Off to Lake Isle today! 

Merry Christmas...eat lots and laugh lots!

*image from The City Sage

My Favourite Swede

I looooove her; will never get sick of her...

If you haven't listened to Robyn, get to it. (And no, not her "Show Me Love" days. She's a lot different now!) Check out her latest performance... it's the acoustic of "Be Mine" – my fave.

Addicted to Stress

I drive myself crazy sometimes. 

I always feel like I need to be accomplishing something, and often those things I'm accomplishing don't really matter at all... in the grand scheme of things. Like sweeping the floor for the billionth time. Or wiping down the baseboards in the kitchen again. But dust bunnies drive me nuts! Sigh. I swear I'm a teensy bit OCD. 

Trav told me I'm waaay too high stress lately. I'm a little snappy... not yet in the Christmas spirit as I usually am by this time. I'm complaining about the smallest messes – and for what? What does that help? Of course a tidy house can mean peace of mind, but perhaps I've taken it too far lately. I haven't allowed myself to let go... and have fun. 

It's not just the cleanliness thing either – it's making my to-do lists constantly. And crossing off as much as possible. I just love knowing that every day I've moved ahead...satisfaction knowing that I'm farther than I was yesterday and can prove it to you. Every night before I go to sleep I tick off the things I accomplished, and they're all silly things that I will forget about in a day or two. Maybe I need to make changes to my list...call my friends a bit more, find time to make supper with Trav and sit down together, watch a movie, get together with Natalie...

But then again, boys will be boys and the dirty toilets, dishes in the sink and unfinished renos would drive anyone nuts! It's such a back and forth struggle. I take pride in a clean house and organized life, but it's hard when you're the only female in the house with three guys and two pets! And it's that conflict that causes the aggravation. I'm just like my Mom...I can't relax unless everything is in its place – and really, just when is everything it's place?

Maybe learning to let go and allow the dust bunnies to fly (while keeping my mouth shut) is what it's all about.

I'll let you know my plan of action soon.

*Update – I relapsed. I got home at 1:30 am Saturday night and had the energy to go on a cleaning rampage until 3 am. It felt so good!

Escapade...

Oh Mon Hanky.

If you don't know, that's my darling (I'm sure everyone else thinks it's annoying) nickname for our German Shepherd, Hank. He's quite the guy...a very expressive face, with chocolate brown eyes and a goofy, smiling mouth. And he's all black, so now that we finally have some snow I can see him...as opposed to before, when he'd blend into the night on our 10 pm runs. Hank is close to nine months now, and I never knew I'd enjoy having a dog so much! Sure, he's a lot of work. And he's cost us a lot...in addition to his toys, food, surgery and silly vet visits, he got hold of Trav's brother's very expensive pair of ski goggles...I think we still owe him $150. Eek. At least he gets along with my cat Saku. They have some epic battles that are just so damn cute!

Anyway, Hank has escaped out of our yard before. Our renter downstairs sometimes forgets to latch our gate. One morning at around 8:30 last month we got a call from a youngish girl who had Hank in her car on Whyte Avenue! Apparently he traveled ten blocks or so, crossing Connors Road during rush hour, and ended up in Strathearn Drive! I almost had a heart attack.

So needless to say, since then we've all been very careful of shutting the gate properly. Or at least I have! This morning I stepped out the door to let Hank warm up in the house after his usual breakfast. I called him and no answer. I assumed he fell asleep in the garage because he tends to do that...especially after he eats. But he wasn't coming...even though I could hear the jingle jangle of his collar. Was he under a snowpile or what? Finally, I ran around the corner, and the gate pushed open, and he popped his head in! Hank escaped again...this time though he managed to push the gate open even after Trav fixed it to always rest closed. 

So we need to remind everyone to watch that gate and latch it up. Especially since our dog is more curious than our cat.

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Money is still a bit of a worry for me. My saving plan isn't working out too well as there's been a few unexpected costs...a car battery, a new TV (Travis decided that would be a good Christmas gift idea for ourselves...yeesh), new car insurance, Christmas gifts and going-away presents for coworkers. But hey, I'm still making improvements. I've upped my student loan payments, and have been very careful to not put anything on my credit card. Once we're past Christmas, things should be easier!