The problem ...

with having given out my blog addy to people is that there is a chance, small though it may be, that people I know will actually read my blog. This means I can't vent properly. So here is a toned down version.

Damn, damn, damn! Shoot, blast, damn!

Am in serious need of a personal day. There are just days that I want to be totally irresponsible. Dye my hair purple (you thought I forgot about that one, didn't you?), get a tattoo (washable, I don't need gratuitous pain) and hang out at Queen East, scaring the natives. Or better yet at Yorkville. It's just that it's been a while since I've been to the Beaches. Yeah, and eat chocolate. Cake. Chocolate cake.

Am totally freaked out about the flu pandemic. Don't know whether to get a mask or gloves or just go around in a bubble or stay home and order food through Grocery Gateway.

Arrrgghhhh!

Friends rock!

Talked to Emma yesterday. I don't know how, but she always makes me feel so much better about everything. Oh, yes, pengirl has been down in the dumps lately. Why, you ask? No money, no time, media panic frenzy about the flu pandemic, hurricanes and earthquakes, so the usual stuff.

Still not finished reading the first key in Dr. Phil's grand scheme of weight loss and had no time to do any of the exercises, so can't say I should be surprised that I have lost no weight. Did watch "The Biggest Loser" on TV last night though. That has to count for something. OK, so I did have a bowl of chocolate pudding while I was watching it, but hey, a girl's gotta eat.

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Lethal Goblin You Feast On: Bananas You Lurk Around In: The Backseats of Cars You Especially Like to Torment: Lawyers

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Hair

Glacia posted a pic of her pink hair on her blog and I love it. I now want to add purple to my hair. I thought I'd do it for Halloween, but as we are dressing up, it would not go with my costume. Oh, but I so want to do it!

In other news... there is no other news. I have to say that I love Fridays. At work we get breakfast every Friday - bagels, mini muffins, fruit and yogurt. I love bagels even though they do evil things to my tummy. Together with breakfast there is this Friday morning leisure. People sit and have brekkie together, talk. Work gets going slowly and everyone is in weekend mode. It's good.

In diet news, I have bought Dr. Phil's book. He guarantees weight loss if you follow his seven keys. Well, we'll see. Key number one is to set realistic goals for weight loss. So, for me, that means going down to 180 pounds. I would like to do it in 18 months. I guess I won't be having too many breakfast bagels in the future!

What Maggie Needs

Go to Google, search for your name and 'needs'.

Maggie needs an alibi.
Maggie needs to teach ethics to this lame professor of ethics. (apparently regarding Terry Schiavo)
Maggie needs a home. She is 10 and is a people dog.
Maggie needs to be near Mom. (clearly is having problems with pet aggression)
Maggie needs immediate help with the implementation of organizational tools.
Maggie needs help understanding possible future pitfalls that could arise.
Animal rights advocates say the last thing Maggie needs is a treadmill. (could not agree with you more. Mind you, Maggie here is an elephant)
Maggie needs your help to get to her pet, Didi.
Maggie needs to learn how to respond to, or not respond to, people, dogs andother stimuli

Is it just me or are there a lot of dogs named Maggie?

Nothing special

It's just another drizzly day in the city and it took me two hours to get to work. Grrr! It was all about construction trucks parked in the wrong lane, school crossings and hordes of teenagers. Don't ask!

The United Way campaign is on at work. I am part of the committee, much to my surprise. Usually I stay away from those things as much as I can. I can see now that there will be no spending money left what with candygrams, silent auctions, Bingo and whatnot. It's all for a good cause though, so I suppose I will forgo the usual chocolate treats. It will be better for my figure as well.

Am in a bit of a creatvie funk with things I need to do at work. There are days when I feel like I know nothing. I work in a bit of a bubble sometimes, where I have these huge projects that I work on and then have people look at them later. Am I doing it right? I don't know. Am I being innovative, creative and all kinds of other ives? I don't know. Should I go shopping? Oh, yes! That is one thing I do know. :)

Goodbye Gail

Our Director of HR had an anneurism two weeks ago. She passed away last Thursday. Yesterday we all went to a service in her memory.

I did not know her that well, but yet her death brought home to me a few facts that only events like this make plain. Gail was a very alive, vibrant person. She was one of those people who are ever active and cannot keep still. If she was waiting to speak with someone, she would do this little dance step instead of standing still. She was funny and loved to laugh. She was only 53. She had battled breast cancer 9 years ago and won! She had a large, very loving family and she really seemed to be torn away from their midst. Well, here are the lessons I learned: you never know when it will be time to go; if you feel something, think something, want something - say it! Time is so short. All of Gail's friends and family knew how much she loved them because she made sure to say it every day, not just on special occasions. Clearly she was much wiser than most of us.

Goodbye Gail. You touched my life very briefly and I am sorry I did not know you better.

Like a leaf on the wind
You were torn from us
Too quickly, oh Lord
Too quickly.

Food

Lately it seems that I've been writing about food a lot. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I need to lose 20 pounds and I have begun to feel guilty about pretty much everything I eat. I have come to realize that to achieve the 20 pound weight loss I need to stop eating. Yes, I know what you're going to say, just get a little more exercise. The thing is that I have no time. And I mean that. My commute takes 3 hours a day. I'm at work for eight hours. When I get home, I take care of baby until about eight p.m., at which point he goes to sleep. Then I have two hours relax time, at which point, a. I can't leave in case bebe needs me, b. can't do anything loud so as not to wake bebe, c. am utterly exhausted and sit-ups are the last thing on my mind.
So, diet is pretty much the only way I can lose weight right now.

Last night Arthur made these super delish green peppers stuffed with chili. Oh, they were yummy, and of course I immediately felt guilty because we know that yummy foods are the bad, fat producing ones. It has gotten so if I enjoy something, I immediately feel guilty about eating it. I think I will have to stick to carrot sticks and celery for a while. And chocolate, of course.

Chocolate Madness

Read an article about cravings in Scientific American on the weekend. Apparently opiate based drugs suppress food cravings. Fabulous. Now I just need to get myself hooked on pot and I will no longer crave chocolate and will be as slim as a willow. Strangely enough, Latin women who eat more chocolate, crave it less and by the same token do not pig out on it as much as deprived North American women who are always on a diet. Hey, I see possibilities here! Have chocolate means don't crave chocolate, means eat less chocolate! I like that plan! (sipping on her cup of hot chocolate)

Further on the subject, I would like to say, that I love the Cadbury Thins chocolate bars. It's 100 calories of yummy, smooth fulfilling choccy. Mmmm!

Yes, I am weak!

I got the latest LL.Bean catalogue and had to get these cute little moose slippers and reindeer pj's for Alex. I am a weakling. No wonder I have no money! Not to mention that I found things I would just LOVE to have myself and get for Arthur and my mom and dad... Well, I suppose I can justify it if it's Christmas shopping. Yes, that's it and of course, they all have their birthdays coming up soon too. Ha!

Had lunch with a friend from Evil Corporation and am sooooooo glad I no longer work there. They had yet another round of lay-offs. We went to Crappy Chinese Buffet and unfortunately it was more crappy than ever. I was only able to eat a mouthful of each dish. Of course, mango ice cream was dessert, and frankly, if I could have limited myself to that, it would have been better. Delia put half the amount of food I had on her plate and also picked at it and left some. Well, I guess that's why she's so svelte and I'm ... not. Now I'm all full and sleepy. Sigh.

But apple crumble makes things better...

Had left over apple crumble for dessert after lunch today. Lovely, lovely Emma Peel made it and brought it over yesterday and Arthur generously let me take it all to work. He even packed it for me. Maybe because he knows that I absolutely LOVE it! It is the only item I piggy out on at Frankie Tomato's. Yum!

And Amazon sent me an email to let me know that they would refund my money for the package that did not get to me. That means I can spend it on wool or beads now. Hah!

Not the best of days

It's raining cats and dogs in TO. Hurricane Rita has got to us at last, though here it's only in the form of lots of rain and muggy, warm weather. Well, thanks to all the rain and the oh, so efficient TTC, it took me over an hour to get from the subway station to work, which normally should take about 20 minutes. Growl. There was disembarking of buses and boarding other buses and finally walking in the rain for ten minutes. So compared with the devastation the hurricanes caused in the States, small potatos and basically a pleasant walk in the park, but in my little world today, not what I needed. On top of that, my latest Amazon purchase went to the wrong address. My fault entirely because I did not check the shipping address and did not realize that just because I had shipped all of my packages to my home addy for the last year, Amazon would decide to ship this one to work. And not just that, to the work where I no longer work. So wondering now if I will ever see it.

Alex did not sleep again last night. We tried rocking, we tried changing the diaper, we tried bottle and nothing. Well, correction, he would fall asleep like a little angel in my arms, but as soon as I would put him in his crib, he would wake up and cry. Finally, at 1:30 a.m., I gave up and decided that I at least needed a nap and put him in our bed. He immediately feel asleep and I dozed for the rest of the night, supremely uncomfortable, and trying not to wake him as I adjusted myself to keep from falling off the edge of the bed. Who would have believed someone so small takes up so much room.

So now, I am bleary eyed, miffed at the TTC and Amazon and all in all in dire need of a treat.

Oink!

I would just like to say that I LOVE the Peponi Grill. It's this little place across from work. They have an eclectic mixture of Indian and East African food, with a waitress who could not be more Canadian. I had the chicken masala wrap with fries and oh, oh, heaven! And the fries! I mean, what can be better than that deep fried, bathed in fat, crispy goodness! Of course, staying thinner can be better, but well, a girl's gotta live. Really, after that meal I should not eat for the rest of the day or I should spend a week eating only grapefruit. Not very likely. So, I say a triumphant Oink! and prepare to embrace my curvy shape.

I'm such a mommy!



Take the 100 Acre Personality Quiz!

In latest news, my little Roo has two more teeth! That makes eight in total!

Money

OK, I actually was not going to complain about it until I talked to my mom who claims that my dad supported the three of us on 18K a year. So she can't understand why I'm having trouble supporting the three of us on my salary (maybe not having trouble, but we certainly aren't saving for a Caribbean vacation). Well, let's start for a moment by realizing that in 20 years prices for goods have risen slightly. And that she worked too at the time. Sigh. I personally don't remember him making 18K. I remember me making 17K when I started working after high school and before university. "Ah, yes, I remember it well..."

As we know, there are two ways of having more money - spend less or make more money. Since my whole plan to win ten million dollars is not working out. And my other plan to write a best selling novel is taking longer than expected. Ah, well, it's only money.

Finally!

My greatness has been recognized.


Your angel is trying to tell you that...you're
intelligent. Wise-eyed and smart, you have a
way with swaying people into following you. You
are the quiet leader who will some day make big
changes in the world.
Song: World On Fire- Sarah McLachlan


What is your angel trying to tell you?!?!?
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New Orleans...

the horror!

Ukrainian Fest

On Saturday I had to go to a photographer to get a couple of passport pictures - one for me, one for my bebe. I completely forgot about the Ukrainian festival that went on in Bloor Village. Well, here I am, with the small stroller, hauling my poor baby through parades of ex PMs, dancing folk groups, beating drums and Falun Dafa members. Though what Falun Dafa has in common with the Ukraine I have no clue. I think they just take advantage of any old festival. Alex was super good and he did not cry even though there was a lot of noise. People were walking like idiots too, nearly smashing into us and I had to give some very stern looks and a few choice words here and there too.

Finally got to Black's and got my photo taken. Then it was Alex's turn, which was a bit tricky. As soon as he sees a camera pointing at him, he breaks out into the biggest grin. Apparently, for passport photos you're not supposed to smile. Had a time getting him to be serious and look straight ahead. Finally did, but he had his lips parted and the lady who was taking the picture seemed very unhappy with that. Apparently, for passport photos you're supposed to have your mouth closed. But he's nine months old! I protested. " Well, maybe they will accept it," she said. I guess we'll see.

Overall though my little guy and I had a great time at the festival. We wandered around while our pics were being printed. I embarked on a semi hearted search of a colourful flower head dress that I saw women wearing. It reminded me of my days as a kid in Poland and all the church fetes in the little villages I attended when on holidays. They always sold little paper flower tiaras for girls and there were raffles too where for a small fee the child drew for a prize. In one of those I won a small ring with a red stone. It was base metal and the 'stone' was actually plastic, but to me it was a treasure and now I wish I had it. I went to that one with my mom. We were on vacation in the mountains. Anyway, I could not find a flower tiara and the cute Ukrainian pattern mug that I was going to get for my hubby was $16 bucks, so I did not get that either. I did get a cute toy for my boy though, so it wasn't a complete shopping washout.

Rainy

It was Alex's nine month well visit yesterday and the poor mite cried as soon as he saw the doctor. No shots though, so that was a blessing. Once again, he is in the 100th percentile for length at 79cm and 73 percentile for weight at 9730 grams. That's almost 22 pounds for all you imperial measure people. He's sitting up by himself and will crawl given half a chance. Pretty soon he'll be a baby no more but a toddler!

I was coming home on the subway from my doctor visit yesterday and there was this lady on the subway who just sat there and laughed and sang to herself. Of course, everyone was looking at her like she'd lost her mind and I thought, how sad. She may have just been happy and of a different mind set than the rest of the grim faced subway riders who sink their nose in a book or stare at a wall in an effort not to make eye contact with anyone. Then again, she may have been nuts, but the same can be said for all of us. Just because someone doesn't quote the bible at random at all the fellow passengers does not mean that he or she is 'normal.' The BTK killer seemed normal to all intents and purposes and he is far from it. So to all of you who find the need to communicate with yourself aloud or sing or do something else that is not normally accepted subway behaviour, I say, you go!

Hmmm...

May,
Stubborn and hard-hearted. Strong-willed and highly
motivated. Sharp thoughts. Easily angered.
Attracts others and loves attention. Deep
feelings. Beautiful physically and mentally.
Firm Standpoint. Needs no motivation. Easily
consoled. Systematic (left brain). Loves to
dream. Strong clairvoyance. Understanding.
Sickness usually in the ear and neck. Good
imagination. Good physical. Weak breathing.
Loves literature and the arts. Loves traveling.
Dislike being at home. Restless. Not having
many children.Hardworking. High spirited.
Spendthrift.


What does your birth month reveal about you?
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