Facebook

So, I have decided to see what this facebook thing is all about and I have joined up. It's pretty cool, there are groups that you can join and it's cool to see people that I haven't seen in forever!! Especially when they post grade 1 school class pictures for everyone to see. Wow, I feel so old looking at those photos.




I'm cooking dinner tonight - roasted asparagus - I'll let you know how it goes!!

Night at the Movies

Recently, we went to see a new movie out, called Night at the Museum with Ben Stiller. It's really funny and I enjoyed the story and the creative plot of things coming to life inside the museum at nighttime. My favourite character to come to life was the T-Rex dinosaur, aka Rexy. It's a great family movie with a cute ending.

Also, this weekend we went down to the Rideau Canal to skate for the first time this season. The canal was officially opened Friday morning and it was only a 2km span that was able to be opened. We thought that it would be packed with the shortness of length being open and it being an absolutely gorgeous day today, but it wasn't that bad (aside from the line-up for Beavertails). I'm still trying to get used to skating (yet, again), but I didn't fall today, so that is an improvement from last year!!

Winterlude officially begins next weekend (Feb.2-18, 2007) and there's always so much stuff to do downtown so it should be pretty exciting to go to that.

Oh my GOODness!!

WOW!! Where have I been that I haven't been updating my blog since before all this snow came? I should be so excited that the snow has finally arrived to STAY!!

Other thoughts since the snow has arrived...

**The canal is almost ready to be opened. It only needs a few more centimetres to be cleared for safe skating. This is what should've happened weeks ago (pre-Christmas), but atleast we're getting some kind of winter. Winterlude is going to be starting the first week of February where all the winter festivities will take place downtown, including snow sculptures, ice sculptures, cooking, beavertails, and of course skating on the Rideau Canal.

**Winter shopping was great the other day because most of the retail stores are selling their winter wear for 50% of the sale price!! It was hard to find the right sizes because of the sales, but regardless, sales+shopping=fun!!

**Hairspray the musical is almost here and I am so anxious to buy my tickets (which don't go on sale until Monday) so that I can get really good seats. I love seeing musicals!!

**Will & I bought a painting the other day. I'm very picky about my art, but I fell in love with this piece. The overall picture is obscure, but very warm and simple. I'm more of a simplistic person.

**I am in love with my mp3 player that Santa gave me that I am constantly changing the songs on it because I'll have them memorized by days end. I am also in love with my housecoat (that has penguins on it). It's so warm, especially when I'm heading downstairs (in the cold basement) before going to bed.

** I am stil reading Emma (as you have seen that the book has not been rated by me yet) and am finding it a harder read. The spelling of the 19th century throws me off and I'm still getting used to phrasings they used like "four-and-twenty" which I still have yet to learn what it means. I did, however learn what "fortnight" means, from a coworker who has an Australian background and says that he still uses it in his daily vocabulary. It means, if you were wondering, two weeks. And here, I always thought it meant a few nights. Who would've thought it would be so distinct of a word.

**I don't know what it is about the winter weather, but I'm always finding myself so tired. It doesn't help when Will works night shifts and I am waiting up for him to make sure he gets home safe (especially with everything that's said on the news, I tend to get worried) and then I'm up before the sun comes up every morning. It doesn't help when the parking lot light is on right outside our bedroom window. But since Christmas (Santa was really good to me), I have been spoiled. I got one of those face masks that you wear when you sleep, and I tell you, I can't tell whether it's day or night with that on and I get a better night's rest with it (not counting my horrible cat that likes to sit so close to my face that his whiskers constantly go up my nose, and when he can't sit still). So I really have to rely on my alarm clock to be set and working to wake me up each morning, or I could wake up at 10am thinking it's 6am and completely miss a day's work!

**I am somewhat proud of myself and my lack of cooking capabilities. If you know me, I'm not one who is a great cook, but Santa again stopped by and gave me not 1, not 2, but 3 (counting the family one) recipe books! So, tonight I attempted to make an alfredo sauce for pasta as we needed to use up our cream. I needed Will to give me step by step instructions in order for me to make it properly. I am someone who likes order (such as exact measurements and time accuracy). When something didn't add up with his instructions - I immediately called him to see what I could do to fix the situation. He told me just to taste it and see what was needed to add to the sauce. I am also someone who has no idea of what to add and what things need when cooking. That's what I have Will for!! My own personal chef! Lucky me! Atleast I am trying!!

huh?!?

What is this white stuff coming from the sky?

It's so foreign to me....

A Complicated Kindness

So, Christmas is over, New Year's is over and everything is slowly getting back to normal again.

As with the routine starting up, so is my daily reading on the bus increasing. I have finished yet another book that I borrowed from Steph.

Now I can start reading all my new books that Santa gave me this year.

I just finished reading A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews where Nomi is trying to survive in a Mennonite community.

Her older sister and her mother had already left the town because they didn't fit in and knew that wasn't the life for them.

Nomi is still at home finishing high school trying to figure out why her family left her with her father, an avid follower, as she determines who she is and who she can become - either by staying in the town or by getting away from it all like her mother and her sister.

The next book is Emma

Ouch!

I find it quite amazing at how much of a mess my house is - - - when I didn't even host the Christmas festivities!!!

We spent the day (about 12 hours) at Jenn & Scott's and when we packed up all our presents in the car to head home and brought them all home (with a dining room chair) and inside, and we took everything out of the bags again to see all that we got again.

SO... now our living room is full of Christmas presents and garbage from opening Christmas presents (plus Boxing Day shopping)

The clean up will be a project this week as we will have nothing else to do but that!!

Santa's almost here!!

Well, it's almost that day of the year where time flies like you wouldn't believe, and all that time we spent before hand preparing for that day just seems like so much time that could be spent doing other less time-consuming things.

We always head off to the Christmas concerts, shopping, wrapping of presents, visiting of family, decorating houses (indoors & outdoors), wait in line-ups for parking, for paying at the grocery store, or any store in fact.

So, our tree, fully decorated (minus what the cats knocked down), and fully stacked with presents underneath (minus the pathway where the cats must enter the tree), and there was a lot of time spent in thinking about what present to buy, going to the store and buying the present, wrapping the present and delivering the present - but to see a person's reaction to the 'perfect' present bought - is priceless (I feel like a Mastercard commercial)

All that time spent with the process of present-purchasing is over within seconds of the paper ripping, so enjoy every possible moment that you can, so that you don't miss any special moments!!

I know I saw it....

I know I saw snow today...

They were big flakes too!!

Where did it all go?

It was so pretty this morning!!

Where did all the snow go?

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

WOW! What a long book title!! The actual book was shorter than the title!

Such an interesting book. You are put in the shoes of a young autistic boy who decides that he wants to write a book. His book is called The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time.

He writes of everything he sees and encounters, and all that he has to face that makes him completely frightened and uncomfortable.

He was inspired to write the book as a part of becoming a detective.

His goal - to figure out who killed Wellington (the neighbour's dog)

It really puts perspective on what a child with autism has to go through in life and how frustrating it can be at times for parents of autistic children.

Next book A Complicated Kindness

Where is the snow??

I have a question.

We do live in Canada, where we are known to live in igloos with dog sleds and such, but how are we supposed to do this when there is no snow??

Christmas is coming in 10 days, and it's looking like we might just have a green Christmas, which I believe is a first for me here.

I remember when the family headed out to BC for a Christmas one year, and I was actually expecing a green Christmas, but when we woke up Christmas morning, there was snow on the ground (not for long, but there was snow).

I'm finding it hard to get into the Christmas spirit when there is no snow or anything winter-like. This is causing me to procrastinate more with Christmas shopping and wrapping of presents.

There has also been statements (with the warm climate and all) that Santa Claus will be homeless by the year 2040.

I haven't really read into the whole climate change epic, so I don't know all the details around it, but I do know one thing:

I WANT SNOW FOR CHRISTMAS!!!