Winter Weight

It is my belief that we all need a little extra padding in the winter. Okay, maybe not my belief but my reality since I seem to acquire a little extra padding (specifically in the tummy and rear end regions) during the colder months. This year seems to be worse. I don't know if it is because that really ugly birthday (that I'm not having) is creeping up on me or because my job has slowed down considerably since Christmas. I'm going to pray its the latter giving hope to the chance it will disappear with little more than a pick up in schedule. I'm am very sure it has nothing to do with my addiction to Iced Capp made with (extra) cream, my love for chips or my hatred for exercise or the dreaded D word -diet.

This winter 10 pounds seems to have settled on my body. 10 pounds that makes the difference between getting the pants done up and....not. 10 pounds means the difference between curvy and lumpy. 10 pounds is enough for me to look in the mirror and say "okay Stacey, it is time to do something about this before 10 turns to 20 and 20 turns to 40 and I end up on the next season of The Biggest Loser and someone else sits on their couch eating ice cream and chip while watching me sweat off hundreds of pounds on national TV".

Since the only time I have to do any sort of actual work out is when my boys are in bed I do not plan on going for a run in the country and meeting all our furry woodland creatures that lurk out here. With work being slow I can't afford a gym membership and really don't have the desire for others to see me attempt something I have never done before. I don't own a treadmill or any exercise equipment but I do own a Wii and Wii Fit. I felt this was a good place to start so the other night after I finished my jar of gourmet jelly beans and soda I decided to pull the ol Wii Fit out from under the layer of dust. I don't pretend the Wii is as good as those other methods but that's what I've got.

The first thing the game asks you to do is a body test where it weighs you and checks your balance and asks how much your clothes weigh (mine are always extremely heavy even if I am only wearing shorts and a tshirt) to determine your "Wii Fit age". After it completed it's series of "tests" the first thing the piece of s@#* told me was that I was overweight. That alone was enough for me to want to through the controller through the front of Papa Bear's new TV and find another jar of jelly beans. I don't think I am suffering from any serious bouts of denial but when I see my reflection, even with the extra 10 pounds, I do not see an "overweight" person. Screw you Wii Fit! The next thing it told me was that my "Wii Fit age" is 43..... Awesome.....

Next I flipped through the game selections. The Wii already told me I had decent balance so no need to waste my time on balance building activities. Strength exercises seemed pointless too. Who needs to be strong as long as they can be skinny? As for Yoga-let's leave that till I run out of steam. I decided to go with the aerobic activities.

I round of virtual hula hooping was enough for me. Hip circles and thrusts are better used for other purposes ;). The basic step aerobic activity I found to be quite enjoyable though. Maybe exercising can be a bit fun. After a couple of times through the basic step game I collected enough time to open the advanced version which is way more fun, way more high speed and way more sweat inducing. I pushed myself through 45 minutes of step aerobics. I should have stopped after about 10-15 minutes but no pain, no gain right? Boy did I gain some pain the next day....so much that I had to take the night off but limited myself to half a jar of jelly beans.

On day 3 of my "exercise plan" I went back at it after catching crap from the Wii for skipping a day. I even had to explain my absence - to a cartoon version of the step.. I pushed myself through another 45 minute "work out" before showering up and heading to bed.

The next day I came down with a nasty, nasty stomach bug that kept my head in the toilet for almost 6 hours straight. That combined with the pain I gained from feeling the burn was a rough, rough combination. My legs, butt and arms hurt from the work outs and my guts and back hurt from the toilet marathon. My head pounded and my eyes hurt. I was a mess which I blame half on the exercise. It took a couple of days to bounce back from that mess and now that I'm feeling great I afraid to get back on the Wii Fit to have the rathe of the Wii Fit board come down on me for taking too many days off. I am on the other hand curious to see how many pounds I puked up. I would just jump on a bathroom scale like many people keep in their bathrooms but mine is in the drive shed being used to weigh out corn.

Tonight was drinks with Chesty McBreasty. Tomorrow can be the return of the very loose exercise program. I did download (shhh) some Zumba videos so maybe I'll give that a whirl. I hear people saying it is fun and not just those people that get their kicks running marathons and "tone" in their spare time. Might be something to try after I make sure the blinds are shut tight so I don't scare my in laws across the road. Or maybe I'll cut down on my Iced Capps with (extra) cream - nah, who am I kidding? That is my fuel.

Handheld Hell

I am usually one to embrace modern technology. I like all the fancy gadgets available that are supposed to simplify our lives and the ones that are just kinda cool. There are several new fangled gizmo's that I use through out my day but there is one that I believe to be the workings of the devil himself. Papa Bears high tech universal remote and I DO NOT get along.

It is a lovely looking little contraption. It is the perfect size and shape to comfortably hold in your hand. It has a screen that allows you to load a picture or image as a background to personalize your remote. On that same screen is your list of activities the remote has been programmed to control. It first glance it seems completely harmless.

According to the directions and Papa Bears instructions, you are supposed to be able to touch just one single button to turn on everything you need to watch or listen to a specified component with the TV. Just one single button. Just one. This NEVER happens... OK, I guess I shouldn't say never. Let's say 99% of the time this doesn't happen. There is that 1% surprise that randomly pops up. Those are the times I should be buying lottery tickets because it just seems to be dumb luck when the Devil's Wand actually performs as it should.

Just once I would like the repetitive request of "Mama, Handy Manny. Handy Manny, Mama. Mama, Handy Manny" to be granted with just 1 button. This Never happens... I have tried...several times... After shaking the sh..-heck out of the stupid thing just to get it to power up (the battery doesn't fit properly in its slot and the piece of cardboard helping to hold it in place sometimes shifts) I push the "Watch Shaw Direct" and the TV comes on proceeded by several beeps and lights but alas, no Handy Manny. Now the simple thing to do would be push power and start again or just turn on the things that didn't turn on manually but no. Papa Bear says that when I do that it screws it up. Take a look man! It already IS screwed up! Its just one little screwy screwball of screwed up crap!

To avoid "screwing it up" I have to push the "Help" button. Really? Help turning on the TV? And this is supposed to be more convenient than turning everything on manually? I wouldn't require "help" with that. Pushing the "Help" button now sends me to what seems like a never ending list of questions I must answer. I'm not so good with quizzes at 7:30 in the freaking morning but that is what I must do. "Is the TV on?"
I press "yes".
"Did this fix the problem?"
"No".
"Is the Shaw Direct on?"
"Yes".
"Did this fix the problem?"
"No". "Is the DVD/CD on?"
"Yes".
"Did this fix the problem?"
"No"
"Is the Audio/Video on?"
"Yes".
"Did this fix the problem?"
"No".
" Is the TV tuned to Component 2?"
....and then it goes through asking if each of those items are tuned to their required settings. Ughhhhhhhhhh. I just want Handy freaking Manny - preferably before it is over!

Papa Bear thinks it is just me that can't work the POS (piece of stuff) but the truth is HE is the only one that CAN work it. My friend, Sketch babysat once and had to go through the list of "help". Sketch is quite electronically literate and had trouble with it. My Dad, who also enjoys gadgets made it work but not without a few kinks. It is definitely not just me. Little Bear tries and seems to have more luck than me but not even half the time he attempts.

I am seriously starting to think Papa Bear has placed that Handheld Hell in my living room to drive me further insane than I am already. I don't know how much more I can take before I drop kick the Dastardly Demon remote through the front of Papa Bear's beloved TV.

For The Love of Bacon

Bacon, bacon, bacon. I love it! I have always loved it and I will likely love it until I'm dead - hopefully not from a bacon induced heart attack.

Apparently my good pal, Chesty McBreasty thinks my love for bacon is unhealthy which is evident by her eye rolls when she asks what I had for lunch and she already knows the answer. According to her it is not normal to have bacon for lunch -just bacon....like the whole pound. I know its not a great health choice but I love it. If I balance a lunch of bacon with a dinner of veggie filled salad I should be just fine...or at least that's what I tell myself. I would never allow my children to make a meal out of bacon but for me I think it is just fine.

When at a restaurant, if the waitress rhymes off the specials and even one of them includes some form of bacon I'm sold. I like bacon in my salad, in my soup, in my sandwiches, in my wraps, on the side, just about anyway besides beverages and ice cream. I love it!

I'm not prejudice either. I like all kinds of bacon. I'm not a huge fan of things like Maple Bacon and weird stuff like that which I will eat if not given another bacon choice but I like my regular strip bacon and pemeal bacon or "Canadian bacon" the best. While I'm not picky about what kind of bacon I eat I am very picky about how I like it cooked. I don't want any of that floppy limp crap (but I WILL eat it). I want the s*it cooked out it. I want it just a hint before burnt. I want so that if you were to drop it, it would shatter. X's sister used to run a restaurant and would drop my bacon in the deep frier...OMG...the BEST bacon you will ever have!

For Christmas I received a jar of "bacon salt" so I might turn less traditional items into bacony goodness like popcorn or tuna sandwiches or tacos or pasta or just a piece of toast. I'm not above sprinkling bacon salt over my fruits and veggies either. I have to say bacon flavoured cuccumbers or cauliflower sounds pretty damn good to me. The possibilities are endless.

Sorry this is such a short posting but I need to stop writing about bacon. I am suddenly having a hankering for some deep fried, bacon salted, greasy, bacon with a side of bacon.

Stupid Smart Meters

So the Ontario government has come up with a plan to "create a culture of energy conservation in the province" by attaching this wretched little metal box know as a "Smart Meter" to the side of our houses which tracks our energy usage. Basically this means if you don't want to pay through the nose for your hydro you have to put off using energy sucking appliances until after 9pm on weekdays or on weekends. While I appreciate their mission I do not appreciate their "off-peak" times.

Currently I do laundry almost all day most days and if I miss a few days then non-stop all day everyday. My dishwasher runs at twice a day most days and if I actually cook a big meal which produces more dishes than usual it could run more than that. With all day to do these things I rarely make it to bed before 1am and never before midnight. When I work I leave before the "off-peak" time starts and don't get home until 10 or 11 at night. If I'm not supposed to do my household chores through the day to avoid high rates then I'm going to have to start at 10 or 11 and instead of going to bed at 1am I'm looking at more like 4am by the time I'm done what needs doing during "off-peak" periods.

I know, lots of people run their dishwashers and washing machines while they are in bed sleeping. Knowing people who have had monstrous flooding and other issues while doing so has made me a bit leery. I have rotten luck to start with, there is no need to tempt fate.

I'm sure I will get used to the lack of sleep eventually. Nobody likes change and needs time to adjust orrrrrr maybe I will just stop doing the laundry and dishes and with the money I'll be saving by not using "on-peak" energy I can just buy my family new clothes and paper plates.

From what I have read about these meters they are attached to the sides of all residential homes and small businesses. How is that fair? They should be attached to the sides of office buildings and department stores. They are the one sucking all the in demand "on-peak" energy so they too should be forced to conserve or pay for it like the rest of us. Maybe I can take my laundry and dishes to be done during the day to Sears since they don't have to pay extra for the "on-peak" energy and I could serve as part of their demonstration team. I think it would increase sales for customers to be able to see the appliances in action, no?

If you want my opinion (if you are reading my blog than you must), it is just stupid to make only some of us smart about our energy usage. What's good for the goose is good for the gander or shove your stupid Smart Meters up your....nose!

Time For Some Catch Up

Last week some dude from some web company sent me an email asking if they could advertise on my blog. I responding that I didn't think my blog was a good fit to advertise his site and that the blog has been dormant for almost 5 months. 5 months? 5 freaking months? That's the longest I have gone without blogging since I started this almost 2 years ago. I think its time for a little catch up. Be warned this may be a little unorganized and a whole bit scattered but here is the update:

We have been spending a lot of time (and money) on the never ending addition renovation to our house that started in June. It is still not complete and I am beginning to wonder if Papa Bear is trying to extend this project so that our first grandchild can have a hand in the construction. Our bedroom is done, the family room is done and the office is done. The bathroom is 1/2 done and the basement has miles to go. We also have half a roof to finish and almost the entire old part of the house to finish residing. I love the parts that are done and I hate the parts that are not.


Since I quit my day job last summer i was finally able to do something I have wanted to do since Little Bear started school and that was to volunteer and spend time in the boys' school. I'm just helping make snacks on Wednesday mornings but its been great. If I had known what a big smile it would put on my kids' faces to see their mama in the hallway at school I think I would have figured out a way to make it happen before now. I also got to go on my first field trip which I almost had to opt out of because both Little Bear's and Fuzzy's classes were going on the same field trip on the same day putting me in a position where I had to choose which boy to go with. The boys and I made a deal that I would go with whichever classes was more in need of volunteers. It turned out Little Bear's class had lots of parents and Fuzzy's had hardly any which put me on the trip with the Junior Kindergartens. It was a fun day.

I worked a ton before Christmas. Actually I worked a ton from May until before Christmas and now, like my blog, business has been pretty dormant. This time of year is a slow time for the home party business but this is getting a bit much. I went from working 15-20 days out of a month to working 1-2 nights a month. That is putting a huge dent in my spending budget and I'm getting a bit of cabin fever. Even my Magic Pumpkin is trying to tell me I need to get out of the house more when it decides not to start after sitting without being started for 3 days. I know most people are thinking 3 days is not a long time to be home bound but for me it is unheard of. From the day I got my licence about 12 years ago, I haven't spent 3 consecutive days at home without being sick with the flu or some other debilitating illness. It doesn't help when my few close friends are really busy and I am not.

My little bears have been sick a bit this winter. Mostly with just colds and coughs and a quick but mighty bout of the flu. Basically I have bought more than my quota of tissue and Tylenol. I'm also getting used to checking the shoulder of my sweater for Wee One's snot wipes before going out and washing my hands until there isn't any skin left on them. Little Bear actually missed 2 days of school due to illness this year and that is unusual for him.

Most recently we have had a decent amount of snow dumped on us. Most people bellyache about winter and snow but I love it. If I didn't already love living in the country, winter in the country would do it. More snow and less shovelling. Its great to stand at the window with the boys and watch Grandpa push the snow out of the driveways with the tractor from the warmth of the house. Until this week I had forgotten we even had a shovel. Since we live in the country my boys take a bus to school - Snow = fun, Too much snow = Snow day...not so much fun (for me anyway).

There hasn't really been too much else going on here. I got glasses - just another reminder that I'm getting older and closer to that terrible birthday that is creeping up on me. I had top sales at my job for 4 months in a row. That was pretty cool. I learned to geocache (to me a form of treasure hunting) with my baby brother. I did a home party fundraiser for someone I wasn't sure I wanted to do one for which turned out really great both from a business and a personal prospective. I didn't make a New Year's resolution that I was going to break anyway.

That's about it. That's the last almost 5 months in a nut shell. I guess you can see now that my lack of material is the reason for my absence. Hopefully something exciting and blog worthy comes up soon so I can get back into the grove. For now consider yourself caught up.

Shown Up

Papa Bear and I met each other many, many moons ago while both involved in youth bowling. Say what you want, I loved to bowl and still do. A few years ago a friend invited us to join an adult mixed league. We had lots of fun and the next year invited friends to join.

This year a few more spots opened up and I thought my newly retired father might enjoy a night out and he too enjoys bowling. Daddy-O was a 5-pin bowling coach and bowled with my brothers and I in special family bowling tournaments but never as part of a league. He did however bowl in a 10-pin league for a number of years several years ago.

Daddy-O was pretty eager to join and was there nice and early for our first night. I was a little worried about how this might go down. Daddy-O is not a young man - not like he's pushing 100 or anything but he is no spring chicken either. I just hoped he didn't break a hip or trip or throw all his balls in the gutter in front of the rest of the bowlers because that would be embarrassing for him and I both.

My fears deepened a bit when he did indeed throw his first ball right down the gutter. It was at this point I hoped for him to at least break a score of 65. It turns out I should have been more worried about my own rusty game than his. It seems it was quite easy to tell I haven`t stepped foot in a bowling alley since the end of May.

After a few shaky frames I thought Daddy-O was shaping up to bowl a beginner like game but after making "a minor adjustment" as he said he started throwing strikes. He ended up with a respectable 180 for his first game will I, his seasoned daughter bowled a 151. What the f--- heck?!

The second game was worse...for me... I don't know if watching him on his way to throwing a very impressive 228 was what distracted me from my game but I ended up with a shameful 112... Whatever. I was going to show him in the last game...or not.
He summed up his third and final game of the evening with a 216 and I finished with my highest game of the night -a 184...

I guess I was right to be embarrassed but not for my dad but by him while he thoroughly and fully kicked my ass! I really hope this was a case of beginner's luck or I am really going to have to step up my game to save face. I think for tonight I'm going to go with my mother's suggestion that I am such a good daughter that I threw all 3 games so he could look good. Sounds good to me but really great games Daddy-O! Rematch next week. :)

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, Its Off To School They Go!

I quit my part time Donut Shack job on the last day of the school year thinking it was going to be great to spend the summer with my boys. And it was...for the first month or so.. Then boredom set in -for them not me, and they started to fight. A lot. More than usual. It was too hot to play outside much and frankly I think they were just getting tired of looking at each other. The 2 oldest boys especially since they have been forced to share a room since the renovation started in June. (Just an update, they are still sharing a room even though Papa Bear promised me that they would be in their own rooms by the time school started...).

The "staycation" didn't help matters. Staring at the same faces in the same setting for an extended period of time is bound to make you a little bit restless.

Through out the summer I have been stressing about Fuzzy's readiness to start school this year and riding the bus and not being fully toilet trained and so on. By the end of August I wasn't so much concerned about that as I was how many more days until he started.

The closer the back to school date got the crazier the boys got until finally Back to School eve was upon us. Noon the day before isn't too early to pack a lunch and set out clothes is it? I was a tad bit excited so that is exactly what happened here.

Most kids wake up early and are excited to school on the first day -not Little Bear. Not even a little bit. He moaned and groaned before eventually dragging himself from his bed. His brothers were excited to see him off. Probably thinking to themselves "see you later haha, go pick on someone your own size. We are going to get into your stuff ALL day". That was until the bus pulled away and for the rest of the day I heard "where's Little Bear?" "Where did he go?" "When's Little Bear coming home?".
Geez, you fight with him all day long for months and then as soon as he leaves for a few hours you yearn for him? Absence makes the heart grow fonder? If barely ever saw each other they would be the best of friends?

Fuzzy didn't start until a few days later. We did the usual first day of school photo shoot and I loaded me little man onto the great big bus. He was so excited. I thought I was doing well until the bus was a bit down the road and then I bawled like a baby. I don't care what anyone says, it doesn't get easier with experience. Once I got over that it was time for Wee One and I to bask in the quietness.

The crazy summer and the last few weeks of headaches were all worth it when Wee One laid down for a nap and there was no one to shush. I love my kids but a break is nice. Now I can't wait for Monday when the 2 oldest are in school and Wee One starts 1 day a week daycare. Can you say nap?...I mean housework?