Glacia and I remember...

Well, there was that time we went to see Mamma Mia. We had had some vodkatinis before that at Zoom so we were in a great mood. We sang and danced to all our fave ABBA songs. There was a man with a beard sitting next to us. He just sat there and looked on. We were pretty sloshed and demanded to know why he was not participating in the greatest musical event ever. He turned to us and we realized it was Bjorn Ulvaues! He thanked us for our enthusiasm and asked that we perform a cameo in the next performance. We did. Unfortunately, by then we were sober. There ended our career as musical performers, but it was GOOD TIMES!

Trouble

I am having a lot of trouble posting lately. Something in Blogger doesn't like pengirl. Very sad. Also sad and also trouble - our ferret, named Trouble is sick and will possibly not see the spring. She's losing hair down the back and is sluggish and sometimes doesn't eat. Poor little thing.

Now, about the election foolishness. I already made my views known about the fact that it's a waste of time and money, however, the opposition parties seemed not to have heeded what I said because there was a vote of non-confidence last night and the election will be officially called this morning. Hello, another minorty government! I feel for Emma whose hubby will be in the midst of it all, being a party employee.

In knitting news... yes, you thought I gave up, didn't you! I finished soft fluffy scarf for me and made small scarf for baby and now back to Arthur's sweater. This will take a while because the wool is pretty thin and the sweater needs to be big. Hopefully he can wear it next winter. :)

7 Seconds

We watched a documentary on the Passionate Eye last night about a man who has almost total amnesia. He can remember things for 7 seconds. This is as a result of a virus that attacked his brain 20 years ago. He used to be a brilliant orchestra director and now cannot remember anything. He can't go out because he would never be able to return. He doesn't know if he saw his wife that day or his children. It's a kind of death and a horrible way to live. Makes me very grateful that though I don't have money, I have lots of other blessings - my wonderful husband and lovely boy and all my faculties intact.

365 Days

52 bags of diapers, 200 cans of formula and I don't know how many boxes of baby cereal and baby food later, we have a one year old! Alex celebrated his birthday yesterday. We had my parents over as well as Emma and Simon. Alex was SO excited all day that he would not nap. As a result he was so tired after Emma and Simon left that he fell asleep as I was feeding him cereal with pears and mango. He got lots of toys, two new outfits and a snow suit. Of course, he played with the cardboard box his Barney came in the most.

I can't believe it's been a year already. It doesn't seem possible. He's so adorable. I'm sure every mother says that, but in my case it's actually true. :)

Rememberance Day

To all the Veterans: Thank you. We remember.

Snow White


The Traditional Princess

You are generous, graceful, and practical with both
feet planted firmly on the ground. You tend to
be a little on the old-fashioned side. You
value home, hearth, and family life and love to
be of service to others.

Role Models: Snow White, Maid Marian

You are most likely to: Discover a hidden talent
for spinning straw into gold.


What Kind of Princess are You? - Beautiful Artwork (Original Music is BACK!!!)
brought to you by Quizilla

Hah!

The author I'm working with sent a message to my director saying he likes working with me and I am doing a good job! Yay me! This guy is really nice too and I don't mind dealing with him though it takes 150% of my time.

Glacia is in Norway, lucky girl, and I am beginning to feel restless and would love to travel somewhere. Now here is yet another way that mothers are torn continually. I want to travel, but could not bear to be away from Alex. Even if we go to the conference in Vancouver next year, I am already scheming a way to take him and Arthur along. Good thing babies travel free.

Am planning Alex's birthday get together. Can't call it a party really because it will be just us, my parents and Emma with Simon and possibly her husband, unless there's an election. Mr. Peel is an activist in the Liberal party.

OK, time to rant. What idiot calls an election before Christmas. Not that I want one anyway. OK, so we all know that they all steal in one way or another. The Liberals got caught. Big deal. Accept the shame with a red face and hung head and get on with it! There is nobody else to elect! So what if we have an election. It will be the same bloody result all over again - a liberal minority government. Otherwise, it might be a conservative minority government and that would just be too cruel to contemplate. Harper should not be allowed any power whatsoever.
End rant.

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.

Your Monster Profile

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

What's Your Monster Name?

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.