST HAVE A TEMPER!"

It's very irritating. And I have to say that it is always someone older than me, from a generation that was sure of three things,

1. Saturday night is bath night.
2. A Hot Hamburger Sandwich with gravy and peas is gourmet cooking.
3. People with red hair have a bad temper.

Get over it, people. Red hair don't mean el dialbo. It is just hair. Just like, say, your big hook nose doesn't neccessarily mean you are a WITCH. Or your tight short perm doesn't have to make you part poodledog.

Honestly, how does THIS make someone think of a bad disposition?



A.

Stuff to do.......

Pick up rec centre guide from rec centre, find swimming classes for boys.

Get Sam to practice violin that he has barely looked at all summer.

Register for course at mac. I have narrowed it down to Reproduction or Slavery.

Get haircuts for boys (DONE! did it last night!)

Make dentist appointments for everyone, after profusely apologizing to Dental centre for missing all our appointments six months ago. Oops.

Book a massage for myself. (I have been meaning to do this since December '03 but whatever)

Get a haircut.

Clean Sam's room with him, get it organized for school starting.

Put clothes away that are still in baskets from BEFORE WE WENT AWAY.

What other school supplies does Sam need?

Buy 1. underwear for middle kid, 2. socks for biggest kid, 3. diapers for littlest hobo.

Pay bills that were supposed to be paid BEFORE we went away.

Take off major chipped toenail polish. Dirtbag.

Clean dining room floor.

For that matter, clean kitchen floor too.

Get life together.

Stop bothering that stubborn pimple on my chin.

Do some sit ups. Ha.

Get a new pair of jeans. Ha.

Sew my broken sandals back together so I can stop walking like Terry Fox.

Stop drinking so much Diet Coke.

Lay off the sugar.

Eat some fruit and yogurt for breakfast instead of bagel with cream cheese and pear jam. Too late.

Visit my sister Jen.

Call my ma who is still at the cottage and tell her to find my 30 dollar nail stuff that I left there.

Call Karate place and register boys.

Completely overhaul kids dressers to get rid of stuff that doesnt fit and make room for the piles of clothes that are on top of dressers that they pull off every damn day and scatter about the house.

Have a nap. Ha.

Start Christmas shopping. Yeah, right. I still havent taken down half my Christmas decs from last year.

That is all. Mommy must go feed the hungry.

Have a good Tuesday, all.

A.

The Cats Came Back

Hilo out there!

The Forderers have safely landed back home. VERY NICE WEEK! The cottage was in the middle of the woods, very quiet and relaxing.

There was moonlight on the water.


There were a thousand million little frogs that looked like they were hand painted. That my boys manhandled and chased and caught and kissed and wondered at.

There were tons of deer.


And walks with Grandma.


And nice little restaurants to have lunch at.


And there was fishing. Can ah get an AMEN to fishing?! You just know it's a good time for mama when Daddy just loves him some fishing with his boys. HOURS, my friends. Hours to chill wit Lucy

and hang with my momma, and to read and walk and go into town..... Beauty.


Jay got to read too, once. I took a picture so it would be a bigger memory for him, because it only lasted about forty five minutes.


But he is a fisher, not a reader. So it's all good. We were on the drive home, and since it was a long drive, about four and a half hours, we decided to break it up. But going camping for a night, the way we like to go camping. At the Best Western Hotel. Hee hee.

So everyone got to have a swim and a lovely hot shower and I did all the stinky vacation laundry at the hotel so I didn't have to do it when I got home today. Again, Beauty.

Glad to be home, as always. I missed my madeover romantic bedroom! We hardly had a chance to get to know each other before I left.

One last picture, of my big boy who is almost ten, looking at a river that runs through Perth, Ontario.


A.

Be Back Soon

We are off for a vacation to a cottage that my parents have rented. Amidst the utter chaos of packing clothing and towels and bedding for five people,
PLUS the sunscreen/hats/medicine/
bug spray/bandaids/snacks/cups/baby wipes/crayons/
salad dressings/sand toys/marshmellows/underwear/
swim diapers/books/tooth brushes/camera/flashlight/
bug catchers/ventolin/diet coke/Yu Gi Oh cards/bibs/

And all that other stuff. I came to say see ya Thursday!
HOpe everyone has a good week.

A.

I Know It Could ALWAYS Be Worse. BUT.

After dinner I took M and L for a walky. Just another time-killer till bathtime/bedtime because He Who Works Too Late will not be home till probably nine for the FIFTH night in a row. And it was nice. See the nice lady in her clean dress and skin. So sweet.



Really, so clean and charming. We had a nice time and then I got them home and in the bath. And out of the bath and into the jammers. And then I set them up to watch Bernstain Bears before bed. And went into the kitchen to clean up from breakfast, lunch and dinner (I am not a big maintainer of order during the day, more of an order avoider).

And then? Then SOMEONE who has red hair first spilled juice on her shirt, which I wiped off with a baby wipe and left on her. Which was a good thing. Because then she found herself a marker under the couch. And decided she might like to do her own little impersonation of Al Jolson. I did catch her before the transformation was complete.

But, you know. Back to the bath. Here she is trying to clean herself up with one baby wipe. Ain't working.

It could have been a permanent marker. It could have been a pair of scissors. It coulda bin something sticky. It coulda bin laden.

Whatever. It was a pain in the arse. Now the kid is going to BED.

Toodles!
A.

I got nothin' Thursday

Sorry. I can't think of a single interesting thing to write about. Jay has worked till 9 pm every night. So by the time he gets home I am like, in a coma on my green chair. Right now I am sitting here watching the kids watch TV. It's PBS, at least, so they won't be completely retarded. Like me. I am done like a casserole left for six hours on 350.

Is it too early for Diet Coke. I don't think so.

Army.

Got my personalised Stuff today!

Or is it personalized? Hmm.



Any HOO. Can't wait to have me tea out of this huge mug! And I shall wear my shirt with pride. Kristine's fella Shaun designed the logo for me.

Super cool.

A.

Lost some nouns today.

I was trying to yell at Sam for eating a chocolate chip cookie whilst playing Zoo Tycoon on the computer. I had just taken the cookies out of the oven. And he was holding the hot cookie in a dish towel.

But I couldn't remember the words, "dish towel".

So I said, "Hey! You know you are not supposed to eat by the computer! What is THAT you have the cookie on! That is my good- THAT! Why did you take THAT to- The cloth thing! The- THING with the COOKIE ON IT! You know better than that! You get a- a- NAPKIN, not a- THAT THING!"

Geez.

A.

Elect My Elective!

Okay. I have been going part time to university for lo these many years. And I am one and a half credits away. I am going to take a course in the fall, and the lovely thing is that I need a whole elective credit or two half credits. So I can take whateva I want!

Here are the ones that I like which are available at night classes this September. All of them are ones I am interested in taking.

1. MUSIC FOR FILM AND TELEVISION An examination of how music functions to help create meanings in film and television programs. Examples will be drawn from throughout the history of film and television.

Me: Sounds like fun, and I prolly get to watch movies.

2. WOMEN IN CANADA AND THE U.S. TO 1920 This course examines key areas of women's history, such as indigenous cultures, slavery, immigration, religion, witchcraft, the family, sexuality, paid and unpaid labour, and the first wave of the women's movement.

Me: Interesting....

3. SLAVERY IN THE ATLANTIC WORLD An examination of slavery in the Americas, from the fifteenth to the nineteenth centuries. Topics to be examined include plantations and labour regimes; gender, slave health; slave resistance; Afro-creole cultures; emancipation.

Me: This is the one that is kinda calling me. If you have been reading this blog for a while, you may remember my love affair with Roots and Kunta Kinte. This topic is of real interest to me.

4. EUROPE IN THE MIDDLE AGES The history of Western Europe, 400-1400: from the barbarian kingdoms to the emergence of national monarchies.

Me: LOVE European history. This course is actually the only full credit course I am considering, so it would go from Sept to April. Hmm.

5. SOCIAL ASPECTS OF REPRODUCTION An interdisciplinary course exploring birth and reproduction. Topics may include: social determinants of reproductive health, fertility and birthing rituals, reproductive ethics, policy and technologies.

Me: Very interesting subject. Plus I have explored this topic three times personally and that might give me an edge. Or maybe not. Hmmm.

So my question to you is, Which course would YOU take? Or would you not take any of these?
I look forward to your responses on this.


A.

Mondaying like a cold bowla oatmeal

Or something like that. My attempt at a gerund, I fear, falls flat. Sorry Mrtl.

Weekend was gooo-oood. We GOT AWAY WITHOUT KIDS FOR A NIGHT. First time since February. Lovely. Went to Jay's work picnic/party at his boss's place. Which, can I say, is awesome. Right on Lake Erie, big two story log cabin. Private beach. Filet Mignon. Other peeps brought kids but we chose not to. And it was a good decision, as all I would have done is chase Lucy around and around and upside down. As it went, I got to sit in my lawn chair and eat my food uninterrupted. Ahhh. And chat and converse and mingle and enjoy the bonfire and the waves lapping at the shore. And the sunset. Which was like a watercolour painting of salmon and blue.



Wish I could write more, but I can't. Kids.

Later Gator,
A.

Serenity Room

I am pretty much done the bedroom. And I am lovin' it. The biggest thing I did was clean/declutter. That is the stuff that was really impeding on the calmness and lovliness of the space. Remember my computer desk in one corner?


(shuddderr)

Here is what that corner looks like now.



The desk is computer free and moved to the other wall.


I gotta find something to put against the wall on the one side that is kinda peeling, but doesn't it look better?

Here is my dresser buh-fore:


And after:



I found this little sweetheart for 7 bucks at Winners,



And here is the bed:


I did get some new big pillows for those pillowcases, so it looks even nicer now. And that's it! Whew! Now I gotta get the crap out of the hall that is gone from this room, like a huge mirror and a screen and a ton of books and papers. But really, when you can go into this room and shut the door behind you afterwards, clutter in the hallway is easier to deal with.

I don't have any time to write a mission statement now about how I promise to do my utmost bestest to keep this room orderly. But, you know.

ANd I know it is Anxiety day over at Kristine's blog but it took me longa time to upload all these pictures and blog. So maybe tomorra I can talk about my multitudinous mental problems.

For now, peace and serenity to all who have lingered here.
A.

Member that stupid bow I had on my dresser mirror?

Well, I found a better spot for it.



More tomorra on the bedroom makeover. Tu Tired Twonight.
A.

Look Ma, No Sewing!

Phase One: The Window Treatment is well under way. I wanted something romantic and impressive. Found nu-thing at that Liquidation place, so I went to Ikea. I did not find anything in the ready made curtains except one pair of burgundy silk drapes that were 95 dollars a pair. And the colour didn't do anything for me. But I did find THIS.

The kid I already picked up a couple years ago. But look!
Gorgeous green brocade fabric with embroidered flowers, and a stripey reverse side that could not match my walls better. 9.99 a metre/yard. So I bought that. But I don't sew. At. All. So I bought the curtain rod with the clippy thingys. And I just flipped over the top end so the stripey side shows as sort of a trim. And a thinner curtain rod and two cheap lace fabric panels. Ahem. So here is a before picture.


And, after not too much work, here is the after.




Please keep back from the display. The headboard isn't exactly attached yet, it is just kinda leaning on the bed. And I know at some point I will have to hem these babies (or my ma will, anyways) or they will fray like a SOB. But it is coming along. I need pillows now. Luckily, I have fabric left over from the curtains! So I can hand-sew one cushion with the green and one cushion with the stripey side. Beauty.


And I bought two inexpensive little round metal tables at Ikea for side tables. Got rid of those other decoupaged monstrosities. Lots more to do, so stay tuned to channel A folks, it's a ride!

A.

Us is in August

Yesterday was a holiday here. I usually take a blogging break on the weekends, as do a lot of people. But lo, many many updates to read today. Production on other blogolas has been high and I almost need to get a babysitter to catch up.

Operation Beauty Bedroom is well under way. I really was disgusted with myself when I had to take those SPF pictures. Especially when I checked out other peeples bet-roomz and ALMOST EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM WAS NICER THAN MINE. So.

Sunday I did some major clear-cutting. Which is not cool when it is an Amazon Rainforest, but very good when it is a junk filled room that is supposed to be a refuge from everyday stressors but is actually quite the little stressor itself.

So. Six bags to Goodwill. (Di-int even go into the drug store first so I wouldn't inadvertently donate dish soap.) Clothes that don't fit. Shoes that I will never wear again. Books I am done with. Knick Knacks that I am indifferent to. I even cleaned out under me bed! Ahhh! Here were some of the things I had under there:

1. Piece of Pergo floor from when we did the dining room six years ago. (What did I think I was saving this for?)
2. FOUR mismatched slippers. I don't even wear slippers. They make my feet hot. Buh-bye.
3. Various bits of toys, like legos and pop-up pirate swords and little people and beanies.
4. A drinking straw, two sippy cups, one teaspoon, and a couple of old dried pieces of toast.
5. Single socks, a pair of needle nose pliers, and forty-six cents.

And lint. And dust. And flotsam and jetsam. You know. I know you know. After all this was cleared out I moved the bed to the other wall/window. Instant improvement. The room looks twice as big. Then I vacuumed. And noticed that when I painted a few years ago I didn't do the baseboards. Shite.

Then Jay got the computer out of there. Which made a big difference. There is nothing so unromantic as a huge printer blinking and carrying on beside your dresser. Computer is now in the dining room.

This morning I am off to Liquidation Clearance Overstock Slashed Prices Just Take This Junk It's Taking Up Space Outlet. To see if they have any curtains. And maybe some new bedside tables. Wish me Luck.

Have a great Mon/Tuesday!

A.