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. 

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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*

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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. 

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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. 

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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. 

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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. 

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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:

Howdy Humble Readers...

We're beginning to feel a little like Noah around here and wondering if we need to build an ark.  Another few days, and I may have to start checking for moss between my toes.  It's been raining pretty much for a week.  The upshot is that the grass is nice and green, but I'm getting a little tired of walking in the rain every morning.  I'm trying to remember how I managed when I lived in Seattle for four years.  All the rain never really bothered me then.  Hmmm...

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I had an appointment with Dr. B today.  Just another follow-up on my blood sugars.  He's very happy with my sugars, and my weight loss (47 pounds down!).  He basically told me that he normally sees diabetic patients once a month for at least 6 months as they adjust and commit to the changes they need to make, but he doesn't need to see me again until I need a refill on my prescriptions (sometime early August).  Woohoo!  My blood pressure was a little high today, but he chalked that up to the lingering cough.  We did talk about my goal of being med free (at least for the high blood pressure) by my 40th birthday a little over a year from now, and he's very confident that I can get there easily.  So long as I stay on track. 

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Pippin has cut two teeth in the past week.  So with the congestion from the cold he's still got, and the runny nose stuff from teething, my life has been all about snot the past few days.  You know, I can handle the poop, vomit, and pee.  But drool and snot just make my skin crawl.  Ick. 

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Ginny has been doing really well with her letters and numbers, being able to name all her uppercase letters for the last few months.  Recently she's started figuring out that there's an order to them all, and has begun counting to 10 by rote, as well as singing the alphabet song.  This week I started working with her on recognizing her name printed out.  We had some dollar store beach balls from Pip's birthday party, so on one of them I wrote out all our names in block letters, and she's gotten very good at picking out her name.  I toss her the ball, and when she catches it she has to find the name I say.  Next we'll start working on lowercase letters. 

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AF is here, and true to form, she's been a little strange.  For the last 6 months or so, there has been a lot of spotting before and after, and killer (KILLER!!!) cramps.  This month, no spotting, hardly any cramps (mostly just a backache)... just 'hey I'm here' and that's it.  Could this be due to getting my sugars under control?  Being more physically active?  Or simply that it's been a year since Pip was born and my body is getting back to normal?  Probably a bit of all three, but still it's strange. 

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Planning on buying myself a new pair of shoes for walking this weekend, maybe some more yoga pants for when I'm working out, and a belt!  Do you have any idea how long it's been since I've owned a belt?  The capris that I bought at the beginning of April are already getting to be too big, and the jeans I got in January are starting to slip when I walk (especially if I've got my keys or phone in my pocket).  Since another wardrobe of pants isn't in the budget, a belt will have to do the trick.  I haven't worn a belt in more than 20 years.  I'm super excited.  Dorky, huh?

Pippin Update: A Whole Year

Hey Humble Readers...

Well, better late than never, right?  I'm finally getting things together to tell you about Pippin's first birthday party.  I still can't get over the fact that he's a full year old now.  How has it been a year since that crazy nightmare C-section, since my crazy-lady roommate in the hospital, since bringing him home on Mother's day? 

Spent a couple of hours the night before blowing up a ridiculous
number of balloons.

 For his birthday, I had decided ages ago that we were going with a beach/surf theme and I wanted to use royal blue and orange for the main colours (totally not even thinking about the fact that those are Oilers colours, and we are a Flames household... my sister and BIL thought this was hilarious as they are big Oilers fans). 

Food!

 On the menu were spicy grilled shrimp skewers, fruit kabobs, chips (sea salt and vinegar of course!), gold fish crackers (for Ginny), cake, and a cocktail called a pineapple smash (pineapple juice, white cranberry juice, and vermouth) for the grown ups. 

Graham crumb sand, and blue sprinkles for the water

Took forever to find the little umbrellas

 I'm really happy with how the cake turned out, as I am not a baker or a great cake decorator.  Of course I got the idea off Pinterest, and with surrounding the outside with kitkat bars, it made it soooo easy.  The cake was chocolate raspberry, with raspberry jam (low sugar of course) in the middle.  Pippin totally went to town on his piece, ending up with cake up his nose and in his ear. 

"Happy Birthday to you!"

Ginny loves the Happy Birthday song so much that she's been singing happy birthday to Pip since April.  And yes, she's still singing it, more than two weeks after his birthday.

mmmmm... cake!

more please?

He was spoiled rotten.  I had told most of the family that what he really needed was summer clothes, and they came through.  He got a ton of tshirts, shorts, and muscle shirts.  And couple toys and books thrown in there too. 

opening gifts with Daddy

Lookin' like a little old farmer

of course he wanted to play with the paper

It was a relatively small gathering, just the four of us, Gramma (Beloved's mom), Mama (my mom), my sister and her husband and kids.  Still we had fun celebrating our little man.   By four o'clock our hobbit hole was ours again, he was bathed, redressed, and we were all resting.  I can't imagine what it's going to be like when we start having birthday parties with tons of kids.  I'll be a mess.  :)

official 1 year portrait

how can you not love this face?

Sunday Night Chit-Chat: Under Quarantine

Good Evening Humble Readers...

Well, another weekend down the toilet, thanks to the crud.  I'm still coughing like an 80-year-old with a bad case of emphysema.  Ginny is still barking like a seal.  And now poor Pippin has got the wretched cough to add to his intense teething and drooling (cut 2 teeth...FINALLY... on Thursday).  The only hold out is my Beloved, but he rarely ever gets sick.  I can only think of twice in the past seven years that he's been sick, beyond some sniffles.  What I wouldn't give to have his immune system. 

Oh, and to add insult to injury... my regular cough medicine (safe for high blood pressure and diabetes) was recalled back in January due to a packaging flaw, and hasn't been available since.  What am I supposed to do without my Buck.ley's???

I did, finally after missing five days, get a walk in this morning.  But while I didn't go my usual 6km, I think I overdid it, because during breakfast I got really light-headed and ended up needing to lie down for the rest of the morning.  I will walk again tomorrow, but I'm going to take it slower. 

The good news?  Well, at least it's stopped raining. 

Well, this was supposed to be a nice little shot of Ginny and I.
Gotta love toddlers... :)

Onto this week's Chit Chat.  Here's what I'm...

Reading...  Lost Art of Mixing by Erica Bauermeister.  It's an enjoyable little book, a follow-up to School of Essential Ingredients.  I think you all know by now that I'm a foodie, and this book speaks that that aspect of me in a big way.  A sort of collection of stories about a group of people all connected by way of a small restaurant (and the cooking classes the owner offers), this a book for those who enjoy cooking.  My only complaint is that I think one or two of the characters could be a little less introspective... everyone in the stories spends a great deal of time living inside their heads. 

Watching... I'm sad that there's no more Call The Midwife or Mr. Selfridge now for quite a while, but the season/series finale of Smash is on tonight, so I need to see how they tie up all the strings.

Listening to... Ginny talking about her shadow-girl. 

Cooking/Baking...  I'm so glad that I planned an easy supper for tonight.  My Lazy Sausage Casserole.  Italian sausage, taters, carrots, fennel, onion, tomatoes, mushrooms, green pepper, garlic, and some herbs and balsamic vinegar all roasted together.  I love how it makes the hobbit hole smell like a pizzeria.

Happy I accomplished this week... I got Ginny registered for her first ever 'program'.  She's going to be doing a parent and tot gymnastics camp of sorts this summer.  I know, by some standards, I'm behind on getting her involved in something like this, but I have my reasons (budget, transportation, etc).  Part of the issue is that her birthday is in November, and so many programs required her to be 2 by September of last year for enrollment.  I've also discovered a music program that I may enroll both Ginny and Pip in for the fall. 

Looking forward to next week... Getting back to a regular schedule once we kick the crud to the curb.  I also have an appointment with Dr. B, and I'm hoping that he will be very pleased with my blood sugars.  I'm going to request that he do a blood pressure check as well, because I'm wondering if my hbp meds are too high. 

Thankful for today... my Beloved.  He doesn't shy away from jumping in and taking care of things when I'm out of commission.  He takes such good care of us. 

***Bonus Question*** What chore around the house do you 'dislike' the most?  I know I've said this before, but I despise laundry.  It's never finished.  It takes an absurd amount of time from beginning to end.  Only to have to start all over. 

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This was posted as a part of Carla's Sunday Night Chit Chat.  Pop over and check out what the other's are chatting about this evening, or better yet, jump in yourself and join the conversation.

A Police Action In the Shire

Hey Humble Readers...

It was a bit of an exciting afternoon here at the hobbit hole. 

Around noon I noticed a couple of police cruisers blocking off the cross street directly across from our front window.  By three o'clock things had gotten more serious. 

Taken from our balcony.

Tactical vehicles, a mobile command center, and a paddy wagon, along with countless unmarked cars had poured into our neighbourhood. 

Apparently, according to one of the many neighbours who were hanging out on our front lawn to watch, there was a raid on a drug house down the block, and the dealer was waving his shotgun around out his front door, and aiming at the RCMP officers.  There were several loud bangs (not shots, but perhaps those flash-bang things).

Shortly after four o'clock, the Mounties must have gotten their man, because all the vehicles started to high tail it out of here, starting with the paddy wagon. 

The really scary thing is, there was a very similar situation on the same block almost one year ago exactly. 

Is it any wonder that I want to move?