AHAAA!!

You know I've been struggling with my reading and for the life of me, I couldn't figure out what the problem was.

Sure there are the busy times in life - today kids for the pool and BBQ and then Saturday the family for the day and BBQ (can I just say I'm sick of hot dogs and hamburgers already!!!) and the times when TV seems more important. And then there is the job (which is minimal but it does take up time) and my best bud who moved 3000 miles away so now we talk for hours on the phone at night.

But then I think of all of you and the jobs you have, the kids, the house work, the hustle and bustle of day time activities which are much different than night time. Shopping and errands in crowds would give me hives so I'm much happier in my nocturnal haze.

Then it hit me.

I have no where to sit and read.

Six months ago almost to the day, Bob moved his Lazyboy into the home office.

The home office or den, is so not for reading. Not sure what it is about the room but it doesn't work for me.

My reading room is our massive living room but I always sat in the Lazyboy. Good support for my back (doesn't happen in the other chairs), doesn't stink of - well, that's a different story and ... did I mention my back? Currently there are two couches (one is the leather one but I can feel the wood frame if I'm leaning on it like I tend to so not so good for reading and the other is Cody's couch and it's so out of here when the spirit calls him), two chairs with ottomans (Amber has taken up residence in the one I might sit in and the other is too close to the front door) and two new chairs but they are small and meant to be more decorative.

Let's not even start with the lighting in the room. I have one light that I move from chair to chair depending on where I want to read. Huge pain.

I can't read in bed or I would never sleep and my arms would fall asleep constantly and the loft/TV room is for TV and laundry and sitting with Bob.

So my task this next week is to find a new reading place. Or buy myself a Lazyboy.

Ow. It hurt just to type that. If I bought a Lazyboy I would never hear the end of it. So new place to read. Definitely something I must do immediately.

Oh, and I did mention to Bob that I was in a slump because he moved the Lazyboy to it's new place in the den and he told me he wasn't moving it back.

Mean.

I plan to retaliate by hiding his Home Depot credit card.

So where do you read? Can you read anywhere? Can you read hanging half off the bed (like I used to when I was 20) or do you need to have everything in place before settling down to read?

Now THAT Was What I Needed!!

Yesterday was Canada Day here and we had a great day off! Thanks for all the well wishes - I think they merged to make an awesome day.

The weather was perfect and the pool was the perfect temperature. It was so relaxing and to top it off, my friends ordered in a pizza so I didn't have any cooking to do. It was completely stress free and it was nice to finally enjoy some time by the pool.

Okay, it was stress free for the most part except for when I went to look for my wallet and couldn't find it. I looked every where in the house and then finally asked Bob to go look for it. (Bob can find stuff easier than I can when it's something I've lost) He looked every where also and had apparently already moved all the couch cushions and stuff. So I did another breeze by (remember we have company) but found nothing. I was a bit worried but I kept thinking that it just had to be in the house.

When our friends left we drove over to my Mom's to re-trace our steps. Mom had gotten home late and had found the light on the phone lit up meaning an extension is in use. Since she's the only one there she got freaked out and called over here to see if I had just called her. I told her we'd be right over and that she could wait outside as she was afraid to go upstairs. So Bob and I went through all the hidey-hole places someone could find and of course, it was fine. I've been there before, freaking myself out over something so we sat with her for a bit before heading out the door.

This was the point where she said 'Cindy, don't forget your wallet.'

So I knew I must have had it when we left her house but the days of the week play games with me so I went through her house again just in case.

So we drive home and I remembered walking in the door and seeing Cody on the couch (happy clean monkey that he is now - another story) but I didn't go and pet him because Bob wanted to go swimming so I headed straight upstairs. I go up and check the bed sheets in case I had put it on the bed. I go through the pile of clothes beside the bed (must do laundry) and finally remember getting my robe out of my closet.

Nothing.

So I'm standing there with my hands on my hips thinking 'damn, I really have to start calling and cancelling everything' when my eyes wandered over the shelves on the wardrobe and bam, I see a zipper.

I'm telling you I have never put my wallet in the wardrobe before but I guess I was in a hurry and just stuffed it in there with a plastic bag that had solar batteries in it but it was all balled up like it was garbage.

What a relief!

I have to admit, I was pretty blase about it until the minute I started thinking that I had to cancel every thing. So maybe a few minutes of stress and hey, in my life, that's nothing!

I plan to sleep most of today - no one to wake me up as Bob is now back to work and I can finally sleep without having to worry about where I need to be.

Talk about Bliss!!

Month end numbers couldn't be completed for work because their computers were down ( I figured out how to get the info but I have nothing to balance it with at the moment) so I'll have to do more work tonight. After that, it's going to be all about me for at least 5 whole days.

I should send a memo to Bob about that.

Nah. He's used to it.

Happy, Happy, Happy!!!!

To all my peeps who hopefully got today off!!

I hope you all find time to do something just for yourself. Like reading. Not so much for me, friends for a BBQ and swim and then I need to do my month end numbers for work. Month end is always the busiest. But that's followed by beginning of the month which isn't busy and Bob won't have another vacation until August and maybe just maybe I can get back to Strike and Rabbit and (well, seriously, the fact I remembered any names at all is impressive! And yes, I'm pretty sure I'm only one chapter in but I want to know what's next already!!)

And if you haven't already, my AAR pollster buddies are running a poll for Favorite Books by Favorite authors and would love it if you put in a ballot! Go here.

Here's a peek at the authors being polled:

Here are the authors we are polling for beginning today, June 19th. The poll will close at midnight, July 6th:

1. Sylvia Day
2. Tara Janzen/Glenna McReynolds
3. Kathryn Caskie
4. Katie Fforde
5. Jane Porter
6. J.R. Ward
7. Jessica Bird
8. Kate Bridges
9. Keri Arthur
10. Robyn Carr
11. Rachel Gibson
12. Carla Kelly

Still Rolling with the Punches

Just finished up another day of holidays. Bob's family came for a swim and a BBQ. We planned on 15 but only 5 came which made everything much more relaxed.

I'm hoping tomorrow it can just be Bob and I for the day. It's supposed to rain tomorrow so maybe we'll get out of the house and do some shopping.

Tuesday is Canada's Birthday, 141 years young. Damn, if you go here it tells you we really don't have an independence day like most countries.

I was 12 when the Constitution Act (1982) came into effect which I *thought* meant we were no longer part of Britain and that the Queen was no longer well, the Queen. I'm pretty sure we used to sing God Save The Queen when we were younger and the picture of the Queen hung in our schools. Now I couldn't tell you the last time I saw a picture of the Queen anywhere and we sure don't sing the song.

So to my Canadian friends, is the British Queen still *our* Queen. Cause I'm so not liking that.

Meh. The things I get in my head.

I hope you are all having a great weekend and that the sun has somehow found it's way to you!

Book Binge Ladies Are Having a Contest!!

Head on over to Book Binge to participate in a fun blog hunt to win a pretty bag (purse?) and some books and chocolates to fill it!

Click Here!

I have a hankering for that Trendsetter bag and I'm not a bag kind of lady.

Stole it from Marg.

With Steven Spielberg as director my life movie will be a BOFO-Blockbuster!!

Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

Stay-cation and Crap in my Head

Bob is going to take this Wednesday to next Wednesday off for vacation.

Complete surprise for me.

How doesn't this work for me?

I didn't put any money aside and property taxes are due at the end of the month so I already transferred the money into this stupid account that charges me 5 bucks a transaction if I go over 2 for a month. I did that on purpose to make it a savings account. I'm cheap and I get mad at banks and their fees so I will go without food before moving money out of that account.

Bad Cindy.

But not my fault really because if I had known I could have moved money around.

So really, that's just a hiccup.

You know it's all about my sleep and how I didn't have time to prep myself for the days ahead. I think Bob did this on purpose because I know he likes his mornings to himself. He gets tons of stuff done while I'm sleeping but if I'm already up and bright eyed and bushy tailed when he gets up I throw him completely off his day.

So he didn't tell me in time and now I'm the one who is going to be completely off my game. But I'll learn him. C-Rex can always use some stage time. Trust me, naps will become crucial to his survival.

Some things off the top of my head:

1.) Bob got his stitches out today and his leg looks great. Even the doc was impressed as normally ER docs don't try to be neat so he definitely got lucky.

He comes home and blam - thunderstorm. Droopy lip but still a bit of pep in his step.

He takes me out for a bit and then needs to come home because he's exhausted. Ugh. So I have a nap and then we head out to the pool where we can actually see our breath in the air! Bob put his legs in but wouldn't budge off the side.

Hopefully tonight will be nice enough for him to finally get some swimming in.

2.) Having more than a can of pop a day makes me sluggish and nauseous. Having too many potatoes with dinner only add to this sensation.

3.) There is nothing on TV, no movies I want to rent and nothing I'm interested in re-watching but the damn thing is on for hours with me at night. What I'm searching for is anyone's guess.

4.) Bob's family is coming on Saturday which means lots of cooking and cleaning. Yay for me. NOT.

5.) I've been ignoring Cody's nose for the past three days because I hate seeing the way he looks at me when I get out the face cloth. The good news is that it's not growing and there is no fluid build up so really, I'm wondering if it's a good thing to not rub the wound and re-open it right now.

Yeah. I'm kidding myself. I'll get the face cloth out tomorrow night and force myself to do it. I'll just go and buy him something new and special for a treat afterwards.

6.) Emma needs some tending. Will buy treats for her also.

7.) I went out early in spring and bought all new tops for summer. I bought two new pairs of shorts but can't find them and the ones I have are now huge on me. Yay for losing weight but probably more about losing the elasticity in the stretchy part of the jean short. So buying shorts is on this week's agenda. Bob will love that.

Off to continue surfing and to get a drink of water to see if I can get the tummy to send me some love.

Why Did I Give Them Up?

Shelfari started the brain up but it was while I was browsing the up-coming books on Chapters online that the thoughts actually formed into words and questions.

There are books that are coming out by authors I once read (eg. Vicky Lewis Thompson, Iris Johansen etc) but for the life of me I can't remember why it is I decided to stop reading their books.

I was once a Nora Roberts reader. I remember exactly when I stopped picking up her books. Honest Illusions. That book rocked my heart and brain so bad that I got scared. Hey, I don't like sobbing while reading a book. The book was excellent but I haven't picked up a book that has been published by her since then.

Now, I have wanted to buy Nora Roberts again but Lor' Tundering Geez By, with reprints I couldn't figure out where I should pick back up. (I've been helped along by AAR Favourite Books by Favourite Authors and have bought the Born In books - I'm also going to raid LinnieGayl's Shelfari shelf and see what her fav is and pick it up (I see the Sea books are there also - I'm having a hard time tracking those down).

I know that I once enjoyed Vicky Lewis Thompson's many books. I know I stopped reading her before the Nerd books and I wasn't going to jump back in with those ones. I think I may have started one of her Nerd books and wondered where the author I once read had gone.

Ah, just tripped over Amanda Ashley - she broke my rule. She cured a vampire. Okay there was much more about it and the vampire was 'oh woe is me' and was a pain in the arse and when he was cured at the end of the book I just wanted to throw the book at the wall. Haven't picked her up again. So that's my own problem.

Still, I've noticed that she seems to be writing paranormals. So, is she writing vampire romances or something else entirely.

I know why I decided to leave Debbie Macomber behind. Her books were too sweet. I know the last few books of hers that I read were set in Alaska. And then there was the book with a blurb and premise that didn't pan out. Hey, if there is a promise of sex, maybe the sex should happen. I think the book was called Sooner or Later.

Here's the book description from Shelfari:

Dear Jack,

I may be a rough, tough solider of fortune but I've me my match!

I'm in Central America on a no-win job and regretting every minute. A woman named Letty Madden hired me to find her missing brother. I'd figured this prim and proper Texas postmistress would run and hide when I named my price: one night. I was wrong.

I swear the woman is my punishment for never giving a damn about anyone. She's as stubborn as a mule and soft and sweet . . . and hell, buddy, I'm in big trouble. Getting out alive is the least of my problems.

Murphy

Yep, clearly says to me that there is going to be a night of sex. My memory might be shaky but I believe Murphy changes his mind and drops the idea of his fee. I can't even remember if these two kissed on screen. So after this schmazzle, I never bought another of her books.

Too bad. After all, I loved Morning Comes Softly and I either found a used copy or need a copy. Can't remember exactly.

Iris Johansen is definitely a head scratcher. I don't remember much about her books except that bad things did happen and the hero was not always heroic. I may have stopped buying them because of the drama or (and this is my own bad memory) because one of her heroes was married with a child (or at least, he had a woman who bore his child who he was still on good terms with). Should mention this was a historical so I had a hard time figuring out how the H/H were going to live HEA if the hero was already married. This may have messed with my reading box from back then but I think I would be much more open in my reading today. Of course, I believe she has moved on to suspense.

I had to leave Julie Garwood behind - it took me many books to realize the magic was gone but once I figured that out I was able to step away and not look back. At least I have all her great books on my shelves.

I know there are many more authors and I might do a second post but I wanted to know if there are authors that fell off your radar but you can't remember why. Do you think you'll buy their books again or did you get lost like I did in reprint hell wondering if you were about to buy a book you've already read?

I Went Shopping!!

Nath reminded me of the buy 3 get the 4th book free promo going on at Chapters/Indigo and I managed to corner Bob into taking my Mom and I to Indigo in Burlington tonight.

Sweet!

First, I have been off Suzanne Brockmann. We were on a break after the horror that was Max and Gina. I'm still a little pissy about it but tonight while looking over the bookshelves I overcame my anger and found plenty of books to buy.

Just so you know, all of these books were prior releases from the Loveswept line. Some of these titles were so hard to come buy people were paying crazy amounts to get their mitts on them. I have to admit, I had similar thoughts but after M/G I was able to stay away.

Sometimes the book Gods love me.

I'm pretty sure I've read Body Language in it's earlier incarnation. I remember enjoying the friends to lovers theme of this book. Really back then, (1998) Suzanne Brockmann could do no wrong in my eyes.










Forbidden was originally released in 1997 and I don't remember the story from the blurb. In fact, I wouldn't have believed you if you had told me Brockmann had once written a story with a cowboy for a hero. I stand ready to read!










I know for a fact that I haven't read Freedom's Price because the blurb sounds very similar to the Max and Gina story. Sounds like an older man is helped by a teenage rebel and then meets her again 5 years later. I wonder if this will be the story I was hoping for with Max and Gina. This one is landing the highest on the TBR pile for sure!








Embraced by Love has an original release date of 1995. The H/H are married with kids so I'm not sure I'm going to be reading this one any time soon but with all the pretty covers I had to buy this one as my 'free' book.

And since I've decided to forgive and forget I bought more Brockmann.

I know. I couldn't hold a grudge to save my life. I figure I now have something like 7 of her books I haven't read so she can't possibly get ahead of me and have me slavering for her next book.



This is where reading slumps and grudges pay off. Authors get ahead of you and you can take things at your own pace. *phew*

I think Into the Storm is after the Max and Gina story followed by Force of Nature (which I think is Jules and Robin's story). C2 I'm hoping you can tell me if I'm wrong.

(Why put the other book titles which are from the Trouble Shooter series on the cover page and not put the book you are holding in with the list? I had to keep picking up these books and flipping through their title pages trying to find the order they came out in.)







They didn't have the Christmas one on the shelf and no others I hadn't read so I moved on. The good news is that it looks like more of her Loveswepts are going to continue getting re-published.

So finally I'm flying without a net.

Oh, the new Loretta Chase book. Thank YOU very much.

And now I just need to pick out my free book.

This is where I surprised myself.






Yep. Colour me confused.

I can honestly say I have yet to read a review by anyone who hasn't liked or loved this book. (or is it a series?)

It's also sitting prominently on some reader's favourite books of the year tallies.

So I grabbed this one. I sure hope it's the first.

Ah well, I won't get to it for a bit anyways.


OH! Lorraine Heath has like three books that are European historicals. Anyone who liked her westerns find these stories any good? I was tempted but was obviously pulled in another direction.

Anyone else (beside Nath cause I've already read about her adventures in buying) go book shopping this weekend? Anyone know how long the promo is going to last?

Crack? No Thanks, I'm On Shelfari

I'm addicted to Shelfari but the good news is I'm okay with it.

If you haven't gone there yet, RUN! I'm telling you, it's a great place. I'm Cindy S there too so if you already have an account come find me. (I keep trying to find people and have no luck. Ag found me the other day but I can honestly say I wouldn't have known to look her up under her profile name. Bad Cindy)

If you are still here and wondering what I'm talking about, Shelfari is this beautiful virtual bookshelf that I have now covered in over 450 books that I have read or plan to read. If I added all my TBR pile I would have over 900 books to look at. As of now though I'm just trying to remember all the books I have read.

This led me to re-discover that I'm a visual person. Why I keep forgetting this I have no idea but it came at me again while searching friend's bookshelves and discovering authors and books I read 20 years ago. (OH!! That's the fun part, you can go and look at your friend's shelves and once again, this works better for me in comparing my likes and dislikes with another reader. Eg. LinnieGayl and I have the exact same favourites for JAK and for Julie Garwood - I think this means our historical tastes would be fairly similar. Just telling me this (or writing it) doesn't seem to stick in my brain but seeing it does.)

Now I'm reminiscing about books from my past and wondering about those authors I read during my 'library' time. I didn't keep records then and barely do so now. Leaves me wondering how many author's books I have actually read. Not only that, sometimes I know I've read an author (eg. Jennifer Greene, Joan Johnston, Beverly Barton etc) but I have no clue which book it was. I'm pretty sure I've read most of Joan Johnston but when I see the covers and all the different titles I can't remember where it was I stopped. The re-publishing dates are killing me. I know I haven't read Johnston, Green, Barton etc before 2000 but I can't count on that to help me because of reprints.

On that note I just remembered I haven't put up any Debbie Macomber books that I've read. Wonder how my memory will work with her.

All this plays into watching the DIK ladies swap and talk about their favourite books and heroes. I wanna play too but the rules and swaps and time limits make me skitter away. Still, I may be forced to steal some of their ideas - I hear they like pirates so I may be in good company.

The Book Binge ladies have also been re-reading Judith McNaught which has me wanting to pull her historicals down and re-read them also.

But the TBR pile mocks. Therefore I will try and make a bit of a dent. Or dimple. Hell, an open slot would be welcome about now!

And, because I know many of you think I'm out splashing in my pool, I feel I must share that for the last three days it's been FREEZING!!! The pool temp is currently 64 degrees F so I wouldn't dare dip a toe. Not only that, many of us are wondering if we need to turn the heat on! Right now, my nose is red it's so cold. So much for that heat wave. I'm so ready for another one like NOW.

Finally Bob gets his stitches out on Monday afternoon and it's supposed to be 25 degrees C so he let me know the appointment is at 5:30pm and that he'd be in the pool at 5:32pm.

Here's hoping this strange weather moves on and the heat returns.

From Yucky to Wonderous!

We broke in the pool this weekend and I couldn't be happier. Bob only gets to sit near the pool right now but even doing that is a wonderful experience.

Pictures speak volumes.


We'll start with the wide shot. Notice the patio stones around the pool, the ladder on the far side of the pool and that the water is green in colour (it's pretty but you can't see in the next two pictures just how crummy the pool bottom is)





This picture is a close up of the edge of the pool. You can probably blow up these pictures to see the lack of beauty.
Okay, here is where you can probably see the nastiness that was clear to all who came swimming. If you can blow up the pics then click on this one. From what we can tell the last time the pool was painted they ran out of paint and just kinda white-washed the deep end. Also notice the darker shade around the rim of the pool. We figure grime from the enviroment and such. Uhhhh-gly!!!



Here is the coat of blue paint. Already it looks loads better!

And finally here it is all finished. Grass around the edges except at the back and part of the side because we can't get grass to grow there. We put in 1" river rock and then we'll plant some bushes or low level plants in that area.





Here is a close up of the ladder (the one that Bob moved from one side to the other and managed to open up his leg - his leg looks great by the way) and the mosaic glass. Please note that we haven't grouted the tiles yet except when putting up the tiles the cement came up through them. So in the end, we'll be grouting with the cement. We'll get to that ;)



And finally, here is my little piece of paradise. Blue twinkling water, with a clean looking bottom where you can't see grey or crappy gunge. Not only that, there is no huge scum line because the blue tiles cover the exposed area.

Awwwww

I managed to snap this picture in the split second I was able to get them to quit playing. Could they be cuter?

Sunny is on the left there and is my best friend Sue's puppy. Fumble is 4 weeks younger than Sunny and is a poodle - golden retriever mix. I'm so in love with Fumble but Sue gets jealous if I coo over him too much.

Basically these two get together and they tumble and play for hours.

HOURS!

I snapped this picture after they had been falling all over each other for an hour. I thought the slobber on their fur would show up. I wish I had the other pictures I took - I got nose shots, butt shots, feet, tails, everything! (I took them on Sue's camera)

It's definitely hard when you have an old boy and you get to spend time with two 6 month old puppies. The energy and baby soft fur. The wiry coats haven't grown in yet (Fumble will have more of a wiry coat) so they are soft to cuddle.

If you can catch 'em.

Good Things

Cody got a bath outside today. It was hard for both of us. Me because he acted completely put out and him because soap was involved.

When he and Rocky were younger we used to put the pool out for them to jump in. Cody would actually lie down in the water and even dunk his head under. Bring out the shampoo though and BLAM they were gone.

Nothing has changed in that respect.

The good news is that Cody no longer smells like way too many dirty feet and is now sporting 'whiff of wet dog'. I dried and dried and dried him and hours later his coat is still damp. Tomorrow is brush out day. He's going to be wicked fluffy.

No matter, it perked him something new. He was all butt dragging today but after his bath he was all ready to do whatever came next.

Cute monkey.

I also got some household stuff done which has been driving me crazy for a month.

*Note to self - you want to wash the exterior of your windows with the hose and windex the screens are filthy!*

Tomorrow I clean the house. I hadn't bothered vacuuming for the past bit because Cody smelled so cleaning up all the fur wasn't working. So everything gets de-furred tomorrow. (Also, Amber has a spot that she goes to when she needs comfort and whenever I go to vacuum she's sleeping there so I don't bother. However, gentle time is over, the chair is supposed to be grey-green not orange and furry.)

AND, tomorrow the ladder to the pool may finally be put in. That concrete with the killer re-bar is the piece that needs to be put into place so that the ladder can go in the pool. Our pool was made by the former home owner and the water level is a foot below where the top of the pool is. Now, try and heft your body a foot straight into the air with nothing but your arms and wrists? Only one person (oldest Godson) is able to do it. I figure it's not worth breaking my wrist over.

So I think tonight I may be able to take my inaugural swim for 2008.

I told Bob I would wait for him but he said he wants me in the pool. Get this, this weekend is fairly nice (rain here and there) so we'll get out with the family etc. Starting Monday the long range forecast shows rain everyday for 10 days. I think it's funny that Bob may not be the only person not swimming while his wound heals!

I also finally made my homemade hamburgers again.

Just in case, here's what I do:

1 lb extra lean ground beef
1/2 a chopped onion
1/2 bag of lightly seasoned croutons crushed with a roller
1 egg
2 Tbsp of milk
1 Tbsp of mustard
Shake in some steak spice

Mix it all up and make into patties.

Tonight I did 2 lbs (doubled everything but decided to add another egg) - made nine patties.

The seasoned croutons pack a wonderful flavour punch that you don't get from the 'seasoned bread crumbs'

I can't wait for Monday next week. We have so many plans over the next few days but on Monday, the house will be clean, all family and friends will have been for a swim and I can totally veg with my current book.

Since I'm not there yet, what do you do to pump up the flavour in your BBQ foods.

What is your favourite summer time dish?

Don't be shy about leaving the recipes in the comments. Seriously.

Chicken breast help would be greatly appreciated! It's either plain or BBQ sauce - I just want more flavour!

Thanks To Kat O+

Whoa, slow down!! It's me! Cindy!

Yep, spiffy new digs.

I hope Kat doesn't mind that I followed her link to her template provider SuckMyLolly.com. I could easily change my template once a month with the designs I sighed at over there.

Wonderful!

Some fun and fresh designs and thanks to Kat O+ I was even able to add all my links and do-dads without any hassle. You'd think I was a pro!

Small updates:

Bob is doing very well. He's in no pain which just blows my mind. I've done one cleaning of the wound and am about to attempt my next. Right now, Cody is more of a concern to both of us than Bob's poor leg.

Cody smells like feet.

Not just two feet.

Like a locker room full of sweaty teenage sneaker feet.

I filled his little pool today and took out buckets of hot water to add to the cold but there was no way I could do it to him. The water was just too chilly. I'm leaving it out and hoping that tomorrow I could add a few hot buckets and get the water warm enough to attempt cleaning him.

I need to upload the pictures of my pool. It's gorgeous! And Bob can truly say, 'with blood, sweat and tears'.

Okay, I'm up way too late and need to wind down. Off to veg in front of the TV and try not to snack on anything.

I'm thinking that might be a lost cause.

911 What Is Your Emergency?

Bob, bless him, helped me to start reading again!

It only took a piece of re-bar, a gapping leg wound, two ambulances and an ER visit with multiple stitches.

He just gives and gives and gives!

So to start, he's fine and catnapping in his lazyboy. *thank you Jesus!*

This little story starts a month ago when we opened our mammoth white whale of a pool. For over thirty days we've been weather watching and doing every thing we can to get the pool up and running. The weather people have had a hate on for us.

On Friday we get the news.

Heat wave.

And it's going to be bad.

(I swear we do some of the most physical outdoor work during heat waves)

Bob, loving his young bride (that's right, I said young) starts tiling the pool like his tail is on fire. Tiling is finished and water is ordered.

Sunday afternoon.

The pool is filled almost to the top (squeeeee) but the water is 58 degrees and well, neither of us are that brave. Still, Bob has plans and he has called in my father for re-enforcement. Currently, the ladder comes up on the far side of the pool and we've decided we want it moved to the other side. I figured Bob would pour a new cement pad. Nope. A concrete saw was rented.

Already I'm antsy. I actually put the wireless phone front and center in the kitchen and I make jokes about 911 calls.

I leave the house. I don't do well when I think accidents can happen so off I go for water testing and groceries.

I come home around 2pm and Bob and my Dad are taking a break (humidex is 40 degrees Celsius) and they are covered head to toe in dust and dirt and grime. They inform me the cutting is almost done. Bob gets up after a few minutes and heads back out to the pool. My Dad jokingly says he's not done his water (hey, he's not as young as my hubby and it's HOT) and we start yammering.

I'm not sure how long we were in the house before I noticed my husband running.

I've never seen Bob run before. I mean, the grass was being torn up. I believe I did say out loud, 'Bob's running'.

My Dad turns to the window and we're trying to decipher hand signals.

Then Bob gets out of the pool area and all I see is red from the knee down.

I'm ashamed to admit my first thought and possible words were, 'I can't do this'. My father headed towards where Bob was running while I went in the opposite direction. Bad Cindy.

Bob had a towel on the wound so fast I didn't even see it. My Dad however, had gotten an eye full and well, he's not good with blood. But his stiffened those knees and was ready to help.

Bob got his directives out immediately. More towels and call an ambulance.

My Dad asked if we could drive him. To which I said 'NO!' cause I had visions of spewing blood and me trying to drive. I had the phone already and was hearing the rings when it occurred to me that my Dad needed to move away from Bob. So we switched places.

I think my Dad was extremely grateful.

I held the towels and kept the torqued to stem the bleeding.

That's when Bob tells the story. It wasn't the saw that got him, it was the rebar (huge steel bars used when pouring concrete). He had just finished cutting the metal and had put that saw away. He then decided he could lift the 300lb slab of concrete by himself.

That's when he felt the heat and looked down.

The rebar sliced his leg (thankfully in the fatty tissue) open and his first thought was 'wtf?' followed by 'that's gonna need more than a band-aid'.

It was hours later that I finally took a look at the wound and it was very nasty. Four inches long, splayed open and about 3/4 of an inch deep. *shudder*

We were sent to an older hospital and tended by a surgical resident. An artery was slightly cut and needed an interior stitch. Then two more interior stitches to help close the wound. Finished up with 13 stitches.

Thing is, these stitches look so different and scary that I felt a little ill when I saw the finished result. You know baseball stitches? That's was Bob's leg looks like. Also, it's raised about 1/4 inch - it's a special way that the resident felt would help the scar fall down after the stitches came out.

Yetch.

Anyone want to see pictures? I'll take them when we clean it up tomorrow. Clean and dry for the next 24 hours.

Being Canada, there is always a wait and I always have a book.

Just so happens it's the book I won at Book Binge.

Jessica Andersen's Night Keepers and wow! The opening was intense and I can't wait to find out what's going on. But the stitches were finished and getting Bob home and cozy was the only thing on my mind.

Irony is the poor guy can't go swimming until the stitches are out.

14 days and counting.

Now if you'll excuse me, sleep is now very much needed.

The 'Oh Noes'!!

My Dad is flying back home today from Malaysia.

YAH!!

He's only home for a week.

BOO!!

At least I bought him a nice BBQ for Father's Day.

YAH!!

One re-trip to Rona and I still don't have all the parts for the BBQ and we think the lid is wrong.

BOO!!

The BBQ is sitting prominently in the kitchen sure to be the first thing he sees and I'm sure there is nothing like a 16 hour flight followed by an hour taxi ride home to find a partially assembled BBQ mocking you.

Wanna BBQ? Can't have it.

Lookit that, we have a BOOOO!!!

I've been up since 3am.

Uhm.

It's now 3:30pm and it's all I can do to keep my eyes open.

Uh, wh-

So in the end, I care about nothing except the fact that I need to lay my head on down.

Template remains the same.

Reading same.

TV boring.

But I got out this morning and saw my Mom, my brother and my best friend.

Now if only I can stay up until Bob gets home!

That's all.

Uh, NO!!

There is no way I can keep this template as I can't read the friggin' font!!

Pyzam I guess only works if you upgrade to the widget type blogger and OMG what a royal FUBAR that stuff is. I have no clue how to read the stupid HTML it gives you and I can only seem to change the size of the columns! Everything else is done by widgets.

NIGHTMARE!!

I couldn't leave the plain one up after deleting the last one and my fav. designer of templates has left the building (or is trying to find a new home).

So yeah.

Crying with me might make me feel better.

EDITED: AND I'VE LOST ALL MY BLOG BUDDY LINKS!!!

C-Rex roars to life.

EDITED: Phew - there was a button where I could revert back to my classic template. Basically I hate the widget stuff - I know how to manipulate this template and woohoo - my buddy blogs are back. Off to relax and visit with others cause this was BAD!!

Bad Way To Wake Up

I woke up so miserable this past evening that I burst into tears.

Oh, delightful.

Gotta hand it to my hubby though. Got me moving and out of the house for an hour before all the stores closed and then fed me.

Why miserable? It's raining. Which normally I'm all good with but it's also spring and the windows are open so I felt like I had slept in soup the whole time. I woke up saturated and upset that Cody hadn't even got up to eat yet (he normally gets up like clockwork for food). Cody can't handle humidity and boy, it was a friggin fog land I woke up to. So I was stressed about him.

Then I knew I was out of sleeping pills and needed to get my prescription over to my pharmacist only I read the sheet and I can't see where the sleeping pills are. Yep. I have no script for my sleeping pills. Talk about having a panic attack.

Bob brought up the dehumidifier and put it outside our bedroom door. I ended up crawling back into bed when Bob went to sleep and didn't crawl out again for 5 hours. Obviously, sleep is a necessity for me to stay even keeled.

The forcast is dire over the next week. The pool isn't close to finished and the weekend has temperatures that are feeling like over 30 degrees Celcius. That is so not going to fly for me. Grumpy probably won't cover my range of emotions.

Next?

Letter from WW Canada Online:

Dear Cindy,

Thank you for contacting WeightWatchers.ca.

Please be advised that the pricing of the Weight Watchers® Internet products sold in Canada has not changed. The cost of Weight Watchers Online in Canada is C$61.90 for the 1 month plan and C$84.95 for the 3 month plan (with each additional month at C$21.95). The cost of Weight Watchers eTools in Canada is C$39.95 for the first three months and C$17.95 for each additional month.

Due to changes in exchange rates the conversion of Canadian dollars to U.S. dollars will fluctuate over time, but this has no impact on the rates that we continue to offer on WeightWatchers.ca.

I won't sign the poor person's name because no one needs that kind of hate mail.

Basically a big 'Bite Us' . Bob told me to e-mail back with a Thanks, I'll be at Jenny Craig. Meh. I'm beginning to think that when I go to try and join the American one they'll know I'm Canadian and kick my butt out. We'll see. I'm going to sign up for their 7 day free trial. Where? On the US site cause Lord knows us Canadians can't get a deal.

(And why when I've made the decision it's time to stop playing around and get back at it am I constantly starving and shoving food in my mouth. It's like my brain has signaled the body that food is about to become scarce so it's driving me to eat everything in sight. Yetch)

Okay, enough with that.

Oh! Did want to mention to anyone who has seen the movie Sicko (and I'm sure I ranted about it before) we (Canadians) do not have free health care. Nope. We pay taxes. I'm very happy with our healthcare, I make no bones about it but if the guy from Sicko said 'free' one more time I was going to do my own movie that says 'Yo, not free numbnuts.'

Or, you know, something witty.

For those who follow LOST I was wondering why Jeremy Bentham sounded familiar and went to look it up. Found LOST wiki and started to read about John Locke. A question was asked and the answer the writers gave made me realize I have no clue what is going on on that island. I mean, I thought I had some valid theories but I can't figure out what they were getting at. Since I don't like spoilers and such I don't go on the LOST forums and reading how the writers responded made me realize I had been missing a few things. Or a million.

Will have to pay closer attention when the new season begins.

Finally I've been trying to find a new template for the blog. So far the one I'm working with hates me and my code so I may have to just move on and put up something for the sheer sake of not looking at snowflakes!

So things will look wonky for a bit.

Like me.

A Look in the Old Noggin'

Strap in, I'm thinking it's going to be a doozy!

First, I finally e-mailed Weight Watchers Canada Online because they are charging 20 bucks more for their program than their American counterpart. I can't wait for the response and it better not be filled with a bunch of crap about costs not being even. I don't care. It's online and the dollar is basically even so man up and give me a discount.

Why did I finally (and seriously I've been yakking about it for a while) e-mail them? I got on the scale and discovered I had gained a pound. I know, it's just a pound but there are 14 more fuckers waiting to pile in with it and it ain't happening! So back on a diet. I still have a battalion of weight to lose but I've decided maybe doing it 5 lbs at a time is fine. My first 5 lb loss just about killed me. It doesn't want to leave without a huge offensive. Soooo -

I started by going to the grocery store. Yep. I made some homemade burgers (not as much heading out for dinner with that side of fries if there is food in the house), got some chicken and I'm stocked with water. Now I just have to make it happen.

Pictures?

Sure I have pictures! I was beginning to think you weren't going to ask.

Here's a preview of the almost finished pool. I'll do up a before and after picture collage when it's all done but thought I would share the blue that is the pool. The paint has cured and now it's tile time. Course, rain has been in the forecast for every second of the past week. Has it rained? Nope. I swear the weather people are just as clueless as the rest of us. I'm starting to think they are just looking out their windows or, and I'm leaning more in this direction, if they call for crappy weather and it's gorgeous who's going to get mad at them? ME! I can't tile the friggin pool with rain in the forecast!!

Irony?

Yep, one order coming up!

I'm typing this while listening to the distant thunder as a storm is about to finally roll in.

With the threat of rain Bob can't tile as we need 24 hours dry time for the cement and stuff. So the pool is 1/4 of the way done and Bob's plan is to have the pool filled and ready by Monday of next week. I had the audacity of moving one of those little tiny tiles by a millimeter and got hollered at in a hackneyed French accent.

"I am an ar-tea-st!!"

So yeah, not going to be helping and thus, at his mercy.

Ugh.

Dangnabbit!

Just figured out the camera and computer didn't communicate nicely and I don't have the Cody picture downloaded.

Yeah, yeah. You've seen him before. Got it.

Ah yes! A booklet showed up in the mail and I never read junk mail cause it burns my butt that I have to slog through this stuff just to get my bills out.

But, something caught my eye.

A full-page add for a hypno-therapy clinic where they are offering 50% off sessions.

I don't know about you but I feel like a window just opened. I wish they would put their prices up on the website. Then I would know if I was even close to going.

Finally, I've decided my brain can't relax.

Okay, so you probably figured that out ages ago but I keep telling myself how next week things will calm down and I'll have plenty of time to read and relax.

Yeah. I'm thinking hypno-therapy has to be in the equation.

My blind kitty is trying to get to the window behind me because she can smell the rain. Okay I have to go and knock on the window sill so she can figure out where it is.

More mind bending thoughts to come tonight.

I heard that.

Book Shopping!

I'm a glutton for punishment obviously.

I've read *glances at sidebar* yeah, that many books since January but Mama needed new books!

First three books are re-prints that for some reason I haven't seen or heard about.



I'm pretty sure I've read The Prince of Midnight but I only remember bits and pieces and it may be that I'm not remembering the right book. I haven't read Seize the Fire or Midsummer Moon. At least, I don't recall ever reading them.

These books were released in - Hey! It shows they aren't supposed to be released until October 2008. Huh. Chapters online shows them as Not Yet Published (I bought them at Chapters) and Amazon has stock but shows the release date as Oct 08 also.

So maybe I've brought some good news to Kinsale fans.

And then I bought:

I haven't read last month's release yet but I have that one in the TBR pile also. The great news is I have a boat load of great books to read when I get my mojo back!

I was over at JMC's and she didn't finish A Hunger Like No Other (which many of us who loved it totally understand). It still remains my favourite book of the series so I'm hoping these last two blow that book out of the water for me. I need something to grab on and not let go!

And of course.

Lover Enshrined. Just so happened Bob and I had to go to Burlington (20 minute highway drive) and hey, I knew the store there had 24 in stock so getting him to stop in was no hardship.

I'm not saying this book is going to be a keeper but thanks to two great reviews by Katie(babs) at Ramblings on Romance and Christine at The Happily Ever After... I couldn't let the series go. The good news is that they both made it clear this book isn't a romance. (Okay, that is totally my interpretation but I need to keep this mantra in my brain to read the book for what it is and not get grumpy because it's scant on romance.)

They gave me enough of a taste of characters like Rhev that I'm willing to slog through the book and pray I come out eager for the next installment. Although I hear it's a year before the next one comes out.

That there would be the silver lining of reading slumps - authors catch up.

For the Canadians out there this weekend you get 20% off your purchases - Nath reported on this already so head on over there for the details as I'm usually wrong about stuff. I was told by the staff that although I bought my books yesterday (Friday) I can bring my receipt in today (Saturday) and they will give me the discount. Since I wasn't leaving without my new pretties I accepted the promise of reimbursement. We'll see if I get that far.

It's 9:45am and I'm still up. I mean, my eyes are open. I'm not overly tired or anything. Just lethargic.

I woke Bob at 6am to take me to breakfast. There is a new restaurant called Cora's here and they opened at 6. Poor guy couldn't believe I was waking him up. Hey, I was lonely and hungry. The food wasn't so great. I learned I don't like crepes. It cost us 35 bucks including the tip so we won't be doing that again soon. I guess it's for people who enjoy fruit with their breakfast. I'm a meat and potatoes girl and fresh strawberry crepes with dollops of whip cream just didn't cut it.

Here, this was our breakfast:

Bob got the french toast while I was more adventuresome. I should mention I hate maple syrup so what you see is what I ate. I told Bob it was missing something but I couldn't figure it out. Bob commented that he was going to have to lock the camera up but hey, I've discovered some of my blog buddies are foodies, so I'm sharing!



Get this, Bob is sleeping in his chair.

I tell ya. All I hear is how you daywalkers are all get up and go but now that I'm here to witness it I have discovered napping is a daywalker trait also!

This is the last time I feel guilty for napping!

All right, if you made it this far you are extremely bored. Go rent a movie or bug someone you love and if that doesn't work, I say take a nap!

Too Funny

I just figured out that June is like, almost now and that Lover Enshrined by Ward might be out in bookstores.

So I went to Chapters website where you can check stock in a 50 km radius of where you live. Every single store has 24 copies except for the store 2 minutes from me! I actually laughed when I saw the results. Tells you how tired I am. I get loopy when I'm tired.

Thankfully C-Rex is still sleeping and can't harm anyone right now.

But then my closet fear is that I'll start Lover Enshrined and end up not finishing it. I swear if that happens I'm not picking up another book for a year. At least in the last hellish slump I still read auto buy authors. This slump is a whole other kind of evil.

My brain is just on overdrive lately so I can't seem to relax. Course if you could see the room I'm sitting in your neat freak side would birth up canaries.

Bob has killed my neat freak side.

Hell, you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

All That Jazz

For the record.

I miss the hell out of reading!

Tonight I was finishing up the AAR ballots for a current mini-poll and wishing that I was reading the over 200 titles that had come up in the polling process. Course, there are just as many titles that come up that I have read so I try and console myself with that thought.

Also, in case you are wondering, I'm saving my Anne Stuart book because I don't know what will be coming out next by her. When she was writing the series I knew another book would be coming out in 6 months. Now that the series is over I don't know when her next book will come out and she seems to keep her next release days close to the chest.

So I'm holding the book just a little too hard and trying to decide what kind of glass I need to make it's emergency case.

How's your reading going? Anything bright, shiny and new?

Amber and I Taking a Break

Shhhhhhh.

C-Rex and Amber are sleeping.

Sunday Update

Bob's a prince but then, you all knew that anyways.

Bob got up this morning and finished painting the pool. I had so many pain meds, sleeping meds, anxiety meds in me that sleeping was not happening when I needed it to. So of course, I was sound asleep when painting time came.

Ah well, I made up for it by taking Cody for a walk (he's been in a very bossy mood this past week and we thought maybe he needed some exercise. He didn't make it to the top of the street before wanting to turn back) and cutting the back yard. The front yard is such a disgrace I didn't bother. I need to get some dirt and rake it around and then seed the sonofabitch like it's the only patch of grass on the planet. Terrible.

I'm too tired to do it now and my back is sore (I guess I will always have back pain once a month now - that is just not fun!)

Here's the pretty part of the job. We're trying to figure out if we can get the tile up tomorrow or the next day. If not we're probably going to wait until sometime in late summer. At least the pool will look clean now.

Doing any kind of outdoor reno is like those warnings you hear about medications.

Don't tile if it's below 10 degrees or above 35 degrees, don't tile if it's going to rain any time in the next 365 days, don't tile in direct or indirect sunlight and keep the area dust free.

Yeah.

So August 14th at 11:34am for one hour is about the window of opportunity for staining, painting, tiling, bricking -

You get the picture.

Bob's off tomorrow and Tuesday yet. After that, the tile has to wait.

So far, hail is in the forecast for tomorrow and it's MAY!!!

Saturday Update

The white whale is now Big Blue. It's only the first coat but what a difference! I have pictures but they are on the other computer downstairs (of course).

The paint fumes alone should have had Bob and I higher than kites but we managed.

Then we picked my Mom up and went to the Christie Antique Show. It's held twice a year and is supposed to be one of the biggest in the area. It was much smaller than I remembered but we figured with gas prices where they are, those with smaller items to sell probably wouldn't bother with the trip.

We were looking for a piece to work as a kitchen island but I'm starting to think I should have one made. Even still, it was a great walk around with lots of fresh air and my Mom has now seen an antique show. She wasn't all that impressed and since there were many items that recalled her childhood she decided she was an antique also. Ah well, my mom likes new things (as do I) but I've seen interesting things done with salvage pieces. I think Bob was looking for something that could be purchased and put in place without any work. I was more realistic but until Bob sees the light I guess I'll be looking at some seriously wonky things.

After that we dropped Mom off and went to pick up the glass tiles.

Phew!

Nap time!

Got up and made up some dinner and then we watched some TV.

I then made the mistake of going to Tim Hortons and buying two chocolate donuts. Bad Cindy.

And I'm still hungry. Super Bad Cindy.

Ah well, soon to bed and up again to do more painting.

Pictures later.

Book Pimpage!! Jessica Andersen and Book Binge

Just in case, I wouldn't post something about a book that I don't plan to purchase myself.

After reading Jessica Andersen's interview and then Holly's review of this book I know I have to try the series. My only fear is that I can completely freak myself out with 'end of the world' stuff. May 6/2000 or 2001 - was my wedding anniversay but also the day that was to be the end of the world (learned about it in like '97 while watching an A&E documentary). I had nightmares about once every 3 months that it was 'the day' and how I couldn't get to Bob. Crazy stuff my brain throws at me.

All the same, tortured heroes and strong heroines? Colour me interested!

Just don't expect a review as I have about 5 books I need to read before it! And this was totally the way I discovered my auto-buy author Nalini Singh so yeah, I'm ready to purchase this one the minute it comes out.

So from Book Binge I give you the contest information:

To celebrate Jessica Andersen's interview today, we're going to giveaway two copies of her upcoming paranormal release, Nightkeepers.

Entering is simple. All you have to do is post about Nightkeepers and this contest on your website, encouraging your readers to do the same. Then come back and leave the link to your post in the comments section here.

The contest will end Friday, May 29th at 12:00 p.m. PST. So be sure to enter before then. The winners will be announced Saturday, May 30th and your prize will be shipped out on Wednesday, June 3rd.

As a Miami narcotics detective, Leah Daniels never knows how her day will turn out. But she certainly never expected to be strapped to a stone altar, the human sacrifice in an ancient Mayan ritual meant to coax up a demon from the underworld. Or that she’d be saved by a handsome warrior-priest king who claims to recognize her from his visions...

Jaguar Strike wishes he hadn’t made the mistake of reuniting his fellow warrior priests, or broken the law by saving their chosen human sacrifice. Now, he has no choice but to join forces with Leah and invoke dangerous magic in a death-defying race against the end of time.

Don't delay, enter now for your chance to win!!

I'm on my laptop and can't get the cursor to move where I need it to, so, go here for the contest, here for the interview and here for Holly's review.

This Weekend

By Wednesday of next week my brain block should be completely removed (squeeeee!!). Well, until I think of something else that needs to be done.

Here's my white whale:

30 year old concrete pool in our backyard. Bob opened the thing on May 6th and the minute I saw all the dirt and stuff I told him to empty it. The water there in the deep end is from the power washing we've done but we need the pump to be primed to get that out. That will happen tomorrow sometime.

So I've been waiting not so patiently for 3 weeks to paint the pool a turquoise colour AND then tile just the top foot with multi-colour glass tiles. (in the picture you can see it's grimier on the upper part of the walls. I think that's just from the enviroment. Think of those white plastic lawn chairs and how they would get all gucky. That's what it's like with this stuff.

With my brain I've mentally painted and tiled this pool about a thousand times so I'm ever so grateful the weather will be warm enough for us to get this big job out of the way.

Oh, this is a picture of the ladder in the shallow end that needed to be tied because my first day going in and then climbing out the damn thing fell in and about killed me. I landed on the cement edge there with my right wrist but I must have strong bones cause it only twinges now and again when I was sure my hundred and *mumble* pound body should have snapped it in two.

Ah, well, here's hoping Accident Prone Cindy doesn't show up this weekend.

And finally, Bob is taking Monday and Tuesday off from work. So I know I have four days of movement and activity going on. That is enough to have my anxiety ratchet up a notch but then my dear sweet cousin called and she has tomorrow off work so we're meeting here at 1pm to go shopping.

Yep. 1pm.

That would be your 2am.

I won't be taking any sleeping pills today so I might just end up laying down and drifting for a few hours but I think once I'm up and showered I'll be my perky self. For about 4 hours. After that, no guarantees.

So for the next five days I'm going to be up and about in Southern Ontario.

You have been warned.

Amber Getting Around

I'll try and take a better video of Amber getting around but here she is finding her way down from her food dish and then down the basement stairs. How cute is she!!

And yes, you can hear Bob in the back ground with the saw running ;)




Edited to Add:

Better lighting to see how Amber finds those pesky stairs. Notice Emma watching and probably wondering what the hell is going on. My ugly kitchen floors and wonderful plywood floors in the hallway are also highlighted and yep, that's Cody poking his head out as Amber makes her way towards the door.

I was told by the vet that animals adjust much better to going blind than losing their sense of smell. Once the sense of smell is gone, it's much harder for the animal to cope.

Tiny Tidbits

1. I loaned my digital camera to my brother on the weekend and I had no idea I would miss it like I do. I've had about 12 instances that I wanted my camera for. I never do anything with the pictures but for some reason I need that damn camera!

2. Amber, our beautiful orange kitty who is now 15 years old (did the math the other day and just about fell over) is completely blind. She sat in a chair for about three weeks but I thought she was just depressed about something. I think it was Bob who noticed her walking into walls. I took her to the vet and her eyes work but she sees nothing. Poor baby. So now we carry her up to bed at night (she always crawls in with us but had stopped probably because she couldn't find the bed), call to her if we see her struggling to get somewhere and tap on stairs to help her figure out elevations. It's now about three weeks since we found out and she's taken the house by storm. No longer afraid to go up and down stairs and growls at us when it's clear she wants to figure out something on her own. (seriously, she got annoyed with me when I tapped on the stairs near her food dish to let her know where they were. Nope, she wanted to reach down with her toes stretched out until she could find the step herself.)

3. Cody is still kicking ass and taking names. His back legs aren't as quick to follow his lead so I think the tumour is progressing. Biscuits seem to be manna from Heaven.

4. I have to take long haired Emma to the vet and have her shaved down in a lion cut. I'm sure the litter box will be sparkling clean for a week while she demonstrates her displeasure. Edited: I wussed out and am now shaving her myself in sections (they were going to put her under for the shaving and at her age I wasn't loving the idea). Bob has promised to help. Sorry, but 300 bucks for a lion cut was not burning a hole in my pocket. She just gets so feisty and the clippers don't go through her hair easily. Ah, well. I did shave her belly the other night by myself. She fought me but the next morning it was like I was catnip to her. I guess she went to clean herself and realized she could actually contact her skin.

5. I'm wondering if hypnotherapy would work for me. Yep. I watched Oprah but I don't think I'm easily susceptible to hypnosis. Still, being panic free forever would be worth trying.

And We're NOT Off!

Okay, for those of you not in the know, up here in Can-eh-da we have a long weekend in May that we (and maybe it's just us Ontarians) call the May Two Four weekend.

And just in case, (cause I'm no beer drinker) beer is packed in 24 - so the long weekend is kind of synonymous with partying and camping and well, stuff that makes most mothers curl in a ball and pray for it all to be over and that all their kids get home safe.

For me, it's more about the start of summer and pool season and maybe some gardening.

Right, you've met me.

For Bob it's about gardening. I'm way too lazy and have killed too many beautiful green things to pass as a gardener.

Two Four also coincidentally refers to the date the weekend falls on.

*okay, I should know why we have a holiday in May - somebody's birthday I'm sure but really, when you were a kid you didn't care cause Dude, long weekend and now that I'm an adult, well, Dude it's a long weekend.*

Why am I regaling you with this wonderful knowledge?

This weekend turns out to be the May Two Four long weekend. I've known it's this weekend for some time now and I have planned the painting and tiling of the pool accordingly and trust me, it's a harrowing job! Tonight I was beside myself because it was calling for rain for the next week and then the temperatures at night are below 10 degrees celcius which means the pool can't be worked on. No painting, no tiling AND futhermore, we have to wait 7 days after painting the pool to fill it again. (Curing process or whatever). How in the world would we get this pool done by June!!

Have you done the math?

Yeah.

Bob got me to settle down when he realized I had no clue that May Two Four weekend was actually a week earlier this year.

You know, May One Seven.

I swear the world is out to kill me.

So I don't get to paint the pool or put pretty tile up until possibly next weekend which actually falls on May 24th (thank God!) and then I'll have to wait 7 more days to fill the darn thing.

I mean really.

Killin' me.

When the Cat is Gone -

Bob has to go away for business from Wednesday to Friday (late) or Saturday.

I know.

I'm wondering what kind of damage I can do while he's gone too!

Well, there is the pool thing. The old paint is peeling in places and needs to be scraped off. I might start that later today. And I mean later cause I'm writing this before heading to bed. Then the pool needs to be power washed with TSP cause I want to do this right. Huh. That might cut into paint time on Thursday (Wednesday is calling for rain and I'm not going to be out cleaning the pool while it pours on me - okay, I need to think positive thoughts and maybe it will only rain for a few hours and then WOOHOO the sun. There, all better) And then I will paint.

Unless I stumble upon that one thing that makes my head explode.

Then it will still be here waiting for Bob.

The other evil plan of mine is to tear up the remaining carpet in the house. I'm not entirely convinced that Emma isn't showing her mean side when I'm not home and then there is the stuff from Cody's wound. Basically, the stuff needs to leave. I have to leave the carpet on the stairs so Cody can get up and down without falling but other than that, it's outta here! At least I know that there is hardwood under the carpet.

Not like my hubby who tore up perfectly good hardwood in the hallway and left me with plywood.

Right. Already mentioned that.

Also, because Bob will have the work computer with him I won't be working the next three nights. Look out blog world here I come!

You'll probably see more of me because I will need many breaks. Being lazy does have a price - huffing and puffing while doing basic stuff. Ugh.

Finally, on the reading front, I really just want to bust out my Anne Stuart but I don't want to reward myself for nothing. I have a book half read, a book that I didn't finish and a few others that I have glanced through.

The only good news about a slump is that I have more time to kill - uh, I mean, do chores and other such rot.

Yeah. You know, accomplish stuff.

Or in my case, fail miserably with a half torn up carpet, a pool that is only half scraped, maybe TSP'd and not a stitch of paint to be found.

Bad Cindy.

Over Stimulated

If only is a good way.

The past few weeks have been so busy and yet, I'm behind in everything!

The biggest thing on my plate now is the pool. Bob opened it on Tuesday (we celebrated 13 years married!) and I took one look and said 'drain it'. Bob was thrilled. I've fought draining the pool and doing work on it because I hate losing swimming time but OMG, it's a disgrace!

I'll take before and after pictures of it as we go. Basically it's a huge ass concrete pool that is 30 years old and painted white. The white shows everything and the top portion of the pool has a grey hue as it's exposed to the elements. So it looks filthy and tardy.

We've drained it, we'll power wash and prep the surface and paint the pool blue. Tonight we went to look at glass tiles (similar to picture) to put around the top edge of the pool. It will be fairly easy to do but it's expensive. I just want the pool to look as welcoming as our old pool used to. I was just glad we had a pool when we moved in but now it's time to work on it.

So I have to keep Bob on target as I want the pool open again by the first weekend in June. Bob has so many projects on the go that I have given up even trying to keep the house clean. Not a good idea but even when I clean the room has no baseboard or maybe no carpet or cabinets have been ripped out and now the flooring is wrong. OH! He tore up perfectly good flooring in our downstairs hall because he didn't like it. So now our hallway is just plain plywood and uh, you need money to put new stuff down! So even when I clean I don't feel like I've accomplished anything.

I've never been embarrassed to have people in my home but I can honestly say that I think most of our friends would be shocked at the state of our house and I'm now officially embarrassed. There isn't a room in the house that is up to snuff or finished!

Then I have a dog with an open wound that's oozing constantly which means carpet (that will be torn up eventually) is covered in blood spots or something. Even animal lovers are having a hard time looking at Cody which might be a sign and yet, that puppy will run around the back yard like his tail is on fire. Crazy dog. I'm thinking he'll outlast me at this point.

Also, the past few weeks have ratcheted up my anxiety to where I have started to notice I'm not breathing properly. Huge problem when you have anxiety. I now catch myself hourly holding my breath or breathing way too shallow. The holding my breath thing is crazy and I've only started to notice it again recently. Normally I only do that when I'm in pain but the past two weeks I've been holding my breath like I'm waiting for the final shoe to drop. Weird. But obviously I need to do some retraining of the brain and start my breathing exercises again. (I'm naturally a chest breather - short and shallow breathing doesn't regulate the oxygen supply well enough. Have to breath into the stomach to keep centered and all that. May sound hokey but it works like gangbusters and that's what is important)

Stupid brain.

The book I am currently reading and quite enjoying is If You Dare by Kresley Cole. The book started with the horrid 'I hate you' type of relationship but it's starting to change. I'm interested in seeing where Cole will take it as I enjoyed her first two paranormals. I have the other two in the TBR pile.

My only problem is I'm having a heck of a time finding time to read. I'm hoping after this weekend (which is jam packed with way too much action) things will calm back down and I'll get a week to myself where all I have to worry about is sleep, food and reading.

Okay, some cleaning also.