Apr

30

By CinnamonOpus

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Categories: Daily Photo, That Girl

Protected: Saturday Smile: Presents

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Apr

29

By CinnamonOpus

5 Comments

Categories: Fun Stuff

Confession Friday

Once again, it’s the end of the week. Time to air our dirty laundry in public.

WAIT NOT THAT KIND OF CONFESSION WHOOPS.

But it is Friday! And that’s always good for some boring confessions, yes? So, I confess…

  • …that I didn’t get all OMG YAY LET’S GET UP AT 3 AM TO WATCH STRANGERS GET MARRIED ON TV EXCITED enough about the royal wedding. But we have watched several clips from it, and it looks like it was lovely. And Stinkerbelle is ALL. ABOUT. “THE PRINCESS”! today.
  • …that I did watch the vows, and started to cry. I don’t cry at weddings, but this one made me cry because William’s mom was not there, and I believe he probably really missed her. And they were SO close, I think she would have LOVED to have been there for his wedding. But most of all, as someone whose mom was unable to be at any of her life’s most important moments, it touched me pretty deeply.
  • …that I wish the royal couple all the best, and I sincerely hope that the new Duchess of Cambridge is a good deal happier in her marriage and does not suffer the same fate that her MIL did.
  • …that the happiness and pageantry and OMG WTF IS THAT CRAZYPANTS THING ON YOUR HEAD stuff that goes on with a royal wedding has been just the antidote to the doom and gloom and tragedy and wankfests that we’ve had going on in the world of late. And now, I feel I must go out and buy a ridiculous hat for my eyebrows like some of the Upper Class Twits of the Year attending the royal wedding were sporting. Yes, I am looking at you, Skeletor Beckham! AND you two unfortunately-coutured nutjob daughters of Prince Andrew!
  • …that I am still cranky and impossible to live with, but can now add “emotional” to the list. Thank you hormones. PERIMENOPAUSAL TRIFECTA OF DOOM FTMFW.
  • …that I was pleasantly astonished that people thought my movie night idea yesterday was a) a good one and 2) worth pursuing. But now I have to come up with a plan. I feel a FAIL coming on.
  • …that I have not broken our elliptical machine in TWO WEEKS. And I am enjoying exercising again, albeit very gently to start off with. I really like being active again, and hope I can ramp it up a little bit soon.
  • …that I am on a bit of a high from our meeting with Stinkerbelle’s OT this morning. Something I have been mentioning to various professionals for That Girl’s entire life has finally been recognized and may have twigged something we can pursue in therapy, which is really exciting to me. It may only be a little thing, but any potential progress is good.
  • …that I have been trying new recipes again lately, which have been pretty good for the most part. But I am trying to find some that might be a little more friendly on the budget, because the last time it just got fairly expensive. And it isn’t easy, especially since BDH was all ENOUGH WITH THE SOUP ALREADY after a few days of budget friendly and easy soup, and then another soup the next day, and then a different soup, and then more soup soup soup soup soup.
  • …that if you write the word SOUP enough times, that I think it ceases to look like a real word with actual meaning and more like a three-year-old has gotten her hands on your keyboard. SOUP SOUP SOUP SOUP SOUP SOUP.

Apr

28

By CinnamonOpus

6 Comments

Categories: Everyday Life Stuff

Apathetic. But I Don’t Care.

I’ve been registering high on the apathetic meter these days. My apathy dial goes all the way to 11.

I think it might be the weather. It’s hard to get enthused when it’s raining on and off for weeks. Or maybe it’s the fact that I’m tired. But that’s not new.

I’d work harder to find something to blame, but… meh. I’m really not bothered.

I think it’s going around, though. I’ve noticed that on some of my favourite blogs and sites and communities, people have been away more and contributing less. Maybe it’s warm and sunny where they live and they’re outside enjoying the weather. But from the looks of the news, probably not.

My hit count has gone way down. Part of that, I think, is because when our server died, and we moved my blog offsite, people’s feeds and links got busted, so they don’t know I’m still here. But maybe, they’re simply out enjoying some time with family or doing fun things, and are spending less time online — which is kind of a nice thought, too.

But even if people WERE coming to visit, I haven’t had much useful to say. It’s just been kind of boring everyday life stuff here, and who wants to read that? I don’t even enjoy writing it.

We’ve tried keeping on top of the housework, but… Oy. The effort. Some things get done. Some don’t. It’s like that.

I haven’t been knitting much, although still enough to keep ahead of the game on my 11 Projects in 2011 challenge. Mostly, in the evenings, BDH and I have been going to our neutral corners with our laptops — me to do some work, and him to do some faffing and watching shows on Netflix. But even still, we’re crashing early.

I got a bit of inspiration the other day, though. I thought, “Wouldn’t it be fun to have a kind of a virtual book club? Only books are too challenging, and I’m kind of… meh… these days… So maybe a MOVIE club. Yeah! Where some peeps out in Internetland and I decide on a movie to watch, maybe once a month, and then discuss it. Movies that we’ve always wanted to watch, or have been interested in, or classic movies… things available online, or rentals, or on Youtube… Sort of a Virtual Chick Flick Comfy Couch Night.” I thought, now THERE is a proper excuse to sit down, someplace comfy, with a blanket and a drink and just WATCH A MOVIE. Because, you know, I HAVE TO.

Whoa. Talk about rationalizing being absolutely lazy, man.

I LIKE IT!

But, then part of me went, “Uh… this requires PLANNING. And ORGANIZATION.” And as you may or may not have noticed, this is in short supply here.

And so, in the end, the Bright Little Idea died a sad and lonely death in the great big empty that is my brain these days. And I’d feel bad about that, I really would, except I can’t be arsed to make that kind of effort.

I think I’ll go do…. something…. instead. Or maybe not. It could go either way.

Apr

26

By CinnamonOpus

9 Comments

Categories: Random Thoughts

Random Tuesday: Highs and Lows, Bigs and Smalls Edition

Welcome! I see you’re in town for our annual Craptacular Weather Festival! Please… do come in. Try not to let the water seep into your shoes.

Three-ish days of storms and rain are taking the whole “April showers bring May flowers” thing a bit TOO far, I think. I’m damp, and trying to keep moving so as to avoid getting mildewed.

And on today’s Random Assortment of Randomy Randomness Show, we have:

  • The high comedy of an Election. Over the past few weeks, BDH and I have been watching the local antics in this year’s federal election with much bemusement. But it also made us determined to make sure we got out and voted, so last night, we decided to go and get ‘er done in the Advance Polls. But the only time we could go was after my physio appointment at around 7:20. That’s 10 minutes before Stinkerbelle’s bedtime, but she generally lays in bed and sings and faffs and gabs for an hour after bedtime anyway, sooo… In her jammies and slippers and all ready for bed, we packed up Stinkerbelle and off we went in the pouring rain to vote. She was ALL. ABOUT. THE. VOTING. I mean, anywhere she can go with a crowd of people — A CAPTIVE AUDIENCE — and dude, she’s all in. So she was all OH HI HELLO GOOD MORNING WE ARE VOTING ISN’T IT GREAT! while BDH and I alternated getting ourselves checked in and voting while the other held The Be-jammied One. She LOVED voting. Even though, you know, she didn’t actually VOTE, nor does she even know what voting IS. And she fussed and cried when it was time to go home. And when I went in to get her up this morning, the first thing she said to me was “Hi, good morning, we go VOTE?”
  • Big Granny panties. So, I am frugal. We know this. It takes me a LOT of prodding to spend money on myself, when we don’t have much to spare. If we’re flush, I’m all OH HELLO ONLINE SHOPPING I AM IN YOU NOW. But not when money is scarce. So when I went out two weeks ago to buy socks and underwear, you KNOW I was getting desperate. So anyway, here is this week’s TMI about me: I wear bikini-type underwear. High cut. Have done for 25 years. They fit me and they’re comfortable. And at Sears, two weeks ago, there was a sale on 3-packs of underwear, so I was all HELLO SAVING MONEY. But BDH and Stinkerbelle were there, and he has to buy stuff too, and Stinkerbelle gets in a mall and goes OMG MUST GO EVERYWHERE AND BUY ALL THE THINGS, so it was a quick get-in-get-stuff-go-home kind of trip. I grabbed 2 3-packs of underwear, paid, and off we went. So, in the next batch of laundry, I grabbed the packs quickly, pulled out the new undies, and dropped them in the wash. And then, the time came to put the clothes on the line. And as I started hanging clothes, I came upon these… THINGS… and I was all WTF THESE ARE THE BIGGEST UNDERPANTS IN THE UNIVERSE. These things were like SAILS, they were so big. So I came back inside, and went up and fished the packages out of the garbage. And I was struck by three cruel realities:

1. I had mistakenly purchased GRANNY PANTS. Big, giant panties made from YARDS AND YARDS of cloth. Pants which, because I am short-waisted, COME UP OVER MY RIBCAGE.
2. I had purchased not only Granny Pants, but Granny Pants that were A SIZE LARGER (AT LEAST) THAN I NORMALLY WEAR. I think they are actually PLUS SIZED GRANNY PANTS.
3. And the saddest fact of all… I had now WASHED the giant pants, and therefore COULD NOT RETURN THEM.

I have a surplus of giant pants. A whole lot of big smalls. A big drawer full of… big drawers. I has a sad.

  • Big bunnies and high saccharine content. My daughter has, thanks to an email from her Auntie Tena, discovered a love for a show called “BunnyBop”, a new Canadian program for the 3-and-under set that’s made in PEI. We watch it online. It’s a 5-minute long show from the makers of Big Comfy Couch — so, as with typical Canadian educational television, it’s gentle, and sweet, and quiet… and full of women singing strange discordant songs in shrill voices that are occasionally slightly off-tune. Oh well. For the most part, it’s very gentle and Stinkerbelle LOVESLOVESLOVES it. And I don’t mind it, in 5-minute doses. I’m not homicidal YET, but give me a few weeks. And I love hearing her say “Bunny Bop” and talk to the kids and bunnies in the show.
  • Little bunnies, medium buns, and high sugar content. For Easter, I made hot cross buns. Which were basically cinnamon buns made into bun shapes instead of rolled-up shapes, and had less icing on them. And were, admittedly, a bit overdone. BUT STILL TASTY. I made these because we are not Easter people, really, so there’s no church thing, or big dinner thing, going on with us. And Stinkerbelle, with her eating issues, is not someone who I thought would enjoy a lot of candy. And she CERTAINLY does not need toys, what with her birthday falling around the same time. But I wanted to mark the occasion, and she DOES love bread stuff, so I made hot cross buns. And they were a nice tasty breakfast for Easter, and she ate one, and I felt like MOM = WIN. Plus, we gave her a little basket with a token few chocolate eggs and little bunnies in it. It was only slightly after breakfast that I realized that she knows how to unwrap chocolate Easter eggs, as I watched her happily scarf down a mouthful of chocolate while muttering ‘MORE CHOK-LIT PWEESE” as chocolate drool oozed down her chin. So, MOM = FAIL.
  • High drama and emotional lows. No, really. Our house is full of TEH DRAMA these days. In particular, one small Drama Llama, who is working the emotional manipulation for all she is worth. Lately, we’ve been treated to selections from The LOOKIT-ME-I-AM-SO-SAD-IF-I-SCREW-MY-EYES-UP-REALLY-TIGHT-I-MAY-EVEN-SQUEEZE-OUT-A-REAL-TEAR School of Emoting. Accompanied, of course, by fake crying sounds, and the emphatic “I CRYING!!” so that you know that Real Emotions Are Happening. You wanna see real emotions, kid? Go open my closet door and watch me recoil in horror at the sight of SIX PAIRS OF GRANNY PANTIES. And then watch me cry at the thought that I wasted 30 bucks.

Apr

23

By CinnamonOpus

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Categories: Daily Photo

Protected: Saturday Smile: Swingers

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Apr

22

By CinnamonOpus

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Categories: Fun Stuff

Confession Friday

It’s Friday, AND a holiday. How can you not love a long weekend?

I confess:

  • …that I have not felt much like blogging this week. I’ve mostly been lacking in anything interesting to say.
  • …that I have not been a good person to live with of late. I’ve been cranky and easily annoyed and have generally been an unpleasant mom and an unpleasant person.
  • …that it has been stressful and miserable around here, with things breaking and needing repair. First it was Fred the computer, TWICE. Then it was our elliptical. Then, yesterday, it was BDH’s car. It’s getting ridiculous and frustrating. Not to mention, the potential expense has us stressed.
  • …that I am getting fed up with this cold, miserable weather. Would it kill Mother Nature to just give us some warmth and sunshine already? It’s getting ridiculous. And it is not helping my mood any, being stuck inside trying to stay warm. And Stinkerbelle is watching WAY too much TV, when we’d both rather be outside and warm and doing something more fun and active.
  • …that I’ve spent a lot of time lost in my thoughts this week. Some would say daydreaming, letting my mind wander to warmer places and sunnier days and vacation time. I blame the cold weather. Well, that, and watching a lot of travel shows recently.
  • …that we’re not much for celebrating Easter. So, no special dinner is planned, although I am hoping to make hot cross buns and have a big eggs-and-bacon breakfast on Sunday. And we did buy a little chocolate for That Girl, although she likely won’t eat much, so it will be left to us to finish off. Darn.
  • …that I don’t much like one of our cats recently. Duncan has just been getting on my nerves and generally behaving like a big dumb pillock lately. He’s a sweet enough fellow, and he really does love His Girl Stinkerbelle and is SO tolerant with her, but he’s so big and so stupid and he’s just been getting on our nerves a lot recently. I feel bad for getting after him sometimes, but then he goes and does something like scratching on the carpets or terrorizing Cinnamon and I just get annoyed again.
  • …that I was so, so happy to see the return of a little friend, a little chipmunk with a half a tail that we call Pip. I had not seen him late last summer and fall, and was worried he had met an untimely end. And then over the winter chipmunks hibernate. When hibernation was over, we had other chippers come, but no Pip. But this week, he showed up on our patio, and came right up the steps for peanuts, as though he had never been away.
  • …that it was nice to have a few hours out at the office yesterday of productive work to do. Sometimes it is nice to just get out and feel useful in an adult capacity again. I do love my “career” as stay-at-home mom, but sometimes it is nice to have time on my own to do adult things, engaging my mind elsewhere. I don’t have much of that kind of time anymore, so when it happens it’s really nice.
  • …that I completely forgot to enroll Stinkerbelle in dance class for the fall, and if I had done it this week, I would have saved us the HST on the class — so, a significant chunk of change. But there’s been a lot going on so I’ve been preoccupied elsewhere, and we have been waffling on whether or not she’d be ready developmentally for all the instruction, and it’s a lot of money just now… Anyway, I didn’t get it done. And I’m kicking myself. Because I love to save money, even if it’s just the HST.
  • …that I’m going to have a cup of coffee with Bailey’s in it. Special coffee FTW!

Apr

19

By CinnamonOpus

8 Comments

Categories: Random Thoughts

Random Tuesday: WTF I DON’T EVEN Edition

I hate Tuesdays, as a rule. They are disorderly and weird and long and never any fun. I’d trade my Tuesdays in for two Wednesdays. Or even two Mondays. At least with a Monday, you generally know what you are in for.

But at least it’s not snowing. Yet.

  • Yesterday was Monday, and it was fine. It was fine enough that all the wildlife were out and behaving… well… mostly wild. We have a bit of a clearing in the conservation behind the fence, and we get to see a fair bit of the local yokels out grazing or gathering nuts or whatever. It’s nice. But, it is also SPRING, and with spring comes… SPRINGLIKE BEHAVIOUR. Some days, you just want to lean out the window and holler, “GET A BURROW, WILLYA!?” But they don’t care. Yesterday we had Rabbitpalooza out there. Bunnies everywhere, running all over the place, chasing each other, round and round and round… At one point, one was standing WAY UP , up on his hind legs, all stretched out — even his ears were up. What IS that? Is that some “HEY LADY BUNNIES, LOOKIT YER MAN BUNNY, NOW LOOK AT ME, NOW LOOKIT YER MAN, NOW BACK TO ME, I’M SO TALL” thing going on? And do not even get me started on the deer running round and round and round like some dog with a tennis ball. I’m waiting for one of them to run in circles so much he gets dizzy and falls down. Because I like my wildlife with some comedy.
  • Machinery of all sorts in our house is cursed. First, Fred died. And we were okay with that, mostly. BDH wanted to get Fred back up and running, just to use as a computer for our iTunes downloads and such, so he worked for hours and hours and hours, getting it fixed, putting in a new hard drive, getting the damn thing wiped and reloaded, getting it all patched and updated and whatnot. Hours and hours. And just when it was done, and ready for him to use… the power supply DIED. So, it’s just a big fucking time sucking vampire paperweight right now. And we have an elliptical, which I am to use as part of my knee physio. Except every time I go on it, I break it. Now, bear in mind that I am using it on the very lowest settings possible, just a gentle round and round for my knee… and it clanks and bangs and breaks. Today? One of the swinging arm/leg thingies decided HEY WATCH THIS I WILL FALL OFF. So BDH is getting pissed, because he’s The Dad and it’s His Job To Fix Things. Me, I’m starting to get a little worried that one of our major appliances is going to go HEY NOW THIS LOOKS LIKE FUN and take a crap and die on us. Because that’s what we need is to SPEND MORE MONEY WE DON’T HAVE.
  • It has been a challenge this past week or so, because the weather has kept us in a lot of the time and our routines have been disrupted. But I am sorry, but IT IS THE ASS END OF APRIL WTF IS WITH THE FUCKING SNOW. Normally, we’d have been out and walking and exploring and gardening and not getting on each other’s nerves, but instead, we’re stuck inside watching WHAT IS THAT FALLING FROM THE SKY WTF I DON’T EVEN THAT IS JUST SO WRONG. And we’ve also had wind battering our little House of Sticks so hard that it shakes and my monitor does a little dance along the desk. That Girl is all about BACK ARD BACK ARD PWEESE and I can barely stand the cold wind for longer than a few minutes, and that’s on a day when it’s NOT snowing. And tonight? We’re in for 25 mm of rain. So, let’s recap: Snow in April. Flooding on the prairies. Tornadoes across the US. Earthquakes and tsunami in Japan. Earthquakes in NZ. Earthquakes in doG knows where else. Summary: THE EARTH IS PISSED AT US AND IS TRYING TO SHAKE US OFF, MAN.
  • My kid is waking up. I have things that need doing. Work. Blogging. Shower. She needs to sleep, like, half an hour more AT LEAST. Because things falling apart took up my free time. GAH. I need backup.

And to add to my WTF Tuesday, in a really shitty way:

  • Elisabeth Sladen — Sarah Jane to Doctor Who and Sarah Jane Adventures fans worldwide — died today, aged 63 (I think). Far too young, at any rate. Cancer sucks HARD. I has a sad.

Apr

16

By CinnamonOpus

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Categories: Daily Photo, That Girl

Protected: Saturday Smile: On Getting Older

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Apr

15

By CinnamonOpus

10 Comments

Categories: Fun Stuff

Confession Friday

It IS Friday, isn’t it? I’m not entirely sure. I think it is.

I confess:

  • …that I really honestly wondered that anyone would notice that my blog was gone this week. And I was secretly kind of thrilled that people DID notice.
  • …that our server, Fred, died at a most inconvenient time, since I had had a bunch of posts all ready to go in my head. But then my blog was gone for a few days, and the moment passed. And now my head is back to its usual state of a great big empty.
  • …that I’m kind of relieved that Fred is finally dead and gone. It’s been a few years of waiting for the penny to drop, and now that it has happened, we had to bite the bullet and move on. And we found a reasonable solution, which was a huge relief, but also? BDH no longer has to fight with technology in his free time as much. And that can only be a good thing.
  • …that the weather is warming up, and it has been great to get outside. Just a few more degrees and it will be perfect. And Stinkerbelle is all about the “Back Ard” this week, which is a nice change from last year when she hated being in the backyard. Possibly this bodes well for getting some gardening done this year.
  • …that we went for our first walk in the conservation area yesterday, and for the first time, I was a little uncomfortable. Now that I have actually seen them out there, I am embarrassed to admit I was a little paranoid that we might encounter coyotes on our walk. If it was just me, it would be no big deal, but now I have a little person walking and exploring with me. Not that it’s a realistic concern, but still, I’m a worrier like that.
  • …that I am ridiculously excited for the start of this season of Doctor Who. April 23 can NOT come fast enough.
  • …that we have let things slide around the house a little bit, what with Stinkerbelle’s birthday and dealing with the busted technology and getting outside and enjoying the weather. But we have to get back on the horse and clean this weekend, and I am not looking forward to it. I love having a clean house, but I hate doing housework. Well, except vacuuming, since we got our Dyson.
  • …that I have found it really interesting to read people’s reactions to the arrests made last week. Some forgiving, some bitter, some pragmatic, some heartfelt… so many people were affected, and there are equally as many different reactions. I am one of the bitter ones. I don’t believe in heaven or hell, so my reaction is that I really hope they get punished to the fullest extent of the law right here and now. And I don’t believe in our justice system either, and it angers me to think that such evil people will walk free, but I think that they’ll probably get away with just a slap on the hands.
  • …that I have done 3 or 4 loads of laundry and put them out on the clothesline so far this week — the first of the year. And I am happy to report, none of them smell like rubbery farts. Although I’m still not sold on the kind-of-crispy, not-quite-soft nature of line-dried clothes. What? I’m soft like that.
  • …that I am looking forward to fresh produce, REALLY fresh produce, showing up in our stores soon. Although I confess, one of the big things to eat in spring and summer is salad, and I don’t like salad. To be fair, it’s lettuce-based salads that turn me off. I don’t like lettuce. BDH could eat salads at every meal, and for me they’re just… ugh. I much prefer veggies and dip, and tomatoes, and fresh fruit…
  • …that I felt sad yesterday, looking at my little girl, standing on the sidewalk with nobody to play with, wistfully looking at the kids playing down the street. The kids that were out were too old for her to play with, but she kept pointing and yelling “Kids!” and saying hi to them in the hopes of making friends. Seeing her all alone and yet so hopeful like that broke my heart.

Apr

13

By CinnamonOpus

5 Comments

Categories: Everyday Life Stuff

I Killed Freddy.

You may have noticed I have not been here for a few days. Or not. Probably not.

But, it’s true. I was seriously offline.

I finally, at long last, killed out long-suffering server, Fred. Our server that BDH has faithfully repaired time and time again. Our server that was McGyver-ed together by chewing gum and dental floss.

We didn’t even have time to make sure our tray tables were in the upright and locked position or to put our heads between our knees and prepare for crash landing. I just killed it. Dead.

Well, not really. I was just the one who rebooted him when he decided hack up his dying error message.

So, my blog was gone. Our email server, too.

NO GOOD NO.

BDH has spent the better part of the past two days trying to fix the damn thing. One last time.

Then we said, fuck it, and moved all our stuff off site.

So, we’re back. Things may be a little iffy for a couple of days as we make sure everything is working properly, and figuring out all the back end stuff. Comments seem to be busted. Whoops. And some links. Some pages too. Who knows what else?

But we’re mostly back. Kind of. A bit.

 

Apr

11

By CinnamonOpus

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Categories: Daily Photo, Welcome to the Mommyhood

Protected: Three

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Apr

9

By CinnamonOpus

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Categories: Daily Photo

Protected: Saturday Smile: At The Park

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Apr

8

By CinnamonOpus

14 Comments

Categories: Fun Stuff

Confession Friday

Yay! It’s Friday!

I confess:

  • …that today’s confessions are a mix of bitterness and happiness. Much like life itself.
  • …that I am so, SO happy that those assholes Rick and Susan Hayhow were arrested and charged yesterday with multiple counts of fraud. Finally! Let’s see you try to squirm and lie your way out of this one, you dirtbags.
  • …that I doubt the Hayhows will get the punishment they deserve, which is jail time. They’ll probably get massive fines, or maybe not, and they’ll probably get probation. But I doubt they’ll go to jail. And that’s the shame of it. For all the harm they have done to SO many people, far and wide, all the lying and cheating and betrayals and abuse of power and abuse of trust, they deserve to be sent down for a couple years. But I just don’t believe it will happen. Assholes like that rarely get what they deserve, and certainly not when it’s this sort of “white collar” crime.
  • …that if they get jail time, I’m going to have a party to celebrate.
  • …that I have read their daughter’s blog, and what she frequently talks about is money, money, money — and (since the fraud well dried up) how she never has any anymore. A lot of her posts are silly girl things, sure. But most of the time it’s how she never has any money. Well, money and god. And how god will provide (money). I know you can’t choose your parents, so I kind of feel bad for her, but all the talk of money also reminds me of the saying “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”.
  • …that I need to move on and think of something else today, because that family makes me sick to my stomach. And I have better ways to expend my energy. So that’s the end of that.
  • …that BDH took the today and Monday off and we’re having a bit of a family long weekend. He’s been sick so he needs a little time to rest, and because certain little girls have a birthday coming up on Monday, he wanted to take the time to spend with her and celebrate.
  • …that, since I extolled upon how lovely it was to drink a cold beer the other day, my generous husband came home with 2 6-packs of beer last night! Which, since I’m the only drinker in the house, will last me until summertime. And he also brought me a big bottle of Baileys, which, since I only drink it in my coffee, will likely last me until this time next year. (So for those of you keeping a tally: that’s 3 bottles of wine in the fridge, and now a big bottle of Baileys and 2 not-quite-full 6-packs of beer — PARTY AT MY HOUSE! Although the window is now frosted so no more neighbour porn — but if you wait long enough, soon the other neighbours will be out sunbathing naked.)
  • …that I am going to make and decorate cupcakes for Stinkerbelle’s birthday. But they are FROM A MIX. I know. MOM FAIL. But really, I just wanted them to come out perfectly, so really? MOM FAILSAFE! HA HA! So, really, FULL OF WIN!
  • …that my baby is turning three, and it is bittersweet. I love the way she is learning and growing, but we’ll no longer have a baby in the house, and that’s kind of sad. Time is flying by so quickly. I wish I could stop and capture so much of our lives, and who she is right now, every day. But you can’t stop time.
  • …that one of the ways my kid is growing is OMG NEW AND IMPROVED MEMORY. She remembers things now, and it’s been such a change! She can recount some of the things she did during the day. You can’t make an offhand remark, like “We need to go to the store and get milk” because if you then go to the store to get groceries, SHE IS LIKE A WOMAN POSSESSED. OMG MUST GET MILK NOW NOW NOW!! And she will tell EVERYONE she meets that WE HAS TO BUY MILK SEE YOU LATER BUH BYE. But what it also means is that I have to check what I say — I used to just have a running dialogue with her as we went about our day, talking about things we could do or what needs to be done around the house or whatever. But with this OMG NEW AND IMPROVED MEMORY, you can’t just make a throwaway suggestion, like “Hm, what shall we do today, maybe X or Y or Z” because she will REMEMBER those suggestions and REPEAT THEM FOREVER. “We go to PARK, OKAY???” Or, “We go to MALL???” So, I am learning to keep those things to myself, or else HEAR THEM REPEATED AD INFINITUM UNTIL THEY HAUNT YOUR DREAMS.
  • …that my husband suggested we go to Ikea this morning, and I SAID NO. I know, you are SHOCKED. We love to go there. But there is just SO MUCH we want to buy for our home, and we just cannot afford it right now. So rather than go all that way just to window shop and make ourselves crazy — or, worse, go and find something we want and put it on our poor, overworked credit card — we opted to stay close to home. Although we did go to the mall and bought some much needed socks and underwear. And Stinkerbelle LOVESLOVESLOVES to go walking in the mall, so she got some fun walking time in, too! So, it’s not the Festival of Scandinavian Efficiency Home Decor With Crazy Names, but still it was a nice way to spend an hour this morning.

Apr

5

By CinnamonOpus

8 Comments

Categories: Food Stuff, Random Thoughts, That Baby, Welcome to the Mommyhood

Random Tuesday: Something Is Off Edition

It’s altogether too routine for a Tuesday. I feel like somebody swapped out my Tuesday for a Wednesday or something. I hate when that happens. I have a hard enough time remembering what day of the week it is without feeling like it’s not the day I think it is.

  • We had to get the first oil change on my car yesterday. It was something they automatically do when you get the car: the salesperson just pre-books your first scheduled oil change so you keep up on the regular maintenance. And yesterday was the first one. DO YOU KNOW HOW I KNOW THIS? Because two or three months ago the dealership called to remind me of a maintenance appointment, but I knew it was too early for MY appointment, so I rang them back and confirmed that a) they were calling for BDH’s car and not for mine, and 2) the date of MY car’s appointment, which he looked on computer and told me was April 4. It was, however, scheduled for 6 am. So we switched that to 10 am. And then I put it in my calendar. EXCEPT… I showed up, on time, yesterday, child in tow with diaper bag and snacks and juice and other diversions, for my first scheduled maintenance, only to find out IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE ON MAY 4TH AT 10 AM. So. The STUPID MORON on the phone BACK IN JANUARY, when I CONFIRMED THE DATE AND TIME, gave me the WRONG DATE. And the guy checking me in was all, “DUH, you came a MONTH EARLY.” I wanted to punch somebody RIGHT IN THE JUNK, I tell you truly. Fortunately, it was just an oil change, and they were not busy, so they took my car in anyway. But STILL. Anyway, now I have an appointment for MAY 4, to get my winter tires off. YOU ARE ALL MY WITNESSES.
  • I’m having chicken issues. I am. It’s getting annoying, and a little expensive. See, I buy chicken in bulk — if I am at the grocery store, and there’s a sale on boneless skinless breasts (which is all we eat), I buy a whackload of ‘em and then bag up meal-sized portions and freeze them. I have done this for LO, THESE MANY YEARS. With no problem. Except recently, I am finding that when I go to the freezer to get some of this chicken to use for dinner, I take it out and as it thaws, I am beginning to notice it’s gone a bit… white-ish. In patches. Like what I imagine freezer burn would look like, except I don’t really know from freezer burn. It smells okay, but it just looks… NOT RIGHT. Anyway. I took some out this past week and hemmed and hawed about it, and then eventually just chucked it. I’m a coward. It’s not been anywhere except our deep freeze for a month or two, and yet… And there’s a bunch of them in there right now, 3 pounds, and I’m eyeing them suspiciously as well. These are the times when I wish my mom was here so I could go “WHAT IS THIS, O FONT OF MOM KNOWLEDGE?” Except she was SO EXCITED to have a DEEP FREEZER (this was back in the 60s/very early 70s, you understand) I fear she would have been all “NO THERE’S NOTHING WRONG LOOK AT THE MIRACLE OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY YOU HAVE BEFORE YOU”. And then we would all die from eating funky chicken. The end.
  • My kid is talking in her sleep. She does, from time to time. The first time she did it was, like, the first or second night we had her in our care, back in Addis, in the hotel. We’re sleeping, it’s like, 4 am, and all of a sudden she lets out this PEAL OF LAUGHTER. And BDH and I LEAPT from our beds all OMGWTF IS THAT BABY DOING and I just about blew a hamstring because I got one foot tangled in the bedcovers. Anyway. She does not do it often, so it catches us off guard when she does. So, last night, I’m sleeping in bed, minding my own business, and all of a suddenly I hear LA DE DA BLAH DE BLAH SOMETHINGSOMETHING in this pleasant little voice over the baby monitor. I have no fucking clue what she said because, OH YEAH I WAS ASLEEP. But I tell you truly, I went from ZONK to FULL ALERT WHOOP WHOOP WHOOOOOP in about three milliseconds. You KNOW all the crazy shit that goes through your head — well, maybe just MY HEAD — in these situations. I’m all WHO IS SHE TALKING TO WHAT IS WRONG OMG SOMEONE HAS BROKEN IN AND IS IN HER ROOM ABDUCTING MY CHILD. So I get up and rush to the door and listen… And what’s happening? NOTHING, man. She’s sound asleep. So’s BDH, for that matter. He didn’t even KNOW she had been talking. But not me. OH NO. I’m WIDE AWAKE now.
  • Parenting Fail of the Week (Potentially): Every time my kid falls down now, she looks at me and asks “IS IT OKAY?”. The thought process is not “okay, I have fallen down and I feel a slight pain here, so I will tell you I have a problem”. It seems to be more along the lines of “I have fallen down, but you normally just get me to shake it off, even if it hurts so what is the point? AM I HURT? YOU TELL ME, BOSSY MOM LADY.”
  • Parenting Fail of the Week (Definitely): My kid’s had a cold, and she hates having a runny nose. So, she will always ask for a KWEENEX. This is good, right? Except for the fact that A) she will wake in the middle of the night and begin calling for KWEENEX, KWEENEX, so we have to get up out of a sound sleep, go in, find a kleenex and deal with the boogers in the dark, and 2) she has picked up on the fact that we call them “boogers” and so, just to be sure, will stick a finger in her nose TO CHECK before asking… and then announce “BOOGERS”, loudly, in a tone of great gravitas, before quietly asking for a kleenex.
  • Parenting Fail of the Week (Heavyweight Division): It snowed the other night, around dinnertime, after being warm for a couple of days. I stood at the patio doors and bellowed “SNOW! AAAAAAUGGGGHHH!” My husband went to the window in the playroom and pointed and yelled “AAAAAAUGGGGHHH!” So. Guess who has taken to yelling “AAAAAAUGGGGHHH!” at the dinnertable because she thinks it’s funny?

*****

Archives
One Year Ago: Certainties
Two Years Ago: Saturday Smile: Today’s Lesson
Three Years Ago: Friday Fun: Take That, Mother Nature

Apr

2

By CinnamonOpus

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Apr

1

By CinnamonOpus

7 Comments

Categories: Fun Stuff

Confession Friday

YAY! It’s Friday! And… It’s APRIL! Those are both good things.

I confess…

  • …that being sick all week has made for a very long week indeed. I’ve had a preschooler clinging to me like a small, squirmy, booger-y barnacle for most of the week, and while I appreciate the extended snuggle time, it is hard to be in each other’s face all week. And getting up multiple times a night has not helped matters.
  • …that, because we’ve been stuck inside sick all week, I was hell bent and determined to get outside today, no matter what. And it was nice for both of us to get out and go for a walk today. It was chilly, but it was OUT. And DIFFERENT. Change of scenery is good.
  • …that I only did 3.5 km today, and not very quickly at that. But it was a good start, considering I’m still in physio and don’t really know how much I should be doing, or even if I should be walking that much, anyway.
  • …that I’m looking forward to a spring and summer full of walks and getting out. I’ve been feeling housebound and isolated this winter.
  • …that, although I’m mostly okay with being alone and not having any friends, sometimes it’s a bit lonely. I’d love the opportunity to get out a little bit, and do something fun with someone.
  • …that my husband, the lovely and thoughtful BDH, came home last night with flowers for me and a happy face balloon for Stinkerbelle, and a bag full of groceries. He cooked a full steak dinner — steak, baked potato, caesar salad — and commanded me to stay out of the kitchen while he did. And it was delicious.
  • …that I have always hated April Fool’s Day. I think it’s a stupid excuse to be mean-spirited to others and make other people look and feel bad. And I confess that my respect for adults who pull April Fool’s Day pranks goes down a little bit, because they should know better. Especially when they do it in the workplace. And I confess that this has always been an unpopular opinion, and has added to my reputation as an antisocial bastard over the years. And I confess that I am okay with that.
  • …that I was genuinely saddened to get the final email from the staff at Imagine this morning. They have been such a big part of our lives for the last four years, and it’s sad to close that chapter of our lives. While we had our ups and downs during the process, like everyone does, by and large working with them was a very positive experience. And because of their help, we are now parents to the most wonderful child we have ever known. How do you say thank you for that? I sent along my goodbyes and thank yous, but it hardly feels enough.
  • …that I am hoping to sit and do some knitting this weekend. I’m making great progress on my 11 in 2011 challenge — already finished 6 projects! — but I haven’t done anything really big aside from BDH’s scarf. I want to knit a couple of blankets, which will likely take longer than a month to complete. And I’m about halfway done the squares I am doing for a patchwork quilt for Stinkerbelle, and I’d like to get that done before, you know, she’s off to university or whatever.
  • …that I am really tired and still feeling kind of poorly and that makes me kind of emotional. So it would be really nice to sit under a blanket with my tea and my knitting, and watch something gentle and happy and pleasant this weekend. But there’s a house to be cleaned and laundry to do and a bunch of other niggling little projects, so…

*****

Archives
One Year Ago: How to Walk Your Toddler
Two Years Ago: Good Mail Day
Three Years Ago: Madhouse and And Another Thing