Two More Sleeps

 Woohoo, only two more sleeps to go!!

The kids are soooo excited and Hannah has been counting

down on her fingers for a few days now!

 

I have to pick up a few groceries today and then

I plan on hibernating at home with my family until

Christmas eve when we will go to my sisters for dinner

and then Boxing Day when it's time for me to go back to work.

 

I've got shortbread cookies made, candy cane cookies,

lots of fudge, and more planned after my grocery shopping today

We have been watching many Christmas movies and playing games

with the kids. Would you believe my 7 y/o is getting really good at

playing euchre already??

 

I can't wait to see the kids faces Christmas morning!!

 

Wishing you all a wonderful day with your families!!

Happy Holidays

 

Well I've been here at the library for over an hour and they still

haven't kicked me out so I'll try some more, lol!

 

Our computer has been to the shop since last Monday

and we still don't have it back. The guy tried to load in Windows 98

again and couldn't do it, so he asked if he could wipe out our old program

which means, yes, everything is lost now!

Thank goodness I had started to send all my digital pics into Walmart

for developing!! Pheww!!! What a relief that is!

 

Everything else that was stored on the computer is readily available

on the web again somewhere. I had lots of graphics stored and lots of

Christmas siggies that I hadn't had a chance to upload to my groups yet

though

 

The kids had a snow day on Friday, well actually an ice day because

of the freezing rain. I had to work but it turned out that the roads

weren't too bad after all. They only have five days left now before

the holidays and they are counting down.

Once they are done we have a week left before Christmas

and I'm hoping to take them all to the mall in the city

to see all the Christmas decorations

and have a great day finishing up all our shopping.

I'm having problems now hiding all the gifts around the house!!

I do hope no one finds them!!

 

The next time I stop by I should be typing on my own computer,

well I'm keeping my fingers crossed anyway, lol!!!

 

Luv and hugs

Joni

WWYD?

 Here's a scenario. What would you do?

 

You go to the store and do some shopping. All of your purchases are bagged and on the end of the counter. You pick them all up and when you get home, which is ten minutes away through the pouring rain, you find that there are two bags that don't belong to you!!

 

In these bags are two bags of chips, two wee tubs of dip, a

small smoked ham, two small packages of cold meat

and some buns.

 

There is no receipt in the bags at all.

 

Would you take it back to the store?

I did keep it

 

I was surprised that everyone in the family said they would keep it. I thought my 13 y/o son would have said bring it back but even he said he'd keep it. I just kept thinking that it was the wrong thing to do and Mike said maybe the person won't even come back for that little bit of stuff depending on how far away they live, as we are out in the country and it's a long way to town for some of us. Then he said that if she did come back that the store would reimburse her anyway as long as she showed them her receipt.

 

I just kept telling the kids that I was sure something bad would happen to me if I kept it because I knew it was the wrong thing to do, but you are right Shannon, it was that time of year when it would come in really handy and I found all those excuses to keep it. Mike tells me that now I will just blame any bad thing that happens on that, and I told him that's the reason our computer isn't coming home!! do you suppose fate works like that????

Checking in From the Library

 Well I've been here over an hour doing posts and they still

haven't kicked me out so I'll try some more, lol!

 

Our computer has been to the shop since last Monday

and we still don't have it back. The guy tried to load in Windows 98

again and couldn't do it, so he asked if he could wipe out our old program

which means, yes, everything is lost now!

Thank goodness I had started to send all my digital pics into Walmart

for developing!! Pheww!!! What a relief that is!

 

Everything else that was stored on the computer is readily available

on the web again somewhere. I had lots of graphics stored and lots of

Christmas siggies that I hadn't had a chance to upload to my groups yet

though

 

The kids had a snow day on Friday, well actually an ice day because

of the freezing rain. I had to work but it turned out that the roads

weren't too bad after all.

 

The next time I stop by I should be typing on my own computer,

well I'm keeping my fingers crossed anyway, lol!!!

Spirit of the Season

 Well time is up here. I got a sticky keyboard thistime at the library, lol, so forgiveme my awful typing alright?

 

I hope everyone is enjoying the spirit of the season. I can feel it in the air here, and it's wonderful how nice everyone is to each other at this time of the year.

 

I still have much shopping to do for Christmas and Ican't do it till somemore $ comes my way!! The kids have only 8 days left of school till they are done for the holidays and they are counting down, lol!!

 

We sent Hannah to school last Friday only to get a call from them saying it was the wrong day, lol!Yikes!! Good thing Mike was home because I was at work. I have been picking up lots of shifts though I hurt my back on Friday and after working the weekend it was pretty sore so I called in sick for yesterday. I go back on Thursday and I'msure it will be fine by then, at least I hope so!!

 

Colin has been bringing his tuba home from school to practice for the Christmas concert next WEdnesday nite. Only they don't call it the Christmas concert anymore, they call it FAmily Nite!

 

Well, I still havemany things to do in town so I best boogie before the freezing rain startsagain!

Computer Troubles

 Ackkkkk!!!! My computer is broken!!!!!

So sorry I can't get in to update you all, I can't even find time to change my monthly calendar graphic!

Even good things can come from the bad though and my house is the cleanest it's ever been since we got this computer and the kids are enjoying all the homemade baking too!!! (So am I!!heehee)

I hope to be back on-line soon!!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas season so far. People here are already saying Merry Christmas on the streets.

My Computer is Broken :(

 My computer is BROKEN!!!!

 

So I am writing from the library.

Not sure how long my computer will be down for

and I am missing you all so much!!!

I'm not sure what I did to it, but Mike says that he's glad it was me

that was on it last, LOL!!

Nothing at all will open up on it, all I get is a message telling me

that Windows 98 cannot start my computer. Not sure why it

can't but I can't even get it to start in SAFE mode.

 

I guess out of all bad things though something good comes.

My house has not been this clean in forever!!!lol

I have totally finished decorating for Christmas and the kids

are loving all the home baking I've got done too!!

 

I hope everyone is well and I will try to get through as

many posts as I can before they kick me off this puter, lol.

Santa Claus Parade

 

The kids were home from school today, well except for Cody who went to a friends house last nite and is still there. We went into town so my 13 y/o could do some Christmas shopping for our family. He is spending up to $10 on each of us and is already almost done!

 

We visited the library and the little ones got out some great Christmas/winter books to read.

 

I really wanted to get some cleaning up done around here today but with the kids home and us spending our morning and into the afternoon in town, I haven't got anything accomplished! There is one Santa Clause parade left in our area and that is tonite at 6:30 though I'm not sure if I want to go or not. I'm a little upset with the kids when I found out something of mine was broken and no one bothered to say a thing about it, until I discovered it today. I guess it's not really the item that is upsetting me though, it's just that everyone around here needs to learn to have a little more respect for other people's things.

 

I can't hold a grudge long though and I'll probably end up at that Santa Clause parade anyway, lol!!

 

Have a great weekend everyone!!

Anyone have any plans?

What are You Reading?

 Actually I've got two on the go right now and I have just finished listening to two on book tapes.

 

I started that series that Shannon suggested by Jan Karon and am reading the first in the series now. Very cute little stories and great for a real pick me up. I love it!

 

The other one is called 'To Love, Honour...and Vacuum' and is an attempt on my part to come to terms with the un-even scale we have when it comes to housework in a marriage. The book actually turned out to be written by a Christian woman who lives just a half hour from me.

 

I would highly recommend the book on tape that I just finished as I was driving home from work today. I was bawling my eyes out driving down the road, lol!! It's called 'A Return to Christmas' by Chris Heimerdinger. It's a Christmas miracle story and will leave you believing that there really are angels among us.

 

I just finished another book on tape before that called 'Dog Days' by Mavis Cheek. It's told in the first person by a woman in Scotland who is freshly seperated and finds herself buying a dog of all things (she detests them, lol, but buys it for her 10 y/o daughter in an attempt to give the girl some joy in the midst of the turmoil she has created by finally ending a joyless marriage) This book is hilarious and I found myself laughing out loud several times!! This woman gets herself into some pretty wild predicaments, lol!!

Getting the Christmas Tree

 Hello!!

 

 

It's a gorgeous day here even if it's a little chilly outside.

The sun is shining right through the window here a the

library though and into my eyes,

I swear I'm going to have neck strain trying to keep it out of my eyes.

 

Tomorrow we go for dinner at my mom's after I'm done work.

I have been waiting so long for a yummy turkey dinner and

now I have a cold!! I hope by tomorrow night it's not

affecting my taste buds yet! Nothing worse than looking at all

that yummy food and not being able to taste it, lol!!

 

Last nite me and the two little ones were up late making fudge.

Mmmmmm....good! I tried some yummy toffee bars too and they

turned out great. The kids took small plates of assorted cookies to their

teachers yesterday morning and even one for the bus driver.

 

Tonite hopefully we are going to get our tree.

I forgot we would be spending most of the weekend at mom's

and won't be back till sunday nite so if we don't do it today

we'll have to wait till Monday nite.

 

I miss you all so much and I hope everyone has a

Merry Christmas!!

Trading Spouses

 Does anyone watch this show? Did you watch last nite?

 

I just thought this was cute. Two little metaphors that this woman, who is a born-again Christian (that's how she described herself to this Jewish family she went to live with) used on the children and the dad in this jewish family.

 

The first is about abstinence for youth. She described it as handing around a chocolate bar amongst each other on a very hot day, and as it was passed around it got gooey and messy of course. Then she showed them the brand new chocolate bar that looked still intact and delicious and then she said 'Now which one would you prefer to give to the one you love?' or something along those lines, lol!! She was telling this to the dad and said it would be good for him to have such a discussion with his teenage daughters (he had 3)

 

The next was about saying mean and rude things to each other (the children, 3 girls and a younger boy, fought and argued alot!). She got a tube of toothpaste and told the one girl to squeeze it. Out came the toothpaste of course. Then she told the girl to try and put it back in the tube. Well the girl looked at her like she was crazy. And the lady said that's the way it is with your words, once they are out of your mouth it's very hard to take them back again. So you should try to be a little more kind to each other. The kids all thought she was nuts!!!

 

Personally I thought she was very sweet. But those kids were used to a mom who put up with very little, was very opinionated and not very cuddly and affectionate, and the whole family was not really into communicating together alot except for when they were arguing. It was plain to see that the daughters especially were the spitting image of their mom.

Broken Van

 I had to work today but while I was sitting here eating supper with the kids Mike drove in with my van!! The kids couldn't believe I got so excited when I saw him drive by the window, lol!! Hey...it don't take much to make me happy!

 

I had taken the truck to work and Mike went with our mechanic to his brother's to have a look at the van. Turns out they couldn't get the piece they needed without ordering it so they came back to our town and got one off a friends old van. Ended up costing us $50 so that wasn't so bad.

 

I'm off tomorrow and back to work on Tuesday again. I hear the weather is supposed to be nice again tomorrow here too!

Good Afternoon

 Good Afternoon!!

 

Not a whole lot planned here for today. I have a load of wash on the line and have folded another I did in the dryer. The kids and I watched an old movie this morning, one with John Cusack and Demi Moore in it, a comedy made in 1986. The kids thought it was cute and kept commenting on the clothes and such being so wierd, lol.

 

Mike has gone to pick up a horse and when he gets back we will all be getting some wood in. I do hope we get it all done this year before the snow flies!

 

I have to work tomorrow and will have to take the truck in. Mike and our mechanic will be going to his brothers to hopefully get the van fixed tomorrow. Hannah hates being without it, lol, she has already commented a bunch of times that we need to go shopping, but Mom doesn't have a van to use, lol!

 

I hope you are all enjoying your weekend!

Van Troubles and More :(

 This morning I was busy cleaning out the electric

wall heaters so they don't start a fire with all the dust there, lol!!

I think I should have worn a dust mask though as I seem to have

developed a permanent bunny in my throat now!!

 

The first part of my week was spent getting used to having Mike

around again. As wierd as it sounds I had to adjust to his being home and

me getting moody and resentful because I feel he slacks off in the

helping around the house department. I'm tired of picking up after him

and doing things that I feel he could be helping with if he made any

kind of effort at all. Point is though that I did all the chores and everything

else by myself the whole while he was gone and was perfectly fine with it 

 

Once he was back I found myself getting short with the kids because I

was angry with him and it's something I need to work on obviously.

There were a few times early in the week that I actually cried

when I found myself having to clean up something he had left behind.

Not good, I know. Maybe it was just because it was that time of the month

too and my hormones were out of whack. That was probably the reason that they wouldn't let me give blood when I went to the clinic the other nite

which was just another shot at my already weakened state of mind!!

Imagine, I felt useless because I wasn't able to give...I know I need

some major work here don't I??lol

 

Good Lord, I'm spilling my guts!!

 

Anyway, yesterday on my way home from work, the van stopped working right in the middle of the road!! Thank goodness I had my cell phone

and I called Mike's brother who lived close by and he knows alot about

mechanics but couldn't figure out the problem. He towed me to his place

and that is where the van sits now About an hour from here.

I was lucky to be able to get the only girl from work who lives way down here where I do (and happened to be working yesterday) to give me a

ride home, right to my door, which was way out of her way.

Only problem with that was Cody was waiting to be picked up at 4:30

at the school after basketball practice. You can't imagine how guilty I felt

sitting here at home knowing he was there waiting for me!!

Even though I figured he would wait so long and then call home to

see what was up, the time kept ticking by and he didn't call.

Turns out that he spent his money on a drink after practice, lol.

Mike ended up showing up at 5 and he went straight away to pick

him up thank goodness.

 

So there it is, my whole wierd week...well almost all of it anyway, lol.

I'm going to get lunch for Hannah now and finish up the dishes that

didn't get done last nite

Hmmmm....seem to have lost a Hubby!

 I'm just popping in for a minute before I spend a bit of time with the two kids who are out there watching 'Space Balls'...anyone here seen that?? It's an old spoof of 'Star Wars' pretty funny really, lol, Mel Brooks did it and I remember watching it when I was a teenager, lol.

 

Hannah has already fallen asleep on the couch and it's no wonder, she was up at 5:30 with me this morning when I was getting ready for work. So I had to wake Colin up to babysit when I left at 6. After I got home she did the chores with Colin and I and we walked way out back to roll out a big round bale of hay for the cows..quite a walk for a little girl. On the way out all of the cows were following us of course, just waiting for something to eat, lol. But one of the horses was walking no farther than a step or two behind Hannah and I and I thought maybe it was my bright coat that was attracting them so I got Colin to hold Hannah's hand instead but the horse followed her with him, lol. It just like Hannah for some reason!! It's a little daunting though to have a horse follow you that closely especially for a little girl and especially with our australian shepherd chasing it right on it's heels!!

 

Cody went to his friends house last nite right after we were done watching our movie and eating and I haven't heard from him since. Mike was supposed to be home sometime today but haven't heard from him either. So it's just Colin, Colton and I left here.

Awards

 I fell asleep in the chair while trying to watch the end of LOST and then CSI:New York, so I guess my body's trying to tell me something, lol. But I wanted to pop in and let you all know how the award ceremony went.

Cody got an academics award for Mathematics and for graduating Grade 9 with honours. Yep, proud momma here, lol!! And it's nice to see that Cody is proud of his achievements too!

US Election Day

 Well, I had a wonderful day here all alone.

I read a little, watched a great old movie with Gary Cooper

in it, spent some time at the library, got a Christmas

gift bought for my oldest...well at least put it on order because

they didn't have any in, and all the while feeling just a little

guilty because I had called in sick to work today.

It was just one of those rainy days where you feel kind of blah,

and need to take a personal day so I did.

 

Anyway, I had a little nap tonite but I'm still feeling tired

so I'm off to bed soon. As I catch up here I'm listening to the

election results coming in from the states and have to say that so

far I'm dissappointed I'm watching the results come in on a

Canadian station, and thinking how wierd is that, lol, cuz the states

really wouldn't give us a second thought when we have an election

and our results would just appear as some blurb on the evening news