All we got for christmas was...

We had a great time this year. It was hard to leave my parents' place on Christmas day, especially since my whole extended family was there AND my cousin Marie announced that her soon to be baby was actually going to be TWINS - the first set EVER in our family!!!

Anyway, for those of you who are innerested here's what we got.

ME:
- green amber bracelet my brother brought back from his vacation in the Dominican Republic
- a mini-moose
- some cash from both of my grandmothers
- socks
- red long sleeve cotton top
- my very own custom-made skirt from Dirty Skirty (My friend Kate Jackson's new clothing company selling stuff out of Peachy Fresh in Yorkville)
- some yarn

KIRK:
- Black Death Malt Liquor t-shit
- grey t-shirt
- socks
- gift certificate to Old Navy
- set of motorola walkie-talkies for the cottage
- bottle of red wine from the Dominican Republic

BOTH OF US:
- dark blue table runner
- 2 hand thrown clay wine goblets with cobalt blue and black glaze
- 7-cup Cuisinart food processor
- beautiful white quilt with blue and yellow applique made by kirk's mum
- quilt rack - made by kirk's mum & dad
- set of 12 wine glasses
- some placemats
- lots of candies and chocolates
- lots of gourmet coffees and cookies from gift baskets my father had received (he works in the construction business and gets TONS of that shit at Christmastime)
- set of blue jersey sheets
- couple of Christmas tree ornaments
- antique crystal salt & pepper shakers
- antique glass butter dish
- antique green glass
- neat little magnetic screwdrivers
- small plastic massager with nubby wheels you rub all over your back (mmmmm...)
- glass candy dish
- ceramic Christmas tree
- mini Christmas house thingy that lights up
- knitted dishcloth
- a fire's worth of firewood
- a whole whack of leftovers

OSCAR:
- hand sewn, plush zebra pattern dog bed from his Uncle Missy
- rawhide chews

THE POUPEE:
- catnip mice

metro-what?

puhleeeeeeze...

mmmm...smells liiiike....

I can't believe I'm up so early. I guess I'm excited!

Kirk baked cinnamon rolls last night. sooooo gooooooood.

We're going to spend a some time with our families for the rest of the week. First to my parents for the traditional Italian Christmas Eve fish/seafood dinner and then on Christmas Day we're driving out to Kirk's parents' place (2 hour drive) where we'll stay for a few days.

I've actually been looking forward to Christmas this year, which kinda surprises me 'cause usually I'm depressed (like everyone else it seems). When I was 14, my grandfather was dying of lukemia over the Christmas holidays. He died near the end of January and it left all subsequent Christmases feeling empty and sad. Grandpa was the Christmas-iest person I ever knew.

Every Christmas we travelled to my grandparents house for a giant Italian feast and Grandpa would unveil his latest "presepio", which is essentially a diorama of the birth of Jesus with the manger being the central focus. Grandpa's presepio was extremely elaborate and quite a sight. There were mountains and grottoes with hundreds of figurines including angels announcing the birth, the three wise men on their journey to deliver their gifts, shepherds tending to their flocks, carpenters building stuff, small houses lit up in celebration and even miniature christmas trees. Every year he sought to out do himself. My favourite was when he added a small pond with ducks and swans and a working waterfall. As a child I could sit for hours just looking at it, imagining stories for the little scenes Grandpa had lovingly created.

I decided that this year, in honour of my grandfather, I would scrap my usual cynicism and make the most out of this holiday. I've spent the last few weeks crocheting and painting gifts for the people in my life that mean something to me and I've enjoyed every single moment of it. Plus I LOOOOOVE giving presents! While receiving is fun, giving is the best part for me. I can't believe how much stuff I made (I'll post pics to my art site over the next week or so). I even got a REAL tree (I've always had artificial ones - UGH I know) decorated with ornaments Kirk has received from his parents since his childhood. Awwwwwww...Gives me the warm & fuzzies.

Oh Grandpa, I miss you!

*sniff *

Yes, I'm a sap.

RED MEAT

I totally forgot about this comic!!!!

ummmm...

apparentyly this guy sucks

food is fun again!

Octodog's Frankfurter Converter

These women are my heroes!

must blog

I've certainly been slacking off on my blogging duties in the last little while. The chaos before Christmas is making things a little hectic. With feeling icky last week and my friend's issues, life seems a little lackluster lately.

The week ended great though since we went to Kirk's company Christmas party at Butt'r. The drinks were great...and the food was amazing...if a little pricey even though was on his company's tab. I did cringe a little at the $40 carribean lobster tail menu option.

The service was impeccable and our wine glasses were always filled. That's why Kirk and I stumbled home, our bellies full of organic greens with walnuts & dried cranberries with chive vinaigrette, pepper steak & frites and yummy salmon in tarragon cream sauce, around 10:30pm. Don't remember too much about that. I do, however, vividly remember suddenly waking up at 2:00am to stumble s'more around the apartment to turn off all the lights, the TV and unlpug the tree (seems we felt the need to turn them ALL on when we got home), gulp down a couple of advils and a LOT of water and climb back into bed.

I was hung over until yesterday. GAWD I'm a wimp.

headache BEGONE!!!!

OK...so that didn't work.

Well I figured out what the puke-y feeling was all about. Unfortunately part of the joys of being a modern woman is being on the birth control pill (Yes, I know there are other options...but it usually works for me) to stay UN-pregnant. BUT when you forget to take one (as I had) and you have to take 2 at once, well...it wreaks a little havoc on the body. It can simulate the symptoms of pregnancy, like morning sickness, even though you aren't preggers. So that, plus my caffeine intolerance made for a pretty messy day yesterday. AND, today I have a nasty sinus headache and cannot stop sneezing...sigh...

On a brighter note, I have been crocheting like a frickin' maniac and finished a few more paintings. I'll be posting pics of all my new stuff after christmas, so's I don't spoil things for anyone.

Toys that kill

Christmas is coming - YIPEE!!!!!

blurgh....

I had a tea this morning and the caffeine is totally making me nauseous. Miz G suggested I make some bay leaf tea (3 bay leaves steeped for 5 minutes, stir in some sugar and voila!) and it's working. ...slowly...

I've had a recurring problem with caffeine ever since that time I overdosed on coffee. It was back one morning in my first year of university while I was cramming for an exam. I had 8 cups of coffee and half a pack of cigarettes in 2.5 hours. I managed to just pass the exam (though my hands shook like crazy) and gagged and lurched at all food smells until 6 AM the next day. Since then, I've quit smoking (mostly) but the tantalizing lure of caffeine seems to get to me every so often. I had a latte yesterday at Jet Fuel and was fine until I took a few sips of orange pekoe this morning.

I still feel icky-ish...but it's subsiding...

Update about my friend: Boyfriend was released on bail and they will be getting some counselling and help to try and figure out what to do about all this. Friend has promised me she will seek individual counselling (ourside of what she'll do to help her boyfriend), though it may not be with the number I gave her. She also told her family and his and everyone is being supportive. PHEW! I'm so proud of her. I think I'm going to cry...

WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?

A friend called me last night to tell me that her boyfriend got a "little agressive" with her...and by that I mean "REALLY agressive". He shoved her and grabbed her by the throat. She called 911 and had him arrested. HE spent the night in jail and was going to be released this morning. Yes, friends, this is a real mess. Does she stay with him and get help to sort it out or does she kick him out on his sorry ass and move on?

I'm resisting telling her what I think she should do. I mean, it just happened yesterday and she's really freaked out - not exactly a good time to be making big life decisions (they live together, so it's not that easy a choice). She is a friend (I've known her since we were 14), and yes I want to keep her safe and make things better for her, but I don't have to live every day with the decision that gets made. I told her I am always here to listen and support her, whatever her decision (which was REALLY HARD TO DO) when a part of me (most of me, really) wants to go over there are break his knee caps with a baseball bat.

The problem is though that (I never thought I'd say this) I kind of feel bad for the guy. Let me explain. He is a good person who cleaned up his act like no one ever thought he could all on his own, but the pressure of the real life and responsibilty just became too much for him and he snapped. It's so sad to see someone come so far only to fall. hard. I'm not excusing his actions, but I do know that good people often make BAD choices and even HUGER mistakes.

...sigh...

She's afraid to tell her family and other friends because they'll all just try to step in and fix things the way they think they should be fixed (yeah, like beating him with an inch of his life with a shovel) when what she needs is compassion and emotional support. The only thing I could do was suggest she talk to someone to help her - that I believed she was strong enough, and smart enough to figure it out for herself but that counselling can show you what you can't see when you're in the middle of it all. I want her to be empowered to make the right choices for herself, even though they wouldn't be what I would do. I gave her my therapist's number. I hope she'll call.

...sigh...

I want to cry.

i am addicted

There are very few shows that I feel the need to watch on a regular basis but this is one of them. I love it because it is beautifully styled and shot, the acting is first rate and the plot is intellectually challenging.

The other two are Buffy and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

i love volvos buuuuuuut.....

whaaaaaaaaaaaaa????

let it frick'n snow

So, I woke up this morning and everything was white. This happened last week but it went away. Maybe it's here to stay this time.

Gee, Your Car Smells Terrific! You Feel OK?

car smell can make you sick??? Who knew? I did. When I was a kid, my parents bought a new burgundy (ahhh...the seventies...the decade of burgundy) Pontiac Grand LeMans that made me feel like barfing every time I rode around in it...until the new smell went away of course. To me, it smells like puke...and to think, there are arseholes out there who buy air fresheners to purposefully make their car smell like puke. ICK.