The evil step mother

Well, we made it. It was a long week in Regina, but we are back now. Mary's baptism went very well, she was such a good baby. The service was a doozy, 2 hours long, and she only cried once. She didn't even scream when the water was dumped on her head. I was so proud.

My step mother is pretty hard to take. She is one thing that makes me want to seriously rethink moving to Regina. She is well meaning, but very bossy, and has to be involved in everything. She believes that she has the right to tell her children what to do, and have them obey her, no matter how old they are. She also has very different ideas about how we should care for Mary, and she refuses to listen to me when I tell her how we do things. Urg. By yesterday, I was ready to shoot her, or at the very least kick her in the shins. It is very frustrating to go from being a responsible, independant adult, to being treated like a naughty 16 year old who doesnt know anything about anything. Oh well, we are home now, and I did have a wonderful visit with my Dad. He is the only reason I could ever have to get along with his wife for a long period of time.

The cats were not at all happy to see us. We have been gone for a week, I missed them desperately, and they hardly noticed. Except Tybalt, he was pissed off. He is giving me the cold shoulder right now, and wont talk to me at all. If I try to pet him, he cringes away, and then leaves. Miserable Jerk. The birds are still alive, unfortunately. I hate the bloody things, and I wish I could find a home for them, but I can't. I often consider shitting the door to the living room, with all four cats in it, and opening the bird cage door....nature could take care of the rest!

Gone!

Well, it is 6am, and we are heading out to Regina for a week. I wont be able to post here as my internet access will be spotty at best. My dad has internet at his place, but is kind of odd about the computer actually being turned on.

Have a very happy Easter! The Lord is Risen Indeed!

Icky

Anne put a picture on her blog that has burned itself into my retinas. It is the Tapeworm (Janets ex), in a bikini. I am so glad that Ian has never decided to wear my underwear or bathing suits, I love the man, but I dont think that I could ever sleep with him again if he did. It all kind of reminds me of my father. When I was a teenager, he used to come out of the bedroom wearing one of my mothers nighties over his church clothes, and a pair of her panties on his head. He thought it was the funniest thing, as he skipped out the back door, I thought it was mortifying. He never actully got to church dressed like that, although once he did get into the car and drive around the block. My dad is fantastic, I adore him, but he is a little crazy. He isnt quite as bad anymore, I still bear the scars of his...unique...sense of humour, but life was never boring, thats for sure.

So, the judge in Florida has not forced Terry Shaivo's(sp) husband to replace her feeding tube. I know that it's far away, and it's none of my business, but all I have to say is THANK GOD! Let that poor woman die (finally) with some dignity. Watching the news, I have been reminded to make up a living will. If I were ever in that position, I would not want to be kept alive indefinately.

I would like to know who chooses to live in a stupid bloody place like Edmonton. It is still snowing right now, and I hate it. The roads are crummy, it's cold out, and Im a little unhappy.

Baby poo is disgusting stuff. Especially when your baby eats formula. blech.

Sex is fun! I had forgotten that in the last couple of months. Apparantly I have forgiven Ian for what his child did to my poor body.

Well, I need to go battle the roads and pick Ian up from work. D&D tonight, yay! Last week my barbarian killed about 15 hobgoblins, I wonder what I will kill tonight! (gosh Im a geek, arent I?).

I always wanted to be a Tulip Picker....

My mother called me last night to inform me that in Langley, tulip pickers make twelve dollars an hour. She felt that it was important that I understand that anyone, even me, could be a tulip picker. She is desperate for me not to move to Regina, and to go to Vancouver instead, and feels that $12 an hour is more than enough to live on. She still doesnt understand that Vancouver is just too expensive for us, and that 12 bucks there is like 7 anywhere else.

Ians mum got to Edmonton on saturday and seems well. We visited with her and Ians very loud aunt, uncle and cousins an saturday night and sunday afternoon. It's always exciting to spend time with them, you never know how loudly they are going to yell. I tend to just sit back and watch in quiet amazement. I'm not sure how keen I am on them being around Mary when she is old enough to repeat everything that everyone says...they are pretty foul mouthed, and I dont want her swearing like a sailor.

We rented the Incredibles last night. What a great movie! That baby is killer cute!

The Queens English

Dave posted a while back about stupid internetisms, and I just have to say one thing. I was wandering (virtually) through blogger, and I came accross a blog where the person (who unfortunately, I know) uses Ah. Now, you wouldnt think that Ah would be so iritating, until you realise that he uses it in place of I. Now, think about that...I tried to figure out what would posess someone to do that. Not laziness, it takes more effort to type two characters than one, right? So why? Is it to drive people like me insane? Ah think so. Grr. I dont pretend that my spelling or grammar is flawless, but I like to at the very least attempt to speak and type the Queens English. It really saddens me that the internet seems to be destroying that. I have a little friend who is 9 years old, and I have started ignoring her on MSN. I cant understand a word she types between the abreviations, odd spellings and symbols.

Ians mum gets here sometime tomorow. It's quite exciting, we havnt seen her since our honeymoon, and this will be her first time meeting Mary. If you want to blame anyone for the nasty snowy weather, it can be her. She's from Halifax, so I suspect that mother nature just wanted her to feel at home when she gets here. I heard that it is supposed to snow all weekend now. yay.

Injera and Civil War

Yesterday Anne, an unnamed friend and I went out for lunch. The unnamed one took us to a very neat place called Mebrat Cafe. It is run by an Eritrean lady, which I think is very cool. I have a fascination with that part of Africa, although my main focus is Ethiopia. It was hard not to mention this, as Eritrean food is very similar to Ethiopian food, but, Eritreans do not have warm fuzzy feelings when it comes to Ethiopians. This is due to Ethiopia annexing them in the 1960's, which was followed by a 30 year war for independance. The Eritrean rebels won in 1991, and they voted for independance in 1993. That wasnt all, though, in 1998, a border war started up, which lasted 2 years till the UN came in and said "enough already!" From my readings, the very small Eritrea was pretty badly damaged by all this warring, and it was not a very nice place to live at all. Anyways, my fascination is with Ethiopia, one day Im going to go there, and take my daughter. Did you know that Ethiopia was the originating country of Coffee? Or that Sheba, as in the Queen of Sheba, was in Ethiopia? That Ethiopia has some of the oldest rock hewn Christian churches in the world, and Ethiopian Orthodox christians claim to be the oldest christian denomination in the world? Not only do they have a fascinating history and culture, it is apparantly a stunningly beautiful country, with the Blue Nile, and classic African vistas, and according to my father, who spent a few months there, the friendliest people on earth. People make fun of me, but it is my dream to go there. And they have great food.

I'm a little offended....

You scored as Donald Duck. Your alter ego is Donald Duck! Try as you might, you have a nasty temper that is hard to control. But you try hard to please, and you arn't one to go down without a fight. The Beast 69% Donald Duck 69% Sleeping Beauty 63% Goofy 63% Cinderella 63% Peter Pan 63% Ariel 44% Pinocchio 38% Snow White 13% Cruella De Ville 6% Which Disney Character is your Alter Ego? created with QuizFarm.com

Misery

There are few things in life that are more miserable than taking care of a sick infant. One of them is having a bad sinus infection yourself while you do. The only thing that I can think of worse than that is taking care of a sick baby, while having a bad sinus infection and your period. Mary was up till 4 again last night (this morning). Why am I being punished like this??

The Amazing Snot Monster

Wow. For a little person, Mary sure can produce a large amount of snot. Seriously, I could make another baby out of it, I'm sure. We went to her pediatritian yesterday, and he seems relatively unconcerned about her condition, which I guess is a good thing. It's just hard to believe that we have nothing to worry about when Mary is struggling for breath beside me. The other night we called the pediatritian on call, to get some advice, what a jerk. I explained to him the situation, and said that although we had taken her temperature from her armpit, I wasnt sure if she had a fever or not. He proceded to tear into me. "You have a 2 month old baby, and dont even know what a fever is? Maybe you should have read a book or two when you were pregnant!" Well, I had 3 books in front of me at the time, and they all said that a fever is a different thing. He then proceded to tell me that anything over 37 degrees is a fever, and that we should go to the hospital. At the hospital, the nurse took her temperature, and said that 37.4 is a perfectly acceptable temperature, and not a fever at all! Grr. Then the ped yesterday said anything 39 degrees or over we should be concerened about, and we shouldnt be taking her temperature from her armpit at all...we should do it rectally. I think all these health professionals need to get together and have a fever summit.

Last night was BP's, I went without Ian, because he stayed home with the baby. It was nice to get out without her, but I missed her a bit. There was some interesting pre-turn geeking going on, and some funny conversations. " Hey, you know that thing we were going to do? You know, the thing with the item that we needed? Yeah well, I asked that person, no no, not that person, the other one. Yeah...I asked them to help." It was pretty funny with everyone talking in code. Anne is coming along nicely in the evil department. One of the first things she said to me was "I know something about your character that you are going to love!" and then she proceded to giggle, and not give me any more details. Bitch.

On a less happy note, fincances are going very poorly. Groceries are likely not going to be bought this week, or next, aside from forumla and diapers for the baby. We can live on bread, potatos and onions, right? Seriously thinking of selling the house, and moving to Regina, or at the very least going back into renting an appartment. It's nice to have a house we own, but although the mortgage is a bit less than we were paying for rent, the obscene gas/electrical/water bill is ridiculous. It's going to be dificult to clean this damn place up and get it into selling condition though.

You scored as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. You are the unfortunate changling from Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel, the victim of volatile emotions that violate your reputedly noble character. Through scientific experimentation, you have divided your social and primal selves into two separate physical entities, which grapple perpetually for control of your existence. Because of this tension, your life is a maelstrom of inescapable, private turmoil. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 71% Frankenstein's Monster 50% Dorian Gray 38% Count Dracula 33% The Headless Horseman 33% The Invisible Man 29% What's Your 19th Century Horror Character? created with QuizFarm.com

Sick babies

Last night we ended up spending several hours in the ER at the Royal Alexandra hospital. It was a highly unpleasant experience for more than one reason, mainly that we were there with a sick baby. The Royal Alex ER has a fascinating cross of people...from young (far too young) mothers with their sick babies, to old homeless men who had the crap kicked out of them, to the drunk snoozing in a wheelchair, to the gentleman who smelled as though he hadnt bathed in about 3 months. Because Mary is a baby, we were put on the "rush" list, which meant that instead of waiting for 6 hours, we only had to wait for 2, before being put into a room to wait another 1.5 hours. I could go into a rant about the state of our helth care here, but Im too tired right now. Eventually we saw a doctor, who checked her out, did an x-ray of her chest, and told us that she has a cold. I felt kind of silly, but I guess it is better to be safe, right? She seems even more stuffed up her sneezing and coughing is worse today, Im not really sure what we ought to do.

I ended my time at the unnamed telecom company today. I am really quite disapointed, I was really enjoying the training, and the job looked really fun. After talking with Ian though, we decided that it just wouldnt work. Even if daycare was only $50 a month, it wouldnt be worth it, and, there doesnt seem to be anyone out there who is willing to take a baby, let alone a baby on saturdays. It makes you wonder how people do it, and it really gives me alot of respect for all the single mothers out there.

My Father is desperate for us to move to Regina, he says that he will help us out, and we will talk about it when we are there for Mary's baptism. I spoke with my Mum today, and she flipped out when I mentioned that to her. She is of the opinion that we should move to Vancouver. I tried to explain to her that we couldnt afford to live there, but she will not listen to sense, especially when it comes to my dad.

Interesting...

You scored as Spike. You scored as Spike. You feel like you're misunderstood. When you care for others, it's deeper than they'll ever know. Though no one thinks you'll change/pull through, you'll show them. Spike 88% Dawn Summers 67% Buffy Summers 58% Anya 50% Tara Maclay 50% Rupert Giles 38% Xander Harris 33% Willow Rosenberg 33% Which Buffy The Vampire Slayer Character Are You Most Like!? created with QuizFarm.com

You will be sucked dry by a leech. I'd stay away
from swimming holes, and stick to good old
cement. Even if it does hurt like hell when
your toe scrapes the bottom.


What horrible Edward Gorey Death will you die?
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So many numbers

Today was my first day of training at the nameless telecom company. Yikes. What a long confusing day. I guess it will get easier, I really hope it gets easier. You wouldnt believe how much you need to know to handle your average directory assistance call. Tomorow we get tested on what we were taught today. They gave us our schedules for 3 weeks from now today, and I have a serious problem. I had mentioned in my interview, and again when I was hired that I would be in Regina for the Easter long weekend because my daughter is being baptised then. So, they scheduled me to work the saturday of the long weekend. I have been assured that it is being delt with, and that I neednt worry, but Im still a little concerned.

Mary was up super late last night, and I've been told that she slept all day today. It's my fault really, I told everyone what a good baby she is, and how she sleeps through the night. Not anymore. The last several days she has been up till the wee hours of the morning. The worst thing is that she is so cheerful when she is awake, it's like she is a devil child. All I have to say is that she is darned lucky she's so cute.

Titanic

So, Ian and I watched the Titanic movie this afternoon. I've seen it before once, the first time I saw it was a few months ago. I remember when it came out, I was determined that I would never watch it. The hype bothered me, and they played that song by Celine Dion constantly on the radio. I hate her. Anyways, now that I have seen it, I can kind of understand why so many people loved it, it really is a fantastic love story. I also enjoy picking it to pieces, it is not even kind of historacally correct. There is no way, ever, that Jack and Rose would have ever met, and that scene at the very bow of the ship, you know the one "Im king of the world!" would never have happened. I know for a fact that that area of the ship would have been seriously off limits to passengers. Being friends with Iain and Val, I can see the misrepresentations even more now, they are huge Titanic buffs.

Mary has been an absolute monster for the entire weekend. She has been cranky, crying all the time, hardly sleeping at all, which makes her crankier. I'm a little worried about tomorow though. I start my new job in the morning, and I will be working 8:30 - 16:00 monday through friday. Shanni has kindly offered to look after Mary, but I'm still worried. I feel kind of guilty having anyone else deal with the baby right now, she is alot of work. I'm also worried about me. I will be training, and they test us on what we learn. If we don't get 80% or higher on each of the tests, then we are asked to leave and not come back. Normally I wouldnt be too worried, but how well am I going to concentrate after being up till 4am with a screaming baby each night.

Last night we played D&D, and it was pretty fun. It was the first time I have gone back to this particular game since before Mary was born. It is a pretty neat premise, we are playing in post-arthurian England, or at least Allan's twist on that time. He does a very good job, especially as he majored in history in university. My character is an absolute wreck though, and lightyears behind all the other characters in the party. I am also a werewolf, which none of the other party members know, and will eventually cause great problems. There is a stupid paladin, and he will kick up a huge fuss when he realises how close to being a bad guy I am. Last night we went to the elven world, where we killed a renegade Tree Ent, were robbed by a bunch of pixies (totally not my fault), and got drunk with some tree gnomes.

Finally

Well, I've finally decided to join the crowd, and get a blog. I have too much to say, on too many things to just keep posting comments on Anne's blog. I need a forum to speak my mind, so here it is. Hopefully I'll not fall into lollybloggerdom like many have before me. You know, it's odd, I had so much to say, and now...do you think I can think of anything witty? Nope.

Let's see. I suppose I can talk about my life, things are happening there. Ian and I are having a difficult time right now financially. His work blows goats, and take such horrible advantage of him that it is getting ridiculous. It is time for him to move on, but unfortunately, we are fairly certain he would have to take a relatively large paycut if he leaves. We can hardly live on what he is making now, so a paycut would be a disaster. Anyways, I have started a new job with a large telecom company who shall remain nameless, and although the pay is good, I dont want to work full time just yet, as childcare is quite expensive. The thought of someone else looking after my baby 35 hours a week makes me ill. Needless to say, whatever decision we make, we will definately have to make some big changes. Maybe get rid of the car? No more cable and internet (whimper)...who knows.

Well, thats it for my first post, Mary is screaming for something. I cant wait till she can speak, and tell me exactly what it is she wants. urg.