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: St. Patrick's Day Tidbits

Greetings Humble Reaaders....

Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all!! I hope you're enjoying a little bit of the luck o' the Irish today!  So tell me, how Irish are you?  Do you have a little bit of leprechaun blood flowing through your veins?  My Grandfather claims that we're Irish through and through, but I'm 7th generation Canadian on that side of the family (granted there have been influxes of fresher Irish blood through the years, but we've been here for a while).  Grandpa even gets a funny Irish accent when he's been tossing a few back.  :)

*****
So, I finally did it.  I bit the bullet and I got a haircut.  I haven't had one for over a year, other than getting my bangs trimmed.  I don't have a regular hairdresser any more, and I just haven't found someone that I really trust yet (in five years... so sad!).  I got about 4 inches cut off... and it really doesn't look all that different.  Just healthier.  I knew I wanted to keep it simple because, really, I have no time for fussing with my hair on a daily basis.  It's still long enough to put up in a ponytail or a clip, BUT I did switch to a side part from a center part (shocking!  I know, I'm *soooo* trendy... more like pathetic) and I now have side bangs.  Woohoo! 

*****
After my haircut, I went to my old bookstore (where I used to work) to do a little window shopping and chat with some old friends.  Honestly, it was just so nice to get out of the house for a couple of hours and be me for a while (as opposed to the great-and-evil-NO-momster).  Thankfully, there was a ridiculously long line at the Sta.rbucks, so I wasn't at all tempted to get something naughty. 

*****
Speaking of books, I have just finished re-reading the Hunger Games series, and I was reminded why I loved it so much the first time around.  Even though it inspired some pretty crazy dreams, it is just so well written and engaging.  I'm really looking forward to seeing the movie, and if we can get a sitter, we might actually see it on openning night.

*****
From the ever-so-slightly-scary file... there was a break-in in our building last week.  My Beloved came home from work on Thursday and asked if I had heard anything strange during the day.  Other than our neighbours' most recent screaming match, there had been nothing out of the ordinary.  It turns out that the basement unit on the back side of the building was broken into.  I'm fairly creeped out that it happened while I was at home. 

*****
Tomorrow, after church, we're off to my MIL's for the afternoon and for dinner.  I'm hoping that maybe his brothers might be there, too.  We haven't seen them in ages and ages.