Tuesday 27 December 2011

I GOT IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I got a call today while I was at work and you would not BELIEVE how mad I was that my ringer went off while I was on the floor.

I fumed for about 1/2 an hour and finally went on lunch. I unlocked my phone and discovered a familiar number, but I couldn't put my finger on it, so I called them back.

I was so pleased when the man who owned the apartments I looked at answered! He proceeded to tell me that my background check turned up squeaky clean and I was welcome to the apartment! I was nearly hysterical with happiness and I squealed like a girl. Literally at this point everyone in the cafe was staring but I didn't much care.

I slipped outside for a celebratory smoke and to call my new roomie. We spent a good 10 minutes squealing into the phone in absolute glee. I am so excited to get the new place cleaned up and moved into! I think after all this crap I deserve something good, and this is it.

Now all I have to worry about it first and last and then if there is a down payment on hydro. Either way, money can be worked with and things can be arranged. I am just so pleased to have gotten the place I wanted AND the first place I looked. You can't beat that!

I will update you with progress as soon as I can and definitely be providing pictures! Btw, anyone have some energy saving tips to pass along?

Pea Soup with Ham

Tonight I thought I would try something different out... So I made split pea soup with ham. Turned out delicious, however, as pea soup always looks, disgusting. I have never tried it before but it's amazing and I love it. I never thought something that looked like mush could be awesome. I changed it up a bit and blended some of the ham with the soup. =D

Ingredients

1 large slice of ham
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 each carrots, sliced
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 bay leaves
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups dried yellow split peas


Skin the slice of ham and remove any large portions of fat. Chop the ham into small chunks.
Put Chicken stock and water on to boil, when boiling add salt, pepper and bay leaves.
Add oil.
Chop onion, garlic,celery and carrots, add to broth
Add ham and peas to broth and cook until peas are soft.
Remove half the soup mix and put in blender.
Blend on high until pureed.
Cook for another 30 min and remove from heat.
Allow to cool completely and refrigerate for 2 days.
Heat and serve.






By the way, got a new camera for christmas. Much better picture quality to drool over.

Sunday 25 December 2011

Blogging a Holiday











Cherry Mistmas!

Wanted to update you all and first of all let me say, Cherry Mistmas!

I have had a busy weekend thus far, I went shopping with my besties boyfriend and we got her Christmas presents. Then I went and viewed an apartment with my mummy. It was on Albany and had the most closets I have ever seen in my entire life. It was a bit of a fixer-upper, but nothing a fresh coat of paint and good scrubbing wouldn't fix. I was going to get pictures but I totally blanked and didn't remember.

Good news is, I should be getting word back on Wednesday on whether or not Marra and I have the place and we could move in right away ^.^ I'm totally excited about getting a new place.

After that adventure, we were onto shopping. We stopped in at Walmart and went back to the Mall. Mummy let me pick out my coat and we got gifts for my niece and nephews at Toys R Us.... It was a long time to spend shopping, especially for my coat but it fits perfectly and is surprisingly warm for a woman's coat. I love it... It means I will have a warm winter coat to wear to work and when I am waiting for the bus to come at (hopefully) new place!

My mother and I spent the rest of our night failing at making truffles.... (Apparently unsweetened chocolate = shitty truffles.) Then my Daddy and I made Jamaican pepper pot stoup. It was originally supposed to be soup, but it's too thick, so it's stoup. I didn't actually get to bed until very late/early. I drifted to sleep while watching Combat Hospital...

As for this morning, I was rudely shaken from my sleep by my 15 year old brother. I tried to roll over and go back to sleep, but to no avail. At least the little bugger was kinda enough to make and bring me my morning coffee, Triple-Triple, perfectly made. I sipped my coffee and we all opened our presents. Mom got Christmas ornaments and a baking book, Daddy got a set of pots, a sign for his desk and some cologne. My kid brother ended up with cologne, a hair dryer (Haha, my brother the metro-sexual freak show.)and some new mitts. I was quite pleased with my gifts, I got my coat from Ricky's, Gloves from Walmart and a Canon point and shoot camera that is far better than the crappy one I own. The flash actually works on this one.

Generally I would be updating this from my phone, however I, like a dumbass, forgot my charge cable at home and will not have access to another one until my Aunt gets here for Christmas dinner later on. Apparently we are having stoup and roast beast. All in all, this has been a pretty quiet and enjoyable christmas. ^.^

Friday 23 December 2011

Changes....

I have decided that change can be a good thing. I haven't felt this happy in months.... probably years.

Maybe I thought I was this happy during that euphoric puppy love phase but really, it was just my brain bonding with another human being. Nothing that is lasting. This is like the happy that people describe to me when they talk about marriage. This only real difference is I love ME and I am happy about my break up.

Dana and I are being civil, which is peculiar although not altogether a bad thing. We are working things out and I'm sure when I am finally packed and ready to go I'll be a little sad, but not because of a lost relationship, but because I am moving onto another part of my life. That is always a little sad, but amazing too.

I was talking to my friend about how I feel is somewhere between the euphoria I felt when I was using drugs and the terror I felt jumping off of the bridge in Campbellford as a teenager. I am rushed and stress and it feels like my world is in shambles, like I'm struggling just to get by and then at the same time like I am feeling an inner serenity that I thought could only come to me with drug use. It's beautiful. I believe I am finally feeling awake, finally breathing, finally alive.

Gonna be okay.

Today I realized my ex and I are going to be okay.

You know when you have a moment where everything breaks apart and you feel like everything is going to shit? I had one of those moments this morning. I got so frustrated and that turned into stress. When I couldn't process anymore, I broke down and cried. I literally cried uncontrollably for about 45 minutes, including in the car. About 30 minutes in, I started getting severe flashes of anger. I actually punched my ex in the arm and called him all kinds of names. I felt badly and apologized repeatedly in between sobs.

Then later on tonight, we talked. I mean really talked. We both talked, and apologized. We even admitted we didn't hate each other, that it was more of a "two different people" thing. I think we both knew it wasn't going to work out. There is hope for him yet. I was pleased to hear him agree that I wasn't a bad person, and really I don't think he is either.

We even shared a laugh or two over me needing to show him how to change his relationship status and the douche bag that was hitting on me. I firmly believe that one day we can be okay... maybe friends. Who knows.

Monday 19 December 2011

I'm having a bad day, so....

Here is a baby elephant.



I figure that a baby elephant should cheer me up, and thusly, make all of you smile.
So bloody well get to smilin'!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sunday 18 December 2011

Chills

So I have been at my friends house for the weekend and it is amazing. We have been drinking some white wine and I even had a little bit of weed :)

I have been talking to a whole bunch of friends and I am making soooo many plans. I never thought I would say this but Love sucks. I don't want to be in a relationship again for a while. I'm having waaaaaaay too much fun right now anyways :P

I literally have so many people wanting to hook me up with friends, and they are all being told the same thing, I'm not looking for anyone right now. I'll hangout and we can get to know each other but I'm not interested in anything serious.

I was also lucky enough to be invited to my friends early christmas dinner. She made a delicious turkey with all the fixin's. It was uhmazing. :)

In other news, I heard an interesting story. Apparently I am all the talk of my workplace. There is some gossip going around that I was an abusive money grubbing bitch to my ex. I want to clear this up.

I never took his money. He asked me to move in and after his urging and irrational decision making, I did. I pay for my half of everything as well as pay for all the groceries and half of a TV my ex was renting.

I wasn't abusive. Sure we had our fights and we yelled, but I never put my hands on him. I got in his face when he did wrong and toward the end I was bitter because he had been physically violent, and because I was losing the battle to keep my home together. I may have been angry, but I never monopolized his money, beat him or controlled him. In fact I had to scream at him to leave me alone for one stupid night.

I just wanted to dispel some of the gossip and lies being spread by people who were once my friends. I have the perfect lyric for this in fact;

"Everybody wants to slap your back, wants to shake your hand, when your up on top of that mountain. But let one of those rocks give way and you slide back down, look up and see who's around then. "

You really do find out who your friends are at a time like this. Someone will drop everything, come and find you to pull you out of that place. Those are the people who don't think about what's in it for them, the people that don't tally favours. Then again you have friends that will drop you... Right on your face.

Lesson of the Day : Fair weather friends are great in the sunshine, but I would rather spend my time in the rain sharing an umbrella with someone I can depend on.

Thursday 15 December 2011

Single

I literally am feeling like I have been holding in a huge lung-full of air and just got to let it out.

I was informed by my drunken "boyfriend" tonight that he didn't love me. What kind of man needs to get drunk to tell someone he doesn't want to be with them. I mean it's not as if I am a crier anyways. I get all proud and huff a lot. But otherwise, I am fine.

It is much better that it ended this way. We were never going to work because he didn't have the guts to be the man I needed, and I couldn't be the gaming addict he wanted. Combine that with our sexual differences and my inability to comprise and there is a time bomb waiting to go off.

I feel like he is being gutless by getting drunk to break it off. I hate gutless people, to deal with me you have to be willing to get in my face and scream right back at me. Or at least discuss it like a rational adult.

The strangest part is I didn't even say anything or do anything to indicate that I was mad or confrontational before this happened. I asked him how his day was and if he got an oil change. He then, after we were already driving, informed me he was drunk and that he didn't care about me and hadn't for a month and a half.

The thing that annoys me most is that he used me as a cash cow for a long time. And now that I want the money I paid into his TV so the rental place wouldn't take it away, he is telling me he was charging me to "watch the TV."

I am thinking about heading home for the weekend or taking off for a few days. Just to anywhere really. I need to get out of this apartment.

Tuesday 13 December 2011

Care to help some adorable cats find a home?

I am posting for my friends who have recently found themselves in the company of 2 adorable but homeless kitties. They unfortunately cannot keep these cuties because they already have some of there own and unfortunately a very cold winter is on the way.

I would like to take a moment to reach out and ask if anyone could take these to sweet, affectionate cats. It would be preferable if they could go to a home together since they appear to be very attached.

Here is what my friend had to say!

Rorschach (black and white) is about 5 pounds and Bisu (striped) is closer to 15 pounds.
As the title says, I think these are stray cats. I am pretty sure Bisu is male and Rorschach is female.
The way they eat food tells me that they are either stray or from a home that doesn't feed them. They are both tame, enjoy attention and like the food that I give them. They both have front and back claws. They both have flea bites around their ears


I don't want to take them to the humane society because I don't know for sure if they are stray and I'm sure they have enough stray cats as it is. If you would like more information or have more information about these two cats please message me.

I would honestly keep them myself but I already have two cats of my own.

If you are interested leave me a comment on here or get in touch with me on Facebook. I will get back to you right away and we can arrange something! They are in Belleville, Ontario.







Sunday 11 December 2011

Happy Sunday!

So today I was woken up by a ringing cellphone.

Turned out my Aunt was headed this way and wanted to know if I wanted to go out for a few hours. I agreed and after a shower and some coffee I wandered downstairs to meet my aunt.

We went to the mall first and checked out getting her a replacement phone. That ended up being a no go, however we did stop in at Ardene's and got me some new body jewelry. A whole bunch of new earrings and new nose rings, even a stud. I am pretty pleased with them. I am hoping that they bother my ears less when I sleep.

We also went to Value Village and I snagged a cute cover up. I needed a new black one so while the Auntie dearest was browsing the shirts, I picked through some stuff and found it. It was only $8 ^.^

We also just poked into Walmart and Dollarama to grab a few things, it was uneventful, but I enjoyed spending time with my Aunt. We even grabbed a bite to eat at McDonalds, Southwest Chicken Sandwich. (Delicious btw.)

Saturday 10 December 2011

Grocery lists

I have recently discovered that menu planning and making shopping lists saves me somewhere between 200-400 dollars per month. Yeah.

I am a terrible impulse buyer and I tended to shop while I was hungry and those things just don't go together. So I opted to look for an alternative and found out that menu planning and grocery lists aren't as hard as I thought.

Since I want everyone to save money and let out that little squeal of delight when they realize that they have found the perfect template/recipe/menu, I thought I would share these with you. They are a tonne of resources on menu and meal planning. Templates, site that do it for you, price lists... you name it, it's there.


AIO Resources

Better Budgeting: Menu planner, basic lists, price lists, ect.

Free Printable Grocery List: A whole tonne of downloadable templates.

Grocery Lists: Ultimatest lists and if you find a list in your cart send it in!

I'm an Organizing Junkie: Grocery lists

Keep and Share:s A whole compilation of lists, even ones for diet restriction!

Mom's Budget: A whole slew of printable/downloadable stuff to save you money!

Money Saving Mom: A bunch of downloadable forms and chore lists plus some other good tips and tricks.


Menu Planners & Grocery Lists

A Feathered Nest: Grocery List.

Design Sponge: DIY Grocery Planner.DIY Grocery Planner.

About.com: Weekly menu planner and grocery list.

Carina Gardner: Monthly menu planner. Monthly menu planner.

Organized Home: Weekly menu planner.

The Project Girl: Menu planning forms.

Price Books (Mostly Excel Doc's.)

Cheap Cooking: You will likely have to delete some things out but otherwise it looks pretty good!

It's Your Money: A large file in a zip.

No Credit Needed: A free printable price list that will help you save some money, check out the rest of the site too, great money saving info!

Organized Home: Price Book.


Menu Planners

Busy Bee Lifestyle: Downloadable planners with bees!

Disney Family Fun: Get the kids to help plan dinner!

Home Life Weekly: A rainbow coloured planner, for my most colourful friends!

The Home School Mom: A menu planner with or without lines and some other planners as well!

Main Street Mom: Simple. Basic. Efficient.

Meal Planning Mommies: Great for the Moms of the world. Not so much for the childless or male unless you don't mind having "I'm a meal planning mommy!" on your planner!

Organized Home: Again!? "How helpful can this site be?" you ask? Very.

Unclutter: A basic once over of how to do a meal plan and a downloadable meal planner.

Vertex: Meal planners for up to a month ahead of time!


Grocery Lists

Excel Templates: 3 different templates in multiple sizes.

Mom Ready: A simple check list.

Painted Gold: A functional and easy to read template.

Split Coast Stampers: You have to scroll a bit to find the pdf file but it's there!

Squawkfox: Affordable, healthy list of food in a neat checklist.

Vertex 42: A grocery list template to match your menu planner.


Meal Planning Sites

DinnerTool: Haven't tested it but it looks decent.

Real Simple: A months worth of dinners!

Spring Pad: Someone mentioned this to me, it's an app that works on iPhone and Andriods or via the web to organize recipes into grocery lists apparently, but don't quote me on it!

The In-Between Girl: A fully completed meal plan by another blogger!

Rubbing Nickels: A site dedicated to being frugal and they happen to have a 2 week meal planner.

SOS Cuisine: A personal favourite that creates your menu and populates your grocery list with free and fee based menu's available.

All Recipes: There is an option to add particular recipes to your menu and from there, to populate a grocery list.

Canadian Living: Apparently Canadian Living has created a free menu planner.

Planning with Kids A menu planner to help keep you organized

My Fridge Food: A site that gives you recipes based on what is already in your fridge. (Not really a menu planner, but nifty none the less.

Friday 9 December 2011

Plus Sized Perfection!

I found an article tonight that made me really happy. It was about a fashion magazine where they put a runway model next to a plus sized model in there pictures. Apparently the whole issue is going to have plus sized women as well!

It showed some of the pictures and they had literally put them in the same clothing and style. I was amazed. I was truly stunned that in my life time, at least a portion of the fashion world had come to grips with the fact that being a coat hanger is not healthy. They article went on to say that they wanted to put out a healthy image with sex appeal and that is why the chose to do the side by side comparison.

Granted the woman in the picture was only a size 8, but it's a step in the right direction. Size 8 is healthy and beautiful, and a size where an average woman can obtain it without starving herself to look like a "fashion model"

Bravo fashion world. I am glad you caught up with Dove and finally put healthy ahead of skinny. Due to hit shelves January 14th, V Magazine's Size Issue (v63) is what you should be looking for. I sincerely hope this is a trend we see continued in future, and that promoting a healthy beautiful world becomes top priority when selecting models, both male and female.

Fashion is cut throat enough, wouldn't it be better if people didn't have to literally starve to death to make the cut?


I lost the main article but I found a reference to it here in another blog... show some support ladies AND gents.

Thursday 8 December 2011

Delicious =P

So I have decided the drink of the season is actually from Tim Horton's this year. And I totally am sipping one now and watching 2012 ^.^

I have proclaimed that an XL WHITE hot chocolate with 1 chai tea bag left in.

The idea was given to me by my bestie and now I have stolen it for my own yummy guilty pleasure. =)

Next time you in your local Tim Horton's have them make you one. It's delicious and you'll love it.

Daily weirdo.

Today work went by quite quickly and as close to normal as you would expect. Then most of the way through my shift I received a call from one of the legendary weirdo's that always seem to find me.

That call started out with my normal call opening which was answered not with a standard greeting from the customer but with "DO YOU BELIEVE IN JEEZUS?!" being screamed in my ear. All I could do is respond with "Sure, but I don't think that has much to do with printers."

After getting his information and getting his printer confirmed, he then told me he was glad that I wasn't one of those N#&&@rs from Hispania(?), I calmly explained that I would prefer he stop referring to people of middle eastern descent in India with that word. He then started asking me what my heritage was and where my family came from, and all I could do was try to steer him back to his printer issue.

When we finally got to the issue, it turned out he was printing on paper that had 2 illustrations on 8.5 x 11 paper... like a story book. Problem was, the illustrations were pre-printed the wrong way for the printer so the text was coming upside down. If you turned the page around it printed the right way up but on the wrong picture. He then wanted to know if he could take out his printhead from his printer and turn it around. I advised him that a) laserjet printers do not have printheads and b) you can't just turn printheads around and make it print backwards. He responded with "Well I did it with my officejet." and I asked him what happened to the officejet, and he retorted with "Well after I put them in backwards the printheads blew up and it stopped working."

Unfortunately the settings in the program he was using were overriding even the most basic ones for the printer. Being tech support I am trained to fix the printers settings and obviously prove functionality. However that is not on every obscure software system on the planet. When I explained this was not our issue and that he would have to call his software provider, he kinda, sorta, lost his shit.

He started screaming that it was our fault and that we were just lying to him to make him look stupid. At this point I was growing increasingly amused with his rantings but little did I know the best was yet you come.

Everything when completely silent for a moment and then he yelled "I will destory you with an apocalyptic hellfire from Jesus!" I nearly died laughing my face off. The poor people around me looked confused but I literally couldn't stop laughing my ass off.

To top it off, the thick hilly billy twang added the most ridiculously over the top effect to the whole call that made my day that much better.

Thank you ridiculous hilly billy Jesus freak. <3

Book of Random Pt 4





Wednesday 7 December 2011

No news

I know sometimes they say no news is good news, but totally not tonight. I am bored to death. I spent the majority of my night last night listen to Marra's slightly neurotic friend jibber jabber and then watched Full Metal Jacket for the rest of the evening.


Today I took 2 tylenol 3's before work to make my insides stop hurting. I must say the mild haze I get makes me far more pleasant on the phones. I also found out I have an RPC of $ 27. Which is amazing. I am thoroughly pleased with myself to be honest.


Oh, and I was told last night that I am "part vagina, part sexual predator and part light up velcro shoe." I feel it is a pretty accurate description.

My best friend is moving in with a drugged out chicka too, not sure how I feel about this but at the same time, totally not my issue.


Iunno. I'm just blathering.

Tuesday 6 December 2011

Friends

I was watching Grey's Anatomy and Teddy's husband said he started coughing up blood to win an argument to make a joke out of being sick.

I started crying my eyes out. It made me think of my best friend, Danni. He died when I was 16 in a motorcycle accident. We were planning on getting together and celebrating my birthday, he was driving up to see me when he crashed.

This episode made me think of him. I felt terrible because I had forgotten him. Then in that instant I remembered how he smelled, the sound of his voice and the shape of his eyes. I miss him.

I just needed to talk about it to someone. Anyone.
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

Alone.

Is it so effin' bad that I want to be left alone? I have not had time to myself with the exception of 20 min-2hrs without someone in the same room or just outside of it. I honestly feel like I am being slowly suffocated.

I have always given others the time they want and need to be alone, and when I wasn't working, I made a point to go to my parents/friends/grandparents house to give my boyfriend time to do his own thing. Why am I not afforded the same courtesy? Every human being wants time alone in there own head... they don't want to be constantly bombarded with human contact. FFS.

Iunno, I guess I am just feeling like I never get to have time to think or breathe. Someone is always around and it's like I'm 2 again. I really don't need a babysitter and I just wish that people could just leave me alone.

All I really need to have time to sort myself out.

Monday 5 December 2011

My weekend

My weekend has been spent lounging blissfully around the apartment. I made a point to learn some new recipes and I think I have come up with a few sauces for wings. I now just need to find a sauce for hot and suicide wings.

I got into a screaming match with Dana again. I just wanted some time alone and I wasn't being granted that courtesy. In fact it is a courtesy I hadn't been given in 6 months time. It is disturbing how much human companionship can drive you crazy after so much time together. I guess I finally yelled enough since he finally left the apartment and gave me the much needed alone time...

Either way, I feel a little less crowded and a little less crazy. Tomorrow I look forward to coming home from work and cooking myself a delicious meal of stuffed peppers and wings. Just sayin'

*facepalm*

Soooooo, today was interesting. I spent the majority of it searching frantically throughout the call center for my "lost" cell phone.

I checked my purse, my coat and my boobs. I looked under my desk, in my drawer and through all my papers and binders.

I then retraced my steps, I looked in the aisles, out in the smoking area, in the cafeteria, I even checked with security and looked out front. I asked my TM too look around and made the janitor check everything. I even went through my garbage.

I was moping around my desk and trying to figure out how I was going to explain to my boyfriend that I had lost my phone when my friend popped over for a chat. I asked him if he had seen my phone, and he asked how big it was. I said "About 2x3, why?" giving him a funny look. He then pointed at my stomach and asked whether or not I checked the front pocket of my hoodie. I looked down to see a perfect 2x3 rectangle showing through my sweater....

I swear, I am losing my mind. Lmfao.
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

Oops.

So I started a new blog entry a few times this weekend but never actually posted them.

I am just heading off to work now but I will be posting tonight :)
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

Friday 2 December 2011

I ♥ RWJ



So offensive, but so my new favourite song....

Home.

I am decidedly displeased with work right now. It has been a very long hard day, and don't any of you bitch at me for whining about my cushy job. I deal with the dumbest of dumb people. I literally get asked once daily how to turn on a printer or if it has to be plugged into power to turn on.

Like for the love of god people. READ THE FUCKING MANUAL. It is probably a good thing none of my bosses know about this blog or my ass would be soooooo fired. Apparently calling people stupid is a no-no. Oh and so is yelling at mentors.

So it wasn't really the mentors fault. In the real world we are actually friends, but at work I am a hormonal angsty underpaid overworked bitch. He unfortunately wasn't trained well on windows and that being said he is very fast learner. I just happened to be having an issue installing some dudes printer and my friend who is supposed to know all, drew a blank. I was fine with that until he left me with the instruction to refer to OEM (original equipment manufacturer) just "because something is wrong." I may have (loudly) said "well you didn't know the first thing about it so why should I listen to you?"

I feel badly about yelling at him, but I have a job to do, y'know? If the people who are supposed to be helping me aren't properly trained, then how am I supposed to fix issues and give customers proper recommendations? Amirite?

Opinions?
Sent from my BlackBerry device on the Rogers Wireless Network

Thursday 1 December 2011

The night sky

I managed to snap a few pictures from a friends apartment balcony. I got some nice pictures with my cellie. Obviously it is shitty quality but it was pretty nonetheless.