Just For A Chuckle

Hey Humble Readers...

Something to make you all laugh, and probably shake your head...

Crazy, right?  Make sure to click on the pic to read all the insane details.  (ok, so it didn't come out that clear...)  This is what it says, "Not soon enough.  Labratory tests over the last few years have proven that babies who start drinking soda during that early formative period have a much higher chance of gaining acceptance and 'fitting in' during those awkward pre-teen and teen years.  So do yourself a favor.  Do your child a favor.  Start them on a strict regimen of soda and other sugary carbonated beverages right now, for a lifetime of guaranteed happiness."

And just for the record... I'm planning on Ginny not having soda until she's twelve.  (A mother can dream, right?)

Kinda Freaky Realization

Humble Readers, something hit me last night...

Those of you who have been walking this road with me for a while may recall the baby dream that I had just before we lost our second angel-baby, Olivia Noelle.  For those who are newer co-journey-ers with me, the basics are:

I dreamed that we were at the little grocery store across the back lane from our building, introducing our newborn little girl to all the cashier ladies.  Somehow during the dream we managed to 'misplace' or lose our new little girl.  I was frantic.  I was racing all over the store, looking for her everywhere, but I just couldn't find her.  In the dream, I was heartbroken, sobbing and bawling over our misplaced baby.  But then my Beloved walked up to me, carrying a baby, but it was a different baby.  He said to me, 'I know we lost our little girl, but here's another that can be ours'.  The little girl was dark haired, with a little round face, and beautiful blue eyes. 

Now, I'm not one to put a whole lot of stock in dreams.  I mean, they are what they are.  I honestly just thought it was my mind's way of dealing with the fears I had of having a second miscarraige.  And, after the miscarraige happened, in my heart I kind of clung to that dream as a hope that maybe there would be a baby in our lives some day. 

Fastforward just over two years...

A beautiful little dark haired little girl with a round face and stunning blue eyes. 

(For the record, I really didn't think that any child that came from my body would have dark hair, much less have hair of any sort, as all babies in my family are either blonde or bald.  I totally forgot to take my Beloved's family into account.)

Kinda freaky...

Oddities

Hey Humble Readers! 

I should probably save this for my weekly update, but in the spirit of the up and down nature of my day I wanted to mention a couple of things.

First up, I think I have had my first Braxton Hicks contractions.  It actually woke me up from a nap.  My stomach went really rigid and then relaxed.  It repeated a few times, and then afterward I had what felt like a stitch in my side for a couple of hours.  The Halfling was really active through all of it.  Totally crazy!

Second... it appears that my Beloved is dealing with some pregnancy sympathy pains.  He's had a lot of charlie horse types of cramps in his legs.  I know that some men get the nausea or the weight gain.  But I have to admit this is kind of funny.  Not that him being in pain is funny, but really, with everything that I've had to deal with in the last few months, it does make me smile just a little to know that I'm not in this alone. 

Picture Tag

Good Morning Humble Readers...

I have been tagged!  By the wonderful Mrs. Dreamer at The Dreamer and the Realist!  The world cannot go on until I tag others!

So here's the deal...

1) Go to your photo files, select the 8th photo folder.

2) Select the 8th photo in that folder.
3) Post that photo along with the story behind it.
4) Then challenge 8 blogging friends to do the same!

Now the eighth picture in my eighth folder is one that you all have already seen.  It was a picture of the beautiful evil pot that crushed my toe a few months back. (btw, my toe still bears the marks of that pot, and it aches from time to time.  Cast iron and human flesh should never come in contact.  Full Stop.)

So, instead I played a little picture roulette.  Just spun my little mouse around until I landed on something... and it ended up being this.

So, obviously this is a shot from Christmas time.  It's a close up on one of my 12 nativity sets.  Yes, I said twelve.  This is my cutesy little snowman nativity set.  Pretty darn adorable if you ask me. 

I got started collecting nativity sets several years ago when I was working for a Christian bookstore.  I ended up being the gift product buyer for the store, so I was always able to bring in different and interesting sets to add to my collection. 

My favourite set is my Jim Shore set.  (You've probably seen some of his work in your local Hal.lmar.k store)  It always gets set up under the tree.  I still need to get the completer set for it... the little drummer boy, the palm tree and the camel.  Too bad I don't have a pic of it, huh?  Maybe next year.

Now, because I'm a little short on time today, I'm going to just toss this one out to all my bloggy friends.  Check out your picture files... you know you've got stuff you haven't shared! 

Hobbit-ish Potpurri

Good evening Humble Readers! I am overwhelmed by the number of visitors my little corner of the internet has attracted over the last couple of days! I love ICLW! Unfortunately, I have nothing big to talk about tonight... just a few things to mention.
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We went and saw Harry Potter 6 tonight. It was good, funnier than I would have expected knowing the book. But I was saddened by how much was left out, and how much they added to the story that was just not necessary. Of course I cried towards the end. I'm going to have to reread book 7 now.
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One for the insanity file: I baked cookies last night. Now, you may be asking what is so insane about baking cookies? Well, the insanity comes in when you decide to promise your staff homemade cookies if they achieved a particular level of donations to our chain's in house charity. They did it (yay team!) and I was on the hook for cookies... homebaked cookies... in July... during the hottest week of the year... in a non-airconditioned condo. I made flourless peanut butter chocolate chip cookies (for the gluten free staffers) and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (for the staffers with nut allergies). And sweated buckets in the process.
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I'm working all opening shifts for the rest of the week... 7am... not fun! I am not a morning person, and having to get up at 5:30 just sucks. I was so grouchy at work this morning I almost ripped both my least and most favourite staff members a new one... And I'm known as the 'nice' manager. *sigh*
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My Beloved's 20th high school reunion is this weekend. 20 years! Holy cow! I need to get a hair cut and colour sometime in the next couple of days.
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To add to my crankiness from having to be up at the butt-crack of dawn this morning, I wanted to order chinese food tonight. I called our usual place... and they were CLOSED! In the middle of the summer! They are closed for vacation. Whoever heard of a restaurant closing for two weeks for vacation? We ended up having KF.C instead, and now my fingers are puffed up like sausages.
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Heat lightning is flashing across the sky tonight. It's been crazy hot for the last couple of days, and it's supposed to last through the weekend. This hot weather has brought out the ridiculous in terms of my customers' wardrobes. If you are going to wear a tube top of any sort... please get yourself a strapless bra! The only thing more disturbing than seeing a woman my size walking around without a bra is seeing one wearing a tube top, with a sports bra on underneath! And gents... if you are wearing white shorts, please don't wear black briefs underneath.
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Ok... it's past 11 now and 5:30 is going to come far too soon. This hobbit needs to get some sleep. Pleasant dreams all, blessings on you!

100th Post... and an Epiphany (of sorts)

Good evening Humble Readers... I can't believe that this is my 100th post! Who knew I had this much to natter on about? Break out the champagne and throw the confetti!

And now back to our regularly scheduled TMI...

So I hesitate in sharing the epiphany I had yesterday, for two reasons. One, I'm embarassed to say that I hadn't thought of asking my OB about this previously. And two, it's about my monthly AF experience.

SO IF YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW ABOUT MY PLUMBING... WE CAN CHAT TOMORROW!

Ok, here's the deal. All my adult life my period has had the same pattern (even for the year or so that I was on bcps). Four or five days.
CD1 - light flow, moderate to nasty cramps
CD2- medium flow, light cramps
CD3 - heavy flow, minimal cramps
CD4 - spotting or no flow for about 12 hours
CD5 - light/moderate flow, light to moderate cramps

The thing that has me wondering is that CD4 thing... where it slows and practically stops. It's normal for me, so I've never thought to mention it to my OB. There has even been once or twice where AF has actually faked me out and I was caught unawares when she made her last hurrah.

So, my question is... is this something that could be significant? It can't have anthing to do with the condition of my eggs, can it? I can't believe that I have never thought to ask about it.

Any thoughts or input?

Restoring My Faith in the Human Race

Have I got a story for you all, humble readers!

Last night I was working the late shift, like I do most Mondays. It was quiet in the store as our Star.bucks is currently closed for renos (guess who's jones-ing for a green tea lemonade?!?). I was near the front of the store when a young man, apparently in his early twenties, came into the store.

He walked directly to me and asked if I was the manager. I answered yes, and asked how I could help him. He handed me an envelope and said, 'this is for you', then he turned and walked back out to his truck.

I opened the envelope and there was a small note along with $25 cash. The note read something to this effect:

Dear Owner, Some time ago,
when I was a teenager and had
no sense or wisdom,
I stole a book from your store.
Unfortunately I no longer have
the book, so please accept
this $25 as recompense.
Sincerely, Annonymous

I was stunned! Floored! Flabbergasted! Speechless!

I confess that I am a jaded retail employee and I honestly thought I had seen it all! Never, in almost 10 years of retail work have I had an adult own up to stealing (unless caught red-handed), let alone offer to pay for what was taken. I have had parents bring children in for that painful life lesson about not taking what isn't yours... Timmy, what do you say to the lady? Tell her what you did...

On the practical side, because our tills are not programmed to accept random amounts of money without having a corresponding item that is sold out of our system, I was unable to use the money as the young man intended. (Not to mention that there was no indication of what item he stole, or how long ago it was, and it was probably already written off as loss.) Instead, I made a $25 donation to our children's literacy fund.

I have no context in which to frame the events of last evening. Except to say, thank the good Lord that there are still people out there who have the strength to own up to their mistakes and be accountable for them.

The Craziest Thing I have seen on the Net Yet!

So I came across this in a round about way. I was looking through the stuffed animals on my store's website, looking for any new elephant stuffies... yes, it's an addiction, but I digress.

In my search I came across the strangest stuffie I have ever seen. Check out this company: Giant Microbes. Yes, kids that's correct! Stuffies of bacteria, viruses, and other ookiness. HIV, Hepatitis, Black Death, Ebola, Gangrene, and West Nile are all represented along with the common cold, the Flu, and Herpes. Germs and illnesses, from the common to the deadly. I was honestly never so repulsed and at the same time fascinated!

Oh, and for all my friends in the world of IF... check out the Egg & Sperm stuffies!

So strange!

65 Random Questions

So I came across this while doing my ICLW comments... (Check out This Could Be Anyone's Story to see some other great answers!) I love sharing the random stuff!

65 Questions You've Probably Never Been Asked Before.

1. First thing you wash in the shower? My hair... always

2. What colour is your favourite hoodie? Navy (and really I shouldn't be allowed to wear it in public, it's that ratty)

3. Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? Abso-smurfly!

4. Do you plan outfits? It depends on how long ago we did laundry

5. How are you feeling RIGHT now? Pooped!

6. Whats the closest thing to you that's red? my phone

7. Tell me about the last dream you remember having? funny... I can't remember anything recent... but I can tell you about a nightmare I had when I was three if you like.

8. Did you meet anybody new today? do customers count?

9. What are you craving right now? Chicken curry

10. Do you floss? Not enough

11. What comes to mind when I say cabbage? Cabbage Rolls

12. Are you emotional? Ummm ... heck yeah! Can we say PMS?

13. Have you ever counted to 1,000? I don't think so

14. Do you bite into your ice cream or just lick it? I do both

15. Do you like your hair? not particularly... it's time for a trim and a colour again

16. Do you like yourself? Personality: 8.5 or 9, Looks: -37.2

17. Would you go out to eat with George W. Bush? Yes, I'd like to hear him try to explain himself.

18.What are you listening to right now? New Kids on the Block

19. Are your parents strict? bio parents weren't, foster parents were

20. Would you go sky diving? Not on your life!

21. Do you like cottage cheese? mmmmm cottage cheese!

22. Have you ever met a celebrity? I met Rick Mercer last year (Canadians will know who he is)

23. Do you rent movies often? not in the traditional way, we VOD them.

24. Is there anything sparkly in the room you're in? My very pretty wedding rings

25. How many countries have you visited? 8

26. Have you made a prank phone call? of course

27. Ever been on a train? Yes.

28. Brown or white eggs? doesn't matter, I'm not a big egg person

29.Do you have a cell-phone? yup... moved into the 21st century last fall

30. Do you use chap stick? Hello, my name is Mrs. Gamgee and I'm a chapstick addict.

31. Do you own a gun? Not a chance.

32. Can you use chop sticks? Yup!

33. Who are you going to be with tonight? my beloved

34. Are you too forgiving? No, you can never be too forgiving.

35. Ever been in love? Abso-smurfly!

36. What is your best friend(s) doing tomorrow? going to church

37. Ever have cream puffs? uh-huh

38. Last time you cried? Does getting teary over a fellow blogger's post count? if so, then today, if not, then yesterday.

39. What was the last question you asked? What's the score? (Calgary lost, poor schmucks)

40. Favourite time of the year? Autumn

41. Do you have any tattoos? nope

42. Are you sarcastic? who me? never!

43. Have you ever seen The Butterfly Effect? nope

44. Ever walked into a wall? Have I told you about my laundry mishap? lets just say that my head was introduced to the doorframe in a very big way!

45. Favourite colour? Red

46. Have you ever slapped someone? Yeah... not proud of it

47. Is your hair curly? only in my dreams, or with LOTS of professional intervention

48. What was the last CD you bought? I think it was a Bing Crosby Christmas album

49. Do looks matter? not for me

50. Could you ever forgive a cheater? Forgive yes... trust again no

51. Is your phone bill sky high? No, I've got a good plan

52. Do you like your life right now? I like my job, love my husband, we own our home, all that's missing is the pitter patter

53. Do you sleep with the TV on? Can I? Yes, Do I like to? No

54. Can you handle the truth? Yes, when it is shared in a caring way :)

55. Do you have good vision? Nope... glasses for almost 30 years!

56. Do you hate or dislike more than 3 people? yes

57. How often do you talk on the phone? at work... all the time, at home... hardly ever

58. The last person you held hands with? my beloved

59. What are you wearing? purple pjs

60.What is your favourite animal? Elephants

61. Where was your default picture taken at? Mission Creek Park

62. Can you hula hoop? not without spraining something

63. Do you have a job? abso-smurfly! and it's a pretty good one most days

64. What was the most recent thing you bought? cooking magazines

65. Have you ever crawled through a window? yeah, I lost my keys a lot as a kid

I'm NOT Superstitous...

I have never been one to believe in superstitions. I'll step on a crack... I'll walk under ladders... heck, I've even broken a mirror a time or two.

But... I'm at that point in my tww, where all those old wives tales and things have started to pound on my brain.

Did you know that I once had a friend tell me that I would never have children based on the number of lines on the side of my hand? Apparently, in some parts of Chinese culture, if you make a fist and then count the lines that appear by your pinky knuckle, you can find out how many children you will have. I laughed it off... my friend was very sad for me.

During my last pregnancy, I had the requisite weird dreams. In all of them I was 'misplacing' our baby. In every single one! I lost our baby at church, at work, and at the grocery store (altho, in that one my beloved found a different 'our baby' in the frozen foods section... dream analysis anyone?).

Gah! I know I'm sounding ridiculous right now, but I just can't get this stuff out of my brain.

Sorry for the ramble...

My First ICLW

Hi and Welcome!

While there aren't many posts here yet, I have come to enjoy blogging and am excited to be reading what everyone else is up to.

About me:
Age: 34 (when did that happen?)
Hubby: 37, often referred to as 'Beloved' or 'Darling One'
Whereabouts: in a small winterbound city on the flatland, within sight (on a really good day) of my beloved Rocky Mountains, in my favourite country.
My History: I've lived in three countries, three provinces and three states (I've moved 58 or 59 times). I met my Beloved on a very well-known online matchmaking website. We were matched on Valentines day, 2006, and were married in April 2007. My family history is strange and twisted (but then, who's isn't?), and in my past I have had 6 parents.
TTC: We have been ttc (trying to conceive for those of my friends who aren't obsessed with procreation) since January 2008. We have had two miscarriages, both diagnosed as blighted ovum. We are now waiting for testing to begin.
Oddities: I am terrified of birds. My darling one hates watermelon. My great-grandmother had 21 children.

Read... enjoy... be bored... whatever... :)