Hobbit-ish Potpurri: Some Whining & A Jinx (?)

Hey Humble Readers...

I hope you're all having a nice evening. 

I'm procrastinating on cleaning my house, so I'm having a great night.  :)  My current thought process:  My MIL will be here Friday, and my parents will be here Sunday.  If I put off cleaning the house for another couple of days, then it should still be clean and relatively dust free when my parents get here.  A girl can dream

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Today is CD2 and AF is kicking my ass.  Cramps and backache like crazy.  I feel like I'm 15 again, and not it a good way.  The only thing that's missing is the vomiting.  *sigh*  I know that pregnancy and giving birth can mess with my cycle, but the fact that I now spot for two days before the witch actually shows up is aggravating.  And considering my luteal phase issues in the past, this isn't a great way to get things going again.  Ugh.  Hopefully things will continue to adjust and maybe get back to the normal I know. 

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One thing about being a plus sized lady that I strongly dislike is that I can't find hats that fit my big fat head and manage to look good.  As a result, when I spend a few hours outdoors at an event like the Taste of Cal.gary, I end up with a sunburned scalp.  Which ends up looking like I have terminal dandruff.  Nasty.  And oh, so attractive. 

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My Beloved (for all his life) and I (for the last 4+ years) are die-hard Saskatchewan Rough Riders fans.  And for the last few years, the Roughies have been doing really well, ending up in the Grey Cup 3 times since we've been married.  They won in 2007, then lost due to a stupid mistake on the field in 2009.  The Grey Cup game in 2010 was their chance for redemption.  They were playing against the Montreal Allouettes again and this time we were sure we were going to win.  The Grey Cup game was on Nov 28, and as you can imagine, it was a bit challenging to watch seeing as our wee sweet girl made her appearance just the night before. 

We did manage to watch the last half of the game (once they hooked up the tv in my hospital room), but sadly the Roughies lost, badly.   Over the winter we joked about getting Ginny a little Riders cheerleader outfit (yes they make them in her size), but we never actually got around to it.  The season started last month, and, to put it mildly, the Roughies just suck.  They have lost all but one game.  Of course, we haven't actually seen this, because when we cut our cable services back, we lost the sports channel that airs all the CFL games.

So here's my question.  Is Ginny a jinx on our poor football team?  Or is it just that they're losing because their #1 fans haven't been watching?  Do we need to get that cheer leading outfit ASAP?

We may have to head down to Gramma's to catch a game sometime soon, just to see what happens. 

(And yes, that whole last section is ENTIRELY tongue-in-cheek)

Hobbit-ish Potpurri: A Bit of This & That

Greetings Humble Readers!

Thank you so much for your compliments on the nursery.  I'm really happy with how everything came out.  I like to go in and just stand in the room and daydream.

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Today has been a day of extremes.  Extreme laziness, in that we decided to stay snuggled up in bed rather than go to church this morning.  We woke up to more snow, and it just felt like a good day to stay under the covers.  It has also been extremely productive.  This afternoon I baked 21 dozen pfefferneusse.  I did something I have never done before, and altered my recipe a little (used some whole wheat flour, and used splen.da in place of sugar).  They turned out well, which made me happy. 

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Today has also been productive in that I had my Beloved pull out the Christmas decorations.  We are going to get the tree set up tonight after dinner, and I'm going to work on decorating the house over the next couple of days.  I know it's early, but I figure with a newborn in the house, I'm not going to be all that into decorating in a week or so. 

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Bad news of the automotive variety.  We discovered that our lovely Tilly (the Prius) does not have a block heater.  Now, I know that many of you who don't live north of the 49th parallel haven't a clue what I'm talking about, but a block heater is essential (basically you plug the heater in and it keeps the oil from freezing) in this cold climate.  Of course we didn't think to ask about it when we bought the car in July, because really, WHO THE H-E-DOUBLE-HOCKEY-STICKS SELLS A CAR IN CANADA WITHOUT A BLOCK HEATER?!?!?!?  The car is three, almost four years old, where has it been up until now?  The bottom line is we are going to have to play roulette with the cold weather or shell out $250 to have one installed.  And the likelihood of being able to get one installed this week... slim to none.  So, we are seriously hoping that the weatherman is wrong and that we won't hit -30 in the next couple of days.  Argh!

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Today was the Western Conference Final in the CFL.  The Saskatchewan Roughriders were playing the Calgary Stampeders, in Calgary, at McMahon Stadium... an outdoor stadium.  It's snowing.  It's -18, but feels like -29 with the wind.  You can certainly tell that the cold was getting to the players.  The lead bounced back and forth, and it stayed really close the whole way through, but the game just ended at 20-16 for the Riders!  The whole game hinged on two plays.  Incredible game!  It looks like we will have a rematch of last year's Grey Cup between Saskatchewan and Montreal.  Woohoo!  Next Sunday... Grey Cup... in Edmonton.  Let's see how Montreal handles the cold...

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Tomorrow's to do's... chiropractor appointment, make shortbread, make meatballs, clean the kitchen and bathroom, work on decorating the house for Christmas, watch a couple HP movies in prep for seeing HP7.   If I get it all done, I'll be VERY surprised.

Hobbit-ish Potpurri: End of My "Long" Weekend

Good Evening Humble Readers...

Dinner is in the oven, and I am at the end of my pseudo long weekend, and I am at peace. Of course, I am disappointed that this wasn't the cycle, but I'm ok with it. If it happens for us this next cycle, then I might get an extra special birthday present.

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I hope that you will all stop by tomorrow... I'm launching a new project, and tomorrow is the start of the trial run. I'm looking for guinea pigs to help me make sure that all is working correctly.

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I'm in the mood to bake. That's probably just the pre-AF need for chocolate speaking. Maybe it's time to try some new Christmas cookie recipes.

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Our hobbit hole is all decorated for Christmas... I did it yesterday whilst my Beloved watched the Grey Cup. I'm happy with how the living room looks, but the kitchen needs something. Not sure what yet. Is it just me, or is decorating for Christmas almost as fun as opening presents on Christmas morning. I love taking all my decorations out of their boxes and tissue wrappings. It's like greeting old friends. The only slight blight on our Christmas decor is the tree itself. We bought it two years ago, when we were habitually broke and living in a teeny tiny apartment. It's quiet possibly the ugliest artificial tree I have ever seen. It drops more needles than a real tree. We have agreed that at the end of the season, this tree will be retired and we will get a new one next year (or during the Boxing Week sales).

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And speaking of the Grey Cup... the Roughies lost. Oh how they lost! It was heartbreaking, and there is someone on that Roughrider team that's kicking his own ass, let me tell you. Fourth quarter, 5 seconds left in the game, the Roughies were in the lead 27-25, the Alouettes had posession and were going to try for the 3 point field goal. The thing is, their kicker had been sucking wind all afternoon. It was going to be close. My Beloved never looked more tense... The ball snapped, the kicker does his thing, and it goes totally wide. Complete miss. BUT.... someone on the Roughrider bench gets overexcited and runs out onto the field in celebration, before the whistle. Penalty flags fly. The official call was 'illegal substitution'. Ten yard penalty, and Montreal got to kick again. Of course, this time the ball went through the uprights, the Alouettes win, and the Roughies go home with their heads hung down in shame.

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I made it through NaBloPoMo! I actually did 32 posts in 30 days! Woohoo! Check out my groovy badge in the column to the right. Didn't do so well for Iron Commenter tho... I got through about 110 blogs before I ran out of steam.

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Totally random observation of the day... This hobbit is fearfully nearsighted, and one of my favourite things to do at Chistmas is to take my glasses off while looking at the Christmas tree. The lights look beautiful!

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Winter has officially arrived on the flatland. It was snowing and blowing so much today that I couldn't see across the street.

Hobbit-ish Potpurri: Small Things for Small Minds

Good Morning Humble Readers...

Just a few random thoughts and ramblings for you today. I'm also looking for a few opinions.

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I always love seeing different peoples' reactions when they first walk in my home. My mother would call it Ukrainian (like an Easter egg), I call it colourful. My boss and his wife just stopped by to drop off the freezer we are buying from them (yay, a freezer!). The look on their faces was awesome as they took in my school-bus-yellow living room with the cranberry red couch and the and dark dark brown tables and book cases. Add to that the sage green kitchen walls and white cabinets... well, I know it's not everyone's taste. (and at least they didn't see the crimson bedroom!)

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It's my Beloved's office Christmas party this evening. It's being held at a pub so jeans should be okay, right? If I wear something sparkly on top?

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Cycle Update: The way I figure it, I'm 9dpo. The extra ewcm combined with the recent cold snap that started this week that has messed with my temps just after O caused some confusion for Fertility Friend, so according to them I'm only 7dpo. Phantom symptoms are in high gear... incredibly sore b00bs, nausea, bionic nose is up and functioning, fatigue (although that is more than partially contributed to by a couple of very bad IBS flares the last couple of nights). Because of my lack of sleep, I'm not really trusting the jump my temps made this morning, but we'll see. I'm expecting AF on Sunday... the day we are supposed to go to my MIL's house for a Grey Cup party.

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The Grey Cup... the Canadian Football League's equivalent of Super Bowl Sunday. My Beloved's family are lifelong serious Saskatchewan Rough Riders fans. The Roughies are playing Montreal, a team they haven't beaten in the regular season for 3 or 4 years. For the party, should I do wings or ribs?

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I bought two new cookbooks yesterday that I'm very excited about. One is for artisan breads. the other is for slow cookers... Yay for new recipes!

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Speaking of recipes, I'm pondering setting up some sort of Bloggy Holiday recipe exchange. I'm thinking if I set it up like Show & Tell, Shout Out Sundays, or Perfect Moment Mondays, with a McLinky thing. Do you think it will work?

Weekend Randomness

Good evening humble readers! I hope that you are all having an excellent weekend! It's been a bit of a week, so let me get you all up to date...

My current battle with insomnia came to a head on Friday. After almost a whole week of getting only 4 hours of sleep a night (yes, I am one of those pathetic souls that NEEDS 8 hours a night) I was exhausted. Thursday night, by 8:30 I was falling asleep at the computer, so I went to bed, fell asleep... and was woken up an hour and a half later by an IBS flare. Grrrrrr! It took about an hour to get past it, but by then I was wide awake and it was too late to take anything to help me sleep. I didn't get back to sleep until after 4am, and the alarm went off at 5:30 (I had an early shift on Friday). I dragged my a$$ to work, and only made it for 3.5 hours before my eyes were starting to cross and I felt like I would burst into tears if I wasn't able to sleep. I came home and in 24 hours, I slept 15. I woke up feeling human this morning so thankfully I think I've won this round.
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Due to my lack of sleep, I have had a lack of creativity, and so there have been no posts since Show and Tell. I have been working on my July Reading list, and it should be posted tomorrow sometime. I read some great stuff this month and I want to share it with you all!
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Also due to my extreme fatigue this week, I haven't done much cooking. So, to make things up to my Beloved, tonight I made Sliders and Not-So-Greek-Salad. Both turned out awesome, and they went great with watching football (Go Roughriders!). Of course, I'm now wearing some of each because I was paying more attention to the game than to my food. *sigh*
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One of my collegues gave notice this week. She's leaving for a good reason and I'm happy for her, but man did she pick a lousy time to give notice. She told our boss the day before he left for vacation, and she only gave two weeks notice. I know it's not required, but generally when you are in management its considered bad form to give less than a month's notice.
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I got to bust a store today for selling an embargoed title before its strict-on-sale date. For those not in the book industry, let me explain. Like movies, some books have very strict release dates. Usually it's big titles, like Ha.rry Po.tter or the new Dan Brown book that's coming out in September. If a store is caught selling them before the street date, they can be fined, lose the privilege of getting release day shipments, and possibly even lose rights to carry product from that publisher all together. (Seriously, if I had let the last HP book out before release day, I could have lost my job.) The paperback edition of Ec.lipse by Steph.enie Me.yer is due out this coming Tuesday, and we had customers telling us that a couple of local grocery stores were selling it today. I had my Beloved do some espionage, and he purchased a copy there and a got a receipt dated today. I forwarded the info onto my head office, and that particular grocery chain is going to get in some pretty big kaka.
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We had a big boomer roll through our area tonight. Rain, wind, hail, thunder, lightning... it was a kick a$$ storm! My poor Beloved was stuck over at the little grocery store across the alley because I sent him to pick up some fresh buns for dinner. He ended up being there for quite a while waiting for it to let up.
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It's official, my basil plants have died. The rosemary and parsley are still doing well though.
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I bought a new cookbook today. A Her.shey chocolate cookbook! Let's just say, the pictures look incredible... good enough to eat. I can't wait for it to cool off a bit so that I can try my hand at some of them.

I think that's about it. The Roughriders are winning... YAY!

Friday Night Lite

Good evening Humble Readers!

Due to the fact that I am beat beyond compare (first day back at work after my stay-cation and it was smokin' busy), I am not going to post the long thought-provoking post I had intended.

First and foremost... I was very impressed with your attempts at translating my confusing Canadianism. ('Hey, pass me a serviette... I just spilled my poutine on the chesterfield and I don't want to use my toque to clean it up') While no one got it all correct, Alana was closest. The actual trasnslation is... 'Hey, pass me a napkin... I just spilled my french-fries-with-gravy-and-cheese on the sofa and I don't want to use my winter-knit-stocking-cap to clean it up.'

Now before you start freaking out about the fries-with-gravy-and-cheese... yes, it is a heart attack on a plate, but it's DARN good! No, you can't use cheese sauce or fake cheese of any sort... it has to be real cheese, preferably cheese curd. And while it is french-Canadian in origin, the best poutine I've ever had has come from Chinese restaurants. And if you don't think you'd like it, that's just fine... all the more for me!

I think that's all I've got in me tonight, folks. I'm watching football with my beloved and I swear the ball their using is covered with olive oil, both teams are fumbling that much. I would love to be a fly on the wall in the BC Li.ons' locker room at the half... their coach's head is going to explode! Go Roughri.ders!

I hope all of my friends south of the 49th parallel have a fun and safe Independance Day!