Day 10 - Hubby is TOTES ADORBS

Hey, so, do you guys remember my 100 day blog challenge? 

Me neither.

I started it nearly one year ago. 

Nice, I know. 

But I've come back to it tonight, and I'm expected to tell you about someone or something I am proud of. 

Well goll-ey me, I am proud of Hubby. 

Not only did he recently;

a) play guitar at his brother's wedding (AHmazing);
b) start bossing around managing a couple of guys at work; and,
c) listen to my whining do some vacuuming, grass cutting, laundry washing, AND grocery shopping (commendable, no?) ...

But he is also entirely TOTES. ADORBS. 

Last night, for example, Hubby was considering potential lunch recipes.  He brought me to hysterical laughter when his characteristic confused sideways head-tilt, hair-scratch, and face-scrunch reminded so much of Pa-in-law that I wanted to immediately call Ma-in-law.  Only it was 8:40 and I suspected she'd be sleeping. 

In another example, despite the fact that Hubby bought $300 worth of groceries tonight (PUKE), he was most excited about his purchase of several pieces of glass tupperware (tupperware isn't glass I suppose, but fuck off). 

Glass tupperware is something I've wanted for a very long time (I'm a boring old lady, I know, but fuck off), so naturally I was moderately interested.  Hubby, though, sat on the floor like a kid a Christmas unpacking his new acquisition. 

Hubby: "It's a good brand too!"

Me: "How do you know?"

Hubby: "Because I researched."

Yes, he really said that.  And yes, I burst into laughter. 


These are only a few recent examples of Hubby's adorability.  I'll be sure to re-read this next time he pisses me off.   

Days 7, 8, and 9 - Three birds stoned at once

At some point in the very distant past, I started partaking in something called a 30 day blog challenge.  Well, actually, I took the liberty of renaming it the 100 day blog challenge. 

But something tells me it's been more than 100 days.  When was September?

In any case, I've only done six entries. 

Yeah.  I'm a role model.  Whatever. 

Anyway, I decided randomly to go back to it.  In fact, I'm going to get three birds stoned at once here, and wrap up days 7, 8, and 9 all in one go.  Yay me.  You should be inspired.  I'm a big time over-achiever, yo. 

So.  Day 7.  A hobby you have. 

Umm, let me think, maybe... BLOGGING? 

Well, at least I used to do some blogging, if you exclude the last 10 or so days in which I've not blogged even once. 

Although I love blogging, sometimes there just isn't inspiration.  Other times there may be inspiration, but no time.   And lately there's been a lack of both those components.  (The truth is, if I'd had inspiration, I would have made time.  I'm selfish like that.) 

Alright. On to Day 8.  A picture of someone or something that has the biggest impact on you. 

Ok, so you're all waiting for me to show a picture of Hubby.  So here. 

Of course Hubby is the light of my life, my hero, the wind beneath my wings.  But I wanted to think beyond the obvious.  Get creative and whatnot.  

So I started thinking about what's had the greatest impact on me lately, and this is what I came up with. 

Miss Sarcasm is the cutest most wonderful friend ever, internet or otherwise, and she decided last night that she's going to come. visit. me. this. fall. 

And then I nearly died. 

And then Carm said she'd come too and then I basically fainted.

This brings us to the third stoned bird.  Day 9.  Short term goals for the month and why. 

Blog more.  Because it's fun.  (This relates to the Day 7 entry.  Clearly.) 

I'd also like to make fun summer plans.  I'd like to go to Chicago as part of a blogger beer and cheese fest.  WITH MISS SARCASM.  (Note Day 8.)  And then I'd like to return to the death coffin water slide.  And maybe do some island living.  Aaaaaanddd... hmmm... other fun stuff.  Whatever.  Nothing is off the table. 

Finally, I'd like to get off my ass.  My ass is a lot bigger these days (Depression will do that to a person) so I'd like to ride my bike.  Throw a frisbee.  Get back to yoga and maybe even kickboxing.

Basically, I'd like to stop feeling like shit about myself. 

So this post is the first step (or first three steps, I guess) in doing that. 

Day 6 - Yeah, I've been to some places.

This is Day 6 of my 100 (more like 200) Day Blog Challenge.  I'm supposed to share a picture of somewhere I've been. 

I've been a lot of places, y'all.  I mean, just this morning I went to work.  And yesterday - well, yesterday I never left the house, but I did go to the laundry room once. 

I've been to some other places too.  Winnipeg, for example.  Random example, but there it is. 

Actually, Hubby and I like to take a trip every year.  Usually every summer for our anniversary.  The first year we went to our nation's capital (which we now live in, so that's less exciting), then to Montreal, Niagara Falls, Toronto (that was a no-money year), NYC, Boston, PARIS and NICE (honeymoony!), Chicago, and finally New Orleans. 

Did I have a favourite? 

Hmmm...

Well, every trip was wonderful.  Except Toronto.  So many things wrong with Toronto.  I think France was the best.  You can't argue with France.  There's something so special about a honeymoon - even when your wedding changed nothing about your exisiting relationship.  I've never been more relaxed than laying in corpse pose on a rock beach in Nice.  Seriously.  I channel that feeling on a regular basis. 

But last summer we didn't go because I was still recovering from my Crazy.  So we went in October instead! 

N'awlins was awesome.  There's a whole post about it here.  But here are two key photos.  Just because. 

I made Hubby take this photo with the boobies. 
He wouldn't put down his beer-in-a-bag though. 

Then I made him take this one of me with Mr Peeny.
Say cheese Mr Peeny!

You can link up your Blog Challenge posts here if you want - I want to know how many people are beating me at this challenge. 

Day 5 - My Life in Music

Day 5 of my 30 (or 100) Day Blog Challenge is upon us, y'all.  And it's a tricky one. I may have been procrastinating on this one because it seems to require a lot of thought, and I'm pretty lazy. As you know.

So, I decided to just power through and come up with 15 songs that represent my life's soundtrack. Happy listening.

Childhood

The Polka Dot Door
This is a kids' show on TV Ontario which I LOVED. Turns out Hubby's new coworker's father-in-law was the one and only PolkaRoo! Amazing.



Father of Mine by Everclear
My biological father was a useless and evil douchebag. Enough said.



These Boots are Made for Walkin by Nancy Sinatra
Mom and I had to do some ass kicking in those early years.



I'll be Missing You by Puff Daddy
My lovely aunt (more like second mom) died at age 38 of lung cancer. It's been nearly 20 years and I'm not yet over it. DON'T SMOKE.  It's not worth it.




Lean on Me by Bill Withers
I don't know - I just got a good vibe from this song as a kid. My cousin and I used to sing "Pee on me."



Adolescence

Shimmer by Fuel
To this day  my fav song of all time. But it spoke to me in 9th grade especially.



Everything you Want by Vertical Horizon
I had some stupid boyfriends (and some not so bad ones either) - but none of them were Hubby. I didn't know what I wanted until Hubby saved me from myself at age 16.



Here's to the Night by Eve Six
Looking back, high school was not an ideal time in my life.  When I look back I have feelings of anxiousness and insecurity.  However, this song always reminded me that it wasn't all bad.



Ten Glorious Hubby Years

You Belong to Me by Jason Wade (from Lifehouse)
Our song.




I'm Real by JLo with Ja Rule
Our first summer song.



Lullaby by The Dixie Chicks
Our other song - our first wedding dance.



I Will by The Beatles
Our other song - sung to us at our wedding my my QSD (Quasi Step Dad).



The Last Year

Bad Day by Fuel
Blah.



Help by The Beatles
Ever really listened to these lyrics? Yep.



Don't Stop Believin by Journey
But I haven't given up yet.



You should join me in my 30 (or 100) Day Blog Challenge! Even if you skip some days or whatever, I don't care.  Link your posts up here so I can read them!

Day 4 - The Habit Scale (updated)

I'm pleased to welcome you to Day 4 of my 30 (or 100) Day Blog Challenge.  Link up your blog challenge posts at the bottom so I can read them!

I'm supposed to tell you about a habit I wish I didn't have.  There happen to be several habits I actually kinda wish I did have, like smoking crack and robbing banks, because I think I'd seem way more badass.  But that's not what I'm being asked about.

I do have a shit-ton of brutal habits, but I like to think of them as a series - a scale, if you will - that is very effective in eliminating self-judgement. 

Observe:

First, at the broadest, most forgiving end of the Habit Scale, are the habits that are birthed out of necessity rather than preference.  Things you do because you must in order to maintain a certain stability of mind, but that you nevertheless wish you didn't. 

• Sleeping in.  Getting up in the morning is a slow and cruel form of torture, when burying my head and ignoring the world would be so. much. fucking. easier. On a bad day it takes hours.  Every morning is s fresh battle with Asshole Depression, and my greatest line of defense is to take my damn time and preserve my energy. Regardless, I wish I didn't sleep in. 

You can't control things like this.  Let it go. 


Second, there are a few stages in the middle range of the Habit Scale, but the lines are blurry.  It's hard to tell what you can get away with in this mid-section.  It's where most of the nasty little habits exist, but where you haven't yet decided if you've crossed the line out of selfishness to where you truly wish you didn't do them.  For these habits, you're still in the "I could quit, I just don't wanna" stage. 

• Eating junk food.  I love junk food and I see no need to quit eating it.
• Picking.  There are few things more satisfying than picking a scab, or a hangnail, or a nailpolish chip and I have no intention of trying to stop.
• Making no effort whatsoever to plan dinner before the time at which I would like to eat it. I like the spontaneity of my meals, and until I have hungry children waiting for food, I will keep doing this.

If you really care about any of these, do something about it.  If not, let it go.


Finally, all your least-defensible habits live on the weaker end of the Habit Scale. What makes them the least defensible?  Well, if they make you a hypocrite, I'd say that's the number one tell-tale sign.  Or, more generally, if you feel like shit about yourself. 

• Like being late. I think being late is so rude, and yet I am always running a least a few minutes behind schedule.  Not because I want to, just because I can't seem to help it. I don't even have a good excuse. 
• Spending money I don't have.  I've gotten really good at this lately, and I assume I'll get even better on our trip to New Orleans next week. 

It's harder to argue that you shouldn't stop doing something if it annoys even you.  These ones, you should try to work on. If you feel like it. Probably.


I hope you've learned something here today.  I've prepared a diagram of the Habit Scale, for future reference.  Please consult it regularly to determine what you actually have to change about yourself.  I think you'll find it's very little. 

Day 3 - My Zombie Survival Kit

Welcome to Day 3 of my 100-day Blog Challenge!  I'm so glad so many of you are doing this with me.  I added a link-up to the bottom of my Blogger Challenge posts so I can read all your awesome stuff.  So link up!

Day 3 requires me to share a picture of something I cannot live without.  Well, if you know me at all, you know I'm way too selfish to pick only one thing.  So here are a few. 

K, so this picture represents CHOCOLATE. And although I normally like better quality chocolate, I'll stuff my face with eat whatever cocoa-inspired product is placed in front of me. Check HERE for the whole story.

My darling Hubby, of course - who makes me laugh, and rubs my back, and holds me up when I think I might not make it.  And who finally threw out 5 pairs of DISGUSTING underwear today. For the whole story on this pic, click HERE.





Mama!  Basically me, just 32 years sooner.  For some great Mama stories, your positively must click HERE and HERE.

Obviously. These are my children. Patches is fat, but clever. Tuxedo is also getting large, but is, it seems, a total moron. You can read all the adorable stories by selecting their label, but my fav is HERE.

There are so many more things I can't live without!  I'm a spoiled Canadian girl!  Gernally, anything I'd need to have even if zombies took over the world is an un-live-without-able item.  My zombie survival kit, if you will...

In no particular order:

My family, my friends, my computer, my MEDS, my blogs, my blogger girls, my fuchsia x-trainers, my ability to curse like a dirty trucker, my Tetley Bold tea, my backyard, my WINE, my massage therapist, my brain therapist, my many pj pants, my peanut butter, my wedding band, Monica (my GPS device), my books, my mp3 player, my body lotion, my lip conditioner, my toothpaste, my shampoo, and likely my cable tv recorder. 

There's probably more but I need to go to sleep, and worrying about the Zombie Apocalypse is friggin exhausting.

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Day 2 - What's the point?

Holy shit, I've made it past the first day of my 30 (or 100) Day Blog Challenge.  I can call it a success now. 

Day Two is supposed to be an explanation of my blog.  Well, that's a tricky one, because the only point - the only purpose it has ever served - is to amuse me. 

Selfish?  Sure.  But that's the reality of it.  So sue me. 

This blog has never been anything but JUST FOR ME.  I've said this before.  I say it all the time.  I write what I think is funny, or what I think is a pain in the ass, or what makes me think carefully. I write to clear my head, or to get my thoughts organized, or to document a good day.  I write FOR ME. 

Whenever anyone says they've got writers block, or their readership is falling, or whatever, I always bestow the same remarkable advice:

Your blog is YOURS.  It's a representation of your thoughts and feelings.  Your best posts are always the ones that come from your own unique inspiration.  The ones you don't filter, the ones you don't censor, the ones in which you express an honest feeling from the particular moment in time in which you are feeling it. 

I rarely pre-write my posts.  I type, I spell-check, and then I click PUBLISH.  Sometimes the honesty I demand of myself - the honesty that makes this blog MINE - does put a knot in my stomach on occasion. Sometimes I wince when I click that PUBLISH button. But I click it just the same. 

Don't get me wrong.  I adore comments and encouragement from my readers.  I love hearing from people in real life who say they liked what I wrote.  I even love walking up on a colleague who just happens to be reading my words as I approach. 

And usually I get at least one amusing or supportive comment (if not several) and it makes the honesty (whether brutal, or sarcastic, or bitchy) 100% worth it.  Either I learn that I'm not the only picker.  Or I start up a conversation about guns.  Or I gain strength from everyone who tells me it WILL get better. 

Best of all, I might get a comment that makes me think I made someone else's day better, or I inspired someone, or I helped someone in some small way.  Those comments are the best ones - because they're the ones in which my honesty (the honesty that was originally just for me) shifts into being for someone else too. 

Getting two birds stoned at once.

Which is where CheesyBloggers comes in.  Cheesy Bloggers is the place where it's about everyone else.  About spreading cheesy blog love, meeting new people, and having a LAUGH.  You can even win prizes! Because life is tough - laughs are a requirement. 

Blogging is about ME, but it's about all of you too.

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30 (or 100) Day Blog Challenge

I’ve seen this fun little game in a few different places, and so I’m jumping on the bandwagon. Because I’m a bandwagon kind of girl. Unless it’s a bandwagon full of drugs. I avoid drug bandwagons. Come to think of it, I tend to avoid wagons of all kinds.

I’m not sure what I’m saying.

Let’s start over.

Today is the first day of my 30 day blog challenge.  I won’t be doing it in 30 days, however. I might do it in, like, 100 days, let's say. If I feel like it.

Day 01- Introduction, a recent photo, and 15 interesting facts about yourself.

Ok, well, I think the above counts as an introduction.

Here’s a recent photo. It’s not of me.

It's a pig head.

Fifteen? Fifteen is a lot. Also? “Interesting” is a relative term.

1) Peanut butter is my ultimate comfort food.
2) I HAVE to sleep with feather pillows. HAVE to.
3) I never take out the garbage. I make Hubby do it.
4) Nothing tastes quite as good as pizza with Pepsi.
5) I’m a picker. If I have a scab? Pick it. If I have a torn cuticle? Pick it. If I have a nail polish chip? Pick it.
6) I play no instruments.
7) I wish I learned to play an instrument.
8) Actually, I wish I wanted to learn to play an instrument.
9) Passive aggression annoys me to NO END.
10) Hubby’s socks gross me out.
11) My second toe is longer than my big toe. And it’s WEIRD.
12) I have a thin little line scar on my tummy from surgery when I was seven weeks old. It looks like an oddly placed roll of fat.
13) I could never go back to a non-power toothbrush.
14) My favourite books are Gone With the Wind, Lonesome Dove, and Jane Eyre.
15) I’ve only had one sexual partner. (Don’t tell Hubby.)

That’s it for today! Stay tuned over the coming, like, 100 days – or however long it takes – and I’ll fill you in on the rest of the list below.

Will any of you join me?  You don't have to do the whole 30 days.  I'm not a blog cop.  But maybe when I write one you can relate to, you'll do it with me?  I like to be on a bandwagon with other people. 

Day 02- The meaning behind your blog.
Day 03- A picture of something you cannot live without.
Day 04- A habit that you wish you didn’t have.
Day 05- List 15 songs that represent your life’s soundtrack.
Day 06- A picture of somewhere you’ve been to.
Day 07- A hobby you have.
Day 08- A picture of someone/something that has the biggest impact on you.
Day 09- Short term goals for this month and why.
Day 10- Something/someone you’re proud of.
Day 11- A story about a past relationship.
Day 12- A picture of something you dislike.
Day 13- Share a secret.
Day 14- Write a letter telling someone something you could never tell them.
Day 15- A picture of something you ate and 10 confessions.
Day 16- Put your iPod on shuffle & share the first 10 songs that play.
Day 17- Something you could live without.
Day 18- Someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why.
Day 19- Plans/dreams/goals you have.
Day 20- Nicknames you have & how or why you have them.
Day 21- If you had 3 wishes, what would they be.
Day 22- Share a picture from your day.
Day 23- What makes you different from everyone else.
Day 24- What is something you crave.
Day 25- What I would find in your bag.
Day 26- Places you want to visit before you die.
Day 27- Why are you doing this 30 day challenge?
Day 28- A picture of you last year and now, how have you changed since then?
Day 29- In this past month, what have you learned.
Day 30- A picture of you today & 20 goals you want to accomplish.
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