The thing about small towns is......

Mechanics can pretty much charge whatever they like and get away with it. I just finished paying $300 to have one window fixed in my car and an oil change. And why did I pay this outrageous price, because I had no other choice. My usual mechanic is unavailable until April and well, having your driver's door window fall down into the abyss of the door in February is not such a good thing. So, being that it really did need to get fixed, I took it against my better judgement to one of the dealerships in town. It just so happens that we take all of our vehicle from work there and both of my in-laws work there also. Therefore one would like to think that they would get at least decent service.



I guess I made the fatal error of mentioning that I had another vehicle that I could use since my parents are out of town. It took a week to get it fixed, now granted two of those days the world (well my world at least) stood still because of a freak warm spell and rain in February, but really how long could it possibly take to replace 2 plastic clips? Which I might add, better be coated in gold if I ever take the door apart to look. Seriously? $68.00 for a little plasitc clip!!!!!!! And explain to me this, 1 window, 2 clips, 2 different prices for each clip! Something sounds a little fishy to me. Especially since I could probably go online and find them for, oh I don't know, $5.00.



But really, the price is not the best part of the story. The best part is this. Turn the clock back to Friday. At this point they had had the vehicle for 1 week already, and it was getting to the end of the day. The service department is not open on weekends and because of the civic holiday would not be open on Monday (yesterday). So the outlook of having my vehicle back for the weekend was getting kind of grim, because as previously mentioned I had another vehicle to drive, therefore they could take their sweet time. But I digress. At approximately 5 o'clock, while sitting down to have a quick supper with the hubby before he went to hockey, the phone rings. It is one of my co-workers informing me that the shop had called and if I could get there before 6, they would leave my keys at the front desk. I thought it a little odd that they phoned my work, considering I left a message at the service department that morning to call my cell phone. But I didn't really care, I was just happy to get my car back for the weekend. Now, fast forward to Tuesday. Around 11 o'clock this morning I call my house to listen to any messages left on our machine. There is one from the service station saying that my bill is ready and if I would kindly come pay it. The punch line of this was, they couldn't be bothered to look up my home phone number to tell me that my car is ready, but they sure had no problem calling when the bill was ready.

Gotta love small towns!

And the road was paved with good intentions....

.... but really, are good intentions going to help me in my weight loss goal? I think not.

I had the best of intentions of going to the gym to get a good cardio workout in, but unfortunately that was not to be the case. You see, my office has two pass cards for the local gym which are there for us to use. Well, technically I think they are for the officers to use, but I digress and I refuse to pay $200 for a membership. (PS: Kris if you're reading this, send that letter!!!! You know which one I'm talking about) Oh look, apparently I took a left turn without signalling. Anyway, since these passes are for everyone and anyone they stay at the office with all the keys to the cars. I went to pick one up this morning, not just needing to go to the gym but also wanting to go and for some bizarre reason, they were both gone. Now one might question as to why I want to go to the gym when I have a treadmill in my basement. Well here is the answer..... it's old.... does't have a timer or any features for that matter .... and most of all, to adjust the speed is more of a workout than actually running on the treadmill itself.

Why the sudden interest in exercise? Well, our office is having a Biggest Loser competition of it's own. We started January 1st and are going for 4 months. I did fairly well the first month with a total weight loss of 6 pounds. February however, not so good. I'd like to say it's because hubby has been busy with hockey and between work and dancing and hockey I just haven't had the time. But really that's just a poor excuse for being kinda lazy. We're no busier this month than we were last. I just have to make a point of going to the gym EVERY night that I can. Whether I have to go straight from work before hubby goes to hockey or whatever, but it needs to be done.

So basically this post has absolutely no point other than a means for me to give myself a stern talking to about being lazy and lethargic and to give myself the kick in the butt I need to get moving. The weight isn't going to just fall off. Is it? Maybe if I wish REALLY REALLY hard I will wake up 5 pounds lighter. And while I'm at it, I wish for a money tree and for the ability to turn everything I touch to gold.

How do I do this again?

So I have been introduced to a new blog that I have become a daily reader of. This particular blog is written by a co-worker's hubby, who is now a stay at home dad of two little boys. Well, before the boys were born and him and his spouse moved to our neck of the woods, he was a professional journalist, so one can only imagine how well this man can tell a story. This made me very aware of the fact that I have been somewhat neglecting my blogging duties by being merely a passive participant instead of an active one.

So here I sit on a Saturday night, Valentine's day nevertheless, alone (well, not quite alone, I have the dog, the cat and Linden here, but they are all sleeping), trying to figure out if I remember how to do this thing we call "Blogging".

Well, between both me and hubby working full time, both of us instructing dancing, bowling and hubby reffing hockey, we haven't had alot of spare time and therefore nothing really "Blog" worthy has happened. I'm just writing for the purpose of writing and hopefully this will ignite my spark to do this on a somewhat regular basis.

Long time.... no blog....

It was recently brought to my attention that I had not paid any attention to this blog in quite a while. And it wasn't until I read it, that in fact it has been a while..... almost 5 months to be exact. Where has the time gone????? In a nutshell, it has gone to spending every spare minute of my day with the most handsome, charming little boy ever..... Linden. It's been a very busy and interesting couple of months and here is a brief recap, (considering I can't remember what I did last week, we'll see what I can remember from 5 months ago).

August

The first weekend of August was like every other August long weekend in Gimli. Icelandic Festival weekend. Which at work we call, well I'm pretty sure this is a family site so I can't say it. But I'm sure you can figure it out. What with an influx of up to 50,000 people, bars open until 3:00am, and packs of roving teenagers and adults who feel that the laws go out the window for the festival weekend. This is the one weekend of the year that it is MANDATORY that the office staff work (fyi: I work in a police station). Being that I was on Maternity leave, the office was automatically down one person. Usually this would be bad enough but no, it got worse. There happened to be major staffing changes while I was on leave and that left only one clerk to work in the office and she only had 2 weeks experience. So I, being the dutiful employee that I am, volunteered to come in and work the night shifts for that weekend. And work I did, I believe I ended up working over 22 hours between 7:00PM Saturday and 3:00 AM Monday morning. Add to this a baby that still wasn't sleeping through the night and a husband who needed to be at his job in the mornings. It was a long weekend, but it was nice to get back to work, if even for a short and STRESSFUL time and who doesn't like to feel appreciated.

The rest of August consisted of Folklorama where my dance students were performing, a couple of weddings and spending time with friends and family. The rest of the month pretty much paled in comparision to going to work for that one weekend. (Those who know me, and know what happened this August in Gimli will know what I'm talking about).

September and October

Nothing really happened in September or October worth writing home about. Linden got bigger, and so did his personality. Man is that kid a character and a flirt. Give him a room full of people and he's bound to put on a show.

November

What an interesting month. I went back to work full-time and my hubby took some parental leave and stayed home with Linden. While it felt really good to get back to work, a part of me really missed being at home with my baby. But, the smiles I got everyday when I got home from work made it all worth it. I'm one of those people that needs to be doing something, I need a routine and to feel productive and with the weather turning colder out, getting out of the house was becoming less and less and cabin fever was starting to set in. I had absolutely no reservations about Garrett staying home with Linden everyday, he is absolutely wonderful and Linden is a true Daddy's boy.

So back to work..... It probably took me a good two weeks to get back into the swing of things and remember how to do everything. It did take me at least three weeks to get my desk back in order and find all of the desk supplies that had been pilfered off my desk while I was gone. But man does it feel good to be back and to feel needed. At the risk of sounding conceted, I really don't know how they survived without me, I mean half of them can't even send a fax without screwing something up. As the boss said on my first day back, "The techno geek is back". And by no means am I a techno geek, I'm just not a techno tard and know my way around a computer.

Linden was teething something terrible and finally on November 30th he started cutting his first tooth. Now he has his bottom front two teeth and must chew on everything, but his favorite things to chew on are our fingers and noses.

December was a big month for us and I do believe that the two big events that happened deserve their own entries, which I promise to get to before summer.

A Reunion of sorts......

but not really........

When I was growing up and in high school, I had a really close group of friends. I mean a couple of the girls and I went as far back as going to daycare together. We were the group of friends that did everything together, on any given night we could be found at Chicken Chef having coffee or all having a sleepover at someones house on the weekends. But, as time went on, as it has an annoying habit of doing, and we all grew up, we all seemed to go out different ways. Yes we'd talk on the phone occassionally, always with the intentions of getting together more, or talking more, but again, the road is paved with good intentions. In the past five years or so the only time we really all get together is when one of our friends is getting married. This past weekend was no exception.

Our friend Kristen was having her wedding reception this weekend. Note, it wasn't her wedding, but just the reception. One must know something about Kristen before I can continue. Every since we were young girls, Kristen always did things her own way, she never felt she had to conform, so why should her wedding be any different. They had a small, and I mean small, family only small, wedding in the spring, then the Bridal shower at the end of April, the social at the end of May and then the reception in July. It was totally Kristen and it was still beautiful and she looked absolutely gorgeous in her dress.

So being that Kristen was pretty much the last of our "circle" to get married, everyone made the effort to be there. And really, it was very much like a high school reunion, and like high school, somethings (and people) just never change. To make a long story (and night) short, it was wonderful to get together with the girls (and the guys too I guess, but mostly the girls) and visit and catch up and drink like we were 18 again. At this point I must mention that I really couldn't drink then either. There were alot of good pictures taken, but of course the batteries in my camera died and I didn't bring replacements, so I only managed to get a couple of pictures taken, so I'll have to wait for the girls to email them to me.

What else can I say? We were friends then and we're friends now. No matter what the distance, or the number of times we talk or get together in a year, I know that these girls and our friendships have shaped us into the people we are today. And for that, I wouldn't change any of them for the world. Well.... maybe just one or two..... just kidding.

I found this quote and it sums up our friendships so perfectly that I felt I needed to share it:

The most beautiful discovery true friends make is that they can grow separately without growing apart. ~Elisabeth Foley

Two Month Update

I was recently reminded that this blog did not contain any new content. So here it is, a rundown of my life in the past couple of weeks.


Lately I've been really missing work, not that they really ever give me a chance to miss them since usually once a week I'm being called in to fix something. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love being a mom and being home with Linden, but my job is such a big part of what makes me, me that I'm starting to miss it. That and I hate not knowing what's going on in town.


Linden wasn't feeling the greatest last week, so we pretty much stayed close to home. And after a talk with a friend of the family who happens to be a doctor, we decided that a change in formula was needed. Within 24 hours my baby was back to being himself. I really HATE the helpless feeling that comes along with not knowing what is wrong with your baby because they can't tell you, but you know something is wrong. And to add insult to injury, just as he was starting to feel better with the formula change, BLAM!!!! it's time to go see the doctor and get his two month needles. But he's a trooper and only cried for a few minutes.

I made the decision that every month we are going to take a picture of Linden beside the same giant teddy bear, aka BOB, so that we can look back and see the changes in him. And change he has. We have really noticed in the last couple of weeks that he is way more alert and interactive. When I go into his room in the mornings and say "good morning" I always get the biggest smile, and that makes the early mornings totally worth it. Sometimes I forget that he's only 2 months old because he looks like such a little man.

It was a big month for Linden, Canada Day brought his first fireworks, which he slept through and he first parade. He's totally my child, he loved the bag pipe music. It's that Scottish DNA coming out. And as he grows older, he will also learn to love plaid. I wonder what Garrett would think if I got one of my family members in Scotland to send me a little kilt for Linden? That could be interesting.



Also this month, our close friends welcomed their little baby girl into the world after 36 hours of labor and a c-section. (Side note: Suddenly my 10 hours doesn't seem so bad). You will notice that there is no name for the baby in this post, that is because there is some debate as to what the name is. Garrett, Linden and I went to visit the new family in the hospital on Friday and they had not decided on a name yet but were leaning towards Kayla. Now flash forward to Sunday morning and talking to the proud grandfather. We ask, "So did they decide on a name yet?" To which he replies that they named their little girl Kyla. Now hopefully you see where the debate is. I have't actually called my friend yet to find out for sure, I thought I would give them some time at home to get some rest and settle in.


So, that's about it for the last couple of weeks in our house. Well, there was our quasi grad class reunion, but I think that deserves it's own post.

Routines, and lists and going green

So in my ever evolving escapade of trying to get my life organized and get myself into somewhat of a routine, I do believe I opened a can of worms today. I sat down at my computer this afternoon and was researching household cleaning routines that wouldn't take a whole day but would help me keep my need for a clean house in check while still allowing me time with Linden. From there, it developed into researching and developing a workout routine for myself that will help me get back to my pre-pregnancy self, physically. And that again branched off into looking at different ways I can make our home more Linden and environmentally friendly. I've always tried to recycle when I would remember, but I recently placed a rubber tub right beside my garbage can to put the recyclables in, as opposed to putting them in the garbage.

Why this change in my train of thought. Well, I really do believe that having a child has really made me want to be a better person, and I want him to learn that there are simple things that he can do that will help the environment and make all of our lives healthier.

I know that getting my house cleaning routine, fitness routine and the other lifestyle changes I would like to make won't happen over night (much to the dismay of my inner perfectionist who likes results immediately) I'm committed for the long-haul. Now only if I could train my hubby that it's easier to spend 10 minutes a day tidying up than to have me nag at him because I have to spend an entire day cleaning the house. Really, is it so hard to put your socks in the hamper when you take them off for the day? But I digress. I'm not perfect (again, much to the dismay of my inner perfectionist) I can put things off just as good as the next person, but I really do believe that organization and routine is good for everyone's well-being.