Weekend Update 2

Took the kids to a pumpkin farm today. What a blast.



Lucy wore the bear costume that my mom made for Monty when he was 2. She was just about the huggiest bear in the pumpkin patch. Well, she was the only bear in the pumpkin patch. But you know.



A.

Weekend Update

The 'Girls Night Out' Sale went well!

Over thirty ladies came and saw and shopped. It was great! The best part was that I didn't let anyone buy anything until 8:30, so everyone was browsing and checking stuff out for an hour beforehand. There were some um, lets say tensions between people who where interested in the same thing. People even hid a few things until they could actually get their hands on them!
Here are a couple of pics.


I had hundreds of items out, and sold alot of it. Stuff was priced low, I think everyone was happy with the value. There was OPI nail polish and Cinique/Lancome/Trucco/BedHead make up, Crabtree and Evelyn, Candle at Home, Vic Sec bras, Claires jewelry, and a bunch of other thingys, from perfume samples to silver jewelry. It was FUN.

And I got to take out me hubby for dinner and a movie on me! I had some helpers. I could not have done it all myself. So props go to my ma, my MIL, aunt nancy, cousin nat, aunty eileen.

Here is my Aunt Brenda's hair.


I had such a good time! I am totally doing it again.

A.

Whirling Dervish

I am having a party of sorts tonight. It's kind of a sale party. I have bought lots of different items on ebay, from cosmetics to Victoria's Secret bras, to gifty things to jewelry. And I am going to turn my living room and dining room into a garage sale.

I have never done anything like this before. But I always wanted to. In many ways, I hate 'home parties' which are not really 'parties' at all but just tense tittering guilt trips where everyone feels obligated to spend thirty-two dollars on a plastic container they coulda got at WalMart for three bucks, just to buy something. I have sat in a friend's living room and watched her AND her sisters each spend 50 dollars on Satin Hands 'systems', knowing that they have no money for it.

So my 'party' will be different. Stuff is priced from fifty cents up. Everyone gets something for free just for coming. And I have a bunch of little prizes to give away.

Who knows how this will turn out? I got the music mixed, the veggies and dip made. I have put little price stickers on hundreds of items. I have invited 30 ladies, friends, family, and otherwise.

Now all I have to do is turn my house into a little store.

I was on the dining room floor yesterday, wrapping up these candle holder thingys and putting ribbons around them. My husband came up and just looked at me. He smiled. "You always got somethin' goin on, Aim."

I said, "Yup." And kept wrapping. "Hey! I need you to help me carry the TV downstairs so I can use the entertainment centre to put stuff on."

There is something about carrying something heavy together that makes me feel good.

So wish me luck!

A.

My skin is tired.

Did you ever have that? When you are just utterly done? And even the skin between your eyes hurts?

S'kinda how i feel right now. I don't even know what to do with myself because it is too early for me to go to bed. If I climbed into bed right now, my restless legs would say HI! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN BED WE WANT TO GO JOGGING EVEN THOUGH YOU HAVEN'T JOGGED SINCE YOU WERE A WANNABE ANOREXIC IN GRADE EIGHT! SO GET OUT OF BED! BECAUSE WE WANT TO DANCE TO MARIAH CAREY, STUPID! HEY! DONT READ! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? YOU THINK YOU CAN JUST LIE THERE AND RELAX? FORGET IT! GET UP! GETUPGETUPGETUPGETUPGET UP!!

So I won't go to bed. I will wander around a bit and see if there is anything to do. I wish I was into canning. I could totally can some jam right now. Or iron. I could iron. But I have nothing to iron nor do I have an ironing board, per se. When I must iron I take a blanket and cover my coffee table in the rec room with it. Cept it slides all over the place so I have to go and find tape to tape it around the legs. Then I do this and then I have to go find the iron. Then I have to find the clothes I must iron. Then I get everything together and then I iron.

I usually leave the blanket on the table for a couple of days. And I look around for other things to iron before I have to take the tape and everything off.

So maybe I won't iron.

But I will get off the computer because now my eyeballs hurt.

Night night,
A.

Bad Date

Mrtl's Motif Monday subj. is A Bad Date.

I remember one time I was sixteen and sort of dating this guy. He was very tall and skinny and insecure and he was a sort of actor. I was me, five foot one at the time. And we were walking along Lakeshore Drive in Burlington on a summer night. And there was a group of teenagers hanging out in front of one store and we walked by them.

They were just bratty kids goofing off, anyone who walked by probably got some kind of stupid commentary. They started snickering at us, and I thought I heard one of them say something about a beanpole, and another about us looking like Laurel and Hardy. We kept walking. It was only our third date so we were already not that comfortable, and this was awkward.

Once we got past them, I asked, just for conversation, "What did they say?"

And he said, "They were making fun of you because you are short."

That third date was our last date. I mean, honestly, what kind of guy does that?

Not my kinda guy, that's who.

BACK TO HORATIO KANE.

a.

Poor Horatio Kane!

I meant to do a nice long blog but alls I can do is jump on here when its commercial time on CSI Miami. Poor Horatio is getting framed and the action is just too good!

Jay tapes shows on our Super Deluxe High Definition Cable Box, I swear that thing could cook dinner and give the kids their baths if I only knew how to work it. So when we watch our fave shows together, which are Lost and Medium, we skip over all the commercials and it only takes 35 minutes per show.

But I miss out! Because commercials are the bestest time to jump up and flip flop the laundry, or start the dishwasher, or pick up the sixty or so toys in the front hall. This uninterrupted TV show barrel-through doesn't work for me sometimes.

Oh! Gotta go!

Stuff Portrait Day

Kudos to Kristine for keeping this going. It's fun, and even though I don't play every week, I love to snoop on other people's stuff.

First is a Tacky Vacation Picture.

I couldn't find any but I did find this. This is me, my dad holding me, my sister Jen, and my Uncle David, on a camping trip in 1972.



What is with the shirt I am wearing? What alley was it dragged through before it was put on the baby? If you look at my right hand, you can sorta see the big ole bandaging I have on it. I had grabbed a knife, blade in, and cut my hand open. So it is all taped up. Pretty tacky, eh.

Here is something my kid made.

Love the colours on this. Makes me Happy.


And my brush is boring boring. So I won't bother.

And that is all.

Toodle-oo. I am off to get groceries for the thirty five or so people coming over tomorrow for Sam and Monty's combo birthday party.

A.

An Open Letter From Our Fish

Hi.


As of yesterday at 8pm, I lived in a little jar at the pet store alongside thirty or forty other betta fish. It wasn't a big place I had, but it was pretty quiet and peaceful.

Then The Forderers bought me and brought me home.

It was quite undignified. First I was kerplunked into a plastic bag and carried by a ten year old boy all the way home. He kept holding me up in the bag and looking at me, jostling me around, singing me the same song from The Killers over and over.

We got to their house. Pretty nice house, good neighborhood. But as soon as we walked in I could smell that there was a CAT downstairs. If you are a fish, this can bring on a lot of anxiety. I had to do breathing exercises to calm down.

They put me on the counter in my bag. There were two other little kids there, running around in circles and screaming about I don't know what. The Mom tried to keep them quiet, but they weren't listening. It was really loud and unnerving.

The two boys fought over me. It sounds more romantic than it really was. Each one of them wanted to be the one to put me in the tank. Finally the Dad stepped in and said if they can't get along then neither one of them was going to put me in the tank. I thought this was a wise move.

So the Mom got a new bowl ready for me and among all the shouting and screams (of delight, I think) I was kerplunked into the bowl. It's a pretty nice place. But man, these people were hyper! I had only been at their house for twenty minutes and already I needed a long nap.

After ogling me for a while, the parents put the kids to bed. I had an uneventful night. Which was a blessing because it has been a hell of a morning.

At 6:35 the middle kid comes crashing down the stairs, drags a stool over to my bowl and starts singing and talking to me. I don't know what he was saying, something about fish and star wars and spiderman and giant rats. Weirdo.

Then the other two kids came with the Mom and there was a big kerfuffle about what to name me. The middle kid wanted to name me Goldie (which is odd, considering I am not a goldfish) and the oldest kid wanted to name me Sly Cooper after a video game character. OH, the humanity. Finally they settled on Sly Goldie even though the oldest kid said it was the stupidest name he'd ever heard. Great.

So hi, my name is, um, Sly Goldie.

I swam around for a bit and watched these people get ready for their day. Now, I am no paragon of orderliness but these people are very unorganized. And the oldest kid totally didn't finish his toast even though he told his mom he did. I saw him toss it in the garbage.

At this point I figured that I might as well accept this family as they were and try to enjoy them. You can't pick your family, right?

BUT THEN. When everyone else was somewhere in the house, the littlest kid came to see me. She is pretty cute. But really close up to a fishbowl, not that cute. Kinda scary, actually. She talked to me, told me that she did not care for the names her duelling brothers had chosen, that she was just going to call me 'fishy' if it was alright.

I thought this was all well and good. Until she took a BABY WIPE out of a container and PUT it in MY BOWL.

I'll admit it. I panicked. You should have seen my gills. They were flapping like an old pair of undies on the line in a windstorm. I couldn't breathe. The baby wipe was floating down, down over me and I saw my life flash before my eyes.

Then the older boy saw what had happened. He yelled for the mom who came running and took the baby wipe out. I tried to signal to her that my water had been contaminated by the chemicals in the baby wipe! I guess she got it because she put me in a small bowl, changed my water, and put me back.

So now I am back. I'm okay, thanks for asking. But let me tell you I am not sure how long I will be around. I am completely exhausted now so I will sign off.

Here is to a better tomorrow.

Sly Goldie Fishy.

Fun Activities with Baby Powder

All I was doing was unloading the dishwasher. And when I was finished I said, "Ki-ids! Come have a snack."
But noone answered me.
So I went to find them and what did my wondering eyes did appear
But Lucy with powder from ear to shining ear.



And Monty was having a right good time,
Making powder footprints on the couch behind.

My living room smells really good now.

A.

Happy 10th Birthday Sammy

When you were one you were chubby and happy and calm. And we went everywhere together.



When you were almost three, you loved legos and your 'big blankie'. And you named your toy animals. There was Frank the Lion and Wanda the lizard and you had a pretend friend who you said was 'a chipmunk named Jim who lived in the forest'.

When you were almost four you loved Dinosaurs and Star Wars. And you started school. And you liked to wear vest-es that Grandma made for you. And you were best friends with Sara. And when you were about done being four, you turned to me the day before your next birthday and you said, "I don't think I want to turn five!"
And I said, "Why not?"
And you said, "Do I have to?"
And I said, "Yes, when you wake up tomorrow you will be five, buddy."
And you said, "Will I still have the same face?"



When you were five you became a big brother! And you would sing your baby brother songs that you made up, like
'Oh Monty-dearie, I love you all in my heart,
Oh Monty-dearie, you are as smart as a smart,
Oh Monty-dear-eeee, your my lo-oove!"
And you learned to ride your bike without training wheels. And you stopped writing your name as "MAS" and started writing it as "SAM".


At six you played with Lucas all the time. And you were a bat for Halloween. And your teacher was Ms. Sardo.


When you turned seven you had a big thing for Spiderman. And you took drawing classes. And you started karate. You made up your own game called "Slip and Slide".


At eight you were into X men. You drew them everywhere. And you started playing on the street with all the gang, Dimitri, Aris, Sam, Angelo, Daniel, Jacob, Matthew. And you became a big brother again! And you would hold Lucy any chance you got. And you would dance around and jump and do anything to make her laugh.


When you were nine you went on a train with Grandpa. And you got your purple belt. And you started to play the violin. And you had lots of homework. And you rode your bike with your friends farther from our house than ever before.


And now you are ten. And you will do a million new things before you turn eleven. And I am so lucky that I get to be here to watch you do them. And I love you.

It's When Things Get Hard That You Mus'nt Quit

Unnnless you are going completely mental and for some reason you didn't sign the tuition cheque and they return it to you so you aren't even fully registered yet anyways so you can withdraw without monetary or academic penalty.............



A LOAD. It has been LIFTED.

So now YOU tell ME. What did you quit?

A.

It's Not Just Me

My slavery course prof really does take the cake. Not only do our essays have to be in the Chicago style of citation, which I have never even heard of, but our book reviews must include:

a statement of the book's purpose
a synopsis of the book's content
a detailed analysis of the book's arguments
my evaluation of their strengths and weaknesses
some discussion of the book's sources
my overall judgement of the book's merits, demerits,
and it's contribution to scholarship.

Among a few other things. AND I AM ON PAGE 82 and THE BOOK IS 360 pages LONG.

Oh yeah, life on the edge is sah-weet.

Also, our class begins at 7pm. He says he will give us a TEN minute grace period to hand our papers in to his desk. Any paper that reaches his desk at or after 7:10 will be considered a DAY LATE.

So, like I said, it's not just me. Wah Wah Wah.

And it ain't like I'm gettin any work done during the day, eh? So I shall be burning the midnight oil. Pass the Jolt Cola.

Byes,
A.

Chew the Fat Tuesday

See, yesterday was Thanksgiving here, so it feels so much like Monday to me I can't even stand it. And I have night class tonight. Which isn't working out that great. SO much READING! And while some of the reading isn't too bad, THERE IS TOO MUCH OF IT. We have six books for this one course. SIX. Can I bother you with a small sample from a book of articles that we are responsible for reading each week?

"Building upon a persistent religious tradition hostile to slavery and buttressed by republican ideology, during the Revolutionary War years all of the Northern states but New York and New Jersey took steps to eradicate slavery: by judicial, legislative, or constitutional action in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, by a process of gradual abolition in Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Connecticut."

Wh-aa-T? How many add-ons can you put on a sentence? I think this authour needs to invest in some periods. And who on earth says 'buttresses' anymore? And how on earth am I going to get a decent mark in this course when there are articles like this that take me two hours to read and after I am done I am like, 'hmm. what was that about again?'

Next week I have a 6-8 page book report due. On a book that I have trudged my way through one third of so far.

Why oh why oh why oh why didn't I just take that nice little Music in Film course?

Because I am a dork. That's why.

So I am off to read read read. Any distractions welcome. I will even read all the spam comments. I won't be panicking until say, Sunday night of next week. Then there will be The Amy Show. Where I run pell mell around the house upsetting everyone because I have to squeeze hours and hours of work through the night to get the essay done. It's fun. I should charge admission.

Seeya,
A.

Punk Mower

Wish I had had my camera on me yesterday. Just down the street from my house lives this young guy. He is probably about 20-21 now. I have seen him metamorphose from this chubby dark haired kid with glasses and a huge facial birthmark to a thin punk rocker guy. It is fascinating how different he looks. He always says hello. He still has the birthmark, but it is kind of upstaged by his punk-ness.

He has this incredible mohawk. It is at least ten inches long and two toned. It looks like this big fan when he turns his head. He wears the punk standards, the plaid pants, the bracelets, the black shirt with the cutoff sleeves.

And yesterday I saw him mowing his neighbors lawn.



Man, a camera would have beeen good. What a neat image, of this guy bent over the lawnmower, pushing it uphill, with his bird of paradise hair and his 18 hole Docs.

Cool, man.

A.

True Love Look

There are two people in her world that she looks at like this. Daddy. And Barney.



Honestly, if she had a swiss army knife I would find it carved into the tree on our front yard.



I don't mind Barney himself. Those kids that hang out with him on the various shows, though. Yikes. The overacting, the huge swinging arcs of head motion when they say, "YES!" Scaa-ary, man.

But Luca loves it all. She is starting to talk so much. We are getting out of the car yesterday and she is hugging her plush B. and she says, "C'I come, mommy?" I say, "Yep."
"C'Bar-ey come too?"
"Yes, he can."
"Coo, mommy."
I look at her. (She just said "Cool, mommy!" How awesome can you get?)
She smiles and hugs B. Then she laughs and says,
"Bar-ey said dat."

Then I squeezed her (and Barney) so hard and kissed her and life is good.

A.