Monthly Archives: December 2007

Yes . . . in just over 2 hours, my best friend will be here from Toronto. Last night another very close friend flew in from Calgary for a visit. And on Monday, all of my family will be gathered to celebrate Christmas. My world is almost complete. I have another good friend visiting family in Northern Ontario that I wish was here, along with a great friend in Edmonton that I’d love to see. But I get to see her soon, so I can’t complain too much.

I could hardly sleep last night for the excitement of it all. I guess I’m still a kid at heart It’s nice to be feeling so excited though . . . it’s definitely better than feeling blase.

Tonight we have a Christmas party at a friend’s house – it is an annual tradition. Tomorrow night is supper with the good friend from Calgary, along with her mom, mother-in-law, my best friend and my mom. Talk about good times!

Yesterday I made the annual visit to Santa, to tell him what I wanted for Christmas . . . it’s another tradition that I try to keep up with. I’ve been able to go almost every year for the past few years. You know what they say – if you don’t believe, you don’t receive!

Take care everyone . . . I’m not sure if I’ll be able to post through the holidays or not. It’ll be pretty busy here!

But central heating is delightful Actually, the temperature itself isn’t too bad – around -15C which is pretty standard for this time of year. Certainly preferable to -30C, which was the temperature not that long ago. Unfortunately, along with the warmer weather comes snow. Lots of it. Enough to require shoveling twice a day, so that the dogs can get to the backyard to do their thing. Enough to require shoveling of the driveway, so our postal carrier doesn’t have to wade through knee-deep show.

The dogs don’t seem to mind the snow, and I know they’re glad that the cold weather is just a bad memory at this point. There were days that it was so cold that the dogs needed boots on, just to go outside to potty without freezing their feet. It’s times like that that I almost wish they were litter-trained. I say almost, because I can’t imagine cleaning THAT up daily. Yikes!

Tomorrow is our Secret Santa gift exchange at work, which I’m looking forward to. It should be a lot of fun, and I got almost everybody to take part, which was a major challenge. A few of us are bringing in desserts, and I intend to bring my Christmas music in, to give the celebration a little bit more of a holiday feel. Should be a good time!

Especially now that our car is fixed! Last Sunday, I took my car for a ride to stop at the post office. It was -35 Celsius outside, so the car was sluggish (so was I!). The steering was super hard to control, but I thought it was the weather. I fought my way to the post office and then home, and slowly realized that something was amiss. As I tried to pull into the driveway, I saw a scarlet stain in the snow. It almost looked like somebody had been shot. Like my car. The steering fluid had leaked out of the car.

So I had it towed to the dealership, and waited impatiently to hear the news. Good news, it wa repairable. Bad news, the part was coming from Montreal. At this time of year, that never happens fast.

My dad called me today (we have been carpooling for the past week, which has been an adventure), to tell me that the car is ready! Yippeee! I’m embarassed to say that I almost cried when he pulled up to the house. It’s stupid, but I am just that happy to have my car back.

So, my fellow bloggers (and anybody else that happens to be reading my random ramblings), are you all done your Christmas shopping? There are only 19 days to go, and as I drive around the city I live in, parking lots for retail establishments are full of cars. People walk out of stores loaded down with bags and boxes, either shopping for loved ones or for themselves. Personally, shopping at this time of year makes me stir crazy. I love the music and decorations, but I hate the crowded stores, pushy people and endless lines. I start to go a little nutty, and that’s never a good thing.

So I do my shopping early. By mid-November I was mostly done my shopping. My mom and I took a trip to Edmonton, and I did the bulk of my shopping then. Any of the small items were either ordered online or purchased in store before it got crazy. Once the last few items are delivered, I’m good to go! I just have to wrap (which I love doing) and give.

Hope your holiday shopping is almost done, so you can avoid the crowds too

My latest addiction (well, for the past few months) is the Facebook application Scrabulous. Now, if it isn’t completely obvious what that is from the name, it is Scrabble! Two player or multi-player games can be organized (up to 4 players), and the computer does all the hard work of scoring. It’s a blast, especially for somebody that me, who enjoys writing and wordsmithing. Of course, it has taught me something – that I’m not the best wordsmith out there. There are better ones, and man, I bow down to them! They know who they are

Anyhow, if you’re on Facebook (which is a great application itself, and worth checking out), check out Scrabulous and start a game. You might just really enjoy it!