A friend sent this to me and it was exactly what I needed!

Today's Lesson:

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbours to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realised what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well.

He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer's neighbours continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of your troubles is a stepping-stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

Remember the five simple rules to be happy:

1. Free your heart from hatred - Forgive.
2. Free your mind from worries - Most never happen.
3. Live simply and appreciate what you have.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less

NOW...Enough of that crap.

The donkey later came back and bit the crap out of the farmer who had tried to bury him. The gash from the bite got infected, and the farmer eventually died in agony from septic shock.

Moral From Today's Lesson:

When you do something wrong and try to cover your ass, it always comes back to bite you!

To say I've been feeling overwhelmed just recently would be a huge understatement.

Last September, this big announcement was made at work about a restructuring that would take place throughout the organization. From September to December, I let the uncertainty of it all eat away at me. Many of my co-workers did this too. It wasn't the healthiest way to deal with it but we had been given a very tiny amount of information and basically told to just not worry about it, carry on with what you're doing and it'll be fine. Personally, I'd have rather not heard anything about it at all instead of just hearing a tiny little bit (just enough to drive you crazy with worry).

After Christmas, I came back to work with a new resolution: I wasn't going to worry about it. This worked okay until last week when we found out what our jobs would be. I'm happy to report that I'm actually still employed (some folks aren't so lucky) but I'm going to be doing something that seems to be completely different from what I have been doing for the past 8 years. I'm sure that in the long run, it'll be fine. I'm sure it's something that I can do and do well. The transition period seems like it is going to be completely insane but somehow I'll get through it.

Needless to say, I've been totally stressed for the past week. I've been really exhausted and probably quite grumpy. I'm the kind of person who needs lists and schedules. I need to know where I'm going and how I'm going to get there (as far as work goes anyway). All of this upheaval has thrown me for a huge loop. Anyway, just thought that I should explain my absence over the past week. Not sure how much time I'll have to check in here over the next little while but I'm going to do my best to post at least a couple of times a week.

Now, onto fun stuff...Stolen from the lovely Bev!

Sandals- peaceful, daydreamy, and thoughtful, you
often find yourself staring into space. When
you aren't out volunteering you are often just
dreaming away. You enjoy the company of
friends sometimes but enjoy peace and quiet.



What Kind of Shoe Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

I'm still here. I'm still alive. I'm still stressed.

I'll write more about it later. Just popped by to say hello!

Due to circumstances that are way beyond my control (ie it's work related), I've not been around much this week. I can't believe that it's almost the weekend again!!

Anyway, this week's Friday Five is here...

When was the last time you...

1. ...went to the doctor?

My last visit to my GP was on February 11.

2. ...went to the dentist?

I was at the Dentist just this week, February 16.

3. ...filled your gas tank?

Gas was put in our car on Monday afternoon.

4. ...got enough sleep?

Over the weekend last weekend. I got really rested up then.

5. ...backed up your computer?

I do it pretty much every other day.

pearly whites

I had an awesome cleaning / check up at the dentist this morning. I'm really happy that my teeth are all healthy and strong but all that baking soda they blast you with has left my mouth really sore tonight. The underside of my tongue got absolutely pounded with the stuff. Yuck!! Oh well, can't complain, at least I don't have to go back again until the end of November.

My day off was really nice. After the dentist, my mum and I went shopping and then I met some girlfriends for lunch. Mark was able to get off work early so we spent the afternoon together. I feel really rested and refreshed after the weekend. Anyway, here's another fun quiz, which colour are you?

AQUA You enjoy life, humor, and being exuberant. Wherever you go you usually find yourself stealing the spotlight without even trying. You love to let go and have fun. Find out your color at Quiz Me!

weekend wrap up

The weekend isn't technically over for me yet because I'm one of the few folks around who gets "heritage day" off tomorrow. The weekend's been really nice so far though.

Friday night, Mark and I stopped off at Costco on the way home and picked up some King Crab legs and some giant prawns. Last night, we had his dad over for dinner and it was fabulous. The seafood was gorgeous, Mark did an amazing job with it (like he does with everything he touches in the kitchen). I spent the best of yesterday just puttering around the house. It had gotten really flithy while I was sick and it needed a good once over. It looks good now and I felt like I had actually accomplished something when I was done.

Today was a super lazy day. We slept in, went out for breakfast and then came home and had a nap. I've been sort of dragging my butt around for a week now so the extra sleep was loverly. Tomorrow I have a bunch of stuff to do (dentist first thing, shopping with my mum in the a.m., lunch with the girls). I'm looking forward to it though, it'll be a really good day off.

Anyway, I'm just toddling off to bed but took a quick quiz (gee I love these silly things) on the way, here it is:


You are Mohair.
You are a warm and fuzzy type who works well with
others, doing your share without being too
weighty. You can be stubborn and absolutely
refuse to change your position once it is set,
but that's okay since you are good at covering
up your mistakes.


What kind of yarn are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

happy valentine's day

I don't really belief in it but I don't want to be a scrooge either so...have a good day!

Here's the Friday Five:

1. Are you superstitious?

I don't think so.

2. What extremes have you heard of someone going to in the name of superstition?

I've heard of folks taking huge amounts of time to walk down a street to avoid "stepping on cracks." But nothing overly extreme.

3. Believer or not, what's your favorite superstition?

Oh, if you kill a spider, it'll rain. I love that one.

4. Do you believe in luck? If yes, do you have a lucky number/article of clothing/ritual?

I think you make your own luck in this world.

5. Do you believe in astrology? Why or why not?

I read my horoscope, for fun. I also read fortune cookies. I think they're about the same as far as accuracy goes.

how lame is my week?

pretty damned lame actually. Not much has been happening around here at all. After my doctor's appointment yesterday, I had to pick up some groceries for Mark's dad. Ordinarily I just run in and out quickly but I stuck around for a visit yesterday. February 11 is his wedding anniversary. Mark's mum passed away in 1999 and his folks would have married 59 years yesterday.

I stayed at his place for about half an hour thinking he'd be upset about (he usually is) but he was fine yesterday. He'd had a touch of a stomach bug or something so he'd slept all afternoon and said that he'd not been thinking much about it. I'm sure he thinks about it often enough on other days to more than make up for it. I can't imagine being married to someone for over 50 years and then having to go on without them after they pass away. I know that he takes a lot of comfort from the thought of being reunited with her when he dies and I go along with that theory for his sake. Personally, I don't believe it. To me, dead is dead so make the most of it when you're here. Not very romantic I know but it's practical, I think.

Speaking of romance, the lamest day of the year is happening on Saturday and the crap has been hauled out of storage and into the aisles of your favourite stores. Last night we were in Costco (told you we were whores) and I couldn't believe the Valentine's shit they had out, vases, crappy looking jewelry, stuffed pink teddy bears. What a waste of money. I'm not opposed to romance but I don't see why we need a manufactured holiday to force folks into doing romantic stuff for their partners. Do it everyday, or not at all if it's not your thing... just don't be an asshole who gets conned into it by the fine folks at hallmark and/or ftd.

In lieu of a proper post (because there isn't much happening today), here's a little list of things that are making me smile today:

1. the sun is shining
2. my office window is wide open and there is a gorgeous breeze blowing in
3. it's February and there isn't snow blowing in through my office window
4. I'm busy "in a good way" at work today

mmm...no post yesterday. Guess the day just flew by. I think it did anyway. Looking back, it feels like it was a long time ago. It also feels like it must have been a bit of a blur...odd.

I'm pretty sure that I have the February blahs. It's all the snow. I don't hate the winter and snow doesn't generally get to me but the trudging is wearing me down. Boots and hats and mits and scarves. To go from the house to the car, you have to bundle up until you resemble the Michelin man. Last winter, we'd get snow and then a thaw...and then it would happen all over again. This winter it's just been cold and snow and wind. I want to see my lawn again. I don't care if it's brown, it would just be nice to see. I've also noticed that we don't have as many birds in our feeder this year as we did last year. I guess that's good. It must mean that they've all taken off for warmer parts.

Other than just feeling tired and blah, not much is happening this week. Work is kinda busy and I'm plugging away at too many things all at once. I know it's not nice to wish your life away so I won't...but I am looking forward to the weekend. I so wanted to pull the covers up over my head this morning and stay in bed all day. I had to get up though, will have to do the same thing tomorrow, and thursday and friday. The worst part about it is that on Saturday, when I actually can sleep in, I probably won't be able to. I'll probably be awake and chirpy at 5 a.m.

Oh well, c'est la vie, right?

Just because I felt like it:


You're an Indie Pop Kid. You like songs about
relationships and the prettiness of nature.
You're sentimental, but not certainly not emo.
Oh, and if you aren't an English Major, you
should be.


You Know Yer Indie. Let's Sub-Categorize.
brought to you by Quizilla

Saturday, lazy Saturday

As planned, we had a fabulous, lazy Saturday. Mark's been fighting a head cold so he decided to not bother going into work today. As it happened, it was a dead day anyway so he didn't miss much (and staying in and keeping warm is way better for him than being outside in the cold, I think anyway!). He's feeling much better now than he did for most of yesterday. The weather has been getting to him too. The sudden changes in atmospheric pressure have been giving him a headache off and on. Not fun! At least he didn't end up getting what I had last week. I'm so glad about that!

I may have mentioned this before but last month, we bought a Costco membership. Over the past couple of weeks, we have become complete Costco whores. It's actually kind of good though as we've been getting great deals on stuff we've been needing for a while. Since November, we've been looking around with half an eye at coffee makers. Ideally, we wanted to get one that was programmable and had an insulated carafe. At Costco the other night, we found a super cheap deal on an excellent Black & Decker programmable coffee maker but it just had a regular pot. No worries, Costco had big ass thermos for $20. So, for $55 we got, essentially, what we wanted. The Hamilton Beach coffee maker that I had originally wanted was almost $200 so....score!!!

I've also picked up some gorgeous bath sheets and we're well stocked up on toilet paper. We actually have massive amounts of the stuff. I know that the honeymoon period will end soon and we won't be going in there quite as much as we are now but it's quite addictive! We were in there last Saturday, Monday night, Wednesday and then again yesterday. I'm going to make a conscious attempt not to go near the place until next weekend. There really is no reason why we should anyway. Yesterday we picked up a huge amount of tofu (four packages for $4.99), a large bag of broccoli, peppers, mushrooms, etc. We still have chicken in the freezer from last week's venture so we're pretty well stocked at the moment. It's really pretty funny actually, exactly how well stocked we are.

Funnily enough, Mark met a guy the other day who works at Costco, in the meat department. He was telling Mark how some families make a whole day of a visit to the store: they have fresh pizza from the demonstrators, the kids watch a movie in the television department...It sounded kind of humorous but also a little sad, I thought. To each his own though, right?

I'm not sure what we'll get upto today. Hopefully not much of anything. I have laundry to do and should probably run the vacuum around but, other than that, it'll probably be another hibernating day. It's supposed to get ridiculously cold here again today. Bring it on I say, afterall, we do have broccoli and digital cable. Oh, and hot coffee and woolie socks...what more can you need when it's bitterly cold outside?

Another Friday Five already? Yikes!!

1. What's the most daring thing you've ever done?

Although I didn’t consider it risky, I know that my friends and family thought it was: shacking up with Mark a few weeks after we met for the first time. I think that when something feels right, you have to trust your instincts and just go for it.

2. What one thing would you like to try that your mother/friend/significant other would never approve of?

I can’t think of anything really. There isn’t anything that I might want to try in the future that Mark wouldn’t be totally supportive of. My mother, on the other hand, is a different story. I think when you’re a grown-up, the less your folks know about what you actually get upto on a regular basis, the better.

3. On a scale of 1-10, what's your risk factor? (1=never take risks, 10=it's a lifestyle)

Probably a 7, I guess.

4. What's the best thing that's ever happened to you as a result of being bold/risky?

Mark and I are in the middle of living happily ever after.

5. ... and what's the worst?

Honestly, I can’t think of a thing. I guess it’s because I’m basically an optimist so if something doesn’t go my way, I try to chalk it up as experience and learn from it. That probably sounds really corny but it’s true!

A friend sent me this today and I loved it so much I thought I'd share it!

Things You'd Love to Say Out Loud at Work

1. I can see your point, but I still think you're full of shit.

2. I don't know what your problem is, but I'll bet it's hard to pronounce.

3. How about never? Is never good for you?

4. I see you've set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public.

5. I'm really easy to get along with once you people learn to see it my way.

6. I'll try being nicer if you'll try being smarter.

7. I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message.

8. I don't work here. I'm a consultant.

9. It sounds like English, but I can't understand a damn word you're saying.

10. Ahhh...I see the screw-up fairy has visited us again...

11. I like you. You remind me of myself when I was young and stupid.

12. You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers.

13. I have plenty of talent and vision; I just don't give a damn.

14. I'm already visualizing the duct tape over your mouth.

15. I will always cherish the initial misconceptions I had about you

16. Thank you. We're all refreshed and challenged by your unique point of view.

17. The fact that no one understands you doesn't mean you're an artist.

18. Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental.

19. What am I? Flypaper for freaks!?

20. I'm not being rude. You're just insignificant.

21. It's a thankless job, but I've got a lot of Karma to burn off.

22. Yes, I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.

23. And your crybaby whiny-assed opinion would be...?

24. Do I look like a people person?

25. This isn't an office. It's Hell with fluorescent lighting.

26. I started out with nothing & still have most of it left.

27. Sarcasm is just one more service we offer.

28. If I throw a stick, will you leave?

29. Errors have been made. Others will be blamed.

30. Whatever kind of look you were going for, you missed.

31. I'm trying to imagine you with a personality.

32. A cubicle is just a padded cell without a door.

33. Can I trade this job for what's behind door #1?

34. Too many freaks, not enough circuses.

35. Nice perfume. Must you marinate in it?

36. Chaos, panic, & disorder-my work here is done.

37. How do I set a laser printer to stun?

38. I thought I wanted a career; turns out I just wanted a salary.

39. Who lit the fuse on your tampon?

40. Oh I get it... like humour... but different.

I have been thinking a lot lately about how many passwords and userids we all have to use on a daily basis. It's a little weird isn't it? I mean, our (well, my anyway) grandparents (or great-grandparents) never had to keep track of what password goes with which login for which thing...nevermind pin's and stuff like that.

We got a shitload of snow yesterday. It was that wet, heavy kind of snow. The kind that is just torture to shovel. Last night when we got home from work, we shoveled the driveway as the snow was falling. I'm glad we did because it was filled in again this morning. Overnight, the temperature dropped a bit and the wet snow froze so it's really heavy and icy now. Fun huh?? This morning I did my best but didn't have time to get the whole driveway done. I did manage to get the cars dug out and the bottom of the driveway cleaned up, of course, by the time I go downstairs in a few minutes, I'm sure that the plow will have been by and filled it back in for me. The city is so nice about that!! At least we're not due any more snow for a couple of days. We've done a lot more shovelling this winter than we have the past couple of years. I don't mind too much, at least when you get a day's break between sessions. It's just brutal though when you're out there moving snow around every 8 to 12 hours.

Even though we've had a lot of shovelling to do this winter, I still don't think I'd want to go south for a break. I know some folks who are either in the south right now or who have just returned and I think it would just make the winter harder to get through somehow. I can't imagine being somewhere warm and sunny for a week and flying back into a snow storm. That would just be unbearable to me. Of course, going south for a retreat isn't in the budget this year anyway so it's not something I have to worry about. Besides, there are more important things to worry about anyway, like Janet Jackson's booby, right? Talk about a slow news week huh? I thought that the whole "bennifer" thing was over the top, this is just silly. Kind of makes me wonder though if the stunt wasn't deliberately planned to take the media focus off of her brother for a few days. Only Ms Jackson knows for sure I guess.

I'm back to work today and feeling the closest thing to normal that I've felt in a week. I must admit though, at the moment, I'm dog tired and have a headache. I just finished eating my lunch though so I'm hoping that this will pass.

Being flat out sick for a week can really take it out of you. I really thought (ha!) that I'd be feeling 100% better today because that's what I wanted. Well, some things you can't force so I guess I'll be continuing to take it easy for the next few days.

Other than being sick, there is literally nothing else going on right now. I've been stuck in the house for basically the whole week, except on Thursday and Friday when I ventured out to work, and for 2 hours on Saturday when I was running errands. I know that some folks claim to get cabin fever when they are stuck inside that long but I really didn't mind it. I could have hibernated all this week too if I had a choice.

I think I'm actually adjusted to the cold now though. I guess that does happen when it's bitterly cold for weeks on end. The sun's shining today and it's just gorgeous outside, pretty and sparkley and bright. I heard that Wiarton Willie saw his shadow this morning but I never figure that it makes much difference. One way or the other, we're going to have 6 more weeks of winter, shadow or no shadow! My advice is to suck it up folks, you're in Canada!

Except for the Friday Five, I've not written anything here all week. I have a very good excuse though, our computer is not in my bed or in our bathroom!

I have been sick as the proverbial dog for almost a week. Finally, today, I've actually felt pretty good and been able to keep food down. For the better part of a week, I felt like crap. Not truly horrible, just off, you know? Well last Monday, I got up and worked out, ate my breakfast and then headed up to have a shower. By the time I got to the top of the stairs, I thought I'd been hit by a bus. It was horrible. I was violently sick for most of Monday night and proceeded to spend Tuesday and Wednesday either in bed or on the toilet. Not pretty, not one little bit!! I had no appetite and couldn't really sleep properly. When I did eat, the most exotic thing I could get down was chicken soup (hey, it is exotic compared to dry toast and ginger ale!!).

Thursday I was feeling a bit better and went back to work. I really shouldn't have done that though because I was sick again that night and most of Friday. I did go in on Friday too but only for a really short period of time. Yesterday was a write-off too. Today though, it's been amazing. I really think you get sick like that so that you'll have a better appreciation for how good "normal" feels. I'm still seriously watching what I'm eating but I think that the worst of it is well behind me now. I'm actually looking forward to getting back into my exercise routine again tomorrow and to going back to work!