You're so good to me.

I have the best husband. Period.

My friends Mandy and Amanda from work invited me to a community hall in Cobden this weekend to do some scrapbooking with a bunch of other women. Knowing I had plans for the evening, I could only go for the day so I decided to get up early and be there for 9am.

Well we sure got a buttload of snow yesterday, so as I'm getting my stuff ready to go last night, Shaun tells me to wake him up in the morning when I'm ready to leave (~7am) and he'll help get Mitsu un-buried.

So when I got out of bed this morning I had every intention of doing it all myself. Had my stuff all by the door, and went up to say goodbye to my sleeping hubby. God bless his soul, he got right out of bed and dressed to help me get ready. I loaded up the vehicle while he cleaned her off, then he waited at the ready, shovel in hand, in case Mitsu got stuck in the snow as they hadn't cleared our parking lot yet. We seem to under-estimate Mitsu's AWD capabilities sometimes, as she had no problems getting out onto the road.

So Shaun went back to bed, and I got several pages done for our Disney World/honeymoon scrapbook. Since this is a new hobby of mine, I don't have all the crazy tools and embellishments, embossing machines, etc. that the seasoned scrapbookers have, so my first scrapbook will be a simple one. But it was a fun day - all the girls brought food to share; we put on the two woodstoves to warm up, and cut, clipped, glued, taped, created, compared and complimented.

Tonight, Shaun and I went to the National Arts Centre to see one of our favorite comedians live, Jeremy Hotz (www.jeremyhotz.com). We went online a few weeks ago to www.hahaha.com to try to get this year's Just For Laughs Festival schedule and found out that Jeremy was going to be in Ottawa. Not being the type of people to pass up a chance to laugh ourselves silly, we bought the tickets.

He was SO funny. My cheeks were sore. I had tears running down my face. I couldn't catch my breath at some points during his show. I hope he comes to the JFL Festival this year as I'd love to see him again live. I wish I'd thought to bring the camera with us, as plenty of other people were taking pictures. I would attempt to recreate his comedic genius here on my Blog, but it won't be nearly as funny.

Tomorrow, I'm going to get some much-needed sleeping-in time before we get some household errands done. If we're feeling motivated maybe we'll go sledding or hit the canal for some skating, or perhaps an evening walk around Winterlude. We haven't had this much snow in awhile, might as well enjoy it while we can.

Buona sera...

Sens rug?

Shaun and I spent about 3 hours at Home Depot today. As many of you know we want to sell our town home in the spring and find something in the west/south end of town, closer to both of our work places. This commute is a bitch, especially for Shaun who works in Kanata. If one of us worked a lot closer we'd stay for sure - we do like the east end a lot - but at this time in our lives it's just not in the cards.

So anyways, before we can list the house we have some renos to do. All cosmetic but important nonetheless. We went today to look at flooring and back splash tile.

The guy that helped us, Marcel, was awesome. We've ordered some beige carpeting for the upstairs hallway, stairs, office and guest bedroom. It's a nice pile with an 8oz. underpad. Today they gave us an estimate based on our measurements but they have their own rep come in to do measuring before they order and install. I'm very excited about the new carpeting, and almost wish we could stay to enjoy it. Almost.

For the front hall and kitchen we were looking at this new type of laminate flooring that looks just like ceramic tile but is a bit less expensive and there's no sub-floor needed (just underlay). We'd picked out a really nice charcoal colour to go with the new kitchen countertops we installed, but Marcel suggested, because we're going to move anyway, to go with something a little less costly but still nice-looking and durable.

So we got this new resilient flooring, which has a 25-year guarantee. It's kind of a cross between laminate and peel-and-stick, but there's no underlay required, and you can install and cut it yourself. So we got a very neutral-but-bright creamy colour. We can actually install it right over the peel-and-stick that's currently in the kitchen, but we'll have to rip up the old ceramic in the front hall. Buying this stuff saved us about $400 which we were very happy about.

We checked quickly into the back splash for the kitchen, as I have decided on white glossy subway tiles, but they are temporarily sold out, so we'll save that for another time. We want to wait and see how quickly the Home Depot can have our new carpet installed; we'll wait until they've finished before we work on the front hall and kitchen.

And as we were leaving the flooring department we saw this awesome Senators area rug! I've flagged it for our Senators basement, which will be developed in full once we move into our new house. I've got the whole design mapped out, including NHL paint colours, and it's going to be so awesome for watching hockey games.

An overall very productive day at the Home Depot. Very glad they could help!

Ode to Green Day

Okay so on the aforementioned new Weird Al CD, he does a rendition of "American Idiot" by Green Day, but it's affectionately titled "Canadian Idiot" and while I'm mildly offended by some of the stereotypes, it's just too funny not to post, so here ya go.

American Idiot - Weird Al Yankovic
Don't wanna be a Canadian idiot;
Don't wanna be some beer-swillin' hockey nut.
And do I look like some frostbitten hosehead?
I never learned my alphabet from A to zed.

They all live on donuts and moose meat,
And they leave the house without packin' heat;
Never even bring their guns to the mall.
And you know what else is too funny?
Their stupid Monopoly money.
Can't take 'em seriously at all.

Well maple syrup and snow's what they export;
They treat curling just like it's a real sport.
They think their silly accent is so cute;
Can't understand a thing they're talkin' a-boot.

Sure they got their national healthcare,
Cheaper meds for prime rates and clean air..
Then again, well they've got Celine Dion.
Eat their weight in Kraft macaroni,
And dream of drivin' a Zamboni
All over Saskatchewan!

Don't wanna be a Canadian idiot.
Won't figure out the temperature in Celsius.
See the map? They're hoverin' right over us;
Tell you the truth it makes me kinda nervous.

Always hear the same kinda story:
Break their nose and they'll just say "Sorry!"
Tell me what kinda freaks are that polite?
That's gotta mean they're all up to something,
So quick, before they see it coming...
Time for a preemptive strike!

White and Nerdy

Yep, Shaun and I like Weird Al Yankovic. He's funny, there's no denying it. His latest tune, titled above, is a mock of "Ridin' Dirty" by some rapper I don't know. It's heeelarious. No lyrics yet, but give me time.

Happy 2008 to everyone! Hope you all had wonderful Christmases with your friends and families.

Our Christmas was spent primarily on the road. First, en route to Kingston, then Elgin, then Prescott, then Kingston, then Ottawa. Two days of rest for Shaun while I headed back to work, then back to Elgin again for a mock New Year's Eve on the 29th where I got sufficiently hammered and had a blast. We loved seeing all of our family over the break, had candid conversations about everything from what new cross-over vehicles are on the market, to farts and poop (and related pranks and jokes), to nature and wild animals (courtesy of our Planet Earth DVD set). Much turkey was consumed, many naps taken.

We had a quiet New Year's Eve after spending five hours at the Queensway Carleton Hospital that morning (no need for alarm - we're both fine) and driving all the way there with a flat tire that wasn't discovered until we parked at the hospital. How we didn't damage the rim on poor Mitsu is beyond me. Shaun was out in the snow, putting on the spare... poor guy! What a handy husband have I. Fortunately for us we'd scheduled an oil change for 9:30 that morning and because it was just a screw in the tire tread, they were able to patch the tire for us. Yippee! A New Year's miracle. So by the time we got back home we were both exhausted and in no mood to party. After napping for 4 hours, we watched Shrek 2, courtesy of CBC, then turned on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve and played Scrabble until about 1am.

I am looking forward to 2008 and hope it has much to offer... or at least that I can make it a great year. Let's take a quick run-down of the year to come, shall we?

January - Mom's birthday. She'll be mad if I disclose her age and even though I'm 28 years old, I still can't lie to her. Oh, whatever..she's in Cancun for two weeks! She'll be 61 and is planning on retiring in June.

February - Dad will be 65! No chance of him retiring soon - he likes his job too much. Besides, if the two of them were at home, together, all the time...well let's just say it wouldn't be pretty. Also in February comes the new stat holiday, Family Day! Yahoo!

April - I'll be 29. Yikes! And friends Lee and Kari are getting married!

May - Mikey will be 6, which is close to or over 50 in dog years (more for him because of his size). I'll probably get him started on glucosamine for his joints, just to take some preventative steps. He's sleeping a lot more lately, but he's probably feeding off my winter blahs.

June/July/August - Summer is welcomed with open arms and multiple camping trips.

September - Our one-year wedding anniversary! And more chocolate wedding cake...mmm...cake...Also my nephew Owen will be 6 and probably starting grade 1.

October - Shaun will be 31 and officially "in" his 30s.

Obviously there are lots of other things coming up in 2008 but I'm too sleepy to remember them all. So with these tired eyes and clumsy fingers, I bid you goodnight... and cheers to a great year ahead.

More Christmas Tunes

Here's another good one... not nearly as meaningful as the last but still a favorite. This is from the South Park "Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics" album and is one of the least crude on the CD. For those that don't know, Mr. Hankey is the Christmas Poo.

Swiss Colony Beef Log - Eric Cartman

The stockings are hung on the chimney,
And the presents are under the tree.
And Mama's in the kitchen,
Making some herbal tea.

The windows are covered with frost,
And the candles are all alight.
But as I wander through this quiet house,
Something just doesn't seem right.

You see, every year the neighbours
Bring us a Swiss Colony Beef Log.
But the neighbours aren't around (around, around),
There's no beef log to be found this year.

(No beef log...)

Christmas isn't Christmas
Without a Swiss Colony Beef Log.
Without those cheeses and meats,
I don't think I can get along.
Mama tries to comfort me, she says
"Here son, have some egg nog."
But I f***ing hate egg nog seriously.

This is where the song turns from a soft easy listening favorite to a hard rock ballad.

What do I see, underneath the tree?
Grandma bought a Swiss Colony Beef Log
Just for me!

Aaah, baby!
Swiss Colony Beef Log baby,
That's what Christmas is all about!
My prayer has finally come in a beef log baby!
Makes a little boy scream and shout!

Deck the halls with boughs of Swiss colony!
Fa la la la la la la la laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

(Sweet!)

One of my fave Christmas songs...

Now this isn't a Christmas carol persay, but it's from Jewel's "Joy: A Holiday Celebration" CD and I just love it. I think I listened to it about eight times in the car today... and for some reason it brings tears to my eyes.. I think you have to hear this version to understand, but enjoy all the same :)

Hands (Christmas Version) by Jewel
In the end, only kindness matters.
In the end...

If I could tell the world just one thing it would be that we're all okay,
And not to worry 'cause worry is wasteful and useless in times like these.
I won't be made useless; I won't be idle with despair;
I'll gather myself around my faith, for light is the darkness most fear.

My hands are small I know,
But they're not yours, they are my own.
But they're not yours, they are my own,
And I am never broken.

Poverty stole your golden shoes, it didn't steal your laughter.
And heartache came to visit me but I knew it wasn't ever-after.
We will fight, not out of spite, 'cause someone must stand up for what's right.
'Cause where there's a man who has no voice, there I shall go singing.

My hands are small I know,
But they're not yours, they are my own.
But they're not yours, they are my own,
And I am never broken.

'Cause in the end, only kindness matters.
In the end, only kindness matters.
I will get down on my knees, and I will pray.
I will get down on my kness, and I will pray.
I will get down on my kness, and I will pray.

My hands are small I know,
But they're not yours, they are my own.
But they're not yours, they are my own.
My hands are small I know,
But they're not yours, they are my own.
They're not yours, they are my own and I am never broken.
We are never broken.

We are God's eyes, God's hands.
We are God's eyes, we are God's hands.
We are reflections of God, we are reflections of God,
We are reflections of God.

My Beef with Costco

So I had to go to Costco after work today to pick up some chicken breasts. That's it. Just chicken.

Well, at Leigh's party on Saturday night I commented on the beautiful poinsettia in her dining room. It was huge and a nice deep red. She tells me she got it at Costco for $19.99. So of course I had to get one of those too.

As I'm booting it down to get some chicken, I pass the pet aisle and see some dog beds at the very end. Those of you who frequent places like PetSmart, Super Pet, etc. know how expensive dog beds can be, especially the bigger sizes. Costco usually has nice ones on for about $30... well, tonight they were on for $19.99... so I got Mikey a new one for the living room.

(Side note: when I got home, the second I took his new bed out of the truck, he started doing his little happy dance at the front door. Totally worth the money just to see that!)

I'm still on my way to get some damned chicken when I realize I told Shaun I'd picked something up for dinner. So I stroll over to the deli and pick up some chicken alfredo. Then I finally get some stupid chicken breasts, after one woman hit me with her cart and then I accidentally backed up and stepped on another woman's toes.

I'm flooring it to get out of the food section, sans injuries, when I spot one of my favorite Christmas items: Maroc clementines! Only $4.79 a case! So I had to get one of those. At least I had the god-forsaken chicken by this point.

I'm almost at the cash when I realize we're out of Centrum multivitamins, and they are marginally cheaper at Costco then at Loblaws. So I grab a bottle and finally, finally make it to the register.

Ninety-seven dollars and thirty one cents later, I have my flipping chicken and several other items I "needed".

It's funny.. one day last year, I was at Costco after work, and just as I'd finished checking out, this Costco rep comes up and asks if I'd be interested in the platinum membership benefits. He says it's very beneficial for people who spend a lot of money at Costco.

Who, me? Surely you must be mistaken. We don't spend that much at Costco to warrant a special membership...Or so I thought. When he showed me how much we'd spent at Costco the previous year, I nearly cancelled my membership.

They get you there with the items on your list that you legitimately need, then they suck you into their "high savings" vortex of hell so you buy about 200% more than necessary. Shaun and I have learned to watch the unit price on each sticker and we're getting very good at price comparing... but the cement floors, lack-lustre lighting, and denim-wearing employees lead you to believe that because of their "low overhead costs" they really can help you save money!

I digress. I still love Costco in all its glory.