Yucky Day

It’s a yucky day. I have nothing good to say about today so far. It’s still early though. Maybe it’ll turn around.
I woke up to monkey crying. He’s still fever free (that’s good), but he’s developed a nasty cough and his nose is all stuffed up (that’s bad). At least he ate his breakfast today. I don’t feel too great today. I started feeling yucky yesterday. That’s what you get when you’re caring for a bunch of sickies.
Monkey threw his soother under the change table first thing this morning too. The darn thing is like a big dresser. I, in my foggy state of mind, decided to try to grab it by shoving my arm into the little decorative space between the table and the floor. I had to fish around blindly since with my arm shoved in the space, there was no place for me to look. It took a few minutes, a few swear words whispered under my breath and a few scrapes and bruises, but I go it. It also hit me afterwards I could have just moved the change table and hope I wouldn’t have accidentally put the table down on top of it.
We’re working off of only one soother right now. Monkey has three, but only one is in use. The other two are lost somewhere in the bedroom. He likes to throw them right now after he gets up from sleeping. I bought two new ones, but they haven’t left their package yet.

By the way...The picture of the change table is not exactly like mine, but close to it. My table is a lot better and it was free. I love free!
Monkey isn’t a soother suck like some kids. He used to have one when he was a newborn, but it only lasted a few weeks. After then he wouldn’t take one anymore. He started using one again when he was teething. Now he likes to have one when he goes down to sleep. Unless he’s teething hard or is sick, he doesn’t use one while he’s awake. I let him suck on one when we’re going out. He hates having to wear his coat, boots, hat and mittens. He doesn’t fuss if I let him have his soother. Only the bulky outside clothes are gone, so will the soother. At least that’s my plan.
I have all my scrappy goods scattered across the coffee table and couch. I keep picking up the supplies I have out for the project I want to start, but I put them back down again. I know what I want to do. I have everything planned out in my head. I just can’t get the energy up to start working on it. I’ve been dying to start this project for a couple of weeks now. The February kit from Bad Girls is perfect for the project on hand. The colours, the patterns, the little French notebook…It screams little album! It’s going to be a gift for someone. I’m not going to say who or give details just in case that certain someone reads this. I don’t think he/she does, but I don’t want to take the chance. I had to wait to do this project until I got the pictures for it. I had the project in mind for over a month now. I was playing with ideas for how to make my idea become a reality; then I got my BG kit in the mail. When I saw the Explore paper from Creative Imaginaions, I knew I wanted to use this paper and the rest of the kit. The little French notebook is perfect to use as the album. I wasn’t sure at first if I should use it. I wasn’t sure if it would be strong enough. But after seeing what some talented girls did with it in the BG gallery, I’m positive I can use it. I just got the pictures I need for this project at the beginning of this week. Now if I could find the energy, I can get started. I have a month to complete it. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can…
Hmm…Is the Little Engine That Could still in print? That might be a good book for monkey. He loves books. I let him play with board books. These ones we know by heart. We read them to monkey at least twice a day each. He reads them to his self many more times through the day. His favourite are The Happy Snowman and Belly Button book. I also try to read a paper book to him every day as well. I love that he loves books.
Until next time…

Bad Girls Bloggers Unite

As I have mentioned many, many times now, I love my new scrapbooking hobby. I’ve been getting a monthly kit from Bad Girls since November. I love, love, love, love these kits. They’re always filled to the brim with gorgeous papers, pretty ribbon, fancy flowers and other to die for embellishments and unique finds. Wendy, the gal behind it all, does a marvellous job at keeping it interesting and exciting month and month.
There is so much more to this beautiful kit. At the website, there is forum full of friendly, chatty ladies to talk scrap with and more. I enjoy chatting with them and even just seeing what everyone else has to say. There is also a gallery full of beautiful work. These ladies sure know how to scrap to perfection. The design team is extremely talented too. I hope to learn so much from these gals.
When I first registered, I didn’t post anything. I just browsed the luscious gallery. I’ve opened up since.
On the right, you’ll notice a list of Bad Girls who blog. Jeni had a marvellous idea to swap blog links so we can read and comment on each other’s blogs. I figure I might as well play along since I’m always poking my nose around their blogs anyways. Many of them feature their art work on their blogs. I don’t, but can’t say I never will. I post a few of my layouts on the Bad Girls gallery. I lack in comparison to most, but I’m new at this and will learn. I also have an album going on my Facebook account. I don’t really feel like posting here too. For now.
Knowing some of these awesome bloggers will be snooping around here more often just might inspire me to write more.
Until next time…

Suspicious...

Hmm…I just got an email from Steve saying he can’t make our Friday night video chat (my Friday night, his Saturday morning with the time change).

He said he’s going to play paintball with some of his Aussie friends.

Very suspicious.

He could be telling the truth. I know he loves paintball. Heck, I tried to convince him to keep the gear he sold before he left for Australia. I think he sold it in the end so he can buy new gear when he comes home.

On the other hand, he could be lying to throw me off and he’s really going to be on his way home.
Oh, the curiosity is killing me! I want to know. I want to know now!
If he is going to be here in the next few days, I sort of feel sorry for him. He’ll be coming home to a bunch of sickies.

Until next time...

Buggy Boo Flu

Remember when I said I put away my scrapbooking stuff so I could work on other projects?
Well, I packed up my stocking project and pulled out my scrapping supplies. I got some new pictures done up and can’t wait to get started. I’ve tried three times today to my hands good and gluey, but monkey has the flu. *Thank you, Auntie Jazz, for sharing your yucky germs!* He doesn’t sleep for more than 20 minutes at a time. It gives me just enough time to clean up whatever mess we created and sit down for a tiny rest myself. I’m exhausted from monkey being up all night.
Hopefully, he will sleep tonight. I have job hunting to do tomorrow.
I wish I could find a work from home job. Or get into something that really interests me, like scrapbooking or something to do with kids. Right now, I will settle for anything. I’m all good for bills at the moment, but they will come up again. I need to earn some dough.

A Kiss is Still a Kiss

Steve’s coming home! Steve’s coming home!
Even if it is only for two weeks…He’s coming home!!!!!!!
He won’t tell me when he’ll be here exactly. Just that he will be here. He gave me a bit of a hint in an email today, but it was still pretty vague. He said there are only a single digit amount of days until he can hold me in his arms again. Nine or less more days!
I know flights are cheaper mid-week on average, so I would guess he’ll be stepping on Canadian soil in about a week. I don’t know when he’ll be here. His father is picking him up at the airport.
All I know is he will for sure be here for monkey man’s birthday on the 9th. I can’t see him missing his son’s first birthday.
I think it’s a little exciting Steve wants to surprise me. It would be better if he could completely throw me off, but that’s near impossible. I know he’s coming home because we planned for it before he left for Australia. I know he has his plane ticket because we talked about where money is going. I know he had an appointment with a travel agent because he told me. I might know roughly when he’s flying home because it’s a twenty-three hour flight (on average) and I won’t get my daily email. Yep; we email each other every day. Other than a week or two when he first left, we have always had daily communication. Even when we were just friends. I guess a blind man could see what was there before I did. He’s one of my best friends. Why wouldn’t we talk every chance we got?
I might guess he’s either in the air or in Canada on Friday and Saturday if he’s not online for our bi-weekly video chat (much cheaper than a phone call and comforting to see each other’s faces).
See…It’s hard for him to completely surprise me.
It can be hard to surprise me period. I always need to know everything as soon as it happens. This is the exact reason I used to be a reporter. It’s not that I’m always interested. I just have to be in the loop. I have to know.
I’m sure people regret telling me they have a surprise for me. I poke and prod them for hints and information. I pout and mope when I don’t get the answers I’m looking for. I make guesses and start bugging other people who might know for information. I don’t sleep much and the thought of the surprise completely takes control until I’ve figured it out.
Steve tried to surprise me for my birthday last year. I have to admit, he did a good job. He took me to Medieval Times. I had it on my list of possibilities. As soon as we got to Toronto, I knew. I acted along for his sake until we got there. Doesn’t really matter that I figured it out. I was, and still am, so happy he took me. I had been wanting to go for years upon years. He made a wish come true and I loved it. Too bad it was also the first time I had ever left monkey behind. I spent the whole day worrying about him and calling home to check up on him.
So, in nine or less days (my guess is five days, for now), I get to see my beloved again. I can’t wait. It’s been five months since I saw him last.
I feel like a schoolgirl anticipating her first kiss. LOL
Ack! Computer lingo in my blog! And I swore I wouldn’t use it.
Until next time...

TV and Words

I don’t watch too much TV anymore. It’s on for background noise more than anything else. Even as I type this right now, the TV is on. It’s watching me.
I watch a few shows throughout the week, but if I do miss the show, it’s no big deal.
I like watching Degrassi: The Next Generation (I love it when the show is about one of the old school Degrassi gang. I grew up watching them), Jon and Kate Plus Eight (my guilty pleasure show. I love watching this family grow) and The Rachael Ray Show. Even monkey loves watching Rachael Ray. If we watch the show in the basement, he gets right up to the TV and tries to take Rachael out of the TV. He enjoys watching the cooking portion of the show more than anything else.
Monkey has a few shows he enjoys watching too. Almost every day, we watch Hi-Five. Monkey loves dancing to the music. It’s hilarious when he tries to copy their dance moves! He used to really enjoy Peep and the Big Wide World. But not so much anymore. He likes Arthur, Wonder Pets and Tumbleweed Tales (I think that’s what it’s called). Other than that, he is like me; TV is background noise.
A few days ago, monkey had me laughing so hard. He loves to play with remotes. I put them so he can’t change the channel or the settings and let him push buttons. He thinks when he pushes the buttons he’s changing the picture on the TV. The TV was off a few days ago when monkey grabbed the remote. He turned to look at the TV and pressed a few buttons. When nothing happened he looked at me, said “gone,” dropped the remote and walked away.
“Gone” has been the word of the day for the past few days. If he drops his soother, it’s gone. If he finishes all his food, it’s gone. If he drops his food for the dogs to eat, it’s gone. If he can’t find a toy, it’s gone. When he’s done with a book, it’s gone. Sometimes I get an “all gone” out of him. It’s not a new word. He said gone before he said mama. It’s just a word he’s hooked on at the moment. I never thought I would say this, but it’s a nice break from mama. He spent a month babbling mama over and over and over again.
He calls Steve “good kitty” most of the time. I wonder if monkey will actually call Steve dada while he’s here in two weeks. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.
Until next time.

Lost

Ever feel like you’re lost within your own life?
I’m stuck in the middle of my old life and my new one right now. I’m in limbo.
I can see my old life as clear as day. But it’s long behind me now.
My new life is ahead of me, but it’s foggy. I can’t see where I’m going. I’m scared I’m going to trip over a tree root and delay myself of where ever it is I’m going.
With Steve away, it’s hard to plan my life. He is, after all, a part of it. I know I’m in a situation were I have to be independent and plan for myself and monkey right now, but it’s still hard. I didn’t exactly choose a good time to quit my job and hunt for another. I’ve always had a job to go to when leaving one. I’m driving myself crazy right now. I wish I could be a stay at home mom. I wouldn’t have to put myself through this then. I would have a full time job. To raise and care for my baby boy, and teaching him all he needs to know. Instead I have to do that plus work for someone else and entrust my baby to someone else’s care.
I don’t have a plan for my near future and it is driving me crazy. I almost feel hopeless. I’ve been actively looking for a job for over six weeks now with nothing in sight so far. How do other people land great jobs and make it look effortless? I land crappy ones while trying hard! I have so many work skills that are dying to come out. I just need someone to give me a chance.

On a side note, I thought I would share the outcome of monkey's frist cheesie snack.

You can see some of his back molars in this shot. I didn't think eleven-month olds had molars yet. He has four so far.

Until next time.

Lackin’ in the bloggin’

Ah; I remember a time when I used to blog more. I blogged about my opinions, my dreams, my days and more. I miss my old blog. I just don’t bother to take the time to blog as much as I used to. And, really, I didn’t write as much as some people do even back then. I was in a time in my life where my computer was my escape from the real world.
Since I’ve had my little monkey, I’ve find myself doing more off of a computer. I’m still on the computer more than I should be. I take daily pictures (when my stupid camera is working. I need a new one!! Hint, hint Steve; if you even bother to read this) for Steve. So I upload them everyday to email to him. I email him every day over and over and over and over and over and you get the drift. I check out some of my favourite blogs (mainly friends). I read my favourite comic, For Better Or For Worse, everyday. And lately, I’ve been checking out the Bad Girls gallery and forum a few times a day. The ladies there are oh so talented and chatty. They seem to be welcoming me and I hope to learn so much from them and have fun chatting too. I like checking out A Cherry On Top too. I don’t buy too much from them, but they have such a wide variety of goodies, I love just surfing around the site. I’ve even requested a few items from the site at my local (tiny) scrapbook store. I’m currently awaiting a pack of paper I requested for a special project (a mini album of monkey man’s first year. A page for each month) and a cute little filing tool set from Basic Grey (for those of you who know it). I never heard about it until I read about it at Bad Girls. Many of the ladies were raving about it. It’s offered at the Bad Girls store, but if I can get it locally, it would save me some money, right? I think I could use this little tool set for the mini albums I foresee in my scrapping future.
When I decided to try my hand at this scrapbooking thing, I never thought it would go so far. I’ve cross stitched before; and made three beautiful blankets for monkey. I’ve dabbled in writing. I have a few publications under a pen name, but nothing to brag about. Someday I’ll get a novel written. Maybe I’ll even get one published. I even decided, while eight months pregnant, I needed to learn how to knit. I don’t know if I thought I would magically pick it up on my first go at it and have a blanket knitted by the time the baby was born or what, but I really sucked at it. I’ve improved a little since. I have three scarves under my sleeve and am working on a small blanket. I’ve been working on it for almost two months now. I’m a slow knitter!
I have been interested in scrapbooking for a few years now. I always said I had nothing worth scrapping before. Now I’m a mother. A first time mother. Every other first time mother will agree with me when I say we take too many pictures. I swear the camera is in my hands more than my kid is some days. Sure, 90% of my layouts so far are monkey related, but hey, he’s the reason I picked up this hobby.
I think I was trying to fill a void at first. Steve had just left for Australia; I missed him like crazy. I decided I was going to learn to scrapbook two days after he left. I was so used to having him there all the time. Even when we’re apart we call or email each other contently. We have communicated nearly every day, in person, by phone or by email (and MSN), since we met and were just friends. I was completely lost when he first went away. My “bad habit,” as I so lovingly call him, was gone. I bought scrapbook supplies instead. It took about a month after I bought supplies before I finally made a layout. Looking bad, it’s horrible! And so is a few that followed. I didn’t scrap at all during the month of December or the beginning of January. My scrapping spot (the coffee table in the basement) became Christmas wrapping central. I waited until we had everything cleaned up before diving back into scrapping.
And I DID! For a couple of weeks, it was all I did. I scrapped when monkey went down for his naps. I scrapped when he went down to sleep at night. I scrapped late into the night. I loved it. I’ve slowed down so I don’t get bored and drop the hobby like a hot potato. I’m not sure if I would, but I don’t want to chance it. Besides, I bought felt stocking kits after Christmas to make my own Christmas stockings. If I want all three of them for Christmas, I have to get them done now. I’m not fast at hand sewing, so they are going to take some work. I’ve done them before, so I know the out come will be nice. Where are the ones I did before? I have no idea. I can’t remember if I threw them out or if my ex has them. I made them for our first Christmas living together years and years ago. My mother made a couple for my sister and I about 15 years ago or so. We still use them. I still love them.
I have a few scrapping projects lined up, so I will have to pull out my stash again. My mother has asked me to do up an 8x8 album for my grandmother. I was going to do a mini album for my sister about her getting her licence and her first car. She has now requested an 8x8 album of different things. Pages of her and her car, her and monkey and so on. This is what happens when you find brand name, post bound, leather albums at Giant Tiger (GT Boutique!) for under $5 in mint condition and buy them up. Everyone wants one. I also want to do up an album for my mother’s birthday. My February kit from Bad Girls is perfect for it! And I want to do up a 12 page album of monkey. A page for each month of his first year.
Speaking of first year…I can’t believe my little monkey is almost a year old! Where the heck did the past year go?
Until next time…

Winter Wonderland

This is what we woke up to this morning. We had a wicked winter storm that lasted all day yesterday. Everything was closed down; businesses, roads, churches, everything. We stayed nice and warm inside. We lost cable for a while and the internet connection was on and off throught the day. Thankfully, we had power and heat all day. The picture is a part of our front yard and across the street. Snow covered trees are so beautiful.

My dad and I decided to meausre how much snow there was in the driveway. 28 inches! This snow was right behind my car.


This is from 8 this morning, taken from the front door. My dad is at the end of the driveway starting to plow us out with the snow blower. See the snow behind my car? There's that 28 nches.

There's my dad at the end of the driveway. The picture looks dark and foggy. That was the snow blowing.

And lastly, there's my little snow baby, in his moose hat his grandma had to buy him. I think it looks a little girlie and it doesn't match the rest of his outfit. Monkey is sitting in the driveway here. The snow behind him is the snow that still needs to be cleared away. The trees behind him are the trees from across the street.

Until next time...

I'm a Winner

That’s me with the winning ticket. I checked my numbers from last night’s 649 draw this afternoon. Yep, I’m pretty excited. $5 and a free play sounds fabulous to me. What would you do with your winnings? I think I’m going to pocket my twoonie gain and re-play my original $3, plus my free play, of course.

I'm a winner! Or, as my lovely little sister put it, I'm a wiener. She just might be right.
I can’t ever say win anything.

Stress, stress, stress too much, that is all I do…(Sing that to Row, Row, Row Your Boat)

I need to find a job. I need to find a job! I only have a week and a half until I have to go back to work. I really do not want to go back to my job. It’s really crappy pay, it’s long hours, it’s an hour away from home, it’s evenings and weekends and I get stepped all over there. I can’t afford to spend over a thousand dollars on gas alone every month just to get back and forth from work (plus the running around I have to do for the job). I can’t do that and child care. I don’t want to be so far away from my monkey either. And I most definitely don’t want to have to work through my lunch, get paid for only 44 hours a week and work about 50 or more. My job doesn’t pay overtime and they like to use and abuse their staff members. Even though there’s a company truck, the staff has to use their own vehicles for work purposes. The company doesn’t pay for the gas the staff uses. They offer a “car allowance.” It doesn’t cover all the gas the staff uses on company time, a part of the insurance or the wear and tear of the vehicle.
I had high hopes of moving up in this company and fast. That is what I was lead to believe when I first agreed to come on board. None of the promises that were made have happened. I’m over it and need/want to move on.
I’m not getting a break here though.
I’ve applied for jobs every day for the past month and have gotten nothing. I am slowly starting to get stressed out. I am slowly going crazy. One, two, three, four, five, six, switch. Crazy going slowly am I. Six, five, four, three, two, one, switch. Oh, I spend too much time with a baby.
Subject switch.
My baby is almost a year old!!!! Where the heck did the time go? I didn’t cry the day he was born, but I might the day he turns one. I’m starting to plan a little birthday party for him. His daddy should be home for a visit and Auntie Missy is going to be here too.
Hopefully, monkey will slow down in his growth rate. So many people think he’s somewhere between 18 months and two years old right now. My boy is tall. I joke that he’ll be the six foot tall 12 year old.
Another subject switch.
I have been scrapbooking for a few months now. I’m such a beginner, but I’m really enjoying it. I’m hoping to learn as I go and someday be a master paper crafter. I have recently been introduced to a company called BamPop. I love them! The papers are so cute. I have no stamps currently. I had no interest in the stamps when I started building my scrap tool collection. I love the BamPop line so much, I wouldn’t even mind their stamps.
Just in case you’re interested and are into scrapbooking too…Some of my fave companies are: My Mind’s Eye. Rusty Pickle and Bo Bunny. I find my self attracted to bright, fun colors and patterns. I am a turning into a paper addict. I have more paper than I need. I just love, love, love it. There are some papers in my collection I bought with a layout idea in mind; and I don’t want to use the paper because it’s just too pretty to rip and cut up. I have other pieces of paper I bought just because I loved it. I have no idea what I’m going to do with some of them. The right project will come along some day I suppose.
And for those of you who don’t scrap…I’ll stop boring you now. :)
Until next time….