I'm a Cow.

No, really. I can be a plain old b#%$h sometimes.

I was at IKEA today. And if you can believe it, the wait to get into the playroom was an hour long. However, I had time to kill considering I had to wait for my husband to get off of work. We were all going to carpool over to see my daughter's graduation from her old daycare.

While waiting, I had both of my kids in the kids room area. Where you can pick bed sets, sheets, lights, anything remotely for a kid's room. As I was standing there watching my 2 kids, I saw that there were 3 other kids playing there too. The mom was standing nearby watching her 3 young ones.

Out of no where, she starts speaking to me. The I realize that it's a girl I went to high school with. She says, did you go to "insert name of high school here." And yes, I did. So I told her so. And then I proceeded to call her by her first name which I know shocked the hell out of her. I didn't even have to think about who she was. She was actually one of the nicer ones but I never felt totally at ease with her. She was in my "group" for a lack of a better word. Honestly, I don't want to relive my high school days.

So, we talked about our kids, where we live, etc. Then I asked if she kept in touch with anybody from high school...and I know she does thanks to Facebook. Regardless, I told her I didn't bother and didn't feel the need to. And I also told her that I changed my name so nobody could actually look me up unless they knew my last name.

She proceeded in saying that once you get an invite from one high school bud, you'll get more. Ok. Yeah, the thing is, I don't want to add any high school buds. But I think she was trying to get me to say my name so she could add me or at least tell all her high school buds she bumped into me.

The point is, I could have told her my first AND last name so that if she wanted to look me up, she could. But I didn't bother telling her either. I'm hoping not to hear from her...especially through Facebook.

The past is the past. Let's just leave it that way.

Family Day

Family days are important to me. And so, it's extra important that we do certain things as a family. One thing I really enjoy as a family is the PNE. I know it's probably more of a chore for my husband. But he dutifully took the day off to go with us this year.

We lucked out with the weather! The day before it was pissing rain. My lawn got a nice watering. I was so worried that today's weather would be terrible! And I honestly couldn't have asked for anything better. Just a small sprinkle when we got there...but that meant we went to the showmart. After that, just a beautiful sunny day that wasn't too hot or too cold...and with a light breeze. PERFECT!!! The girls were actually great. My husband didn't complain and seemed to actually enjoy the events. I actually got to see one of the shows and got some yummy food.

It was a great day and I got to spend it with family. I feel happy.

Friday

Friday was my last day before I went on holidays. And the last week has been very productive. By the time I left, I finished all my work. Like, all my work. I submitted my outstanding fricken reports. I'm sure they will be torn apart when I return. But nobody can say that I didn't submit them. Every outstanding request...completed. I love going on holidays when that happens!!! That means you're not having to worry about anything before you head out.

And that Friday evening, I couldn't have given a crap about anything. On Saturday, I was SO zen. The house was a mess...I didn't care. In fact, I so didn't care that I actually took a nap halfway through the day. The only chore that I really worried about was getting groceries as we were out. Other than that, it was hanging with the kids and getting ready for the annual block party on our block. And every year, it ceases to disappoint.

It's always nice to see neighbours you haven't seen in a long while. And always nice to meet some new ones. I get to see other kids growing. And as mine get older, that means I get a little more time to mingle. The potluck is always great!! Lots of diversity and always way too much. The highligh is always the concert. And this year, we had an extra special treat. We had a guy that was recording at one of the basement suites...one of our neighbours are singers/london play folks. And this guy that was recording happened to be one of the guys that plays with Elton John!! He was awesome!!! Lots of dancing.

The party ended somewhat abruptly due to some rude guests...i.e. the mosquitoes. OMG. It's been a while since I've been bitten like this. Of course, the rest of the family got bitten too. We finally left. But we're looking forward again to next year.

If all holidays could be so zen.

Weekend

I spent one afternoon at a friend's place. My whole family made the trek out to Mission...which is VERY far away from my house. SEriously...if you're not in the GVRD area and I have to call long distance, there's a problem. But I love these people enough to go.

However, I hated half of the guest list. There are people that I see and my blood pressure hits the roof!!! My dislike for some of these folks is just ugly. To the couple that shoves God down people's throats then prays for concert tickets because they deserve it...you suck. To the same God loving folks that think that they're better than everybody else, you really do suck. I have no problem with religion...but when you shove it into every conversation and basically preach to me, I have a problem with you. HISSSSSSS.

For the guy who told the hostess that she could have made a better cake, you suck. The hostess made a HUGE cake that was a risk board. All the countries were different colours, there were little Risk men, the ocean was a beautiful blue...and you could see the ocean currents! And if that wasn't enough, the countries were named! The guy told the woman that she should have had a cake flavour for every country that there was within the cake. Are you F#@%in mental? It took her 6 hours to decorate...and with 3 kids...I doubt she has the time to deal with your request.

However, there were redeeming moments. First of all, the birthday boy was 35 years young and had a good time. He looks happy and looks like life is treating him well. Yay. Secondly, I'm glad I'm wrong. There was a guy there that I've seen over the years. And my gut reaction to this guy was that he was racist. His sarcasm about colour folk like me was beyond pleasant or even funny. However, he recently had some tough things happen to him. And he really is a changed man. When he came in and saw me, shook my hand and said hello. When I chatted to him about his recent situation, he was open, honest, and genuinely seemed happy to talk to me. No coloured jokes. Just seemed like a sincere guy. Good to know that some folks can change.

So, it's Monday tomorrow. Not looking forward to that. But it is my last week before I'm off for 2 weeks. I'm needing it.....

CRACK!

I was all excited that it was finally Friday. I'm not entirely convinced that the world should work a 5 day week. All I know is that I worked hard all week, and I was going to be rewarded by finishing off the week on a good note.

It started off a little odd, as in the pace was odd. Fridays are usually my quiet days where I can accomplish a lot on my reports that are outstanding. However, I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and they'll get done soon enough. It was just incredibly busy...lot of requests and we just found out the Minister is coming. It's a ton of work for nothing, at least in my humble opinion (Miss A...I know you're just giggling that you're not having to prep for this Minister's visit!!).

I thought it was time to have lunch. I didn't bring one and I thought I'd go to the local congee house with a friend to catch up. Well, as I was partway through my meal, I heard a really loud cracking sound. Then I started to feel a bit of pain. I think I bit into a bit of bone , but basically, my filling and part of a tooth came out. I was kind of freaking out because I was worried that it would get infected. If anything, I was worried about any further pain.

My dentist is awesome. She was sweet enough to fit me in. However, she must think my pain tolerance is well above normal folk. She was going to clean with water and air on a tooth that almost has the nerve exposed. My teeth are already sensitive. So you can imagine my protests that this is not going to work unless I have drugs. I said I wanted two babies before having anything done to me without drugs. She gave me double the dose to shut me up. Medical science works for me!

So, I'm in for an appointment again to get a crown. =( Not looking forward to it, but it seems like the best alternative. Could have been worse...I could have HAD the nerve exposed, or I could have had to have the tooth extracted. So I'm thankful it happened how it did.

Oh well. That is life. Not much I can do about it.

Stuff

First of all, some good news about my nephew. He's been gaining weight the last 5 days. That's awesome! Hopefully he'll be going home to his mom soon, grow some fat so I won't worry when I hold him. I'm so damn clumsy that I'm afraid to cuddle. Knowing me, I'd drop him like a hot potato.

My girlfriend and I had a good giggle about crappy drivers that drive less than 30 km. She makes finger gestures to move to the side and says some "interesting" comments. She was stuck behind one this morning just as I was. However, I was going 30 across the bridge...but as we were getting off the bridge and up the hill, the person was going even slower. I was ready to stop the car, take my kid out and run up the hill. I'm sure I could have been faster.

This person sounds like one of my ex aunts. She was taking driving lessons and was worried about going to fast and saving gas. So, as she was going up the hill, she decided to let the gas pedal go a bit...as in, she wasn't pressing that hard down. She started to panic because the car was rolling backwards, but she still refused to press the gas pedal. Too much gas. And yes, she crashed into the person BEHIND her.

Someone at our office just had a boob job and a tummy tuck. I walked by and said, "wow...you lost a ton of weight! You look great!" She said that she was still swollen but she looked pretty happy I noticed. Of course, I'm a fricken nosey person. Boob job was free (she had big bazookas that were hurting her back). The tummy tuck was $11,000. A little stiff. But maybe they determine how much the cost is by how much they have to suck out. A little steep of a cost, but hey, it's doable.

And it's stinking hot. I'm a 21 degree Celsius maximum girl. This is much too hot. And to think I have to go to Mission on Saturday. I'm dreading it already. But I can perfect my Phillipino nanny look.

Monday

I think I might have to adjust my attitude towards Mondays. Pretty much my whole work life, I've had Mondays off. I'd work extra hours in the day to get the 1 day off. And really, it was a long weekend every weekend. Think about it...you take out the stat holidays and assume that every Monday is a work day. If I don't work Mondays, that's 52 Mondays I have off which turns into about 2 months off of work. Pretty good deal. So you can imagine how choked I was when I had to give those up.

So, on this Monday, it was a little different. I actually had to take my one kid to Children's Hospital to get a check up on her hip. She had hip dysplasia when she was young. Basically, if we didn't fix it, her leg would grow the wrong way and may have ended up having a hip replacement at 20. Not exactly the life I wanted for her.

Anyways, I woke up and everything was good. Got to the hospital in good time and found free parking. Walked to the admission...no line up. Got to the clinic, got in right away. The doctor that I had was actually in a happy mood and had some good bedside manners. I also received the good news that she's not concerned at all. However, since she's OCD, she's going to have me come in again next year just because. Thanks to all the tax payers that are paying for this.

I honestly thought the day couldn't get better. But I got to work and found free parking...again! Worked for an hour and then, it was time for lunch. Went with a good friend to a place that I've been meaning to go to for a very long time. Can you believe I found parking in front of the restaurant too?! By the time I got back to work, I only had about 2 more hours of work and then it was time to go home. I brought extra ribs to my dad to make soup and he said I made too much...so he used the ribs to make black bean spareribs for me for dinner. I didn't even have to cook!!!

That is such a great Monday. I don't need much...just things to go smoothly and little treats of free parking and no cooking on a Monday. I'm happy.

Olympics

I am an Olympics addict. And yes, I watched the opening ceremonies. ALL of it. I thought the ceremonies were stunning!!! Truly amazing what people can do.

However, after the ceremonies, I turned to my husband and said:

"Oh my god. How in the world is Canada going to compete with THAT?!!" And at BC Place?!! That venue doesn't hold up to the venue of the Bird's Nest!"

My husband admitted that they've put the bar pretty high. PLEASE...I do not want RCMP out doing a horse ride out there. I don't want some reference to salmon. I definitely don't want some maple syrup reference. Really. I don't know what they're going to do. But I don't know how we're going to make it good compared to last night's performance....

Am I pessimist? Yes, today I am.

Wedding

Well, I finally got pictures from my first lesbian wedding I attended. It was a ton of fun!! It was really neat as the ceremony took place in the middle of an art exhibition. The art was not for the faint of heart. But it was the Pride in Art art exhibition...so what better place for a lesbian wedding!

I actually brought my dad as I thought it would be good to "expand" his experiences. He had a neat time and probably took way more photos than the official photographer. I was just so happy for these two as they seem like the neatest couple. And for selfish reasons...I'm glad the wedding is over. The one bride that was getting married sits right next to me...and she has been in planning heaven. However, every 1/2 hour, I'd hear a screech and high pitched scream...."I'm getting married!!!!" Hey, that's awesome, but it's really ruining my groove! =)

The only crappy part is that I made one wrong turn to the centre and the cop thought it was a serious traffic violation. And now, I'm $121 poorer. BOO! Dude. Go get someone else that's doing something REALLY wrong. I thought I'd actually go to traffic court, but it's not worth my time. The funny thing is that the cop told me to go dispute the fine amount. Ok dude...whatever.

It's all good. The couple is happy and that's all that matters.

Baby

Before anybody thinks I'm pregnant, I'm not! But I'm definitely an Auntie. However, this Auntie is worried about her nephew. This baby was born much too early for my liking. In fact, he was born at 32 weeks, about 7.5 weeks too early. My poor sister in law just got up on the weekend and started to bleed and had blood clots. The first hospital was absolutely retarded and told them to have something to eat and call them back later. Thank goodness my brother in law was smart enough to realize that this wasn't right and went to a different hospital. Emergency c-section and the baby's cord was wrapped around his neck.

Long story short, I have no idea what the prognosis of the little guy is. He doesn't have a name yet, that's why I keep saying little guy. But he seems like a fighter. I saw him today and besides being small, everything seemed ok. He's breathing on his own and seems to be doing what normal babies do. I just hope there's no neurological damage.

And sometimes, you can not doubt that the universe/god/greater being (whatever you believe in) is watching over us. This weekend, the whole family and some other families were supposed to go camping up at Alice Lake. This included the brother and sister in law that just had this happen to them. Can you imagine what would have happened to them if were camping up there with no access to the hospital? Thank goodness for the rockslide that prevented us from going up there....