Wednesday, August 30, 2006

so you know?

so, you know when you're so busy that you forget to pee, until you really really really have to pee? yeah, that's what work is like right now.

it'll be like that until at least October 1.

yikes.

I'm hanging in there though, feeling much better as far as the sickness stuff goes. yesterday, again, I was still a little wonky but no where near like it was before.

anyway, I'm hoping that the rest of the week, while I know it'll be busy, will be managable. I plan to go into the office for at least a few hours on Saturday (Mark is working Saturday, it'll be nice and quiet then) and get some things sorted out that I can't seem to get to when the phones are ringing off the wall.

so yeah, it's busy but it's good. yay!

Monday, August 28, 2006

it's back

aarrghh

I literally dragged myself through the day today. In retrospect, I should have stayed home but I had stuff that needed dealt with at the office so in I went.

For some odd reason, I'm actually feeling better right now than I have in days. I must be better, right?

Sunday, August 27, 2006

it's so sunday-y

greetings.

the worst of whatever I had seems to have passed. thank goodness!!

today is shaping up to be far more productive than the last two have been (although I did manage to get the laundry done, somehow...).

Unfortunately, the weather has been crap this morning so we've not ventured out. Mark's been puttering around in the basement, I've been riding the sofa doing some work and watching some movies. I brought some stuff home from the office and had great plans of getting it sorted out on Friday morning. So far though, I haven't figured out how to work on a lap top and sleep at the same time.

Oh well, all's well that ends well. right?

Saturday, August 26, 2006

craptacular

I'm still feeling wonky. The symptoms have changed though, from allergy madness (sneezy, watery eyes, dizzy, sleepy) to more of a stomach flu thing.

I had no appetite this morning but by around 1 p.m., I was starving. I actually felt a little better. Mark's uncle and cousin were here to visit Joe and wanted to take us out for lunch. Because I was so hungry and feeling better, I went along. The meal was lovely but unfortunately, it was a huge mistake.

I've spent the better part of this afternoon, let's just say "not feeling very well." On an up note, it was nice to see the uncle and cousin and before I started feeling completely sick again, we got some groceries.

In a moment, I'll be heading to the sofa though. We have a bunch of stuff in the ole DVR to watch and right now, that's about all I can face.

Happy Saturday kiddos.

Friday, August 25, 2006

I sleep, therefore I am

I've been sleeping the day away today.

My day off, a long weekend. it was supposed to be a good day to get some things done, errands and the like, while Mark was at work. This way, when he is off tomorrow, I'd be able to just hang out.

My allergies are crap though. I've been sleeping almost all day, it's not fun and it's not like me. Ugh.

Mark just got home from work and he's going to take me out for dinner. I guess the sleep helped though because I don't feel quite as shitty as I did. Maybe fresh air and food will help.

I sure hope so, I don't really like the idea of being sick all weekend.

Thursday, August 24, 2006

doeth!


rainy sunday
Originally uploaded by Julep67.
it's been raining here, off and on, all week. the evenings are cooler too. it's kinda sad and definitely yucky. summer is way too short, already I can feel the end of it creeping up on me.

my allergies are driving me crazy too. I feel like I have a cold but I don't think I have a cold, I think it's allergies. I have been coughing since I got home but I didn't do that all day. Mostly I sneezed and sniffled all day.

fun times huh?

On an up note, it's the long weekend again for me. I'm off for three whole days and I'm looking forward to it. I have a little bit of work that I brought home with me (that I can do while the laundry rolls around the washer) but I'm hoping it won't take me too long.

I want tomorrow to mostly be a day of leisure, of lazing around.

in other news, our "new" next-door-neighbours (they moved in around the May long weekend) are having a pool put in. I tell ya, the folks they bought their house from hid out inside all the time. When they were outside, it was very brief and they weren't very friendly. snobby is how I'd describe it.

Now the new neighbours, they are the wave hello type. I like that kind of neighbour. You don't have to have them over to dinner (which we probably wouldn't anyway because 1. from the smell of their barbecue, they like really overcooked food and 2. they smoke cigarettes) but if your house was on fire or being burgled, they would probably report it to someone who could so something about it.

Anyway, they have been busting their hoopity-doos all summer on their yard. They put in a new privacy fence and have done lots of landscaping. It looks like they are putting in one of those "on ground" pools. They have a big digger over there, and dump trucks out front and stuff. I'm sure it'll take a couple of days to get it together. I keep wanting to call over to them "Tis a fine barn, but sure tis no pool english."

I'm basing this totally on appearances (they are an older couple who are prone to sitting in their driveway playing celtic style music on a guitar) they probably wouldn't get the reference or find it funny. I think it's funny though and I guess as long as I can still amuse myself, that's all that matters, right?

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

cards on the table time

Once again, I will admit, reluctantly, that Mark and I watch Canadian Idol. It's a guilty pleasure.

I must admit, we get a sick amount of joy out of watching it. We tend to pause it a lot and make really inappropriate jokes about the contestants (not to mention the judges - message to Jake & Farley - Don Cherry called, he wants his shirts back!!). Last night we watched both of this week's episodes. It took us about 35 minutes to watch the whole 90. Since the season started, we've both been Steffi D fans so we were a little disappointed to see her go. That's how these things go though, you have two girls from the Ottawa-Carleton area competing, they most likely split the vote.

What I don't get, really can't get my head around, is how Tyler "I do the shit-my-pants dance" Lewis has gotten this far in the competition. Of the four remaining competitors, I pretty much like everyone but Tyler. Eva is very talented and absolutely stunningly beautiful. Craig is quite a good singer. I like that Chad picks Canadian songs each week (I particularly liked that he sang a Sloan song one week - even if it wasn't one of my favourite Sloan songs) but Tyler, I just don't get him - he's goofy, he lacks any kind of stage presence and he's just irritating. I guess I don't have to "get" him, I don't get a lot of the crap that is on the mainstream radio these days.

As much as we enjoy watching these Idol shows (for all the wrong reasons), we have never actually bought any of the resulting product. On that note, I'm listening to Clap Your Hands Say Yeah a lot just recently. I don't think that they'd do well on Canadian Idol (or American Idol for that matter - I don't think they'd be eligible for Canadian Idol). I think that's really okay, it's good actually.

Monday, August 21, 2006

I'm tired

...and want to go to sleep...

...I want to sleep NOW...

Do you ever feel like stomping your feet like a three year old?

I know that this type of behaviour wasn't acceptable or particularly successful at age three, I know that it't not acceptable now. Sometimes though, don't you just wish that you could stomp your feet and take a nap?

Saturday, August 19, 2006

truckasaurus

For the past two evenings, we've been "treated" to the sounds of a monster truck show. More than a sound though, it's a feeling. The house sort of rumbles and you can hear the noise over the television. It sort of reminds me of that episode of the Simpsons featuring "truckasaurus."

This particular show is a little sadder though. We could only count 4 actual "monster trucks." I think that the big part of it is a BMX Bike exhibition. Between that and an action figure convention (but only for GI Joe types) that is happening here too this weekend, there is a lot of testosterone floating around K-town.

~shiver~

just lovely

so far our day off is going very well.

we both slept in, had a leisurely breakfast and we're enjoying a somewhat lazy day.

I have been puttering around the house a bit, cleaning and what not. I've also managed to get into the pool once (and plan to go again shortly). It's not as warm today as it was when we were off in July but it's pretty nice all the same.

It's been really quiet in the neighbourhood but I don't expect that to last. There have been small crowds of children hanging out around the Memorial Centre fence, clammering to see the big trucks that are moving in as part of a monster truck show. Some things never change, do they? I remember when we were kids, going to the Ottawa Ex (and this was a loooong time ago) and kids were clammering around monster trucks then. I don't quite understand the fascination but it seems to be something that is cross-generational.

oooh...I think I hear my floating pool thingy calling my name. Happy Friday kiddos!!

Thursday, August 17, 2006

woo hoo


fun world - big slide
Originally uploaded by Julep67.
long weekend!!

well, for us anyway.

we've booked tomorrow off and I'm really looking forward to it. I would have liked to have taken my vacation in August but it wasn't possible.

An extra long weekend is nice though!

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

me, clean?

For some strange reason (perhaps it was the episode of "how clean is your house" that I was watching) I got all inspired to do some housework tonight.

It's weird but I'm not complaining. I almost never feel like cleaning so when the spirit moves me, I go with it.

One nice thing is that I'll have that much less to do this weekend. I'll keep my fingers crossed that this is something that I'll keep up with. Goodness knows it's nicer to wake up in a clean house than in a grubby one.

Monday, August 14, 2006

sorta sunny sky


sorta sunny sky
Originally uploaded by Julep67.
will it or won't it?

storm that is...or rain, thunder, shower...that sort of thing.

it's hard to tell right now but the sky is weird.

it's really windy too.

and then suddenly, it's still.

one second, it's bright and the next it's dark.

I just love the unpredictability of summer weather

Sunday, August 13, 2006

portsmouth barber shop


portsmouth barber shop
Originally uploaded by Julep67.
I spent goodly sized chunks of this afternoon floating around in the backyard.

Actually, my floating was confined to the pool and didn't extend beyond the water's edge.

The floating was good, the sun's rays felt excellent too. I wasn't feeling all that shit hot today but the sun did a lot to change that. I felt much better after I'd been outside in the sunshiney day.

Lazy Sunday afternoons are just lovely!!

Friday, August 11, 2006

liz's pig


liz's pig
Originally uploaded by Julep67.
isn't he cute?

he belongs to my neighbour. I met her step-son's bunny tonight, his name is "bacon." Liz, like Mark, collects pig things and she showed me her collection tonight. bacon the bunny likes to "have his way" (if you know what I mean, wink! wink!) with her fuzzy piggy slippers. It's really funny actually.

It was nice to end the day by meeting a bunny. Today was kind of stressful. We had a call this afternoon that Joe had taken a bad turn. By the time we got over to see him (about 45 minutes later), he was stable and resting. He's really weak though. They are doing a bunch of tests on him to try to figure out if he has an UTI or has had a little stroke. Whatever happens, we'd like him to remain where he is. He's comfortable, he's surrounded by folks he knows. We had a long discussion with one of his nurses tonight and Mark talked to his doctor and we all agree that until we know exactly what is happening, he's far better off staying home (at the long term care facility where he's living now) than going into the hospital. I think that his poor little body is just really really slowly, winding down. We'll go over and visit him in the morning and see how he's doing.

Today's definitely been a bit of a rollercoaster for us.

Thursday, August 10, 2006

an early night


kitchen window - pat's flag
Originally uploaded by Julep67.
tonight we came straight home after work and had an early dinner.

after two evenings that we were full of running around, it's nice to be home.

I'm off to bed early tonight, and will try to catch up on my sleep.

thank goodness the weekend is less than 24 hours away!!

Wednesday, August 09, 2006

in the driveway


our new van - in the driveway
Originally uploaded by Julep67.
we're home, with the van.

we were able to arrange with the dealer to pick it up closer to our house (we bought from a rural guy) so we were able to get the emissions test paperwork, and get the MTO before they closed at 5!

we've had a busy evening, we even managed to get out to Amherstview to wish my mum a happy birthday (happy birthday mum!).

overall it's been a good day. we've had two "late" nights (well, late for us anyway) in a row though so I'm a little beat at the moment. I'm really happy too though cuz our new van is here, yay!!

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

a vehicle

yikes I'm tired.

we just got home from running the roads. we were out looking at new vehicles and bought a van tonight. if all goes well, we might have it by thursday, the weekend at the absolute latest.

I totally forgot to take pictures (which is so not like me) but I'll post some soon (after we pick it up).

I'm totally excited about it. It's not new but it's new to us and we got a very good deal on it. anyway, yippee!! new van!!

Monday, August 07, 2006

mmmm...monday


mark's shoes
Originally uploaded by Julep67.
today is shaping up to be another gorgeous day. how lucky are we to have had three lovely, warm, lazy days in a row, during a long weekend?? Pretty lucky I'd say. I must admit, I really envy folks who have the entire summer off. For now, I'll have to settle for weekends and extra days off booked here and there. We actually have a couple of long weekends booked for later on this month so that should help a bit.

Almost all weekend, we've been outside enjoying the weather. We haven't gone much further than the grocery store all weekend, although we did slip over to see Joe for a few minutes yesterday. Our visits to him are less frequent than they once were as he tends to either fall asleep mid-visit or he just plain old doesn't make a lot of sense. We pop in about twice a week, last summer, we were there at least five times a week. Of course, he was a lot more coherent and we were concerned about him settling in. He's completely settled now and seems really happy in his routine, such as is it.

We're happy in our routine too because today we don't have one and that makes me happy. Happy holiday Monday folks!!

Sunday, August 06, 2006

Saturday, August 05, 2006

mark recycles


mark recycles
Originally uploaded by Julep67.
we both do actually. this morning, we took a load to our local recycle centre. Lucky for us, it's not too far from our house so we go over there quite often. Even though it feels like we've been in our house for ages, I'm still unpacking boxes every now and then. This morning, we took all of the cardboard over from my unpacking of the CD's. We also took two large bags of yard clippings. The giant municiple compost heap is at the centre too.

You could sort of tell that the folks working there today had a slight resentment in their hearts over working on Saturday of a long weekend. The fellow in the big yellow scoopy truck thing was just sort of riding back and forth. When we pulled over to put our bags on the heap, he honked at us, pulled right up behind us and motioned for Mark to throw our two bags into his "scoop." He then turned around and moved our two bags across the yard. Your tax dollars are hard at work folks!

So far today, we've had another gorgeous weather day. In addition to the recycling, we did some errands and spend some quality time floating around in the pool. 'Twas all very relaxing and restful, just like a long weekend should be.

Tomorrow is our anniversary and we're still not quite sure what we're doing to celebrate. We met 7 years ago tomorrow. We picked up some seafood at costco (shrimp and scallops) for a nice dinner, either tomorrow or Monday. We're just sort of taking the weekend as it comes for now and that's just the way I like it!

Friday, August 04, 2006

breezy

I can breathe! I could actually breathe before but today, the air was clear, there was a lovely breeze and while it was warm outside, it was not muggy and yucky and just generally gross out of doors.

What a pleasant surprise!! I actually sat outside with a friend and ate my lunch under a shade tree this afternoon. Also, after work tonight, I actually did a little weeding in the front yard. Now, of course, the sun was still really hot and I felt a little woozy afterwards but I actually did it. All week I've been wanting to get at it (because the weeds in the yard are the only things thriving in this weather) but just couldn't bear the thought with the temperatures so high.

Anyway, it's all done and I can relax for the most part, for the rest of the long weekend. Hope you all have a happy Simcoe Day (for those of you in Ontario -- happy whatever it's called on Monday where you are) Weekend!!

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

blue skies


blue skies over our backyard
Originally uploaded by Julep67.
it's still hot, hazy and humid here in k-town.

it's supposed to be slightly cooler tomorrow, I sure hope that the forecast is correct. It was really gross in our office this afternoon. Fortunately, we had a meeting in an air conditioned room for part of it but by the time I left work tonight, I felt really sweaty and gross.

I feel like I'm on auto-pilot this week, just zombie-ing through the week until the heatwave is over or the weekend arrives, whichever comes first.

I'm quite looking forward to clean air again, and sleeping. Good night's sleep are hard to come by just recently. Again, I blame the weather.

Right now, I blame the weather for everything. Ultimately, I guess I must blame myself though. I'm a member of the human race and we're the ones who fucked up the environment and caused global warming.

Of course, president pea-brain, down south of the border, says that there is no global warming so maybe there isn't a problem after all and I can just blame the weather.

right.

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

hot hot hot


hot hot hot
Originally uploaded by Julep67.
Happy August!!

Would you like to cook some eggs on the sidewalk? I'm pretty sure that I could do that for you, would over easy be okay?

I must admit that it's a lot easier to tolerate the heat when I know that I can get into a pool at the end of the day. I'm a little worried about Mark today, having to be out in the mid-day sun, driving around with the crazy people. Have you noticed how stupid people become during a heat wave? I guess that they suffer from fried brains or something. Sleep deprivation could be the cause too. So many stupid people, so many possibilities