More Adventure Shopping and Why My Parents Aren't Allowed To Pick Movies Anymore

I've had a very harrowing day.

This morning, my mother, who hates to shop and hates crowds says to me "I guess we'd better go to Costco". What? Are you serious? It's the Sunday before New Year's and it's almost noon. And you voluntarily want to go to Costco? Turns out my dad needed his pills, which happen to be at the Costco pharmacy. I get it.

Since I'm almost always up for an adventure, off we go. The parking lot was a zoo. Several people took it upon themselves to "invent" parking spots, despite the fact that there were lots of available parking spaces at the far end of the lot. I guess lazy wins out over legal and safe. Inside the store wasn't much better. People were going every which way and there were little mobs of people all over the store wherever there was a free sample stand. But we were on a mission. I was looking for a very specific desk calendar and we needed dad's pills. And we pulled it off. Not only did we manage to get out alive and without any issues of cart rage, I also passed up a poutine and hot dog and we were home in an hour. We also got my calendar, dad's pills, some sinus medication for me, a case of Bush's beans for my parents and a bag of Cashew Clusters. After our adventure, I made lunch for my parents and myself. My dad took two bites of his egg, ran upstairs and threw up again. He then thanked me for the egg, because he felt monumentally better. Wish I could say the same thing for the bath mats. They got washed this afternoon :) You know the saying "It's not over until the fat lady sings"? In this house it's "The flu's not over until the bath mats get puked on". Good going dad.

Mom and I baked a ham for dinner and I made cheesy crescent rolls to go along with it. My dad managed to eat something that resembled dinner and kept it down, so that's a good sign.

My parents then decided to torture me as only they can. It started out innocently enough. Mom said "Let's watch a movie". Dad said "sure". So mom starts reading off the movie titles that they own (which is about 15 movies in total). I keep saying "no". I passed on one called "Superhero Movie". You guesses it. It's a spoof on Super Hero movies. Next thing I know, my dad's asking to read the back of it. Crap. Mom decided it would be good because it has Leslie Neilson and Pamela Anderson in it. I tried to explain to her that that wasn't a good sign but she didn't listen. So they decide to watch it. Those are 75 minutes that I'm never getting back. It spoofed Spiderman, Batman, X-Men, Fantastic Four....etc. It was brutal. Which means that my parents loved it. During one scene, which involved the two main characters, trying to have a romantic love scene, during which a lot of farting is coming from the main character's aunt, I thought my mom was literally going to fall out of her chair, she was laughing that hard. I think I had more fun watching my parents than I did watching the movie. I think I'm going to have to walk my ass to the store tomorrow and pick out some movies for the evening. If I leave it up to the other two, more brains cells might be killed needlessly. I'm also pretty sure that the end of the movie stole a scene from the movie Airplane too. Anything that references Airplane isn't good. And it had horrible, horrible sexual references through out the entire thing as well. And seeing as I was watching it with my parents, it was just that much worse. I think I'm scarred for life.

On that note, it's time to pop some sinus medication and head to bed. The damn snow plow woke me up at 2 something this morning after it decided to go down our street 5 times. Seriously! It's a small street. WTF??

Good Night!

Sarah

My mom took this very pretty photo today - it's her Christmas cactus and icicles in our front window.

Shopping Queen

Not much to report in my universe tonight. It was an ok day. All 3 of us had a rough night's sleep, with various things waking us up through out the night/early morning. As a result, it was a slow start to the day. I got out first and started to shovel since the white stuff just keep coming (not as bad as what Ottawa/Montreal got though). Afterwards, I pouted enough to get the 'rents to take me shopping. My poor dad still isn't feeling well. I figure mom should be good to go tomorrow and dad will be another 2 days. This is the first day that I've felt normal all day so I'm thrilled about that.

I did get to hit up one store and I got my shop on. I did very well too. 5 new pieces of clothing: 2 dresses, 2 tops, 1 skirt and a 2 pack of slipper socks for $100. I think that was pretty well done. I'm a fan of the words "50% off the lowest marked price". Seriously. I got a dress (work style) for $14.99. How awesome is that?

I'm currently contemplating going to church in the morning with my grandparents and my great aunt and uncle. While it would be great to see them and spend time with them, it still involves going to church and sitting through a sermon. It's not that I have issues with God, it's more like I have issues with religion in general and I really don't like being preached at. We'll see how I feel in the morning. I'm having some sinus problems at the moment and I don't want to be blowing my noise all through a church service.

It's kind of ironic about the church thing. When my brother and I were little, my parents dragged us to church every Sunday. I even have Sunday School Perfect Attendance Awards to prove it. Yet my grandparents never went. Fast forward to now and it's my grandparents that go and not us. And trust me, they try the guilt thing to get us to go too. I think that's a little hypocritical.

It's too late at night to really get into that one though, so I'll end it here. I should get to bed soon. I'm hoping my sinus thing isn't going to turn into a sinus cold. Knowing me, it probably will and that will royally suck.

Good Night!

Sarah

Thankfully, it's not quite this snowy here.

3 for 3!

Karma made an appearance in our household a little after 6 this morning. That's when I was woken up to the sound of my father throwing up. Yes indeed. Mr. "I feel fine" caught the stomach flu that my mom and I had earlier in the week. By all accounts, he's had the most mild case. He was like "I wonder why I didn't get it sooner?". I know why. Because he's a man. His immune system was just waiting for mom and I to be feeling better so that we could take care of him when he got sick. Figures. Men are such babies when they're sick.

Take this evening for instance. Our neighbours keep bees, and as a result, always have lots and lots of yummy honey on hand. Mom ran out of honey. One of my favourite things to eat when I'm sick is toast with honey. When I was sick, no one would walk down the block and get honey for me, but when dad is sick....he pouted at me until I got my boots on and stomped down the street to get the damn honey.

I'm feeling much better today. I was a little on the queasy side this morning and didn't feel the best while out grocery shopping with mom, but by the time we got home, I was starting to perk up. I cooked a decent dinner for myself (mom and dad both had toast with honey for dinner) and I've eaten 3 of the Truffles that my buddy Cam sent me, so that's a good sign. I still have some queasy moments, but I think that's mostly just gas. LOL.

We were fortunate here this evening. The skies cleared and I was able to see the beautiful full moon. The last full moon of 2012 to be exact. As 2012 draws to a close, I do find myself thinking back upon the year and looking at what I have and have not accomplished. I'm trying to decide what resolutions to make for the new year as well. I've got a couple more days to think about it and reflect before I need to make any decisions.

I'm hoping everyone, myself included, are feeling back to normal tomorrow. I really would like to get out and about for a while and do a little shopping.

But for now, it's bedtime.

Good Night!

Sarah

Solid Foods and Turkey Farts

Well this is a new one. Usually your parents tell you get to bed. My mother told me that I'm not allowed to go to bed until I've blogged, so that she has something to read in the morning. Easy for her to say. She's the one that had the 2+ hour nap this afternoon.

Yes, that means that we're both feeling better and by some bizarre miracle, my dad didn't catch the flu. I guess that's a good thing seeing as he's a big baby when he's sick. I guess most men are really.

Today was a better day. I've eaten solids today and even some gummy candies so I'm doing much better. I also disinfected the bathroom and scrubbed the toilet while mom and dad shovelled. We got 13cms of snow overnight so it actually looks like winter now. I was too sore to shovel so I opted to scrub the toilet instead, seeing as I helped in it's violation. It was the least I could do. I'm still on the sore side. It really hurts to sneeze, blow my nose or laugh though. Seeing as I'm allergic to half this house, it's been a painful day. My parents keep laughing at me when I sneeze.

Oh dear. My dad has turkey farts. My mom is in for a smelly night. LOL. Better her than me! And thank god dad's in another room right now.

Mom and I watched the movie "Brave" tonight. It's a very cute movie. I quite liked it, except when I laughed, which just plain hurt, and that made my mom laugh so she deserves to be stuck in a bed with a man who has turkey farts. I suppose that's the one upside to having had the flu - no turkey farts.

I think I'm actually going to attempt getting up and going outside tomorrow. It's grocery shopping day for my parents and I know my mom hates doing it. I don't mind it so I'll gladly tag along and help her out. I'm sure the fresh air will do me good as well.

Oh! And my brother is even more shit. Not only did he give us the flu, but he stole my mom's lighter on the way out of the house on boxing day. He's pretty high on mom's shit list right now. LOL.

Alright, I think it's time to log off. I didn't have a nap today so I'm on the tired side. Here's hoping tomorrow is less painful than today.

Good Night,

Sarah

Dad making things go "Boom"

Christmas Day and Why My Brother Is In Big Trouble

Merry Christmas everyone! As you may have noticed, this blog is a day late. That's because I was too busy throwing up last night to blog. But more on that later.

I had a very wonderful Christmas with my family. After we opened our stockings,  my dad made us cinnamon buns, which really, really sucked but Mom and I ate them anyways. They were frozen ones that you bake yourself. Not good. So much so that dad threw out the 2nd package of them. LOL.

After that, we moved on the gifts. My parents did something very mean to me. Last Christmas I asked my dad for an Ottawa Senator's Heritage hockey jersey. He being a Leaf's fan told me where to shove that idea.  Needless to say, I didn't get one for Christmas. So I asked for it again for my birthday. Same response, no jersey. So around Thanksgiving, I started to harass my dad for the damn jersey again. This time I got somewhere as he asked me what size and what the Heritage one looked like. I'd pretty much forgotten about it after than. So on Christmas morning, my parents gave me a beautifully wrapped box that clearly contained clothing. I opened the lid and the contents were lovingly wrapped up in pink tissue paper. As the excitement mounted, I slowly pulled back the tissue paper to reveal....a fucking Toronto Maple Leaf's jersey. Apparently the look on my face was priceless. Mom and dad were killing themselves laughing. My exact words where "This isn't even remotely funny". They got me to hold up the jersey and took a picture. My father then handed me a gift bag. Inside, in a plastic bag, was my Ottawa Senator's Hockey jersey. I was much happier to see that :) The Leaf's jersey was my dad's. They thought it would be funny to wrap it up and give it to me. I am not amused. Well, actually I am. That was pretty damn sneaky of those two. I did get some revenge though. My dad had put his jersey on their bed. When he wasn't around, I threw it in their garbage can....twice.

I also got a beautiful pair of sterling silver hoop earrings that I've been looking for for over a year. Mom did a great job on finding those. Mom was the one who got the bling this Christmas. It's a very lovely sterling silver and blue diamond pendant on a silver chain. I helped dad out with that one and he came through with flying colours, which was awesome.

We spent part of the afternoon at my Grandparents' house where we visited with them as well as both sets of  aunts and uncles and I got to see 2 cousins that I haven't seen since last Christmas. After than we came home. Mom and dad visited the neighbours while I prepped the potatoes and broccoli for dinner. We then sat down and relaxed. My tummy was starting to feel a bit "off" at that point. I thought it might have just been left over anxiety from being at my grandparents and all the noise and hoopla that went on their. It was a wonderful dinner and it tasted great. I was pretty full after dinner but didn't feel too bad. We called my Aunt in New Brunswick at 8pm and talked to her for awhile. I was feeling ok then.

At 9 I went upstairs to change into my jammies and shortly there after, I started to feel not so good. My tummy was rolling. It felt like I wanted to burp, but couldn't. Around 10pm the pain started. I knew I was in trouble.

You see, my brother and family were here on Christmas Eve. My brother was sick. He had a stomach virus that had been through everyone in his family and now him. Instead of staying home, he came here and violated our bathroom and slept in my parent's bed.

I fought it for as long as I could last night. I kept willing myself: "You're not going to throw up." But I lost the battle around 10:45. Sadly, it did not make me feel better. In fact, I felt worse. I texted my brother and told him that he's dead meat. He laughed and told me to "walk it off". Jerk. By the time I threw up the second time, I had to find a bucket because I now had stuff coming out both ends. I have to admit that I've got pretty good aim. Puking in a bucket while sitting on the can takes talent. Problem was, I was so incredibly tired and so friggin' cold! All in all, by 1:30am I had thrown up 5 times. The last time was mostly dry heaves which are the worst! I finally fell asleep and slept until 4:30am when I had to use the bathroom again. I was able to get back to sleep and slept until 8am when jerkface called and woke us up. He was calling because he was supposed to bring my nephew over to open his gifts (he was at his dad's place on Christmas Eve).  Dad told them to come over at 10. It was at this point that I learnt that my mom had been up at 6:30am, throwing up as well. I went back to bed and didn't wake up again until 9:30 when typhoid Mary (aka my brother) came into my room to see me. I had some choice words for him. Turns out, he'd also given the flu to his in-laws. His mother in law was sick yesterday (like me) and his father in law got sick overnight.

I know that my parents taught us to share, but this is a bit insane. My brother and sister-in-law left all 3 kids here and went off Boxing Day shopping. Thankfully, my dad hasn't caught it (yet) and he was able to mostly manage all 3 kids. Mom gave up and went back to bed around 11. I stayed up until everyone left at 12:30 and then I left my dad to his own devices and went back to bed. Mom and I finally got up at 4:30.  I've had a good deal of water and some flat diet ginger ale. At 5:30 I ate 8 un-salted soda crackers. I'm happy to report that they've stayed down and nothing new has come out. Mom seems to be doing better too. My brother is still in major shit with us, especially if my dad comes down with it.

I need to log off and do some laundry. My aim might not have been 100% off the get go and I think my sleep pants bore the ill effects of that. Oh well.

I hope everyone had a less eventful night than we did.

Good Evening,

Sarah

A photo of my brother *grin*

Christmas Eve Crazy!

There's a reason why "National Lampoons Christmas Vacation" is my favourite movie. I have had several Christmases that resemble that movie. Tonight kind of took a page from that book.

My brother and his family arrived here at 12:45pm. Shortly there after, my brother made a run for the bathroom, citing a "code brown". He was up there quite some time. He eventually re-joined us. We all visited for a bit and then started to hand out gifts. My brother disappeared again. This pattern kept going and my brother was fading fast. Turns out the whole family has had a stomach bug over the last week or so and it appears that it was my brother's turn. He ended up crawling into my parents' bed and napping for a bit. My niece was asleep in the playpen in one room and my brother was sound asleep in the next room. LOL.

Once they both woke up, my brother tried taking some medication to make him feel better. It kind of worked. He threw up, which made him feel better. He decided that he was feeling well enough to go out to dinner.

It's tradition in our family to go out for Chinese Food on Christmas Eve and then drive around town looking at all the pretty Christmas lights.

So off we all go to the restaurant, with our neighbours joining us along the way. The place we go to is always busy on Christmas Eve, so there's a little bit of a wait for food. My brother and his crew had beat us to the restaurant so they already had a table for us. My brother had apparently already made a trip or two to the bathroom. After getting drinks, he asked me if there were any spare napkins around as there wasn't any toilet paper in the men's room and he'd been wiping his ass with paper towels and "it's starting to hurt". Sigh. I did the good big sister thing and went into the women's washroom and stole him some tp from there. The poor kid really wasn't looking good. So they decided to leave as the food wasn't going to be ready for a bit. Somewhere in the middle of all of this, my grandparents and great Aunt and Uncle arrived. They always stop for Chinese Food too before heading to church.

To add to all the chaos already happening, a woman with a 6 month old baby approached our table and asked if anyone could give her husband a boost as their battery had died. My dad and one of our neighbours jumped up and hurried off to help the guy out. My mother then went over to where the lady and baby were to talk to the lady and help keep their baby calm. While all of that was going on, our food arrived. This left my neighbour and I alone at the table with 5 plates of food. I looked at her and said "Well this has been an interesting evening". She laughed and we dug in. Everyone else returned shortly and the 5 of us had a very nice dinner. After I was done, I moved over to the table where my grandparents and aunt and uncle were and I visited with them for a bit. Then something else happened that really made me smile. The man who my dad and neighbour helped had driven his wife and child home once the car was running again.  He came back to the restaurant to pick up their order. At the same time, he brought my dad and the neighbour each a ziplock bag with home made shortbread cookies in them as a thank you for their help. How sweet is that?

After dinner, mom, dad and I piled into the car, cranked the heat and drove around town looking at the lights. We oohed and ahhed and laughed and pointed out things that were the same as last year and the things that had changed. When we got home, I made a nice cup of hot chocolate and we sat down to watch a Duck Dynasty mini-marathon. LOL. Not exactly a typical Christmas Eve show but it was highly entertaining and they did show a Christmas episode.

As I sit here and write this, waiting for Santa to come, I can't help but chuckle at the afternoon/evening we've had. It makes me smile. I've learnt that there really is no such thing as a perfect Christmas. Something is always going to go wrong. But just because things don't go as planned doesn't mean that things can't be awesome. Because they still were. I got to spend time with both of my nieces. And a nice couple with a baby got to see how kind strangers can be. I got to spend an evening laughing and smiling with family and friends and got reminded of what awesome people they all are. And I got a pretty good fortune in my cookie too.

I really hope my poor brother is feeling better tomorrow and I really, really, REALLY hope that mom, dad and I don't catch it!!

One last thing before I sign off: Before I started writing tonight's blog, I checked my stats. I have published 155 blogs and now have over 5000 page views. Wow. That still blows my mind. Thank you very much for reading.

I need to get to bed now or else Santa won't bring me anything.

Whoever you are and where ever you are, I hope you and yours have a very Merry Christmas!

Good Night,

Sarah

Oh, Tannenbaum!

I had another good fun day with my parents. My dad and I ran 2 last errands this morning, then we came home and had lunch with my mom and this afternoon the 3 of us went out visiting.

Our first stop was to visit my favourite centenarian (some who's 100 years old), Mr. B. For the first time since I arrived home, I was actually nice and toasty warm while inside someone's house. LOL. We had a nice visit and listened to him complain about not being able to have any coffee because his family bought him a new coffee maker, but he'd run out of coffee for it. It's a Keurig. Apparently he didn't have any K-cups left for it. So he's had to resort to drinking tea. I quite like tea so I didn't see what the problem was. LOL. He then went on to explain that someone threw his kettle out so to make tea, he has to microwave a cup of water until it's hot and then add in the tea bag. LOL. He really wasn't happy about not having any coffee. It was a very nice visit and it was great to see him again. He's pretty feisty for someone who's 100 years old.

Next we visited with my great Aunt and Uncle and I was gifted with a new supply of Duct Tape. White, Silver and Red rolls this time (it's a long story). Steph will be happy to hear this as it means I have a new source of insulation for my air conditioner next summer.

Dad BBQ'd some steaks for dinner and I made broccoli, mashed potatoes and fried onions and mushrooms to go with it. We had fruitcake for dessert. Yes, I like fruitcake. I got all my gifts wrapped this evening so tomorrow should be a very relaxing day.

While we were at Mr. B's, he mentioned that he didn't have to put up the Christmas tree this year and was rather happy about that. It kind of reminded me of my parents and our tree. If they could avoid putting it up, they would. I pouted and up went the tree and that was before I got here. But all of this reminded me of a funny story about how we got the tree we have now.

Over the years, we've had both artificial and real trees. The real trees used to kill mom's plant in the living room. The damn thing would get jealous and up and die. As soon as the tree was gone, it came back to life. Stupid plant. Anyhow, we used to have 2 rather old artificial trees. They were identical. The both had a broom stick like rod with holes drilled in it for the trunk and then what looked like giant pipe cleaners for branches. The ends of the branches were painted so that you know which level of the tree to stick them into. We had one of them up in the basement and I took it out one year - I don't remember how exactly, I just remember falling and landing on the tree. I'm sure it was my brother's fault. Anyhow, the one upstairs was always put up in the middle of the french doors that separate the living room and dinning room.

The side of the tree that faced the living room was my parents' side and they decorated it. The side facing the dining room belonged to my brother and I  and we decorated it. Mom and dad's side had delicate straw stars and pretty angels while our side had every ornament we'd made since kindergarten plus a mish-mash of tacky ones picked up from other people over the years. The handmade ornaments included two gingerbread men that had to weigh about 5lbs each.

One year, after decorating the tree, my mom and I were sitting in the living room, reading. It was nice and quiet as the boys where downstairs. I heard a funny "creeek" sound. I looked around the room and saw nothing so I kept reading. Then all of a sudden, there was a very loud snapping sound. Mom and I both looked up at the same time and looked at the tree, just and the entire top 1/3 of the tree snapped off and fell backward into the dinning room. Neither of us moved for a few beats. I'm sure we were both stunned. I don't entirely recall our reaction at the time, but looking back on it, I'm pretty much laughing my ass off. Seriously? Who else has ever snapped an artificial tree in half? Needless to say, most of the "kid's" ornaments got thrown out that year, including the 5lb gingerbread men.

Mom and dad have already warned me that next year, there will be no tree, just mom's little 2 ft fibre optic tree, as next year is our year to host my grandparent's for dinner. My dad seems to be worried about my grandmother taking out the tree. Can't say I blame him :)

Here's hoping everyone's trees remain vertical this year.

Good Night!

Sarah

A slightly fuzzy version of the tree at Mom and Dad's from 2008

When Shopping Becomes An Adventure Sport

I was awake before anyone else this morning. Partly because I was cold and partly because I was sore. The new mattress that my parents bought a few years ago, for the bed in my old room, is a little on the hard side and my back really doesn't like it. So for the first 3-4 nights here, I wake up in a bit of pain. My mom was up shortly after me. She claims that the reason was that she didn't want me downstairs alone in case I snooped through the presents. Ha! She's the biggest snoop of us all.

When my dad and I got back from shopping yesterday afternoon, we hadn't been outside of the car for more than a minute and I looked over and someone had her head sticking out the front door, trying to see what bags we had. She did the same thing today but from the front hall window this time.

I went shopping with both parents this morning (and we only lost dad once) and then we had a nice lunch together, after which we dropped off my mom at home and dad and I ventured out into the wildest shopping place of the day: Walmart. The place was a zoo. My dad was even blown away by just how bad it was. He didn't think it would be that bad. He really has no grasp on Walmart shopping. The line up for the photo studio was down the Christmas cookie aisle, the seasonal and toy departments were like a giant ring of bumper cars, but with karts, the bakery was sold out of mincemeat pies and the 1 main thing that we went there to find, was no where to be found. Thankfully we were able to find the rest of the stuff we were looking for.

After Walmart, we hit up Shopper's Drug Mart so I could mail off my last present - headed to Calgary. The lineup there was actually pretty short and quick, so that was nice. Next we headed to Zhers so we could get the damn mincemeat pie (which my dad couldn't see, despite looking right at it!) and my dad got my mom some pretty holiday flowers too. Our final stop was Food Basic for a gift card and then we came home.

After dinner, dad started on a wrapping spree which seemed to be a success despite the occasional swearing I heard coming from the dinning room. For me, it was arts and crafts time. My friend Stephanee was making a Christmas tutu for her niece and I decided to make one too. For the record, I hate tulle. That stuff is terrible to work with/cut! Somehow I managed to get it all cut and believe it or not, I made a tutu. It actually looks pretty cute. I think it might be a bit on the big side for my niece though. We'll find out on Monday I guess.

All in all, it was a good day. I have finished all of my Christmas shopping and just have to worry about wrapping everything now. I can sit back and relax and not stress about any last minute things.

I think it's getting close to bed time. My mom got tired of me bitched about how cold it is and she shut my bedroom window this morning. My room is still cold, it's just not damn cold anymore :)

Good Night!

Sarah

Christmas 2008 - this is what I have to do to keep warm at home!

Home!

I know, I know, I didn't blog last night. By the time I even thought of my blog, I was already in bed, all cocooned up in my blankets and there was no way that I was getting back out of that warmth again until I absolutely had to.

I made it home, safe and sound, with no thanks to Mother Nature. When I woke up yesterday, Ottawa resembled the inside of a snow globe. Steph made it to my house and while I was taking out the garbage and watering my plants, she was shovelling out the end of my street where the plow had made a nice pile from plowing the main road. When we were ready to go, Steph had me stand on the corner, in the snow and watch for traffic on the main road. It's 5am and we're in the middle of a snow storm, there's no traffic! But I did as I was told and I gave her the all clear and she gunned it out of my street, through the snow pile and onto the main road. YAY! I then had to run around the snow bank and get into the car.

Partway there, we saw police lights in the distance. As we creeped closer, we saw that both of our lanes were blocked by an accident. Thankfully, being insanely early and a snow storm, we were able to drive in the other lane and go around it all. It was a van vs tow truck crash. Steph said "I wonder who was the cause of that" and her husband and I both said "Tow Truck" at the same time. But judging by where the van was, I think it might have been the van.

We got to the train station at a good time. In fact, we beat the attendant to the station. Most people were huddled around the front door but it was in the wind. I stood by the back door, where it's protected and I could watch the snow fall. I also lucked out since this was the door the Via guy used and I was the first person to be let into the warmth of the train station.

Via Rail has come a long way in the last 10 years. They've introduced seat assignment and are fixing up their cars. But when it comes to holiday travel, Via sucks. The seat assignment goes out the window. They just tell everyone to "sit where ever" This really sucks if you're travelling in pair because it means that you might not get seats together. Anyhow, the boarding announcement said to get on at car 3. So we hustled there. An elderly lady and I had been hiding under a covered area until the train was ready for boarding, so we were one of the last ones to get to the car. Once there, another lady said to go down to where the man was sweeping, car 5. So we trudged through the storm to that car. I was the 2nd to last to get one. First problem - no more room for luggage. Despite Via advertising the hell out of their new baggage policy, people ignored it. So I told the Via guy that there was no more room for luggage. He said not to worry about it and to leave it on the floor and he'd take care of it. This is code for "I'm going to hide it somewhere and you're going to spend 30 minutes in Toronto searching the train for it". Sigh. Next problem, there was only 1 seat left on the train. It was in a 4-seater, with 3 young University guys. Oh hell no. I got back to the Via guy (who was looking increasing frazzled) and said "There are no more open seats on this car" and I put my hand on my hip for good measure. So he said "I can let you onto car 4, there are seats there". So I followed him into the oasis that was car 4.

Those of you who read this regularly know that I never get the new cars on the train. Call it a Christmas miracle, but Car 4 was one of the new refurbished cars. And it only had about 12 people in there. Ahhh. I ended up having 2 seats to myself until Coburg. It was great. I did got back to the other car and grabbed my suitcase and brought it onto my car, which had lots of luggage room still. I sat back and enjoyed the ride. I also gave the Via guy a tip when he came around selling food and drinks later.

Of course, when I changed trains in Toronto, I was back to crappy old cars but I didn't care anymore at this point. The ride was a smooth one and we got into Kitchener only about 4 minutes late. When I got off the train, I looked around and couldn't see my mom. So I waited a bit thinking she was having a smoke somewhere or was late getting to the train. I started to walk down the platform towards the parking lot and I finally see her pop out from the train station. I make my way over to her and give her a kiss and a big hug and then someone comes out the train station behind her - it was my dad! What an awesome surprise!

I haven't seen my family since August. I've gone longer without seeing them but any length of time seems long. So for weeks, all I keep thinking of is that one perfect moment when I get off the train and I get to see my mom and see her smile and I get to give her a kiss and wrap my arms around her. Whenever I was having a bad day or work was really stressing me out, that's what I'd think about. No matter how old I get or how independent I am, the second I get to rush up to my mom at the train station and hug her, everything feels right with the world again. The stress and anxiety of the trip just melt away. Tears of happiness spring to my eyes, my heart soars and my soul sings because I'm just so happy! And yesterday I got to do that twice!!
My mom was worried that the weather here would be bad so my dad took the day off to driver her to the train station, but she didn't tell me. I'm pretty sure that will be my favourite Christmas gift this year :)

After picking me up, we headed to Arby's for lunch and then stopped at a surplus store where mom bought me a meat thermometer and then we headed home. After a short rest, dad and I headed back out to do a little shopping. I got to check out the new Shopper's Drug Mart that was built in town and we ran into my grandparents along the way. I got to make my grandmother's day since she didn't know I was back in town yet. So that was nice.

We had a nice dinner, which mom made. I was just happy not to have to cook for myself for once! And then the 3 of us watched a "Duck Dynasty" mini marathon. OMG. That show is funny and those guys are insane. At 9 mom switched to Ghost Hunters and I almost didn't make it to the end of the show. I'd been running on just 4 hours of sleep. So I made my way to the even colder upstairs and got ready for bed. My parents' house is cold. I've mentioned this before. But the upstairs is down right chilly. It was crazy windy last night (still is this morning) yet the window in my bedroom is open a crack. Mom likes having fresh air. Being way too tired to fight with the window, I left it as is. But damn, it was chilly in there. I nearly froze to death getting up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. The toilet seat is so cold that you don't really want to sit, you're more inclined to just hover. And by the time I got back into bed and tried to get the covers on my again, I couldn't feel my fingers. Oh yeah, no hot water in the bathroom. You have to run the sink for a good 2 minutes before you get hot water. Brrrr.

I was the first one up this morning though and here I am, blogging. Or hogging the computer as my mother muttered and wandered off.

So I should wrap this up and go get some breakfast. Not sure what we're doing today other than braving the mall and Walmart for a few final items. This should be fun :)

Good Morning!

Sarah

Packed and Read to Roll!

This is a late blog tonight. I really should be in bed, especially since I have to be up at 4am. But here I am, typing away. This always happens. The night before I travel, I run around trying to get so much done that I end up staying up half the night. The fact that I didn't get home from work until 7:15 didn't help matters much.

I think I'm all packed. I just have my toiletries left to pack and I'm good to go. My iPod and cell phone are both charging. I located the case for my camera. I printed off my boarding passes (you can do that for the train now) so I think I'm set.

And of course, it has started to snow. In fact, we have a snow storm warning in place. Fantastic. Thankfully, my friend Steph and her hubby are coming to get me at 5am and are driving me to the train station. This way I don't have to worry about a cab. Steph is very good at winter driving as she often works at schools in the middle of nowhere :) I'm hoping that knowing that she's coming to get me will ease my anxiety in the morning. It hasn't been too bad today (knock on wood).

Work was a blur. The party went off without a hitch and the food was really good. Everyone enjoyed it. My secret Santa gave me a new cookbook, so that's awesome. I also got a set of The Big Bang Theory bobble heads for my desk from another co-worker. They're kick ass! I thought that I'd gotten everything done at work but I remembered something while I was in the shower. D'oh. I may email a co-worker tomorrow and ask her to do it or I might just decide to leave it until I'm back. Either way, I refuse to stress over it.

I should get to bed since I have to be up in 4.5 hours. I plan on sleeping on the train :)

Just 1 more sleep!

Good Night,

Sarah

Sleepy Sarah, Cranky Sarah, Pack, Pack, Pack.

I am so friggin' tired! I woke at up 4am and couldn't get back to sleep. My brain decided to wake up and go over all the shit that I still had to do over the next two days, before I head home. Dammit. It just kept going over all the work stuff. And over it and over it. I just kept telling myself "stop thinking about work". I eventually fell back to sleep and then what felt like 5 minutes later, my alarm went off.

Work was insane. I was on the go from the minute I got there until I left...after doing 2.75 hours of OT. Then on the bus on my way home, I realized that I'd forgotten my pay cheque at work. Dammit. I was supposed to take it with me and cash it on the way home. Grrrr. I'll have to do it tomorrow. I didn't get home until 8 and then by the time I'd eaten and got myself sorted out, it was 9 already. So I started to do the dishes and have been packing in between. My big bag is smaller than Via says it can be and my small bad is slightly larger than they say it can be. So I figure it all evens out. I manged to get all the Christmas gifts packed except one small one, which I can't currently find, which is ok by me. It can act as a bday gift later.

The real trick is figuring out what to pack clothing wise. My parent's house is ALWAYS cold in the winter. Problem is that my warm winter clothes are super bulky and I melt when we go to the mall or to visit family. So I'm trying to pack pieces that I can layer and that don't take up too much room. Easier said than done. I do still have tomorrow night to figure it all out.

I really need to invest in one of those neck pillow travel things. I wonder if the dollar store sells them? With my train being at such a horrible hour of the morning (5:55am), I like to sleep on the train but I always end up with a neck cramp.

Ok, I have dishes to finish and a suitcase to get off my bed before I can crash.

2 more sleeps!

Good Night,

Sarah

I have no idea why I took this photo, but it works well for tonight's blog

Where's The Pause Button?

So much to do, so little time to do it in.

Why is it that the closer you get to the start of your holidays, the busier everything seems? Shouldn't it be going in slow motion? Dragging on and on as you count the minutes until your vacation starts? I kind of wish that was true.

I have 2 days of work left and they're jam packed. There's a holiday office party and secret Santa gift exchange somewhere in there as well. Plus I really need to clean my apartment and get some more laundry done.

My attempt to get into work early this morning was thwarted by the local transit peeps. The roads this morning were actually worse than they were yesterday. And the bus was uber late. And then it kept getting stuck in the snow. I had the same problem tonight when trying to get to a doctor's appointment and then to the pharmacy afterwards. Crazy. I hope the roads are better tomorrow and the buses are running better so that I can get into the office at a decent hour.

I also still need to pack and figure out how I'm getting it all packed. Plus what clothes to take home. It's always cold in my parents' house but packing my warm sweaters take up so much room in my suitcase. It's very annoying. I'm sure I'll figure it out. I always do. I might just have to get a little creative.

My eyes are closing by themselves so it's time to log off and sleep.

2 more sleeps :)

Good Night!

Sarah

Working Girl

So I'm sitting here, and in an attempt to find something on tv that isn't a reality show or a Christmas movie, I end up watching "Working Girl". You know, the movie from 1988 with Melanie Griffth?
I haven't seen it for a long time and I can't help but think "What the hell is up with the hair and outfits!?!?!"

I'm convinced that everyone was high in the 80s. It's the only way to explain those hair styles. And clothes. Crazy. It's like the Jersey Shore exploded all over a decade.

I survived another slippery and sloppy Monday. We had more freezing rain and rain which resulted in very slippery roads and sidewalks. I'm terrified of ice, so this doesn't go over well with me. What sucks is that we're not out of the woods yet. We're still under a freezing rain warning as it may re-develop overnight. And then turn to snow. Snow I can handle. It's the ice that I hate.

It's going to be a short blog tonight. I have to get to bed as I need to be at work early tomorrow. It's going to be a long and busy day. And I have a doctor's appointment after work too. Lots and lots of fun.

But only 4 more sleeps until I'm homeward bound!

Good Night,

Sarah

The Busiest and Loneliest Time Of The Year

Boy did I ever had a productive day today!

I was awake at 8am and up and moving by 8:15. I did 4 loads of laundry, most of which were dedicates and couldn't go in the dryer so there are currently damp clothes strewn all over my apartment. The up side is that my apartment smell great thanks to my fabric softener.  After all that, I grabbed my mail and headed to the post office where I patiently waited in line. The man before me was sending a money order. Just as his transaction was finishing, the store's computer system froze/crashed. The manager guy said that it would take a half hour to reboot. Nuts to that. So I headed onto stop #2: Walmart.

Before I could arrive at Walmart, I saw a bus coming that would take me to Carlingwood, and there's a postal outlet there. So off I went, on an unscheduled detour. I was able to mail my packages and did a little shopping. I was able to pick up 3 more small gifts there, ran into Xtina's parents, whom I haven't seen in quite some time, had a little chat with them and then I grabbed lunch to go and came home to eat. After watching A Flintstones Christmas and eating my lunch, it was back out the door for my next stop: Bayshore.

Being the 2nd last weekend before Christmas, the mall was predictably insane. I ran into one of my co-workers and his wife there and chatted with them for a few minutes. Then it was off to the eyeglass store to get one of my new pairs adjusting. One of the arms had been digging into my ear. Not so pleasant. But it's all good now! I then went on and did a little more shopping and got the gift for the Secret Santa gift exchange at work. After fighting my way through the crowds at Bayshore, it was off to attempt Walmart again since I got distracted the first time.

I made it to Walmart. Thankfully, it wasn't too zoo-like seeing as it was heading into the dinner hour. I was able to find most of what I was looking for and get out of there without having to spend too long standing in line.

After that, I finally headed home. I ordered in Swiss Chalet for dinner and watched Corner Gas and then got caught up on the last 2 episodes of Elementary that I had missed. Add in killing some time on Facebook and putting some clothes away in my closet and you have my evening so far. It's not thrilling, but it's relaxing and peaceful, which is just what I need.

Christmas is awesome. It's full of pretty lights and shiny things, peace, love and good cheer. Happy memories, laughter and good food. But for me, Christmas is also the loneliest time of the year.

80% of the time, I'm perfectly happy and content with being single and being on my own. But not at Christmas. Heck, Valentine's Day is a cake walk compared to this. Out shopping today, everywhere you looked it was families shopping together or couples walking hand in hand down the hall. Except for that one poor guy that I passed who was standing there all alone, surrounded by about 20 bags. You knew damn well that he was only there to "guard" them and that there was likely a gaggle of females near by purchasing more to the add to the poor guy's collection.

Yes, some of my feelings of lowliness can be attributed to the fact that my seasonal depression is at its worst now, being that the shortest day of the year is only 4 days before Christmas, but this feel isn't the same. It's not depression. It's different. It's like my soul is reaching out and saying "hey, something's missing". More like someone's missing.

My great aunt and uncle had their Christmas open house today. I miss going to that, a lot. I do miss my family and I am very excited that I get to see them in 6 more sleeps. Sometimes I wish I could call up my mom and just go out with her for lunch and shopping, like I see so many people doing. Or pop in for Sunday dinner. I guess not being able to see them very often makes the times I do see them so much more valuable and meaningful.

But getting back to the being single at Christmas thing. Everyone says to me "but you don't have the pressure of trying to find them the perfect gift." Are you kidding me? I would gladly take that pressure in exchange for having someone special in my lift right now. Someone to curl up on the couch and watch movies with on cold winter nights. Someone to share hot chocolate with. Someone to kiss under the mistletoe and to kiss at midnight when the New Year comes rushing in.  You know, someone to share the stupid, sappy, cheesey things with that most people take for granted because they just don't know what it's like not to have those things. Hell, pretty much every Christmas carol or Christmas movie illustrates to point of having a special someone at Christmas. Even Clark W Griswold had his wife at his side as be bungled his way through Christmas. And even the Grinch finds love (in the Jim Carey version that is).

Ironically, as I sit here and write about being lonely, a group of co-workers are out watching a fellow co-woker's band play - to which I was invited. I said no thanks because I wanted to be alone to night. There is a major different between being alone and being lonely. I would have liked to gone out with them but pretending to be happy right now is so exhausting that I didn't think I'd be able to last the night. Maybe if the venue had been closer to my place and I was able to leave whenever I wanted instead of waiting on someone for a ride, I might have gone but I figured it was safer this way. You can be surrounded by 50 friends and still be the loneliest person in the room or you can be in a room all alone and not feel lonely at all.

I didn't decorate my apartment this year (or last year either), mostly because I thought to myself "Why bother? No one sees it but me." Which is very true. I did put up a few small things but I didn't bother with the tree or the lights. I did do something different this year. Every Christmas card I receive, I tape to the back of my front door. This way I see the cards almost all the time and am reminded of the people out there who love me :)

I know that I am loved. And I love lots of people too. It's just that one love, that one special love that I'm missing. And this just happens to be the time of the year that it hurts the most. In a couple of weeks, I'll be fine again. I'll be caught up in the hope and renewal that the New Year brings with it. I'll be back into the swing of things at work, the days will slowly start getting longer again and my loneliness will fade. It always does.

So now, my lonely self and I are going to change into our jammies,  get a bowl of frozen yogurt, pop "National Lampoons Christmas Vacation" into the DVD player and laugh out butt off for a bit. Then it's off to bed to spend the night dreaming of the mysterious Mr. Right....he might not be here at the moment but I have unwavering faith that he's out there and when it's meant to be, he'll be here.

If you're reading this and you're lucky enough to have that special someone in your life, grab them, find some mistletoe and remind them how special they are and how lucky you both are.

Good Night!

Sarah

Christmas light mistletoe

Time Flies

Wow. What a crazy day. It was insane. It was one of those days where you try to do a million things at once but don't seem to accomplish any of them? Yeah, a day like that. I did get some paper work out of the way, so that was good. I didn't have lunch at all, unless you count the 4 cookies (they were small!) that I bought at the bake sale lunch. The sale went well, so I'm happy about that.

I was crazy tired by the time I left work. So I picked up some Sushi and Tom Yum Soup and headed for home. It was sooo good. Since then, I've just be kicking back, relaxing and finishing up my Christmas cards. I'm hoping to get everything in the mail tomorrow.

I can't believe how fast things are going. Christmas is coming so quickly and there seem like so many things to do. I just have to hang in there until 5:55am on Friday. At that point, I'll be on the train, heading home to see my family and I'll get to relax for a few days. The idea is pure bliss.

Watching the news tonight was so sad I nearly had to shut it off.  I could drive myself mad trying to figure out the hows and whys of such a tragedy. And so close to Christmas too.

Anyhow, I should turn in. I have a bit of a busy weekend ahead of me, though I'm hoping to work in some relaxation time on Sunday :)

Good Night!

Sarah

Death and Cookies

It's been a bit of a strange day. Work was busy one minute and then slow the next. LOL. Very crazy.

I know that my imagination is running away with me but I keep looking at the floor in my living room. I found out from one of my neighbours, that the little old lady who lives below me, died in her sleep last night. Her children check in on her every day and I guess her son found her this morning.  He freaked out a bit so the lady across the hall called 911 and stayed with him and tried to calm him down and such. Fire, Police and Ambulance all showed up. I missed quite the commotion this morning.
I didn't really know that last. I think I saw her a grand total of twice. She hardly ever left her apartment because she couldn't handle the stairs but her kids were here to see her every day. Losing a loved one is hard. Losing someone at this time of year just seems so much worse. I really feel bad for the son who found her and to all of her family. And I have to admit, I'm a little wigged out.

On a more positive note, my apartment smells amazing. I baked a double batch of Toblerone Shortbread this evening. Some are for the bake sale tomorrow, some are for an afternoon party and some are for gifting. I'm also rather sick of cookies now. I might bake some when I go home but I know that my mom really loves the Reese Peanut butter Squares so maybe I'll make those instead. I'm hoping that the bake sale tomorrow is success.  I still need to dust icing sigar on the batch of the shortbread and then put them into their pretty little bags.

My baby brother has to write a test tomorrow morning. He's been studying a lot and I know that it's going to pay off. I'll still keep my fingers crossed for him though :)

I think I might start packing this weekend as next week looks like it's going to be a little crazy. Good plan.

I'm off to play with cookies :)

Good Night!

Sarah

That is one massive cookie...

Bus Rant #2 and Cherry Bombs

Today was a pretty good day. Not only did I have my new glasses on today (which everyone loved), but I didn't have french class!!! LOL. It was a busy day but it flew by. My new glasses are working out well. I wasn't nearly as tired by the end of the day and here I am, late in the evening and my eyes are still mostly open. LOL.

My morning did get off to a rough start, thanks to the bus. I did miss my first bus but was out in time for the next one. And it didn't show. So I waited in the cold. And waited. My bus was so late that it and the next one showed up. Bus # 2 passed bus #1 and kept going. No big deal since bus #1 was at the previous stop. But I soon figured out why bus #1 was so late. It was like "Driving Miss Daisy, the bus edition". Oh my god. I can't believe how slow he was going. When we were on the parkway, the driver kept hitting the breaks everytime we came to a bend in the road. And since it's a very curvy road, that was quite often. It was painful. And the weather was fine, the roads were clear. So that wasn't the issue. Very annoying.

We have a bake sale at work on Friday so I baked one set of cookies tonight. I made the "Cherry Bomb Cookies" that are in Joanne Fluke's book, Sugar Cookie Murder. They're amazing. You get cocktail cherries (they still have the stems on) and wrap the dough around the cherry and bake them like that. Then you dip them in icing sugar. So yummy. Only problem is that while I was dipping them, I was also trying to text. The result is me getting icing sugar all over my phone. LOL. It smells nice now :)

Speaking of cookies, I need to go and finish dipping batch #2 and then get to bed. I'll be baking more cookies tomorrow night but they're much less labour intensive than these ones. There's not assembly required. Just some chocolate chopping.

Good Night!

Sarah

 More lights from last night's adventure

Christmas Lights Shenanigans

The work day flew by and it's about to get very busy 'round the office as the re-newals and re-hires for January begin. Which is good. Being busy makes the day go by faster.

I'm very happy because I got to pick up my new glasses tonight. YAY! Both pairs are great but the one pair is just awesome. They look great on me and I'm thrilled. The fact that I can see better is awesome too. Like right now. This means my eyes won't be so tired which hopefully will mean that I won't be as tired either.

So I had a fun evening tonight. It started with Stephanee asking me yesterday "Do you want to drive around and see some Christmas lights". I decided that sounded good so off we went this evening. Before she left to pick me up, Steph said "I'm just printing off the maps". Awesome. She gets here and as we're heading out to grab my glasses, she says "I printed off the maps, highlighted the maps...and then forgot the maps at home". LOL.

You know what that means. That's right. It's the "Steph and Sarah drive quasi aimlessly through suburbia" show!!!!!

First stop: Taffy Lane in Orleans. Since this street is almost bright enough to see from space, it shouldn't have been too hard to find. Not quite. There is quite the lack of street signs in Orleans. We ended up pulling into a parking lot and reading the map. Turns out, we were about 8 blocks from our destination. Awesome. Away we went. The street was awesome! Steph got the bright idea to get out and walk along the street, which made taking photos better but it's also -11 out, without the windchill. We did half the street before giving up and returning to the warmth of the car. Ahhhh. We drove the rest of the street and one of the other little side streets and then it was off to our next destination.

Here's some of the lights from Taffy Lane:

Barrhaven, in the opposite end of the city from Orleans. Our landmarks this time? One location is "Off Woodroff, then off Tierry". Found this one by accident. After driving around and aimlessly for a bit, we're driving a long a crescent and Steph asks "turn left or keep going". I voted for "keep going" which worked out well as street #2 was on the right around the bend. It was a cute little street. Not as well lit up as Taffy Lane, but still nice.

Ok, onto stop #3 with the directions of "There's a Tim Horton's on the corner". Seriously!??!? After going the wrong way at the Tim's and driving past the same park 3 times, Steph decides to try the other side of the Tim's and we hit gold. We found the house. It's one where the lights are set to music and the home owner broadcasts the music on a low frequency so that you can hear the music through your car radio. It was pretty darn cool and well worth the risk of getting lost in Suburbian hell. LOL.

I'm pretty sure we're the only ones who can turn looking at Christmas lights into an adventure. But it sure was fun :)

Good Night!

Sarah

Very Random Ramblings

I survived the ice today and managed to get to the bus stop and then from the bus to the office all while remaining vertical. That's a very good thing. Coming home was much easier since everything had melted. I had to dodge some really big puddles though. I'm slightly dreading tomorrow though as all that water is going to freeze overnight. Sigh. I guess there's no escaping it unless I win the lottery and can afford to winter in a warmer climate.

I witnessed one of my biggest bus pet peeves this morning: Some jackass taking up more space than he should. He took up 2 of the 4 seats in a 4 seat bench. He was sitting there, leaning back, legs spread so wide that they covered both seats, his bag and coat were on the seat beside him and he had his arms spread out, holding the pole on either side of the 2 seats. WTF? There's no need for that, especially during the morning rush hour. Some people are really very inconsiderate. Sometimes, I'll put my purse or bag on the set beside me, but as the bus fills up, I move them so someone else can sit down. It's not rocket science people.

Seeing as the Christmas season is upon us, here's something new to kill some time with: The Reindeer Cam! Yes, I'm serious. The best part? You can watch Santa feed the reindeer 3 times a day. I have to admit, watching the Polar Bear cam is actually more entertaining. Anyhow, if you want to check it out, here's the link:  http://reindeercam.com/

I'm packing it in early tonight. I've got a busy day ahead of me tomorrow.

Good Night!

Sarah

Winter Weather Woes

I'm sitting here, watching Home Alone and I'm hiding behind my hands like I'm watching a horror movie. It was the tarantula scene - the one where Kevin grabs it off the stairs and throws it at the bad guy. *Shudder* I fucking hate spiders and that was one big ass spider.

Despite the fact that I've watched 4 Christmas movies in the last 24 hours, I'm still not feeling the spirit. I put out the cards that I've received so far this year, finally got around to putting my wreath on the door and I hung up my snowman "Welcome" sign, but that's about it. Nothing overly Christmasy at my place.

I spent the day cleaning and killing way too much time on Farmville 2 and Pinterest. LOL. I did managed to get the dishes done, my laundry folded and put away and got most of the living room clean, including clearing all the clutter off my coffee table so I can once again see it. I also got more Christmas cards written. But now I'm out of stamps.

I really should have got more done, but my stomach wasn't a very happy camper this morning. I think I drank too much coffee or the coffee was too strong or maybe I'm fighting off something but my tummy has been hurting and making odd sounds all day. It's one of those "I'm really glad I live alone" days. I sure hope that it doesn't keep me up tonight and I hope it's feeling better in the morning. The weather is supposed to be supremely crappy tomorrow so having to skate to work with a stomach ache doesn't sound like fun.

Ok. My upstairs neighbour just moved something so big/heavy that I swore he was coming through the ceiling and the entire building shook. What the fuck? It's almost 10pm on Sunday. Who does that? Inconsiderate damn neighbours. I really need to find a better building.

Back to the weather. According to Environment Canada, "A more prolonged period of freezing rain extending well into Monday is then possible, especially for regions near the Ottawa Valley." Well dammit. This is after the 5-10cms of snow that is supposed to fall overnight. Snow I can handle. Rain I can handle. But I can not deal with freezing rain. Ice and I do not get along well at all. I am so not looking forward to tomorrow.

Good Night!

Sarah

Funny Looking Rain

Nothing special to report about today. I worked some overtime and ended up working longer than I planned. I ended up helping one of our teams, since they needed assistance and helping them would be more productive for the office as a whole, so I jumped in and learnt a hand. And now I have a new "skill" to add to my resume :)

Environment Canada really screwed up out forecast today, which did not impress me. They said that it would be +4 with rain. So I dressed for rain. Around 9:30, the rain turned to big, wet snow clumps. Not snow flakes, clumps. And it did that off and on all flipping day. Even at 3pm, after almost a solid 2 hours of snow, Environment Canada still said "Rain occasionally mixed with wet snow". WTF? So I got to slip and slide my way home since I was in runners. That was super fun.

I was a little productive when I got home. I managed to get 2 loads of laundry done and I've written up a bunch of my Christmas cards. I think I'm going to need more stamps. Maybe I'll be able to get the rest done tomorrow. I need to have a very productive day tomorrow. There's lots to get done and I'm running of days before Christmas to do them.

I can hear my bed calling so it's time to log off.

Good Night!

Sarah

Garlic and Ornaments and Planes, Oh My!

Work was just a typical Friday. Lots to do and hyper people everywhere. LOL. Steph came in for a "surprise" visit. I knew she was coming but some of the peeps she used to work with didn't know so that was the surprise part. Especially Giggles. Their reaction was by far the best :)

Steph kidnapped me with the promise of free admission to a rather large craft show and sale. Can't say no to that. But en route to dinner, I got us side tracked. As we were driving and chatting, I suddenly told her "pull in here!". I've been looking for a specific item for my brother for Christmas and figured that this particular store would have it.

OMG. I have to say, that was the most poorly laid out store I've ever been in. Not only could you not find anything, but we couldn't find staff to help either. I'm convinced we could have played hide and seek in there for hours. By some miracle, we found what we were looking for and it was in the "Clearance" section. Except it wasn't marked down. Didn't care. I found what I wanted. Next trick: find the cashier. That was actually harder than you think it should be given that stores typically want you to pay for things. We finally found a till an thankfully, there was a staff member there. I asked her about the shirt since it was in the clearance section but wasn't marked down. She was nice and went and asked a manager. The manager knocked $15 off the price. Sweet. I paid for my purchase and the clerk put it in a ridiculously oversized bag. In fact, Steph asked if she could get in the bag and have me carry her out of the store.

We continued on our way and made it to a mall to grab some dinner. We both must have been rather hungry as it only took us 2 minutes to decide where to eat. This is usually a much longer and drawn out process. While eating, we had a bird's eye view of Santa's Village and got to watch people having their photos to Santa. It was rather entertaining, especially when the two teens girls got their photo done and Santa keep squeezing them in close to him.

Now that we had some food in our system and had the energy to shop and explore, we hit the Craft Show and Sale. It really was quite large. One of my former co-workers was working at a booth there so she took our coats for us, so that was handy. We wandered and explored and bought some gifts and ate a bunch of free samples, a surprising number of which contained garlic. Since we were both going to be in the same car together, we felt it was safe for us to eat the garlic. Nothing's worse than smelling garlic on someone else. But if you both eat it, it's all good! It was very nice and a good way to spend a cold, rainy evening. Even better was that Steph got the admission tickets for free! Before we left, we hit up the bathroom (no great shock there). Since the show was getting ready to close, several women made the same pit stop as us.

While we were in the stalls, a cleaning person came in and she was talking to a supervisor on her walkie talkie. The man said "once we have evacuated the facility..." What now? The lady in the stall next to me said "Well that doesn't sound good." Everyone laughed. I said "I wonder what they're not telling us" and she replied "I don't know but it can't be good. Pee faster!". The woman on the walkie talkie was now laughing at us all. I'm sure the supervisor meant that once the facility emptied out, not evacuated. But still, it was amusing.

Once we got to the car, Steph was getting bottles of water from the trunk and we're just chatting away. All of a sudden, a jet takes off from the airport (which is literally right across the street from where we were) and both of us jump a good foot in the air. Since it was so cloudy, the sound was really bouncing back and it sounded like the damn plane was in the parking lot with us. And it kind of startled us. I guess we were on the jumpy side tonight.

I really need to get to bed. I'm still sleepy from my late night last night and now from my long day today. Sleep is sooooo good!

Good Night!

Sarah

Christmas Lights and Beavertails

I feel like a bit of a rebel. I stayed out quite late this evening, especially since I have to work tomorrow. LOL. It's funny. I'm a grown woman and can come and go as I please yet I still think it's naughty or whatever to stay out late on a "work night". I know, crazy. As I was coming in my neighbour down the hall was heading out to hockey so I guess I'm not all that late.

It was a very fun evening. Myself, Xtina and 3 co-workers all headed up to Parliament Hill to see the kick off celebrations for "Christmas Lights Across Canada". They were very nice.

It started with someone doing a mini-concert on the Peace Tower Bells and then a youth choir sang (they were really good) and there were a few speeches, more singing, and then they lit the lights and some fireworks went off and the capital was all lit up.

We all managed to get candles too, so that we could be part of the "lights" on the hill. I'm pretty sure everyone of us got wax on ourselves and/or out mitts/gloves.

 

 

 

 

After the show, we did a quick tour of the back of Parliament Hill and then went to the Chateau Laurier to warm up and see the Trees of Hope. One of us attempted to turn the hotel into a wax museum but dropping not one, but two candles on the floor, each of which left a nice pile of hard wax behind. And it wasn't me. I swear.

 

Once warm, we opted to hit up the Beavertail stand since the line up on the Hill had been way too long.

So off we went. Despite it being friggin' cold, we all took off out mitts to each the wonderful creation that is the Beavertail. I had apples and cinnamon on mine and it was amazing. I haven't had a Beavertail in about 2 years so it was a real treat. Factor in that I was really hungry and cold and that made the Beavertail seem like the most delicious thing ever.

We then decided that we needed real food so we wandered over to the mall and ate at the restaurant there. It was very nice. They stuck us downstairs next to a group having an office Christmas party so we had a little bit of entertainment along the way. Atleast I think it was a Christmas party. Who knows.

All in all, it was a great evening/night spent with some very cool people. We got to participate in a some very Canadian activities, kept re-lighting each other when the damn wind kept blowing our candles out, player tourist, got a little sticky, had some good food and had quite a few laughs. That's definitely my kind of fun. Except for the cold. That wasn't very nice. LOL.

Good Night!

Sarah

C'est Fini!!

It's been 13 long weeks, but I'm finally done. Until February. LOL.

Yes, today was my last french class of this session. And the even better news is that I "met" the course objectives which means I get to move onto the next level in February. I'm on my way to being bilingual. It's a long and frustrating road but it's worth it in the end.

My afternoon was a blur. Playing catch up from being in class all morning :) It's going to be a little strange next Wednesday, being in the office in the morning. I'm sure I'll re-adjust quickly.

I did something kind of cool this evening. The lead guitarist, Sal Costa, from one of my favourite bands, My Darkest Days, did a live web chat to answer questions about his new clothing line. He's released a few items so far and will be releasing more tomorrow. The really wicked part is that he donates partial proceeds to charity. And the charity changes every so often too. I think that's awesome.

Anyhow, he was answering questions from the fans and I got 2 questions answered and a request answered. LOL. One of my questions was the last one he answered and it was the most important one. Sal is a very big proponent of healthy living and eating. He gave a very honest and straightforward answer to my question, which was "What's the most important healthy eating tip you can give". And he answered it! He reminded everyone that if you eat garbage, you'll feel and look bad. You are what you eat. He recommended staying away from bad fats and to eat 6 small meals through out the day to get your metabolism up. It makes sense and I've definitely heard that recommendation before.

It seems like a simple concept, but putting it into place is the trick. Especially is you're rather set in the way you live/eat already. The "diet" industry in North America is a multi-billion dollar industry. There is just so much out there. Shakes, pills, vitamins, diets, work outs, equipments, meal plans, drugs... and there's so much hype around all of them. It's very hard to wade through all of that noise and figure out what is real, what works and what makes the most sense for me. Just because something works for one person, don't mean it will work for me.

I definitely have something to mull over for a little bit. Maybe simplicity is the key?

Good Night!

Sarah

My, What Beautiful Eyes You Have

Ok. So that's not exactly what Little Red Riding Hood said to the wolf but I'm allowed to have some creative licence here.

One of the screws on my glasses came loose today and nearly feel off. This is the 2nd time in the last couple of months that this has happened. Which means, it's time for new glasses. In order to get new glasses, I needed to go for an eye exam. Since my last eye exam was in early 2009, I was definitely due for a visit.

I lucked out. Unlike general practitioners, optometrists seem to be readily available. I was able to get an appointment for the same day. Turns out it was a very nice lady with a very unpronounceable last name. LOL. I underwent a new test that I hadn't had before where a puff of air is blown into my eye to test the pressure. That was kind of neat. And I had a very wicked photo taken of both eyes, so that they can see the inside of the eye and retina. It looked a lot like an egg yolk with veins in it. Or Mars with a lot of rivers. Not sure if I'm going to be able to eat eggs for a bit. All in all, it was a painless and quick visit and ended with good news!

Not only are my eyes perfectly healthy, by my vision has improved! Yeah, that can happen. News to me. But the doctor said that it does happen and that why my eyes are getting blurry at night or if I've read for too long. My prescription it too strong and the extra strain is making my eyes tired. Who knew?

I picked out 2 new pairs of glasses tonight (it was a buy one, get one free promotion) which is awesome. This way I can leave one pair at work and have one pair at home and not have to keep taking a pair back and forth. And I'm pretty excited about them too. One set of frames are really awesome and kind of funky. The other pair are more reserved and sophisticated. I still only need to wear them when I'm on the computer or reading but I was told that I can wear them anytime really. So that's good to know. I can't wait to get my new glasses.

Tomorrow is a special day. It's the last French class!!!!!! Just one more. I can do it. LOL. It should be a good class I hope. I think it's mostly just review. Yee-haw!!!!!!

Good Night!

Sarah

This has nothing to do with eye exams, it's just a funny photo!

Just Another Ordinary Day

I have absolutely no idea what to write about tonight. I'm very sleepy and no ideas are coming to me. It was a rather normal day with nothing interesting happening. I went to work, went to the grocery store, came home, made dinner, watched Castle and Bones and now I'm sitting here, writing this. No strange people on the bus tonight. Nothing overly crazy at work, except for a minor advent calendar freak out and then having to explain to a couple people what exactly an advent calendar is. Pretty normal, typical day.

I jut realized that if you look around my apartment, you'd have no idea idea that Christmas is only 22 days away. I no decorations what so ever up. Not even a window cling. I keep seeing all kind of pictures on Facebook that friends and family have posted of their brightly colours lights and their well decorated Christmas trees and I've got nothing. And more to the point, I have no desire to put any of it up. Why bother? I'm the only one who'll see it. I suppose I should at least put my wreath on the door. I made it myself and I think it's rather pretty.

The Christmas spirit seems rather elusive this year. Maybe I'll find some Thursday night. It's the kick off to "Christmas Lights Across Canada" on Parliament Hill. It's usually a pretty magical event.

Right now, I need sleep more than anything. I slept like crap last night. Not quite as bad a friend of mine who was up all night with a sick baby (who I hope is all better really soon!), but bad enough. It took me nearly 2 hours to actually fall into a good sleep and then I kept waking up every 2 hours and then I woke up a half hour before my alarm was set to go off. That sucked royally!

So I'm going to log off and head to bed early now. I don't think my nail polish is 100% dry yet but I'll take the risk of getting sheet patterns in it.

Good Night!

Sarah

Sharbot Lake, 2010