Flying Monkeys and Karma

Remember the books I ordered from Amazon.ca a few weeks back?

Remember I did so because I had a gift card from Amazon?

Uh, yeah. I used the wrong account when I bought the books and uh, it was not a small amount of money I used.

I'm almost afraid to do anything with Amazon at the moment because my brain doesn't seem to function properly when I'm at the site. And I'm keenly aware of having more than one account because I've made a similar mistake in the past.

How did I get 2 accounts at Amazon?

Probably forgot a password and then opened another account and voila, I have 2 accounts. One has the GC and one didn't.

Now, I know why I screwed up because seriously, I could see that the GC was being applied to the order.

Thing is, I have Air Miles.

I know, I don't fly and don't plan to, like, ever but you can get a ton of stuff with Air Miles, one of which is grocery money and hey, free food is a great thing if you have a grand dinner to do up. We usually save the money for Christmas time because who isn't broke over Christmas but we held on this year and we'll use it the next time we host something.

Like seriously, I can get about 180 bucks in grocery money in one year for doing nothing other than carry a card around with me.

Anyways, I filled up my cart and remembered that I needed to log in through airmiles.ca to get my miles. So yeah, I had to go to airmiles.ca to put in my account number which of course, I don't know by heart so I had to get off my duff and find my purse, thumb through all my cards (don't ask) and then click on the Amazon site to get back to where I was.

Here's the rub. If I logged in to the other account how did I still have stuff in my cart?

Now see, that's confusing. Should have been a red flag for me or something.

So that last order, where I ordered 3 books I already owned, returned them sucking 10 bucks off my refund for shipping because it was my fault AND now having a charge on my Credit Card that I wasn't expecting. Well, that's feeling a little like Karma kicking my ass about something.

Now, you might suggest I walk it off and normally I would agree.

But, uh, I pre-ordered 3 very important books that I can't have Flying Monkeys or Karma messing around with.

So I'm a wee bit worried about the 4th shoe but I keep reminding myself that bad things happen in 3's.

Which means I've reset the clock to have another 3 Bad Things!!!

Off to breathe in a bag.

Lazy Sunday

It's a lazy Sunday afternoon here.

<--- Twilight sleeping face down on Bob's legs - definition of lazy day!

I've been up since 7am and went out to breakfast with Bob - much to his delight. (I'm usually awake when Bob has to get up for work and almost every other day lately he's yelled out from the bed 'wanna go to breakfast?' - and my reply is 'uh, no, I'm going to bed!'). So he was thrilled when I woke up beside him and said 'wanna go to breakfast?'.

It's almost 4pm now and I can safely say I'm bored. And funny enough, Bob's been napping for 2 hours. My joke is that when I'm awake Bob has to sleep to fuel me and when he's up, I have to be asleep to fuel him.

I haven't been feeling great this past week. I'm thinking a lack of organization with my anxiety pills has caused some bad reactions causing me to fall into a depression. Either that or the SAD has hit me early this year.

Also, it is very cold outside right now. Today it's minus 16 centigrade. Which is bloody cold. We were going to see if my parents were around to play a game but they weren't so Bob fell asleep and I'm just playing away for a bit. Add a series finale that set me off on a crying jag and a few other movies that seemed to hit my 'sad' button and I was a wreck yesterday. Poor Bob.

All that said, life is about to get busy.

Next weekend is Gorgeous Cousin's baby shower and then the weekend after that is former BF 50th B-day party and on that Monday I believe my Gorgeous Cousin will be giving birth. (Being a high risk pregnancy, they will probably have to do a C-Section because the risk of still birth is extremely high in the last 2 weeks of pregnancy - so they go in early to take the baby out).

And then I imagine I'll be all about the baby. You know, till it can walk, then they can have the babe back!

On a completely unrelated note but kind of similar AAR's Annual Reader Poll for 2010 will begin tomorrow. So for the next 2 weeks I'll also be busy counting the ballots and then another week doing up the finals and stuff.

So maybe I should be grateful for this lazy Sunday and just relax into it and enjoy. Cause really, how many of these do I normally get?

Normal? Really?

I swear, just as I get a handle on how much of a mad house we live in, the hubby shows me what it's really like.

Yep, he must have heard me rambling last night in his sleep and his sub-conscious woke him up and forced him to get a move on.

The Beginnings of Normalcy:

Caveat: The floor is not yet nailed down, so he will have to move the furniture all again - although probably not right out of the room but I did have a WTF moment when B-Rex was huffing about needing to get the bed moved back into the master bedroom. And in case I didn't know, I was told 'he worked his bag off' today. Classy. Which is why I know B-Rex was imminent and it was time to be the doting wife.

See, I can be a team player.

Reno Hell? Nothing like mine!

I just caught the tail end of some show where a newly married couple get to buy a house and then have a decorator and builder guy renovate the entire thing. Sure, they have a budget but I'm thinking they have landed a plum gig.

Until I hear the words 'I'm not sure how we'll live her and renovate at the same time - that would be reno hell'.

Uh, you people don't know what reno hell is.

Exhibit A: I watched the video and started laughing before the baseboard segment because it was like 'oh, oh, I can show you something!!'




Bob's trying to wait me out with the grout on the wall - he believes I will eventually see the light and realize he was right all along. Uh, no.

And then Exhibit B: Please note I was out of breath a bit in this video as I ran up the stairs (okay, not sure that's true) and I was rushing because I was getting the 'battery is going to blow' any second sign. So not as much lingering.



I didn't get to the master bathroom which is literally studs and a shower pan (which we will tile) and a working toilet. That dresser you see in the master bedroom under the TV is going to be my custom made vanity for the bathroom. I'll be sure to take some reno shots.

And as to cleanliness in our house? I washed our floors about a month ago (I'm talking on my hands and knees) and the next day - THE NEXT DAY! - Bob walked through with muddy boots. When I did my theatrical gasp - this means very loud noise that makes Bob jump and say 'what, what happened' - he told me he'd clean it up no worries. I purposely did not go near the kitchen cabinets as the kick have dirt all over them.

So I'm a bit of a slouch when it comes to cleaning right now.

And C2 - I thought you idea of a dust colour was spot on. The paint colour is call something clay. For me, if they weren't going to be white, they sure as hell weren't going to be dirty white. So instead, a gray/taupe.

I'll take more pics and stuff as I go.

Oh, and this will be why I won't be around much this week. That library is getting it's paint job lickety-split!

Books!! *cough*

First, the background may change daily at this point. At the wicked age of 40 I now find all those things I loved burning holes into my retinas and that orange fun was hurting. So I go to pick another background and oooops, it's still orange and bossy. But obviously orange is on the brain so we'll see if it lasts more than a day.

Let's talk about the books I have ordered!!

Uh oh. Uh, something is not right here. I already have the cover images downloaded which means....I've probably already bought these books!!! ZOMG!!

Okay, maybe, just maybe I was planning this post and pre-loaded the cover art. I mean, that's what normal people might do...but I'm so not normal and the idea that I would be that organized is laughable.

BAH.

HA.

HA.

Yeah, that's my sarcastic laugh that means I'm a total nut job and I'm about to find out what Amazon Canada's return policy is like.

Shit!

Oh, but about the books.

I really want to read them. So bad, I've probably managed to order 2 sets now.

*shake it off*

ZOMG!!!

Which means I also have the other book I ordered!!

How in the world!?

Gah!

I knew there was something wrong. I knew it, but did I listen to that little voice in the back of my brain. Of course not because it's normally a wack a do!

I need chocolate.

Bloody hell.

See, I pre-load my cart with books I want to buy. Only I normally buy from Chapters but I got an Amazon gift certificate and now I realize I didn't empty the cart, thinking it was a wishlist instead of realizing that a few months ago I probably ordered the books from Chapters.

I said Bloody Hell already, right.

So that's three books that are going back.

*mental shake*

Okay, we can save this.

Surrender to An Irish Warrior - this book was reviewed by Super Librarian Wendy who also put it on her top 10 for 2010 and it's dark. Like super dark and I like dark so I just had to order the book.

Now, I don't really like people on covers but this guy is wicked hot. Clean shaven with just enough muscle.

*cough*

That was more about me than the book.

Moving on!



The Iron Duke by Meljean Brook

People are having kittens over this book and I have to see what it's all about. Made jmc's top 10 list (maybe it was more) for 2010 and I haven't heard one bad word against it so I'm in.

If someone here has read this book and it's more Urban Fantasy than romance please do let me know. I can deal, I just need to know going in.

Which means I haven't read the reviews because I knew I was going to buy this book. Again, the way my brain works is ...

terrifying.

And finally Scoundrel's Kiss by Carrie Lofty. Another Super Librarian pick that sounded just quirky enough to have me sit up and notice.

Thing is, we've talked about how I need to branch my reading out and that's what I'm trying to do with this pick. I need new 'auto-buy' authors so I'm out to try a whole new pack of peeps.

We'll see how long that lasts.

And with this order I pre-ordered 3 books. I'm not sure why I did it but I thought, why not, give it a try.

Raziel by Kristina Douglas
Dreams of a Dark Warrior by Kresley Cole (auto-buy author)
Kiss of Snow by Nalini Singh (super squeeeee) it's Hawke's book and I can't wait but it's not out until the last day of May.

All right, off to see if I really do own those 3 books I talked about earlier.

Nobody mention this to Bob.

Debris

I wanted something way out there as a background. I mean, if I think cream is ucky then the last backdrop was just wrong. But it had a bed in it and I'm so a bed person. Ah well, sunshiny orange and yellow and flirty circles are fun and I want fun.

I have started back on the treadmill - I'm doing 1/2 hour walks and I know I can do better but my stress gut is giving me the gears and at about the 25 minute mark it lets it be known that I need to take a break. Gut trumps everything so yeah, it's winning. I'm hopeful that with more walking the gut will also relax.

A subtle cream for the bookcases has been ruled out. I went to the dreaded home depot and picked out some colours that all looked great in the store and on the chips. On the bookcases, wall and trim it all looks the same. No contrast and I'm a contrast kind of woman. That said, I think the bookcases can be a subtle gray that I picked tonight for the wall. So now a dramatic wall color might be needed. Or the entire room will be the subtle gray - but Bob also loves contrast so I see him putting up a fuss.

The man needs a job.

Just saying. I'm worried that he's kind of looking for himself and everything he's thrown out as possible things to do has me wondering if there isn't a scary Hippy side to Bob. That said, I figure the first month he has no money to do anything and I mean, not even buy a nail kind of anything, he'll screw his head back on. Or I'll screw it back on. Might be I need to figure out what I want to do when I grow up. Yikes!

My kitty Pixie doesn't seem to like me anymore. I'm not sure what's up there. Bob says she sleeps with me every day but hey, I'm sleeping so I don't know she's there. She doesn't come out to sit with me at night like she used to and tonight I found her under the bed. I told Bob I'm going to find some catnip and roll around in it and see if I can't find that 'lovin' feelin' from her again. Although I wonder what she thinks. One day Emma her biggest, bestest friend was here and then she was gone and the Shit Disturber showed up.

And finally, I told my gorgeous cousin I was going to throw a baby shower for her. I told her this in September. She told me one of her friends would probably want to help. Uh, yeah, this friend booked a hall and sent out invites. Tomorrow night my Equally Gorgeous Aunt, Gorgeous Cousin (who is somehow also involved in the party planning) and this friend and I are supposed to get together to hash out the details. *sigh* At this point just tell me what to bring and I'm good. So I'm going to sit and keep my mouth shut - Bob will be there to help me with that if I start to talk. I really am a laid back person but for some reason, the friend sending out the invites has kind of tweaked my nose a bit. I did call Gorgeous Cousin and told her that I didn't need to be involved at all (there are 4 people creating this party now?) and she was all 'no, no, we need you.' But then she takes after me and is a people pleaser too.

Tomorrow night I'll share my recent book buys with you - I used up one gift card and I'm so squee happy about my choices.

Now, to figure out what I'm going to buy with the rest of my gift cards!

Great Expectations

I decided to title this one after a book. Why? Because I had some seriously high expectations of what was coming for me in January.

Time to read.

Well, scratch that off the list of 'happily to do' because I'll be painting for probably the next few weeks. And then there is the AAR Annual Reader's Poll (ooops, my bad, wasn't really thinking clearly) a baby shower for my Gorgeous Cousin, my mother's birthday, my BF(but not really)'s 50th Birthday party - oh yeah! And then Gorgeous Cousin has the baby I've been waiting on - but that's the first weekend in February.

I mean you guys know me and I'm not only nocturnal but I like to hibernate in the winter months and it's so not going to happen. Bah.

Great news is that Bob and I picked a flooring and we're still married!

Bad news is Bob's well laid plans are way, way, way off and now we're scrambling with tearing up flooring (mostly Bob cause well, I'm sleeping and doing AAR stuff). This will be followed by my finally painting my library room and the bookcases that I've left natural maple for a long time.

This means boxing up all my books *deep breath in* and moving them out while picking a colour for the bookcases because Bob thinks 'pure white' will be too glaring. This is giving me heart palpitations because his suggestion was to paint them cream.

Cream is dirty white.

That's how my crazy brain interprets cream so yeah, melt down of the new year happened and Bob got blasted. He's totally messing with C-Rex.

*letting breath out*

Oh well, I'm getting thrown into the land of the living and being forced to make decisions (I don't like to make permanent decisions dammit!) and life is about to get hectic.

Even so I'm hanging around checking out your blogs and keeping up with what you are all doing.

So, as I have said to Bob many times when I'm all up and bouncy - 'Entertain me!'

Hardwood Floors

I'm titling this puppy after what it is about. So you don't get all sucked into something you think would be cool and get ripped off by me whining about hardwood floors.

So I'll begin.

We have a 2 story home that is all hardwood flooring. It's that natural oak colour of olden days and can't be refinished because it's already been done and now the nail heads are showing and well, that will rip the sandpaper - and that's more than you ever wanted to know about flooring.

That sad fact is I know more.

Bob has decided that after 5 years of living in a renovation he wants hardwood floors throughout the house. Let's say the floor is 5 bucks a square foot and we have 1800 so let's just round for easy math - 10 grand.

10 grand hurts. Especially since Bob is about to not have a job and hasn't worked out what he wants to do next.

So Bob comes home crowing one night because he has found finished flooring at 1.99 a square.

Like dude, seriously.

Small problem - it's a cherry finish and too red for me. Bob's being a big butt head and getting all grumbly and saying that's the floor you love it and you know it. Uh, no.

So for a few weeks I've been 'buy it, NO, don't buy it, okay, buy it, no really buy it - holy shit, don't buy it'.

The other night I land on 'fuck it, buy it I'm so done' only to watch my fav. designer who 'ta-da' shows the viewers a sample of hardwood for a 1.99 and damn, if it's not the colour I want. At the end of the show the credits roll and I pick out the flooring name.

Only the designer didn't use the 1.99 floor so my hubby went on a wild goose chase as the store said 'yeah, Sarah 101, we have no idea what that floor was'.

So off my hubby goes again because I'm all fire and brimstone and refusing to pay more than 1.99 for the floor so 'get your ass out there and find me the colour I want'.

Tonight he gets home and I squee in delight. He has a sample of the floor I want. 1.99.

Only 800 of it is in high gloss and another 800 would be in low gloss.

I have 2 separate floors so to me, who cares high gloss down stairs, low gloss upstairs.

Except Bob is an Aries and the floors will have to 'meet' at some point (stairs) and it will drive him crazy for the rest of his life.

So I asked him why he even bothered to show me the sample.

Why!!!???

So I'm all, fuck it and he's all 'sigh' and I'm completely bamboozled by this stupid floor.

See, I don't want to look at the floor for the rest of my life and think 'it's too red' and Bob can't look at the floor and think 'it's not the right gloss'.

There's more to it all. Have you heard of V-groove? Prefinished floors now have a V-groove so when whacking them together the edges don't have to match perfectly. Only now, you have lines on your floor. And who says in 20 years that's not going to be something people frown about.

Plain hardwood floors in the 2 1/4 strip oak have been around forever and aren't going anywhere and I'm a classic whore so I want what I want.

What Bob doesn't want is to buy all unfinished and we'll finish it ourselves because that is a lot of work. Lots and lots and lots. Hell, I've done a few houses and it's a pain.

So I'm pouting and mad and sad and needless to say very unsettled about everything and just want this part of it to be over so I can settle back down and read some books and not fret that we're destroying our house and, oh yeah, we don't have money coming in anymore.

Fuck!

Phaser Set To Stun

Damn.

That title makes me wish there were more sci-fi shows on TV and more films coming out (and I have no clue why they changed the short form to a bunch of letters with 'y's in them but I'm not using it). I'm not a closet sci-fi fan but I'm quiet about my love.

I'm a Trekkie even though I couldn't tell you one thing about tribbles except that they look cute, I'm a Star Wars fan of the first order but I don't do pot or wear togas with cinnamon buns strapped to my ears.

Firefly, how I miss you - Jane was perfect for Summer even though she was trying to kill him but I now know that the creator doesn't like happy endings so maybe it's best.

Battlestar Galactica I forgive you for the ending and now want to re-watch every episode with a glass of ice cooled over with coke. Happily I have the DVD collection and can do so, I just have to decide when exactly I'm going to be all fracked up and immersed in sci-fi land that talking to me would be pointless. (I'm guessing once the summer re-runs hit)

I tried Caprica but it was slow and well ssssslllllllooooooow.

Don't get me wrong, I can do bad sci-fi and be happy as a sow in fecal matter. Starship Troopers anyone? I mean all of them. All.

Oh, I do have to say I love Fringe but I missed a few episode last year and have no clue about the 'amber' on the other side and what it's about. I need the first season but do I buy it and discover the 'powers that be' have canceled another ass kicking show or just take the risk.

See, I don't buy DVD's of shows that were canceled. Hell no. The network isn't going to bring back the show but they want my money so I can enjoy only part of a story? 'Life' was such a great show (and no sci-fi - yep, train is now off the tracks) and after a season and a 1/2 they canceled it.

I blame Jay Leno and that whole NBC nightmare.

Now in that case I bought the DVD for my Dad because he was in Malaysia and didn't get the shows and I didn't think any fool was going to cancel this show. Gah. And now, do I ever want to buy the last DVD and then sit and have a 'Life' fest but it goes against my prickly nature to reward those who make stupid decisions.

Cake and eating it is the only way I'm playing the DVD game so I hope networks start listening up. I'm not buying a 'whole series' DVD when I know the show got yanked off the air so fast, the advertisers were sponsoring blank air.

I'm not sure how this hitch got in my giddie-up tonight but this is a lesson on how not to create a title for a blog not already written.

What was this blog supposed to be about?

Me and the treadmill.

Phaser set to stun.

I'll fill you in later about the treadmill and boring stuff like that.

On the book front I'm a mess because I want to read one kind of romance and don't have a clue who would write it or if I'm in a 'kink' slot and need to look into romantica but I haven't had real luck with that kind of stuff.

But then in the end, it's still angst and stuff, just a little more physical and intense.

So you know, as you were.

Happy New Year!!! And A New Decade I Think.

2011.

I'm in a wee bit of shock realizing it was over 10 years ago now that everyone was so worried about Y2K - I know how we prepared. Poor Bob ate canned food for months after a glitch-less New Year. He's a conspiracy nut of the first order but I figure if he's preparing for the things I'm scared of anyways then we're all good.

I can't say I've ever thought of 2011 or any date after that as a possibility but then I haven't been able to 'see' myself after the age of 3o anyways. I used to think it meant I would die around then but then I realized we just don't have those milestones to cross after 21. It was all about becoming a teen at 13, then driving at 16, becoming an adult and able to serve booze at 18 and being legal to drink at 19. (I know in the States it's closer to 21 but I think it's still 19 up here). So really, after 19, nothing really happens at a set time so time kind of loses it's meaning.

I will now mention I took my sleepy pills because I'm thinking I'm going way to deep with this post.

Resolutions.

I hate them and I don't make them.

But there is something calling me this year. Something greater than what I've been for the past few months and it needs to be answered. Only I'm not starting today but maybe Monday or later in the week. I'll get there, I'm just not making it a pressure point that 'has' to happen today.

Today I think we should still celebrate. Monday is soon enough for change.