Happy New Year!

It really is hard to believe that 2011 will be in a couple of hours. 2010 has truly zipped by. Blink!

I'm not one to make resolutions because I can't keep them and I always feel terrible for not keeping them. So instead, it's time to start making some new goals for the future not just for the new year and a new bucket list. I've had a number of things crossed off my bucket list so time to add some new items. I'm quite excited about it because that means some possible new adventures!

Happy New Year to you and your loved ones!

Friendships

What I've always known about myself and my relationships is that I probably will never have a best "girlfriend." Sure, I'll say my husband is my best friend, but it's not the same as a best girlfriend. Am I sad about this? No, not really. And that's because I feel like I'm surrounded by a number of girlfriends that all play different roles in my life and support me in different ways. I have those that I disclose basically everything to but I don't do a lot of activities with. I have those that are plain old activity buddies. I have friends that I've been to school with. I have those that I share special occassions with and events with. Some friends come and go througout my life. Sometimes, my friends interchange their roles. You get what I'm saying. At the end of the day, I still don't have a best friend and that's ok.

Some of us are fortunate to have a best gal friend that meets all our needs. But I think that's totally rare. For those that are searching for the one all be all friend, perhaps it's time to think of "splitting up" that one role to a number of different friends.

On the flip side, sometimes people drift apart, or things don't work out, there are personality clashes or it's just not a healthy relationship. And as painful as it is to let a friend go, sometimes you just need to. I know that I've been the one to be let go of before. And though the initial moment it hurt like hell, I've always seen the positive behind that decision and learned from it. I've never hated those people for letting me go. In some ways, I guess I thank them for helping me learn certain things in life and about friendships.

So to all my current friends and to my friends of the past, thank you for all that you've taught me.

Post Christmas

Well, on Christmas day, our family went to my my in-law's place for brunch. So this year, no turkey dinner...though we had a fabulous one earlier in December (Miss K, your turkey was ultra fabulous that night!!!). But there really is something about tradition.

So I made the turkey today. LOL! Yes, a couple of days post Christmas. But it was cool. Now I have a ton of leftovers and a ton of turkey stock to make food with. Yummy. I guess it's the Christmas meal that keeps on giving. Yeah!

Cleaning

We do our cleaning around the house. Maybe we should do it more often. But sometimes all you want to do is veg. There is so much to do and so many places to be. I know I'm not as busy as some folks, but that's not the point. The point is, I clean when I can and sometimes I give myself a break because I need it.

But because I give myself a break here and there, there are certain types of cleaning that don't get done as regularly as they should be. For example, the ceiling fans. Recently, this was finally done. BLOBS of dust coming down. Gross and a lot of sneezing. I can't believe I've been breathing all that dust in. But it obviously hasn't killed me yet. Bonus I suppose.

Well, that chore won't have to be done for a while now. =)

Christmas Eve

It really is hard to believe that another year is about to end. But before it does, we get to celebrate Christmas. Now, I'm not a hardcore Christmas fan...never have been. But with kids, it's hard not to celebrate the occasion. And it's difficult to tone it down...especially if one of those kids happens to have a birthday on Christmas too.

This year on Christmas eve, me and the girls watched Christmas eve. They loved it and it's been years since I've seen it. Yeah, I hear you singing Ghostbusters. Cheesy as it was, it was great. And it had to do with positive energy and getting into the spirit of things! Granted it was New Year's...but who cares?! It was fun, we all enjoyed it and had a ton of good laughs.

The family is just taking it nice and slow this Christmas eve. Nice and relaxing before the big day. However you celebrate Christmas and the holidays, may it be joyful! Wishing you good health, love and happiness.

Self Esteem

My husband and I just watched She's Out of Your League. OMG. It's been a while since I've watched such a funny movie!! I was guffawing because it was so funny!!! But of course, my humour might not be like yours, so take my opinion with a grain of salt.

However, the movie brought up a real important point. Self esteem is everything. You don't have that, you really don't have much. Yeah, we all have our awkward moments and feelings that we are not worth much. But it's when you think you have no power, or are not worth much that you will continually get run over by people, to be taken advantage of and continually feel like crap about yourself. But by giving yourself no power, you allow others to treat you like that.

I know I still suffer from low self esteem moments. I think it's only human to do so. But as I grow older, I definitely see the need to maintain and grow my self confidence. I hope to continue to do so with the help of those that surround me and grow with my experiences.

Baking

I didn't think I'd bake "this" much this Christmas, but I have totally baked my little heart out. I don't know how many batches of Skor cookies I've made. I've lost track of the cranberry white chocolate ones. And a ton of coconut ones. Time to get me a cow so I can churn my own butter!

But Christmas day is upon us as is New Year's. I'm going to be using the oven to bake a Chewy Chocolate Cake with a Chocolate Ganache icing. (Miss K, at the next get together with Miss Y there, I'm so going to make this treat! It's chocolate heaven!!!) Seriously, I have never gone through so much butter in my life.

Though it gets extremely messy at times, it's something that I know people will enjoy. And it's a great activity to do with my girls...especially on those rainy days.

So, let's all get fat this season and be merry about it. =)

TLC

TLC as in the channel...yes, the Learning Channel. I like a number of those shows on there. I never thought I'd say it though, but I sat down and watched an episode of Sarah Palin's Alaska. I was intrigued because Kate Gosselin and her 8 kids was going to be on this episode. The whole idea was that Kate plus 8 was already in Alaska and Sarah wanted to meet them. As well, take her family and Kate's family to camp in the great outdoors.

Let me say this...I'm not a big fan of Sarah in the political arena. And I think I'd be somewhat scared if she really were to become president in 2012. But in Alaska, she's one rugged woman. She can take chop wood, fish, use guns (really well), build, you name it, she can do it...and she looks so pretty and strong at the same time. I was really impressed with her outdoor skills and I know she'd kick my butt out there.

Now, let me say this. Kate Gosselin camping in the wild is the whiniest and brattiest of the bunch. OMG. She whined at everything. She complained about everything. She cried about everything. Oh my goodness. Just shut it already.

Hate to say it...Sarah Palin 1, Kate Gosselin 0.

Vehicles

When you buy a vehicle, there are a number of costs that go with it. One of those costs is buying car insurance, but sadly, there's no deal for cheap car insurance. I don't go with certain insurances because I don't get a sense that they'll cover me for what I want in the event of an accident.

Yes, I get the discounts, etc....but it's not an amount that's chump change. But I can't imagine driving around the city, or down the street without the damn papers. Too many horror stories of people who thought they'd save a little money only to find that they pay way more later because they have gotten into an accident. Yeah, suck it up and pay it. I do.

Rituals

I am always amazed at how important rituals are for my kids. But that's what makes them feel safe in their world so I oblige. I don't know how these became rituals...but they are in my family.

My youngest refuses to go to sleep without her "animal blanky." But this blanket must have the animals with their feet facing downward toward her feet. Just refuses to even shut her eyes unless the animals are the right way. She likes it when I kiss her cheeks a certain way. And even when it comes to cleaning, she loves cleaning the sink a certain way.

As for my first kid, she loves drinking her milk in the morning with a stuffed animal/blanket by her side...but it has to be something with one of those "new material' tags as she holds it and rubs it while she's drinking her milk. She also likes two sets of hugs and kisses before bed time. And she really likes her blanket lying a certain way too.

I wonder how these rituals will look like when they get older. But I can totally deal with these rituals. Now the "not picking up after myself" ritual is not so fun.

Creams

There is so much marketing for all this cream and make up for women. But there hasn't been a huge niche for men's skin products. It's growing by leaps and bounds. However, it's nothing compared to women's products.

So the other day, I saw some newspaper ad that showed off wrinkle cream for men. Not something I've seen (or maybe they weren't that noticeable). But it's smart that companies are doing this now. Men are more interested in these types of products...so why not monopolize on it?

Though, I wonder...are these creams "really" different from women's?

Tables

My family seems to be getting bigger all the time. And I mean, the extended family. Anytime I have them over, we're at 2 different tables, it gets a little tight with my brother-in-law in the wheelchair, all the kids. It would be nice to have one of those modern extendable dining tables so we could fit more people at the one table.

But then I wonder if it would be too long so that people would have to shout at one another to hear someone at the other end of the table. Or would it be so hard for people to get to the food that's on a plate on the other side.

I can't have a round table in this house either. Logistics. You'd think this would totally put my groove on. But no...not this time around.

Printers

Most of the printers at my workplace are the hp printers. They seem to be the trusted brand by the employer. I would also like to ask the employer to also buy the HP ink/laser jet cartridges too please!!!

If you're going to spend money on such good printers, WHY in the world are you buying the no name stuff. OMG. I can't even begin to tell you the problems I had with the colour HP printer upstairs...because the employer got the no name brand refills. A job that should have taken 30 minutes took me 3 hours. Don't get me started!!!!

So, if you're going to spend the money on a name brand product, get the name brand stuff to refill it too. It'll save you a lot of grief.

Rings

If there was a cubic zirconia ring that I really liked, I would buy it for myself. Hey, no one has to know that it wasn't real. But I think I would be a little hesitant to say the same if I got any one of those cubic zirconia engagement rings,. They're pretty enough, but bottom line, they're not the real thing.

Hey, it's the shallow in me. But I do admit, if I got one, I don't know about it. And I love my ring dearly. And there really are some amazing rings made of this rock.

Now, if I'm ever stuck in a glass cage, I'll use my engagement ring to cut myself out. If the stone is a diamond, I'll get out just fine.

Questions

I took my youngest to McDonald's today. Yes, I realize it's not the healthiest item. But my kid needed to burn off some energy in the play area before our next stop. So McDonald's was the best bet.

As we sat there eating, I noticed that there was an adult and a kid sitting to my left and perpendicular to me. Might have been about 6 feet of space between us. The adult looked like she was helping the kid with some type of homework.

I continued to eat not caring about what they were studying. But then, the woman piped up and asked me a question. And this is how our conversation went:

"Excuse me, do you know what that religion is...you know, the one that you can have multiple wives?"

"Polygomy."

"Oh, that's right! Thanks so much!"

"Uh, that's an interesting homework assignment you both are working on."

She just laughed. Honestly, this kid was maybe 7 years old. WHY in the world are they talking about polygomy? And what school homework were they working on? The last I heard, polygomy was not a religion either.

I guess a lot of things have changed since my time at school.

Donuts

I'm not a candy cane person. They kind of gross me out. But the other day, my youngest was just the most patient and great kid. Honestly. She was patient for 6 hours straight. No complaining. No whining. Lots of questions...but I could deal with that. Dang. For a 4 year old kid, that's total awesomeness.

So I told her we could go to Tim Horton's and she could choose a donut. She ended up choosing a chocolate donut topped with crushed candy cane. Gross. Well, so I thought.

Yep, mom had to sneak in a bite. Pleasantly suprised!!! It wasn't gross at all! So yeah, I snuck in another bite. But I figured I paid the $1.01 for that damn thing, I can have a taste.

Oh, Timmy's. I hate your damn coffee (though the French Vanilla which is really hot chocolate is divine), but your donuts rock.

Assistance

I don't ask for help much. I like doing things myself and I don't like to bother people. But I'm smart enough to know when I do need help and will not be shy to ask for it.

And sometimes, people just offer help. But I hate to say it, sometimes their assistance just isn't that helpful. It's more about what they need when I need them most. And it just doesn't work. In fact, their "assistance" becomes way more work for me and gets me all cranky. And so, when I know this help won't be helpful, I put up boundaries and I say no.

I know that sounds cruel. Someone is trying to help me but I refuse. But really, when their help causes me more grief when I don't have the energy or time to deal with it, then it's best that they just leave me alone and give me quiet. Now that's helpful.

Phone Calls

In this day and age, communication is pretty instantaneous. From MSN, to Blackberry Messenger, to texting, to e-mail and Facebook.

But I must say, when you're waiting for some news, there is nothing like a phonecall. You can hear what is actually being said, and the tone, regardless of the message, says it all.

And today, I got a great phonecall. It was exactly the news I needed to hear. The tone was as positive as the message so I knew everything was going to be ok. And yes, it's going to be ok.

Another

Again, I was on Facebook (for a person that hated Facebook, I sure use it a lot), and saw an ad for some type of weight loss pill. I looked it up because I could. But I also wanted to see reviews on this stuff. Really, I don't have time to clean up the house, but I have time to look up ads. Priorities.

Anyway, I digress. I looked up apidexin reviews. It's hard to tell on the web who actually wrote the article or if it's true. I know I could whip up a web page with dozens of awesome reviews, but is it true? Are these reliable sources?

Well, I can say I looked at the ad...now back to other important things...ooo...like another ad!

Remedies

Breakout...yeah, acne wise again. Not always fun...but they seem to be in areas that are a little more concealed this time. It's been nice to not have zits on the end of of my nose and so stinking red that everybody can't help but stare.

So many different acne remedies out there. Not sure which one works better. But for me, it's really about destressing and hot compresses. I can do the hot compresses a lot easier than I can control the stress because it's just always there. Some things I just can't control.

So, here's to hot towels and hot water.