Day 27

Christmas has officially kicked off in our little town. Tonight was the Santa Claus parade, and my kids got to be in it! I even had a little verklempt moment, watching the various vehicles and floats go by…I realized that I love where we live. I can’t even explain it.

In the space of two hours, I managed to: get the kids to D’s store so they could ride in the truck, write out and sign two large cheques on behalf of the soccer association, watch a parade, find my kids again, spend 20 minutes in DQ’s drive thru (sale = busy, apparently), hit the GM dealer to see the charity Xmas trees on offer, return the kids to D, get some of my bits waxed, pick up & take the kids home, change clothes, and head back to town.

I wasn’t kidding when I told the esthetician that the wax appt was the most relaxing part of my day.

Got some shopping done, but not much for Xmas. I think the steal of the night was the $25 king-size sheet set, in microfleece. Perfect for those -30C winters….

Day 26.

I have no idea what to post.

Can’t really say much in detail about the disagreement my husband and I had. Are having. Whatever. He’s not a fan of the industry in which I work, to put it mildly.

I suppose I could rant & rave about how disappointed I am that J seems to have lost his DS (again), his digital camera (again), AND a complete Wii game with remote add-on. How this happens, I have no clue. We have a small house. Very small. Like 700 square feet per floor – 2 of them – small. One bathroom for 4 people SMALL. Where the fuck can you lose things?! I’m seriously beginning to suspect theft…but I don’t know who to actually suspect.

On a happier note, I think I’ve figured out where the tree is going this year. It’ll involve some furniture rearrangement, and I may end up buying a new desk while I’m at it. Fun!

Day 25

One month until Christmas. Just like that, 2009 is almost over.

Insane, isn’t it?

We seem to have decided on the “big” gifts for the kids – both of which they’ll share. Can’t post now, just in case the little techno-freaks have discovered mommy’s happy place (aka this blog). I can’t be too careful, right?

I’m done tonight….got nothing. Going to watch Glee

Day 24.

Movie night. Actually, dinner & movie “date” night with my kid. The one that keeps growing, and recently turned 11. Oy.

We saw New Moon and I have to say I enjoyed the movie. The eye candy was also most excellent, although it’s possible I’ve shot straight past “cougar” and right into “creepy old lady” land. I’ve read the books, I know how it ends…and yet I can’t help but root for Jacob. And his yummy abs, of course. Edward is sparkly, but he’s always clothed. Boring.

J’s night is coming, just as soon as The Blind Side comes to our one-screen theatre.

Day 23: My dog is an asshole.

The kids go to a dual-track school here in the back of beyond. That’s just a fancy way of saying, “We teach both of Canada’s official languages here.” Although I suppose that might be obvious, considering I have a child in French immersion now. Or did I not mention that?

Anyhoo…just tell me to shut up already with the long & roaming backstories. Seriously. This is how I talk in Real Life. Very wordy.

So…every year the Canadian Parents for French group does a fundraiser. I order some stuff, and guilt-slash-annoy my staff into buying things. (don’t worry, they get me back) The order came home with J today. Without thinking, I left it on the floor when I took A to karate.

Dumb move of the week. And it’s only Monday!

Wiley (the dog that is an asshole) dug into the bag, pulled out someone’s box of chocolate malted balls, and proceeded to tear it open. When I got back, he wasn’t quite finished the entire box, and he immediately started skulking under the table. Thanks, dog. Did I mention you’re an ASSHOLE?

Yes, I know chocolate is toxic to dogs. However, the true percentage of dog-maiming chocolate in this box is likely very low, and since he’s currently having a TwitchyNap (you know, the ones where it looks like they’re moving/running), he seems ok. He’s had chocolate before – in the form of one entire advent calendar, which he had to get on the dishwasher to reach. Again, ASSHOLE.

We do feed him regularly. He even gets treats on occasion. And yet, Wiley has spent his entire doggy life looking for the next thing to eat. He has gone camping with us, only to steal food from every other site (all friends of ours, luckily). He’s gotten into the garbage, both inside & outside the house. He’s probably eaten half-dead mice that the cats bring in as offerings. Yep, he’s just your average asshole dog. Who eats someone else’s chocolate malted balls. That I now have to replace and/or pay for.

Day 22.

Almost two months ago, I came to a realization. I’ve been spending over $100 (sometimes more) a year on purses, usually in the $50-$60 range. Once upon a time, I wouldn’t consider spending more than $20 on a purse. Sad, but true.

And now? I think all these cheaper versions are a waste. I’m seriously considering a Real Purse. One that is not “leather-like” but real, actual leather. One that will cost me about $200….and will probably last for 2-4 years.

The last one I bought was bright red, on the small side, and relatively unstructured. That was in June. It’s already looking like shit, although I still love the colour.

I’ve had my eye on one on Ebay for a couple of weeks. It was recently reduced in price, but still. $200. My inner Scrooge is having issues with this. Yes, it’s a $400+ purse (according to the listing, which has photos of the actual retail tag on the purse). Yes, it’ll last me. BUT. I’d better be DAMN sure I love it, because that same inner Scrooge will not allow me to relegate it to the closet for a long time.

Urgh. Back to pondering.

Day 21.

I live with a herd of apes.

Boy-children thundering up & down the stairs. Non-stop food requests. A grocery bill that keeps growing….

Husband-person trying his “moves” on me in the middle of the living room.

OY.

Day 20.

For the second year running, our calendar order is wrong. The printer seems to have completely ignored the proof I sent. I did make one error, but they ran with it:

Company name: has the internal identifier at the end. This is not something that needs to be on our calendars.

Street number: both WRONG, and with “th” at the end. Really? Does 350th Tree Avenue sound like a real address?!

Area code: mysteriously shortened by a digit. I have no idea where calls might end up if our clients actually refer to the calendar for the phone number.

However, because I am trying to listen to my inner environmentalist these days, I refuse to have the entire order reprinted. WASTE. The printer is providing labels for us to stick on the calendars – it’ll be marginally tacky, but we’ll live. And I won’t be paying full cost. (duh)

This fubar reminds me of the envelope fiasco… It all comes back to the town council doing a little street re-numbering/re-naming. I made a point of getting our address changed on the printer’s ordering website. Then I waited a WEEK before ordering. The result? 5000 envelopes with our OLD address.

ARGH. I got new ones, and the first set was free. I figure we’re good for about 5 years.

Day 19.

I had this whole other post written….but I just can’t publish it. I find myself being very judgmental about someone else’s decisions in life, and really? It’s not my problem. (no, my seester, it’s not you – I’d just tell you if this was about you, lol)

So. What to post about…let’s go for stream of consciousness!

We tried that garlic bread pizza tonight. VERY garlicky. Kids aren’t gobbling it up, so I sense it’s not a hit. Whatevs. I like it.

It’s snowing. I hope I can still get some gutters installed on the garage.

According to the news, I need to drink more. Look it up!

Has anyone had A&W’s Sirloin Baby Burger Twins? They’re not bad…but the sauce isn’t my favourite.

My 11 yr old has a sore knee, and he’s being very dramatic about it.

I am officially done the outlaw shopping. Of course, this means that my husband called me today, because he found the most perfect present for his parents. Argh. AM NOT BUYING MORE.

The new CBC radio commercials bug me.

Ok. That’s enough of that. I’m off to study my kids’ Xmas lists in earnest. Fun!

Day 18. OMFG.

There are many things D & I disagree upon. We’re different people. We like to argue and debate.

On the flip side, there are things we agree upon. At the top of that list is this:

We cannot stand stupidity. Stupid people, stupid rules, stupid anything.

There are some very stupid people in this world, and when we have to deal with them, it’s beyond frustrating. Take the case of our neighbours: they have 2 boys our kids’ ages. All 4 of them get along well, play endlessly, and have a grand time.

Unfortunately, they don’t live next door full time, but with their custodial parent, who lives about 20 minutes away. This parent controls when the boys see their other parent, the one who lives next door to us. We haven’t seen them in a while….and apparently it’s because they spend “too much time” at OUR house.

The reasoning: why should Parent A send them to Parent B when they’ll just be at the neighbours’ (us)?

The reality: They aren’t at our house 24/7, you STUPID STUPID moron. The 4 kids go back & forth between houses, trade off sleepovers, do boy stuff in both yards….you get the idea.

The outcome: four kids who genuinely like each other are NOT allowed to spend time together. If anything in life is a true WTF, this is it.

The best part is that the new spouse of the custodial parent is the one who told that parent that *I* said they were at our house “all the time.” Open your ears, ASSHOLE. I said: “It’s great! The four of them are back & forth all the time, having a blast!”

See? STUPID. And pointless.