Why Living in a Townhouse Sucks...

When you just need to let out a primal scream of frustration, you feel self-conscious and can't because you just know one of the neighbours will come over to check on you. I need to work on becoming that crazy artsy lady who just does crap like that. On the other hand, if I build my crazy rep, when I actually am being murdered, nobody will show. Hmmm...must think about this.

Curiousity...

In answer to a request:

What is your favourite colour(s)?
Red...and lately I've been in love with Teal (that pretty deep blue-green).

What is your favourite colour(s) to wear?
Earth Tones (Red, Yellow, Olive Green, Brown, Bronze, Teal...Everything Autumn-y) and I also love Black.

What is your favourite smell?
Autumn (the smell of woodsmoke and frost), books, fresh laundry, and cinnamon buns...they're all pretty good.
Note: if you are looking for a cool scent, check out: http://www.demeterfragrance.com/.

What is your favourite stone?
Calcite, amber, and garnet.

What is your favourite flower?
Marigolds, dahliettas, daisies, and red or speckled lilies. For putting in vases, though, I prefer branches...cherry blossom, pussywillows, and maple leaves in Autumn.

What are your hobbies?
Reading, writing (blogging), photography, watching crappy movies, playing rpgs with friends.

What do you wish were your hobbies or what have you always been meaning to try?
Jewelry and metalsmithing, knitting, playing the mandolin, running.

What, if anything, do you collect?
Books, faery creatures, unusual stones.

What are your fave things to eat/drink?
My fave drink is a mix of cranberry juice and gingerale. My fave thing to eat is breakfast: eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, fruit, pancakes, oatmeal, cereal, cinnamon buns...breaky is all good.

What kind of things do you buy when you treat yourself?
Nail polish, jewelry, clothes, movies, books...

Where are your favorite places to shop?
McNally Robinson Booksellers, Ikea, Wal-Mart (it's where you get everything in our small town), Rowena (Edmonton), and Blue Infusion (Calgary)

That's it, I'm done...

Life or Something Like It

Well, I haven't been blogging much in the last couple weeks, but on the bright side it's because I've been doing more e-mailing and...gasp...spending time with my friends in person!

Things have been going fairly well around the house with the exception of some minor baby woes. Lil managed to have an allergic reaction on Friday. She had tried pretty well all the 'single' baby foods, so I gave her a mix on Thursday: apple, mango, kiwi. I don't know if it was the mango or the kiwi, but I woke up on Friday to find her crib in a huge mess. She was exorcist baby. Vomit on the crib, the sheets, her jammies, dried into her hair. I felt so guilty that she got that sick and I didn't even wake up. Jake insists that she probably didn't call me...just got sick and went back to sleep. Since I usually wake up if she breathes funny, this is probably true, but I still feel bad. I called into work and let my coworkers know that I was going to be a bit late...cleaning up baby puke takes time and I also had to make sure that her allergy attack wasn't going to get worse. Unfortunately, I forgot that I was supposed to go in early for a meeting with the board's finance committee. The smell of the baby puke must have clouded my brain. I remembered at 7:40 that I was supposed to be at the library for 8am at the latest. Good show. I managed to ge hold of the treasurer before she left the house, but I have no idea how long the board chair was waiting for me before he gave up and went home. Yay me - my first real meeting and I don't show up for it. I forwarded my presentation by e-mail later that day and left two apologetic phone calls, but I haven't managed to reschedule the meeting yet. Guess I'm still learning to balance the working Mommy act - and it's really causing me some stress. To top that off, Lil got the flu over the weekend and managed to transfer it to me. I was supposed to train a new employee yesterday and attend a night course in accounting...I made it through the morning before my body gave up on me. I'm out sick again today too, but I'm working my days off this week to make up for it.

On the bright side, my weekend was fantastic. Dev, Lex, and the fabulous Miss K came to visit. Miss K was bunking with her folks and the boys were staying with us. Now, having a houseful of guests may not sound too relaxing, especially with a sick baby on Mother's Day weekend, but I really didn't have to do anything except have fun playing rpgs and board games. The guys took care of the kids, let me sleep in, and even took me out for breakfast (and thanks to my super Mom and Dad who took the very sick baby so we could go out). It was really, really nice. I also got some pretty sweet Mother's Day presents. I got a bonsai tree from the whole family. Dar picked out bubblegum flavoured lipbalm and bright orange, pink, and iridescent purple nailpolish for me to wear. He is so cute. :) My folks got me a picture frame (soon to hold a picture of me and my kids) and my supercool mom-in-law got me an amazing pixie pin (it's all gold, crystals, and topazes...it's so pretty it made me cry). So, I was very spoiled. I just hope LilyMab doesn't pay back our guests by giving them this highly contagious flu bug.

As for the wedding plans, they are coming along. We've got the wedding and reception sites booked, the honeymoon booked, the wedding dress and bridesmaid dress has been ordered, we bought flowers and invitations, we picked out colours and decorative elements, and we have decided on favours. We've also managed to register at one store. We meet with the wedding coordinator (can't believe I have a coordinator) next week, so most of the other stuff should get figured out then. The only major things left are the kids' outfits, Jake's outfit, and the rings. Hurrah!

Plans are also underway to do some visiting in June. The schedule is still getting worked out, but I'm planning to go up to Calgary and maybe even to Edmonton depending on Jake's work schedule and how I feel about travelling with LilyMab by myself. It's a long trip and my girl is a little high maintenance, but I'm hoping to get around to everyone.

Anyway, that's my life right now...it's a long and convoluted posting...but that's the way I roll. :P

Little Pools of Guilt...

Why is it that people feel the need to send little messages, in person, via e-mail, or anyway they can, that are solely designed to make other people feel bad? It seems to be a vicious circle. One person, usually unintentionally, slights a friend by not spending time with him/her, forgetting something important, or saying something stupid without realizing how stupid it actually is. The slighted friend then gets all cranky and irritated and, rather than talking to the person that has hurt them, feels the need to say something or send that person something that isn't specifically aimed at them or explicitly mean, but will just make them feel guilty. Why?

I have, on a few occasions, found myself to be the petty guilt-mongering friend that does this sort of thing. It's ridiculous. I'm tired of giving and receiving this kind of idiotic emotional garbage. If you are reading this, and you too have ever felt the need to make yourself feel morally superior to someone else by beating them down with guilt, stop it right now. Stop cutting yourself off from the rest of the world, suck it up, realize that everyone makes mistakes, and then send out love instead of hate. You'll be a lot happier of a person if you stop making others feel guilty and strive to make the world around you happier instead.

Thank you. Blessed Be.



Note: Rant inspired by person who, despite the fact that we haven't been friends in years, still occasionally feels the need to send me irritating mass e-mail that seems designed to remind me that I am, to them, the biggest b*tch in the universe. Today, I decided to just block sender. It's not worth my aggravation.

Missing You

I've been feeling wistful lately. You know those moments where you think about your past and you just miss things? Now, I have to add a small disclaimer. I love my life right now. I love my family, my home, and my job. I've got a few friendships starting - just seedlings right now - but they'll grow. Still, though, it's not the same as the comfort feeling you get around old friends.

My mind has been bouncing around a lot lately, thinking of friends from high school, missing how easy it was to just haul my roommates/neighbours (all of whom are still my best friends) out to spend time together at U of C, walking down Whyte and chatting with my fellow librarian wannabes (and didn't feel good to be around people who all had a common goal?), just hanging out with various good friends who all live in different cities now...

I'm not very good at keeping in touch. Sitting on the phone is just too difficult right now (my four-year old yelled "Pirates Attack" over and over into the phone the last time I had a conversation for more than 10 minutes...pretty funny actually except that it was a business call for the library). And for some reason, letter writing feels stilted and awkward. I'll have to start getting after my e-mails though. Otherwise, it's going to be:

Hello, ________. I haven't spoken to you in five years, but remember how much fun we had hanging out at _________. Wow, I wish we were still friends. See ya.

Yeah, that's pretty lame. I really miss just going for coffee with a good friend on a weekly/biweekly basis and chatting about everything in our lives. I'm going to have to find a way to reconnect with everybody.

Meantime, here's a running start at it: The fam and I will be heading up to Calgary for May long weekend. We're meeting up with the wedding coordinator (I can't believe I have one of those) on the 24th, so Jake's going to try and get some time off the weekend before to make a short trip out of it. Hurrah! Also, I have been putting in a lot of overtime at work, so I am taking off the first week in June. If anybody wants to put me up, I'll come and visit you. If you live far away, visit will probably include baby....I can't go overnight without my girl yet.

Anyway, let me know if you miss me too.