Tuzzi Time

This is Tuzzi, my black lab. She is 10 months old, and keeps me on my toes! We had a sprinkling of snow a few weeks ago, and she pretty much turned into a 4 legged snow plow, she LOVED IT!! Christmas is tomorrow, and in my world, dogs don't really care. In 'other' peoples world, they do, so there are gonna be puppy gifts under the tree. My only concern with Tuzzi and Christmas was wether she would try to eat my Canuck Christmas Balls, but she has shown no interest in the trees, decorations or wrapping paper. I will accept this as her gift to me, not that she knows or cares (remember, this is MY world after all).

A Canuck Christmas

Soooo, the trees are trimmed, well, since they are fake I should say they are fluffed.. The little one is the 'kids' tree, a bit too colourful for my taste but hey, it's Christmas right? Mine is black, white and silver decorations, and of course Canuck baubles galore!! I have yet to find just the right tree topper, so for now it is one of my Canuck hats. Some day I hope to find a Canuck angel, or something along those lines. I might just get crazy and drill a hole in a Canuck puck to stick on, but that is another year, another project for another rainy day.

Gaaaahhhh Christmas!!!!

Sooo I thought Christmas would be simple. I have had crap going on, time has been flying by, not in a good way, and I stupidly said to myself this year, Christmas would be a basic simple easy stress free time, ummmmmmmmm no! I was down to 3 people to buy for, but that has changed. Low and behold, some OTHER people have the time to visit and therefor, expect gifts. Did I mention BAH HUMBUG? I have no clue how to deal with this. I have my grandaughter "secretly" building me a birdhouse, which I LOVE. She doesn't know that I know, and really, it will be a surprise as I don't know the design she came up with. That just makes it all the more special. I am not allowed in the basement as top secret stuff is going on down there, there are drills, sanders, hammers and laughter coming from below, how can Christmas get better than that? I have Santa's workshop at the bottom of my stairs!! Why can't everyone on my list be as happy with homemade as me? Why does an implied price tag mean so much? Am I cheap? No! But,, expected gifts, with a minimum purchase value, do kinda take the fun out of it. At what point do I take a stand and say screw you, here is some macaroni stuck on a string, it's called a necklace, pretend it's diamonds, grow up and get over it!

Screw the walrus I am the chamelion

Sooo, I have been told I am the chamelion. I adapt to what ever relationship I am in. "I sadly think that is true. My first marriage I got my dive ticket and my hunting licence cause that is what he was into. My second marriage, I indulged sports and old time rock and roll. The relationships between, before and after, I have adapted to other interests, where the hell did I go? What do I actually give a crap about? Do I even exist?

Nancy Drew and the Case of the Missing Thong

OMG!! My niece (who is 18) moved in when Tela went home to mom. I thought, hmmm, stress free trading an 8 year old for an 18 year old. WRONG!!! My adorable, innocent harmless puppy HAS BEEN EATING HER UNDERWEAR!!! I blamed the washing machine, I blamed the fact she was messy with her clothes, I blamed an unnamed intruder, but NOOOO, it has been my dog all along eating her thong underwear!! Now, I could blame her for wearing underwear that would take longer to eat than if she wore granny panties, but still, the proof was there,, the thong was there, and my dog was there... I hate solving crimes with unhappy endings!

Going crazy, wanna come? The wine's on me!

Wow, so much stuff can come at you all at once, one morning you wake up overwhelmed, the next thing you know, you wake thinking I lived through that? That's what boxes of wine are for I guess! So yes, there was a death in my life, and moving on is slowly happening. I think because so many other things are going on there wasn't any real time to dwell.
The puppy (Tuzzi) is just over 4 months old, and has started to poop at all hours of the night, leaving me with little or no sleep, it is worse than having a baby needing night feedings! At least with a baby there is some cuddling involved, with a puppy, it is more like poop/bark/play/bouncebouncebounce/bark. On the good side, she isn't biting anymore!
My granddaughter is going back to her mom's next week, school will be out,, yayyyy! I have been helping out at sports day, book fairs etc so it has been busy busy busy, and I was looking forward to having the summer to myself. That is not to be! My niece, who is 18 and totally awesome, is moving in! She unloaded some of her stuff last night, and will be back tonight with more. On the upside of this, she works for a dog groomers, so she knows LOTS about puppies and is great with dogs in general, so I am hoping for some tips on puppies and poops!
My mom is back in the hospital. She is in the beginning stages of dementia, and last Friday I had to call the ambulance, she couldn't get out of her kitchen chair, and was nodding off and not knowing what was going on. They kept her in till Sunday, pumping her full of fluids etc. When they released her, they let her change by herself. Well,, she fell, and they still let her go. As it turns out, she broke her tail bone, and they never x-rayed her at the time, so they completely missed it. I went to see her Tuesday at home, she hadn't moved all day, so I took her to get checked out. Surprise surprise, she is back in again. I don't think they will let her go home again, the hope is too keep her until she is well enough to be released, but from there it looks like it will be straight into a care home.
Throughout this, our reno is done! The painting and trim were done, and now I just need some time to rearrange cupboards etc to get all my stuff in. Lots of it is still in boxes as it seemed pointless to unpack everything till it was ready.
Last week and this week they are working on the fences in the complex, so we keep having to move everything into the centre of the yard. They have finished the power washing, now they are painting. Tomorrow they should be done with ours, and our yard will once again look like something besides a tornado after shot.
Tonight is a huge Aboriginal BBQ, and Tela is pow-wow dancing there, so should be cool, then tomorrow is an awards ceremony at the school where helpers (yay me) get acknowledged. Saturday is a huge complex-wide garage sale, so tons of stuff to do in the next couple of days to be ready for that. Then we have just enough time to get her stuff organized and packed for the trip home. I will be heading over with her for a few days (tattoo time with my daughter, hehe), then back again for hopefully a calm and peaceful summer. YA, RIGHT! Anyways, off to catch up on all the blogs I have been missing out on. It's good to be back!

blah

I have not been delinquent in my blog, things have progressed, and yet fallen behind. I very loved, cherished person in my life has died and everything has gone upside down since then. I will be back posted on here, and on others soon, but right now, life has been odd, sad, and empty.

Back SPUULASHH!!!

Welllll, the backsplash is done,, woooot!! It is kinda 'bricky', and I love it. It still needs the sealant, which will bring out the colour more, but I am not doing that until the drywall/sanding/painting is done, which will be in the next day or two. The electrition cut *some* holes in the walls to do the electrical for the under counter lighting, so they need to be fixed. There is still a shelf to go in above the sink, this is for two plants and some canisters that are currently on my counter. ( I hate hate hate counter clutter, * sigh *)

So far I am really happy with every thing, just waiting for the final touches and we are good to go!

The other glaring issue is the piece that goes under the sink. When the counters were going in, it was noticed there was a problem with the piece that fits there, so a new one had to be ordered. That should be here in the next day or two as well. Luckily for me I am so busy drooling over everything else I don't notice it as much as I thought I would, hehehe....

One step closer yet!

The counters are in,, the counters are in!!!

Soooooooooo,, we are half way there! My kitchen was ripped out last week, so no sink/stove etc since then. Also thrown into the mix was the puppy from my last post, she is now with me, and we named her Tuzzi. (yes, after my fave hockey player, Todd Bertuzzi). Needless to say, life is insane right now, and my computor time is down to email and facebook and quick reads of blogs. Life will be normal?? soon, RIGHT????

Oh loooook,, a pupppppyyy!!!

This is the newest addition to the family! Meet Chevy! No, not in my house unfortunatly, but my daughter's. I had to take Tela over to the island on Monday for a quick overnighter, and greeting us at the ferry was my daughter, with her jacket bulging and wiggling mysteriously. Low and behold, Chevy's little face appeared, ooohs and aaahs all around! Sooooo cute!

On the home front, we are still not done. The cabinets are FINALLY due to arrive next week, so the kitchen is getting ripped out on Thursday, then the painting, then the install. I won't have my countertops until the following Monday, so it will be an interesting weekend. As long as I have my coffee pot, I will be ok! I do have some pics still to download, and I will be taking pics as the reno's are underway, but I will wait and download them all in one post. We still have until the middle of April for the delivery of our fireplace/entertainment centre, so the big tv isn't even out of it's box yet. We are still using old ugly milk crates to put our little tv, oh ya, we are stylin'.. lol.

Hope everyone has a great weekend, I am hoping the rain lets up so I can start on my yard. I have some ideas, but need to get to a garden shop to see if they will work. We have certain spots that stay in full sun, and some stay in full shade, so I need to find out if the plants I have in mind will work in the areas I want them. I look forward to the challenge of getting it all together though, I love gardening, and this place is just the right size to not be to much, but just enough to keep me busy. They really didn't do much before, so that leaves me with a clean slate to start with, instead of having to work around existing layouts. Fun fun fun!!!!!

Almost there, the cupboards still bare!

Sooooooooo, the move has happened! We are 3/4 done, the upstairs is finished, 3 rooms and bathroom, the downstairs is still being tweeked (my sportsbar is almost done), and the main floor is still a disaster. We won't get the entertainment centre/fireplace until the end of the month, so we have yet to set up the big tv. Right now we have the kids tv on some milk crates, lol. Not pretty! The kitchen cabinets are also not due to arrive until the end of the month, so the kitchen is down to a bare minimum, only the neccesities are unpacked in there. I will be posting pics tomorrow, still have to download them, and I am soooooo exausted right now!
Also on arrival news, Tela is moving back on Friday, the beginning of spring break here. I am ready for her, the bedroom and kids playroom (the extra room upstairs) is all set, so that will be a load off my stress, but we still have boxes where I don't want them! From the time I get up to the time I go to bed it seems not stop organizing, reorganizing, and oh, wait, that looks better over there organizing! Maybe I should have stuck to my shadow box project instead of homeowning project, lmao! We christined our first night together (some people have night shifts to earn a living, hehe) with champange and hotdogs, and now (thankfully) he is downstairs 'tweeking' as the hotdogs gave him gas. I am outta here, but as I said, I will download some pics in the morning. Have a great evening!

To all the blogs I've read before, To all the blogs that I adore..(insert music here)

Well, the weekend is upon us! Last night I went to my first 'strata' meeting. I met most of my new neighbors, and was pretty happy overall. The key won't actually be in my hot little hands until tomorrow, but the completion date went through yesterday, so I was allowed to go and vote on such things as repairing the basketball hoop etc. Oh ya baby!
So, back to the point of this post, I am now totally immersed in boxes and packing etc. Not much left to do here, but as of tomorrow, we are starting to load things over in the car. The moving truck is booked for Wednesday for the big big stuff, but since it is only two blocks away, there are alot of things I can get there before then. I don't know how much comp time I will have between now and then, so if I am not commenting on your blogs, I will still be reading when I can, but may not have time to impart my words of wisdom,, hehe,,
I will be documenting the move with some pics, and will post when I can.
HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE!

Can I wake up now please?

I want this over, but I know later I will wish I savoured the moment more. As you know, I woke up one day, and thought hmm, maybe I should own a home again. I made a call, stressing the fact I was 'just looking',, you know, can't do any harm to see what the market is doing, what is out there, what my options may be in the future. From there, it has snowballed into an avalanche! It has only been, what,, 6 weeks or less since then? Once I get an idea, it is like blinders go on, and I don't always see the big picture. I only saw one place, and when I walked through the door, I just knew, ya know? I am like that, if I think "well, hmm, maybe, hmm, let me think about it" then I already know I don't want it. In one way, that is a good thing, less regrets that way, but,, when it comes to big things, it can be a scary trait to have. I knew I could afford it, I wouldn't have bothered even looking if I couldn't, cause I don't 'tease' myself with "oh, if only...." I don't think there is anything wrong with having goals to work towards, things to save for, but I also know I am very impatient. (going back to reading the back of the book first etc etc). I just prefer not to look if I can't touch,, lol. For being such a short time it seems like an eternity, limbo has set in. The papers are signed, the money has changed hands, the boxes are piling up, and I have to wait another 4 days to get the keys. I woke up thinking one week from today, I will own a home again. Ever since Saturday I have woke up the same way, this is the last weekend before I am a home owner,,,, you get the idea.
There has been the headache at the bank, the furniture shopping, the kitchen designing, and worse of all , the guilt. I have friends struggling right now. Their financial situation is not good, their work/kids not good, and here I am in this time of recession moving ahead while so many are falling behind. How am I suppose to enjoy that? My friends are happy for me, because they just are those kind of people, and that explains why they are my friends. If the roles were reversed I would be happy for them too. At the same time though, there is that little nagging guilt in the back of my head. That is why I wish this was over. Have you ever been at a Christmas thing when your cousin/sibling/friend gets the socks, and you get the 60" plasma screen tv? Ok, I haven't either, but the idea is the same. It is hard to enjoy the plus when the people you love are fighting the negative. Therefor, I just want to wake up please, and have things back to normal.

The collection of 'stuff' is getting bigger!

Just to clarify, that is NOT NOT NOT me in the background with the shiny purse and shiny outfit on, ,gahhh, she just happened to be furniture shopping too. So, with out further ado, let me introduce the new reclyning chair and loveseat! Even though we did buy the couch already, as I mentioned it is a fairly hard sofa, which I need. Other people though, do not need,, lol,, so of course to accomodate all, we had to go for something else as well. These are not bad, they are not too big or 'over stuffed', and the recline button is on the right and left side, so I can actually use the damn thing. Most recliners have a lever, or button etc on the right hand side, and I can't do that. A few we checked out were 'body propelled' where you use both arms to push back, but once again, I can't do that either. I can only use the left, and my body weight isn't enough to keep it going. We also grabbed some black bookshelves, and the coolest thing of all, an entertainment centre with a built in electric fire place! I wasn't able to grab a photo of it, as the one they had in the showroom wasn't the one we went for, it was in a Buhler catalogue they had there. Everything with the exception of the fireplace is getting delivered next week, the fireplace/entertainment thingy will be a few weeks after that. I CAN'T WAIT!!

I also love black, so going with this light a colour wasn't what I ever thought I would do, but I am going to get a few small black throw pillow for everything and that should tie it all together, as well as an area rug with some black/grey in it. I sometimes forget when your shopping for more than one, the word 'compromise' gets used alot, lol.

Couches and Countertops

First off, the counter tops. I have a small kitchen island thingy, the top is half butcher block and half marble (shown in pic). In picking my countertop, I had to make sure they wouldn't clash, or have the design be to 'busy'. In a small kitchen that can be a disaster! The sample I am holding is the counter we have picked, I think they should compliment each other pretty well, and the cabinets/drawers are the same light wood.

As for the couch, ok, the picture horrified my kid when I emailed it to her. Right now, I have a black futon for a couch, and it hurts my ass! Seriously, I swear that metal bar will have to be surgically removed from my posterier one of these days. The futon will be going in the basement and will double as a guest bed, but I still needed a decent couch. I saw this,, and yes, I fell in love! After visiting many many many furniture stores I was getting frustrated, the majority of couches out there right now are the larger over-stuffed style. The sad thing is, I love them, I love to lose myself in a couch, flip/flop/flap all over the place. Since the car accident though, I can't sit on one for very long, I have huge issues with my neck and shoulder if they are not supported properly, and therefor I needed a firmer couch than most people. Looking at the picture, it does not look comfortable, but really it was perfect. In the showroom I sat on every cushion, I laid down both directions, they were looking a little worried,, lol. I hate the throw pillows they had for display, so I went and found some solid black ones from another display (but forgot to take the picture with them instead) and it looked really good. I am now on the hunt for two black chairs to go with it, and an area rug. I did find a recliner I liked, it was not to big, and supported my neck perfectly, but it was brown. It was at a Sears furniture outlet store, so you got what they had, there was no fabric or colour choices, and I just can't do brown. I have find chairs I liked that would compliment the couch perfectly, but either they weren't comfortable, or they were going to hurt my neck. I tell ya, a pain in the neck really can be a pain in the ass,, lol. Today if I have time I am going to extend my search to Coquitlam for furniture, but first I have to go put the deposit on the kitchen stuff, sign off on the final design etc, go to the lawyers, drop off papers, box hunt, and confirm the carpert for the stairs and the paint colours for one of the bedrooms, did I mention I am ONE WEEK AWAY from my possesion date? Booooyahhh!!!!

A design in the making

This is so far the concept for the new kitchen. Above the stove is a microwave/range hood thingy, and we had them raise the cabinets above the sink and add a shelf. We have yet to decide on knobs vs handles, but I want the cleanest lines possible, soooo,, I will let you know! Yaaayyyy for progress! The crappy part is, it will take more time than we thought for them to come in, and I was hoping to have it done before the move. Oh well, dinners out I guess, lol.

An old kitchen, a new plan!

This is the 'old to them, new to me' kitchen. We went today and got it all measured up for new cabinets/counter tops etc. Sooo exciting! I will not be putting a table in there, I have a butcherblock island that is going where the table is, which is right beneath the kitchen window. We are putting in black counter tops, and a light wood set of cabinets. The stove is being moved over one cabinet space, so it will be to the right more, and on the left of the stove we are putting in drawers instead of a cupboard. The drawers we have picked are really awesome, they are 'unslammable', lol. After a certain distance, they close themselves, how cool is that! One thing missing from the kitchen is a vent above the stove, but we found a built in microwave that goes over the stove, and the vent is attached to the underside, so no microwave on the counter. I wanted a passthrough knocked through above the sink, but there is an issue with something in the wall there, so we are having cabinets a bit higher than the ones in the picture, and I am going to have shelves installed for some of my glass canisters (coffee/sugar/tea) to sit on. I hate counter clutter, and in a small kitchen it can be very cluttered very fast.
Soooo, that was my day today,, fun fun fun! Possesion date is Feb 28, and hopefully everything ordered will be in by then, and then the massacre can begin!

crayon creations from Badness Jones!

I have fallen in love with Badness Jones blog http://badnessjones.blogspot.com and she had this on her blog today. Crayon creations rock!

I started off with some busted up crayons, peeled and ready to go..

then into the oven at 350 degrees sitting in a pan of water. They sat for 20 minutes, then I pulled them out. After looking at them I thought I screwed it up,, but,, then I flipped them over, and TAAA DAA!!! Pretty awesome, so thanks to Badness Jones blog for this!

On a semi-related subject, why can't I move my pictures around? I would like to have them show up throughout the post, so I can explain each one as it comes up, but once they are loaded on here, they are stuck where they are. Anyone know?

MINE,, ALL MINE....

Well,, drum roll please,,, I GOT THE HOUSE! Yup, today I was approved, signed, sealed and delivered, I now own a new home again! The headache was worth it, and what a headache it was! My bank, that I have dealt with for almost 20 years has taken over a week to still not give me an answer. Yesterday,, and yes, I said YESTERDAY, I went to someone else, and today, YES, TODAY, less than 24 hours later, they gave the approval. Go figure how far loyalty with the bank gets you these days. I even got a much better interest rate! Sooooo,, WOOOOT WOOOT!! I am too hyped to blog more right now, but ya,, did I say WOOOOT WOOOT???

One of my ALL TIME FAVOURITES!

As pictures go, this is by far one of my faves! We have the PNE in Vancouver, and it was the first time Tela was tall enough to go on the rollercoaster. After the ride, she was mad because she lost her gum. Andi paid what ever it was for the photograph they take when your on the ride, and low and behold, they caught the EXACT MOMENT Tela's gum was flying out of her mouth. I only hope it shows up on here, but you can just see the gum in the corner of her mouth as it is going bye bye,,lmao!

Introducing,,,,, "T" and "A"

So this is Tela (pronounced tayla) and Andrea (known as Andi), just to put a face to the names! The second picture of Tela is not the most flattering, looks like one side of the head is shaved, but really, it's just tucked back, really!!

Mish-Mash, part duex

Part of the problem of "T" being here is the logistics. To get back and forth from here to the island, first off is around $10 in gas per trip to the ferry, then if I chose to walk on, it is $10 for day parking, and another $13.00 to walk on one way for me, and around $8.00 for "T". That adds up to $54 to get her here or there if she is only traveling one way. If I chose to drive on, and stay for a few days, the ferry then jumps to over $100 round trip, they don't make it cheap to take a car, so that really adds up! The trip takes 2 hours, and if it is round trip (pick up/drop off) then it is 5hours when you account for unloading/loading on the other side. It is an hours drive there and back to the terminal, so pretty much a full day of travel. When "T" is here, my daughter talks on the phone every night, and we have MSN and webcams, so the connection is still there, but really not the same. Of course, that is done in reverse with me when she is there.
My daughter and I have discussed it, and she is going through the same feelings as me, as a mom, she wants her daughter home with her, but,, she also knows what I am like as a mom, which in turn is what I am like as a grandma, and as I said in the last post, it comes down to guilt on both our parts. Is Tela,, yes,, that's her name,, lol,, better off home but with not a lot of contact with mom because of work, or here, where I can give her all my time, but she will be missing the bonding time with mom even more. I have put thought into moving back to the island a few times, but as I have also pointed out previously, I need to move on with my life, and moving back I feel will just put me back, not move me forward. It was a huge thing to start the buying process on the townhouse, as that pretty much cemented the staying here.
Tela's dad lives on the island, he has 4 other kids, and she stays in contact with him when she is here (phone and msn etc), and when she is home she sees him as much as he can take her, so that contact isn't broken. He is fine with her being here, because he thinks I am pretty awesome,, lol. He has known me since he was 15, so he knows me really well. The good thing here is no matter where Tela is, she is happy, safe, loved and all the things you can wish for a child. I sadly know grandparents who have grandchildren in unsafe homes, and are fighting to get them out. I have the peace of mind that isn't the case.
On a really good note, I have a full pot of coffee on the counter, and Coronation Street on the tv, so I am off to enjoy both,, have a great Sunday!

A mish mash, but a good one

Well, for a townhouse update,, it has gotten to be a bit of a joke. First they listed it as having a playhouse, AND a storage shed. Well, when I went to look, they had a playhouse, but they were using it AS a storage shed. I guess they covered both that way. No matter, I like the playhouse. Then,,,, they listed the washer, but not the dryer. Ok, no big deal, but when I went to sign papers.. it said dryer, not washer. We had to initial the change, and not a problem. Well,, yes a problem because then it was back to washer, not dryer. At this point we are back to dryer, not washer. I almost said screw it and take both, but on principal for doing this, I decided one way or another I am going to get one appliance here! I know I have to buy one, but still don't know for sure which one. I am a little peeved! With my luck I will go out and buy a dryer, and move in and end up with two. Can you say wash tub and drying rack?
We are having the house inspection on Tuesday, so fingers crossed that all goes well there, and we have started the process for insurance. We are yet so close and yet so far it seems.
On the other end of the mish-mash, "T" wants to move back with me. I love my daughter, she is a fantastic mom, but she works her butt off to raise my granddaughter. I on the other hand, am not working, so have the time to spend with "T". I am at a cross roads on this one. My daughter is someone I am proud of, she is soooo good with "T", and juggling work and motherhood. I feel guilty that "T" wants to come here, because I think she is seeing it as me being there for all the things her mom can't be. Of course, the reason her mom can't be is because she is working so hard to give her a good life. I will never turn away my daughter or granddaughter, but is it tough love to say no, stay home with your mom? Or am I giving her every opportunity to stay with me when I have the time to do the things she needs. I am not sure what the right choice is here. With her mom, she has to be dropped off in the morning at daycare before school, and picked up from daycare before her mom comes home. That is a fact of life for millions, including my daughter when she was young. Maybe it is guilt that I was working then that is eating at me now. On the other hand, my daughter now says her strong work ethic has come from my example. She now understands and admires what sacrifices I made when she was younger. Is it spoiling "T" to let her stay with me, or should we let her deal with the reality that so many people have to deal with. Will it make her stronger in the long run? As a grandma, I stay out of the relationship they have because a mother/daughter bonding is such a personal thing, my relationship with my mother is horrible, so therefor I have made sure my relationship with my daughter is a good one. I don't want to risk making the same mistakes my mother made with me and drag them into the next generation. That in turn doesn't mean my daughter/granddaughter will avoid the pitfalls I went through. Of course, they may become best friends too. I am at a crossroads here, I can't live my life for them, but I can't live my life without them. Hence, the mish-mash. Either way, "T" wins, she gets a mom who loves her and is willing to do anything to give her a great life, or she gets grandma, who is willing to do the same. But one has to be better for her..... the question is,, which one.....

BOOO YAAAAA!!!!!

HOLY CRAP! Well, after offer, counter offer, counter counter offer etc etc,,, THEY ACCEPTED! Oh ya baby!!!! Tomorrow the bank, just for final verification, then of course the house inspector, then lawyer crap/insurance crap,, then,, well,, BOOOYAAAA!

Counter offer, and I really like the counters!

Ok, panic is setting in. They rejected the offer, but have put in a counter offer. So of course, I met them in the middle with a counter-counter offer. Did I mention I loved loved loved the kitchen counters? Maybe they will just take an offer on the play house????

Hi-Ho Hi-Ho, it's off to buy a house I go.....

Never let it be said I am wishy-washy. I get a plan, and I run with it, no looking back. I woke up one day not to long ago, and thought, screw it, I want to own a home again. I happen to know one of my ex's ex's (make sense?) sells homes, so I looked her up and told her what I want, what I can afford, and what has she got? Today I viewed, I liked, and I offered. Now is the wait, will they accept, will they counter-offer, will they ask what kind of mental facility I escaped from? The waiting game begins and I hate waiting. I am the one who reads the back of the book first, remember? I am the one who looks up movie spoilers before watching, remember? What to do, what to do to pass the time. Fidget, clean my (rented) home, do some laundry, blog, fidget, check if the phone is still working, fidget.. oh the list goes on. If this goes through, I will have an extra bedroom to have as a room to myself. I have bookshelves to go in there, my computor, my little tv..... oh the possiblities. Somewhere to make my shadow boxes.
It is a townhouse, but it has a basement with a seperate laundry room down there. The basement is actually really nice, done up as a family room, so yayyyyy, somewhere for toys and mess to acumilate without care. The main floor is livingroom/diningroom/kitchen, so ya know, yaayyyy for that,, lol. Upstairs is 3 bedrooms, so one for meeeee, one for "T" and oh wait,, ANOTHER ONE FOR ME! Of course there is a bathroom in there somewhere, lol. The backyard is fenced off, with a deck, a tree, a patch of grass,, AND A PLAYHOUSE!! It has windows and a little itty bitty balcony all of its own! How coool is that! It is not huge by any means, a lot of rooms, but they are fairly small, but being a townhouse that is expected. Also, because it is a townhouse, the yard work is done for me, so that is a good thing, but I can put out my outdoor potted plants that I can look after without help.
I am soooooooo hyped. On the other hand, if for what ever reason this doesn't go through, the hunt is on, which is half the fun. I needed a goal, and now I have one. Yayyyyyy!!!!

It's "T" Time!!!

Yay,, I get to be a grandma this weekend! I took the ferry to the island on Wednesday night, then went on "T"'s field trip on Thursday, then we caught the ferry back that night. We went to her old school here Friday so she could see all her friends/teachers, and she has pretty much been playing with her neighborhood buddies ever since. So ya, I have been really happy to have her here, I just have to remind her that hey,, I AM HERE TOO,, lol. We will travel back tomorrow, and I may or may not stay for awhile.
If I am not having a good day pain wise, I will return right away, when I feel like crap I like to be home, and the ferry ride sometimes makes things worse. It takes 2 hours to go over, and it is not the most comfortable ride, depending on which boat you end up on. Lately I have been trying to time it to be on the newest one, they have tv's on there, which can be a nice time waster. It is kinda funny on some trips, you get tourists who have never been to the island, and listening to them talking about the beautiful scenery, oh look,, whales!!,, oh look,, a lighthouse!!,, oh look,, a frieghter!! I have been taking the ferry since I was born pretty much, when I lived on the mainland as a child, my parents took us over throughout the summer, and our school field trips included at least one trip a year. Then I moved there and did just as many trips back to the mainland, and now of course I am on the mainland but constantly going back and forth. I don't even look out the windows any more, but then,. as I said, you hear a tourist talking. It amazes me how much I can take for granted, saddens me a bit actually. It is beautiful scenery, I do love whales, I have wondered on more than one occasion what it would be like to live on that little solitary island with the little house on it, and of course the lighthouse. It sometimes takes a complete stranger to remind me I guess. One of the best ones was a couple from Arizona, they pretty much had a map, stuck a pin in it, and the island got poked. They had NEVER seen the ocean, they kept going outside, laughing their asses off at how their hair looked from getting blasted in the wind, taking in the smells/sights/sounds of the ocean, acting like teenagers. The thing is, they had to be in their eighties! They talked to everyone they could about places to go, where to eat, where to stay, the excitement they had was contagious as people who could overhear the conversations they had with others would jump right in and start about a place they had stayed so many years ago, or a place they ate at just last week, then someone else would add to that, etc etc. It was one of the best trips I had, even though I had lived there for 17 years, I was learning as much as the couple was!
Anyways, I am off to enjoy some "T" time, have a great weekend!

A pain in the neck vs a Pain in the Ass

Well, I am getting fed up. Sorry for the self indulgance, but that is what a blog is for,, right?
It has been over 3 years since the car accident, and yet I am still litterally feeling the pain in the neck. I have dreams, I have plans, I have a life waiting to be lived, but NOOOOO,, days like today happen and snap me back to reality. One goal I have is to gain some weight, I go to the gym trying to build muscle, I eat protiens and carbs in a healthy balance, I make sure my iron levels, vitamins, fiber etc meet the the daily requirments. I walk, I drink tons of water, and yet, my body defies me. WHY?? Today I woke up with neck pain, and now it has traveled down my right arm. I am used to pain, I live with it every day, but there are days (insert TODAY) that it overwhelms me. I hate pain killers, they screw with my head and I don't like that. I hate feeling groggy. I met with a ICBC lawyer one day (insurance in my province) and she couldn't understand why I didn't like painkillers. Well, killing pain is good, but,,, to me, pain is a good indication you shouldn't do something. If you are doped up on painkillers, isnt that a bad thing? You will not know your body is telling you NOT to do something that is damaging you. I think pain is a good way of knowing that your body part has reached it's limit. I don't mean like a headache, yes a Tylonol is good then, but really, if you have a broken limb, and you buff the pain, then how do you know that reaching for that plate is actually doing more damage? "Oh, it doesn't hurt" as you wrench your arm even further out of joint can't be a good thing. I need something to numb the pain but still tell my brain to stop when I am harming myself. I hate drugs, even smoking pot is useless (although I haven't done it in over 20 years, I just know). As I said, this post is very self indulgent, but really I am looking suggestions. I go to the doctors here, and they want to give me drugs that will totally wipe me out, and my doctor that I have had for 20 years, and I love and trust, is on the island, so that is a pain in the butt for me to see. (now ya get the pain in the neck vs pain in the butt reference,, lol). The last time I took a perscription from another doctor, I was hilucinating that they were killing baby's with hammers, so ya, I don't want to go there again! Has anyone out there ever found something that will help with pain, but not screw up the brain? I want to go numb, but not dumb! Feel no pain, but not go insane? Wow, how many rymes can I do,,,, at least two,, hahahaha! Thanks for any feed back on the subject, and I promise to be much happier on my next post, cause your the most! (ok, the last one was lame,, sorry,,lol)

Tag your it!

So, I was tagged by http://opiningonline.com/ also known as Donna B.

6 Unimportant Things About Me.

Well, I thought everything about ME was important, but,, some must beg to differ.

1) I wear alot alot alot of black.
2)I love socks, they give my feet hugs all day long!
3)I hate feet, don't want to see them, touch them, think about them, blog about them,, oh crap I just did!
4)I love coffee, but hate hate hate making it. My coffee pot drips when I pour :(
5)I want menopause to kick in, ANY TIME,, I am always cold, so a good hot flash would be great!
6)I have never tagged or been tagged (blog wise I mean) so wish me luck!

A new plan, an old idea...

Never one to go small, I have decided to get myself out of limbo, I am going to go shopping. Some shop for shoes, some shop for lipstick, I am shopping for a house! When I was married, we owned a home, it was great! Since the breakup of my marriage, I have rented, which is not so great. I like the place I am in, but I am really paying someone elses morgage.
One of my ex's ex's, if that made sense, is in real estate, so I called her up and we are on the hunt. I really shouldn't say house though, I am more in line for a townhouse/condo. For one thing, a house is more expensive, and I don't think I could do the upkeep. Townhouses have strata fees, which suck, but at least the main/heavy duty yard work etc is covered. I just want somewhere with a small yard or patio that I can still have my planters, bbq etc and have some privacy. I have seen a few listings, nothing really has jumped out at me yet, but when I find the right one, I will be ready! I am in no rush to move, so the pressure is off, but I love looking. I love those shows where people are house hunting, I yell at the tv,, PICK THAT ONE!! I like seeing the befores and afters, how they make it there own. I used to rent a townhouse, and all the units were identical. It fascinated me how you could go into someone elses, and even though the layout was the same, they could make it look like a completely different house just by moving furniture in a different way than I had. I will keep you posted how the hunt is going.
As for the old idea, I am going to make shadow boxes. I have 3 that I have bought, all wine related, and they are pretty awesome. I have alot of Vancouver Canuck 'stuff', some of which is displayed. Then there are ticket stubs from games, programs etc, that I keep but really don't look good on a book shelf. I think they will look good in a shadow box though. I have never made one, but look forward to the challenge. I am going to make one dedicated to Bobby Orr as well, he is my favourite all time player, he is the one I remember most from my childhood, and have some hockey cards etc with him. I have a signed stick and a large framed picture, so I will make a small shadow box to add to the collection, I am pretty excited to have a project looming before me! I will post pictures when I am done.
Now I am off for more coffee, as that is number one on my daily 'to do' list!

Filling the Void,, yaaaayyy!

First of, I need to clarify a couple of things from yesterday. After I read my post again this morning, I realized it came across as more of a downer than I intended.
I do have two arms connected to my body, but after a car accident, I lost the use of my right shoulder. This had a domino effect that makes the use of my right arm very difficult, if not impossible at times. It also effects my neck, causing very painful muscle spasms. I had surgery last summer, but unfortunatly it didn't fix it. At some point I will have injections in my neck to help the muscles stop spasming, just waiting for all the referals/paperwork to go through. One of the options for injections is Botox! Hmmm,, can they slide the needle a little more to the face by accident..lol...
Now back to the void, I think yesterday was just a step towards dealing with "T" going home. I have always been an active mom/grandma. With my move to the mainland that has dwindled due to distance/ferry travel etc. I still travel back and forth as much as possible, and they do come here, but with "T" living here for the last 6 months, I felt like I had a purpose again that I had been missing so much. Yesterday just hit home harder because of the kids going back to school.
Last night, I decided to concentrate on me. I have a calender, and since I love love love to plan, I am going to fill it with goals! I have promised my granddaughter to come over for all her field trips, and any Pro-D days at school I will be there so my daughter doesn't have to miss work. Those days will be filled in first of course! After that, I will plan my gym days and physiotherapy days. From there I will have one day a week that I meet up with a friend for a lunch or dinner or movie date.
Once a week I will pick a library day, one of my favourite places with a coffee shop and fireplace.
I will pick one craft a month to do. I had suggestions for sewing etc, which yes, I know how to do, but my arm can only do so much, and I tend to avoid out of frustration. I hate to start something and then have to walk away because my arm doth protest to much. I realized that the only person putting a dead line on anything is me, so even if I only do 10 minutes at a stretch, I won't beat myself up about it.
Of course, on top of all this, I have my day to day life to live. My significant other works shift work, so we spend odd hours together sometimes, but that just adds to the fun.
I don't need life planned down to the last minute, but I think my calender will put some structure back in it, and that is what I need right now. When you work, you know ahead of time you will be getting up, going to work, having some form of routine. Now that I am not taking "T" to school, my routine is gone. I want some of it back! I am taking it back! I am taking ME BACK!
I AM FILLING MY VOID!! Ok, now to get some more coffee, I think that should be the first thing on my calender every day,, lol..!

Avoiding the Void

I am in limbo! I am going through empty nest syndrome now that "T" has returned to her mom. School has started again, and I could hear the kids outside heading back. I had nobody to wake up, shove in the shower, feed, make lunch for, and trudge out into the slush with. Who knew I would miss it so much? I need a project, but am dumbfounded as to what to do. Years ago, pre-accident, I worked. When I had a day off, I enjoyed it. Now every day is a day off, and you can't really enjoy a day off unless you have earned it. I have been told by two doctors I won't be able to work again, which sucks. Different if you win the lottery and quit work, and you can do what you want and enjoy life. I love golf, I love tennis, but I can't do either one. Back in the day, when I needed a change, I would rearrange my furniture, I can't do that now. I have friends, I have family, but I don't have me. Well, not the me I want,, lol. I have thought of volunteering, but sometimes my right side completely locks up, which is really embarrassing when other people are around. At least at home I can deal with it. I have thought of finding a job where I can work from home, on my own time/shedule, but so far have come up with nothing. I love crafts, but I don't have the talent to make things to sell. It isn't even that money is the issue, just the purpose of contributing to something, self satisfaction of completing something.
As soon as the snow/slush clears up, I will be going back to the gym. Right now the side streets are to disgusting for me to try to drive on, one arm doesn't make for the best reflexes in this weather. I love the gym, I am trying to gain some weight, build some muscle, and I used to live right across the street from it. That was awesome, but now I am across town, so not so convenient.
I am off to search the net for some 'to do' ideas, wish me luck!

OOOPS, I Missed it Again!

I snored my way through New Years,, hmmmph! I had plans, two friends were coming over. One of them ended up with stomach flu, and decided she would rather use her toilet every 5 minutes than mine. I admit when I am sick, I like my own bathroom over someone elses, better reading material,,lol. The other friend ended up also sick, but she was actually in the hospital, so we are talkin bedpans here! Ya,, ummm, I don't happen to have any of those, so that was a bit of a no brainer! In the long run (or in some case,, the runs,, hehe) it turned out for the best because I ended up feeling like crap too. I made it until 11pm, watched celebrations around the world, but missed my own. I just couldn't stay awake. This morning there is an unopened bottle of champagne on the counter. Some where around here are some juice boxes left over from "T", soooo, I don't know if it is politcally correct to crack a juice box into a champagne glass,, hehe, but I just may do it. I am not a huge orange juice fan, but mixed with some champagne it might make it more bearable, and for a few minutes I will feel rich and indulgent. Then again, I will feel the guilt of using "T"'s juice to fuel grandma's drinking habits,, soooo,, oh what the heck eh?