Confessions of a cereal junkie

I have a confession. I am 27 years old, and I'm addicted to fruit loops cereal.

I know this is wrong... fruit loops is for children right? I mean... there are cartoons on the box, and a free star wars action figure inside... I hope it's Yoda... anyway, it's pure sugary nonsense.

I don't discriminate, I'm addicted to most sugary nonsense cereals. My other favourites are Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Golden Grahams, and Captain Crunch. I also dearly love Honey Combs, and Reese Peanut Butter cereal.

If I had my choice, I would eat cereal for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Other than the fact that there is no nutritional value, other than the milk (although, it IS made with whole grains...), and I'm afraid I'd die of scurvy, I probably would eat it for three meals a day.

Sometimes I am afraid that I will never grow up and will hold on to pieces of my childhood forever, but who could resist the fruity goodness, and wholesome crunch of Fruit Loops? Not this junkie, that's for sure!

Dear Readers:

Dearest Jinxy, and those who are now paranoid about using your exclamation points:

Don't be afraid to use your "shift 1"
it is perfectly fine, when properly done.
It's not that I hate it,
or find it uncouth,
I just tend to dislike it
when it's over-used.

So please don't be hasty,
or call me unkind
I'm just writing down
these opinions of mine.

I'm not criticizing
or knocking it down,
just telling a story
and being a clown.

Don't fret my dear readers,
for I do so adore
this sharing of stories
and laughter galore!

(tee-hee, thank god I'm in manufacturing and not an author trying to make money! This made me giggle).

How Could Something So Good Be So Evil?

I have learned recently that the French Vanilla Cappuccinos, that I so dearly love, are heart-attacks in a cup. Put on your sad faces people... this is depressing news. While somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that something that was so wonderfully delicious could never be healthy, I didn't consider that it would be that bad for me. Apparently the blended cream with the sugar and lovely vanilla is not heart-healthy. Who knew? (whistling innocently).

Tim Hortons, (my favourite coffee joint), has released a health check guide with all the fat and calorie counts for all of their products. DO NOT READ THIS EVIL RUBBISH! IT WILL RUIN YOUR LIFE. I could have looked interestingly at the cover and left the shiny pamphlet alone, but no, I picked it up and looked inside. Now nothing will ever be the same. The long, and short of it is... drinking an extra large french-vanilla cappuccino is the equivalent of eating a McDonalds big mac sandwich. WHOA. I drink, or should switch to past-tense here and say drank, at least one and occasionally two or three of these monsters PER DAY. No wonder my pants don't fit! I tried to sooth myself with the knowledge that I purchase a low-fat yogurt with my evil-calorie-fest of a coffee everyday, but so far that's not helping. Be wary of the hidden beverage fat! You too could be a victim!

The over-use of !!!!!!!

It is no hidden secret that my grammar skills leave little to be desired. There is really only one thing that drives me crazy, and that is the over use of exclamation! points! It sounds as though you are yelling everything you say with tremendous excitement!

Dear Friend!

The other day I was reading your blog! I loved your post! It was so tremendously entertaining! (ok. I probably would put one there). However, your exclamations make reading your writing a little exhausting! How can one person stand that much excitement? Your words that are so beautifully written, so eloquently descriptive, are tarnished by the constant !!! at the end of your sentences! Believe me! We understand your enthusiasm just from your well put-together phrases, and your sense of humor shines! There is no need for all of that exclaiming!!! Not that I don't love you just the way you are! Feel free to tell me to go *$#* myself! I'm not a critic! Just someone who gets distracted easily!

Love and Hugs!
Jewels!
(before anyone says anything.. no this isn't any of you!)

Spring is in the air!

The frogs were out last night for the first time, which means the ground has finally thawed enough for them to crawl out of the mud! The temps here are finally crawling back up towards the 10 degree mark, which seems like heaven compared to a few weeks ago. I was considering taking my snow brush out of the car and putting it away, but didn't want to tempt the gods of fate. Enevitably, every year I put it away, snow comes immediately after. I have put my winter coat away though, which makes me happy.

We are setting off model rockets in the park this Saturday, I'm excited to see how it goes. Although, I'm not sure about the principles of teaching children the joys of lighting things on fire, I'm sure Step-Son will enjoy it anyway. I'm sure hubby definitely will. He likes fire.

Catch up craziness!

I've been under the weather for a bit and am desperately trying to get everything back in order. I've missed reading all of your blogs, and am looking forward to catching up in the next couple of days.

On the Bermuda front... this looks like it's not going to happen. We have yet to hear back about our questions, which has me concerned. We haven't completely taken it off the stove, but it's definitely on the back burner. Hubby was contacted for an interview at a local insurance company though! Which would be ideal. He interviews next Tuesday. Fingers crossed!

I am desperately trying to think of ways to keep my step-son busy for the entire week of March break. We have purchased some model rockets, which hubby is very excited about, depending on the weather. He is very crafty, but I'm beginning to run out of projects. Anyone have any ideas?

Still haven't won the lottery... no surprise there. Keepin the dream alive though!

Hubby is very ill this week, but is stubbornly refusing to take care of himself, and refusing to let me do things for him. He is being very good about not complaining, but I know he has a fever and is feeling like someone ran over him with a tractor. So, to punish him for not letting me help, I bought him the worst-tasting cough medicine I could find and watched while he drank it. Then immediately felt bad when I saw the disgusted look on his face. It really is terrible, but seemed to work quite well. He happily takes a swig every 4-8hrs and does not blame me at all.

We are moving back to my old house on June 1st. I'm in the process of contacting movers ect. Here's a photo:

It a 110yr old monstrosity. I had moved out a while back and rented it to some lovely people, but now that money is tight again, we've decided to make the move back as it's closer to my work. I only lived in it for 8mths after I bought it, and it seems strange to be going back. These photo's are from when I first purchased it in 2006. It needs some cosmetic love, but you can't beat the price.

Feeling Groovy and Skywatch Friday

Sorry about the blurry shot, but the rainbow looked so perfect betweeen the trees, I thought I should post it anyway. What a shame I have no photography skills.


There are so many things that are beautiful about today.

• My office is a giant chaotic mess, (I'm getting a new desk... however it's not arriving until next week) which has allowed me to do little or no work at all.
• I have two very giant, delicious steaks waiting for me at home.
• Hubby has found a new case of wine downstairs, I thought we were out!
• I'm in a cleaning and sorting kind of mood, and am excited to go home and attack my basement.
• Free lunch today! For some reason HR ordered wraps for everyone. Hope nothing bad is about to happen.
• My employees got heaps acomplished today, that I had been putting off for quite some time.
• Everyone at work was in a deliciously joyful mood and all was fun and happy. Which is a welcome change from the depressive craziness that has been smothering everything lately.
• I won a free coffee on "Rrrroll up the rim to win". For those of you overseas, it's part of a promotion thing put on by Tim Hortons.. my favourite coffee joint. You roll up the rim of your coffee cup for a chance to win prizes. It is the thing I look forward to most about march.
• I didn't run out of gas on the way to work this morning. Very surprising.

Hope you all had a loverly day. I'm going home to eat, drink, and be merry.

I am a vindictive sort of woman

I thrive on being right. I will go to great lengths to PROVE I'm right. And I have a hard time not rubbing it in peoples faces when I am finally proven right. This is bad. A serious character flaw, you might say. So, I hold back the, "I told you so", and the, "See?"... and I really do try to hide the self satisfied smirk that sneeks on to my face when someone tells me I'm right. It's not that I believe I know everything, but when I choose my battles and fight for what I believe in, I like to come out on top in the end.

The worst part is... I'm also vindictive. When I am in pain, I want to cause pain to the person that has inflicted that pain upon me... when really, I've probably done most of the damage to myself. I don't know why this is. I certainly don't feel better after I have intentionally said something hurtful, even when I felt it deserved. I think the real problem is I used to be this quiet, shy person who did everything for everyone because it made me happy. And then people started to take advantage of my niceness. After a very long time of trying to make everybody happy all the time, I became NOT nice. I'm not sure which is the lesser evil. I refuse to let people walk all over me... but something dies a little inside me when I am cruel to people. Plus I immediately regret my rash behaviour. There has to be a happy medium. Maybe I just need to drink more wine. On the upside, I have no problems admitting to my flaws, so there's something.

Interesting Turn Of Events

Hubby was approached by a head hunter for a job yesterday.... in Bermuda. The wage they offered him was staggering... until you do some research and discover that Bermuda is the most expensive place to live on earth. The cost of living is so high, a loaf of bread is $4-8 US. The average 1 bedroom apartment rents for $2500 per month. And those are the cheap ones. However, the country is stunning, and WARM all year round. Although, aparently the clothes hanging in your closet will grow mold within 10 days if you don't keep your lights on and buy some sort of dehumidifying device.

I was reading the blog of a few Canadians who have relocated to Bermuda for the same kind of job offer, and I have to admit, it's tempting. When else are we going to have the opportunity to pick up and live with a different culture? A chance to see some of the world, even if it's a small piece, (and I mean REALLY small, the whole island is less than 50sq kilometers). I'm torn. Hubby will call today to get some more info. I'll post the updates later!

Bad Communication

You would think that with today's various forms of communications that a man and a women would be able to express themselves. Specifically, to EACH OTHER. But alas, no amount of email, cell phones, phones, conversation, love notes, or dramatic hand gestures seem to help us at all. With more than three thousand years of recorded human history, no one has found a solution to this preplexing problem....

Woman: We need to talk.

Man: God. What did I do now?

Woman: Can't you stop with your negativity? I haven't even said anything yet! Jeez. And GET your feet OFF the coffee table!

Man: Calm down, calm down! What's your problem anyway?

Woman Takes a DEEP BREATH: YOU! YOU are my problem. Can't you just shut up and let me talk?

Man: Okay, okay! Jeez.

Women: As I was saying... I need some help around here.

Man: I already take out the trash, cut the grass and shovel the snow! What more do you want?

Woman: Well, I really appreciate that, but I'm sure you also appreciate the clean laundry you wear, the dinner that's made for you everynight, and the clean house you live in... not to mention that the household finances are taken care of, the paperwork is filed, and the groceries are done.

Man: So what you're saying is you want me to do MORE? Do you have any idea how much it SNOWS here? Don't you know I work all day? I just want to relax when I come home.

Woman: Me too. That's why I want you to help with the cooking and the dishes.

Man: WHAT?

Woman: If you want to eat, you will help. I can live off of salads and lean cuisines. So, unless you want to eat take out everynight, you WILL help me!

Man: And what do I get out of it?

Woman: You get to eat. Please get your feet off of the coffee table.

Man: Oh.

Woman: What, were you expecting a weekly allowance?

Man: Do you want to help me change the oil on your car?

Woman: Don't I do enough?

Man: Do you want to drive?

Woman: Forget it. I'll get it done in town.

Man: Are you crazy? Do you have any idea how much that costs?

Woman: Than change it yourself!

Man: Not if I have to cook.

Woman: Then shut up. Jeez. You can be so difficult. Why can't you be normal? I just asked for a little help. Is that so hard? How horrible is it to help your hard working wife feed you and clean up after you?

Man: Here we go with the guilt...

Woman: There is chicken in the fridge. You can start with that. AND... FOR... THE... LAST... TIME... GET YOUR FEET OFF OF THE DAMN TABLE!

Both parties cross their arms in front of their chests... Woman stomps out of room... Man leaves feet on coffee table just to irritate woman... Woman uses mans razor to shave her legs to teach man a lesson...

SO what has this acomplished? Now both parties are irritated, hubby is burning dinner on purpose and wearing bandaids on his face, and neither one feels like they are understood. How exhausting!

Escape

I am feeling slightly overwhelmed today, and needed an escape. This is a view from the cottage we rented last summer on Crowe Lake in Marmora Ontario. Having grown up in cottage country, I miss it terribly. Especially with the coming of spring.

My mother lives just down the road from this cottage. My summers as a child were filled with days of swimming, rock-climbing, and jumping out of haylofts into piles of golden, yellow straw. Falling asleep to the sound of the crickets chirping, and the frogs singing. As children we would make up adventure stories about buried treasure at the bottom of the river and spend all day searching for it. The most I ever found was a nickel and an old shoe.

I don't know if we'll be able to get back up North this summer, but I shall certainly dream about it. Where there's a will there's a way.

Crushing Disappointment for Twilight, the movie.

I shouldn't have done it. The strange part is, I knew that. So WHY did I do it? Well, I couldn't help myself. I had to watch the movie. (I won't give out any spoilers for those who haven't seen or read the books.)

After reading the wonderful Teen-Lit book by Stephanie Myers, my anticipation to see the motion picture was off-the-charts. Most things in life do not live up to our extreme expectations, but I really beleived this time would be different. If I hadn't been so keen on the book and already knew the story, I probably would have given up on the movie before it was half-way finished. There was no chemistry between the love birds, not to mention, if you hadn't read the book, you'd have NO idea why they're in love in the first place. Like most movies that start out as novels, Twilight was trimmed for film production, a neccessary process. However, they took out the meat of the novel and left the dramatic fluff. What a shame. There are certain scenes where you look at the face of the lead man, Edward, and as a reader of the book you KNOW why he's making that particular face, and why he's looking at the new girl with undisguised loathing.... but the movie does nothing to explain this, or very little. Infact, the movie does little to explain anything. The screenplay writer is assuming you have read the book and so glosses over the final details, until what you really have is a movie about... nothing.

The special effects were poorly handled, and un-realistic, another huge disappointment. I wanted to see what my imagination couldn't picture. The incredible speed and strength of the vampires... what was portrayed were comic-like road-runner men with no upper body movement.

What was GOOD about the movie: It was lovely to see the characters brought to life. It certainly didn't hurt my impression of the book and it didn't make me loose interest in the rest of the series. I loved the attitude portrayed by the leading lady. Her performance was believable. I also liked the villains, all three did a supurb job. Word on the street is they're going to make another film for the next book and are still hunting down a director.

If anyone else has an opinion, I'd love to hear it... I'm feeling slightly demoralized. I would also like to point out that I'm not a critic. This is mearly my un-professional opinion. Lord knows it's a much better movie that I could produce!

Tidings of Magpies - Post Review

I was catching up on my Blog of Note reading today and stumbled across this post from a few days ago. It's a poem that I can relate to. In fact, just reading it made me want to smash my cell phone into little pieces... pop over and have a read, and tell me if these people drive you CRAZY.

I personally hate my cell phone. All it really does is provide my family with an instant GPS tracker. Typical conversation...

Riiiiinnnng, Riiiiiiinnnng,

Me: Hello?

Hubby: Where are you?

Me: Oh, here and there.

Hubby: And where exactly is that?

Me: Well, currently I'm standing in line for the ladies room.

Hubby: Oh, how's that going?

Me: Great. Do you want to know what's stuck to my shoe?

Hubby: Why would I want to know that?

Me: Forget it. What did you want?

Hubby: Oh, nothing. Just to know when you're coming home.

Me: Soon.

Hubby: Soon, when?

Me. At five-oh-four exactly. Or a few minutes after that.. I haven't really triangulated my position with the sun completely yet.

Hubby: uh... So when exactly?

Me: Soon. I'm not sure of the exact time. It depends on how long you are going to talk. I really do have to pee you know.

Hubby: Oh. So, you want me to let you go then?

Me: I think that would be best.

Hubby: Will you call me when you get out?

Me: Why?

Hubby: So I'll know when you'll be home.\

Me: I"LL BE THERE WHEN I GET THERE. I have no plans, I'm not flying to the moon after work, and as far as I know, aliens will not arrive from outerspace today so I will be home at the same time I get home everyday.

Hubby: Well you don't have to be rude you know.

Me: I HAVE TO PEE!! I'm hanging up now.

Hubby: Okay, okay. Can you pick me up some chips... you know, the cheesy ones?

Me: ....... *click* .... dialtone.

God. How did we ever SURVIVE without cell phones? I would like to smash mine with a hammer. All it represents is the most definite knowledge that I will never be completely alone ever again.

I have to go, my phone is ringing.

An Introduction

I realized this morning, while doing my usual speed run around the house before work, that i haven't introduced my ridiculously spoiled cats to the world yet.
This is Felix - also known as Bubba, black-faced monkey (doesn't he look like one?), baby blue eyes, dragon breath (he has the worst breath EVER!). I don't have very many good shots of him because he has exceptionally buggy eyes which do NOT photograph easily at all. In fact, I find the whole process frustrating because he always comes out looking like a red-eyed, psychopathic, serial-killer kitty, when really he is very sweet and stupid. I really do believe he has significant mental challenges to overcome. He was abandoned at the animal shelter with his friend... a Chihuahua... and he looked so pathetic, I knew no one would ever adopt him. Which was sad because he was so gentle and quiet. He's definitely not in the "best in breed"category... or in any category for that matter. His eyes are buggy and set wrong for a siamese, he has an incredibly large under-bite... fangs come up over his face and everything, his tounge sticks out of his mouth, and sometimes he wakes up and doesn't know where he is, has a panic attack, and attemps to flee through the glass patio doors... He is a classic example of what happens when you over-breed animals and there is not enough genetic material to go around... That being said, I think he's lovely. He is content to sit on your lap and snuggle, but will also leave you alone if needed, he doesn't try to steal food off of your plate, and he likes to be talked to. I really could do without the 5am wake up call for attention though. If you've ever owned a Siamese, you know what their lungs are capable of. Felix stands outside the bedroom door, pulls at it with his feet and yells, "WOW?" As in.. are you getting up now? Can we play a game? Do you know where I left my stuffed hamster? His favourite spot to sleep is on the corners of the couch where he can see everything that's going on, but still stay out of Jeff's way.
This is Samantha... also known as Princess, kitty face, goosebump (don't ask, I have no idea), fancy feet, girlie, pretty girl, crazy head, beautiful girl, baby kitty, sweetheart.... in fact... I don't think I ever call her Samantha...
Samantha was also rescued from the humane society. I got her for christmas two years ago. Her favourite things are eating... and eating. If I let her she would eat until she exploded, like a goldfish. Everytime I enter the kitchen she assumes it's because I'm going to put more food in her bowl. She waits paitently beside it until I leave the kitchen... sometimes she will stage a coux and push her bowl into the middle of the floor... just incase I didn't notice it was empty. She is rather solid for a little cat and I'm sure my vet will say she is obese at our next check-up. If I leave her alone overnight she will attack the bread, buns, muffins, or anthing else that is left on the counter. Once I couldn't find her and she was underneath my desk inside a chip bag. Apparently she had exausted herself by licking all of the seasoning off from the inside of the bag and had to have a nap - immediately.

She is rather stunning though. With lovely green eyes and a shiny coat. She photographs beautifully and makes an easy subject. She is unbelievably lazy, and makes almost no noise, except when she is staaaaarving, and even then it's only a very small, quiet "mew?" She likes to sleep in my scrap box downstairs, the linen closet, and the bathroom sink.

These are my children. Someday I would like to have some human kids, but until that happens, I will have cats.

The Twilight Craze

When the book Twilight by Stephanie Myers came out, followed closely by the movie... I admit, I was skeptical and not so interested. I do have a thing for vampire movies though, so I did plan to watch it eventually. While I was waiting for it to hit theatres, I picked up the first book. I wasn't expecting much as it was written for teens... I was pleasently surprised. I am now a complete addict. I read the first 350 pages yesterday and had trouble putting it down to get some sleep before work. Completely fabulous book. I had read some silly review from Stephen King earlier that said Myers was a horrible author and the book was crap... someone should shoot that man. Her character development was fabulous, and her descriptions so detailed (without being overly flowery), that I actually felt like I could look up from the book and see fog and mist. The story itself is very simple, but looks at the whole vampire legend/culture from a bit of a different angle. This isn't Buffy the Vampire Slayer, (which I was completely expecting). I can relate to the main character, even though she is seventeen and I'm 27, and when I'm reading, I feel like I AM her... the sign of a well written book. I'm so absorbed when I'm reading that I forget my surroundings. However, I will issue you a warning... if you're looking for the next piece of Great American Literature... this isn't it. It is a incredibly entertaining piece, but an easy read, targeted at teens and young adults.

Have you read it? Tell me what you think!