The Shoes

So, the shoes have arrived and they are seven kinds of HOT!  The problem? I have to wear them to a Christmas party this Saturday and they are TIGHT.  Why don’t people make half sizes?  The seven was way too big so I ordered a six and now they pinch. 

Hopefully wearing them around my super casual office in my jeans doesn’t get me too many stupid looks because I need these babies to STRETCH!

Does anyone have any advice on how to stretch shoes?  I’m all ears!

My Christmas Wishlist

My family is all about efficiency during the holidays.  They don’t go out and browse and try to find something you like, they say “Tell me what you want dammit, or it will all be coal!”  For years I have refused to give lists because the things they have come up with without using the list have been INCREDIBLE.  They are all thoughtful and generous and I am so thankful for every gift I’ve ever received.  But, since none of my family knows about the site (and most can’t turn on a computer) – here is my passive aggressive Christmas wish list! 

Paderno Stock Pot

 

Look how pretty and shiny it is!  Did I mention shiny?  A few years ago my parents came up with the idea to buy me a set of good quality pots and pans and Paderno is what they came up with.  I have loved these pots from the first time I used them and am longing to add to my collection.  For some reason though, I doubt a $200.00 pot is going to be under the tree for me!

Pampered Chef Food Chopper

 

Nothing like a creative name for a kitchen utensil.  The Pampered Chef Food Chopper pretty much speaks for itself.  Considering I can’t even be IN THE HOUSE when someone is chopping onions without tearing up, this thing is necessary for my sanity.  This baby – I want it!

Pampered Chef Medium Bar Pan

This is the glory that is Pampered Chef stoneware.  This stuff is good from EVERYTHING from chicken to cookies and I am lusting after it.  Basically, I’m too cheap to get this for myself so I may have been dropping subtle hints about this one. 

Roots Elegant Clutch

Here comes the cheapness factor again.  I want this wallet, but with all of my Christmas spending I would have negative ninety trillion dollars to put in it.  Hence the complaining to Alex about my current wallet and it’s lack of pockets and the mentioning that I would love to have a wallet that matches my purse!

Roots Hampshire Parka

I NEED this jacket.  I crave this jacket.  Is there something out there more sinful than lusting?  Because that is what I am doing after this jacket.  I know, many of you are pondering why the emotion about a seemingly non- winter jacket, but there is so much to love!  The adorable plaid lining!  The removable hood!  The way it slightly cinches in at the waist, helping me look skinny!  The olive green colour which is the exact colour of my eyes!  It’s the perfect weight – warm without being bulky!  Please Santa, if there is anything under the tree let there be this.  (And if not, let there still be my size that I can order online).

The Office Season 4

I have a standing Thursday night date with Jim Halpert that can never be broken.  This is something I tracked down the day it was realized and Alex refused to let me buy because apparently my whole family thinks that anything to do with The Office means an easy Christmas present.  So be it.  (Can I just add that I am extremely jealous of Pam – a fictional character? Yes, I know it’s weird.)

The Incredibles

This is one of my favourite animated movies, right up there with Ice Age.  When Dash asks his mom if he can run as fast as he can?  Kills me every time!  I was telling Alex about that part the other night (he’s never seen it) I actually started to cry in my kitchen.  I know, weepy loser who invests too much emotion into Pixar films.

And last but not least,

Bling!

I know there is no chance in hell this one is happening, but a girl can dream right?  After going into a jewellery store a few weeks ago with Alex and trying on this little number and falling in L-O-V-E, it would be amazing to have this baby on my finger permanently!

So what’s on your wish list?  Any guilty pleasures that you can’t believe you’re asking for?

The Mysteries of Blogging

This morning while doing my daily check of blogs I came across this and it really made me think. 

This was a blog that seemingly got overnight success because so many people could relate to Cordy’s story and people were passing around the link like hotcakes.  Then it was revealed that the story was actually fiction and was being written as a side project by the author.  Personally I wasn’t really phased about it just because there is no way of knowing how much is actually truth that we read.  Many people felt like they had been cheated, but in reality it’s not like the author went and asked people to go and read it.  Even though she may not have been entirely truthful in the beginning I don’t feel like she was being intentionally deceitful either. 

People began getting their backs up about the fact that it was fiction and then people started to get mad about the timing of the posts and the “quality” of the posts and this just plain pissed me off.  First of all, unless you are fortunate enough to get paid for blogging, this is a hobby and people will fit it in whenever they can.  Everyone is out there living their lives everyday and have commitments in the real world that take priority over blogging, so sorry if you didn’t get your daily “fix”.  Be thankful when people do get the time to post and leave encouraging comments, don’t try and drag people through the dirt.  Secondly, no one has the right to judge the so-called “quality” of someone else’s posts.  It’s a totally different thing if I bash something I’ve written myself, but no one should tell me that something is “wimpy” when an effort was made to put something out there (especially after people began DEMANDING it). 

I know this is the internet and that readers are given free reign, and in some cases it’s such an incredible opportunity.  Honest opinions can freely be expressed, but I think they can be expressed in a way that doesn’t drive people into the ground.  No one should be forced  from writing something they enjoy because of the demands of others. 

Now – to the approximately 2.5 people who check this site out daily – what do you think?  And to those who may have slightly more than my 2.5 readers, do readers become too invested and expect too much?

Shopping Helps

So, to cure the birthday blues here are my new lovelies,

Sorry for the poor picture quality, you can check the shoes out at http://www.aldoshoes.com/

Birthday Bitterness

Pity party for one.  Today is my 25th birthday.  And I am spending it alone.  Since I travel during the week for work it means that I’m away from home.  Usually it’s not a big deal because Alex does the same thing.  We spend Monday – Thursday apart and then spend Friday – Sunday at home together.  He had been planning on coming to see me tonight at work, but just found out that he will probably have to work late, so most likely he won’t be making an appearance. 

I feel like such a whiner for even making this a big deal, but it’s hard enough that we only get to see each other three days a week and that this has been our life for more than three years.  And I know we both stick with the jobs we have because we have job security and we know we won’t be living this life forever, but that doesn’t mean that it’s not hard.  It’s draining and tiring and you get sick of doing laundry and grocery shopping all weekend, just so you can get through the next week.  I know most people live for the weekend, but with me it’s so much more than that.  I feel like the weekend is the only time that we get to live our life together and it’s so short.  I want us to be able to come home from work, make dinner, talk about our days and go to bed together and wake up together – everyday, not just a few times a week. 

In times like this I know that I should be thankful for our jobs and the financial security they give us.  But, truthfully?

I want us to have a regular life. 

 

Starting Traditions

As my birthday was approaching Alex kept asking me what I wanted for my birthday.  Normally, I would deflect these questions because he is INCREDIBLE at picking out gifts but this year I wanted something special for us.  In the past few weeks and months I think we’ve both become resigned to the fact that this is IT.  It’s going to be us forever.  There’s no more wondering whether marriage is in our future – it is our future.  It has been like an unspoken development between us that this thing that we’re in isn’t ending.  We’re partners.  We’re a team and I couldn’t have picked a more supportive, caring and incredible teammate.  He’s the one I want on my side and by my side and I’m so grateful that he wants to be there. 

So for my birthday, I didn’t want something that was just for me, so I ended up asking for a Christmas tree for my birthday.  For the last two weeks we’ve been deliberating and planning what we want our tree to look like.  By the time we went to pick up the tree I think he was more excited than I was! 

I was one of the kids who grew up with the “pretty” Christmas tree where decorations made in kindergarten classes never made it past the front door because they didn’t match.  I was always secretly jealous of friends in high school who put up their Christmas trees and were able to go through – ornament by ornament and be able to say who made them, or what they represented.  Alex grew up with a tree like that, and I was so excited to be able to steal that tradition from his side of the family. 

Saturday morning we got up early and drove into town to pick up our tree.  We picked out the tree and then spent the next two hours picking out decorations and I don’t think either one of us have ever had more fun.    We ended up with garland and ribbons and more decorations and tacky bows than the Griswold’s.  When we were paying for everything, the cashier looked at us, smiled and said, “This must be your first Christmas together” and I truly think we must’ve beamed at each other and squealed “YES!”.   We made the snowy trek home and spent the afternooon decorating our Christmas tree and watching “A Christmas Story” and “The Grinch who Stole Christmas”.  I spent the rest of the weekend basking in the glow of the Christmas lights drinking hot chocolate and reveling in the knowledge that this is ours. 

Who knew a Christmas tree would seal the deal?

Overreaction or necessary changes?

Last week new legislation that imposes stricter regulations for younger drivers was introduced in Ontario.  Since 1994 Ontario has had a graduated licensing system, but these new changes put greater limitations on young drivers.  Teenagers with their G-2 license must have a blood alcohol level of 0.00 when behind the wheel and cannot have more than one teenage passenger in the car with them at any time (with the exception of siblings).  There are also increased speeding penalties.

If young drivers are caught breaking any of this new legislation, their license is automatically revoked for 30 days, and jumps to 90 days for a second conviction and a complete loss of their licence for the third. For more information regarding the legislation changes, see here.

These changes have been brough about by a tragic accident this summer in cottage country.  Tyler Mulcahy (20, Kourosh Totonchian (19) and Cory Mintz (19) were killed when Mulcahy’s car crashed into a lake.  The friends had spent the afternoon consuming 31 drinks between them before getting into the car. 

Mulcahy’s father took out advertisements in major newspapers and created petitions, which led to him having a meeting with the Premier of Ontario.  As a direct result, the legislative changes were introduced November 18, 2008.  Since the introduction of the changed legislation there has been a major public backlash.  Letters to editor of the Toronto Star have poured in and petitions on Facebook have begun, and I can’t say I blame them.  As one parent put it, all young drivers are being punished because of the actions of a few. 

I’m all for stricter legislation when it comes to drinking and driving.  A zero tolerance policy should be applied to ALL drivers, not just young ones.  People are smart enough to know that it’s irresponsible and stupid to drink and drive.  We have been taught better, we know better.  We can no longer claim ignorance as an excuse. 

In some instances, those who have been convicted of impaired driving have had their vehicles equipped with breathalizers, and if they have alcohol in their blood the car won’t start.  I just don’t understand why vehicle manufacturers and legislators haven’t taken advantage of this technology and made it a requirement in new cars, right up there with air bags. 

As far as speeding goes, Ontario introduced increased speeding fines and penalties earlier this year and as far as I’m concerned they are strict enough.  People already are punished by tickets, fines, increased insurance rates and in extreme cases vehicles are towed and licenses are suspended.  These fines and penalties apply to all drivers and I don’t think that young drivers need to be singled out any further. 

The limitation on the number of people who can be in a car should be limited to the number of seat belts in the car and shouldn’t be dependent on someone’s age.  The Ontario goverment thought it was a good idea to do away with OAC’s (Grade 13) and has resulted in some people as young as 17 being enrolled in college or university.  Apparently the government thought they would be mature and adult enough to be able to handle the rigors of post-secondary education and in most cases, living away from home for the first time.  Here you’re legally an adult at the age of 18 and have the right to vote and make your own decisions, you can legally drink at 19.  All along young people are being told that they are adults, that they need to grow up and be able to take responsibility for themselves and their actions and with one fell swoop the government has undermined what they have been trying to teach.

Students who carpool to and from school can no longer do so.  People can no longer act as a designated driver for a group of friends.  This legislation is taking a step back with regard to alcohol education and the notion to always use a designated driver as well as with regard to the environment and the fact that carpooling is an environmentally friendly option.  If these kids are mature enough to be going to school and living on their own, they are mature enough to decide who they can have in their vehicle.  We can’t keep telling teenagers that they are young adults and can make their own decisions while we take away their freedom inch by inch.

It’s unfortunate that Tyler Mulcahy, Kourosh Totonchian and Cory Mintz lost their lives but the rest of the province’s young people don’t need to be punished for their mistake.  And that’s just it – it was a mistake.  A mistake that resulted in an accident, a tragic one but at some point people need to take responsibility for their actions and realize that their actions have consequences.  At the age of 20 I knew that drinking and driving was wrong.  I knew that speeding was dangerous.  And so did those kids, but the fact of the matter is that a mistake led to an accident and we can’t all keep paying the price for that.

Squirrels are Rodents!

My job includes a lot of travel but it’s long term travel (months at a time) and I’m within driving distance to go home on weekends, so my company finds me places to stay while I’m away.  Generally they are great and I’m usually spending my summers living in a cottage in a remote area with nothing but nature around me.  Generally I’ve got nature’s back, but this time not so much.

I happened to be in an area where a friend from university was now living, so I was able to hook up with her and have dinner.  After downing one jillion glasses of water with our spicy food I was in dire straits and was sprinting through the house to the bathroom.  As I ran down the hall I flipped on the bathroom light and as I rounded the corner into the john I let out what can only be described as an “OMG I’m 13 and I just saw the Jonas Brothers” shriek.  Shrill to the max my friends.  The reason for the shrieking was that something had leapt from the vanity towards the shower and had not quite made it and landed in the toilet.  As I went to lean over the toilet to see what it was it JUMPED RIGHT AT ME and landed in the bath tub.  This is when I spent a few moments saying “HOLY SHIT, HOLY SHIT” and then trying to reassure myself “It’s way smaller than you, it’s probably more afraid of you than you are of it” and all of that other BS that people tell you about wild animals. 

I eventually worked up enough courage, and with my foot (after I put shoes on I might add) I slowly pulled back the shower curtain and THERE WAS NOTHING THERE.  NOTHING – whatever it was it was gone.  Since I am brilliant and blonde I figured that maybe it went down the drain or something and it was then that I heard the scratching on the shower curtain.  As I went to peek in the tub the thing jumped out again RIGHT AT ME I SWEAR and landed over my head on the screen for the window.  At this point I was most definitely screaming and scared the thing so badly it ran out of the bathroom.  Please note that I still haven’t peed after my bajillion gallons of water.  So, I do my business and come out of the bathroom and the thing is gone.  I looked everywhere and it was nowhere to be found.  I looked upstairs, downstairs, under the bed, under the sofa and NOTHING.  So, I figure it must have gotten out however it had gotten in and I went to bed. 

A few hours of peaceful sleeping and all hell breaks loose.  I am jarred awake by the sound of all of my shampoo etc. being hurled into the bathtub in the bathroom upstairs.  I sprint upstairs and into the bathroom and it is on the window screen again.  At this point I’ve figured out that it’s some sort of small mammal, but still don’t know for sure what it is.  Then, once I grab a pot (like Rachel on Friends with the pigeon) and try to catch it and it leaps and sails over my head I realize what it is.  It is a flying squirrel. 

Photo courtesy of www.uwsp.edu

Doesn’t exactly look cute and cuddly huh?

I chased this thing around my house from 1:00 – 3:00 a.m. with no success.  I resigned myself to bed, but I didn’t get any sleep because I could hear it running around upstairs.  I got up in the morning and it looked like the house had been ransacked.  Pictures were off the walls, curtains had been torn off the curtain rods and there was squirrel “droppings” EVERYWHERE.  I spent some time searching for it and found nothing.  I tidied up and went to work, came home for lunch and still did not find it anywhere.  I mentioned it to a large, burly co-worker who said he would come over after work and try to help me. 

He and I searched for 20 minutes after work and couldn’t find anything.  I thanked him for his help and sent him on his way.  He had just walked out the door and gotten into his car and I called him, “Haha, you’re funny.  Scratching on the door trying to scare me”.  He replied that he hadn’t scratched on the door, pinky swore he hadn’t scratched on the door and said he would be right back.  He came in, looked again and NOTHING.  He left and I figured I’d just been hearing things and started making dinner. 

I was about 15 minutes into my quesadillas when this thing came ripping out of the bedroom and the screaming began.  I was able to shut the bedroom door so it was now confined to the kitchen / living room.  I called back my co-worker and he said he would be right there.  Ten minutes later he showed up with a fishing net to try to catch it.  Let me tell you, flying squirrels are FAST and they really can fly.  We chased that thing around a 15 x 20 room for 40 minutes.  It kept trying to go back into the bedroom, so I was standing on guard (with oven mitts on – a girl can never be too careful).  He was trying to chase it out the open front door and it veered towards the bedroom and got in between my feet.  I was reaching down trying to push it towards the door when my coworker also tried to get the net over top of it.  Instead of getting the squirrel though, he hit me in the back of the leg with the net.  Let me point out that I was wearing very large cargo pants.  So large that when I felt something behind my knee my first thought was “THE SQUIRREL IS UP MY FUCKING PANTS!!”  I started screaming, oven mitts were flying and I was jumping all over the place trying to get the “squirrel” out of my pant leg.  My insane reaction must have scared the poor squirrel into submission because he froze and my co-worker was able to get him into the net and out the front door. 

So, if you ever get a flying squirrel in your house realize that 1) wearing baggy pants is not a good idea and 2) that they are nocturnal, so if you don’t see them during the day do not let your guard down!  They are still there just waiting to get you and ruin your image at work!

House or Bust

So the house hunting is still just a hunt with no end in sight.  We knew there was another offer, but with it being conditional on the buyers selling their house (and with the market the way it is) we figured we would be good to go considering that we rent and don’t need to worry about having that condition.  Alex and I were talking about it and just said that we figured no news is good news because that meant that our showing was still on.  Then we got a call Thursday afternoon from our realtor saying that the buyer had sold their house and dropped all of their conditions, so the only way we could compete would be to offer full asking price without any conditons, something we just weren’t willing to do with it being our first place and with us feeling relatively scared shitless and all. 

Everyone keeps saying it wasn’t meant to be, and I agree with that but I wish I knew ahead of time so I wouldn’t get my hopes up.  I’ve been frantically searching realtor web sites but nothing new has been listed in our area for over a week and now it won’t be the greatest time to buy a house because everything will be covered in snow.  I think we’ve now resigned ourselves to waiting until spring unless we find THE perfect house.  I know it’s out there somewhere, I just really don’t want to have to resort to building it myself!  I have skills, mad skills but those skills do not include building a home that needs to stand for more than five minutes and not collapse onto itself and kill anyone in the process. 

The Hunt

House hunting that is.  Searching for a house is the most overwhelming and stressful thing I’ve ever experienced.  There’s really nothing else that’s comparable.  I was reading a statistic that said people spend more time picking out a car than a house and it seemed like the researcher was surprised.  I was not.  You can always go to another dealership or order another car but you can’t just go and get another house that is the same. (Please note: I know in a lot of areas you can in fact just go and find a house that is the same because they’re all the same, but I live in the sticks where this is not an option.  There are no subdivision developers for miles around here).  If you want it, you have to go after it and go after it quickly.  You don’t have time to weigh out options because if you want a house you need to buy it OR SOMEONE ELSE WILL. 

With the economy the way it is Alex and I have discussed putting house hunting on hold but it really doesn’t make sense to wait.  So things get worse and we’re delayed two, three, ten years in buying a house.  It just doesn’t add up to keep throwing money away on rent when we can afford to buy a house and both have secure jobs.  Also, being in Canada helps because our economy isn’t quite the same as that in America. 

We have been searching real estate web sites for the last year trying to find someone in our price range (hard), in a good location (harder) that didn’t need a ton of work (hardest).  It’s not that we are afraid of a little elbow grease, I can paint with the best of them but am not equipped to be ripping out walls and neither is Alex (although he would probably tell you differntly).  We finally came across a house that was at the top of our budget but seemed to meet all of our criteria.  It had plenty of property, was relatively new, gave us room to grow and was in a good location.  And then we went to look at it.  If you are house hunting right now let me just say that pictures LIE – and not little white lies either.  This house had plenty of property that was either located a) in a swamp or b) up the face of a mountain.  It had no usable lawn space.  And it was relatively new, but the people who built is must have been relatively OLD because the carpets were a lovely shade of “dusty rose”. The kitchen cupboards were atrocious and who honestly thinks that a nice view from the kitchen window would be the garage?  Needless to say it was back to the hunt.

Last week I was looking at some more real estate sites (while working diligently – OF COURSE – hmm, job security WHAT?) and I came across a house that Alex and I have driven by a million times and always commented on how cute it was.  This house has plenty of property, is in a great location and while it is not new (it’s older than me, but apparently that’s okay in a house) it’s been updated and modernized.  There would still be some modernizing work that Alex and I could do, but that’s okay because that means there is potential for us to add value as well (thank you HGTV). 

When we called the realtor we were informed that a conditional offer had already been accepted on the house, but the condition was that the buyers had to sell theirs.  Since the market has been slowing down for the last little while this didn’t really worry us and the realtor said he would be willing to show it to us.  So we went and we saw and we were smitten.  We decided the smart thing would be to see the house again and then discuss making an offer.  Because Alex and I both travel so much for work, the only time we can see a house in on the weekend.  I called this morning and tried to make an appointment for Friday afternoon and was informed that we could see the house but the people who put in the conditional offer were in the process of getting an offer on their house, so it may be sold by then.  BAH!  It makes me want to cry.  We’ve been looking for over a year now and there is nothing out there.  We are in a good situation and were smart about things and have saved up for a reasonable down payment and we are READY and there is nothing there.  I know, I know – it’s a middle class sob story (courtesy of Tessie).  I hope karma isn’t going to come back and kick me in the ass because I have been sending out bad vibes all day to the buyers of that house.  And part of me didn’t realize how much I wanted it until I realized how close we are to not being able to have it. 

I know that this is part of the process, that disappointment comes along with it but it doesn’t make it any easier to swallow.  And technically everything still could fall through and we could end up with the house and all will be well with the world, but we are both trying to not get our hopes up.  If all goes well we will still be seeing the house this Friday and moving forward with things but I will be prepared if things fall through.  I may still cry, but at least I’ll be prepared.