Pictureless...

I have a crazy hard time blogging sans pictures (that particular hard drive is still packed), I suppose this means I am a very visual person? But, here goes anyways...

In lieu of all the rotten news that could come forth from my pie hole, I will bullet some positives, or attempted positives from the last week and month:

• First and foremost, 93-year-old grandma, newlywed and cherished one, who has been hospitalized for the bulk of the last week, with a "bowel blockage" is doing soooo much better than some of the doctor predicted outcomes. You see, if nothing can get through, nothing can be eaten, and not having run a cat scan yet, the "blockage" was still classified as "unknown", but what was known is that if said "blockage" ended up requiring surgery, it simply would not be done, because the potential side effects of invasive surgery and recovery on a soul of grandma's years are simply too grave, and no surgeon would attempt it; thus said, one can only survive for so long without eating. This meant that there was a potential that grandma would simply not come home from the hospital.

Who could have predicted that the news "grandma has farted" could be so wonderful!

• My dad (2nd dad, step-dad, living dad, not to be confused with birth father, dead father or Daddy) is still in the "recovery" stage of his open heart surgery that he unexpectedly underwent and just as unexpectedly survived! last December. Losing one's mother is not good for the heart, especially a re-built and still healing heart. So, besides the fact that none of grandma's children or dozens of grandchildren or dozens of great-grandchildren are done with enjoying her company, my dad in particular is not ready to say good-bye to his mother. So...the news of her being "on the mend" is doubly wonderful to be receiving!

• Grandma's hubby of 2.5 years and high school sweetheart, whom she was separated from for roughly 70 years, is also not ready to see her go.

I know, your just itching to hear their story, aren't' you? Alas, it is not my story to tell.

• My car, that I just got out of the shop two weeks ago (thermostat), thought yesterday would be a very convenient time to require a new coolant fan. I told my mechanic that we must not be spending an adequate amount of time together and my car must sense this... Unexpected bill aside, it is convenient that I am 'back in town' and that I know a mechanic that will allow me to drop off my car without an appointment and still have it fixed before closing the same day...being as said mechanic's shop is very popular and solidly booked, most folks walking in will walk out with an apt for the following week. It pays to know people ;-) It was, merely a fluke that this "coolant incident" took place across the street from the "coolant incident" of two weeks ago and that we ended up killing time in the same store (Winners'...you should go!) that we killed time in last time the car dumped all it's anti-freeze all over the parking lot and I had to wait for a ride/wait for the car to cool down. Convenient, no?

• Our well planned out move to the Okanagan did not go well. We were "there" for all of four weeks (a third of which we spent on holidays...away from "there") before we did an about face and returned to our roots. This "adventure" will be filed under "One Who Showed True Colours: Was Not a Rainbow." The borrowed children (BP1 & BP2) are now back with their mother, but will not be strangers, as they will be spending roughly every other weekend with the Pumpkin and I. At least, this is the current "plan." This weekend starts on Thursday.

• Bennett is back at his school. He was very missed by many.

• My "hiatus from school" is not ready to come to a close quite yet. So, I will be back in the workforce for a short while, until I am ready to dive back into studenthood head first. The previous sentence was not written without a deep pang of sadness, as I miss the classroom immensely and cannot bring myself to drive on campus without the urge to shed a tear or two. Alas, I shall be back in due time...

• The Niece! (and the sister) are very happy to have Bennett & I back in town. While we were away, The Niece! survived her first road trip with us (in lieu of spending Friday nights at auntie's house) and did absolutely fantastic! This was her first trip away from Mommy & Daddy for more than one night (jumping from one night to FIVE!) and her first trip out of country. I did find it humorous, that the two-year-old-who-has-yet-to-leave-the-country was the only one in our trio of travellers to have an up-to-date passport...unlike her better travelled counterparts!

Wrong Block

While hanging out with the kids outside, I noticed some new neighbours across the way...a couple of guys, bbq'ing and playing some tunes from their truck. They were obviously trying to get noticed, one even made eye contact with me. Not bad looking either. However, it was quite tempting to throw a speaker in my window and blast some Metallica to drown out the country tunes they were playing. I resisted the urge.

They are so on the wrong street...just counting me and the neighbours directly beside me, there are two amateur rock bands and one chick, who's kid(s) have heard just about everything except a single note of country...until they played outside today.

From My Parents, With Love

Dinner with my folks last Sunday...one of them went out of their way to make sure this mug was at my place setting...

Toga-ness

Pre consumption of many things alcoholic...

Toga Parties Rock

Enough Said.

How Hairy is your Woman?

Conversation with Service Manager while picking up my car from the mechanic (yes, again...)

After a fellow frequent customer made a teasing remark to the Service Manager about his inadequate ability to meet a satisfactory number of "hot chicks"...

Service Manager: "Actually, I'm seeing someone right now."

Heza Hekele: "Please tell me she doesn't have a beard."

Service Manager: "Naw, Naw, she's not Italian."



The Service Manager and Most of the Mechanics at the shop are Italian-Canadian;-)

Take That You Bastards!

Spent seven hours cleaning upholstery yesterday...thought it would take me three...I was wrong. I never want to see another carpet cleaner again. At least the car's interior now looks brand spankin' new, the ghetto couch smells fresh as a daisy and the mattresses are unarguably dust mite carcass free! I have an issue with dust mites, never actually saw one, but I did see that Oprah show where they showed one under a microscope and flashed a bunch of large numbers across the screen, representing something awful...and a phobia they instilled in me! Any habitable dust mite home is professionally (a.k.a. yours truly) cleaned twice a year and all pillows in the residence are bleached and tumble dried monthly...take that you bastard dust mites!

Are there any other freaks out there that steam clean their mattresses and bleach their pillows? Or is this a one woman ship I am sailing?

Nickelback

Nickelback did not disappoint! Actually exceeded expectations! State of Shock and Puddle of Mud rocked as well, coulda left Yellow Card, but, what an AWESOME NIGHT!!! My hearing is about 80% back to normal...here's hopes another night's sleep will fix'er up for good?!

Will post video clips just as soon as I figure out how to get them off my cell phone...left the main camera back at the hotel room...didn't want to have too many valuables on me in the pits ;-)

:-) :-) :-) :-)

Heading to Nickelback...totally stoked!

Wrote last Psych exam today...no more classes 'til September! One correspondence course to go (from my own computer) and the summer term is officially over.

Put mismatch pajamas on the boy...on purpose. He of course, never cares if his clothes match, but the fact that I don't care...this is a big thing for me. Change is in the air and it feels good.

Been going about this all wrong...

I've been living off of a junk food diet for the last couple of days, and now my pants are fitting all lose like...which leaves me truly perplexed. Have I been going about this whole waste size thing the wrong way? Is it possible that health food is over rated? Am I at risk of joining the dark side and filling my cupboards with cookies and chocolate instead of whole wheat pasta and organic munchies? Do Oreos equal trimmer love handles?

Take That Telus!

No longer doing business with Telus...in any way, shape or form!!!
It is a glorious day indeed!

Rare

Spent four hour of child free bliss, this afternoon, shopping by my self. Seriously, no one in tow...it was very odd. I don't remember the last time I was able to spend such a large span of time solo...and NOT at school!

Random Thoughts...

It's a bit after 3 a.m. I am awake (ouch), editing pictures from the nearly perfect day of yesterday, listening to my old radio station from the town Bennett was born in, and wrestling with my thoughts (and yes the damn cricket is still going at it like a stuck record player...) Ever have those moments when you know you have so much to be thankful for, yet just can't shake the damn blues? I'm having one of those moments. So many things that are going great and so many things that don't deserve my attention because they are not positive in any way...

Charming

The Cricket outside my window has been going strong for THREE SOLID DAYS. At fist the sound was charming and now it is down right annoying. I hope the bugger gets laid soon...if that's what shuts 'em up...

Almost Useless...

My baby brother was moving apartments this evening, and I willy nilly volunteered to go help load the truck... Then I arrived and remembered how terrified I am of lifting anything, for fear of buggering up my back...again! Seriously, I hurt it on the job, nearly two years ago; lifted my end of a large and very heavy saw & stand with one arm and lifted it into a truck...don't do that! ...and ripped a couple of ribs out of their sockets below my right shoulder blade...ouch! And, at this point, I have currently been without pain for about a month...and every time I think I am fine, I lift something and rip one of the ribs out of the socket...again! It is a truly annoying cycle to say the least; a cycle that has been going on for NEARLY TWO YEARS!

What does this long rant mean? It means that I quickly volunteered to go on a 'packing tape' run. Two stores and one hour later, we came back with packing tape (and mangos) and it was officially an hour and a half past the boy's bedtime...b'bye y'all!

We did not leave before being offered a hamster; a nice, tame, already-lived-out-half-its-annoying-life-span, cute and cuddly hamster...complete with cage! I was tempted for about two seconds, as Bennett was very, VERY keen on this idea! Then I remembered that grey feline we have at home...the one that would eat this rodent for breaky...even if he had to chew through the cage...yeah, that one. NO THANKS! (The white feline would be cool with a rodent in a cage, I think...)

And this gurgling in my left ear? Seriously, ears are not supposed to gurgle. There is no water in my ear...but it feels like a wee river is currently residing in there. Is this an ear infection? Wouldn't there be pain? What the hell do I know? I'm the one with the ear that gurgles...

Now, re-runs of Grey's Anatomy are playing on the TV, the boy is fast asleep, and I think I have a load of homework to do... Ciao!

Conversation with my Mom this afternoon:

Mom: "I can tell that you are stressed out today."

Me: "Oh? How can you tell?"

Mom: "Your shirt is on wrong side out."

Me: "Ah."
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

*Indeed it was...and had been all day long!

Lotsa 2's on the 'ole Kilometerage Meter...

~SHITTY~

Bird Shit on Bennett's Passenger Window.
Obnoxious. Annoying. But still has to be cleaned up.
Pretty much a metaphor for life lately...

Denial

I was convinced that I did not have PMS...and then I realized that this bag of chocolates was empty...and the only person to have stuck her paw in the bag was me...and the bag was full a couple hours previous...denial much? I say mmmhmmm.