Time is

so slow.......this last week of waiting for the day to go to Disney has taken forever!!  

I am finally here in Cochrane and am just a mere 12 hours away from being on a plane to California.  The bad part is that I am a mere 9 hours away from having to sit in the Calgary International Airport for 3 hours.  Yippee!!!  Can't wait.  I wonder who will be at the airport at 4 a.m.

I packed everything this morning before leaving to come to Cochrane.  I hope and cross all appendages that I did not forget anything.  Which I am sure that I have because I never pack without forgetting something.  I packed for a week for all of us once and totally forgot to pack My Dear Nathan some underwear.  He....was not impressed.  Me....didn't mind so much.

I need to find something to do with my time.  I am sure that I am more excited about this trip than my girls are...at least for right now.  Will be back in a few.  Hope everyone has/had a great weekend/week!!!

Random

Thoughts......

Ryleigh really needs to go to bed.  She is trying to put on her new sandals and is having zero success with it.  She is pissed off!

I have been really sucking at Weight Watchers lately.  It is a combination of really craving burgers and beer and not having any motivation to do any sort of exercise.

I went to get new exterior doors today.  Fuck me, they are not cheap....can't wait til I have to shell out for new hardwood floors.

Watching The View is always painful, yet I generally turn it on everyday (would someone please hand EH a brain).  Perhaps I can just pay someone to come poke me in the eye with a hot needle as it would probably feel like a better use for my time.

I leave to go to Disney in 4 days.  Darian has no clean clothes and I am down to only 2 loads of laundry to do.  Yet I sit here on the computer, not doing any laundry.

Darian has done her own laundry for almost 3 years now.  I am a horrible mother.  I stopped doing her laundry when she figured that it was alright to use 3 towels every time she showered and change her clothes 20 times a day because, you know, I love doing laundry and really needed to do more.

On the subject of Darian....what do you do when you can't stand the way your daughter does her hair?  She is insisting right now to wear these "pig tails" at the nape of her neck that are about half an inch long.....I want nothing more than to cut them off in the middle of the night.

It would be easier to reach Darian's head in the middle of the night if there was not a mountain of dirty laundry about 5 ft. high surrounding her bed.

I am now going in circles talking about laundry and Ryleigh really, REALLY, needs a nap.

Easter Dinner

Nothing very exciting about this post, just to forewarn you.

This weekend I successfully cooked and served Easter dinner.  ALL BY MYSELF, which my Mother pointed out to me.

I came stumbling home from the bar on Saturday night, put my ham in the oven and went to bed.  Step 1 complete.

The next morning My Dear Nathan got up and cleaned the house while I slept off the jugs of Grasshopper (lots o' lemon) that I had consumed the night before.  Then I asked him to carry the mini-fridge downstairs, go to Safeway to pick up the rest of everything that I needed to make dinner and pick up some wine from the good ol' liquor store.

My grandparents came at around noon, shortly after my parents had called to say that they were finally leaving for their 3 hour drive to bring my kids home and well, since they were here, eat too.

Around 1-ish I remembered that I didn't have any dinner buns.  Instead of asking My Dear Nathan to go out and get some I figured that my parents would be getting close to home and should be able to swing by the grocery store and pick some up.  Wrong.  They were only half hour into the 3 hour ride.  Apparently when they called to say they were leaving they needed to first go through the 2 hour, make sure everything in the house is OK, checklist which is of course required when you leave the house for 12 hours.

My grandparents are sleeping on the couch, because that is what old people do and now I am wondering if I should attempt to bake some buns or send My Dear Nathan back to the store.  I chose the store and some internet surfing.

After all way said and done, I made my ham, some taters, gravy, corn, carrots and coleslaw for dinner.  I did it all by myself (the preparation and cooking that is, My Dear Nathan did the delivery).  Ok, I admit that my Mother mashed the potatoes for me.  Usually I have someone here (my Mother) to help me but not this time.  Nope, this time, I was like....all growed up and cooking family Easter dinner!

Hope everyone had a great one!!!

(Told you it wasn't very exciting...raise your hand if you made it this far)

Technology

I have been driving my van for just about a month now.  I totally love it.  I thought that I would miss my little car but really....I don't.  

The van is nice in that it has satellite radio.  Not the company that I would prefer but I like listening to the radio and the fact that I can listen in the middle of nowhere (like say....Red Deer) makes me happy.

What has not been making me happy is the lack of instructions on how to use the fancy touch screen radio/media centre in the van.  It has the ability to have 12 preset stations, which is good because I have found that all the stations that I like to listen to are all over the dial.  I have caught myself looking at the radio screen instead of paying attention to the road....bad, bad Nancy.

Today, after having tried to figure out the preset button on numerous occasions, I finally figured it out!!  I am so happy with myself.  This is a really good thing considering that next week I have to take the van in to get some fancy U-Connect system put in.  Apparently I will be able to talk on my cell through my van.  I am sure that sometime this summer I will finally figure out how to use it.  Isn't technology great?  I know that things are really complicated when even my tech-savvy kids can't figure it out.

Trying New Things

This morning was a big morning.  I actually went and did something that I never in a million years thought I would.  I signed up, paid for and attended a Salsa Tots class.  

In an effort to lose some (some = very large amounts) of weight I decided that I needed to do something a little more physical than moving my fingertips while typing.  I contemplated joining the gym and then remembered the last time that I did that.....skinny, had way too much coffee, cheery to a fault girls telling me that I will be skinny in no time....yeah, right.  Go fuck yourself skinny gym girl.  Jeez....you think that I am bitter much?

So, gym is out of the question.  I have bought some proper walking shoes and planned 2 trips to various Disney parks within the next few months.  I will be walking....lots.  I am telling myself that the Disney trips will be good for me (minus, of course, all of the food that is a must to eat...like Pineapple Whip and Churros).

(Aside - I am typing this while watching The View....Barbara Walters looks horrid today!!!  Mmmmmmm Carter Oosterhouse, or however you spell it)

Back to the post....so no gym, more walking.  I was watching the morning news one day and saw someone talking about a dance class for Mom (or Dad) and baby, called Salsa Babies.  Not having a baby anymore I thought I was screwed.  Nope.  They have a class called Salsa Tots.  Not giving it a second thought, I signed up.  

This morning was our first class.  Let me start by saying I was totally the fattest in the class....by a lot!  On the other hand though, Ryleigh was totally the cutest kid!  I got over all the "I am so fat" thoughts, remembering that I was there to try to help out that situation.  I avoided looking at myself in the very large mirrors and concentrated on having fun dancing with my baby.  

I was pleasantly surprised when I found myself enjoying it.  Ryleigh mostly participated, there were moments when she would have rather just been running around, but she did dance.  I danced, kind of, but I did not, and will not, jump.  That would just be ugly!  

I didn't pay attention to the perfect-body Moms who probably roll out of bed looking like they just came home from the salon.  I just need to constantly remind myself that I am there to get some exercise and spend some great time with my baby.

Why Men Are Idiots

• they get it from their Fathers
• they are disorganized
• they think that they have told you something that they haven't and then expect you to do something in relation to their phantom directions
• they figure that 2:00 a.m. when you are FINALLY getting into bed, because you are TIRED is a good time to look for some luvin'
• they think that decluttering, organizing and spring cleaning after not doing it for 10 years involves a couple of garbage bags and about an hour of your time
• they think that their Sunday afternoon hockey game is more important than spending time with the family they haven't seen all week
• they take clean clothes off the bed and put them on the floor instead of putting them away
• they figure that women should deal with emotions the same way that they do....by just forgetting about them
• they stink
• they don't tell you when a package that you have been waiting for is delivered while you are at work
• they don't pay attention to the details
• they leave dirty kleenex everywhere
• they argue with you about where to go for supper
• they cannot make a decision if their life depended on it
• they have no sense of urgency
• they hold onto decades old hockey trophies that haven't seen the outside of a cardboard box for 15 years
• they say they will do something and then don't
• they complain about something and then don't do anything to fix it

Now, of course, all of these do not apply to all men in general and they are not just about one man in particular.  It just seems that the last few days would have been much easier to deal with if it were a week where all the men left.

If you would like to add to the reasons, please do so in my comments....pass the link onto all your friends.....I am sure that I am missing some that I would love to add to the list!

Oatmeal.....Again

In an effort to make my large ass a little less large I have been eating oatmeal.  Lots....of oatmeal.  I usually begin my day with a bowl of it.  

I have discovered that I like it better made with milk as opposed to water.  It takes 1 minute, 30 seconds in my beautiful microwave.  When it comes out it is still all nice and smooth and full of oat-y deliciousness.

My most recent daily routine requires that I watch ER reruns while reading blogs and thinking of ways to spend My Dear Nathan's hard earned money before he hardly earned it.  Don't worry, I feed Ryleigh her morning staple of peanut butter toast before I start all my hard work.

I am thinking, as I eat my "oatmeal" that I need to revise my routine to include eating my oatmeal before I begin ER and/or blog reading.  By the time I begin to eat it the oat-y deliciousness has turned into a sticky, oat-y facial peel.  I still eat it but it is no longer smooth, it is more....lumpy.  The taste is still OK as far as diet oatmeal goes.

Once I am finished my bowl, I have learned the hard way, it must be rinsed out immediately.  If it is not, it moves from facial peel-ish to cement-ish.  I never knew that oatmeal was such a transitional food, I always just used to think that it sucked.

Not Ready to Share

A few weeks ago we had some friends over for some drinks.  During the course of the evening the subject of blogs came up.  My Dear Nathan mentioned that I have one.  He was very gracious and extolled our friends about how talented a writer I am (he must really love me and not read my blog very often).  He told them about how funny (again....being a dutiful husband and one who doesn't read very often) some of my posts are.  I didn't really think that much of it that night but the next few days I did.  

I know that there are 2 people who read my blog that know me personally.  I believe that most other people that read have never met me in real life.  The people that do know me in real life are, outside of My Dear Nathan, the people that know me best.  They have been there for, or heard about, the best and worst times of my life.  They know my sense of humor, eccentricities, inherent flaws, and well....pretty much everything else.

I asked My Dear Nathan not to tell people about my blog.  I think that having people that know me but not KNOW me reading my blog would adversely affect how and what I blog about.  Don't get me wrong, the friends that we were talking about are quickly becoming good friends but will never be on the same level as those who read here.  I am really a very open person.  Most times if you ask me a question I will answer it honestly and openly.  This has on more than one occasion and very recently bitten me in the ass but hey....it is just how I am.

Do you think that I am being crazy?  Would having someone read your blog make you feel uncomfortable or change how and what you write?  I know that there is no guarantee that someone I know won't stumble across this blog and I know that there may very well be more people that know me reading.  For right now I guess I am just not comfortable inviting new people (that I deal with in real life) into my little piece of bloggyland.

Kraft Dinner Juice

Camryn is at home today, enjoying yet another day off of school.  We have decided to partake in the kids lunch staple that is Kraft Dinner.

Usually when I make KD it is not according to the package directions.  I usually just splash in  some milk and add a spoonful of butter (well, it is actually margarine, so as to be more diet friendly) in addition to the cheese packet.  Today when I pulled the milk jug out of the fridge I found that there was more than I needed for KD but not enough to do anything else with.  I decided to just pour the entire contents of said milk jug into the pot.

I noticed that the KD was a little runny but still cheesy enough to eat, so I began to spoon it out.  As I am following Weight Watchers I had only a bit, which will still cost me 6 points.  The rest of the pot I spooned out to Ryleigh and Camryn, giving Camryn the bulk of the box. Camryn has been known to consume a whole pot of KD on her own.  She would like to eat nothing other than KD for breakfast, lunch and dinner if allowed.

I have just been informed that Camryn has too much KD juice at the bottom of her bowl and that she does not like her KD that juicy.  I guess next time I should be a little less liberal with the milk so as not to create Kraft Dinner Soup.

Weird Dreams

This morning I had this dream where I am inside the first house that we owned.  The windows are all covered with very long and heavy curtains, each one pulled tightly shut but the windows behind them are all open.  We (I can't quite put my finger on who exactly is with me) are all inside in the house because there are people outside who are trying to get us.  The odd part of this dream is that it seems to be the guys from Good Charlotte that are after us.

Every now and again I take a glimpse between the curtains.  The scene behind my house is how it really is.  The apartment buildings behind us are the same, right down to the wad of wet toilet paper that we sent up to the 3rd floor with our water balloon sling shot.  I can even see the same cars that used to park at the apartment building out there.  I see Flander's awesome Echo (Flanders will need to be explained in another, very long post) and it makes me shudder.

The sky looks like it does just before a thunder storm at dusk.  It smells like there is a fire somewhere and it is eerily quiet.  The street that we lived on was never quiet as it is only 1 block removed from a major route in the city.  There is a calm that feels so uncomfortable due to the fact that I am scared shitless, trapped inside my little house.

At one point in my dream I see the block surrounding my house.  I see it as I would imagine an out of body experience would be like.  I am seeing everything from above.  Although the view to the back of my house is exactly the same, the view in the front and of the block surrounding it, look nothing at all like what it really does.  My house is the tiny house in the middle of huge, scary, plantation-like houses.  There are many large, leafy trees on either side of the street.

I have no idea what this dream is about.  I know that I am scared and I feel like I am trying to protect someone (this morning I got the distinct feeling that it was my daughters).  I can't let anyone get in the house and I have to stop people from leaving as well.  I wonder why some of the things that I am seeing are exact in detail and appearance but then other things are completely different........it is just weird.  I only write about it here because I feel like I have had this, or a very similar, dream a few different times lately.  Maybe having it here will allow me to look back if it happens again.  Maybe someone out in bloggyland can offer some insight into what it means.

The Biggest Loser

Why do I watch this show?  It is full of people that work their asses off and make me feel stupid for not putting in my Biggest Loser DVD.  After I am all finished feeling like a heap of shit for not exercising I cry because it is so sad when someone has to go home.

As I type this Camryn is sighing and feeling sad for Bernie as he is getting hugged good-bye.  I wish that I had the oomph to do what these people do.  I am thrilled that I have lost every week for the past 6 but I need to work harder!

Happy, Happy

I am finally reporting some good news.  It seems as though lately all I have been doing is complaining.  I apologize.  Here is some good news:

1. I finally have a return flight from Orlando.  It leaves in the early evening so that means that we have an additional morning/afternoon to spend there.  The only down side is that we will not be arriving back in Calgary until almost midnight so my Dear Nathan will have to miss an extra day of work.

2. As I posted about already, I have a new computer.  I love that I can sit here in the living room, watch Roo do her new puzzles, blog, search for dinner recipes (we are having Jiffy Ground Pork Skillet tonight) and altogether ignore my housework all from the comfort of my new armchair.

3. I have new furniture.  Roo and I were playing on our cheap Ikea furniture the other day and well....we broke it.  That same night my Dear Nathan took me shopping for and bought me some new leather furniture.  Couch, loveseat and chair.  The chair is very comfy, I think that it is now officially mine.  No one else is permitted to sit here.

4. I have a new t.v.  Since we bought our furniture from The Brick we also got in on the "buy this set and get a free t.v. deal".  Even better is that it is not some shitty unknown brand.  It is a new, fancy Panasonic HD Plasma.  It is very purdy.

5.  I have a new van.  Circus music be damned!  My family is finally riding in comfort.  We have already packed it full of $800.00 worth of Costco groceries and filled every seat with children!  I even got to use the Stow 'n' Go feature!

6.  I am finished with birthday parties in my house until July.  Camryn had her birthday party yesterday so I am officially finished until Roo's birthday.  Thank god too, because if I eat anymore cake I am sure that I will gain back every ounce of the 1o pounds that I have lost.  Which leads me to my next point.....

7.  I have been on Weight Watchers for 8 weeks now.  As of last Thursday I have lost a total of 10.4 pounds.  I have faithfully gone to my meetings even knowing that I have had a (or a string of many) horrible weekend(s).  I have not been exercising like I should be but I am ready to get back in that routine.  I am going to go shopping for some new shoes later on this afternoon.

8.  I have somewhat organized my kitchen.  I finally have most of my cupboards organized.  I received new dishes for my birthday from my Mom (I love my new pattern!) so they were the catalyst to finally using the very top shelf of my cupboards, even if I can't reach them without a ladder.

9.  The Sears repairman came and ordered a new icemaker.  He did not try to fuck around and make it work.  He did not question my Dear Nathan's plumbing skills (in relation to hooking up the water line for the fridge) and he did not just take the damn thing out, flip it over a few times, re-install it and then leave my house with his fingers crossed that he turned it the right way to magically repair it.

10. I am getting linoleum down my back stairs.  There is nasty, nasty carpet on them currently.  It was gross when we moved in and I have to admit that we have not improved the situation any.  We will still have to live with the carpeted walls (this will be explained when I post pics after the lino is in) but at least the cats have a climbing wall.

All in all, things have been good around here.  We did not win the lottery and we will both have to work our balls off to pay for the above list but we are happy.  Now if I could just get laid.... :)

Excited

This is my first post from my beautiful, new black Macbook. I ♥ my new computer. I heart my Dear Nathan even more for buying it for me.

We decided at Christmas time to fore go the usual underwear and CDs for each other. We talked about just buying something "big" and saying Merry Christmas. We decided that we were going to buy a new computer, more specifically, a new laptop so that I can be ultralazy and surf the internet while watching tv. So here I sit doing just that!

I am super excited because this computer means that on days that I have no idea what I am going to make for dinner I can whip open my computer and all sorts of recipes will fall out of it. This means that my girls can play their computer games without having to put me out of a computer to pay important bills with or something a little more realistic, like read blogs.  This means that I can drag my computer to Florida and post pictures while we are there!!