Sunday Night Chit Chat: Hockey Widow

Hey Humble Readers...

How's your weekend been?  Ours was nice... a trip to Little Town Down South to visit MIL, some shopping (I got new shoes!  Woohoo), and some quiet family time.  Lots of rain.  We did, however, get a chance to go to the park for a little while between showers. 

*****
My Beloved loves hockey and football (CFL).  I am not a fan of the NHL.  If I'm going to watch hockey it will be international or junior level.  Thankfully, he doesn't feel the need to watch every game every week.  It also helps that 'his' team (Calgary Flames) haven't been doing so well the last few years.  But now that we're down to the semi-finals, I'm officially a hockey widow.  Is it just me, or does it seem ridiculous that they're still playing hockey in June?  And then football starts in July.  *sigh*

*****
If you're driving through central Alberta anytime soon, you might want to avoid driving in the Shire.  This past winter was murder on our roadways, and with all the rain we've had recently the city crews haven't been able to get out to work on the potholes.  Our back lane is especially bad as we share it with a strip mall and the delivery trucks have torn the crap out of the alley (unpaved).  The entrance to our parking lot is marked by a pothole that is more than a foot deep. 

*****
I've been contacted by one of my bio-aunts, and she wants to come and see us.  I haven't responded yet.  I would like to see her, but every time I get in touch with someone from my bio-family all hell breaks loose.  The phone calls and harassment begins again from my bio-mom and bio-sister.  I just don't know if I'm ready to face that right now. 

*****
My Beloved and I are taking a mini-holiday on Labour Day weekend.  I know it's still a long way away, but I'm excited about it.  We aren't going far, just down the highway to Big City To The South, for the weekend.  MIL is coming here to stay with the wee-lings, and we managed to get a great deal on a nice hotel room for the weekend.  It will be our first overnight trip (together) away from the wee-lings.  I love my children, and I'm I excited to have a chance to get away from them for a while. 

*****
On to tonight's chit chat.  Here's what I'm...

Reading... The Winter Palace by Eva Stachniak.  This book is really good.  I know next to nothing about Russian history, so this is a learning experience for me too.  All about an orphan girl, a ward of the crown, who is trained to be a spy in the court of Catherine the Great.  Very reminiscent of Philippa Gregory's Tudor series.  I'm loving it.  Next in the queue is The Art of Racing In The Rain by Garth Stein.

Watching... not really watching anything.  My Beloved is surfing back and forth between the hockey game and Mythbusters.

Listening To... while I'm not listening to anything other than the tv right now, I have recently found a very old favourite and I've been listening to him on my walks in the morning.  Chris De Burgh... the guy who sang Lady In Red.  He's got a ton of great 'story songs' like The Traveller, Spanish Train, and Patricia the Stripper.  Very nostalgic for me.

Happy I accomplished this week... I joined www.fatsecret.com ages ago, but this week I founded a challenge.  A 30 Day Squat Challenge.  I found the layout of the challenge on Pinterest, and there are now 115 people signed up to squat along with me this month.  It's killer on the legs of course, but it's actually fun too.

Looking forward to next week...  Crafting with the girls on Thursday.  Working on some Christmas gifts.  I already have my mom's and my MIL's Christmas gifts done (except for the frames). 

Thankful for this week... The sun, when it shines. 

***Bonus Question*** If you could only eat ONE FOOD for the rest of your life, what would it be?  Would you believe me if I said roasted broccoli?  I love that stuff!  I could eat it all day long. 

*****
This was posted as a part of Carla's Sunday Night Chit Chat.  Click over to see what the others are chatting about tonight, and join in on the fun!

Hobbit-ish Potpurri: Sunday Night Random Ramblings

Greetings Humble Readers...

It is an absolutely beautiful Sunday evening here on the flatland.  Sunny, warm, a slight breeze, and peaceful (at least it is now... more on that later).  Seriously... I'm thrilled with how gorgeous it is outside right now.  It feels much more like June than April.  It's days like this that get me through the frustration of spring set backs (ie - snow in April).

*****
Today I went on what will probably be my last solo non-medical outing until this Halfling makes his or her appearance.  I had some shopping to do (a few random things from a discount store and some summer clothes for Ginny) and I needed some conversation other than my Beloved and my wee sweet girl.  Shopping went well, except that I bought two shirts that I thought were t-shirts and they turned out to be long-sleeved.  I even splurged and bought myself a non-fat, sugar-free chocolate and cherry frozen yoghurt.  Then I went over to my old bookstore and visited a few people and looked for a baby book for the Halfling.  It was a nice outing, but by the end I was pretty worn out. 

*****
While I was out, my wonderful Beloved was at home finishing the spring cleaning.  There are a few little things that need to be finished, but I am thrilled to be able to say that it's FINALLY done for another year.  I'm so relieved to have that off my mind. 

*****
There was a fair bit of excitement in the vicinity of our hobbit hole this afternoon.  I've told you about our neighbours (directly next door to our condo... we have to walk past their front door to get down to the sidewalk) before.  I have had to call the RCMP on them a few times when the shouting and screaming has gotten to a scary level.  Just before Christmas, the guy was taken away in handcuffs.  We didn't see him for a couple of months, but then he was back.  They have actually been fairly quiet over there until recently, when they fired back up.  As I was leaving this afternoon, I heard them arguing.  While I was gone, things got really bad. 

When I got home, the parents of the girl who lives next door were here, and her brother was carrying her out to the car.  The guy was standing on the stairs screaming at her and her family.  Apparently, the cops had just left, after giving buddy-boy a time frame in which to be out of the house.  I waited until he went out to the parking lot before I decided to try to enter my house.  Things were quiet for a while, and then buddy-boy was back, banging on the door and shouting that if someone didn't let him in, he was going to bust the door down.  Thankfully the cops returned right in the middle of this (doing a follow up) and they escorted him off the property.  I sincerely hope this is the last we see of him.  I despise feeling like it's unsafe for me to go in or out of my own house.

*****
Other than prepping for the Halfling's arrival, our lives have begun to center around one thing.  The hockey playoffs.  My Beloved's favourite team has long been out of the running, but there are still two Canadian teams with a bit of a shot, and so hockey rules around here.  I know many much more knowledgeable commentators have said it, but of all the hockey I have watched in my life (and remember, I AM CANADIAN), I have never seen such violence in the game.  It makes me sad.  I hope that the powers that be are able to bring it back in line. 

*****
That's about it from the hobbit-hole.  What was happening around your part of the world today?

Hobbit-ish Potpurri: 300th Post & Randomness

Good Morning Humble Readers...

It's still pretty early here, but it is a beautiful day.  We had a kick ass thunderstorm last night just after I got home from work, with lots of thunder and lightning.  While I enjoyed it, I know it wasn't a good thing for those living a few hours south of us.  The south eastern corner of our province is under a state of emergency because of severe flooding.  Praying that they get some relief soon.

*****
I can't believe that I have babbled on and on here enough to have 300 posts.  It's been an interesting journey to get here.  I started this blog long before I knew about the ALI community, when I innocently wanted to keep a journal of my first pregnancy.  Through two losses, and the long road to get where we are now, this has been my safe place, and I appreciate all your support so much. 

*****
I have a love hate relationship with televised sports.  My Beloved is a true Canadian, being a hockey and Canadian football freak.  I enjoy hockey (I prefer to watch live rather than on tv)... I really do, but does the season have to last all year?  Really, the only month that doesn't have any hockey in it is August.  I know that the Stanley Cup playoffs are over, but with the awards ceremonies and the draft... it just needs to end.

*****
Serious moment:  While I'm getting more and more used to the idea that this pregnancy is the real deal and that in just a few months we could be bringing home a little one of our own, I still have lots of those moments where it just seems like it could all go to hell at any second.  Specifically, every time I get to/have to share our news with someone, I wonder if they are going to be the last person I get to tell before it all goes wrong.  With people who have known from the beginning, I can talk about the baby all I want and I can be happy and even a little giddy.  But when I run into someone who hasn't heard, I get nervous.  I never claimed to be rational.

*****
My Beloved got to pick up our new car yesterday.  When he picked me up from work last night it was so odd.  It's far too nice a car to be ours.  The dealership had it detailed and it looks amazing.  I almost felt bad when we had to park it in our dusty little gravel parking lot behind our building.  I can almost imagine bringing our baby home in it.  Almost.

Hobbit-ish Potpurri: In The News

Good Morning Humble Readers...

It's not even 7am here, and I've already had an odd day. 

First, I read a news story that made me cry.  Corey Haim was one of my junior high celebrity crushes.  Well, him and Corey Feldman.  I saw all the movies they were in together, but I particularly remember renting 'Lost Boys' every weekend for a month.  I honestly hadn't thought about him in years, until the two Coreys did that reality show a couple of years ago.  It made me sad to see where his life had led, and the leading role that drugs now played in his life.  I didn't watch much of the reality show, because I don't like those shows that capitalize on peoples' struggles and pain like that.  So this morning when I saw his name at the top of the Yah.oo search list, I honestly thought that he had landed back in rehab or something.  Instead, I read this.  I hope that he has found the peace that he couldn't find in this life. 

*******
Next, I read a news story that made me laugh.  My Beloved actually told me a bit about this last night.  It really just goes to show that you CANNOT come between a Canadian and their hockey!  I can't help but be a tad proud of the people on that flight... their priorities were certainly in the right place!  I have to wonder if that would have happened south of the border. 

*******
And while this is not newsworthy by any means... I am a little confused by my cycle.  First off, I O'd earlier than I have for the last few cycles... Yay!  Second... my ov.watch says that I O'd on CD 15, but my bbt and cm say I O'd on CD 14.  Either way, we're covered, but still... confusing.