25 Things About Me

1) I have a thing about odd numbers. I don't like them. I have to buy my produce in even numbers only, with the only exception being grapes and strawberries. If I am cooking potatoes then there has to be an even number of them in the pot. Same with green beans or carrots. But not corn. What kind of freak would count corn?

2) Clowns freak me out. I mean really. They are seriously creepy people. I have yet to hear someone profess their love for a clown.

3) I hate making small talk. I never know what to say and end up saying stupid things, then I spend a lot of time afterwards wondering "what was I thinking??" Which is weird because I talk a lot. A lot.

4) I never seem to get enough sleep. I love sleeping like people love chocolate or money. But it's better than chocolate or money because it won't make a person fat or broke. Just rested. A win-win situation.

5) I'm in love with my family and truly think I have the best children ever. It blows my mind that I am someone's mother. I still don't feel ready to be responsible for someone else. I don't think I ever will.

6) I'm afraid of being lost in space (it could happen you know...I don't know how...but it could...) and movies of this genre cause me to get really tense. I also am afraid of zombies. I once saw a movie about zombies in outer space and I was apoplectic with anxiety. True story.

7) I am also afraid of becoming a victim of a home invasion...so I keep the door locked at all times...then I check it again...and again...and again...

8) I have mild OCD which you might have picked up on here.

9) I have broken 13 vacuums in 13 years. I don't get why they keep breaking. It's not like I go all She-ra on them or anything.

10) I am afraid of leaving this earth without having made a positive impact on someone else's life.

11) Whenever I have a head ache, I am sure its an aneurysm ready to burst. When I get hot suddenly then I think it's menopause. If I'm tired I think it's lupus. I may suffer from mild hypochondria.

12) I love blogging and it freaks me out that so many people read me.

13) I believe in marriage and that it must be protected above all else.

14) I have noise issues. I hate loud/sudden/constant noise.

15) I have a hard time trusting people because I have been burned so many times.

16) I worry that I'm raising my children wrong and that their therapy bills will be more than their post-secondary education fees.

17) Pizza Hut pizza is the best pizza in the world but it's so expensive so I order from Pizza Pizza instead. Take that, Pizza Hut.

18) I want people to look at me and think I have it all together, even if inside I don't. (is that wrong or is that normal?)

19) I spy on my neighbours from my windows. I pretend like it's because I am concerned about the safety of my community but really it's just that I'm nosy.

20) I worry a lot, even though as a Christian I'm not supposed to.

21) I talk in my sleep and if you talk to me then I will respond. Ian does this to me and can find out what I'm dreaming about. This creeps me out a little bit.

22) I hate confrontation. I have a very sharp tongue when I let it go, so I tend to keep away from situations that would require confrontation.

23) I need to start being less concerned with what people think of me and more concerned with what God thinks of me.

24) I don't like change. In fact, I resent it. I am most comfortable when things are the same and I know what to expect. It amazes me to think of how much in my life is the same, and how many routines I have. It's comforting.

25) I love the person who created M&Ms.

Facebook

I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook.

Back in early 2007, a friend of mine suggested I try out Facebook. "You'll LOVE it!" she gushed. I told her I did not need yet another addiction in my life, thankyouverymuch.

I can't recall whether it was her repeated insistence (harping?) or my own curiosity, but I finally checked it out. At first I thought it was the lamest thing ever. But after the first few weeks, I was hooked.

There were few people I looked for that I couldn't find. Grade school friends. High school crushes. Old work colleagues. Relatives. As the months went by and more and more people joined, I reconnected with more long-lost people.

What fun.

I loved being able to reconnect with people I'd lost touch with over the years because "life happened". It's fun to look at the profile of that kid who was your best friend in kindergarten and seeing that she's a mom now. Or being able to answer that "I wonder whatever happened to..." question.

I'm not gonna lie... I loved learning that "that guy" who I had a major crush on in high school not only remembered me 20+ (*choke*) years later, but remembered me fondly. Or that my first boyfriend that cheated on me with she-who-will-remain-nameless is still in the exact same job as he was when we were just teenagers, doing the exact same crap he was doing then. But best of all was seeing that the most popular girl in high school that all the boys drooled over, peaked in highschool.

With Facebook's handy status line I am able to keep up with what's happening in people's lives. I enjoy seeing their pictures.

As of today, I have 212 friends on my Friend List. It feels like a nice, round number. It used to be higher, but it needed a little housekeeping.

So I mentioned it's a love/hate thing. So far I've just talked about what I love about it. There is a lot that I don't love about it.

Poking: What's with the poking, people?? What does that mean anyway? Hey how are you? I'm still here? I'm trying to annoy you? What is the purpose? I'll admit it...I used to be a poker. But I'm now a Former Poker. Stop poking me please!

Status Lines: Do I need to know that you are hungry? Or that you hooked up with some hot babe at the club last night? Do I need to know that you are cross with someone but instead of telling them directly you're going to broadcast it in your status? Oh and the grammar.... "Mary Sue Smith is gone to the store". No Mary Sue.... your status should read "Mary Sue Smith HAS gone to the store".

I especially love (eye roll) is "Mary Sue Smith is sad/angry/can't believe it!, etc. All for the purpose of attention, so that people will fall over themselves to ask what's wrong with Mary Sue Smith!! We're all adults.. if there is something wrong, come out and say it already. Don't hint.

Sigh.

Quizzes: Oh sweet mercy, the quizzes. Those annoyances clog up my entire feed and they are just ridiculous!! And do these quiz addicts even look at the quizzes they are taking or read the results before they post them to their wall for everyone on their friends list to see? Especially ones with graphic adult content. To the friends that do this, I am embarassed on your behalf.

Group Invites: Please don't invite me to a funeral using this method. 'Nuff said.

I don't care when Facebook makes changes to it's applications. It's a free service and I'm happy to use it. I would like to see the Limited Profile make a return, however. You know, for those people that I wish I could remove but would hate the confrontation that would come with it. That way they would only see what I wanted them to see.

And that, my friends, is all I have to say about that.

Did You Know...?

'Stewardesses' is the longest word typed with only the left hand.

'Lollipop' is the longest word typed with your right hand.

No word in the English language rhymes with month , orange, silver, or purple.

'Dreamt' is the only English word that ends in the letters 'mt'.

Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears never stop growing.

The sentence: 'The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog' uses every letter of the alphabet.

The words 'racecar', 'kayak' and 'level' are the same whether they are read left to right or right to left (palindromes).

There are only four words in the English language which end in 'dous': tremendous, horrendous, stupendous, and hazardous.

There are two words in the English language that have all five vowels in order: 'abstemious' and 'facetious.'

'Typewriter' is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.

A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.

A goldfish has a memory span of three seconds.

A 'jiffy' is an actual unit of time for 1/100th of a second.

A shark is the only fish that can blink with both eyes.

A snail can sleep for three years.

Almonds are a member of the peach family.

An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

Babies are born without kneecaps.

They don't appear until the child reaches 2 to 6 years of age.

February 1865 is the only month in recorded history not to have a full moon.

In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.

If the population of China walked past you, 8 abreast, the line would never end because of the rate of reproduction.

Leonardo Da Vinci invented the scissors

Peanuts are one of the ingredients of dynamite!

Rubber bands last longer when refrigerated.

The average person's left hand does 56% of the typing.

The cruise liner, QE 2, moves only six inches for each gallon of diesel that it burns.

The microwave was invented after a researcher walked by a radar tube and a chocolate bar melted in his pocket.

The winter of 1932 was so cold that Niagara Falls froze completely solid .

There are more chickens than people in the world.

Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance.

Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

Now you know more than you did before!!

Spa Night

Tonight was Spa Night/Open House hosted by the Girls Club. We don't officially resume until Sept 17th, but we wanted to reconnect with the girls during the summer and at the same time hold an open house for new girls and their moms to come and check us out.

We had a fantastic turnout tonight with several of our regular girls and some new faces too which was really exciting. One mom did nail art for them, and bless her heart, she sat there, doin' her thing for 2 1/2 hours! One of our junior leaders did mine. Purple polish with white polka dots...

See?



**Pic courtesy of Ian's iPhone**

Cool, huh?

That's me, baby.

I sat down with a couple of the girls while we ate pizza, and pretty soon we had quite a large group gathered, each of them trying to talk over one another. It was so fun to hear about how their summers were, and their excitement about returning to school.

I missed my girls! It was so good to hug them again. We have lots of great things planned for them in the months ahead.

I'm so excited at having spent the evening with them that I've given myself a headache.

:-)

Mean Mommy Monday

Hello. My name is Kate and I'm a Mean Mommy.

Or so I gather from the displeased looks on my lovely children's faces.

All.day.

It all started when I asked them to please make their beds.

GASP!

I know! How could I?

Well, I followed up that horrible request with yet another...please brush your teeth.

What kind of mother does that?

Then I thought I'd kick it up a notch and ask them to please pick up everything on their bedroom floors so that I could vacuum. I also asked them to tidy up their playroom.

That's right, pass that Worst Mother of the Year Award right this way please!

Oh friends, but it gets even worse.

They both missed their check-in times while they were playing outside. Twice. Now they are grounded for the next two days. They are welcome to play out in front of the house or in the backyard, but not at their friends houses.

What's that? I win another award for my masterful parenting?

Yay me.

Sigh.

Calgon...take me away...

Camp Night

I had been planning on taking Julie camping this summer, thus starting our First Annual Mother/Daughter Camp Night. This was our weekend to go, but the forecast was all rain.

So, when life hands you lemons, you make lemonade. Right?

We pulled out the pull-out couch and ate Chinese food and microwave smores in our pjs, while watching Beverly Hills Chihuahua and High School Musical 3.

Oh I love me a High School Musical movie. I do, I do.

The best part of indoor-camping?

No bugs!

Guess we'll try again next year...

Life is Good

This week has been so good that I almost want to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming.

Ian started his new job on Wednesday and has hit the ground running. He has a lot on his plate but he's loving it.

I love seeing him in his suit and tie ;-)

Meow!

Everything is just the way I like it. It's hard not to fall into my old habit of waiting for the other shoe to drop, so I'm choosing to enjoy life the way it is, right this minute.

And life is good.

Walmart Weirdness

Last night Ian went to Walmart to pick up a bag of milk for me and this woman was standing in line in front of him.



In case you didn't notice, she is wearing pyjamas.

In public.

You may recall how I feel about pj pants in public, but this a whole other animal, don't you think?

Apparently the only thing weirder than her standing in line in her pjs was her husband next to her, wearing a heavy fall jacket. Note: we are experiencing 200 degree weather these days.

Gotta love Walmart.

Home Again

Today was Day 1 of being at home again and it was wonderful.

I woke up at 7am and after a moment's panic of "OhmygoshIoversleptandnowImgoingtobelate!!!" I relaxed and basked in the knowledge that there was nowhere I had to be today.

And it felt good.

I proceeded to lay awake for the next two hours until I could hear the children up and Sam came to get us.

This afternoon I took the children to see G-Force and Ian stayed at home with Jordan. Afterwards I picked Jordan up and we all headed over to my Mom's for a bit, then grocery shopping and home again. It felt so good to cook dinner for my family instead of being too tired/late to do so.

The last few nights we've all been playing "Buzz" on the PS3 and it's hilarious. Some of (ok, most of) the questions I have no idea as to the answers, and it kills me when the kids know them. Lots of laughs and so much better than watching a movie.

Yesterday was my last day at my placement and it was good. I felt sad about leaving, but 100x more excited. This is where I want to be and I am so thankful to be here again. Everyone signed a card for me and gave me a gift card. I was really touched.

Tomorrow is Ian's first day at his new job. He says he isn't nervous but I sure am. I hope everything goes well for him. I can't wait to see him in his suit and tie!

Garage Sale & Party Time

Today Ian had a garage sale to try to get rid of some of our un-used stuff.

Note that I said "Ian had".

At last year's garage sale Ian fired me twice before 9am. This year I just stayed out of sight and while I struggled with guilty feelings about not helping him, I had a sense that I was helping just by staying out of the way.

Sam sold some of his things and made about $47. Julie did her Lemonade/Iced Tea stand and made about $18. Not bad.

Afterwards we all headed out shopping so that I could find an outfit to wear to a party I went to tonight. I really don't have a sense of style and if it were up to me, all my clothes would be black, navy or grey.

Which, until I married Ian, they were.

Any I outfit that has colour, Ian is likely responsible for it. Anything that draws compliments...well you might as well give them to him. He is my fashion consultant.

I wandered around the store, waiting for him to show me something so I could try it on and leave. I despise shopping for clothes. I'm not sure if Julie found the outfit I eventually bought or if it was Ian, but the price was right so I tried it on. I wasn't sure about it, but Ian and the children really liked it so I bought it.

When I was showered and dressed and ready to go, Sam said "Mom, you look really, really great. I mean really." and gave me such a tight hug. Julie put her hands over her mouth and said "Oh Mom!"

Guess the outfit was a winner.

I missed my basic black.

The party was in honor of Dawn's 40th birthday. I went on my own and Ian stayed with the children. I intended to go and make an appearance, but I ended up staying for over 3 hours! I sat with Dawn's hair stylist (soon to me MY hair stylist, thankyouverymuch) and her husband and conversation and laughter flowed freely. I also met Karen who also blogs.

Dawn's mum surprised her with a trip to Vegas!

The best part? Blackjack! I won a bottle of wine for my superior Blackjack skilz!

Oh yes, Vegas here I come.

You are taking ME, right Dawn??

Update

I have to start this post with one of the most breathtaking pictures I have seen in a long while. And I am personal friends with this talented photographer.

** click on picture to view a larger image



Amazing, isn't she? Take a look at her Naturally Beautiful Photography blog to see more of her incredible work. She is so talented. One of these days I'm going to book her to take some pictures of my children.

This week has not been without entertainment.

I spent Tuesday and Wednesday training someone to take over my job. Day 1 was alright even though I didn't get the best vibe from her. Day 2 was like something from another planet. She kept leaving the reception desk for long periods of time to make personal phone calls. She expressed her displeasure at having to cover reception in addition to issuing credits, and asked if it was ok to ignore the phone.

!!!

I suggested gently that it may not be a good idea to do that, being that 50% of her job was reception after all.

She said I had "awesome conversability". When I asked what that meant she said I could speak to anyone, at any level, at any time.

Umm.... thank you?

She spotted my cell phone on the desk and asked if it was a company phone, and when would she be getting hers?

I couldn't understand half of what she said, and she would randomly say words that didn't really mean anything. I kept saying "Pardon?" and she would just look at me. Weird. I was beginning to suspect Tourette's.

She would suddenly whip out a little journal, scribble something with great fervor, then tuck it away quickly. To this very moment I want to know what she was writing about.

Poor me. I will never know.

She yawned all afternoon yesterday and kept saying she needed to speak with her father. Finally I asked her flat out, was she intending to return or was I wasting my time training her and we should just fill in time until the end of the day?

She said she was intending to return the next day, she was just waiting for her father to call her to give his permission for her to work there.

Yeah, you read that right.

Needless to say, I gave my feedback to the CFO and she did not return today.

Whew!

I did feel bad when I discovered that she left me a lovely note for me to find this morning.

A new person arrived today and I knew we were going to hit it off when she called to say she was coming but had gotten lost. (If you recall, I got lost 6 days in a row coming and going to this place) She seems like a nice young woman and is getting a good feel for what needs to be done. It's a lot of work that requires a lot of organization and it's all priority, but she seemed to feel she could handle it. I think I will only be there until Monday, maybe Tuesday.

Today was sweet. Someone gave me a bouquet of yellow daisies and someone else brought me in a plate of home baked peanut butter cookies. I won the weekly trivia contest again. (That makes three times, my friends) I went for lunch with one of my coworkers and she gave me a lovely notebook and a candle holder. I was very touched. It's nice to know that I made an impact there.

My favourite thing? My coworkers have stopped saying "Oh My God" all the time. Now they say "Oh My Gosh". Sweet.

In other news...

We are having a garage sale this Saturday. Remember last year's garage sale when Ian fired me twice before 9am? Well this year he's on his own. I thought I'd lose my mind with all the people picking over our stuff, trying to buy stuff that wasn't even for sale.

Grr!

So I am going to help Julie with her lemonade stand because she won't fire me. And then I'm going to play in the backyard with Jordan.

Saturday evening I am going to a birthday party for my friend Dawn. She will be turning 40. Never in my life have I seen someone so excited about turning 40. When it's my turn I'm going to have bloody nails from hanging on to my thirties. Just watch.

I think that covers all my news.

Catch ya later ;-)

Good Weekend

If you don't mind, I'd like to start off this post with a sigh of contentment.

SIGH.

Thank you.

My husband has a job offer and I am returning home, hopefully full time.

I am content.

And so thankful.

~~~~~~~

Friday night Ian and I went on a date. Sam and Julie went to my in laws overnight, and Jordan slept over at my mother's.

We went out for dinner.

Alone.

At a restaurant with cloth napkins.

And mood lighting.

At a table for two.

SIGH.

Afterwards we headed to the movie theatre to see GI Joe. One showing was sold out with the other filling fast. We bought tickets and headed in, only to find that there weren't two seats together anywhere. Being that we were on a date we wanted to be able to sit together so we headed back out to exchange our tickets to see The Hangover. It wasn't too bad, definitely some funny lines in it. We had a really good time.

And as much as I love my children, I was ok that they were away for the night. I've never felt that way before. I like my children under my roof at night. But this time I was ok.

~~~~~~~

Yesterday I went to pick Jordan up at my mother's and stayed to visit for the morning which I loved.

I am planning on taking Julie on our First Annual Mother/Daughter Camping Night in a couple of weeks. I've never camped on my own before but I'm not worried about it. We'll go to a family campground that lacks snakes and wild animals and, hopefully, axe murderers. Ian shared some huge doubts mild concerns about my ability to set up the tent on my own.

Disbelievinghusbandsaywhat??

I am more than a pretty face, friends, I have skillz.

Ian wanted me to do a test run on setting it up so that he could rest assured that I could do it on my own. So, he brought it to my mom's yesterday afternoon and I set it up.

In under 15 minutes.

[insert sounds of amazement, awe and appreciation here]

Was it perfect? No. But I didn't say it would be set up perfectly. I said I could set it up. And I did.

Success is so sweet.

And I packed that thing back up in probably less time, and much neater than I found it, thankyouverymuch.

~~~~~~~

Today during our church service it began to rain really hard. Ian leaned across Sam and whispered something like "If you were camping right now...there goes your tent."

But what did I hear him say?

"Your awesome tent set up was amazing and you are going to be a formidable camper. And you are extremely beautiful."

:-)

~~~~~~~

Answered Prayers

I am so excited!

Ian interviewed with a company on Friday and they offered him the position today!

I am so proud of him. I can't go into too many details as he has yet to accept the position. That will come tomorrow.

I am coming home, friends! I am so excited to be a SAHM again, and care for Ian and the children and run my home.

There are still some details to work out, but God is showing His hand, and we are so grateful.

Gotta say it again....I am so excited!!!

Zzz.....zzz...

I don't know what my problem is this weekend but I am tired.

Aside from sleeping in every morning (thanks Ian) I've had a nap every day. Last night I went to bed at 5 and woke up just after 9am this morning. Then I had a 2 hour nap this afternoon. I'm on my way to bed after this post...

I would go to the doctor to find out why I'm so tired but after having two rounds of extensive bloodwork done this year that showed nothing wrong with me, I will just have to live with it according to my doctor.

It's frustrating.

I'm really hoping that something great happens this week. I could use it.

Long Weekend

Oh how I love a long weekend.

This morning Ian let me sleep in until 10am! What a luxury.

Ian took the children to a movie this afternoon and Jordan and I stayed home and napped. Then I gave her a bath, dressed her up including bows in her hair, and we headed out to do a bit of grocery shopping. She looked so incredibly adorable and people kept stopping me to tell me what a gorgeous baby she is.

Gorgeous babies are the only kind I make, thank you very much.

We went to Mom's for Sam's birthday bbq and that was a fun time. I love spending time with my mother. My sister was there too which was nice. I don't see her very often anymore either.

Then...my favourite part. Birthday cake! Oh friends, I love me some birthday cake. We bought a small cake decorated like a piece of watermelon. Very cool.

Now I'm relaxing in my favourite recliner, sipping a steeped tea from Timmie's I got with the gift card I won this week and just feeling content.

Sweet.