Greg's a Grump!

For those of you who were wondering, Greg got through his surgery just fine. He did really great actually, and had a smile on his face and a pink popsicle in his hand just 2 short hours after his throat was done. Of course, this was under the influence of a heafty anesthetic, two tylonol 3's and a morphene drip. Anyways, he went to his Aunt's house for the days following his surgery because she is brave and willing to deal with his grumpy ass. I went to visit yesterday for the day. If I had a car I would have took off about 20 minutes into the visit. This was before drug time though, he was better when he got his codiene etc into him.

For those of you who know Greg, he is stubborn and very upset about the fact that he couldn't eat for 12 hours before his surgery. He was starving by the hours before, probably dreamt of food during, and asked about food right after his throat was cut open. About 6 hours after he had his tonsils, andenoids, uvula (hangy ball) removed and nose surgery to straighten his septum etc. he ate a steak!! He's a freak, and he was under the influence...

Anyways, besides Greg, I went to the beach on Sunday and got a wicked burn. I intended to get a bit of a tan, and so I was wearing some sunscreen, but the spf was low and I intended to re-apply stronger stuff when I started to see a bit of colour. This however was a bad idea, as I left the beach with practically no colour and by a few short hours later, I looked like a lobster. It was fun though, and the burn is almost gone now.

I've called back all the places I applied last week. There seems to be no jobs for me out there. Luckily our government assists people like me with no money. Unfortunatly, I'm fighting with highschool students now, and they have one thing I don't...the ability to work through the school year. This seems to be what every employer is looking for. Anyways, I'm done being miserable about it. Instead I will enjoy what's left of my summer, and plan to work that much harder in the fall. Maybe if I don't want it so bad, something will fall into my lap. This has been known to happen to some people I know.

Other then that, I am excited about the upcoming long weekend, because it means I have good company to hang out (that's you mom!). I wish everyone a good long weekend, and happy Canada Day!

Aimee

PS. Grandma, if you're reading, thank you for the blue capris pants, they are very nice. I have to wear them partially undone though because my waste isn't as petit as yours. haha. But I can just say it's my "style" hahaha

Another Week Gone By

I have thought about blogging all week but I can't think of anything to write about, so I figured I would just write a quick update on this week.

I went and handed out another 20 or so resumes. I lied and told places that I wasn't going back to school. Lying kills me, but lets remember that I only have 2 more months to make some money. My bank account is dwindled and my standards are gone. I applied at a few Tim Horton's, a couple more Starbucks, Williams, Cotton Ginny, Smart Set, American Eagle, Timmothy's etc etc. Without a car, this treck took me 5 hours. I got a bit of a sunburn and some exercise. I am willing WalMart and other places to call me. I have done follow-ups and get no answers. Every job available on the net requires that you be available to work throughout the school year. Nothing yet.

I am really counting on the two jobs I applied for at school. I guess if I can work hard enough, I can make some money through the school year to buy groceries, and if worst comes to worst, I can get a part-time job in Waterloo if I don't get the RA and TA positions. I will though. And I will be great at it.

Greg gets his surgery tomorrow at noon. I am traveling to Cambridge with his father to be there when Greg gets put under. I am scared for him, but I'm sure he'll recover wonderfully. For those who don't know, he is getting his tonsils and adenoids removed, and his nose scraped. This is because he snores really badly, and stops breathing more often then is OK. Hopefully, this surgery will cure all of this, and he will sleep soundly.

I feel rather useless, like there is nothing I can do but be there for him when he gets put under, and when he wakes up. The ride there and back should be interesting, and hopefully not silent. His family doesn't know me as well as he would like. I am quiet, and I have a hard time keeping a conversation going with anyone. I have been socially inept since the day he met me, but unfortunately it is a quality Greg could live without. People have a hard time understanding sometimes. I am not a snob, I just have a hard time being social. I am a watcher, what can I say?

Anyways, besides these things, I have spent an evening with my friend Rachel. We watched a movie one night and just hung out last night. We are trying to figure out how to upload pictures from mom's camera. When we do figure it out, I will write about my trip to the zoo for my birthday. It was a fun day, and I got some beautiful pictures.

Speaking of pictures, my grandparents dropped off a bunch of pictures of when we were little. I love looking through old photos, and trying to pull at memories. We were all soo cute, and once in a while, I'd find a picture of me smiling. It's amazing how much we have changed, and yet stayed the same.

Anyways, I am going to ask Brianne one more time if she wants me to quiz her on her science material. She has been writing exams, and can I tell you, I've never seen a kid so not-worried about exams in my life. She has written two so far, with a total of about 30 minutes of studying. The kid just refuses to think that studying will help anything. I've tried to convince her to sit down and spend some time reviewing, but to no avail. I give up. Maybe if she comes close enough to failing, she might get a rude awakening. If not, she'll get lucky. She was born with brains, but very little drive. Hopefully she'll make it through.

A Few of my Favorite Things

beautiful things

Let me tell you, it doesn't take much to knock me down these days. In fact, I am having a hard time staying positive so I decided first to vent a little, and then to make a list of a few of my favorite things to cheer me up.

If you want to skip the CRAP then proceed to list below.

Firstly, it is the middle of June. I still don't have a job. I have tried...oh how I've tried. In fact, I have been called twice now by AppleOne (agency) to work, and within hours they call back to basically say, we have found someone better and more skilled so, sorry but you're shit outta luck. This sucks, and I can't help myself if they force me to spontaneously burst into fits of rage or depression.

Secondly, I am sick. I don't know what happened but last Friday night I had a bit of a burning in my chest. By 4am on Saturday I felt like someone had lit a fire in my chest, and made me swallow a few razor blades. I promptly began taking left over antibiotics from when I had tonsillitis (like 3 weeks ago) and some from my friend who recently battled strep. So the burning went away. Now, my sinuses are packed full, I can't smell or taste. I have a head cold. A crappy one, as usual.

Thirdly, my friend has decided to pick up and move to Alberta for the summer. She is leaving as soon as Sunday and instead of hanging out with her, I am at home...sick.

There are other stressors of course, but I wont go into everything. These things make me tired.

Instead, lets all take a minute or more to note all the wonderful things to increase my spirits. I will follow this by a mid-afternoon shower, and maybe sit outside for some air. I have left the computer chair/couch once since Friday. Despite the amount of "rest" I have been getting, I feel the cure for my sickness might be getting out of the house and doing something.

Things That Make Me Smile:

1. Flowers. Particularity wild flowers, such as the ox-eye daisy above. They are beautiful
2. My mom's smile
3. Frequent blog updates, although I understand not having much to say...
4. Oceans, and lakes
5. Baseball games with the family
6. Memories of Brianne as a kid, and her innocent laugh
7. Road trips
8. When my friends stop by for no reason
9. Feel-good movies (especially when shared)
10. Good food, when I can taste

You know what? That was harder then I thought. Please feel free to share things that make you smile.

Once Upon a Time...

Sisters? Who woulda thunk?

Once upon a time there was a little girl, who was mommy's little princess. One day when she was too young to understand sharing or pregnancy, mommy told princess that she has another little baby brother or sister in her belly. Princess wasn't sure what this meant, but the day her baby sister was born she found out that she had to share her mommy. This made princess a little jelous, but then again, she had a brand new little sister to take care of.

The new little girl was called Pumpkin, and she was quiet, and cute, and perfect in every way...well, except that she never smiled for a single picture mommy took, especially if there was a dress involved, and some other minor details...give her a break would ya?

Anyways, princess taught pumpkin all the things she needed to know to get through life. How to pee in the potty, and share crayons with the other kids. She learned a few things on the way, like how to ride a bike and climb a tree. These were things that Pumpkin learned faster then princess, naturally.

When Princess was 8, her and Pumpkin learned that they were going to have to share their mommy once again. Another brother or sister was coming in mommy's belly. They were both going to be BIG sisters, and so they practiced their hand at pushing a stroller, and changing a diper. All the fun stuff that big sisters wanted to try. When their sister arrived, they loved her and hugged her, and accidently dropped her a few times, but never on purpose. They called her sweet pea.

Sweet pea grew up faster then anyone was ready. She hit kindergarden before the blink of an eye, and sooner then mommy knew, her little girls were all in big-people school. Princess and Pumpkin had some rough times, and weren't always best friends. They moved out to go to a far away land that was dark and dreary, to learn all the lessons they didn't have yet. They were best friends. Sweet pea stayed home with mommy and got used to having her all to herself. When Princess and Pumpkin came home for visits they were mommy-selfish. Sweet Pea was all grown up, and her big sisters had missed a great deal of getting to know the new young woman.

One summer, a prince came along and snatched up Princess and took her to his castle. It was the most beautiful castle that Princess had ever seen, and she longed to stay there, and marry the prince, and live happily ever after. The princess was showered with gifts, and all-at-once learned what it felt like to be loved. She neglected the friendship she once had with Pumpkin, and spent many days away at the wonderful castle.

Pumpkin and Sweet Pea grew close. Pumpkin knew how lucky she was that she could be close to each one of her sisters. The summer got hot, and Sweet Pea and Pumpkin learned to share mommy with each other. They played together, and worked together, and soon found themselves sharing more then just a mommy. Pumpkin was glad.

Princess and her Prince lived happily ever after.

The End.

Little people

OK, so the subject of this post is "things". Last night mom and I are sitting in the back yard on the nice clean patio furniture (thanks to Heather's party), enjoying the little bit of cool wind that is passing through. We decided to go and get coffee, which planted us in the backyard for at least a couple more hours. During this time, our friend Kelly comes for a visit with her friend Anna.

We hung out and chatted about everything from how Kelly's kids are doing, to customs and foods in Portugal. I love doing this in the summer, especially when I know perfectly well that the inside of our house is boiling and the outside is cool and breezy. We chatted for an hour or two, jumping from subject to subject. There was a purpose to this visit I find out a little later. Kelly has brought baby cloths for a brand new (very cute) baby that has been born to one of the guys (well, his wife) on the baseball team.

I was asked at the end of this visit to help bring these cloths in from Kelly's car. OK, I thought, but how much can there possibly be? It's tiny wee baby cloths. Was I ever mistaken...There were two boxes and two large bags of baby cloths. Now take a moment to realize the volume, and per item size for little teeny baby size cloths. This was a crap-load of cloths. I dropped my chin in aww. I gave my mom "the eye" and we silently agreed that we MUST check out these cloths before passing them on to new baby.

I decided within the first four seconds of opening the first box, that little people are spoiled, and there is no need for a baby 0-3 months old to own 6 pairs of baby gap jeans. That baby had more brand-name clothing then I've owned in my life. There was no more then 2 outfits in all four boxes/bags that didn't have some sort of brand name tag on it. Old Navy, Baby Gap, Roots, Tommy Hilfiger (BIB!!)...Freaks!

So I am jealous of this baby, and I imagine myself climbing into one of the tiny duck-covered jumpers with little feet, and taking a long nap. I want to puke on myself, and know that my puke is falling upon a brand name bib. I want frills on my butt people...I want 15 pairs of jeans a year, and plad skirts and pants with matching little t-shirts, and heck, I want Nike shoes and mitts, and a hat and bib to match every outfit. When I have a baby, I want all of these cloths back, so that my baby can be the cutest thing in town.

I might sift through the cloths again and steal the cutest outfits for myself, to dress dolls in or something. These outfits still have tags!! the shoes still have toe stuffings...these cloths have never been worn!! I can't believe it.

Little people are spoiled...and frankly, I'm just a little jealous.

Aimee

Miracle Bullet

Firstly, Happy Birthday Heather!

We provided our house last night for a party hosted by Heather's Husband Adam. We spent the day cleaning off patio furniture, which was a good excuse to get our backyard in order. We stopped by the liquor store to pick up mix for frozen drinks. We also stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few items for the party, as well as grub for the family. Rob filled the bbq tank and we were ready to go at 5:00pm...right on time. Except that noone had shown up.

5:30: Chris and Naidene show up and chat for a bit
6:15: Adam and Heather (the hosts of the party) show up
6:18: Dawn and Mark come (practically on time!)

Many other friends followed the gang. And the bbq got fired up. Everything went smoothly as far as I was concerned. Everyone had food, which included a fabulous pasta salad (thanks to Adam) that I swiped at the end of the party to have for lunch today.

I mixed up a couple of blenders full of creamsicle-flavored liquor. This drink was a hit and some had seconds, but soon, the orange flavor got too sweet and something else was in order. The second blender drink included some passionfruit pineapple crystal light, ice, and Malibu rum. This was pretty good...then Dawn suggests a homemade pina colada. I mixed up some milk, fresh pineapple, and Malibu rum with ice. This drink tasted good but the milk base caused a fear of curdling...and at some point came out of pour Tracy's nose, foam and all. This called for a new drink...

This is when I pulled out the miracle bullet...what a fabulous appliance.
I made Heather a fresh-fruit pineapple peach smoothie. She liked it a lot (or so she said)
It was then that many women at the party also wanted to try.
I should make my own infomercial...honestly

I whipped up wine-based, Woody's-based, and even beer-based (don't try at home) smoothies. Most were a hit, but the beer just foamed and wasn't good...

Now, for those of you looking to purchase a bullet (whether magic or miracle):
1. they are on TV now, BOGO (Magic Bullet)
2. They are wonderful for smoothies
3. Work great for hummus
4. Don't work to chop onions...(or make real cheese sauce, like the infomercial)
5. You'll almost never use the "whipping" blade...so it really only comes with one blade
6. I've used it at least 4 times a week since Christmas (usually multiple drinks)
7. My chopping blade still crushes ice and frozen fruit just fine
8. I would buy two more...
9. The party cups are too cool
10. All parts (except the base) are dishwasher safe

Anyways, the party packed up relatively early, for a Saturday night. And there was very little clean-up left over for today. All of this worth the pasta salad, which I might eat now, I don't know if I'll last till lunch.

Anyways, I need to mention before the conclusion of this blog that Mark is mean.
Early in the party, someone (I didn't catch the context of this statement) said "I already have a job" which was followed closely by a smart-ass statement by Mark "Aimee doesn't...."
Bastard.
Mark...I cried myself to sleep last night thanks to you, and I'm crying now just thinking about it. Just kidding...but really....I'm trying
Find me a job already, what are you waiting for?

Aimee

Happy Graduation Sister

For those of you who didn't have the pleasure of attening the most recent graduation ceremony, I thought I would sum it up for y'all. Well, it began by picking up the gown, cheating the system and getting Walmart photos taken (instead of paying multiple hundreds for a few fancy pants photos). We made it back to the school at about 1:00pm but couldn't figure out where the ceremony was being held. Jen didn't think it was neccessary to look these things up...

We asked some random guy who was dressed like he had already done this (there was the business ceremony this morning). He was nice enough to give us his pamphlet with the directions to the stadium. We found it and arrived at 1:25 or so (only 10 minutes late). Jen went to find out her place in line while mom, Matt and I went to check out rose prices. We wanted to get her a nice orange bouquet. "How much please?" ........$40.....what!!??!!

"nevermind..."

So she didn't get flowers. Sorry Jen. We looked at the frames as well for her diploma, but the nice wood frame was a whopping $189 + taxes. Not worth it. We are planning on going out to the local Micheals with a 40% off coupon for that one.

We found seats by standing around until they opened up some that were previously reserved. This was lucky I thought. We were in the top row of the stadium though, and unfortunatly (we didn't know this then but...) the grads were going to shake hands with the 3 important people with their backs to us. Oh well.

1:58: the speaches started.
boring boring boring boring boring boring boring
stupid boring guy spoke...for 22 minutes!!
2:51: the chancelor last spoke (Bob Ray)
Congratulations!!!

The grads then started to be called. It went pretty fast past this point, I can't complain. Jen looked beautiful and we were very proud. Mom forgot tissue. It was good. We tried to get pictures but we were very far, so most pictures were blurry and of Jen's back. Oh well. We got some more pictures outside of the ceremony. They are georgous. We will download them eventually when we get a better computer.

To everyone who wanted to be there but couldn't be, thanks for your thoughts. The degree is VERY nice, and though I am willing to skip the whole event next year I am waiting anxiously for that piece of paper. It is this, more then the ceremony and gown, that I will take away as a symbol of what I have worked so hard toward.

Aimee