Christmas round-up - the Grande Finale

We are finally home from our hectic Christmas week. I am totally exhausted, as usual, and am looking forward to relaxing all weekend with Sexy Boyfriend. And doing laundry. Lots of laundry.

We spent the last few days trying to get all of our visiting in. I spent the morning of the 27th shopping with my sisters, which was fun and we all bought stuff, mostly clothing. Then I went out for dinner with SB and his friends. Yesterday was Grandparents Day. We hit my Papa's house for a visit and lunch, then my step-grandparents' house to see their tree, then dinner at SB's grandparents' house with the rest of his family.

This morning I got up at 6:30 to get packed and ready to go. I got all my stuff together and then me and my sisters cuddled into bed to watch TV until Sexy Boyfriend came to get me. When he got there he took most of my stuff out to the car, but I decided to help him. I picked up a large paper shopper bag full of gifts in one hand, and three bottles of wine in the other hand. I stepped onto the front step, took the first stair, and my feet barely hit before they slipped out from under me because of the 4 inch sheet of ice coating the step. My legs flung straight out and I bounced off the middle step (via my shoulder blades) and landed on the cement, ice-coated walkway on my ass. It knocked the air right out of my lungs, and I couldn't catch my breath. Sexy Boyfriend was too scared to touch me as I rolled to my knees and kept heaving and weezing, so he started swearing and kicking the ice off the step.

After almost passing out twice, I got inside and laid on the sofa. My sister told me to take some Advil, but then we called my mom at work and she told me to search in the bathroom for her prescription of Tylenol 3 with codeine. Actually, she told my sister to go look, but she didn't, so I went and found it, and had to sit with my head between my legs on the toilet to avoid passing out.

Needless to say, the ten hour drive was excruciating, when I wasn't zonked out on codeine. I felt really bad cause Sexy Boyfriend had already driven the entire trip home, and then today he had no choice but to drive the whole trip back. Plus I was sleeping over half of the time, so it was pretty boring for him.

I'm sure tomorrow I will barely be able to move. So far there is no bruising, but I can't see avoiding that considering how hard I hit, twice. The good news is, I didn't break even one of the three bottles of wine.

Christmas round-up (up to now, anyway)

The drive was not so bad. The added space of the SUV really made a difference - the dogs were able to spread out, and we made a nice little bed area for Simon on top of the suitcases in the back. He did not stay on that bed for the whole trip - he kept sneaking up to the front to lounge in my lap. But even that was not so cramped as it usually is in our tiny Jetta.

We have been thinking of buying an SUV, specifically a Ford Escape, and as luck would have it, that's the rental that we got. It's pretty awesome. Sexy Boyfriend has been testing the 4WD on it by randomly driving over snowbanks in front of our homes. So far it hasn't gotten stuck once, which speaks well to how it will perform on uncleared Montreal streets when you end up parked in a snowbank.

Christmas has been fantastic - lots of yummy turkey and a lobster-roll lunch at Sexy Boyfriend's house. We opened our gifts last night, and everyone was really happy, my little sister especially. She had asked my mom for an iPod mini, and in October my mom called me asking my advice. I told her that if that's what she really wanted, she should buy it right away because they were being replaced by the Nano. In November, when my sister reiterated that she was pining for a mini, my mom told her that they were sold out everywhere and she couldn't get her hands on one. My sister then did some research online to find out that my mom was telling the truth. So, when my sister opened her last gift to find a pretty blue iPod mini, she freaked. She actually broke down crying, which made the rest of us cry. It was so cute.

Other than that, things were normal and uneventful. Presents, food, laughing, drinking, it was super fun. Oh, and our Christmas tree randomly fell over while we were snacking on spinach dip. We were sitting around our kitchen/dining table, and the tree is in the living room which is open to the dining area. I forget what we were talking about, but I was looking directly at my sister, when I could see the tree leaning and falling directly behind her head. Not only did a few ornaments get smashed (surprisingly few, actually), but my mom had just watered the tree that afternoon and the water poured onto all the gifts. Luckily no one had any books or anything paper that got washed away. My sister got an ugly scarf, though, and we're going to tell everyone it got ruined in the flood.

Doesn't it just make you feel all warm and fuzzy?

It's that special time of year when we pile Sexy Boyfriend, myself, gifts for our two families, suitcases, two dogs, a cat, plus all their gear into our Jetta and drive for ten hours to spend about five days of eating, drinking, shopping, laughing, but mostly schlepping from house to house to house trying to make sure that no one gets their feelings hurt that we are not part of their holiday celebration.

It's generally a stressful undertaking, and usually leaves me feeling drained. I love seeing my family, and I love the holidays, but cramming all the holiday goodness that two families have to offer into a limited amount of time can be quite taxing.

At least this year we have rented an SUV for the drive, so we'll have a little more room and hopefully at least that part of the trip will be a bit more relaxing. I'll be sure to let you know. If I haven't taken a gun to my head because I can't take the endless meowing anymore.

Today is the first day of the rest of my life

After several months of blogging, and hoping against all odds that It will happen (seeing as how we had a falling out last month regarding "unauthorized clicks"), It has finally happened. What is It?

I am a Google search result.

I can now be Googled.

Google me right now if you want.

Well, finish reading this post, then Google me.

I found me on Google by typing: "ebb and flow" "sexy boyfriend" and I was the first result.

Try it.

Sexy Boyfriend found me on Google by typing: ebb and flow sexy blog, and I was the first result.

Try it.

I'm so excited. I feel like randomly putting in stuff and seeing how far I am down the list. I could probably spend a whole day doing that.

This almost makes up for my whole falling out with the Google AdSense people. Actually, a week after I sent them a strongly worded letter about how silly they are, they sent me an email back welcoming me to re-submit for AdSense, that maybe they were a bit harsh, maybe they over-reacted a bit, and that if I could attest that I did not, in good faith, contribute to any shady clicking activity, that they may re-open my account. I didn't reply, and I think that actually listing me in Google searches is AdSense's way of trying to make up with me. AdSense had a meeting, and it was like,
"Jules is really ticked at us, she didn't even answer our email. We should do something really great for her for Christmas."
"That's a great idea. We could send her on a free trip."
"We could send her some gift cards so she can go shopping."
"We could send her the money she actually earned during her time on AdSense."
"Hey, I know, how about we just crawl her site so she can be Googled?"

It's almost the best Christmas gift ever.

Christmas comes a little early.

Yesterday was the first big Snow Day of the year. I'm talking like three feet of snow. Drifts that are taller than me. We headed out at like quarter to eight in the morning, in a futile attempt to get me to work. Usually it takes me about 2 minutes to get on the highway. Yesterday we couldn't even get on the highway. There was like six inches of snow on the roads, even though traffic was pretty heavy. We actually got up the on ramp, but were unable to merge in because the traffic wasn't actually moving. So, we just drove right back down the off ramp and came home. I estimate that my time of arrival at work would have been about 2pm - my shift was 9-6. So, I stayed home with Sexy Boyfriend and we had a lazy Snow Day.

This morning, we woke up and looked outside. Most cars on the street were plowed into the snowbanks, which sucks and usually takes at least an hour to dig out. It's one of the things I hate the most about living in the city. However, this morning, something magical happened. Someone had dug our car out for us. The front and the side of the car were clear enough so that we could drive out, and they had written a message in the snow on our windows. The driver's side window said "Les Lutins" which means "The Elves" and the windshield had "Joyeux Noel", or "Merry Christmas". It was the nicest thing to wake up to ever! The only thing that could possibly made it better would have been if it was Monday morning and we were running late to work. But nonetheless, thanks Lutins, we are very grateful!

I have five more shifts left at work, and have lost a bit of my enthusiasm. I feel less tired and stressed when I go there, though, cause I really care less and less about what they think. I'm generally spending a lot of time helping customers and communicating with the associates, the two things I love best about the job, because I know I'll miss these aspects when I leave. And I'm also shopping a lot, cause I'm definitely going to miss the discount.

My mom thinks she works for the CIA

The surprise is ruined.

I called to speak with my mother the other night, and got my sister first. We have been conspiring ever since I decided to take the other job to surprise my mother - we wouldn't tell her that I will actually be home for the Holidays. As soon as we said our hellos she said "Did you tell Mom you were coming home for Christmas?" I said no. "She asked me if you were coming home, since you are finished work on the 22nd and the only reason you were staying in Montreal was for work." How did she know I was finishing on the 22nd? I hadn't spoken with anyone from home after giving my two weeks' notice, so hadn't told anyone the precise date. "I didn't say anything, I don't know how she knows. Maybe she's just a super-suspicious person."

When I got my mom on the phone, I finally officially spilled the beans - partly because if she's already suspicious, chances are she'd figure it out by next week, and partly cause I knew that if she took the time and spent the money to send our presents here and then we hauled them all the way back she would be alternately ashamed of my inefficiency and ticked that we made her go to the trouble of sending them.

Me: "How did you know I was finished working on the 22nd?"

Her: "I read it on your blog."

She has NEVER mentioned reading my blog before. It's like she's some kind of blog spy, like she thinks my opinions on the blog differ from my real-life opinions and that she will find out something really juicy if she just bides her time and silently gathers reconnaissance. She must be disappointed that I write pretty much exactly how I speak, and that I don't really keep a lot of secrets.

Well, now she's learned. She's ruined her own Christmas surprise. And blown her cover.

The neverending dinner party

Saturday night we went to a dinner party at Sexy Boyfriend's boss's house. In attendence: Me and Sexy Boyfriend, SB's brother R (who also works with SB) and his girlfriend D, SB's boss and his wife, and their son.

I was working until 6, and we rushed home so I could do a quick change. They live about twenty minutes from our house in an area not serviced by the bus or metro, so we gave a lift to R and D. We arrived there around twenty after 7. The food started coming out around 8. It didn't stop until 2am. I had to work at 9 on Sunday.

The company was good - there were lots of laughs, and lots of stories. The wife doesn't speak a lot of English, she mostly speaks French so it was nice to practice French in a familiar setting instead of just at work, and I think she enjoyed practicing her English as well.

The food was okay. She tried really hard, and the dishes were pretty elaborate. However, they mostly ended up too salty, too sweet, too sour, etc. It was a five course meal, so props to her for making it all look so great, but...

By the main course, I couldn't stop yawning. It was around ten thirty, which is almost my bedtime. I calculated that with dessert and coffee, we could be out of there by twelve. I tried to avoid slumping into my potato and stayed away from wine and I smiled and nodded and kept my eye on the clock.

And then came the cheese course.

And then came a rousing game of Scattergories.

And then came dessert.

I thought it was never going to end, and I just wanted to fold my arms on the table and lay my head down. I could barely keep my eyes open, and was dreading Sunday morning. We finally left around two, and I got to bed around two thirty. A nice five hours of sleep. For me, who usually requires at least eight to function minimally. Ugh.

So, yesterday was excruciating, and I came home, flopped on the sofa, fell asleep watching the Survivor finale (!), was forced awake by Sexy Boyfriend because he knew I would kick myself if I missed it, and went to bed at my normal time of 11 pm.

From now on, no more dinner parties when I have to work the next day. Unless everyone else has to work too. Otherwise, restaurants only. At least they'll kick you out at a decent hour.

I have a confession to make.....

I am a closet knitter. I love knitting. I love the repetitiveness. I love the patterns. I love the little knubby I get on my middle finger from working the needles, kinda like when you use a pen too much. I love surfing the internet trying to find the perfect pattern for the perfect project and then throwing myself into said project non-stop for like a week.

I am just not so great at actually finishing projects.

In my knitting basket, I currently have:

1 - finished mitten, blue scratchy wool. This was a test mitten that didn't turn out.
2 - one ball blue scratchy wool. Leftover from the test mitten. Maybe one day I will be unlazy enough to unravel the test mitten and knit two good mittens.
3 - one finished red mitten for a toddler - looks great.
4 - one needle holding the ribbed cuff of a red mitten for a toddler - the unfinished mate of #3
5 - one needle holding a blue, cream and striped ribbed scarf, unfinished. This scarf is made up of wools from two mitten projects I actually did finish
6 -one ball of neon green wool and one ball electric blue wool - leftover from a scarf I made for my sister. I will probably never use these colors ever again.
7 - two giant balls of cotton yarn in a really weird shade of blue. I bought it like six years ago to make an aran throw. Never happened. I started, but got fed up and I'm not sure where the unfinished product went.
8 - about twenty random balls of yarn in all different colors from a sweater I started when I first learned to knit like seven years ago. Again, not sure what happened to the unfinished sweater.
9 - random needles (knitting needles, not drug paraphenalia)
10 - one nearly finished slipper, which I'm currently working on, with way not enough yarn left.
This means :
a) I will finish this slipper with another color of yarn, just to make sure it works out, then never knit an actual usable pair of slippers
b) I will finish the slipper with another color of yarn, then knit another slipper in random colors and wear them anyway cause who cares, I'm just in my house
c) I will get pissed off when I run out of the correct color of yarn and leave the unfinished slipper in the basket
d) I will finish the slipper to make sure it works out, then buy yarn that I like, and enough of it, and knit myself the BEST SLIPPERS EVER.

I really hope this has a happy ending, or Sexy Boyfriend may just throw the whole thing out and tell me he had to cause the dog peed on it.

Another hour of my life freed up each week

Well, my two weeks notice has been issued, and everything came out okay. My boss was really understanding and made me feel a lot better about leaving when I am. Most of the sales associates seem genuinely sad that I'm leaving, which is nice. They're all really interested in hearing about where I'm going next and how the dog-walking job will work. A lot of them seem almost jealous that I'm leaving for such a fun job.

I'm very disappointed with the performance of the show "Alias". I have been a loyal Alias watcher since the show started. I couldn't get enough of the twists and backstabbing and double crossing and I followed closely and faithfully. But ever since the whole Bennifer fiasco started between Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck, the show has sucked. I'm not sure there is a direct correlation, or if it is just a coincidence, but it's really terrible this season. It doesn't help that they cut out Michael Vartan's character, who has been my TV boyfriend since the show started. If your plotlines are going to be boring, at least provide me with some eye candy, please.

Anyway, so after changing nights several times (a sure sign a show is going down the toilet), it has been announced that they are cancelling the show. I'm kind of glad, because that means I don't have to feel guilty for not watching (when you have like five years invested in a show, it's hard to stop watching), but I'm also sad because it's ending on such a crappy note. I think that J.J. Abrams is putting all of his efforts into LOST, and unfortunately we Alias fans are left to suffer.

I think it's sad that I have such strong opinions about TV.

For when you need to go tobogganning and get a great tan

Tomorrow I am giving my two week's notice. I got a better than expected offer from the dog walking company, and I am super excited about it. I will start with them the first week of January, and they are perfectly fine with me taking my trip to Cuba two weeks later. They rock.

But I'm stressed about giving my notice tomorrow. My last day will be December 22nd, three days before Christmas, technically the busiest period in retail. I feel bad about leaving them before Christmas, I feel guilty, and I feel stressed. Unfortunately, my family does not live close to me, and having the opportunity to spend Christmas with them is worth more to me than whatever resentment my fellow management team may feel towards me. But, I'm still stressed about telling them, and my stomach is in knots and I can't sleep. Remember how I mentioned before that my boss has a mean streak? Ya, I'm a little worried she's going to turn on me. My friend Syl says I care too much. Maybe I do, but being cognizant of that does not make the stomach cramps go away.

In better news, Sexy Boyfriend spoke with our travel company today and our trip is not in jeopardy. The resort we are visiting was removed from their website because they are sold out of spots. I am very excited. I really want to buy a new bathing suit. I will probably shop for the new suit whilst shopping for new long johns and winter boots for my new job. That's going to be a bit surreal.

Girl Talk gets deep - and not in a dirty way this time

On Friday night I had dinner with two of my very best friends, and one of their best friends, who by extension is someone that I like quite a lot. We went to a pub that we all like quite a bit and had some yummy burgers while we chatted and gossiped and had a few laughs. The dynamics were really fun because two of us are in long-term relationships while two are single gals.

We had a conversation about those moments. The ones that you will always look back on and wonder "What if I had done something differently? What would have happened?" One story was about a night out where the person wound up in her car with a boy that she really liked a lot, and they talked and talked and she really was feeling a connection. Then, in the wee hours of the morning, as the conversation began to dwindle a bit, she leaned back in her car seat and said "Wow, I could just fall asleep right now". She said it killed the mood, that he suddenly sat straight up and left soon after. Things were never the same from that point on. When they saw each other, which was on quite a regular basis, he was distant and awkward. She's been regretting the moment ever since, because he may have been "The One".

My moment came before I was dating Sexy Boyfriend, but while I was dating my last boyfriend. I had had a crush on another boy for quite some time, but he had always had a girlfriend, and I had always been happy in my relationship and it just didn't seem worth it. But The Moment happened right before I broke up with the boy I was seeing. I had come home for Christmas in my first year of university, and snuck into a bar with some friends. At the end of the night, as we made our way to the coat check, I ran into The Boy. He told me he was leaving in a few days for Australia for an indefinite amount of time. We kissed, the first time ever, and I left, and didn't look back. A few months later is when I started dating Sexy Boyfriend and the rest is history. The questions I have about my Moment are not "Was he The One?" because I have Sexy Boyfriend, and there is no doubt in my mind that he is my One, but I wonder what if we had gotten together? Stayed in touch while he was away, and he came back and we started dating? I would never have gotten together with Sexy Boyfriend, I would have missed out on my One. Or, even if the Moment had never happened at all, maybe I wouldn't have realized I needed to break it off with the guy I was seeing at the time, and then I wouldn't have started seeing Sexy Boyfriend.

I am thankful for my Moment, and for all the moments like them. It makes me realize that things happen for a reason. Or at the very least that good things can shake out from things that seem to have passed us by.

A significantly smaller Christmas list

Today we did our Christmas shopping, which actually turned out pretty great. Usually we spend the whole time fighting or arguing or just not wanting to make decisions, which we both hate, but neither of us ever wants to decide. But for some reason this year it's all fallen into place, and in one short afternoon we had finished most of our shopping and made a list of the little odds and ends we still need to pick up. It was actually relaxing. So weird.

From the look of the parking lot when we arrived at the mall I thought we were in for it. I don't do well when the mall is crowded - I like to have space when I shop, especially when I'm buying lots of stuff and carrying lots of bags. I need to be able to move freely, and get to the items I want to examine, and my absolute pet peeve is when you are walking through the hallways of the mall and people randomly stop short in front of you and you basically rear-end them. Or people who are stopped in a big group and clogging up the hallways while you are trying to get from point A to point B. So annoying. But today was not like that. I didn't have one moment of annoyance or "Fuck, get the hell out of my way already". Everything was eerily smooth sailing.

I also have some pretty big news for everybody, but have a few decisions to make before I announce anything. No I'm not pregnant, and no we haven't set a date, and no we haven't bought a house. But it's still pretty big news, and I'm really excited about it.

I'm getting really excited about our vacation in January, however I'm having a bit of anxiety as well. We booked our trip through the same company we used last year because we had such a great experience. This year, we decided to go to the same place, Varadero Cuba, but to a different resort. We booked the trip quite a while ago and paid the deposit, however now, when I go to their website, the resort we chose is no longer there. So now, Sexy Boyfriend has to call (cause the booking is in his name and stuff) and make sure that when we land in Varadero we will actually be going to our 4 1/2 star resort and not to some crappy replacement place for the same price.

Noel Noel

This weekend is my last weekend to get "Christmas Ready". After this weekend, I'm pretty sure I will have to work all the weekends until Christmas, and Sexy Boyfriend and I usually only have time to do stuff like Holiday Preparation on the weekends we have off together.

I have only bought one present so far, and have many more to buy, and can't leave it to the last minute because most of the gifts have to be sent by mail. I am usually very into Christmas - I love the shopping, I love the eating, I love the drinking. However, this year I am not into Christmas at all. Maybe it's because we won't be traveling home.

I am not looking forward to the shopping - mostly because most of the people on my list will be getting gift cards this year. So boring. For some people I have very specific gifts in mind, but some people I'm just not sure and I'd rather spend less money to send them a gift card so they can buy something they really love then spend a bunch on shipping for something they only kinda like. But gift cards are so boring to buy.

I'm not looking forward to the decorating - Sexy Boyfriend wants to get the tree and put it up this weekend. All I can think is that the needles will be falling out by the middle of the month. And the cat will climb it at least ten times. And the dog will pee on the floor and it will pool under the tree and it will be a nightmare to clean up.

I'm kinda still looking forward to the food, although I'm not too happy that we will be the ones preparing it all - usually we travel home and our Mummies cook everything for us. Don't get me wrong, I make a mean turkey, but there is just something about having your Mummy make a meal for you that makes it even better. Plus, I can't really eat anything lately, so food is not so exciting. Food's actually kind of depressing these days.

I'm still looking forward to drinking, though.

Hangin' Tough - minus five cute boys from Boston

I'm having a tough day today. Tough for two reasons, unrelated except for their essential toughness.

I had to work this morning at 7am. That meant I had to leave my house by six in order to deposit Sexy Boyfriend downtown and make it to work on time. What with it being winter, the sun rose at approximately 7:15am, so I missed the sun in the morning. Then I finished work at 4, and the sun was practically set by the time I left the mall. I did not see the light of day today. So depressing.

I can't really talk about the second element of toughness. It involves someone in my life who found out some very scary news yesterday, which may be nothing, but is potentially devastating. I can't talk about specifics because this person hasn't really told anyone else, namely people who visit my site regularly. Now the waiting game begins, waiting to find out whether everything is okay or something is wrong, and I feel helpless and I know this person feels the same, and we are both uncannily similar in the fact that we NEED to control situations from the very cores of our being, and situations like this are extremely detrimental to our respective mental healths and to the sanity of those around us.

I am also a bit sad that I arrived home to a puddle of dog pee in my bedroom. I do not understand why Charlie is randomly peeing on the floor, but it is seriously starting to piss me off. Don't ask me how I can tell it's his pee and not Gabby's, because it's gross, but, oh, I know it was him. And he knows it was him. And I can tell he's sitting here mocking me because there isn't really much I can do about it.

Weekend roundup

This was my weekend to work, and as usual it was hectic and exhausting.

Friday night was our Keg dinner - it was really nice to see SB's brother and his girlfriend since we haven't really seen them for like a year. The Keg food was of course amazing - however due to my lack of appetite I was only able to eat half of my salad, my steak, half my potato and my veggies. It's one thing to be on a diet and to be intentionally limiting you food intake and being careful what you eat and allowing yourself cheats every once in a while - however it is a completely different and frustrating thing to just not be able to eat. To want to eat what's in front of you so badly, but to soundly believe that if you stuff one more biteful into your stomach that the sum of the entire meal will end up all over the table.

Last night we were able to have a quiet evening in and watch Love Actually, which I've seen bits and pieces of in the break room at work, but have never watched in its entirety. It's really charming and funny and romantic, but in a bittersweet kinda way. I liked it a lot, and so did Sexy Boyfriend.

Work was fine this weekend, but exhausting. The Crazy People are starting to come out en masse, and by The Crazy People I mean the people who think the definition of "good service" is "I get what I want no matter what I ask for". No, I will not babysit your children while you try on clothing. No, you cannot set your tiny dog on top of my merchandise. No, your children cannot randomly climb on our stools so that they may topple over and crack their skulls open. No, I will not refund you for this sweater you bought three months ago that looks like your dog chewed the armpit out of it. I understand that these people exist, and that in turn I will always have to deal with them. However, I wish that they wouldn't all show up on the same day. Randomly the same day, though. Sometimes it's Sunday, sometimes it's Tuesday. I think they must all arrange to come on a shuttle bus or something.

I called the dog walking company on Friday to arrange a meeting, but it was late and I haven't heard from them since. Hopefully they'll be in touch tomorrow so we can set something up.

I have tomorrow off, so I am hoping to come up with something more interesting to post. For now, whatever you're eating, please think of me and be thankful your appetite is healthy.

I never thought it could happen to me

I mentioned previously that my new medication has produced several side-effects that were less than fantastic. Luckily, most of them have passed. However, one thing that has changed that is of some concern is the fact that I no longer have an appetite. I get hungry, but then can only eat about half of my food. Or I'll get hungry for a very specific thing, and thoughts of all other foods will turn my stomach. This is quite problematic when I'm craving noodle soup for lunch but have packed myself a sandwich.

All of this would normally make me ecstatic - I've lost about 8 pounds in the past week and a half. However, Sexy Boyfriend's brother and his girlfriend are coming to visit this weekend, and we are getting together and visiting The Keg, our favorite restaurant. Aside from having the best steak ever, they also have great Caesar salads, tons of yummy appetizers, and my favorite dessert, a mocha ice cream pie.

HOW CAN I GO TO THE KEG WITH NO APPETITE?

This could be a serious issue. What if I can't finish my steak? You can't have steak as leftovers! You can't take a steak and Caesar salad doggie bag. That's just wrong. I mentioned my concerns to Sexy Boyfriend, and he replied "I've supported you through a lot of stuff, you should know by now that if you have problems finishing your steak, I won't let you down."

I'm thinking I might skip lunch.

In other news, I spoke with the dog-walking company this morning, and they want to set up a meeting next week. I can't wait to see their offices and learn more about how they work and schedule their visits and stuff. I feel really good about this. We'll see how it goes.

It's winter, and you know what that means!

Tomorrow is my day off and I am SO glad. I am going to stay in my pyjamas all day and drink hot chocolate and watch movies and nap and read and snuggle with my doggies and my kitty. It's supposed to snow a lot, which will make staying in and being cozy extra fun. I wish that Sexy Boyfriend could take the day off with me.

I can't really say that I'm excited that it is going to snow tomorrow. Aside from the general crumminess of cold weather and snow and such, parking and driving become a chore instead of my relaxation time. Even on a bad summer day, when people are driving like spectacularly moronic pinheads, I can usually do quite a bit of unwinding between work and home. Even though I can't really trust the drivers around me, I can trust the road. However, in the winter, several other fun variables are thrown into the mix.

First of all, for some reason, when the Holiday Season is upon us, people randomly lose their minds when they are operating motor vehicles. Their bad driving quotient increases by like 400%. It's terrible. Then, of course, there is more traffic because people are travelling for Holidays, or preparing for Holidays, or driving to bars because of bad Holiday experiences.

I also hate the parking situation in the city during the wintertime. For those of you who have never experienced winter parking in the city, here's the lowdown. You can only park on one side on Tuesday and Thursdays, and the other side is Monday Wednesday and Friday. And they plow your car right into the snowbank, and it takes forever to dig your way out in the morning. And if there are cars parked on the wrong side on the wrong day, and they need to plow, this truck comes around the neighborhood with a really loud horn that goes "WHOO ooo WHOO ooo WHOO ooo". Really it should say "Get up Bitches and move your cars".

Also, inclimate weather contributes to about 99% of my driving stress during winter. I vividly remember my Nanny telling me horror stories about cars getting caught on black ice. About spinning out of control and bashing into guardrails, or going into the ditch. Jaws of life and ambulances were invariably involved. Usually along with several deaths. Why she was telling these stories to a five year old is beyond me, but I remember them, and they put the fear in me.

Nothing's really going on - so here's this

I came home last night to find a surprising message on my answering machine. I had applied a few weeks ago to a company that does dog-walking. I know it sounds unglamorous, but I love dogs, and cats and most furry animals, so what could be better than working with them all day long? Anyway, when I originally sent my application, I got an email back saying they had already filled the position, but that they would keep my information on file, blah blah blah.

Yesterday they called saying another position had opened up and they would like to talk to me.
It's kind of exciting and scary at the same time. The pay is less than I make now, but the hours are regular, which is one thing I hate about my job now. I would have every weekend off. And be done work by five. Every day. Be still my heart.

Some of the drawbacks: Yucky winter weather, and having to go out in it instead of hiding inside or in my car. Less money. More dog poop than I would know what to do with, probably.

Anyway, I will give them a call and see what they have to say. I wouldn't be able to start with them until January, because no matter how unhappy I am in my work right now, I just wouldn't be able to leave them in a lurch over the holidays.

I was supposed to go for some blood tests this morning, but I chickened out. The last time I had blood taken I was in high school. My mom thought I might have mono, so she (being a nurse) brought home a kit and took my blood to test. I almost passed out at the kitchen table, and since then I have not had any blood taken. I know I have to go and have these tests done, but I also know that I am the queen of procrastination and will put it off as long as I can.

Weekend off!

I recently started taking a new medication which makes my head feel dizzy and spinny when I stand up, which consequently makes me want to heave. My tongue also feels quite numb. The pharmacist and the doctor both told me that I may experience these side effects, but that they will go away. It's been over a week and I still feel foggy-headed. Sexy Boyfriend laughed at me on Thursday morning - I called in sick, and he asked me why, and I told him my head felt empty.

Anyway, so after a week of barely dragging myself through each day, it is finally my weekend off. We spent a blissful Saturday on the sofa - ALL DAY. TOGETHER. We watched movies and read the Saturday Gazette, and Sexy Boyfriend did some work and I read a whole book and it was awesome. One day maybe I will have every weekend off.

I am very sad that I have to go in to work this evening for our holiday kick-off meeting. Very sad.

The book that I read yesterday was A Million Little Pieces, by James Frey. It was Oprah's bookclub choice last month, and I happened to catch that episode and people were raving and crying and saying how it deeply affected their lives. Then Costco had the book for $12, so I picked it up. I can't say that the book deeply affected my life. It didn't make me cry, it didn't really move me that much, actually. I think this owes a bit to Frey's writing style, which is pretty sparse and journalistic, so there were parts that could have been meatier for effect, but weren't. I can appreciate what he was going for, but I felt like some parts were missing something for me.

That being said, I couldn't put the book down. It was engaging and it was thoughtful, and it was beautiful and it was ugly.

Now I'm off to enjoy the last four hours of my weekend, which is being rudely cut short by this stupid meeting tonight. I'm so bitter.

Let It Snow - sort of

I'm not exactly what you would call a "Winter Person". I hate snow. I hate the cold. I love early fall and late spring, and usually get on well in the summer, even when it's sticky hot. But I HATE winter.

That being said, there are certain moments throughout the wintertime when I can be found succumbing to the more romantic aspects of the season. For example, I'm a sucker for snow on Christmas and Christmas Eve. I love when I have a day off and we can play "Snow Day" and just stay on the couch and cuddle all day long. And usually, I love the first snow of the year. When you wake up and look out the window, and the whole neighborhood is blanketed with white velvet and no little monkey children have wrecked it yet, and no dogs have peed in it yet and the plows haven't passed yet, churning up all the dirty city dirtiness.

I have been known to be a fan of the purity of the first snowy day.

This year however, I have been majorly ripped off. The first snow came and went and if you blinked you may have missed it. It only lightly dusted the ground with snow, and when I say lightly dusted, I mean that by the time I got up to walk the dogs, it had all blown itself into corners and under cars. And then the next day it snowed again, but I can still see grass. Car windows weren't even covered. I'm so disappointed.

However, you can rest assured that the guy our landlady pays to clear the walk and the stairs came by today and pushed all the snow aside. There wasn't even half a centimetre. I think he must be paid for everytime he shows up, rather than by the season.