Lights, Cold, and Ghetto

We went to the lights show at Miller. The lights were cool. But by the time they drew out the presentation which no one could hear for 45 minutes (and does anyone care what the Mayor and County Executive have to say anyhow?), no one cared about anything other than getting inside and warming up. Once the food tents did open, there was so much shoving, pushing, and ghetto crap that it just ended up being not much fun. At least there was a scoop next to one of the buildings for C-man to get all excited about. Beerman stayed home today from work to finish up the bathroom that's been in shambles and unusable for almost 2 years. Today he pulled apart the snowblower and put it back together, called landscapers, and had tree guys come for estimates. I'm never going to have a bathroom. Tomorrow's Friday. Woo-hoo! Jeans day at work. And only 1 more day until our James Bond themed progressive dinner party and a babysitter. I'm giddy with excitement.

Gifts, gifts, gifts

Just like Santa, I'm working through my list. I'm realizing that I've given all my great ideas away to other people. Damnit! I think I've got Beerman's birthday gift set. Now I just need Christmas. I've been trying to pin him down to something, but he's been pretty noncommittal. Hrmph. Tomorrow we're going to Miller's light ceremony. True to form, it's supposed to be colder than Saskatoon in January. Last year it was below zero, and we bundled C-man up and still went. We were miserable. I hope tomorrow isn't that bad, because it's always a nice event. Tomorrow is also the last day of November. That means only one more day until I can break into the chocolate Advent calendar!

Goals

2007 is fast approaching. And despite not yet having a babysitter (working hard on that one though), I have begun to think about my 2007 goals. The 2006 initiative was 52 books in 52 weeks. I should have that one accomplished by the end of the week, plus get a few more done by the end of the year. I'm over-achieving a bit, which is nice. I'm reading the Constant Princess by Philipa Gregory. I like her other stuff. So far so good. I'm almost done with Three Dog Life. Pretty sad, but well done. So back to the question... What to do in 2007? If you've got a reasonable idea for my personal enrichment, leave me a line. C-man's still sick. I took him to school today, and he didn't even wake up. Changed him, dressed him, put his coat and shoes on... still sleeping. Pretty amazing how he can't sleep all night, but then can't wake up once it's time to. Beerman tried to help last night, but no dice when C-man cried, "MOMMY!" I need to take a day off just to catch up.

Barks and Snot Noses

C-man was up between 2 and 4 this morning barking like a seal. Poor little man has a cold, and so of course, gets a croupy cough. I pulled him into bed, since he crawled out of his own bed, and then he proceeded to crawl on top of me and flop like a fish for 2 hours. To say I'm beat is a bit of an understatement. He's a bit better tonight - after a 3 1/2 hour nap at school today! The Pack is on tonight. I hate to be a pessimist, but it is my nature... On an optimistic front - C-man's sweater arrived, and I think I've settled on a "look" for our Christmas photo on Sunday. I'm still a bit bummed that we're getting it out so late this year, but whatever. That's life with a kid, 2 dogs, and a husband.

Christmas Gifts

Well, I've got most of the kids I have to buy for done. Now it's the adults I have to worry about. It's amazing how everyone wants your specific list, but then when you ask them they say, "I don't know." or give you some lame idea that they wouldn't even buy themselves. Hrmph. Not that I'm into buying specific things that people ask for, but a general "These days I'm kind of getting into..." would sure be helpful. My husband is one of the worst, by the way. I've given away all the good ideas for him, and now I'm left with birthday AND Christmas. Maybe he'll get something from me that I want! :-) So far, the most ridiculous gift I've seen goes to redenvelope with an underwater MP3 player. What, in case I want to swim to tunes? I hope they work... can you imagine the shock if they didn't?

It's Only Saturday

Whew, it's only Saturday. I love the extra days off. I have 3 days to burn before the end of the year. 1 will have to be for our trip to Chippewa Falls. I need to place the other two strategically to maximize my sleep time. Beerman and I ended up going back out in the rat-race yesterday morning around 9-ish. He bought a cordless drill at Sears on sale for $39.99. Since he had a $40 gift card from my parents from his birthday last year, he ended up paying about $2.50 for a $90 drill. He was thrilled. We also went to Toys R Us and got a 7" portable DVD player for C-man. It wasn't the 9" one from Kohl's that I wanted, but those were sold out by 5:05 a.m. So the rat race sort of paid off. From here on out, I'm doing mostly online shopping. Notre Dame plays USC at 7 tonight. C-man woke up saying "Football!" While I've nurtured it, he has an innate love for the game. When he's bored, he brings us the remote and says, "GO!" "Football!" Gotta love that kid.

Friday Foolery

Go Notre Dame!

Black Friday Nightmare

Can someone explain why you go out in this mess? I went out to my favorite department store retailer at 6 a.m., because they supposedly had a 9" DVD for $39.99. With my discount, that would put it closer to $30. The Store Manager informed me they got about 10, and 2 women bought them all at 5 a.m. Nothing else seemed any cheaper than normal. So what's the point? Went to Coleman for Turkey Day. It was good to see everyone, albeit the small crowd. C-man had fun chasing cats as usual. Dinner was later than usual, which made for a late return. Kind of tough. I'm going back to bed.

What I'm Thankful For...

In no particular order, and not all-encompassing (but things I could think of right now):

• A son who is playing with the mops right now
• A husband who is lying in bed on a heating pad with a painful back because he slept on the floor in C-man's room so I could get a full night of sleep
• 2 smelly dogs who want nothing more than to tell me how much they love me
• A healthy family
• Scoop and Benny - they give me a couple of minutes to myself
• A job that pays me more than the median annual salary for a family of 4
• Receiving more love than I could ever give out
• Foot orthotics
• Books
• Warm Ovaltine
• Long weekends
• Having found a daycare C-man loves
• New glasses
• Mornings
• Hiking outside
• Morningstar Farms - without it C-man wouldn't eat
• Having had the opportunity to go to so many countries
• Being able to wear boots again
• C-man's giggles

It's the Weekend!

It's the weekend. Well, sort of. I got off work at noon today. I've been cleaning a bit, got another Christmas gift bought (gifts are really stressing me out this year), and am going to read a book. I was thinking of getting C-man from school, but he's napping, so it wouldn't make much sense. We're going to Grandma Lou's tomorrow for turkey. That's a lot of time in the car. I think we need to get a portable DVD player for C-man for the next trip, because it'll be a long one. Well, off to clean up the stinky kitchen. Enjoy your Thanskgiving.

All I want for Christmas

Since an airline ticket to somewhere warm while someone takes care of C-man isn't realistic, my real wish list this year includes: carpet cleaning (or new flooring!), an organized house, a basement I don't have to wade through, all the laundry folded and put away, a fridge full of food I didn't need to shop for, a college fund funded for Caleb, a holiday I don't have to get in a car to travel for several hours to get to in order to "enjoy", and being able to go to the bathroom without a child and 2 dogs barging in on me to see what I'm doing. Bah-humbug. I want airline tickets to somewhere fun.

If you couldn't already tell, I'm beyond exhausted. The thought of these holidays is doing nothing but stressing me out. If I get pulled in one more direction, or hear one more bitch, I'm going to break.

Headache, headache, go away for another day!

My head has been pounding for the last few days. I know it's allergies, but it doesn't help the pain any. Yesterday, I successfully spilled a large latte (which I had been so looking forward to after fighting the mall crowd) all over the car, ordered a Hawaiian pizza - not with pineapple but pepperoni, and had zero patience with C-man. It was horrible. I've been so scatter-brained, and nothing seems to help. But at least I've got a stinky latte-smelling car to show for it. I've been trying to get our family Christmas picture taken. Our old place shut down, and nobody seems to want to photograph a child and 2 oversized stinky dogs. Go figure. I've got a line on one lady, but she can't get us in for a bit. So I won't make my December 1st deadline, but whatever. With this headache, just getting something crossed off my list feels like an accomplishment. I did find the clothes for us to wear, which was a bonus. Speaking of lists - I need gloves. Rileydog has successfully eaten every pair I've ever owned. So if anyone needs a gift for me - I need gloves! I need a winter coat to go with those gloves, but that's a different issue. In another mini-rant, I hate the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. I renewed our subscription, only to have them lose it. In one of the umpteen calls, they said they found it, and we were clear. Well, we're not getting a damn paper any longer. When I go online to renew, it gives me an error message: "Sorry, our subscription service is unable to process your request at this time." Today I held for 34 minutes, and still didn't get a live person on the phone. Guess they don't want my subscription. Grrr!! I've also discovered why I hate my trail mix so much. Beerman has been rifling through and eating the M&Ms, and C-man has been rifling through and eating the raisins. So I'm left with some chintzy peanuts. Bleh!

A good day

I was all excited this morning, decoding my geocache clues, writing everything down, and getting the whole family ready (no small feat). When we got to the Audubon Center, they told me that they don't lend out their gps units. Um, let me quote from their website: The center has units for you to borrow with your driver’s license, or bring your own GPS unit to get more familiar with it. Clearly, I misunderstood, since that was so unclear... grr... On our way out, Beerman said, "If we didn't see a deer hunting, Grandpa would drive around until we saw one. And then he'd say it was a good day." Just then, we drove past a couple of deer. Guess it was a good day. The great thing about my day was my 2-hour nap. I. Love. Naps. When I woke up, I watched football. It got even better (you know it's good after a 2-hour nap and some college football!) are the bbq ribs Beerman made for dinner. Now I had to eat kale with that (after I flunked my blood donation test due to anemia, he's back on this making me eat iron kick), but other than that, I can't complain. Pretty darned good day overall. Too bad Michigan lost. Now I just need a damned GPS. I almost went to Best Buy and bought one. Beerman insisted I wait to choose one for Christmas that I like instead of doing the impulse buy which is so typical of me. Darn the logic. Book update: I finished Blue Shoes and Happiness - the 5th book in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series. I don't know if I'd enjoy the series as much as I do if I hadn't been to Botswana. But having been there, I enjoy this series tremendously. If you'd like a nice pleasant read about a simpler place, I highly recommend picking them up. (Or borrowing them from me, since I own them all).

Nuggets and Geocaching

C-man will now eat p, b & j sandwiches or Morningstar Farms chick'n nuggets. Side items include fruit, yogurt, and cheese. Excellent. The first vegetarian to never eat a vegetable. Beerman isn't going hunting. Living the workaholic life has finally beaten him down to the point that he can't push it another inch. At least he's bringing home a fish fry for dinner. I'm going to die of fish fry cancer - I just know it. But yum... James Bond's latest opens tonight. I'm sad we're not going to see it. I do, however, have a babysitter lined up for December 2nd - the night we'll be attending a James Bond themed progressive dinner party. I am going to try to dress up like Pussy Galore. And I did receive the first DVD in the 6th season of the Sopranos today, so that's good. Tomorrow I'm going to go try geocaching at the SANC. It should be a fun time. Now that Beerman's home, I won't have to haul C-man. Bonus! Enjoy your weekend!

Bring out the orange

Tomorrow Beerman leaves for hunting, and C-man and I are alone again. I, of course, only realized this earlier this week. Since Red Ryders aren't allowed, C-man is staying with me. Maybe we can check out a gps and go geocaching at SANC. I've decided it might be my new hobby, and we won't get shot at. Which is nice. For those of you who are looking, my amazon.com wishlist keeps getting updated...

Captain Kirk Meets Johnny Cochran?

Like a bad train wreck, I just couldn't stop watching. I had to ask myself over and over again, is Captain Kirk actually a game show host? And did Captain Kirk really just say, "Ask a dancer for the answer." Really? This isn't a joke? And the first contestant was a gay guy who thought Amsterdam was in Denmark. And he still walked away with 500k. Are we sure this isn't a joke? Wow. I'm giving it 2 more shows before ABC realizes its grave mistake on this one. For good news of the day, Beerman is home, the fish and dogs are fed, dinner is cooked, and it's the last night I have to hear about stupid Dancing with the Stars. So all is right in the world.

Lying with the Stars

This is how I feel about this silly show:

How I know I'm a mother

When I wake up to my alarm clock going off in another room, and I am cuddling a teddy bear. When I look at dinner, and think - oh, don't eat all of that because it could be C-man's lunch tomorrow! That I know every type of truck ever made by its scientific name. There's no other place I'd rather have him then backing up his caboose to sit in my lap while we read a book about, what else, trucks.

Am I Dying?

Saturday it was all I could do to stay awake. Sunday afternoon, the apocolypse hit. Oh my, it was ugly. It hit Beerman about 2 a.m. I'm home from work today because, well, I just couldn't function beyond taking C-man to daycare in my smelly clothes I'd slept in. Somehow, Beerman got up, to work, and is on his way to Oregon today. I think that goes in the 'workaholic' definition. I have made it to the couch where I slept for 4 hours. Now I've got to figure out what I can eat without revisiting it in a fe.w hours

Push it Real Good!

This morning C-man woke up way too early, and I felt like crap. So Beerman played with him while I slept. When I got up, I noticed they'd been coloring "big trucks". On one page, with a bulldozer, "C-man" had written, "Push it, Push it real good!" Now, at 19 months, not only can he write, but knows lyrics from Salt and Pepa? Wow, my kid is good! Oh, has anyone noticed that our once red states are now a majority blue? Thank you Virginia!

Denied!

I got a call from the blood bank last night telling me they were in emergency status right now. Convenient, I said, because they were doing a blood drive at work today. So, I went down, gave them my donor card, filled out my paperwork, and sat down for the temperature and finger prick. Well, it took Wilbur an inordinate amount of time to figure everything out. (He asked my birthdate four times) And then, he said, "Oops, you're only at 34% and you need to be at 38%". Damnit. My iron is low again. I guess it figures, considering how I've been eating lately. Crap. Now I have to get all healthy again. But the moral of the story is: if you can, give it, because they really need it right now. TGIF! Despite it thundering, lightning and sleeting, it's the weekend. Woo-hoo!

Oh, my head!

I flew back on from San Francisco to Phoenix to Milwaukee. My travels started at 3:50 a.m. The best part was on the 4 hour flight from Phoenix to Milwaukee, in which I was in row 20 - next to FIVE families with children. Now, I'm understanding of small children, but 4 hours of screaming made me want to pull my hair out. I now have a serious headache. Poor kids, I know it hurts. But yikes. The good news is I finished another book - The Memory Keepers Daughter by Kim Edwards. It's a big-time national bestseller right now. The question I have to ask is: Why? That was one sloooooow-movin' book, and does not get the JPR stamp of approval. I did pick up Between a Rock and a Hard Place by Aron Ralston (guy who cut his own arm off to save his life while climbing) for $3.99 at Borders in San Fran, though. I'm pretty interested in seeing how it goes. Tonight Beerman and I have parent-teacher conferences. Well, that's what I'm calling it at least. They call it "Important Parent Meeting". I think that's code for "We're raising your rates, so come at 5:30 so we can tell you about it." Glad to be home with the sheepies and can't wait to see the rest of the family.

Laughs

Whoopee Wednesday!

I don't know what's better - that a Democrat is still governor in Wisconsin, that Obey now gets his coveted chairmanship of Ways and Means (my childhood Congressman), that the Wisconsin State Senate went to the left, or that I don't ever have to see Jim Talent's (Missouri) face blabbering on TV again. It's probably shallow if I say it might be not having to look at Talent's ugly mug. Sigh. How refreshing. The disappointing thing was the marriage referendum. I guess the fundamentalist scaredy-cats and red necks got their amendment so we're sure "those people" can never marry. Boo. It's Wednesday, so I'm still in San Francisco. I was actually able to sleep past 4 a.m., which makes me feel like a beauty queen. I went shopping at Macy's last night and got a pair of cheap jeans. I love that. I still miss my hubby and baby though. At least I can say Mommy Cisco is coming home tomorrow. And because this makes me laugh: Q: How many Canadians does it take to change a lightbulb ? A: Twelve. Four to form a Parliamentary study committee to decide how to solve the problem, one Francophone to complain that I didn't translate this joke into French, one Native Canadian to protest that the interests of Native Canadians have been overlooked, one woman from the National Action Committee On the Status Of Women to say that women have been underrepresented in the process, one to go over the border to the Niagara Falls Factory Outlet Mall and buy a new bulb and not pay duty on it on the way back, one to actually screw it in, one to collect taxes on the whole procedure so the government can afford it, one to buy a case of Molson for everybody to drink, and one to drop the puck.

San Francisco Update

Okay, here's something that could change your life: http://gethuman.com/us/ This is a website that will link you to just about every imaginable US company and how to get to a REAL PERSON instead of an automatic prompt. This could make me a new woman. No guarantees that the person will be American or speak English, but regardless, I could become a new woman. On the San Francisco stuff... Yesterday, after a full day of class (which isn't half-bad, by the way), we went to see the tourist sights. I saw Alcatraz in the distance (not up close), sea lions (not nearly as stinky as the seals in South Africa, by the way), the Bay Aquarium, Chic's Restaurant, and O'Reilly's pub. A decent night, all in all, except for all the work chatter. Bleh. Why do people do that so much? Natural tendency, I guess. Today will be another day in class. I'm working on getting out of here Wednesday night, but I don't know how successful I'll be. Happy Election Day!

NOW can we cut and run?

For the record, I hate the death penalty. It's inappropriate at any time during any circumstance. But this is a soap box for a different day. So that said, the Iraqi High Court has sentenced Saddam to death. And while I realize he gets his automatic appeal, blah, blah... it's over. So can we get the hell out of Iraq now? I was watching the list of soldiers who've died the past couple of days scroll across my screen last night. They ranged in age from 19 - 25! The horror of it all makes me so angry. We're wasting lives, lives of people who aren't even old enough to legally drink or rent a car... for what? So there you have my strong opinion and political statement. Now get out and vote for the good guys tomorrow.

San Francisco Sunday

After leaving on a jet plane, and flying to Phoenix, I've made it to California. My very first time here. The weather is nice - no jackets required. The Ghiradelli chocolate is tasty, fake purses in Chinatown are cheap - mine's a Prada, Fisherman's Wharf was touristy and I loved it, and the company was great - met up with Mrs. Canuck for the day. It's too bad it has to be spoiled with lots of work stuff the rest of the week! I'm hoping to get to the aquarium tomorrow, but I don't know how long it's open. I had some crab cakes tonight. Pretty darned good, considering seafood isn't my favorite. I miss my little C-man and Beerman already.

Shopping Saturday

Today is Friends and Family Day at my favorite box-chain retailer, so I'm getting 15% on top of my 15%. Got some Christmas shopping to bang out today! The other thing I'm smacking off my list like Rick Flair is a haircut. "WHOOOOO!" This bush needs wackin'. In other news, I'm heading to San Francisco tomorrow. I have to fly to Phoenix to get to California. No wonder this industry is going bankrupt. San Francisco should be good, seeing Mrs. Canuck, drinking good wine, and seeing stinky seals. I'm excited.

Really?

Has John Kerry, a man who isn't even running for anything, really botched more elections? How does this guy do this? No wonder the Democrats can't win anything!

Saints Go Marching In...

Happy All Saint's Day. I'm heading to San Francisco on Sunday. If anyone knows of any good restaurants, let me know. I'll be there for 4 nights, so hopefully I'll get to see something good. It's Hump Day. God, I love Hump Day.