The Promised 2010 Retrospective (warning...major whining ahead!)

As we say good freaking riddance to 2010, I realized that it was one of the worst years of my life.  The only one that was worse was 2004 because my mother died.

2010 started out with the Husband losing his job. He was informed of said losing before 2010, but it was not official until 2010.

We trucked along, and then came the next blow - K was diagnosed with cancer in March and started chemo in April. 
Our Anniversary weekend away sucked because I was not feeling well, but we could not cancel.  
I believe it was in May or June that K's SIL found a lump in her breast - and it was cancerous.
In June, the first car accident of the year happened.  Only a fender bender, but it caused enough damage that we didn't have the car for a few weeks.  Thank goodness for insurance!  This also caused a huge surcharge to be put on the Husbands licence renewal.  Also during this time, HRB had 3 people that she knew die of different causes.  This made her sad, which in turn made me sad.  
In June I took a trip to visit J & K before her surgery - that was nice.  I spent 3 days with them, and 3 days with family. 

July and August brought me some help at work, which you'd think is a good thing. And usually - it is.  However, while I really like the woman I work with - you can see some favoritism going on because she's worked with the supervisor in a different department.   I'm doing my best to look at it from the other side - she does need to know everything I do just in case I do end up off.  I doubt I will, but you never know what will happen.  August also brought a lovely speeding ticket. 
July and August also brought a great garden harvest - potatoes, tomatoes, carrots and beans.   Mmmm... they were sooo good!  I also made some strawberry jam.

September came along - and the Boy got his drivers license.  'nuff said. :)

In October, I started to realize that the Husband hasn't had too many interviews, and things are getting a little dicey.  But, I'm still not worried... he's still got time!

November rolls around ... and I have a good review at work, for the most part.  I'm told that I need to work on my communication skills, but hey - I knew that!  I tell it like it is - and a lot of people don't like that.   I am working on it - but it's difficult!  However, even I know that telling the director he's an idiot is career suicide.  I would love to do so though!  One of our departments is going to cause a pretty big problem, and my department is going to have to clean it up.  We've already had one that we're working on right now!  and the Husband is still not working....

Ahh... December.  The time of snow, and Christmas... and the chance that my car might be written off.  I found out from the body shop that the only reason it wasn't was because the place they get the parts from lowered their markup - otherwise it would have been written off.   HRB's mom had her aneurysm burst. The Husband is still not working... and I'm starting to panic. But - what will be will be.  I did get a raise though... and K was declared cancer free, and dad's PSA is low, and HRB's mom is going to be okay - so I guess December is when things started getting better.  

Looking back - 2010 was not as catastrophic as I thought it was.  I think if I wasn't feeling bad and the Husband was working, it would still have been a sucky year - but not a horrible awful year.  I am still alive, and so are all the people I love.  I have a job, and a roof over my head.  I still cannot wait for 2010 to end though - it has to get better.  I don't know if I can handle another year like this one was. I have heard the same sentiment from many many people. 

Let's hope 2011 is better than 2010.  
if it's not - things will be bad indeed.

All about the presents!

The first best present I got for Christmas was the news that my fathers PSA was below 1.0.

The second best present I got for Christmas was that K was deemed to be cancer free.

The third best present I got was that HRB's mother was alive after her aneurysm burst. 

Now for the goodies....
My father called on Christmas morning and asked if the haul was good - I replied that I wasn't sure, I was still inspecting the loot! :)

I got just about everything on my list - and I'm so lame the whole list was small appliances. :P 

I needed a new coffee grinder because the one I had was 10 years old and the blades were dull - it took forever to grind the coffee and it sounded like a plane taking off!  The new one is hands free - put in beans, press start and when it starts - VOILA! ground coffee! :)

A new blender was requested.  The one I had was also 10 years old and smelled like it. EEEEWWWWW!   The new one is glass - so care will be required!  I haven't figured out how to lock the top into the base - but I'll read the booklet and see if it even does lock in.

Finally - I asked for a griddle.  Nothing irritates me more than trying to fry more than 2 eggs and not being able to because I don't have the room in the frying pan - and the big one is a little warped so that the eggs run together.  The griddle I got looks like it will fry a package of bacon at once it's got so much room.  If I remember - I'll let you know the next time I fry bacon! LOL

My family can be a little late - so my brother and sister missed the mailing deadline.  I should have an update about what they sent by Ukrainian Christmas. (not that I really care - I'm glad everyone is well and they are happy. I just like razzing them...which I have been)

The boy and I gave the Husband a gift card to Best Buy and the full version of DragonAge. Husband was quite happy with both items - he's got DragonAge installed and is playing already. 

The Husband and I gave the boy a gift card to Best buy and an Ocarina.  Was he ever happy - there had almost been WW3 here because I wouldn't order the Ocarina before Christmas.  Hey - the Boy is 17 and the butting of heads is a normal thing. *sigh*  Teenager for sale!  Any takers???

Tomorrow, or in a few days if I get busy, I should have a long and whiny post about how absolutely sucky 2010 was.  In other words - a 2010 retrospective! 

After Christmas updates

It's a few days after Christmas, and life is finally starting to settle back to normal...whatever normal is.

As always - I spent most of Christmas Eve and Christmas away from the computer.  I came back on late Christmas night and saw that early Christmas Eve (1am),  HRB's mom had what they thought was a stroke, but was really a brain aneurysm bursting.  Luckily - it was a very very small one.  The surgery to repair it was done yesterday and she's going to be fine -  and might even be home on Friday.   I am very glad she's going to be okay - but I also hope that HRB's mom takes this opportunity to make some changes in her life and lifestyle.  I won't go into the long long rant that I want to - I'd be here all day.  Suffice it to say - the woman needs to make some changes. Especially in how she treats people.  And I'm done.

On Boxing Day we went to a family dinner - it was a blast!  The littles got a Wii game called "Just Dance 2" - and they convinced some the bigs to play.  It was the funniest thing I've ever seen!  and I got video of it! LOL  The husband has threatened divorce if I ever show it to anyone.  He also knows that I will show it to people - but I won't post it online. :P  I have threatened The Boy with YouTube though.  He's on there too.  These new digital cameras are awesome - who needs a video camera when your digital camera takes video?

The Boy is sad about the Christmas tree - when Christmas is over, I take the tree down.  It came down yesterday.  There is a good reason though - my two cats tend to get territorial over it, and start fighting under it, and then the ornaments start breaking. So, the tree comes down fairly quickly.

I'm starting to catch up on my sleep and getting a bit of energy. Considering I've slept over 10hrs each night and had a nap each day for the past 3 days - I certainly hope I'm getting energy.  But, this is one of the classic issues that someone who has what I think I have, has.  If you do anything that takes any energy - it takes two days to recover. I've been awake a whole 5 hours, and I"m ready for a nap. *sigh*   But, I've still got almost a whole week off - and nothing planned but a hearing test tomorrow.  It's going to be nice to relax and try to get my strength back - and see if I do!  I've been so exhausted for so long - I'm not even sure what it feels like not to be.  My poor doctor is tired of seeing me, that's for sure.

My next post might be all about the presents.... :)

Merry Christmas!

and if you don't celebrate Christmas, I hope your holiday season has been joyful and full of family and fun.

I was in the shower the other day, and while I was rinsing my hair, I was humming the tune to "O Christmas Tree", and then I was thinking about our tree, and the fact that I was trying to take a photo of it without it being blurred.  Suffice it to say - here is my awful few lines of parody.

 Oh Christmas Tree

So nice to see

The lights shining on your branches 

If only my hands did not shake

A lovely photo I could take

sadly that is not to be

so here's my fuzzy Christmas tree

yes really - there's a star on top

I may resort to Photoshop

because I want you all to see

my very pretty Christmas tree

In the end, I did NOT resort to photoshop. :)

I'm Crafty

And not in the way of -"Skilled in or marked by underhandedness, deviousness, or deception..."

I'm talking yarn and fake flowers and baking. :)

I just finished making butter tarts and chocolate haystacks.  The butter tarts are delightfully runny but won't run down your chin - which is the way they're supposed to be!
The chocolate haystacks are not quite to the dark chocolate level, but definitely have more cocoa than the recipe calls for.  What can I say - I LOVE dark chocolate! 

I've got a Christmas basket of flowers on my desk at work that I put together for this year - I can't believe how easy they are.  I also can't believe how much flower shops/craft stores charge for the completed ones!  The one I made would go for over $30, easy!  And I paid a lot less than that, that's for sure!

And then there's the crocheting.  I can't knit to save a life - two needles just confuse me!  But a crochet hook and a few yards of yarn - and in an hour, I have a dishcloth.  I did a quick count, and I think I'm up to 24 dishcloths made this year.  That's a lot of dishcloths! :)  but they're easy, and since I have to do a lot of sitting on the couch anyway - it gives my hands something to do.

I've also made baby blankets for a couple of friends of mine - they come out so pretty!  The first one was for a girl, so I did it with the main color of white, and then accents of soft yellow, blue, green and pink. The second one was for a boy - so the main color was yellow, with accents of blue green and pink.    I'm thinking of putting up a website - "Hand made baby blankets, made to your color specifications". :)  Only thing is - they wouldn't be cheap.  They take a lot of work - and you can buy a blanket for $20 at the evil empire, as my BIL calls it. (Wal-mart)

Who knows - maybe I will make my own Ad for my blog - Crafty Stuff by a Blogger. :P  I do flower arrangements (fresh and fake), basic baby blankets, dish cloths and baking.

Any takers????

Transit... good and bad

Most of the time, I love the transit in my city.  It's usually on time, and not too crowded.  yes, the drivers drive like the 2 tonne bus is a compact car - and the passengers get tossed around as they stomp on the gas and brakes, but it's still not too bad.

Then there's today.  I'm standing across the street, and I see my bus- early. "Great, I missed it" I think to myself... but wait!  the traffic is slow, and many people are getting on... and the light is about to turn yellow.  Good... I'll be able to get on and get home without freezing.   Then... the driver looks over at me waving to get their attention...and floors it through the yellow light. 

Are you freaking kidding me????? 

They're early to start with and they run the yellow?  Normally - it's not a big deal. But this time - I know darn well they were being a jerk.   The Husband thinks I'm being dramatic and whiny, but I don't care.  I'm PISSED!   I had to stand outside in the cold and wind for 20 minutes waiting for the next one.  That's soooo not fun.   I still have a chill.

It's been a busy few days...

I've gotten a lot of good news the past few days - and have been way too busy to blog them as they came in! So you're going to get them all at once.

Good News #1 - Early in the week, I got called into my supervisors office.  Usually, she comes down the hall and calls me - but this time she called my extension. My first thought was "uh-oh, who did I offend now?"  I tend to tell it like it is, and not sugar coat things.   I'm working on getting better at being more diplomatic in my speech so that instead of "that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard" I say " that's interesting  - are there any plans to tighten up the edits in the system?"  My boss just laughs at me - she knows EXACTLY what I'm thinking, but encourages me to use the diplomatic terms.

Anyway - it was good news!  I got a very nice raise - almost 3%!  In this economy - getting any raise is a good one, let alone that size of one. 

Good news #2 - which to me, is the best of the week - my dad called to tell me his PSA is below 1 again, which means that the cryosurgery for prostate cancer was successful.  WHEW.  We don't need any more cancer this year.  Two of my good friends in Calgary had cancer diagnosed within weeks of each other.  Luckily - both were caught very very early, and it seems they will both recover.   Both finished their chemo runs within days of each other - just in time to feel better for Christmas.   I was chatting with K and she sent me flowers - because I sounded so down about how I`m feeling.  Thank you K - you did make my day!

Good news #3 - which needs a bit of backstory.  A couple of weeks ago, the Boy was driving ...somewhere...  and hit some ice and did the "glide across the road until you hit a lamp post" trick.

Here's what my poor Kia looked like:                             

 That was on Thursday the 2nd of December.  The Boy had an appointment with the adjuster on Dec 6th, and the adjuster said it was "marginal" - they might or might not fix it because the damage was about $11,000.00.  Certainly doesn't look like it - does it?

On the 13th I called the body shop, and they said "we still don't know - we'll call you".  I waited until Friday before my impatience got the best of me. The Husband will tell you that that's amazing for me - usually I'm going crazy after 2 days.    

When I called on Friday I said "Hi, you have my Rondo.... can you tell me if you're going to fix it or not? No one seems to know...."  He laughed and said "We're going to fix it - the parts are on order.  Sorry to take so long - the claims people just told us late last night that it was going to be fixed, and not written off". 

I think they heard my "woohoo!" on the top floor of the building I work in!

So, that's been my week - finally, some good things.  2010 has been awful.   I'll do a long, whiny post around New Years Eve - a 2010 retrospective.   I've promised a few posts so far - don't worry - I'll do them!

Gambling and whinging...

I'm sitting here laughing at the Husband - he bought one of those new Pools tickets from Sports Select. You have to pick all the winners in a set of sports games, and if you do - you win.  He has one for basketball tonight, and he's living and dying by the basket!  It's hysterical!  He just said "if all the games ended RIGHT NOW, we'd win!"  Ah, the fun of a sports nut.  At least he wins more than he spends, so it's all good. 

I'm not a heavy gambler, but I like to go to to bingo once in a while.  Here in our city, the Casino also has bingo that you can play at the same time as the video poker/keno.  It can get pretty expensive if you're not careful.  I've seen people drop over $500.00 in an hour!   I feel guilty if I lose $50 in combined bingo/video poker in a night.

We decided to go earlier tonight, and we were very lucky.  The Husband got 2 bingo's, and I got 1.  We came out with more $$ than we went in with, so that's pretty cool.    We just put it into a fund, and then grab some for the next time we decide to go play bingo.  Once the fund is empty, we start saving up again.  Since we don't get out much because of me,  the fund hasn't been empty for a while.

I really feel guilty sometimes - I know the Husband would like to go to a movie, or do some shopping, and I can't because I'm not well.   Some days, I don't know how I make it to work and back again.  I don't drive any more, because you never know when the vertigo is going to hit.   I tell ya - I'm getting tired of going to the doctor - and I'm sure he's tired of seeing me!   I actually have to go tomorrow because of a weird pain/sensation in my left leg.  I have a "buzzing" running from my hip to my knee - I'm guessing that's my sciatic nerve. I've been waiting for that- I injured my hip many, many years ago.
But, there's also pain/tingling from my calf to my ankle - it feels like water running down it.  It's driving me crazy, and so off to the doctor I go.   We'll see what he says.

Bye Bye WhiffenPoofs...

Heeheeheehee  Laughing again... am I ever childish!  Sadly, the Whiffenpoofs are no longer on the SingOff, so no more giggling each time it's said.  It's an interesting show - I like what they do with the songs. 

I've created a monster.... or two....

A few weeks ago,  I was talking with a friend of mine and he suggested having the Husband start a blog.  The Husband is pretty articulate and funny, as I've said.  So I mentioned blogging to him - and he created ramblingsfromthegreatwhitenorth.wordpress.com   Which in turn - got me to create this one.

Now the Brother-in-Law , fantasy football cheater (more on that in a minute), has a blog too!
http://takingone4theteam.wordpress.com/

He's even got a picture up!  Of course - I will too.. as soon as I find them.... I know they're here somewhere. 

Not that the BIL and Husband are competitive or anything.  The Husband got an awesome Wife - and the BIL had to do the same (Hi SIL!)  
The Husband has a blog - the BIL has one.  See a trend here?  It's going to get good too - because both of them are funny, articulate - and determined to one up the other. 

Me - I'm not sure of.   I like to think I'm funny, but what do I know?  Bear with me - it may get better! LOL

Now for the fantasy football.  I've played for a few years - not really expecting to win or go far.  While I do know some things about football, I haven't a clue on when to put a player in, or when to put in a different player.  I'm cannon fodder, really. :) 
Well, I actually made the playoffs this year! (every time I say that, I picture Jim Mora)  I am playing against my BIL - and he managed, as a last minute decision, to play a running back who had a career in one day.  41 points - which is a HUGE amount of points. The average for a player is 15-20. 
If he doesn't play that one guy - I win.  Since he did - I lose. 

Story of my whole freaking season - I had at least 6 weeks where I would have beat just about anyone but the team I was playing.  Right now, the closest competitor is 10 points behind me, and then everyone else is just breaking 100. I have 147 and BIL has 170.  

IT'S NOT FAIR! 

Well, that's out of my system.  The Husband keeps laughing at me - so I am cheering for BIL to win it all.  The Husband is probably out of the playoffs too - otherwise I'd cheer for him.  Off to watch my playoff hopes go down the drain....

My poor Husband....

He's got a blog too - and he's as new at this as I am.  He just got rid of the "trash" - or so he thought.  All of his posts - GONE.  Luckily - it was only a few posts, but still... all that work, GONE.    I feel so bad for him.. for the most part.  There is one teeny tiny piece of me that feels a little vindicated- I don't "permanently" delete ANYTHING - and for that exact reason.  It's a small bone of contention between us - he's a tosser and I'm a holder. 

He had some pretty funny stuff on there too! 
One was titled "Under the heading of EEEEWWWWW" ...

"We decided to get rid of our fish tank…which became my main task for today.  So…after draining all the water, getting rid of all the fish toys, getting rid of all the colorful gravelish stuff on the bottom (which smelled suspiciously like Lockport…probably have to be a Manitoban to understand that one...." and then there was stuff about finding a fish that had escaped out the back of the tank and was on the floor and had been for a while - and then something about humming "Born Free".  He thought it was trash until he picked it up and it was looking at him. Since he's really bad with dead things, he dropped it and is pretty sure he didn't scream - but he was glad there weren't witnesses.:)  Oh, was it funny.   Even the shot he took at me - was it from the last time I got fish, and missed when I put them in the tank? Which is actually more plausible than you would imagine....

 

Ah, well.  I'm sure he's going to have some great stuff again on there - he's a pretty funny guy.  And he's more articulate than me - I just ramble on and hope people will read. LOL

Christmas Party

Wow, am I lame!

We just went to my staff Christmas party.  It was a lot of fun - chatting with the boss and co-workers, getting to say hello to the CEO, who actually knows who I am.  I have a bit of an edge though - he gets coffee every morning at the same time I do, so I say good morning.  Never hurts to know the executives! :)

Anyway - we had a wonderful buffet dinner with wine.  Roast beef, chicken, Caesar salad and some other salads, cheese and pickles, and rosemary potatoes.  There were also cannelloni - some of which the Husband managed to squig off his plate and on to my lap.  Ah, well. It's not like I can't wash the pants I was wearing.

Then there were prize draws.  While I don't mind they way they do it - I think they should shake it up a little.  Instead of just 10 draws for prizes after dinner, have some prizes set up when everyone gets there - like a door prize, but already drawn!    It's not like they don't know who's coming -you have to buy a ticket in advance. I might suggest that for next year and see what they think.  The prizes aren't huge expensive ones - usually about $50.00 or so.  Have a few of those, and a few less of the draws after dinner. 

and now for the lame part - I managed to stick around until 9:15pm.  yay me.  All that preparation- curling my hair, makeup - including glitter eyeliner!, the nice Christmas outfit, and we stayed for a whole 2.5 hours.  We got there at 6:30, dinner was at 7:30, and the prize draws were done at 9pm.

I can't remember the last time I was out past 10pm, besides being at the brother-in-laws place (who's a lot of fun!  I'll post about him another time...)  Of course, being unwell does that to you.  No matter what you do - you're exhausted fairly quickly.   Since I had a pedicure and manicure today, I'm even more tired.  I did have a power snooze, which I hoped would help me, but no dice.   Yes, I'm blogging at almost 11:00 pm now - but I"m also in my jammies and going to bed right away.  I don't have to be sparkly or hide my yawns  - it's just the Husband, and he knows what's going on.

One final note:  I was right!  I got a LOT of compliments on my hair tonight.  My stylist is AWESOME!

Whiffenpoofs! and hair stylists.....

I just watched the first episode of "The Sing-off" from my PVR.  Quite entertaining :)  Of course, once they said the name of the group from Yale - the WhiffenPoofs, I couldn't stop laughing. 

Whiffenpoofs...it's even fun to write!    I'll be chuckling about that for a few hours... I'm childish that way.  The Husband just shakes his head at me - but he loves me anyway.

Speaking of - I must say, I LOVE my stylist.  She's the best - I just go in and give her a general idea of what I want, and it always comes out PERFECT.  Today, I went in and said "I'd like some gold and red highlights, and a trim to neaten it up".  I now have gorgeous hair!

Tomorrow, I will get nothing but compliments on my hair at the staff Christmas party. :) 

First Post .... Ever!

I never thought that I would get a blog.  I figured that I was too boring to have one - who wants to read about me going to work and coming home again?   Then I figured - why not?  I'm not making anyone read it - and it's fun.  So, here we go!

I spent three days coming up with the title of this blog.  The Son is calling me a /nerd.   I guess I am a nerd, if I spent that much time figuring out a blog title that reflects me. 
Welcome to Echoes from the Maze.  Take from it what you will.

:)