My best friend has just bought her First House with her husband. She will finally have enough room for their different interests, for their two pre-teen sons, for her mother. They will, at long last, have a HOME.
Welcome, angel, to the world where you can paint the kitchen any colour you want. Welcome to the world where you can pull out that damned rosebush, simply because you don't like it. Welcome to the world where you finally have the RIGHT to ask your husband to knock a wall down if it suits your purpose.
Welcome, also, to the world where, if the sink leaks? YOU deal with it. Welcome to the world of dandelions. Welcome to the world of new roofs, new flooring, new furniture. Welcome to the world of expensive surprises, of unexpected challenges.
Home-ownership ain't pretty, but I swear to you it's worth it. It's worth it.
Felicitations, mon amie.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Theory confirmed: we ARE cursed
Over the last five years, I now see Husbandly One and I have had a string of bad luck. At first, I guess the incidents were far enough apart that I didn't make the connection. My eyes are open now, though!
2008 has been especially interesting so far. We are only four months in to this mother, and I live in financial terror of what will happen NEXT. So far this glorious year, I have totalled my car, spent $4000 on a new transmission for our truck, had the celing in our garage collapse because (apparently!) I need a new roof NOW, the deck on the front of our house has sagged under the weight of the snow and needs to be repaired / possibly replaced, we have spent approx $3,ooo sending my Step-Son to Alberta to live out the promise of "Lots of Jobs and Big Money" and then flying him back home again. I literally can't take anyomre.
Last night, we got home to a puddle of water in our bathroom. There was a big leak under the sink. Husbandly One screwed around with the pipes for an hour or so, only to come to the realization that we actually need an entire new sink.
I told this story at work this morning, and my girlfriends tried to be encouraging. "At least sinks aren't expensive, I have seen them at Costco for as little as fifty dollars."
And I was all, "Fifty dollars? What's THAT?"
2008 has been especially interesting so far. We are only four months in to this mother, and I live in financial terror of what will happen NEXT. So far this glorious year, I have totalled my car, spent $4000 on a new transmission for our truck, had the celing in our garage collapse because (apparently!) I need a new roof NOW, the deck on the front of our house has sagged under the weight of the snow and needs to be repaired / possibly replaced, we have spent approx $3,ooo sending my Step-Son to Alberta to live out the promise of "Lots of Jobs and Big Money" and then flying him back home again. I literally can't take anyomre.
Last night, we got home to a puddle of water in our bathroom. There was a big leak under the sink. Husbandly One screwed around with the pipes for an hour or so, only to come to the realization that we actually need an entire new sink.
I told this story at work this morning, and my girlfriends tried to be encouraging. "At least sinks aren't expensive, I have seen them at Costco for as little as fifty dollars."
And I was all, "Fifty dollars? What's THAT?"
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
and PS to my "non-Blogger" readers
I think I have changed the "comments" function so that anyone can post a reply to my posts, without being an actual "Blogger" user. Let me know, because based on my stats, there are quite a few people reading this, and I would love to hear from all of you.
Saving the world, one meal at a time
They say the little things add up, so while I didn't do anything major to mark Earth Day, the things I did do are easy enough that anyone can do them, too.
1. My office has a large window, so I kept the lights turned off for most of the day. (I tend to do that most days when it is sunny).
2. My workplace had planned (on my suggestion, blush) a book swap. Staff were encouraged to bring in books they no longer want, or take something they wanted to read. We actually planned this to coordinate with a big literary festival in our city, to encourage literacy, and it was a sheer coincidence that the first day of our book fair was Earth Day. (Get it? Re-using and recycling?) Anyway, I took in more than sixty books this morning -- okay, for me personally it was also about decluttering!-- and I plan to do a second sweep in the house tonight and come up with at least twenty more.
3. Going to live by my beloved candle light tonight, and keep the electric lights off.
4. I had leftovers for dinner tonight. Now, this one may be subtle, but it is still a part of living greener. So often in our house we have a portion or two of whatever we had for dinner left. I always save it in a Tupperware...and about a week later, I end up throwing it out because we didn't get around to eating it. Well, tonight I used leftover steak to make a wicked good sandwich, and I want to talk about that steak for a minute, to really reinforce how important it is to eat leftovers....I'm about to get long and preachy, but hell, it's my blog. And I think this is important, because all of my friends admit to leftovers frequently ending up in their trash, too.
For the sake of argument, let's say I bought Steak A, cooked it for dinner and there was enough left for another meal, but, instead of eating what was leftover another time, I bought Steak B for my next meal. And to make the illustration easier, let's say that these two steaks came from two different cows (I SWEAR this will be relevant in a minute.)
I just created double the landfill from purchasing two foam trays and plastic wrap. I just wasted the power from cooking another steak, instead of quickly heating up the leftovers or even eating it cold. I just compromised all of the resources used to grow and process the first cow, by not using all of it: I wasted part of the water and grain the animal ate, part of the electricity for slaughter, gasoline for transport, electricity for refrigeration, etc. I could go on forever, even down to the fact that my next grocery receipt will waste more paper and ink when it rings in Steak B.... all precious resources I could have saved by simply eating my leftovers. And left's not forget that, hello? Leftovers means I'm not wasting my money on groceries I don't need.
I feel like Dennis Miller saying, "I don't mean to get off an a rant here...", but I do want you to consider the larger ramifications of even the slightest change you make in your every day life. It is true that each of us can only make the slightest ripple in the water, but together we make a tsunami.
Happy Earth Day.
Edited to note: I also understand that eliminating animal protein from my diet completely, by becoming a vegetarian or vegan, would have a much LARGER impact on the environment. But, umm, never gonna happen. So I will do my part, my way. Make sure you do yours.
1. My office has a large window, so I kept the lights turned off for most of the day. (I tend to do that most days when it is sunny).
2. My workplace had planned (on my suggestion, blush) a book swap. Staff were encouraged to bring in books they no longer want, or take something they wanted to read. We actually planned this to coordinate with a big literary festival in our city, to encourage literacy, and it was a sheer coincidence that the first day of our book fair was Earth Day. (Get it? Re-using and recycling?) Anyway, I took in more than sixty books this morning -- okay, for me personally it was also about decluttering!-- and I plan to do a second sweep in the house tonight and come up with at least twenty more.
3. Going to live by my beloved candle light tonight, and keep the electric lights off.
4. I had leftovers for dinner tonight. Now, this one may be subtle, but it is still a part of living greener. So often in our house we have a portion or two of whatever we had for dinner left. I always save it in a Tupperware...and about a week later, I end up throwing it out because we didn't get around to eating it. Well, tonight I used leftover steak to make a wicked good sandwich, and I want to talk about that steak for a minute, to really reinforce how important it is to eat leftovers....I'm about to get long and preachy, but hell, it's my blog. And I think this is important, because all of my friends admit to leftovers frequently ending up in their trash, too.
For the sake of argument, let's say I bought Steak A, cooked it for dinner and there was enough left for another meal, but, instead of eating what was leftover another time, I bought Steak B for my next meal. And to make the illustration easier, let's say that these two steaks came from two different cows (I SWEAR this will be relevant in a minute.)
I just created double the landfill from purchasing two foam trays and plastic wrap. I just wasted the power from cooking another steak, instead of quickly heating up the leftovers or even eating it cold. I just compromised all of the resources used to grow and process the first cow, by not using all of it: I wasted part of the water and grain the animal ate, part of the electricity for slaughter, gasoline for transport, electricity for refrigeration, etc. I could go on forever, even down to the fact that my next grocery receipt will waste more paper and ink when it rings in Steak B.... all precious resources I could have saved by simply eating my leftovers. And left's not forget that, hello? Leftovers means I'm not wasting my money on groceries I don't need.
I feel like Dennis Miller saying, "I don't mean to get off an a rant here...", but I do want you to consider the larger ramifications of even the slightest change you make in your every day life. It is true that each of us can only make the slightest ripple in the water, but together we make a tsunami.
Happy Earth Day.
Edited to note: I also understand that eliminating animal protein from my diet completely, by becoming a vegetarian or vegan, would have a much LARGER impact on the environment. But, umm, never gonna happen. So I will do my part, my way. Make sure you do yours.
Friday, April 18, 2008
Who has the best friend in the entire world?
Umm, that would be me.
And it will always be me, unless, you know, you meet her, too, and somehow steal her from me. At which point I will hunt you down and get her back. So don't even bother.
I saw her first.
And it will always be me, unless, you know, you meet her, too, and somehow steal her from me. At which point I will hunt you down and get her back. So don't even bother.
I saw her first.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
How come
nothing in our life can ever be easy? How come, a la Godfather 3, "Just when we thought we were out, they pull us back IN." ? How come we spend most of our lives being resigned to outside forces, being forced to deal with situations we either didn't create or can't afford, but somehow have to manage or pay for?
How come, ever since we decided to make a life together five years ago, we have seemingly been cursed? How come we can never catch a freaking break? Sigh.
Good thing we love each other.
How come, ever since we decided to make a life together five years ago, we have seemingly been cursed? How come we can never catch a freaking break? Sigh.
Good thing we love each other.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Most horrifyingly bad commercial ever.
Hey, remember a few weeks ago when I told you about the commercial which was SO bad, I contemplated giving up my beloved cheese? (Ok, actual contemplation lasted less than a second and was quickly rejected.)
And remember how I told you I don't know how to hyperlink?
Well, the link below combines both facets of my personality in one easy step. But I'm warning you, it's BAD.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5EqgEKu492k&feature=related
And remember how I told you I don't know how to hyperlink?
Well, the link below combines both facets of my personality in one easy step. But I'm warning you, it's BAD.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=5EqgEKu492k&feature=related
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