Things As Of Late

I am dealing with a person named Burns. As in, a first name. I have a hard time with this because even though its not his first name I always think of Mr.Burns from the Simpsons. I have no idea what Burns really looks like but in my head he is balding with liver spots on his scalp and a large pointy nose.

I offered up vouchers at work today to a large social put on by our city's football team. I did not realize that the vouchers needed to be redeemed by Aug 29. Whoops. Is it bad that I didn't bother telling anyone else who took them?

I have a lunch meeting with my boss tomorrow. Its our last official boss/employee meeting. So I'm making him take me somewhere expensive. Would that be considered tacky of me? Tough shit.

I make a lot of noise when I watch football. I can't help it and don't often realize I'm doing it. The nice thing about doing that at an actual game is it is disguised by the other noise in the stadium. At home? Its all me.

I thought of a movie I haven't seen in awhile while watching comedians talk about airline saftey. If you haven't seen Brokedown Palace, please do. I realized tonight without even knowing it that it was on my top ten list of movies I would watch more than once. Clare Danes is super.

My kid is crazy. Not a new discovery but one that keeps popping up everyday. Worth a mention.

The One Where I Realize How Easy it is to Still Irritate My Sister

Annoying little sister, the snapshot a la Blackberry Messenger:

Ash: Question: why do people write "my bad" when they've done something they shouldn't have?? Where does this come from???

Char: I dunno. Kind of just another way of saying my mistake or something bad. Why??

Ash: It is SSSSOOOOO annoying. I've seen it at least three times today and I don't like it. Ugh.

Char: Haha. Sorry. My bad.

Ash: UUUUGGGGGHHHH you suck.

Char: Heehee

Satisfying, no?

Like All Good Reality Show Veterans

Sometimes mck says/does/asks for some pretty random things. Tonight was no exception. Tonight she wanted a sleep mask. You know, the kind you put over your eyes when the room is still too bright to sleep in or, like on reality shows, the lights are kept on for optimum filming and nookie scene catching.

She had a small dolls pillow that we tried to MacGuyver into a mask. No go. She had a paper mask that was nowhere to be found and probably wouldn't have worked as the eyes were cut out. So we improvised and used a really wide, fabric covered headband.

I left her to fall asleep thinking it would be on her nightstand and walked in to find it very comfortably (one can only assume) covering her eyes. Really? Yeah.

Once a Pig?

I have never been a neat freak. I don't think I ever will be. Piles of things don't bother me. Sock fluff on carpets doesn't faze me. Dust on surfaces doesn't put me in a mild panic. Dishes? Pshaw. However. I have realized as of late that I am perhaps maybe a neatnik, the mini version of the Neat Freak.

I have noticed lately a few things that I seem to, let's be honest, obssess over. Things that before I would never bat an eye at, never cast a second glance towards. Take my bed for example. Never before did I care about the state of my bed and its blankets when I left it in the morning. Now? The pillows must be lined up straight and the comforter pulled taught and left laying evenly on the bed.

Partially open drawers or cupboards? Shudder at the thought. Crumbs on the counter? Where's the cloth? Water drops around the sink? Get me a towel, pronto.

So while I can stare at a sink full of dishes, watch a basket of laundry overflow, ignore a dirty window, or let things pile up on a table, I will not sit idly by while clothes are askew on a shelf or ketchup sits hardening around the lid.
That would just be wrong.

A Little Fresh Air'll Do You Good

I'm pooped. I'm pooped because part of me feels like I spent the entire day outside and the other part of me feels like I spent the entire day cooped up in a truck. I covered ground like it was going out of style, "popping in" at towns we usually plan a trip to weeks in advance. I stood in mud while the wind whipped my hair into a tangled frenzy and rain stung the side of my face as everyone tried to carry on and pretend like it wasn't raining. I wandered through fields of corn and canola and inspected stalks and leaves and pods and was actually interested. I sat through small talk and bad coffee at retail establishments. I got through a lunch with the "annoying voice talker" sitting right beside me and not only was his voice annoying but it was well used. We spent the day checking this and checking that. And now? I am pooped.

Mad Dash

Today, at about 4pm, it rained like a son of a bitch. It was not a gentle misty rain. No. It was a rain where you almost didn't need to bother making a run for your car because you were going to get soaked regardless.

I found myself staring through the window of the office across from where I sit. It was the perfect view. One where you could see every individual rain drop plummeting down. I hate it when it rains in such a direction that you can't even see it raining. But that was not this rain. This rain was visible and it wanted you to know it was there.

So I watched it. I lost myself in it. I stared and stared at it and thought about what it would sound like on a car roof, on a tent, on a tin roof. I stared and stared until I realized that the occupant of the office who's window I was fixated on was looking at me through the frosted glass decor of his wall window.

I turned away, not wanting him to think I was straining to hear what he and his colleague were discussing. And I thought about the rain. How much I like it, how much we need it, how much is too much. And before I could come to any conclusions, it was over.

I would not have to make a mad dash today.

Roll With It

As my blog subtitle implies, I am quite good at "just rolling with it", whether it be changes in relationships, at work, at home, where we live. I adapt well and quickly to pretty much any given situation.

This skill came in handy at work today. While a portion of our business was being split and restructured, I worried about the possibility of losing my boss to a new position or one of my reps to something new. I never once considered that I would be the one getting a new position.

It came as a shock. After the initial relief of finding out that my boss was staying in his role, I suppose it actually came as more than a shock. I would be supporting a totally different group of people. I lost my crew. In the matter of a second. Gone.

I looked far and wide for my ability to "roll with it" this morning. I couldn't find it anywhere.

I found it this afternoon, after numerous hilarious calls from my boss and pep talks, hugs and supportive shoulders from friends. I talked to a woman who supported the very same crew back when our company structure was much the same years ago. She told me I'd love them. And I believed her.

As much as I will miss the ease I had with my boss and the comfort level we shared, in time, if I roll with it just right, I'll have that again with my new crew. God willing.

Giving Up

Sometimes in ones life there comes a point where you just have to give up. Give up on a problem, a challenge, a person. And everyone decides when that point is for them. Some people keep at it, thinking maybe if I just try THIS differently, or do THAT differently, or say THIS differently. But in the end, there's always that point.

The frustrating part is when two people reach that point at two different times. One will be full of self-doubt, worrying that another chance should have been given but sticking to their thoughts anyways. The other, full of self-doubt, worrying that they gave too many chances and have been played for a fool.

In the end, the point of giving up on that thing or that person will always come. Sooner or later, if a problem or a person warrants it, everyone will find that point and give up. And then? Maybe then things will change.

Familial Relations

I talked with my Uncle in England today. I don't think I have spoken to him since the last time he was in Winnipeg which was probably over 20 years ago. We are in touch through Facebook which is, in my opinion, the best reason EVER for FB to have been invented. But in speaking with him today, he didn't sound like I thought he would. His voice was softer, his accent gentler. And we vowed to visit him that much sooner.

My dad called to wish McK a happy birthday. She had the phone in one hand and the iTouch in the other and all of a sudden we heard this. "Oh, Grandad? Yeah. I wasn't really paying attention to anything you just said. Can you repeat that?" Nice.

We hung out with my nephew today. I took them to McDonalds after a rainy outdoor festival. I got them both chicken nugget happy meals. Once we were safely sitting down my nephew politley asked me not to tell his parents that he was drinking chocolate milk.Crap. I told the story at supper and busted him. Turns out he shouldn't have had the fries either. My bad.

Mck's party was a rip-roaring success. For an unorganized last minute event, it was pretty stellar. Deemed "Best Birthday Party Ever" by more than 1 attendee, I'd say I pulled it off. I would like to thank Dollarama for their unending support.

My brother sends McK voice notes via Blackberry Messenger so that she can hear her wee little nephew Callum making his wee little baby noises. She loves these voice notes and if they were something that could be written on paper, she would tuck them away and keep them forever.

I sent my sister some pics of our two kids playing together today. It hit the spot. Sometimes you just get it right.

Six Short Years

In six short years you have become an artist and a creator.
In six short years you have become a storyteller and an author.
In six short years you have become and adventurer and an explorer.
In six short years you have become both a student and a teacher.
In six short years you have become both a drama queen and a comedian.
In six short years you have become a book lover and a constant dreamer.
In six short years you have become a fashion plate and a dirty mess.
In six short years you have become a food critic and a candy junkie.
In six short years you have become a computer geek and a brilliant technician.
In six short years you have become a conversationalist and a thinker.
In six short years you have become a swimmer and a floater.
In six short years you have gotten a mind of your own and a mouth like a sailor.
In six short years you have learned determination and mastered stubbornness.
In six short years you have become a grown up little girl.
But even in sixty long years, you'll always be my baby.

Happy birthday sweet potato.

This Time 6 Years Ago

This time 6 years ago I was starting to wonder if this is what a contraction felt like.

This time 6 years ago I was doubting whether or not I should go to the hospital.


This time 6 years ago I was trying to remember everything I had ever read about knowing when you're going into labour.

This time 6 years ago I was calm and in control.

This time 6 years ago I had on pink striped pyjama pants and comfortable shoes.

This time 6 years ago I realized that when "they" said contractions were just like more serious menstrual cramps, "they" were full of shit.

This time 6 years ago I wondered how much more it could possibly hurt.


This time 6 years ago I spent 4 hours in a shower just because.


This time 6 years ago I gave up the deluxe suite so I could be induced and get that kid the heck out of there.


This time 6 years ago the epidural was my best friend.

This time 6 years ago a lot of people patiently waited.

This time 6 years ago I was getting ready to meet the most amazing human being ever to set foot on the planet.

This time 6 years ago my life was about to change forever.

C is For Cooperate

Its Mcks birthday party on Saturday. After much procrastination on my part (very out of the ordinary for me by the by) I finally got in touch with a few kids. The dilemma arose when faced with what KIND of party to have.

I bounced around ideas, scratched some off the list due to cost, scratched some off due to logistics, scratched some off due to availability. We knew the foundation of the party was based on Princesses (duh) but what to do, what to do?

Mck has fallen a little bit in love with flying kites. I took her three times this weekend. We flew last night and her first observation upon being picked up at the end of the day is a weather report only a 5 year old could produce. Its either "a perfect day for kiting" or "probably not the best day for kiting."

So she has decided she wants a kite party. Kites for everyone! I figure the kids can each take theirs home as part of their goody bags. Or maybe we can all make our own and then go fly them. However. Mother Nature is apparently miffed at the short notice of the party. Forcast calls for rain. Hmph.

I am crossing my fingers and toes for my soon-to-be 6 year old. I am praying for no rain and a steady wind to keep everyones kites high and happiness-meters higher. I don't need heat, I'm not asking for perfect temperatures, I'm not begging for unending sunshine. Just a little wind so my girl can fly into her 6th year exactly the way she wants to.

The Ease With Which I Make My 5 Year Old Laugh

We got our mailbox number from Canada Post. In order to ensure that it was indeed getting mail delivery prior to doing all of the required address changes, I sent a letter there to make sure. Today it came and we told McK that she had mail.

She loves to get mail. Real, physical mail. There's something intriguing and old school about it and she loves it. So she tore open the envelope and I read her what it said and we laughed and laughed and laughed so hard we had tears in our eyes.

"La Di Da Testing". She's 5. It doesn't take much.

Things I Thought of Today From Whence I Was a Wee Lass AKA The Randomness of My Head

* I used to love going to my nan and pipe's for the candy and the air hockey table in the basement
* often times they had little lemon drops and were in a green tin and coated with powdered sugar
* they always had cookies. Always
* my first bike was second hand and spray painted a sparkly purple
* I never had training wheels
* I always wanted a banana seat but never had one
* I raced kids in our neighbourhood and hated that I had to use my sisters big bike until I realized bigger tires cover more ground with less effort
* we had a rake for our carpet
* my grandad made me a dollhouse with working lights and furniture like a lamp made out of a large wooden bead and a toothpaste cap for the shade
* I gave it to kids I nannied for but wish now that I hadn't
* we actually sang Christmas Carols around the piano. Once. That I can remember
* my signature photo pose was lips in a puckered O and eyes crossed but looking upwards
* my pretend name was always Cindy. My brother was Rick Hansen before we ever knew there was a Rick Hansen
* Amelia Bedilia rocked my world
* my first "crush" poster was John Schneider from the Dukes of Hazzard
* I swore I heard reindeer hoofs on Christmas Eve once but was old enough to know there was no Santa so didn't tell anyone
* I played dentist with my dad once and covered a Q tip in aluminum foil to make it a realistic dentist picker and proceeded to inspect his teeth. Aluminum foil and silver fillings to not go together apparently
* I came home one evening when I was older and went to say goodnight to my mom and she had a huge knife in bed with her cuz she thought she heard something
* the second floor of our second home had a stucco-like finish on the hallway walls
* when I fought my brother I would take his hand and scrape it along this
* my dad kept work files in my big closet and I read the court transcripts of murder suspects
* librarians knew all three of us by name
* we played yahtzee and ate chocolate covered graham cookies at Johnsons Cabins in Riding Mountain
* my brother became famous for smelling his food before he ate it
* once he smelled a banana cream pie and my uncle shoved his face in it
* we were camping and my mom was pissed
* I was taught by nuns for years
* in grade 6 I had a teacher who ended up being gay
* he was fired because of it
* I asked him to be my confirmation sponsor and loved that he said yes
* I saw him when I was older and working in a pharmacy
* I only knew it was him because he paid by cheque
* he died of aids that year and I tried to speak at his funeral but couldn't and someone else had to speak for me
* I wish I had the gift he gave me but I don't
* once I kicked a boy in the gnads and he spit on me. I think he was more shocked that I spit right back on him
* my first real boy crush was in grade 4 and his name was Tyler
* I don't remember my first day of kindergarden
* we had a squirrel in our house and my dad and brother put on rubber boots, caught it in a garbage bag and killed it with a two by four while my sister screamed at them
* I just watched
* I once drank milk and cream soda because we had no strawberry milk powder. I think it turned out ok
* we danced on my brothers bed to the very first mini pops record
* there is a smell that reminds me of a sleepover with my cousin where we ate tons of candy and rented the Wham! video
* I automatically think of that when I smell it. Its indescribable, I just know it when I smell it
* I was late for my ridiculously early curfew once by two minutes and you better believe my dad was sitting in the kitchen waiting for me, like out of a movie
* it didn't happen again
* we used to walk for probably over a km to get the regular transit bus to school, right since kindergarden
* my mom sewed little pouches into our uniforms to keep our bus tickets safe
* it was a fifteen cent ride
* there were two girls down the street, twins, leslie and laurie and they were plymouth brethren
* we never ever played in each others houses, always outside
* I told my parents I was going to see the movie "Baby" about the little dinosaur but I really went to see Girls Just Wanna Have Fun with Sarah Jessica Parker
* they wouldn't have let me seen it unchaperoned
* I got busted cuz we needed a ride home and weren't at the theatre we said we would be
* and we had boys with us
* if I ever wanted to ask my moms permission for something that would likely be a "no", I would ask her when she was napping or just waking up. It almost always worked
* my parents and grandparents used to smoke so much at christmas dinner my eyes would sting from it
* I never had a teddy that I was 100 % loyal to
* I still love change and new things
* I hope mck makes a list like this in 30 years
* and I hope she smiles when she writes it

Getting Some Air

For those that know Mck, you will know that the idea of losing something is as nerve wracking as the idea of throwing something out. She is always convinced that her stuff will blow away or roll away or accidentially be thrown away. She thinks every balloon might blow away and anything she takes into the bath needs to be larger than the drain lest it go down with the water when its emptying.

A year or so ago I took mck out to fly a kite. She liked the idea of it. Liked to watch other people do it. But when it came time to go and make it happen, she panicked. She was convinced that our kite would fly away and she would lose it.

So taking her kite flying today, I wasn't sure how she'd fare, whether I'd be doing all of the work, if she'd panic and stress as it went higher, if she'd be able to relax and give it a whirl.

Turns out she was ready. While there was some mild panic about "hurting the earth" if our garbage from the packaging were to blow away unbeknownst to us, there was no panic about losing a kite to the sky. The wind wasn't fully cooperating and she felt the need to run like a mad woman to keep it up there but I gotta say, handing over the line to an anxious and excited little girl was pretty super awesome.

Walking back to the jeep, her hair full of sweat and cheeks all rosy, we decided that we liked wind and we hoped we would see even more of it tomorrow. For all of the times I have cursed the wind as I tried to ride into it or paddle against it, it was nice to find a way to welcome one of the most beautiful sounds mother nature makes.

Which Way to the Water

Today on my way home I took the Perimeter Hwy. Its a well traveled, fast moving ring road and is a convenient way to get from one side of the city to the other without having to deal with the stop-and-go of city traffic. As I approached one of the intersections that actually have light standards, I caught a glimpse of color out the corner of my eye. I watched and smiled.

He crossed the highway with purpose, like it was perfectly natural for him to be there, kayak perched upon his head. A bright swatch of blue and yellow on a gray day against a backdrop of gray cement. His face was hidden by his vessel but I imagine he was smiling, perhaps chuckling to himself at what all of these people imprisoned in their vehicles must think of this strange character walking across a major highway at 5 in the afternoon.

My first thought? Was where are you going dude? There was no body of water in the direction he was going, other than a long trek to our floodway. My second thought? Nice. Freakin. Kayak. Third thought? Perhaps he has finished his paddle in the river that the Perimeter crosses and then courts for awhile. That would make more sense. He was on his way home.
Imagine. Friday afternoon. A paddle just minutes outside your door. And all you have to do is hoist it up, and go.

Save The Page

I have always loved reading. Since I can remember, I would spend countless hours in libraries. I would borrow armfuls of books with the grandios idea that I could actually read them all before they were due and sometimes even manage to do it. I would find a book with such gorgeous photos that I would just sit down on the floor, right in the aisle, right where I was, and pore over it, as if looking at them long enough and hard enough would somehow transport me there.

But the best reading accessory? The bookmark. I love bookmarks. I had them right from when I was little. As I got older I would be satisfied with the freebies from the local bookstore or a piece of tissue. But the other day I saw 4 and loved them. I loved them for their texture and their color and the sayings and images on them. They were thin little slivers of art and I wanted them all. But even on sale I knew I needed to narrow them down. So I studied them. I read and re-read the sayings. I put them down one by one as I wandered through the store. And I ended up with just one.

I hate putting my books down opened to a page. It makes a crease in the spine that oftentimes is permanent. I hate folding over corners of the page because then it feels like the book never closes peoperly. It is akin to having pages that have gotten wet. So a bookmark is my choice. My one, well thought out, tough decision to make, had to be the perfect material and perfect saying choice.

"Live in the sunshine, swim in the sea, drink the wild air." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Early on Tuesday

I heard a song this weekend. On my way out to one of my favorite towns that I know of so far, my sister told me to pick a CD. I flipped through her case and my first choice was dismissed as too mellow. I settled on a second choice and you know when you come across those times where you didn't end up with exactly what you wanted but what you ended up with was so much more than you thought you'd get? This was one of them.

Jesse Cook. Early on Tuesday. My sister said it was on her all time top 10 song list. I had just had a conversation with a friend at work about how hard it would be to choose a top ten song list so I doubted her. Surely there were other songs that were more well known that would inch Mr. Cook out of a spot. And then I listened to it.

Its now officially in my all time top ten song list.

Sister Act

I got back yesterday after spending 3 days with my sister in Calgary. And there were a few things I learned on this little adventure.
* when you have muscles and are helping someone move, you will carry the heavy boxes
* 32 degrees is not a nice temperature to move in but rainis always worse
* discovering the corner liquor stores mysterious cooler and stumbling upon a new fave drink is a super way to end a long day
* going back the next night and finding it again is even super-er
* that even the White Trash Festival three condos over showed some respect to the 11 pm noise control bylaw
* when faced with a choice of punk rock screaming music and frank sinatra-esque music with raunchy lyrics, I will go with ol blue eyes every time
* gigantic swimming pool size holes in the ground are no match for determined women and moving men
* its easy to force good behaviour out of a child when dollarama is on the line
* half a day in the mountains does a soul a years worth of good
* sometimes there is nothing better than a picnic by a rushing river
* friends with big hearts and bigger turkeys make great dinner companions
* my brother is a super great cook and I am no longer surprised by this
* pastor kim's internet connection may have been free but it messed things up in the long run
* staying up late chatting is worth the lack of sleep
* its hard to unpack someone elses things
* I am very very good at getting my nephew in trouble
* I am very good at getting myself in trouble
* I may even have gotten us yelled at and she even used our middle names
* I don't worry about much
* sometimes you just want to wear a skirt
* a slurpee on a hot day beats the pants off of just about everything
* little baby boys with skin so soft you can barely even feel it make hearts melt faster than our ice cream in plus 32 weather
* some magazines are just impossible to find
* you can always unpack next week
* being away is fun but being home is oh so good