This is a picture of the snowman I made. LOL. It's too cold to play out in the snow for too long.

Some of my clients are so negative about Christmas. No decorations, no prezzies, no excitement about spending a great day laughing and eating with family. I know Christmas means different things to different people. In my family, some are strong Christians, who recognise the religious aspect of Christmas, while others see it as a day of family and giving in a non religious capacity. either way, it's a positive experience. That being said, I can't help but feel a little sorry for those who can only whinge about the crowded malls and the relentless carols, and the "commercialization" of the Holiday. Like, yawn, change the record already! You don't have to put yourself in debt to embrace the joy of the season. I'm a single mom, raising a teenager. It's not like I'm lighting a toasty fire in the fireplace with hundred dollar bills. Some years, when I have more, I splurge, while others that are a little tight, I'm more conservative. But do people have to poo-poo everything that's fun? To me, life would be such a bore, if we never had any Holidays to shake things up a bit. Anyway, I have the next 5 days off of work, so I'm going to shop, decorate, bake, address my envelopes, and chose to embrace the warmth of the season. Happy Ho ho, everybody!

This is the view from my bedroom window, people! Does this look like BC to you? Me neither. Can anybody tell me what all that white stuff is?!?

Very few people in our area of the world know how to drive in the snow. And out of these few people, only a small fraction have a vehicle capable of somewhat sticking to the road. No one prepares for such weather because we only get one snowfall a year, and sometimes it doesn't even stick to the ground.

Though I can certainly appreciate the delicate beauty of a snowfall, I am one of the many people who don't have access to a snow-worthy vehicle. So I'm pretty much trapped at home for as long as Mother Nature decides to blanket our land with snow and ice. Even trips down the street can prove to be a dangerous task. People drive like it's the middle of Summer. Not to mention, you get these geniuses, whose cars handle well in these conditions, who just assume everyone has control of their cars. So they don't mind cutting you off or stopping unexpectedly in front of you, because they don't have the foresight to predict the consequences. Like, say, the front of my car plunging into the back seat of theirs.

Anyway, It's a beautiful thing, as long as you don't have to go anywhere. Many schools are closed (not Alicia's, much to her disappointment.) Lots of people are home from work and in some areas there are no buses running. I really need to go grocery shopping. I guess it's Kraft dinner tonight...

So, as predicted, my mom wasn't pleased with the pics of her that I displayed in my last post, so I'm going to have to find a really nice one of her and post it. LOL.

Speaking of my mom, when I was younger, in my early teens, we went to the mall to do some shopping. We shopped often together, always stopping for a leisurely lunch full of chit chat and belly laughs. This particular day, we were crossing the busiest street in Richmond, at a crosswalk right in front of the mall. The light had turned from red to green and the little white man was displayed, so we, along with several strangers, began to cross. About halfway across, my mom's denim wrap-around skirt, unraveled, and fell loosely around her ankles exposing her silky white slip and a very red face. In the middle of the crosswalk, my mom quickly grabbed and tugged at her skirt, which had become tangled around her ankles.
Meanwhile, I being a young teen, was completely mortified! So I abandoned my own mother in the middle of the road, walking on as though I'd never seen her in my life! Bad...bad daughter!
Thank God, mom was wearing her slip! And that she happened to bring her trench coat that day. The light had changed as she was struggling, and a big semi was waiting to get moving. So to make matters worse, the semi began to make the loud bellowing hooooooonnnnnnk hooooooooonnnnnk that we are all so familiar with. Poor mom finally got the stupid skirt untangled, and off with no help from me. I was still pretending I didn't know her! Finally she had tucked the skirt under her trench coat, closed her coat, and escaped the dreaded crosswalk.
We laughed and laughed once she put her skirt back on and we went for lunch. I can't believe that, I hung her out to dry by leaving her on her own, half naked in the middle of the road, but I'm not here to sugar coat the truth. At that age, EVERYTHING your parents do is embarassing, so when your mom drops her laundry in front of everyone and a honking semi, you can't be held responsible for your (non)actions;)

I think I'm the worlds luckiest person when it comes to family. We always lived in a peaceful home growing up. My parents were more inclined to be silent than to fight in front of the kids, so we were usually blissfully unaware when they had their squabbles. My parents balanced each other out very well. I think, without my mom, Dad would have been extremely strict, where without my dad, Mom would have been extremely lax. Together, we had the soft touch as well as a healthy fear of getting into trouble.

Growing up, my brother Mike was my playmate. We would play for hours with stuffed animals, each one having a name, a voice, and specific connections and relationships with the others. Mike was both the smartest person on the planet, and the most infuriating. Sometimes I adored him, and other times I felt like I hated him, though we were never allowed to say 'I hate you' to our family members. My dad felt very strongly about that, and I'm glad he did. Some of the things I remember about Mike's personality growing up are the way he could tell you every detail of the movie he just saw, so that seeing it yourself would be a total waste of time and money. Or that, if he really wanted to get me screaming, all he had to say was, "Fat cheeks you stink" to me and I would fly into a rage! Look at how cute he was.
Gee, do you think I looked up to him at all? Mike has grown up to be a world traveler, a strong Christian, a musician, and a husband to my sister in law, Glenda. He is very passionate in his opinions, and is still just as cute now as he was with a puppet on his hand. Here he is with Alicia when she was small.

Dennis is my other brother. Ever since I can remember he has been an amazing artist. In face, I'm pretty sure my Aunt Ellen included in one of her posts, how he once used the contents of his diaper to create a 'masterpiece' on the wall when nobody was looking. He could be very hyper growing up, sometimes injuring someone with an arm that happened to be flailing around. Once, he was windmilling his arms and accidentally punched my sis, Sheryl right in the nose. I used to torment him by waiting until he was in the bathroom, picking the lock to the door with the inside of a pen, and sitting on the bathroom counter. He would sit there with a towel covering him begging me to leave so he could get up off the toilet, and I would giggle and refuse, loving the position of power I was in. Ha ha. weird, eh? Dennis was always good natured, and has turned his artistic talent into a career in animation. Here he is with my sis before I was a twinkle in my father's eye.

Now he's a hunky guy who takes an interest in healthy eating, working out, his job, and his friends. He's still good natured, funny, and like all of my family members, is genuinely a good person.


My sister Sheryl is my best friend. Though I made a pain of myself when I was small, she often entertained me with games and rides. She's seven years older than I am, so she used to do my hair, and bath me and stuff. I remember being buck naked while she was running a bath for me, running away, and delighting in the fact that she would always pretend that I cunningly escaped her. She'd chase me down the hall, grab me and carry me back to the bathroom where she would put me down and I would run away again. She would let me hang out in her room and listen to music and give me super-girl rides by laying on her back and holding my atop her hands and knees. The flight was always exciting with turbulence and the occasional crash landing that always ended in fits of giggles. We don't do that anymore. Now we have a friendship that we both cherish. It's funny how the age gap closes.

This was taken a few years ago. That's my beautiful mother between my sis and I. Sheryl has grown up to, not only be my best bud, but a strong, independent woman who I admire for her assertiveness and presence of mind. She is also hilarious and gorgeous.




My mom's gonna kill me for posting this picture because her hair is blowing in the wind and she doesn't like her forehead. I had to post it, though, because one of my favorite things in the world are my parents' smiles. It makes me want to cry to see them so happy. My mom is so sweet and gentle and has a great sense of humor. She is also one of the greatest friends anyone could ask for. My dad is strong and capable and totally lovable. If ever there was a crisis, he was who I reached for. He is super funny, too. My friends always wanted to come over when I was a teenager. They loved the atmosphere around our house.

Anyway, that's my family. They are everything to me and I love them with my whole heart.

Man it's rainy here. Grey, wet, cold in the way that you feel chilled to the bone. See, people think that living in BC is all pretty forestry and Ocean views, but lemme tell ya, it rains alot. That's why it's so darn green and pretty. Now I'm not dissin' BC. It is a beautiful place to live. But it seems like we get two seasons. three months of summer, and nine of fall.

Maybe sitting at Alicia's soccer game in the pouring rain today for two hours is still a little too fresh.
The game was at a community center with a band new beauty of a soccer pitch. The problem for me was the two grande starbucks coffees I had managed to scarf down this morning. I had to leave the comfort of my fold out chair, umbrella, hot water bottle, and blanket, to walk over to the community center to pee. Upon my arrival, I noticed that the place was closed. Duuhh, rememberance day weekend. So, Off I go in the other direction, pass my comfy chair, through the parking lot, to the gas station across the street, rain pouring, wind blowing, cars splashing through giant puddles. The little chinese dude who works there tells me someone has locked the bathroom key...you guessed it...in the bathroom. So I thanked the guy kindly, and made my way across the other street to the subway where I found what I, by this time, so desperately needed.

The journey was so stinkin' long, by the time I got back to my relatively warm, hot water bottle, I kinda had to pee again. By the time the game was over, I more than kind of had to pee. So we hopped into the car, clicked on the bum warmer seats, and went to Mcdonalds for some junky food and a bathroom break. Not in that order.



















Anyway...Long story short...Alicia's team won 3-1, and I'm asking Santa for a catheter for Christmas this year.

Went to Walmart yesterday and picked up some stocking-stuffers for the girl. She doesn't read my blog, but on the off chance she checks in, I won't divulge any privileged info.

I did treat myself to a nice, fuzzy, warm, cozy set of flannel sheets for my bed. OH! I love them. I've always wanted flannel sheets, and they are just as heavenly as I always imagined. Why can't all my clothes be made of flannel? Why can't wearing flannel come into style? I could start the trend, and when people point and stare, I'll just say, "You can laugh now, but next year EVERYONE will be wearing it!"
Kinda makes ya think...

Spoooooky Dragon Puppy ! Look at the expression on his little face. Ha ha! "Why are you torturing me?" He's such a good little dog.

Halloween has never been my favorite thing. There are aspects that I love and aspects that I hate. I have to admit, when Alicia asked one year if we could have Ernie and Bert pumpkins, I didn't think we could pull it off, but they turned out pretty good! When Alicia was small, trick-or-treating was great. She was so cute, and I knew that the number of times I would be able to take her out would be limited. However, it is usually freezing cold and raining, so we had to come up with costume ideas that she could wear a winter coat underneath. Then while she and her little friends were keeping warm running from door to door, I was trying to maintain feeling in my limbs. I have always loved putting together fun costumes for Alicia. We never went halfway, y'know. If I was gonna put in the time and effort, I was gonna come up with something great. Most of the costumes were even appropriate to wear to school...Except the one. After years of dressing her up as bunny rabbits, puppy dogs, and kitty cats, Alicia went through a phase where she wanted to be dracula and other scary stuff. I think she was in grade 7 when she decided to be a suicide victim. I wish I could find the picture, but I can't. I ran a wire through some rope and made a noose. When she put her head through it the remaining end stood straight up as though it was attached to something overhead. Then I painted her face to make it look like she's been dead for a couple of weeks, and pinned a suicide note to her sweater. It was so sweet! Sadly the principal of the school called her into the office and made her take it off. She said it was inappropriate. Why does that word keep coming up with me Anyway, I went to a party this year dressed as a disco diva. Drew was my afro wearing disco man, and our friends did the same. It was pretty funny. These are my friends Dilek and Daveen, and the next one is Drew and I. Don't ya just love his Saturday night fever ensamble? Here's Drew and Dilek's hubby, John, yucking it up. LOL! Anyhoo, I guess I'll get on with my day now. Hope you all had a happy Halloween!

The Many Shades of Alicia



This is my beautiful daughter, Alicia, who just turned 16 yesterday. I love her adventurous spirit. These pictures are of grades 8 through 11 and, as you can clearly see, she takes full advantage of having a hairdresser for a mom.

I just hooked up the new scanner that Drew and I gave her for her Birthday, which is why I am able to post these pictures. Oh yeah, I'm gonna get a lot of use out of this puppy. She also got a load of cash, some clothes, some really cool art stuff, and a stereo for her room. I still haven't planned a party for her and her friends. Usually I'm a little more on the ball and throw a great party at home, but I gotta tell ya, these kids aren't getting any smaller! The boys are freakishly big, but they are still young and sometimes get carried away. Stuff gets broken! So this year I'm going to rent a space called "The Fridge." Basically, it's a big room with ping pong, pool, foozeball, a big screen TV, video games, and other stuff to entertain them. Unfortunately, I'm not sure when it will be available. Still gotta phone and find out. Anyway, I'd better go make some dinner.

My sense of humor has sometimes been viewed as over the proverbial "line." I think I have that same impulse control mechanism malfunction that Sophia from The Golden Girls had. I think I've just always appreciated a good funny, even if it is a little inappropriate. (Especially if it's a little inappropriate)

When I was in Junior high, I think grade 9, a bunch of us were hanging out outside the school smoking and being "cool." I really can't remember why the vice principal, Mr. Scar, called me aside to lecture me on my sense of humor being inappropriate, but I'm sure he had good reason. After the "good firm talking to," he walked with me back toward my friends and, with one hand on his hip, began to address the crowd. "Okay, people! The school day is over. Let's go home!" So I, being the witty, charming, teen-aged idiot that I was, linked my arm through his, strutted beside him, and said, "Okay, Scar, let's go home!"

Mr. Scar shook me off his arm, his face instantly beet red. "That's exactly what I was talking about with inappropriate humor!" he barked, exasperated.

I can't blame the guy. I mean, hello, talk about displaying zero regard for a member of the administration, especially while he's asserting himself to a group of teen-agers. Somehow, however obvious that may seem to me now and about a tenth of a second after saying it, I still blurted it out! I didn't even call him "Mr. Scar." It was just "Scar." That's just disrespectful!

Poor bastard.

So, as I mentioned in a previous post, my parents are taking Alicia to Mexico in December. We all know that applying for a passport can be a time consuming affair. They really make you jump through hoops, what with the pictures, the guarantor, and all the documentation. I'm surprised they don't take a swab from your cheek to make sure you are, in fact, the child's mother. There is a certain satisfaction that comes with the completion of some errands. I went to the passport office last week, and after waiting only about half an hour, approached the cubicle only to find out that one of my documents was incorrect. What I thought was Alicia's father's original death certificate, which I drove all the way into Vancouver to borrow from his parents, turned out to be a copy. So I left the passport office, went home, and got on the horn to Vital Stats to order an original. Sigh. The document came in about a week, so it wasn't too bad of a wait. Every day counts, though, because for one, my Dad won't be able to stop asking me about it until he has it in his hot little hands, and for another, you just never know when some complication will extend the process. Best to get it done in a timely manner, so off I went, bright and early this morning, to get the job done. I got there before it opened, at 8:30 and there was already a line-up. Once they opened, we all filed in and took a number. I was lucky number 11. Can you believe I was walking back to my car by 9:30? It was painless! Anyway, now I just have to sit back and wait for it to arrive in the mail. Oh and I also have to write a letter authorizing my parents to travel with her, and make an appointment with a notary public to have the letter notarized. PHEW! It's good that the process protects children from being smuggled out of the country. It's just a pain in the butt.

This is a very naughty post indeed.

A few years ago, I was at one of our annual baseball icebreaker parties. I don't know why, but they scheduled the party on the same night as a very important playoff game. I, not being a sports enthusiast, was getting really bored with what was supposed to be a dance, but turned into hockey night in Richmond. All the chairs in the bar were turned toward the various TV's, and a few of my girlfriends and I were getting pretty antsy. It was starting to feel like you couldn't even stand up, for fear of blocking someone's view of the television.

After a couple of hours of what seemed like watching paint dry, one of my friends invited me and a few other chicks out to her van to have a couple of shooters and a change of scenery. We got out to the van and piled in, leaving the side door open for ventilation. The stereo cranked to capacity, and a couple of tequila shooters warming our tummies, the van party was reduced to a frenzy of giggling women acting like teen agers.

After a while, we noticed that, once in a while, a person, a couple, or a group of people would wander by our partymobile on their way to their cars. I don't know who would have started such a thing, but whenever someone walked by, we all began to violently rock the van back and forth, moaning, "ohhh. Oh, yeah! uh,uh,uh! Don't stop! Don't stop!" The reactions to our prank were priceless. The back window being tinted prevented anyone from seeing into the van, but we could see out perfectly fine. One couple shyly exchanged glances, and quickened their pace. One couple just burst out laughing. One group of guys pointed and laughed at one of the members running right up to the back window, cupping his hands around his eyes, and peering in, hoping to get a good look at some naughty behavior. It must have been such a funny sight to see the rocking van, hear the blasting music, and the moans of ecstasy reverberating through the parking lot.

Anyway, it saved our night from certain death-by-boredom, and frankly we served our fellow ball players by giving them some free entertainment on their way out!
Everybody wins.

Isn't this just the best example of the pressures on young girls to maintain a ridiculous standard of skinny? Just look at Nicole Richie, Paris Hilton, the Olsen twins, Kelly Ripa, and so many more women who fall victim to what they think society expects. admittedly, I have felt the sting of not feeling able to keep up to the Barbie's of the world. I just hope that in this day and age, Girls realize that it isn't normal to be skin and bone.


The reason this is floating around in my head is that I've been working out all week and am painfully aware of every muscle in my body. I've also started to look a little more closely at the junk I've been scarfing down at 10:00 at night lately. I won't lie and say that I'm not hoping to drop a few pounds, but I think my main objective is to feel strong and healthy. I'm 34 now, and my fitness level has dropped since I've taken up "couch sitting" and "channel surfing" rather than the excersise I used to engage in.


Surely to God I can find some happy medium between the above picture, which I would never want to look like, and the one below, which I know I don't look like, but sometimes, on a bloated day, I feel like (LOL):

I feel that this guy and I are kindred spirits. He really gets me. For some reason, I've had alot of trouble uploading pictures such as this to my blog. Also, why the hell is my side bar suddenly at the bottom of the page beside a large empty space? Also, this is the second time I've written this post. Yesterday I wrote it and it wouldn't save or publish. Instead, it disappeared forever! Anyway, the blog must go on... It was in grade ten that I was cast as "Carlotta Castanet de Santiago," an evil but flamboyant castanet dancer who used her feminine whiles to lure in unsuspecting victims of thievery. It was a fitting character... The part included singing solos, dancing, and a character I could really sink my teeth into. The only thing missing was a wide black belt that would make the costume complete. Where oh where would I find this coveted belt? I new just the place. It didn't take long to locate my sister's belt in her room, for I had been in there in the past "borrowing" her white, tasseled cheer leading boots, her sexy bathing suite, a cute shirt she made in home-ec, a kangaroo jacket, and much more. Sheryl looked everywhere for that belt. How could it just disappear, she wondered... It was closing night and we'd had a great run. The week's performances were sold out with audiences that were generous with standing ovations and laughter. I was back stage awaiting the opening of the production, freaking out about the fact that my family was in the audience and I had on the belt that I stole from my poor sister. My cast mates assured me that she would never notice from such a distance that I had her belt. Besides, I wore it backwards, so the familiar buckle was hidden conveniently at my back. All I could do was go on and hope for the best. The show went great and, after changing out of my costume, I emerged into the gymnasium to see my glowing family awaiting my arrival. They praised my and hugged me, and all the while my mind was on the belt. When it was my sister's turn, she squeezed me tight and yelled excitedly, "You were fantastic!" and then followed with, "now give me back my belt." She really could have ripped me a new one, but she didn't want to spoil my big moment, so she let me off the hook. I don't know why I didn't just ask her when I wanted to borrow something. I guess I just thought she was sooooo cool and didn't think she'd lend me anything that was cool enough to be hers. I think it's just a little sister's job to be a pain in the ass and I was very good at being a little sister.

Went to my friend Dan's Birthday party last night. It was a lot of fun, cuz my bud, Daveen, who is married to the Birthday boy, rented a karaoke machine and lots of CDs.

This is my sister, Sheryl, and I at the party. This was when everything was still dignified, before we were trying to wrestle the microphone out of each other's hands.

despite our plans to have a reasonably early evening, we ended up piling out of the cab and into our houses at about 4:00 in the morning. Sometimes time just flies when you're eating great food, drinking cocktails, sharing belly laughs with friends, and screaming shamelessly to all the timely karaoke classics! We had a variety ranging from anything from the "Grease" sound track, to the ever popular "Brittany Spears." I think I heard a rousing version of "Love Shack" and because it wasn't on any of the CDs, I entertained with a lively accapella (not sure how to spell it) rendition of "Baby got Back." There was also some very riveting, yet disturbed and angry interpretations of a few Alanis Morriset songs, sung by all the women at the same time. Powerful stuff!

So today was dedicated to having brunch with my sis, watching her tape of last week's "The Biggest Loser" and curling up on the couch with my crossword puzzle and remote. It takes a little time to recover from the aforementioned activities, but I'm willing to make the sacrifice.

After seeing Alicia off to school yesterday morning, I threw a load of laundry in, sat down with a bowl of mini wheats and my newspaper, and began doing my crossword puzzle. I had barely gotten started when I heard the cycle shift, and then the sound of water pouring onto the floor. Obviously alarmed, I rushed around the corner to find water gushing out of the machine and splashing all over the linoleum that had just been put in last November. Smoke billowed out of the back of the appliance, and I reflexively pushed the button to turn it off. I then pulled all the soaking, heavy clothes out of the washer, hoping that when it was empty, I could drain the damned thing. When I tried turning it back on to see if it would drain, it threw off large sparks! There I stood in 2 inches of water, my arms soaked to the elbows, marveling at the fact that I didn't just electrocute myself! My thoughts flashed on how close I could have been to meeting my maker for a second there. Anyway, I turned off the power from the breaker, and began the laborious job of mopping up all the water. I had to pull the fridge out, the dryer, and because of the drum full of water, I couldn't budge the washer. What a way to start the morning. This morning I took my garden hose, put one end in the washing machine, and dragged the other end outside. I then proceeded to suck on the end of the hose until the water began to drain happily out into the yard. Phew! Now I could at least move the machine and mop up the floor underneath! I had visions of my linoleum lifting and my damage deposit disappearing!
Anyway, now I have no washer, and Alicia hasn't done all the mountains of laundry she had after she cleaned her room. My sister generously offered to let me use her washer until I have the situation handled, but I hope to have a new/used one, like, yesterday.
Enough of my belly aching, now. I must go run some errends between clients. I'm working on getting Alicia a passport for this December when my parents take her to Mexico. Ola, amigos!

OOOOOH, I'm having one of those days!!! The good news is, I found my camera! The bad news is, it was buried under a pile of junk behind my daughter's bed! I must have left it on the computer table, and I guess it was in the way, so somehow, it ended up getting lost in this abyss of clothes, video games, controllers, walkmans, ipods, paper, garbage, pencil shavings...You get the idea. As I climbed over the mountains of dirty clothes, my fury rose at the realization that there were clean, still folded clothes intermingled with the dirty ones. Digging through the debris, I marveled at the ancient runes that I recognized from years passed. Clothing I forgot she had, 3 pairs of my scissors that she swore she didn't have, make up, nail polish, posters! The thing is, I've never been accused of being a neat freak, but how could I have raised a child with such low standards? How can she live in this dump? I know I shouldn't have started cleaning, because it teaches her nothing, but I couldn't help it. After shoveling a full garbage bag of trash out of there, I sorted 3 heaping baskets of laundry, and threw a bunch of stuff on her futon. The more I cleaned, the angrier I became. We just got new carpets put into our rental townhouse last November and there was make-up without lids on the floor, along with shavings from pencil crayons, nail polish with drips down the sides, dangerously close to getting on the carpet and more. Anyway, she'd kill me if she knew I was exposing her for the slob that she is, but I need to vent, dammit! So now she will come home, and I will send her to her room to finish the job that she will not thank me for starting. Until then, I think the first load of laundry just finished, so I'm going to soak in a nice bath. Though I know this doesn't need to be said, Alicia is the most beautiful thing that has ever come into my life, and I love her so much I could cry just thinking about her face. I just needed to say that since I just ranted about her throughout this post. by the way, I was going to put a picture of the city dump on the top of this post, but it keeps saying "error on the page" so I won't further frusterate myself by fighting with it.

INCH WORM


Remember these? This was like the inch worm I had when I was a little girl. I would hop on my inch worm and go down the street to my friends' houses. You don't just sit on it and push with your feet. You bounce up and down and the accordion-like middle moves you forward.
Once I was hanging out with some friends, when the boy whose house we were at suggested that we all go into the shed and pull down our pants. I must have been about 4 years old. He said that anyone who wanted to participate, should follow him to the shed. Well, we all went into the shed, where he and all the other kids, except me, dropped their drawers. "Sharon," he said, "Aren't you going to pull down your pants?" "No," I said with my arms crossed stubbornly in front of my chest. "If you're not going to pull down your pants, you can't be in the shed with us," he demanded. So I said, "WELL THEN, I'M LEAVING!" and stormed out of the shed, hopped on my inchworm and began bouncing on out of there. I don't know why, but the boy was like, "Okay, you can stay in here. Just come back!" So there I was, the only one fully clothed with all these kids standing around with their goodies hanging out.
Suddenly the door swung open and his mom was standing their horrified. She demanded that we all leave that moment and dragged her son out of the shed, up the back stairs and into his room.
As I climbed back on my inchworm and we all made our way out front to the street, all we could hear was the distinct sound of palm-to-bare-butt spanking and the roaring cries of our little friend. To this day I marvel at how parents back then handled stuff like that. I wonder what ever became of the boy. If I ever see him again, I might be tempted to remind him that my inchworm was bigger than his inchworm.

So I go to the mall today to treat myself to a few new articles of clothing. I walked out with $100.00 worth of facial cleansers and $50.00 worth of make up. For that kind of money, my skin better look like a baby's tooshie in a month! I guess I just figured, what better way to cling desperately to my quickly fading youth than to relieve shoppers drug mart of all the skin care products I can carry? I don't know if they work on commission there, but if they do, that lady has people like me to thank for her children's college education. Sadly for Alicia, it was my skin care, or her college education. I stand by my decision. Anyhoo, Big Brother is ending tonight. I am so disappointed that Janelle was eliminated, but I guess that's how the ball bounces. I can't stand how Mike Boogie is all kissy face with Erica, and then turns around in the diary room and calls her a "whore" with a "ugly long face" I would be so ashamed if I was his mother! It's one thing to play someone for the sake of the game, it's another to snuggle up in bed smooching, and then talk trash about her on TV. What a dink! It was funny, though, to see Boogie cry when Dr. Doom was voted off. Boo hoo..Sniffle sniffle... In other news, I've lost my camera. I was sitting on the couch with Drew a couple of weeks ago, and it had fallen off the coffee table onto the floor. So Drew goes, "Is that your camera? Maybe you should pick it up." I, being in a bit of a cheeky mood, just said, "naaa." Well, sure enough, now the damned thing is missing! Of course Drew is feeling pretty cocky with his "you should have picked it up when I told you" attitude, which makes it even worse! I've looked everywhere, and I don't want to accuse anyone, but Alicia's friends are always here, some of them I know, some I don't know that well. So now I have a niggling feeling in the back of my mind that someone picked it up and took it home. Now, I will probably find it and feel bad for suspecting one of them, but I can't help thinking it's possible. On a different note, why the hell is there a big space under this post? I can't delete it, so I'm just gonna publish it like this. I'm not super woman, y'know! (did I mention I'm a little premenstrual?)

BACK TO SCHOOL
You know, I've never been one of those Moms who can't wait to get their kids back to school. I think the fact that I only have one child makes it easier to enjoy having her around all Summer. People who have more than one have to listen to the kids argue and fight, so I can understand why they are so anxious for Summer Holidays to be over.
Also, I happen to be blessed with a child who allows there to be peace in our home. I see how some kids can be confrontational and defiant, where Alicia is quite easy going and so am I. Plus, she is very sociable so she's not in my back pocket all the time. It's actually a rare treat if we get a chance to do something together once in a while.
Whatever the reason, I'm quite sad that we have to get back into the chaos of school schedules and soccer schedules. I love the freedom that summer offers. Sleeping in, not always having to be somewhere at a specific time, daylight lasting past four in the afternoon. Plus, this is a very expensive time of year! We've got back to school clothes, school supplies, school fees, soccer fees, new cleats, school photos, then it's Alicia's Birthday, followed shortly after by Christmas!
If you'll excuse me, I have to go whore myself on the street now...This might take a while.

Okay, so I never said I was any good at photography. I can highlight your hair in two different colors with a plastic fork, but I can't get one good picture of a whale on a whale watching trip. All of my photos were of the splash a whale makes when disappearing into the water. Lame. I did get a little video footage on my digital camera, though. Not the best, because I couldn't zoom in enough and the whales kept their distance, but enough to prove that we did, in fact, go whale watching....We did!

In other news, Alicia went away with her boyfriend's family for a week on Monday. They rented a cabin with another family at Shuswap Lake, about a five hour drive from here. I haven't heard from her, and I hope she's having fun. I enjoy the break from responsibility on the rare occasion that she's gone from here, but at the same time I miss her, and my mind wanders to her throughout the day.

I only have one client today, which I will come in for at 6:30pm. What a drag to have to come in for a 45 minute cut and blow dry. It's a good thing I live so close to work.

Now I'm going to do some shopping for Drew's Birthday prezzy. I'm going to look for a little TV for the camper. Maybe one with a built-in DVD player so we can pop in a flick in the evenings.