After a week of it almost being too nice - beautiful sunny, great swimming/sprinkler weather, but SUPER hot - it's been rainy here in Kitchener. It's supposed to be thru Canada Day (which is too bad as we wanted to take Little Tyke to see fireworks); but a nice weekend, which is good as we're taking a little mini-break this weekend to Toronto.
Ari started his parental leave today which means I've got to start looking into getting back to work; I had an opportunity which fell thru, which made it too late to look into summer school et al - very inconvenient but it happens. Unfortunately. So tomorrow it's out hitting the ole pavement with the ole resumes to all the temp agencies in town.
Meanwhile any readers heard of job opps in KW/or within an hour thereof, for the summer? Wish me luck as I return to the work world, and Ari as he gets to enjoy two months of being a SAHD (stay at home dad). It should be a neat new adventure for all of us!
Well Alex over at I'm The Mom took her nice pills today (insert appropriate level of sarcasm here lol) and tagged me for the '7 Things About You' game. So ... I've been tagged before but no one else played along so I'm not passing it along to my party-pooper friends, but I will at least do my part of it. :) So here goes ...
I'm a control freak, but not the way you might think. Others can do stuff I don't want them to, or can not do stuff I do want them too, or disagree with me, or whatever, I'm as OK with that as anyone is if they're honest with themselves. And if there's something wrong, or bothering me, I'm even OK with not being able to fix it. But I hate it when I can't even try - I have a hard time with the 'God grant me the serenity ...' thing.
I all kinds of love my son and have truly enjoyed my months at home with him; I'm also looking forward to going back to work.
After years of hating summer weather (I've tended to be more a spring or fall person) I've found myself enjoying nice hot days in my yard or at the beach (although I also enjoy the AC in my house).
I'm the queen of guilty pleasures - Perez Hilton, fast food, Jon & Kate, What Not to Wear, pro wrestling ... I know all these things are bad for your health lol but I enjoy them anyway, albeit with a teensy bit of shame.
I'm a writer but sharing my work terrifies me - which I guess makes me not really a writer. If I hadn't lost all of my work in switching over computers I'd be trying to overcome that ... but now I have no writing to share.
I started this around 6:30/7pm and it is now 1:45 - I've been sleeping since 9 as I'm not feeling so hot, yay summer colds.
I'm terrible picking 'favourites' - I have plenty of movies, actors, songs, singers, TV shows, etc. that I enjoy but I never seem to list less than 3 when asked to name favourites.
OK - so yeah. :) Any readers interested in doing this on their own blog, consider yourself tagged - let me know you did it so I can check it out. :) Otherwise have a great weekend all.
As I was writing about Farrah Fawcett's death today, another, more controversial figure, was also rushed to hospital, in cardiac arrest. Michael Jackson, 50 year old pop superstar, has died after a stellar career and oftentimes tragic personal life. He faced charges 5 years ago of child molestation, after nearly a decade of similar rumours. As a teacher, I will not speak to those - my gut instinct is to err on the side of caution and safety where children are concerned, however I also believe in 'innocent until proven guilty', which he was not - but I will speak as a music fan to the fact he was a talented performer, and it was sad to see his ill health and the scandals which plagued his career in later years. It is sad to hear of his death from a 'fan' perspective, and I hope on a personal level that in death Jackson finds the peace he so craved and found so elusive in life.
My prayers as well go to his family, in particular his 3 young children (Prince Michael, Paris and Blanket), but also to his siblings, parents and those who were close to Jackson.
I know this seems like not a big thing to discuss when there is civil unrest in Iran, yet another US politician getting skewered for personal misconduct (as opposed to his actual political work - although as he's a Republican I have a hard time shedding tears lol), etc. but I want to express my sympathies to the family of Farrah Fawcett who passed away this afternoon. I'll comment on those other things when I have a bit more time to do them justice, but as I had a moment right now I wanted to express sorrow at the loss of a lovely actress, mother, and girlfriend (to Ryan O'Neill).
I've always been a fan of late night TV, especially Jay Leno. Last month was a sad month with him ending his run on the Tonight Show. I'm sure completely coincidentally, TMN On Demand (Canada's HBO On Demand service) was showing The Late Shift, chronicling the battle for the Tonight Show between Leno and David Letterman, who ultimately left NBC for CBS and his own 11:30 spot:
A great movie I recommend.
With Leno done however, I enjoy what Ari and I call 'the comedy central hour'; the hour long block of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, on Comedy Central in the US and the Comedy Network in Canada. Except ... pssst .. conservatives? Get in on the joke dudes. Agree or disagree, he is at least not one of you:
It's Father's day here in Canada- we had a lovely one. We went to a church picnic to spend some time with He who is all of our Father, before going to Ari's parents' for wine and cheese and some dessert, and then went to barbecue at my dad's house. My brother was there as well, and my step-mom, and it was lovely.
In the meantime - Happy Father's Days to:
- God obviously, Father of all. :) - Ari, as it's his first Father's Day with LT. - My dad. - My 'other dads', ie my step-dad and grandpa. - Ari's dad. - My dad friends, and dad husbands of friends (thinking especially of Alex's husband Don, Ari's friend Tim, my friend Joanna's husband Jeff, oh Gosh so many ...) - My brother -no no no he's not a dad lol but he's Liam's Godfather so that's kind of special. - Dads in my family - uncles, cousins etc. with children. - All of you men out there with kids and - All of you women who are both mother and father to your children.
OK I haven't commented on this (or at least not much) because I don't want to contribute to the rumours and innuendo this family has been facing - but at this point they've put themselves out there and so I want to say something.
This is the preview for next week's Jon & Kate Plus 8 episode:
Now - this could be they've decided to no longer do the show; they're going to marriage counselling; they're separating, anything. And whatever the decision I get that with everything else in their lives having played out on TV, why not this? But I can't help but feel there comes a time, if they are truly concerned about what this attention is doing to themselves, their children and their relationship, to say 'OK big mistake letting everything get this far, we want to handle it quietly as a family and the cameras are going to stop rolling.'
If the announcement is anything other than them being done with the show, then it is far too public and 'airing dirty laundry' to be good for them, or more importantly for their children.
Just felt like writing. :) Not much to write about - starting to look for summer work, and work for September, I feel like I've gotten out from under some of the housework I'd fallen behind in, and have a bit more of a social life going now! - Saw my mom yesterday, my friend Alex over at im-the-mom today as well as her Racer and Diva, which was fun, going out with some of Ari's grad school friends on Friday along with their s.o.'s, new kids, etc., and Sunday's father's day and we should get to see both our dads that day. Also it's a citywide United Church picnic which is kind of a fun thing to look forward to too.
Little Tyke has been in a much better mood now that his two first teeth have come through - although as I type that he starts crying ... lol ...
Back. Basically in a better mood. ;) He's a busy one; not quite sitting up yet or crawling and certainly not standing at 7 mos. but starting to stay seated if we put him in a sitting position, pulling up on things, rolling all over the place - we lowered the bottom of his crib this weekend to make sure he couldn't climb out of it as we know one night he'll just be lying there, and the next sitting and pulling up etc. He's going to be a handful once he hits toddlerdom that's for sure! He already is a sucky boy, mainly because he doesn't need to fight that hard for attention or adoration. I took him to the office I worked at a couple summers ago today, and all the ladies fawned over him - that reaction is common. :)
Ari's working and will be taking over my parental leave at the end of next week while I 'tag out' and go to work for the summer. Where oh where, who knows. Hopefully somewhere close, soon. Wish me luck on that endeavour! I was hoping to teach summer school but thought I'd gotten an excellent summer opportunity that ended up falling through due to lack of interest (not through my part or anyone's - it's a new pilot program for an enrichment summer camp, it's understandable any program in its first year won't necessarily get the interest one might hope).
It's Ari's and my 4th anniversary on Thursday. His mom is babysitting so we can go out and celebrate - looking forward to it. Things are on a great track right now in general and it's always nice when you can look around and say that - although of course then you wish you'd realized it all along, through all the usual day-to-day nonsense life always has a habit of throwing at all of us right? :) Wishing everone a happy week.
First of all, my lovely Little Tyke turns 7 mos. old today so hopefully his Nana, his daddy and I can make a nice day for him. :)
Secondly - a once dear friend of mine is also celebrating a birthday today. He mentioned awhile ago not appreciating being spoken of either among mutual friends or on my blog and I respect that - but surely a 'wishing you a great year ahead' is appreciated by all.
So - Happy Birthday. As much as the last two years haven't been something either of us appreciate from one another, I still can't help but hope the year ahead brings us peace. I'd love for you to meet LT and be a wonderful 'uncle' to him, to catch movies and make fun of them together, etc. But barring that - I still wish you happiness.
And I wish that for all my readers. Have a wonderful start to the week, all!
First of all I want to express my condolences to all those affected by the murder/attempted-suicide at the US Holocaust Museum yesterday. The family of the slain security guard (an African-American), as well as all the Holocaust survivors who volunteer and work there who must have been so traumatized by the sound of bullets ringing out.
This is a time for empathy and sorrow and mourning - however the cornered/wounded animal that is the Republican Party - particularly its wingnut wing - has to make political hay of it. I hate to give Fox News moron Glenn Beck any more attention than he already gets, but here are Beck's words on the shooting:
For those who can't stomach sitting through this whole nonsense, I can't blame you. To paraphrase, he blames political correctness, the election of a black President and liberalism in general for this attack. In sum - by making racial identity a part of the discussion (first Black US president, pending first Hispanic Supreme Court justice in Sonia Sotomayor), it is wrecking the comfortable little cocoon white supremecists live in, making them feel threatened; and as such, people who heretofore might have felt comfortable just spouting off their idiocy in their own little cave, or perhaps on a hate-speech-based blog or two, are now being driven to desperate measures in order to be seen and heard.
Gee - sorry for recognizing that the United States - and indeed Canada, and all of North America -- is a land of different races, and that this world is one in which we must all get along. It is tragic that some people have such poor skills of understanding and coping that they cannot adapt to the new realities that minorities are now (gasp!) visible, and no longer willing to be subjugated; but it is a cause people have lost their lives for all through history, and unfortunately I doubt that will stop completely in our entire world's quest for that elusive 'more perfect union'. I fail to see in the long run how increased awareness of minorities somehow creates this 'boiling pot' of which Beck speaks. Awareness breeds tolerance, and I will not apologize for the left trying to teach respect to those who would use the murder of a minority security guard in a place built with the express purpose of remembering perhaps the biggest act of racism in the history of the world, to push forward an inappropriate agenda.
Let me make one thing clear, Mr. Beck; a simple, everyday man of average-to-less intellect as this James von Brunn sounds, would not see a black president, the tolerance of other races and religions, etc. as a threat, unless those in positions of responsibility, such as yourself, tell him to. Perhaps years of hearing that Blacks are taking his jobs, Jews are wrecking the banks in which he keeps his money, and that the Muslims are coming to attack his homeland, are more to blame than the fact that these people have the nerve to exist.
Well the computer adventures continued as my bro's Mac was not what I was looking for after all - managed to sell it at basically no loss to anyone, and bought a Dell Vostro 1000 notebook. V. good laptop and enjoying it muchly so far.
Strongly recommend for anyone who is looking for a very fast and efficient but no-frills lappy.
So certainly anyone following me on FB knows, and probably has been getting the sense here I've been having some computer issues the last 1-2 weeks. They started out small - just wanting to deal with some slowness my computer has always been experiencing (it never really ran like new), and then managed to make it worse when I tried to fix it.
Can we afford a new computer right now honestly? No. So my brother is selling me his Mac, kindly, which is super-duper sweet, it's only a couple years old and in awesome condition. I'm no longer used to Macs after years as a PC person but I hear they're fantastic so I'm sure I'll get used to it again in no time.
Meanwhile however I have also made the decision to not do the 101 things anymore. A part of this is just admitting defeat and punking out - insert predictable excuses here; a young child, especially one who IS teething and is NOT napping, makes it hard to get to the gym or find time to sit and read or write a whole bunch, etc. But there are a couple other reasons; one, the goal for ME was never so much to accomplish all of them perfectly but to set myself a road I wanted to go on to organize my life and be more productive; I've done that. I'm definitely busy and getting done what needs to get done. That just doesn't always consist of gym trips and bubble baths.
Also - while I get it's supposed to be work I feel like there should be some fun too - and the pressure at the end of the day of 'can't go to bed now, MUST blog and read a chapter of the bible and so on and so on' I don't think is what this is supposed to be about. It's not necessarily supposed to be all fun, but one should be invested in it completely not just scraping by on it. I feel like it takes time away from my husband, my son, and things that REALLY need to get done (childcare, chores around the house, etc.) so I acknowledge that this exercise served its purpose, and I might/will revisit it at another time when I have perhaps more time.
But meanwhile thanks everyone for following it! And I should be blogging more again now that I am hours away from having my own working compy again! :)
Wrote this two day ago and meant to post but my computer was a real pill (don't believe me? ask my buddy Nick - between downloading stuff I lost in the reformat etc. it was being a hassle) so I didn't get a chance to post.
As you reading my blog know my birthday was this weekend - so many nice wishes! But I think love must have been in the air 9 mos. ago in the calendar year as there are a few other birthdays just past and upcoming too. For example my friend Joel's wife just had their first baby "O", and it is my friend Alex's son Racer's birthday tomorrow (NB: again, written two days ago - that would mean yesterday now). And then Saturday is the birthday of Alex herself, who Ari, LT and I will be helping welcome into the quarter-century club :D. It was my aunt and uncle's birthday the week before mine, and I have just found myself writing a lot of 'Happy Birthdays' these days.
So if that includes you - in the days and weeks just past or just ahead - happy birthday!
I want to express how sad it is that Dr. George Tiller, a doctor at a family planning clinic who performed abortions in Kansas, was murdered at his church yesterday by anti-abortion activist Scott Roeder by gunshot.
This entry is not meant to spark discussion on abortion, whether or not it is moral, ethical, or whether or not it should be legal. My personal opinion is that it is not something I would choose as an option for an unplanned pregnancy, but I also recognize I'm speaking from the point of view of an infertile woman for whom any pregnancy would be a blessing, even if it came at a time of struggle or difficulty. I know of many situations where this would be the right choice, and to me it is between those women and their God to find the right path to follow, as once you're at that point they all have consequences.
What I do want to bring attention to, however, is the sheer hypocrisy that anyone who calls themselves 'pro-life' can take the life of another fully sentient adult human being. Murder is not 'pro-life', and even for those who see the disintegration of a handful of cells as 'murder' too, I don't believe Christ ever encouraged becoming that which we might loathe. To kill someone on a Sunday, in the sanctuary of their church to boot, shows that Scott Roeder was simply more a violent, angry, thoughtless young man with no understanding of the 'pro-life' movement.
Now having said that, let me make clear at risk of sparking debate that personally, I am someone who is pro-choice, but who understands and respects where at least some of those who are anti-abortion come from - a place of love for that potential child. I and most pro-choicers happen to believe that love is misplaced, and should be more directed to that poor rape victim/scared teenager/what have you who will have to live with whatever choice she makes. A misplaced love, however, is still better than no love at all - and anyone who can point a gun at a churchgoing man in the name of being 'pro-life', knows nothing at all of that concept.
I am me - no more, no less. There is no 'about' about it, I just AM. If that's good, if it's bad, I don't know, it just IS. *end pretentious performance art routine here*
Modern Tree Stumps
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I am making a move . . . consolidating this blog with my website page. If
you wish to find out what I have to say about this amazing woman, you can
read it...
Carpe Diem
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Holy. It's been a long, long time since I wrote! And a long, long time
since I updated my blog...I still have stuff from 2013 on here! *Egads*.
It's in...
Movin' on down the road
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Not gone, just relocated! :) PLEASE visit our new blog over at
HTTP://INTHISVERYRINGBLOG.WORDPRESS.COM - dontcha dare miss the newly
revamped, more-frequen...
