Hi...Remember Me?

I haven't been a good blogger lately. For the first little while I just didn't have anything to say. Well, nothing I felt like writing about anyway. That passed but now I've just been crazy, straight out busy since last week. But I will redeem myself this week because I have LOTS to say now ;)

So, I had one of "those" moments yesterday. It certainly wasn't a life defining moment but it will certainly be a milestone moment for me. I was at the Regent Mall on my way to see the movie Hairspray with some friends. The movie is another blog topic to be covered tomorrow.

Anyway, I needed some cash so I headed up to the bank machine. Let me stop here to say that I thought I looked cute yesterday. I was having relatively good hair day (that's tough with my hair and this humidity) and I was wearing a cute white skirt, a brown shirt, my beads that get lots of compliments and, dammit, even my purse matched. On with the story, I approached the ATM machine and 2 guys were just finishing up with the machine. I would guess they were in their early 20's and I certainly wouldn't give them anymore than 25 yrs old. I wasn't sure if they were done so I said "Are you all done with the machine?" One guys looks up and said "Yes we are, Ma'am."

H...o...l...y...S...h...i..t - I was just "Ma'am"ed for the first time in my life. I have officially entered adulthood. Until last night I always referred to myself as a girl. I'm officially a woman. There is no denying it because a BOY just called me Ma'am. I smiled a sweet smile, said thank you and turned to the machine. I had a little giggle, adjusted my support hose, grabbed my cane, and returned to my friends at the food court. Of course, I immediately told my story and, of course, I received no sympathy at all.

In reality, I was really surprised that it happened but not at all offended. It is funny because normally people are rather surprised to find out that I'm 30 years old. Everyone always thinks I'm younger. To be honest, I don't really care about age anyway. I couldn't have cared less that I was turning 30 this year. Yeah, I wanted a party but I wasn't sad or upset about hitting that milestone...I was happy!

You're only as old as you feel. I have big plans for the future. I've recently rediscovered my love of dancing in public. I've always danced around the house but I've once again taken it to the streets. I know I can count on at least the Jenns and Amy to go out dancing with me when we're 60 years old. When I'm not out shaking my groove thing you'll find me at the mall. Just listen to the whispers of the crazy old bird in the food court wearing evening gloves, tons o' jewellery, and a hat fit for the Kentucky Derby. I can't wait, it's going to be fantabulous!

And when they call me Ma'am, I'll give a regal little wave my with my bejewelled, gloved hand.

In Business

My pole party business is officially up and running. I had my first two parties on Friday and Saturday night. I had a great time at both and I think everyone else did too. I'll let you in on a little secret. There are 2 among us who don't talk about but are very good pole dancers. Let me give you a little hint 1) Jen* Ma*D*na*d 2) M*lan*e Cl*ar**on. I won't say any else but let me assure you they each have career to fall back on if they need it.

I had no problem doing to parties in a row but I was a bit sore on Sunday. The soreness in my thigh, I'm pretty sure, was from the dancing I did at the club after the pole party on Saturday night. Side note - I'm sure Mel was disgusted with my antics downtown. Upon closer inspection on Sunday, I found numerous bruises. I have 2 on my left inside calf that are blue and actually squishy. I have one the inside of each of my thighs too. The one of the right is particularly gross looking.

Now don't let this turn you off of having a pole party. The average person wouldn't have the injuries. But since I'm the teacher, I have to demo the moves over and over again. I'm absolutely certain that between practicing on Friday afternoon and both parties, I did the fireman pole no less than 50 times. The morale here is to try pole dancing and give it all you have but don't do the fireman pole 50 times in a row. Make sense?

On another note, a friend told me today she is taking some time off work today. I was out of the office and didn't get your last email until late this afternoon. I didn't get to reply but you are in my thoughts and I'll definitely try to pop by. I have your gmail address and I'll email you "stuff" dirt from home tomorrow night.

Pssst...

I hear Princess is back in town. Yup, we left Shediac last night at 6:30. I'm happy to be home. I can only handle sleeping with my daughter for so long. I have bruises all up and down the right side of my body because she digs her toes into me while she sleeps. Let me tell you, I was very happy to sleep in my own bed last night. I love the child to pieces but I don't like sleeping with her at all.

Last night on the way home, Jillie decides she has to "pee or poop" (that is Jillie-code for I have to poop) on our way though Shefffield. Of course there aren't any rest stops around there for us to stop at. We have no choice but to pull over on the side of the road and let her squat. She thinks this is fabulous! We were almost done her business and all of a sudden we were attacked, and I mean attacked by mosquitos. I swear they appeared out of the blue and covered us. I was busy trying to keep them off of Jillie, especially since she had her shorts around her ankles, and I got eaten alive. They were all in the car and Eric was trying to keep them at bay. I'm sure we looked like lunatics with our arms flailing but they were an evil, evil variety of mosquito. We survived but I'm sure I lost pints of blood in the attack. The buggers managed to get up my shorts and leave me a nice size bite on my butt.

Well, I finally convinced Eric to get Jillian's ears pierced. We were walking through Champlain Place on Tuesday and out of the blue she said "Can I get my ears pierced today?" We went for it before he had a chance to veto the idea. Jillie looks soooo cute and she is so proud. She has been asking to have her ears pierced for a few months now. She sat in that chair to have her ears done and was giddy with excitement. She was not afraid at all and didn't even flinch she the did the piercing. When it was done, she asked for a mirror, hopped off the chair and started modeling for everyone. She is very proud and is great about letting me clean them. She is very excited to show Aunt Jenn her earrings today.

We are on vacation for another week but we're going to be around the city. We might take a few days trips but we'll be around for the most part.

Witchy Woman

Well our vacation didn’t exactly start of on a good note. As I’ve mentioned before, Shediac is my happy place. I immediately feel relaxed as soon as we drive into town. Not this year.

I’ve been on pins and needles and feeling anxious since Saturday. I can’t explain it. I’ve been withdrawn, not eating (let me tell you I’m going to kick some serious ass in the biggest loser competition), not wanting to do anything, and my stomach has been in knots. I’m telling you I was not in a good way. In fact, this morning I woke up and thought “Ugh, it’s only Tuesday”. So, I hauled my arse out of bed and called Shelley. I told what was going on. We decided I wasn’t plum crazy but maybe I should talk to my doctor when I get back if I’m still feeling this way.
Mr, JJ, and I got dressed and went into Moncton. On the way to Moncton, my mom called me and told me that my bank card had been compromised over the weekend. Some jackasses had rigged up a box on an ATM machine that I used stole a bunch of bank card numbers. Ironically, I used that bank machine on the way to my ride along with the police the other night. Anyway, I got myself to a bank and got everything straightened out.

Guess what? I feel FINE now!!! Seriously, after I found out about the bank and got it all sorted out my funk lifted! I feel back to normal. I’m happy, I just ate supper, and I’m looking forward to the rest of the week. Hooray! I’m glad that things are back to normal but isn’t that kinda freaky?!?! Your Princess is a freaky witchy woman. Don’t throw tomatoes at me yet because there is another among us who has weird things like this happen. I won’t mention names but she’ll likely leave a comment about it. She’s my sister from another mother.

We’re heading out to see my cousin and her family who are here camping for the week. I can’t wait to see them.

FYI – an internet connection here is spotty at best. I’m not even sure if I’ll get this posted. But in the event that I do, don’t expect to see me on email or facebook.

It's Back!

Yeah, I have my mojo back. My creativity has been stunted for a week but today it is back. I have to say that most of the credit goes to Jenn M. She was in my office this morning looking at the new SU catalog and now I'm back in business. I've spent most of the morning jotting down ideas. I'm even going to take some stamping supplies on vacation to the cottage with me. I'm so gung-ho to get started on some project. I'm just over flowing with ideas. The only problem right now is that I'm stuck at work and can't do anything. Oh well, at least it's back.

As of 4:31 pm tomorrow, I'm on vacation. I have an appointment at Avalon Spa at 5pm to get beautified for the week. That translates into - I'm getting waxed. Before you all grimace in pain, let me say it's just my under arms. I'm not going down that road again. We head to Shediac to the cottage on Sunday morning and won't be back until the following Sunday. We still haven't decided whether or not to take the laptop. I'm voting no.

So the big news of the day is that my creative mojo had returned. Yipee!

Total Block

Well that's weird. I started to write this post this afternoon but ran out of time so I didn't publish, I just closed blogger. I didn't realize it posted the title until someone emailed me and asked if I changed my blog. LOL...the title and lack of post does look like I've blocked the blog.

Anyway, this started as a post about my creative block. For the last few days I can't seem to draw creativity from anywhere. I can't scrapbook, blog, stamp, nothing. It's both frustrating an annoying.

Tonight, I decided to practice my pole dancing for my upcoming parties. Let me tell you that I'm soooo close to vomiting. I have trouble with those spins and for the second time, yes second time, I've made myself sick to my stomach practicing. Seriously, I'm going to vomit if I move. I hope this passes soon. I'm really not sure I'll be able to demo those spins. I can't stop in the middle of a party because I feel like I'm going to puke.

So there you have it. The only block here is my creative block. Maybe it's bad karma for making my blog private. :) Oh, and Hollee, you little tidbit of info does not help. Bah Humbug!

Long Weekend

What is it about a long weekend that makes the week leading up to it go by soooooo slllooooowly? OMG, this week has just been a killer. I swear that if I make it to 4:30 today, I will have aged 10 years.

What is everyone doing for Canada Day? I love the Canada Day weekend. My family always has a pool party. JJ isn't even 4 yet, therefore doesn't remember most the Canada Day celebrations she attended, and even she is excited for this. When I told her Canada Day was coming up, she immediately mentioned the party at Grampy's pool. That's my girl.

I love more than just the party though. I'm really very proud to be Canadian. We live in a great country. Our human rights are, in my opinion, second to none. We are a peace keeping country as opposed to international bullies. We have vast open spaces. We still have plenty of pristine wilderness. Canadians, for the most part, are a friendly bunch, eh? Have you ever travelled abroad? Other countries love us. There are just too many things to list.

So this weekend, on Canada Day, stand up and say you are proud to be Canadian. Even if you love shopping in the States, M this means you, you still have to appreciate what being Canadian means. We are Canadian! Now raise your hockey stick and your Keith's - CHEERS!

Smell of Summer

I was walking on the walking trail by my house Saturday night when all of a sudden I got of whiff of something that stirred up some memories. I looked down and the trail was lined with small wild strawberries. The smell was so familiar and it took me right back to the summers of my childhood.

I remember spending hours picking small wild strawberries on the small hill behind my grandparents house in Stanley. I used to go out there alone or sometimes with my sister and other times with my cousin, Janet. The smell of the strawberries was so distinct and sweet. I can see my sister and I out there on the hill. I can remember picking with my cousin and she would repeatedly tell me to be careful not to step on the strawberries. She was always more careful than me. I'm like a bull in a china shop...not very graceful or careful.

Another memory that came to mind was picking strawberries and blueberries with Jan in Shediac. We would go over to the field behind the drive in and pick berries. Again, I remember being told to be careful of the plants. It's funny because after I noticed the berries on the trail by our house, I brought JJ outside to let her pick strawberries. She thought it was super! But what did I find myself saying to her? "JJ be careful not to step on the plants so we can pick some more tomorrow." Then I promptly knelt down on a bunch of strawberries and stained my pants. Some things never change.

It is Time

What do you know...2 posts in one day. Mel, Jay...are you still breathing???

Over the past 6 months or so, most of my friends have made their blogs private. I have resisted doing this since they started. While I understand their various reasons for going private, I just a chose not to go that route.

This blog gets quite a few hits in the run of a day. I figure that there are a few people obsessed with me who just visit over and over or there are for more people reading that I realized. I'm going to say it a little of column A and a little of column B. I really don't have a problem with strangers reading my blog. I never write anything that I wouldn't say out loud anyway. The internet is public domain. And let's face it, when it comes to finding out information on the internet, I am the Queen.

I've also know there are people who read this blog that really couldn't give a rat's ass about me. They just like to use the content to talk shit with their friends. Hi Pat! I'm happy to give you some entertainment. Oh and FYI- I know you read this, Pat. Truth be told, I don't really care that people read this and tee hee with their friends. I wouldn't write half of the stuff I put on it if I didn't want people to laugh.

I know that people link to this from other blogs etc. I also now know that there are people who read this that wouldn't give me the time of day and haven't for years. I know there are people who read this and then walk past me downtown and don't even acknowledge me. I'm not talking about strangers who just recognize me from a picture. I'm talking about people who have known me since elementary and junior high school. And THAT is what bothers me.

So, the time has come that I'm following suit and going private. If you want to continue to read my blog just send me an email at orange_pumpkin2002@yahoo.com. I'll still add you even if I don't know you. But for the love of all things good, don't pretend you don't know me on the street. Because that, my friends, just pisses me off.

The Princess is now getting off her high horse to watch Diego and Dora rescue some dinosaurs. Hasta luego!

P.

Girls Weekend Gone Bad

Well, girls weekend has gone seriously south. We started out alright this morning with chips for breakfast. Because THAT is what girls weekend is about. In all fairness, they were sour cream and bacon and the last time I check bacon is a breakfast food.

We bummed around the house for awhile and then JJ and I took off for Walmart and the Superstore. We got some food and a few toys and headed home for lunch. Just before our street, the Mister calls and says his back is acting up again and needs me to go get him. In freakin' Boiestown. As you may recall, I'm not fond of the drive on Route 8. I drive that road so often and it is so boring. Not to mention that driving it today made me feel like I was working.

We came in the house for a pee break, some snacks and some activities for the car before we race off to Boiestown. The Mister was having kittens because I told him to get dropped off at the Irving. They were supposed to be going to a camp in Holtville. I won't even start on that. Anyway, we hop in the car and take off as fast as we can.

Just past Durham, the Littlest Princess tells me she's going to puke in the backseat. Fuck, this day just keeps getting better. I tell her to close her eyes and have a sleep. She sleeps all the way to Boiestown and then some. Awesome, she'll never go to bed tonight but she was better when she woke up. To top things off, we waited at the Irving for 35 minutes for the Mister to arrive. I will give him the fact that his lateness was completely out of his control.

So we get home and JJ wants to paint in the driveway with her new sidewalk paint. Great, let's do it! I started to get it out of the package and she promptly puked on my feet. What can I say? I just hugged her and hosed vomit out of the driveway while she painted.

It's only 3: 45. The Mister is in bed and there are still many more hours for things to happen before this day ends. I just can't wait to see what comes next.

I'm Still Alive

Okay, you can call off the search parties. I'm still here. Good grief, what are you going to do when I go on vacation? We aren't planning to take our laptops with us again this year. Imagine, the Mister and I will have to speak face to face instead of instant messages.

I've had a crazy week. I was only in the office on Monday. The rest of the week was spent running from one place to another just to listen to talking heads. Oye. I hate sitting and being spoken "at". If I have to sit in one spot and listen to someone talk I wish they would make it interactive some how. Don't get me wrong, the topics were very interesting. But sitting and listening for 4 days is more than I can handle. I get so fidgety. I play with my hair, play with my face, flip my pen, cross and uncross my legs, play with my shoes, and just about anything else I can find. I was so glad for the end of the day today.

I wasn't at work at all this afternoon. Unfortunately, I attended a funeral for my cousins grandfather on the other side of their family. It was a sad afternoon. I had to fight tears each time I looked at my cousins. J, T, & R - I know you've had a rough week. I'm so sorry.

Well, the Mister is off at a stag party for the weekend. It's just the littlest Princess and I here all weekend...all by ourselves. I'm not sure what we'll do all weekend. She's in bed so I guess I'll have to find some way to entertain myself tonight. Luckily, I stopped at the liquor store on my way home :)

Hot Stuff

The Princess household almost had a visit from the Fredericton Fire Department last night. I'm all about hospitality and having guests but only under the right circumstances. My kitchen being on fire is not the way I want to invite people over to my house.

I made some salsa the other day and I really wanted some last night. I decided to make some baked pita chips. I got them all ready and they were just about done when I decided to crisp them up at bit with the broiler. I've done this millions of times without a problem. Last night I must have had a complete lapse in brain function because I turned on the broiler and walked away. DUH!

After a few minutes I had a "Holy Shit" moment and remembered the chips. I walked into the kitchen and it was full of smoke. I opened the oven only to find my chips, literally, on fire. I couldn't blow out the flames while they were still in the oven. I had to pull out the pizza stone they were on to blow out the fire. Let me just say that the house was fragrant and smoke filled for the rest of the evening.

As you may have guessed, no salsa and pita chips for me last night.

My Little Dancer

My daughter LOVES to dance. Her dance classes ended in May and has been asking me continually when she will get to go back to dance with Michele and Sandee. Yesterday when I picked her up at daycare, her teacher said "Wait, I have something I have to show you." I'm thinking - Crap, let's run away! So Debby brings out a digital camera and says "This is your daughter's future...." She took pics of JJ dancing on a large tire (turned on it side buried in the ground for the kids to play on...makes a good stage) in front of a bunch of kids while another little boy played the drums for her. She is such a performer. She even did a sassy little pose with her hip stuck out for Debby.

Last night I decided to try to the Carmen Electra Strip Aerobics DVDs. It's really not as bad as it sounds. I borrowed them from someone to try pick up some moves to help with my new side business. There are 5 DVDs to choose from so I popped in the Hip Hop DVD. It was fun. The moves weren't tough but it takes practice. What a work out! It made me sweat...which I hate by the way. Anyway, Little Princess was on the couch watching and decided to jump in and take part. Does the fact that I let my child dance along to Carmen Electra make me a bad parent? Again, it was just a hip hop routine.

Anyway, she was so damn cute!!!!!!! One move is a turn and you snap your head to look behind you. She did it like a pro. Another move starts with you slapping your hands on your thigh, then you walk and as you walk you slide your hands up your torso. She did that too and it cracked me up!! I absolutely have to get this on video.

Tired

It's only Thursday but I'm so ready for this week to be over. I'm exhausted. I'm alseep as soon as my head hits the pillow and I sleep all night but I wake up in the morning just was tired as the night before.

I've been working on a project at work that has me dealing with alot of little old ladies with disabled children involved with our department. Over the last few weeks, I've seen enough crying little old ladies to last me a life time. Before you get upset over that comment, let me clarify. It's draining to sit and listen to their sad stories and not be able to do anything to help them. I feel so bad for them. Many of them are worried about what will happen to their disabled children when they pass on. I have absolutely no help for them. I find this all exhausting. Oh well, if that's all I have to bitch about than good for me. It could be worse, I could be on their end, right?

So has anyone found a way to add more hours to the day yet? THAT would be a million dollar idea. Working totally gets in the way of the other things I want to do. Like hang out in my backyard in my bathing suit when it's nice. Oh! I haven't checked my lottery tickets from last night! One moment....if I don't have anything else to say after this it means I hit publish and went to get my $40 million. Damn, I'm back. I didn't win.

Tonight our little family of three is going to have a soccer game in the backyard. JJ and I against the Mister. It could get messy. I'm rather competitive and I have no qualms about kicking the other players. Bring it.

International Recognition

Picture it - June 11, 2007 between 7:30 and 8 pm. I had just put the Littlest Soccer-Playing Princess to bed and I was laying on my bed with a pillow over my head because I was grumpy. I had been there about 10 minutes when the phone rings. I don't attempt to even answer it because I'm grumpy. The Mister answers it and brings me the phone. I debate whether or not to pretend I'm asleep because I'm grumpy. It was my sister and she was calling to tell me something super fantastic. You might want to make sure you're sitting down for this.

She called to say that one of the categories on Jeopardy was...


SARAH-DIPTY


That's right folks. It was on Jeopardy. That means it is now internationally recognized. Next you'll see it in Webster's Dictionary. It's all about Sarahdipity.

I Took the Plunge

I did it. I took the plunge. Bit the bullet and made the call this afternoon. They were very nice and I'm super excited. What did I do? What do you think I did?

I'm excited to say that I'm now officially a Pole Princess. Yup, I signed up to teach pole dancing. I signed up with Pole Lot of Fun to be a demonstrator with their company. My pole and kit will be here next week. It's going to be a ton of fun!!

I'll let you all know more details once I have everything. But if you'd like more information on how it works or if you are interested in a party contact me at orange_pumpkin2002@yahoo.com

Pole Princess

Registration is Open

I would like to announce that I am once again actively taking sign ups for Camp Stupid. Lately I've been noticing alot of camper candidates running freely around town. It seems to have gotten a bit out of control and I've decided to start filling the bus for the first official trip of the summer to Camp Stupid.

I found the perfect candidate over the lunch hour. I visited a local oven sub sandwich shop to pick up some lunch. I'm been trying to eat somewhat healthy lately due to a number of reasons. So, I asked the franchisee, it said so right on her name tag, if she had a pamphlet or such with the nutritional info on the sandwiches. She said she didn't but the type I chose is relatively healthy except for the mayo. Uh huh, thank you Einstein that was f'ing ground breaking information. Harsh I now but you'll understand if you keep reading. I thank her and I start to walk away. Then I hear the bitch snicker to the people behind me and say "If you can't have bit of mayo you may as well give up." Yikes! That caught my attention. However, I just kept on walking. The moisture in the air is giving me some crazy hair and I didn't want to look like a raving lunatic on top of that. :) What a bitch. I would love to call her and tell her that the reason I wanted the nutritional information is due to this serious stomach problem I have.

But I'm not going to! Nope! Instead I'm shipping Little Miss Bitchy Pants off to Camp Stupid. Remember the camp motto? We're like the roach motel...you check it but you can't check out. Happy Camping, Sweetie!

Pole Dancing on a Saturday Night

So, what did you do last night? I had a pole dancing party with 11 of my friends. Yup, a pole dancing party. It's pretty much your friendly neighbourhood Tupperware party but instead of buying Tupperware you learn how to pole dance. A fun girl named Tracey came to my house with her portable pole. First we made up new pole dancer names, just call me Princess Cherry Pop, and then taught us some moves. After she taught us the moves, we took turns doing our own routine. It was a ball!! I think pretty much everyone was nervous, some admittedly more than others. But by the end, it seems like everyone was loving that pole. Seriously, where has it been all my life?!?!?!?

I'm not posting too many photos because I don't want any of the girls to feel uncomfortable. I was really a stretch for some girls to be able to venture that far out of their comfort zone. But let me tell you, each and every one of them rocked that pole. I mean it, every girl was good at this. My sister, featured in the photo above, EXCELLED at the fireman's pole move. She owned that moved. She managed to do 2 turns around that pole on her way down it. She is a goddess.

I'm not sure if the girl above wants to be identified or not so we'll call her by her pole name "Desiree". She gets the award for best overall performance. That girl has moves. I especially enjoyed the warm up routine she did in my front window before the pole was even installed.

I must say I enjoyed this pirouette slide move. So much so that I have a bruise on my back from it. I also enjoyod the dip, the fireman pole, and this weird move that I made up on my own. It seem good last night but after reflecting upon it today, I think it probably looked more like I was trying not to fall down. I really, really liked that pole. I think most of us did. I heard at least one girl ask how much the poles sell for.

I had a great time last night but my body is crying out in pain today. I have bruises on my back, my forearms hurt from swinging myself around that pole. The front of my thighs, oh the front of my thighs, they will never again be the same. It hurts to walk or pretty much move my legs at all. My abs hurt and so do my calves. I have a feeling I'll be finding more sensitive muscles over the next few days.

So to all my girls who bravely came out and faced the pole - Cheers to all of you. You are all awesome.

I Must Be Sleepy

I didn't think I was tired but I must be. I went tanning at lunch time...to warm up of course. Although I do have a smidge of color. Anyway, I fell asleep in the tanning bed. I'm talking out cold, mouth hanging open, scared the jebus out of me when it turned off kinda sleep. I was even in the middle of a dream, which I remember quite vividly. It involved warm sun (duh!) and a waterfall. It was a great dream.

But let me tell what wasn't pleasant. Waking up! Oye, was I disoriented and I'm still groggy. I love a good nap as much as the next person. But I've never been able to have a nap in the afternoon and then function normally for the rest of the day. Those 20 minute power naps people rave about just mess me up. I'll spend the rest of the day in a foggy haze. Sigh, oh well, I'll just sit here and try to get back to my awesome dream.

Stupid Bathroom

I'm in the home stretch but boy have I seen enough of that damn bathroom. Cripes, who wants to spend an week of evenings crammed in a tiny little bathroom? I've finished sanding and staining the vanity, for now anyway. I'll let let that dry and ask Mr. Princess to hang the doors tomorrow night. In a few minutes I'll go put the outlet plates back on. I'll be sooooooo glad when it's done. It's making my hands very dry.

So, my shopping problem has resurfaced with a vengeance. I wake up in the morning and I have nothing to wear. Yet the floor of my closet...wait who am I kidding...I'm not sure there is a floor down there. I haven't seen it since we moved into this house 3 years ago. I mean, I'm sure the closet came with a floor but I don't remember it. Anyway, I've gone shopping for clothes a few times over the last few days. Today I hated the shirt I had on so I went and bought a new one to wear plus one more for good luck.

Mel and I went walking at O'Dell Park at lunch. It was much better than the walking bridge downtown. It was challenging to walk the hills in the woods. I came out with only one bug bite. Not bad. Mel covered for me while I changed my clothes in the parking lot. Then told me she didn't need lunch anyway. She *says* she meant she wouldn't have time after covering for me. Uh huh...I know what she really meant.

Reno Reatlity

Last Monday, Victoria Day, I was in JJ's bathroom when I decided that it needed to be re-done. Well, shit or get off the pot, I say and so I promptly tore the wall paper off the wall. It's just a matter of stripping the wallpaper and slapping on some paint, right? Wrong.

Later that evening, I stripped of the bottom layer of wallpaper, Tuesday night, I washed the walls and patched the small holes and blemishes, Wednesday night I sanded the patches and patched some other blemishes I didn't see the first time, Thursday night I sanded again. Friday was the big dance show.

Saturday, I finally went out on bought the paint. I chose a lovely shade of green from the Debbie Travis line of paint. I take it to the counter and ask them to color match it for me in the Canadian Tire brand. I'm not paying for Debbie Travis paint for a three year old's bathroom. Well, no can do. Apparently, she has her line trademarked (or whatever the term is) and it can't be color matched. Whatever, I'm not watching her show anymore. I get paint and I light fixture, both on sale, and I head out. Next I go to Zellers and get a new mirror for the bathroom, and because I have Sarahdipity, I got it for 25% off. I can finally head home.

Saturday evening Eric installs the light fixture. Oops, it would seem that small little light bulbs don't throw off enough light. The room is somewhat like a cave. The Mister did tell me before hand not to get a light fixture with those bulbs but I didn't listen. He muttered a few choice words as he walked down the hall after the installation was done. While I was at the dance show, he took it down and I got a new one at Kent later that evening. With regular size light bulbs.

Sunday, he installs the new fixture and I paint. That lovely shade of green I chose? Looks like crap. It was the most craptacular shade of crap green ever. Crap. End of painting. That night I found a can of paint in the basement that I liked better anyway. Somewhere along the way, I also decided that it would be a good idea to sand and re-stain the vanity a darker shade. So I haul off the doors and start on that project. Am I on crack?!?!?!

Finally last night, I got the new coat of paint on and I really like it. The new mirror is up and all I have left to do is finish sanding and then stain the vanity, which I will do tonight.

Last night after I was done painting and JJ was in bed I headed out the grocery store to pick up a few things. I noticed people were looking at me but I was having a good hair day yesterday. This one man seemed to be moving about the store in the same direction as me and he kept looking at me. He even smiled at me a few times. I'm thinking "Hmmm....must be a really good hair day." Whatever, I just go about my shopping and head home. After I got everything put away, I went into the washroom to take my contacts out because my eyes were itchy. I look in the mirror and I realize....that man was smiling at the big glob of green paint in my hair. Sophistimacated.

Lucky

I've had too much time to think again. This really has to stop. Today I got thinking about my friends. I'm pretty lucky to have such a great group of friends. They keep my secrets, encourage me, put up with my stunts, and even encourage my Princess behaviour. And those are only the highlights. I would be here all day if I listed everything. Love you all. Kisses.

Do you have people in your life that you just "clicked" with the instant you met? I'm lucky enough to have a couple of people like that. These are people that I became friends with almost the instant we met and the comfort level (for me anyway) was like I'd known them all my life. You know, they're are the people you get really excited to see, make you feel happy when you're with them, and then you're sad to see them go.

In one instance, we knew of each other, went to a gathering together, then 2 weeks later went to another gathering. In no time at the 2nd gathering, we were nicely warmed up by alcohol, sitting propped up against a fridge spilling our life stories to one another.

I had lunch with another one today. I'm not sure we even had a proper introduction in the beginning. Our friendship started with a passing comment and we just seem to be instant friends...stuck with me for life This person just seems to get me and always brings a smile to my face. I'm always happy to see them and then sad to leave.

Don't get me wrong, I love all of you but doesn't everyone have one or two people that just occupy a special place?

Hmmm...it would seem I'm a bit sentimental this afternoon. Now let's not starting guessing, naming people, or asking who I'm talking Just take it for what it is and leave it alone. There I'm not sentimental anymore.

On another note, I tried the new FD lemon-lime flavour this weekend. YUM! Taste just like lemonade.

Dance Extravaganza

I want to give fair warning that this post is going to full of shameless bragging and Momma Bear pride. So without further ado, can I just say that my daughter is an freaking SUPERSTAR!!!!!

Tonight was the second dance show. JJ was adorable last night...a Princess, if you will. But tonight...tonight she owned that stage! She rocked that stage. She is damn awesome. The lights came on and she flashed us a grin, gave us a wave and then shook what her Momma gave her.

She has loved going to dancing this year but she doesn't always listen to her teachers and follow their moves. She likes to improvise. So I was wondering, but not worry because she's only 3, how she would do in the show. I had no worries that she would perform on the stage. I just wondered what she would choose to perform. I'm very proud to say that she did the same dance as the group on both night. But tonight she did even better than last night.

Last night....sigh, I cried. I mean full on tears and that sore feeling in your throat from trying to hold it in. Two acts later, and I was still sniffling.

As the lights dimmed, Bonnie's voice came over the sound system, and the curtain rose, I got that old, familiar feeling in my stomach that I always got before going on stage. I didn't dance for that long and the show is only once a year. But I performed alot in other things. Shelley, you'll appreciate this....I even thought to myself "I have to pee." I think it was those feelings combined with seeing my baby on that big stage that made my cry harder than I anticipated.

I was never very good at dancing, think Elaine Benis, but I as I watched last night and tonight I missed it. I wonder if they offer remedial dance classes for ridiculously uncoordinated adults?

I guess that's dance for this year. I can't wait to do it all again next year. Just let me leave you with this - My kid is a rockstar.

Shrek

We went to see Shrek 3 this afternoon. It was pretty good and I was all set to post a photo of JJ all ready to go wearing her Shrek ears. However, the little bugger refused to let me take a picture. She is rather cranky today. Not sure why.
She loved Shrek and for whatever reason was very into the fight scenes. She kept telling me that Fiona is brave and would fight to save Shrek. Every time she says fight she punches in the air. I wasn't sure we were going to make it to the end. There is a part of the movie where Shrek dreams about his impending fatherhood and we see lots of ogre babies. After that scene, JJ turns to me and says "Okay, I've seen Shrek's babies. Let's go." She wanted to leave so she could go fishing with her new Shrek fishing rod. I told her she was only going fishing if she stayed until the end of the movie. LOL...I'm a mean Momma.
So after the movie, she and I hopped in the car and went down to the stream behind the fire station to go fishing. Believe me there were no fish going to be caught with the medallion on the end of her line. The water was running very fast so I didn't even take my camera down. I was more focused on keeping her out of the drink than getting photos.
She's just having a snack and then were heading to Nanny and Grampie's so she can plant seeds with them. We've basically packed a weekend of activities into one semi nice day.

Wise Words

"What's the point of wearing fancy panties if you can't show them off?" These are the wise words spoken by my uncle this afternoon at the reception following the baptism of my sweet little cousin. Of course this quote was spoken in reference to my lovely daughter, dressed up in a beautiful pink party dress, who was laying in the middle of the floor alternately eating cake and putting her feet over her head.
My family is soooo classy. My mom dropped her cake on the floor. I couldn't figure out which coffee was mine and just kept trying a bunch until I hit the right one (three tries later). My aunt, being the smart one said "Dear there is plenty of coffee just get yourself another one." Hmmmm...now that is some smart thinking. Too bad at 30 years old, someone had to point it out to me.
The classiness only continued after my daughter slid down a wooden ramp getting splinters in her butt. I told her to bend over so I could help her out with her situation. I then bent over her and um...brushed her off. My classy cousin shouts out "Hey Princess (insert real name here) you 2 look like a Cirque du Soleil act". She was wrong because a real Cirque act would have looked classy. We did not.
You know there was a time in my life that if I had said "I have splinters in my butt." on a Sunday morning/afternoon, that my cousins would have nodded and smiled knowing that it meant I had a really, really good time the night before. My how times of changed. Except one thing...we still as classy as evah! Oh and can I just say that my family, as a whole, produces the cutest damn kids ever!?!?

Eyes Shut - Part Deux

Well, it turns out I have my eyes closed even when I think they're wide open. Yesterday I tore this place apart looking for souvlaki seasoning (shhhh...don't tell JJ that is what is for supper). I knew I bought some from Jay but damn I couldn't find it anywhere.

I'm really bad for stashing things away, which is a sign that your "retail therapy" may be getting a tad out of control ;) I took all the Epicure jars out of the cupboard but couldn't find the souvlaki. So I ended up waist deep in my closet looking for this stuff, I cleaned out the car, and was even lost in the abyss that is the cave under my scrapbook table. I couldn't ask the mister to help me because, quite frankly, I don't want him looking in the places it might be. After all that looking I came up empty handed. There was no souvlaki spice to be found.

I was headed to Jay's place for a girls night so I took a container and bummed some spice from her. As usually, she graciously fixed me up. And as usual, she took good care of me and even gave me instructions on how to prepare it. Oh Jay, you'll be happy to know I put the meat on skewers and it will be BBQ'd.

Fast forward to this afternoon. I'm standing at the counter making the kabobs and all of a sudden I have a flashback to last night. No, it had nothing to do with Nic's undergarments (or lack of). I suddenly realized that the jar Jay has last night was small. Hot damn, I open the cupboard and there is the souvlaki spice. I had been looking for a large size jar but it was a small jar.

The worst part of all this? It was right at the front of the cupboard, in the center staring me in the face with a large size SOUVLAKI label.

Sun and Coarse Language

Did you hear that tomorrow is supposed to be 30 degrees??? Well 29 degrees but that's close enough for me. I'm so excited. I loooooove the heat. I have a tradition that I stay home and hangout outside in my bikini on the first 30 degree day of the summer season. Guess what??? That day is tomorrow - WOOT! I'm freakin' giddy with excitement. Frankly, it doesn't take much.

I was under the weather earlier this week. I had some sort of nasty sinus thing. It made my head throb and made me do and think crazy things. My head was aching pretty badly from it and it was worse when I tried to lay down to go to sleep. Monday night I tried sleeping upright on the couch. That only resulted in an over-tired, mildly psychotic, wanting to do mean things to people-who-make-long-lasting repetitive noise kinda Princess. Causing serious bodily harm to people crossed my mind more than a few times. Oh, it wasn't my sweet child who was doing that. She is a darling little angel who sat for 30 mins while I put her hair in ringlets. She's rocks.

The pain and annoyance also caused me to become very creative with, as my cousin calls it, the F-bomb. I can insert the F-bomb just about anywhere. For example, The noise is in-fucking-cessant, This is un-fucking-believable, I'm going to throw myself out the fucking window...you get it.

But I'm better now and no longer flinging the F-bomb around...cause that's just not lady like.

Eyes Shut Tight

I was driving again today. An hour in each direction which gives me lots of time to think. You know what I noticed today? I close my eyes at very inappropriate times.

I'm thinking it is not a good idea to close your eyes and sing while driving 120 km/hr on the road between Fredericton and Harvey. Hell, it's not really a good idea to do that on any road. But that highway is particularly bumpy.

I also noticed that I close my eyes when anything bad/unnerving happens while I'm driving. I almost ran over and squirrel and immediately closed my eyes. I've noticed in the past that if I have a near-miss with another car, I immediately close my eyes. I'm no expert but I'm thinking that if you are about to hit another car it might just be a good idea to open your eyes and keep all of your faculties about you.

The Mister almost rear ended a car on the bridge last night...you guessed it - I closed my eyes very tight. If I can see it, it doesn't exist...witness testimony be damned.

I was walking outside today and it was cold. What did I do? Close my eyes. Because closing my eyes and walking into things/people on Queen St is sure to make me warmer.

All of a sudden a light bulb is going on in my head. I might not get myself into so much trouble if I kept my eyes open more often. I bet you 10 to 1 that I closed my eyes when the garage door came down on the back of the car. Ahhhhhh....good times.

The Recap

So last night was the big movie night. Twelve of us went to see Dirty Dancing together. Let me start by saying that this was certainly a different movie experience than normal.

It started with Mel and I seeing Hollee as soon as we walk in. She is on the phone and says "Dee and Jenn are inside, the place is packed and they can't hold 13 seats." Mel and I rush in without even getting popcorn and the place in empty except Dee, Jenn, and 2 other women. This was indicative of the experience to come.

I'll just hit a few highlights and the rest of you can add your 2 cents.

* Dee and Jenn cried.
* I think Nic had an orgasm in the row ahead of me
* Remember the scene where baby carries the watermelon and then Johnny teaches her to dirty dance? Yup, that's me. I say dumb things and I look like I'm having a seizure when I dance.
* Whooping, hollering, and clapping
* Singing to every song
* Cheering when Johnny jumped off the stage and danced up the aisle
* sister on sister porn - I'll say no more
* Amy laughing and then crying over "I know dear, that hurts."

We were pretty loud and kinda took over the theatre. The atmosphere in the theatre was more excited in general and we weren't the only ones acting silly. But we were definitely the dominant group. We had a ball but I thought we were going to get 1) kicked out of the theatre or 2) our asses kicked in the parking lot for being so disruptive. But it all worked out in the end...because it always does. Right, Nic?

What's She Doin' Here

I carried a watermelon.

24 Hours

The next 24 hours are going to be pretty big for me. For starters I'm going to see Dirty Dancing tonight with my girls. I wonder how many men will be in the audience. I'm sure most husbands and boyfriend scoffed at the idea of going to that movie. Ha! Tricks on them! I think taking your girlfriend/wife to that movie would probably guarantee you'll be getting some action that night. We women love the love story between Baby and Johnny...if you know what I mean...wink, wink.
Moving right along....I'm prepared to do some singing in the theatre and I just *know* that at least some of my friends are crazy enough to sing too. Nic, Amy....we're sitting together right? It's a guaranteed good time.

After the movie I have to rush home to go to bed. Tomorrow morning I'm going to be at the Playhouse for 6:30 am to get tickets for JJ's dance show. I know there will be lots of tickets to go around. But it's her first show and I want to be in the 1st or 2nd row. I won't do this next year...just for her first year. So if you drive past the Playhouse tomorrow honk and wave to me. I like a large triple, triple from Tim's just incase anyone is wondering. Oh and don't be afraid to come hold my place in line so I can take a pee break too. The tickets don't go on sale until 10 am so that could be a loooong time to hold it. Oye, flashbacks of route 8.

Okay, so I'll see some of you tonight. I might be a few minutes late. I have to pick up my dancing dress from the cleaners to wear to the movie. You know the red one that really twirls when I spin? Mel, you'd better start stretching for that lift!

Kim Possible!!!!

JJ has watched the cartoon Kim Possible a few times but it's not something she watches regularly. However, a few weeks ago when she spent the weekend with Nanny & Grampy, she suckered Nana into buying her a Kim Possible outfit. Since then she has been talking about Kim Possible.

This morning before leaving for work, I called KimMartha at home. Just was we were hanging up, JJ comes tearing into the room yelling "I want to talk! Can I say Hi?" while pulling on my arm to get the phone. I tried to end the conversation as fast as I could before JJ got the phone from me. After I hung JJ says "But Momma, I wanted to talk to Kim Possible." LOL...she really thought I was talking to Kim Possible. KimMartha is a teacher so I just said "Oh, well Kim had to leave for school." and JJ was satisfied with that.

I'm sooooo going store that in my arsenal for future use. I think the possibility of a chat with the real life Kim Possible will be powerfully persuasive.

So Bad Yet So Good

I know tanning is really bad for you but it's so relaxing. I don't normally go to a tanning salon unless I'm heading south. But today I threw caution to the wind and to Miami I went.

I'm reading the form they have you fill out and the whole process cracks me up. They give a list of things that make you a high risk tanner and if you say yes to a few of these they don't suggest you are a good candidate for tanning. Here are the criteria I remember:
* cancer runs if you family - not that I'm aware of
* you burn easily - Yup!
* you've had moles removed - Check!
* were born with many moles on your body - Of course!
* have a very fair complexion - Call me Casper!

So what did they say when I answered yes to all of these? "Do you want to start today?"

LOL...sign me up! My gravestone will say "She died of cancer but boy was she relaxed."

Route 8

Ah, the infamous Route 8. I normally I only travelled Route 8 from Killarney Lake to Doaktown. The highway is known for being dangerous. It's narrow, curvy, heavily travelled by transport trucks ,and the road surface is in bad shape.

I travel Route 8 on a semi-regular basis and I don't like it. But I don't like it for a different reason than what I've listed above. I don't like it because there are precious few restrooms on the damn road from Boiestown to Fredericton. If usually get a large coffee on my way to Boiestown/Doaktown. If I don't hit the Boiestown Irving on my way home I'm out of luck.

Yesterday, I didn't think I needed to stop and was I sadly mistaken. I drove straight through and then made a detour in Durham. Well, by the time I left Durham I was in a bad way. I had so badly judged my need to stop at the Irv that I was shaking. I couldn't even sit in my seat properly for fear I would have an accident. And I don't mean the motor vehicle type.

So I say never mind the new highway, just put in more spot for pee breaks and it'll all be good...for me anyway. And a pot of coffee wouldn't hurt either...I'm just sayin'.

Scary Incident

A very scary incident took place at the swimming pool this morning while JJ was at swimming lessons. JJ's group was in the small warm pool and Eric and I were upstairs in the viewing area that was filled with other parents watching.

With about 5 minutes left of the lesson, I see one of the life guard come running, and I mean a full on run, across the pool deck. I'm watching her as she runs up on the side of the small warm pool. At this point I'm waiting for her to dive off the side of the warm pool into the big pool. It was obvious from her run and demeanor that someone was in trouble. The lifeguard gets on the the side of the small pool, reaches over and grabs my daughter. She rescued my daugther. Not someone else's child. Mine.

Okay, deep breath, I'm trying not to cry as I write this. I could see JJ swimming around but I was way upstairs. Then I started watching the lifeguard when she was running. The lifeguard was running to save my child. My 3 1/2 year old child who was in a small pool with a lifeguard beside her. Unfortunately, he had his back to her. Shit, the more I type this the more I shake and the harder it is to type.

I've spoken to the teacher one time before because JJ was bouncing all over the pool and he wasn't telling her to listen. I told him not to be afraid to talk to her about it. His only answer was "She's a very good swimmer." Eric and I both go to swimming every week and I've told E before that it concerns me that the teacher has his back to the kids sometimes. I think the teacher pays less attention to her because she is a good swimmer.

Swimming was at 9 am and it's now 3 pm and I am still very emotional thinking about it or talking about it. In fact, I couldn't even tell anyone what happened until about 45 mins ago. I can't believe my child could have drowned with her father and I watching from upstairs and in a pool with a lifeguard. I will be addressing this with the pool but I can't do it today. I'm far to emotional for that.

Whaddya know...

Hmmm...it turns out the board at the restaurant with the blue door was right. Spring has Sprung. It it wasn't a cruel joke after all and they did know something I didn't. I'm so happy to see the sun yesterday and today. I'm going to be even happier when I see it tomorrow.

So what does a Princess do to celebrate the sun? She goes shopping of course. New capris and a sleeveless shirt for me. Yay me! I really have to make a point to stay away from stores. Yesterday I bought the Littlest Princess a good portion of her summer wardrobe. Darn kid keeps growing. It is almost beyond my comprehension when I hear other parents say that clothes from last summer still fit this year. Good lord, JJ's pants from December are too short. I'm not kidding. At her 3.5 year assessment earlier this week, they told me she is 43 inches tall and 47 lbs. They said her height and weight are perfectly in proportions with each other. However, those numbers are off the chart. Meaning she is in the most upper percentile of height and weight for children her age. I worry she'll be teased about this when she goes to school. But I have a plan, I will have Mr Princess beat up the father of any kid that picks on her. ;)
Anyway, we are headed to my parent's deck for the first BBQ and Friday drink of the summer. Tomorrow I'm going to sit outside in a lawn chair wearing flip flops. Even if my chair is in a snowbank. I'm done with winter. And that is that.

Noticeable

I notice things. I notice things that other people don't. I can't help it. I don't try to pick things apart or to scrutinize. Things just jump out at me. I'm not sure if this is a good quality or a bad quality. I'm sure it drives people crazy by times but it also works in my favour at times. I don't necessarily notice bad things. Just things.

I tend to notice people's shoes, rings, and earrings quickly. I might not know what you wore yesterday but I likely noticed your shoes. For example, I know that KimMartha wears rings on 3 fingers. I know that Mel wears more rings when she dresses up.

I also tend to notice habits. Nic always gets 2 packages of the same gum. Okay, in all fairness, Nic gets everything in pairs. But it is always the same gum. Shelley does the same motion with her hands when she is explaining something. The list goes on.

So the point here is that I notice alot of things. Today I noticed someting new. I have a mole on my hand with a hair growing out of it. I bet you didn't see that one coming.

Sugar Bugs

Yesterday JJ went for her 3.5 year assessment at Public Health. She went through it with flying colors and was even bored at points.

The nurse asked me if I had any concerns about JJ. I brought up her speech. JJ does really well for the most part. She has no problems with R, L sounds or any of the other sounds that are typically challenging for a child. However, JJ does lisp when she says an S sound and it is rather awkward when she says a word like MINT that has an "NT" combination. I've studied her speech (c'mon you knew I would) by watching her when she speaks. She can't seem to relax her tongue. It pushes up against the top of her 2 front teeth. Try saying an S sound or MINT like that and you'll see what I mean. Okay, I'll wait while you do it......

So anyway, the nurse gets her to say a few S words and then mint and the little bugger proves me a liar. I wasn't actually that surprised. I've noticed that over the last few weeks her speech has improved vastly. At one point over the weekend, I was talking to her on the phone and I'm not sure I would have recognized her voice if I hadn't called her.

As part of the assessment, the nurse showed JJ pics of healthy goods and a happy smiling tooth. On the other side of the page was a sad tooth covered in "sugar bugs" and pics of junk food. JJ was quite enraptured by the sad tooth with the sugar bugs. She kept asking the nurse to see it again.

Last evening when we got home, she started asking about the sugar bugs. She asked me to check her teeth repeatedly to see if there were any sugar bugs. When I said no, she wanted to know if they were in the house. The child is now OBSESSED with sugar bugs. Before she will eat anything, she asks me if it has sugar in it and will is give her sugar bugs. She will NOT eat anything with sugar for fear of sugar bugs. It sounds good on the surface but my child has a wee bit, just tiny, very small, almost don't know it's there dramatic flair. Sugar bugs could become an issue. I will say no more to avoid jinxing myself.

Got an Ark?

It's raining something out there, let me tell you. I've been in and out all day and I still have yet to dry out from my first outing early this morning. My hair is wet and stringy, my bangs have taken on a life of their own, my pant legs are wet up to my knees, and my boots are just holding tanks for cold water. But such is life in the Maritimes. Just smile and run like hell to get out of the rain.

Mr. Princess and I went to a local restaurant for lunch. I'll give you a hint. It has a blue door :) They have a large chalkboard on the wall that has "Spring has Sprung!" in big old letters. My first reaction was "WHERE???????" I thought for sure that restaurant knew something the rest of us don't. I was hoping my server would tell me where to find spring when she brought us the cheque but no dice. I guess I'll keep looking. To be honest, I thing it was just a cruel, cruel joke. Either that or the writer of that particular message has lost their sense of touch, sight, sound. I'm pretty sure they've never had a sense of humour...otherwise they wouldn't have written that damn message to begin with.

Edit - I was so cold after lunch that I asked my dad to bring me a sweater after his lunch. We work in the same building but for different departments. Anyway, he brings me a knit atrocity that is 5 sizes too big and is covered in dog hair. The dog has been dead for at least 2 years. Oye.

Thank You

This may be a bit presumptuous but I'm posting this here in the event that any of the ladies from the crop this weekend read my blog. If anyone does read it, will you pass my message on to anyone else you know that was at the crop? I'd really appreciate it.

The ladies who attend our Diva Crop this weekend got together and hatched a plan. After our opening remarks, one of the ladies took over the podium and presented each of the committee members with a gift certificate to Avalon Spa. The entire committee was all so touched. I don't think I've ever seen 9 women all start to cry so quickly. I instantly had tears running down my face. The certificate to the spa was wonderful. But more touching was that these ladies thought enough of us to do this for us. I know Karen and Mary Kay were involved in spear heading this project.

I want to thank each and everyone one of the ladies involved in making this surprise happen for us. I wanted to go around and give each and everyone of you a big thank you hug. I'm getting teary again writing this. I'm not usually a big cryer but I just can't believe you did this for us. We have always thought everyone enjoyed the weekend crops but this certainly validated it for us. You probably have no idea how much your actions and kind words have touched each and every one of us committee members.

Angela and Eleanor - thank you for the sweet cards. Thank you for your kind words and for thinking of us.

Each time we have one of these events, participants comment on how much work must go into the weekends. My answer is always the same - Yes, a lot of work and planning does go into it but we really have so much fun doing it. My answer probably sounds like a cliche but it's so true. I only wish you could be a fly on the wall at our meetings where we laugh so hard our stomachs hurt. I wish you could have seen Nicole and I on Thursday afternoon at the store. We were surrounded by tonnes of boxes, totally overwhelmed, no idea where to start and both of us giggling with the same "oh my, what do we do now" nervous giggle. But we were still laughing and having fun.

Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart, for your kindness and a great weekend.

Is it Time for Work Yet?

Oye. It's been a loooooong day. I love my daughter dearly but today was trying.

Last Saturday, JJ was running through the kitchen and took a spill. Neither the Mister or I saw her fall and just came running when we heard the ear-splitting scream. My kid is tough as nails and if she screams or cries, she is hurt. We ran into to the kitchen and she is bawling saying her foot hurt. She couldn't walk on it and it hurt to touch it. We elevated and iced her foot and gave her some motrin for the pain. She limped on it for a few days but it didn't seem to slow her down. We figured she just twisted something. She was able to rotate her ankle, point her toes, etc so we knew it wasn't broken.

Fast forward to this weekend. She was still limping on Friday and I decided it needed to be looked at by a doctor. I tend to be obsessive compulsive once I get something in my head. I worried about that foot all weekend and was going to call the doctor Tuesday when they re-open. Well, doesn't she take a spill yesterday. F***! Now the foot is swollen and he limp is even worse. She is alright after we ice it but it isn't long before that wears off.

We've been trying to keep her quiet and off the foot all weekend. Especially after she re-injured it yesterday. I'm telling you it's like trying to get the sun not to shine. We haven't taken her out to play because we don't want her walking on the foot. Especially on ice and snow. I can't begin to tell you how many times I had to ask her not to do things today. She as so much pent up energy and no way to release it.

Our night ended with her biting my finger. She is 3 1/2 years old! She knows better than to bite. I was telling he a story (I make up a story every night about her Ducky) and at the very end she reaches over and bites my damn finger. WTF?? I didn't even finish the story. I got up, told her I was done because she bit me and I left. She came out once, I explained again what was happening and sent her back to bed.

I feel bad because I know she *must* have been frustrated today too, not to mention all that unreleased energy. But, seriously, biting me?!?! What is up with that??

I'm calling the doctor first thing in the morning to have that foot looked at. I hope she has a better day tomorrow.

It's All Over Now

The Easter Bunny came bright and early to the Princess household. I mean 5:50 am kind of early. Oye. Christmas morning we have to wake her up but this morning JJ's up before the birds.

We bought her a new bike for Easter. Mr. Princess and I were totally excited about the bike. It's awesome. We didn't exactly get the reaction we were hoping for from the Littlest Princess. She said "Oh, the Easter Bunny got me a bike. And an Ariel snowglobe." Ugh.

Here she is seeing the bike for the first time. She was quite non-chalant about the experience. We're going to let her drive it in the garage later.

Well, I'm now trying to talk myself into going to start the turkey. Blech. Turkey is not one of my favourite foods to begin with. And sticking my hand inside it displeases my like you can't imagine. I'm a bit of a germophobe to start with and I don't like getting my hands dirty. So putting my hand inside of a dead turkey doesn't exactly tickle my fancy. I can clean up puke or whatever but I don't like putting my hand inside the turkey. Call me what you like...it makes me squeamish. But here I go to do it any way.

Oh, I almost forgot to mention that we has souvlaki for for supper last night. LOL...JJ was less than impressed and refused to eat it. I guess that is the result when you name your buddies after food.

What a Trip

I've been more involved with Facebook over the past few days. When I first found out about it, I wasn't that gung-ho on it. I already have email and this blog so I didn't feel I need yet one more thing to look at on the internet. Well, here we are a few weeks later and I'm hooked.

I guess it took making a connection with a few key people to really get me hook line and sinker. I have been in contact with my "core" group of friends that I hung around with in high school. I have to say that over 10 years later and I can't believe how much I've missed them. I've really only been in contact with them over the last 48 hours and it is somewhat mind boggling to me. I'm very surprised the emotion it has all stirred up. A couple of us are talking about together sometime. I really hope we can get most of the group to meet up. It would certainly be a trip down memory lane.

Music

My cousin left a comment the other day suggesting I check out www.theevolutionofdance.com on if I had the Monday blues. Well, I cheated and watched it on a Tuesday. It was hilarious!! The guy dancing hit the moves spot on for every song. I highly recommend it for your viewing pleasure.

While I was watching the clip, I could remember the times in my life that went along with every song. It's incredible the way just a few notes from a song can evoke some many feeling, emotions, memories and reactions.

I was standing at the scrapbook store the other day and an Aerosmith song came on. I said to Nic "Doesn't this song just make you want to toss your hair around?" That's really what that song did to me. Some songs make me want to get up and dance as hard as a can, some make me want to wrap myself around a pole, others make me want to sing as loud as I can, while still others make me sing softly.

The song America Pie, the Madonna covered version, takes me straight back to maternity leave. I only had to sing a few bars of the song to calm JJ as a baby. It worked almost every time. I sang that song so often that I thought it was imprinted in my brain forever and that I would never, ever forget the words. A few years later and I can only remember a few words.
On the flip side, I can remember other songs word for word that don't really have any significance for me.

Some songs bring particular people to mind. Richard Marx "Right Here Waiting" reminds me of Shelley...we listened to this over and over. Extreme "More than Words reminds me of Janet...not be allowed to play the song because it reminded her of someone. Outkast "Hey Ya"...as a 6 mth old JJ loved this song...as a 9/10 mth old she shook maracas and bopped to this song. The list goes on and on....I probably have a song that reminds me of just about everyone.

Hmmm....does anyone else car dance? Just wondering...

The Family that Parties

If you look at the links on the left of the screen, you will notice one called Not the Favourite who happens to be my sister. I read her most recent blog and got a really good laugh from it. Mel read it and called me. She asked "How did you guys get to be like that?" The truth is...it's a family thing. And I don't mean just me immediate family...it my extended family too. Yup, there are more out there like me. I was telling Mel about some of our family parties/incidents and she requested that I write about it. Here is a small glimpse into our fun family...NO NAMES!!

* My extended family used to get together at my parent's house on Christmas Eve. We don't do this any more because we have children which makes it tough to have them out late on Christmas Eve and there are too many of us to fit into my parent's house. There are 2 things that come to mind from Christmas Eves past 1) a cousin peeing on her skirt...you know who you are 2) my aunt and uncle saying they were going home to turn the bird (meaning their turkey that was cooking) and me turning that around to be a dirty comment. That comment still lives.

* We are Irish folk on my mom's side of the family and boy do we like to celebrate our heritage. We used to have great St. Patty's day parties until our elders turned into snowbirds...damn them! See me shaking my fist at them. Anyway, our parties tend to involve beverages which result in very happy, fun people. One year a happy, drunk cousin tried to convince the rest of us to play arse darts. Can't imagine why that didn't catch on. That was the same year I didn't notice the buttons on my shirt were undone.

* More than once my dad, my sister, and I have been the only people on the dance floor. We don't hold back.

*My cousin and I often used to hit the dance floor in our own style. Just incase she sitting there wondering "Is that me?" Yes, yes it is...she also split open her pants on the dance floor more than once. Incidentally, this is the same one who wanted to play arse darts. Oh...I can hardly type I'm laughing so hard.

* More than once I've attended wedding receptions with my family where we've been the last people on the dance floor at 1 am, left, and found somewhere esle to keep the party going.

* My father enjoys doing the Macarena and the bird dance. You can dress them up but...

* One of my family members makes horse noises when they've had too much to drink. Oh, I'm just dying writing this.

* One of my family members got so liquored at my wedding shower that her small dog sat on her to protect her and wouldn't let anyone near her. I should say this was at the after-shower party.

* I once asked my dad to get me a drink of water at a party. He must have been trying to teach me a lesson about being a lazy. I took a great big drink of water and found out it was pure vodka. I was in my 20's.

* People who marry into the family become like us. Mr. Princess breaks out his own funky dance moves after he's had a few. Churn the Butter, Drive the Bus, the Sprinkler, the Chainsaw, and the Wheelchair are just a few of his classic moves. Envision him dancing just like the name of the dance move. Eventually, he gets everyone doing it with him.
I actually have lots more but I think that's enough. So we like to have fun...big deal. At least we all like each other!!

It's Monday. Yay.

I'm not one that normally dislikes Mondays. But boy did today start off with a bang.

We were busy but fine leaving the house. I had to take everything but the kitchen sink with me this morning. Daycare drop off was no problem. Getting in and sitting at my desk was a breeze. Without getting into specifics, I got bitched out this morning for no good reason. I was just minding my own business and bam! I got sucked in the middle between 2 people. I'm a helper by nature but, unfortunately, that will be reigned in from now on . I will stick to being helpful to a select group and that's it. The rest can stick it. Bad attitude yes but I'm sick of bitchy civil servants with a chip on their shoulder. I won't let them drag me down...they've gotta catch me first.

Then I started working on a complicated task that is overwhelming me. I just need some guidance. Once my super co-worker with the patience of a saint returns to correct my errors, I'll be back on track.

My tax return is lost in cyberspace. I received a letter saying my refund was deposited but hence it's not in my accounts. It's not that I need the cash but it disturbs me that the revenue agency can't find it and neither can the bank. Ahhhh...just another case of them asking my family to bend over and take it. Seriously, they have my parents, my sister and I blacklisted. Some perverse sicko is sitting in an office somewhere laughing. On a slow day at the office, he/she thinks "Oops, the Princess family is starting to think they are in the clear. Time for action, boys!" And we bend over once more...

I'm drinking my second coffee of the day. Tims. I cannot drink Tims any longer. It makes my stomach hurt. While you must be thinking "OMG, the poor girl! What will she do without Tim's?!?!" This is actually good news. At least it's one more clue as to what I can avoid eating. Any other coffee seems fine.

I'm starting to come around now. It'll all work out...it always does.

Layout for Nic

The image of the layout is awful. I didn't realize I still had the camera in sport mode. You get the idea of the layout anyway.

Dance

Tuesday night was a big night at dance class. JJ got her costume. I'm not sure who was more excited...me or her. Okay, I admit, I do know...it was me!

The costume was in a bag and when I first saw it I was unsure. But once it was out of the bag it was adorable. I'm not posting a pic of it until she puts it on for class photos. But I'll try to describe it. It's a white short-sleeve body suit with a 3 tier tutu. The tulle on the tutu has wide pink satin edges and there is a dainty little flower bundle at the waist. It is so freaking cute!!!! They have a head decoration too and I'm not sure how I'll do her hair to make it all come together. But I do know that ringlets and hairspray are totally in the plan. Thinking about it makes me giggle.

I went to dance in junior high and high school. But I was NOT good at it. I don't have any coordination but I had fun. I've been planning on putting JJ in dance from the moment they told me my baby was a girl. I absolutely C-A-N-N-O-T wait to see her all dressed up on the stage at the show. I MUST be in the first or second row to get great pics. I MUST.

Tickets go on sale at the beginning of May. I need to decide what time to get in line. I talk to one of the other moms at dance and maybe I'll see if she wants to wait in line with me. We can take turns or something. Besides, I don't want to be out in the dark alone downtown.

Incase anyone goes to the show, I want to warn you in advance that I will be one of those crazy mothers. It would be a good idea to start practicing that you don't know me. I will be the crazy woman in the front row yelling "That's my baby!! My baby! You go baby girl! You're the best dancer ever! The others suck and you rock, Baby Girl! Shake what your Mama gave you!! Work it! Lady, get the *curse word* out of my way, you're blocking my shot!" I think you'll be able to pick me out.

Bunnies, Bunnies....Everywhere!!

Today was the Hop-a-Thon at JJ's daycare. The kids all go outside, with bunny ears and painted faces, and hop for 2 minutes. The children/parents are asked to get sponsors in the week leading up to the event to raise money for Muscular Dystrophy. I love it!!

This type of thing is one of the reasons I like our daycare so much. I love that the children are learning to help others.

Before they started hopping, one of the teachers asked the children why they were hopping. The kids responded "For kids who can't hop!" The teacher then went on to explain that the money they raised will help purchase equipment etc for kids with muscular dystrophy. The kids are having fun and it fosters their awareness of the world around them. It also teaches them about making a difference in their community.

JJ has been excited about the Hop-a-thon all week. I love that when she talks about the event, she also talks about helping other people. She may not understand exactly what "kids who can't hop" means but she knows she is doing something to help another human being.

If you're looking for JJ in the photo, you can stop looking. She's in playhouse at the back of the yard.

Don't Tie Your Child to the Bed

A friend called me this evening and, jokingly, asked me to tell her if it was alright to tie her child to the bed. This comment reminded me of my pregnancy.

When I first found out I was pregnant, my doctor sent to me to the prenatal clinic at the hospital to find out about any programs etc that were available to me. I'd never heard of it before but, being a gung-ho first time parent-to-be, I was game to do whatever I could to give my baby the best chance.
I arrived at the clinic and sat at a little table with a nurse (?). There are other people around the room doing the same thing. This woman could not have possibly been more disinterested in me. She was watching everyone else and following their conversations. She asked me each question 2 and 3 times because she wasn't listening the first time I answered.
This went on for awhile and then all of a sudden, her head snapped around and she said to me quite firmly, "Don't ever tie your child to the bed!" I swear to you, I looked behind me to see if she was talking to someone else. I was shocked and when I am taken by surprise, I often say things out loud that I should only think in my head. So I say to her "Are you talking to me??" She answers yes. I was so surprised that I blurted out "Do you say that to everyone or do I just look the type?" I wasn't snotty just blown away. I left there and, of course, told anyone who would listen about her insulting comment.
All of a sudden, today, I get it. Don't we all want to tie them down somewhere at some point in time? Even if it's only to go to the washroom alone.

Souvlaki

JJ and I spent the better part of Saturday afternoon making a paper mache pig. We drive past a house every morning that has paper mache pigs in the window. Last week she asked me if we could make these pigs some time and I said sure.
We set ourselves up at the diningroom table and went to work. We had paste from head to toe. It was on the table, the chairs, our clothes, our faces, and JJ even had it in her hair. My philosphy on messes is quite simple...you cannot have fun and stay clean.
We had quite a few layers on our little piggie. He is taking quite a bit of time to dry. We should be able to paint him tomorrow night. Of course, JJ has decided he will be pink. I just have to figure out a way to get a curly tail on our little swine friend.
Every "buddy" who comes into our house must have a name. At the supper table tonight, I asked Littlest Princess what her new piggie's name is. Her answer? SOUVLAKI. That is MY daughter. I suggested she make it easy and call him Lunch. My sister, who was here for supper with my niece, suggested JJ call him Bacon. JJ stuck with her first choice.

Without further delay, I introduce to you - Souvlaki:



Everyone, this is Soulaki. Souvlaki, this is everyone.

Preparing for a Flood

It is so gorgeous outside today. I always find it difficult to haul my ass back inside on the first nice day of spring. I really hate the cold weather and any little break in cold makes me hopeful.

Of course, with warm weather comes rain and melting snow. Living along the beautiful St. John river, we Frederictonians are always prepared for flood season. I'm proud to say that I'm the most prepared of all. You should see my damn high water pants. Not pretty. I bought jeans shortly after Christmas and they're freakin' horrible. They were marked a 32 length but there is no way. They make me very self-conscious. I'm always tugging at my pants to make them longer. The trouble is, if I tug down so they're long enough then half of my tushie is waving hello to the world. And who, tell me who, wants to face that image?!?!?!

Before you go to therapy to relieve you of that mental image, I want to tell you that I bought new jeans at lunch. Isn't that a relief for all you Lovelies seeing me tomorrow night?? They reach all the way to the floor AND they cover my rump.

Ahhhh...a nice spring day and non-high water pants. What more could a Princess ask for? Money, that's what!

T & J thanks for the Charlie info. Oh and J? When I talk about comments on my blog, people usually use the comment section rather than leave me voicemail messages every day. Hee hee hee...just some playful teasing.

A Princess in Disguise

Looky, looky what I did tonight. I got my hair cut and I, finally, let the stylist straighten it. I always resist having my hair straightened. It's just not me. Besides, childishly, it annoys me that everyone seems to want to try to tame the wild beast that is my hair.

Isn't it odd looking?? Mr Princess said he likes it better curly. JJ couldn't/wouldn't stop touching it.

JJ is so gung ho to go to Avalon Spa to get her hair done. Every time we drive past she says "Mommy, can I go to Avalon Spa to have my hair cut?" So I made her an appointment. It's going to be a long wait until April 11.

I saw my Ma Tante Paula at the salon tonight. She was there for an aesthetic appointment so she was done long before me. When I went to pay, the girl at the desk says "Sarah? " When I answer yes, she says " Paula already paid for half of your hair." I was so surprised. I said "Really?" and I must have looked pretty shocked because she ask if Paula was my aunt and she looked worried that she'd made a mistake. Wasn't that sweet?

When I called her to say thank you, she said she did it to perform a random act of kindess. She said it was inspired by JJ. Yay! That's one more person out there doing nice things. I dare someone to pay for coffee or whatever for the person behind them in line tomorrow. I double dog dare ya!

Save the Day

Please save the date for JJ's wedding in the year two thousand and NEVER!!!

The Littlest Princess and I had the most interesting conversation on the way home from dance class tonight. Out of the blue she says to me, "Ethan ( a little boy at daycare and not his real name) is my friend."
"Ethan is really fun, Momma." I'm just giving answers like yes he is or oh yeah through the conversation.
"Mommy, when I grow up I'm going to get married"
"I think I'll marry Ethan."
"When Ethan and I grow up we're going to have a wedding."
"Oh Momma! You can be in the wedding too!"

When we got home she was excited to tell Daddy the big news. As luck would have it, my mom was on the phone waiting to talk to JJ and JJ was falling over herself to tell Nana the big news too.

Ethan is a very cute little guy. Unfortunately, he and JJ won't be able to play anymore. We are locking her in an underground bunker tomorrow. Until she's 30 years old. ;)