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Friday, December 27, 2013

2014...I'm At Your Mercy or Maybe You're At Mine?

2014 is almost here!

You guys know me and how out of the Holiday Season, I love New Year's Eve. The idea that everything can start fresh and you almost get a clean slate for the next however long it is before I screw it up and the year goes to shit.

Now I don't set out to mess it up and the universe doesn't always work with me in these instances so I just fix what I can and ride out what I can't. Unfortunatley every year you hear stuff like:

I'm going to eat better!...Ya right, for a week.

I'm going to excercise!...When you get off the couch to go to the fridge.

I'm going to quit smoking...Then it's like the excorcist and your possessed until people are throwing lit cigarettes at you.
Ect, ect... you get what I mean. Then you hear stuff like:

You need to set realistic goals for yourself in order to accomplish them...
...

True, but shut up!

I'm entitled to try and fail right? I mean at least I tried! Not that I want to complain for another year about my body shape or the fact that for 1 week a month I'll consume enough gummy candy that my stomach hates me and there's another 10lbs of gelatin and mineral oil cascading through my body. (So, ok that's not a good thing)

If I ate right for the 3 weeks before that and then ate that crap, you'd have to put me in a corner until the shakes passed and hand me things you'd like shaken not stirred.

Little doses people little doses, moderation is the key!

Don't get me wrong...I admire those people that can set their mind to their goals and get them done! I wish I had a smidgen of that discipline but just a smidgen. I like spontaniously deciding that I'm going to attempt to eat a whole cheesecake to myself, even though I'm allergic to dairy and I get so itchy I want to rip my skin off. That's what Benadryl is for! (I only try that like once a year)

Every Year I tell myself I'm just going to live better, less stress and try new things. That's general enough right? Get the courage to break old routines/habits and start new ones, better ones? So thinking that way, I do accomplish my New Year's promises to myself. It just has to be interesting enough or I lose the motivation to continue. Now I have some things that are at a lull but not given up on yet they've just been on standby so to speak.

So this year I'll try again with something new and something old that I haven't accomplished yet and drive myself and everyone crazy with it.

I'm glad the people in my life just roll with it and know that when I do end up in the padded room I expect them to come visit me.
.
..with candy, lots and lots of candy.

See Ya!
S

Monday, December 23, 2013

Is It Over Yet? No?...Crap...

Hello Lovlies,

Usually I would have some really awful Christmas gifts for you now but with starting the new job and fighting off the cold from hell that has not happened. For the first time ever I have lost my voice! It's still not back yet and the troups at home know how hard it is for me not to talk or laugh...not being able to laugh is the hardest part because they make me laugh constantly!

They are enjoying that I can't yell at any of them though but that's ok, I'll store it up and have it all ready for you when my vocal cords are in proper working order again. Thank goddess 2 of my 3 dogs understand hand signals! The 2 Terriers good job taking mama's flailing hands as me saying "Come on get inside!" unlike the Cattle Dog that thinks "If I just don't look at her, I can stay out longer... Avert My Eyes!" until I chase her with a rake then she moves really fast.

And the kids understand my facial expressions, like Peanut for instance he's been with us all week and when I'm not in the room he's biting and headbutting his parents! I come into the room and a tiny halo sprouts out around his tiny horns while he flashes that tiny toothy grin. He's not even a year yet but he's an Eddie Haskle in the making for those of you that remember him in Leave it to Beaver.

I bet most of you are shaking your heads NO right now.

Since my head is still foggy and my voice is still froggy I'm going to say goodbye for now and I plan on having something special for next week since it will be my last post of 2013 and hopefully 2014 brings mended fences and familiar faces...maybe some new ones too!

See ya!
S

Monday, December 16, 2013

Oh How I've Missed You!

Hello Lovlies!

Oh how I've missed you! I didn't realize how long it had been and just noticed today that it's been almost 2 months since my last post and that hasn't happened for a long time...if ever?

I'm back at work thank goodness just before the Holidays and that's great! Almost everyone in the house is working now. Bean had something temporarily but it wasn't the right fit for her. At least she got her shopping done with what she earned doing pretty much nothing because her boss was so OCD that she wouldn't let her touch anything anyway for her to learn the job. On top of that only working 1 maybe 2 days a week for 4 hrs just wasn't enough.

So out of our household of 7 only 2 now are out of work and that's awesome compared to 2 months ago when only 2 were working! Now I'm into week 3 doing the same thing I used to do but for another Company...wow shifting gears did not work for me. Not because I didn't want to but because I couldn't find anything with the experience I had.

I had interviewed with the Company back in Oct. and although it looked good they went with someone else, someone green to the job and a month later that person had to leave and I was called in for a second Interview. Nice!

You should have just went with me in the first place!

I had stayed pretty much off the grid lately since I was trying not to lost my ever loving mind and not to go bat shit crazy trying to find ways to support my family and deal with too much time on my hands.

Want to know the kicker though...

Employment Insurance penalized me a total of 15 weeks on my claim... 15 WEEKS! 4 weeks because of my severance, ok sure and then 11 f*&$@#g weeks for what they classified as a Job Refusal. As someone that has never collected EI before I had no idea you could be that delayed for something I hadn't even realized I'd done. For months there was nothing. Once I hit the end of the waiting period ( looking for work as I went )I had still received nothing. Called freaked out and they said they would back pay me that week...YAY! I got the call back for the interview that same week and then 2 weeks after that...I was hired.

So in the end I got what I was owed, got a job and I didn't loose the weeks that I was entitled to. Oh happy day. Now my stress level has receeded and the flow of social media and the keyboard under my fingers has been re-established.

HOW LUCKY ARE YOU!

Thanks to you guys that helped out so much! Hopefully this never...happens...again.

See Ya
S

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Halloween! Bring It!

As you know Halloween is my favourite holiday that's not a holiday!

This Saturday my house will be full of costumes and happy people doing stupid things...more than 1 camera will be rolling so be careful.

So NO ONE can talk about Christmas until Halloween is over...please. It's bad enough that when I walk into Walmart, Costco or RRSS that I see decorations already and imagine wings sprouting on my money as flies away. I heard a Christmas carol the other day too UGH...

There's plenty to see and plenty to do for the next week if you into going to see Fright Night at Playland or the Pumpkin Patch, the Corn Maze, the Stanley Park Ghost Train and this!

Zombie Combat Zone & The Zombie Syndrome

halloween vancouver 2012 zombiesImage Courtesy of Ron McCall / Zombie Combat Zone
The Zombie Combat Zone lets you hunt zombies after dark, in a live-action paintball game. Last year, the Zombie Combat Zone debuted in Surrey; it is now located at Semiahmoo Park, in White Rock. Must be booked in advance, and must be at least 16 to participate!
Zombie Combat Zone - Open Thursdays - Fridays only
The Zombie Syndrome: On Death Island returns for its second year to the streets of Vancouver. This interactive theatre experience lets the audience participate in a live-action, save-the-world zombie scenario, complete with live-action zombies.
The Zombie Syndrome: On Death Island - Tuesday, October 1 - Sunday, November 3, 2013
What a great way to fuel my fear!

 Parade of Lost Souls

Parade of Lost SoulsImage Courtesy of Public Dreams
For many years, the Parade of Lost Souls on Commercial Drive was theVancouver Halloween event: the procession / parade of ghouls and ghosts was the destination for people who took their Halloween seriously. But Public Dreams, the organizers of the Parade of Lost Souls, became overwhelmed by the size of the event and have, starting in 2010, scaled down the procession considerably. Now, in 2013, as part of a process of "handing over" the Parade (Public Dreams will not host the event next year), the event is being co-organized by its designated successor, the Dusty Flowerpot Cabaret.
The actual East Van location for the 2013 Parade will be revealed at 12am on October 26 on the Public Dreams website and will take place that night, from 6:30pm - 9:30pm.
Saturday, October 26
For the Parade of Lost Souls I heard that there will be a Thriller Flash Mob at some point!

Back to the grind guys!

See Ya
S

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Happy Friday! Creepy Crawlies Oh My!

Morning! It's Friday so Happy Friday to everyone!

We're gearing up for a Halloween party for the kids next weekend and it should be fun...well I hope it's fun for them. I've heard about and seen a costume or two and I have to say that 1 in particular had me giggling already. Remember the blueberry kid from Charlie and the chocolate factory? That is completely what this costume reminds me of. So bring it kidlets!

We have a couple of new additions to the house via Bean and Allan. Some time ago they got a Rose haired Tarantula, Bellatrix is her name but she's aggressive so we can't really touch her, but she's pink! This is the daughter who wouldn't go to sleep at night until I killed the tiny little spider in the corner of her room now she has one almost as big as her fist. After that she had a spider infatuation and bought 2 more and orange something or other that is cool, hand trained and slow...very slow. Until the sex it, it's name is Curly, plus a teeny tiny one I named Bitty but she didn't make it. The night before last the brought home a snake. A baby Pastel Ball Python, good grief it can grow to be about 5 feet long but it's SO COOL! It might eat my cats one day but, I like her and she likes me although we don't know what it is yet I'm feeling girly snake.

Now my oldest wants one and my roommate still wants a squirrel. Even more so now. I think I get a squirrel request almost once a day now, I've changed her ring tone to chittering squirrels and the answer is still NO. 3 dogs, 3 cats, 3 fire belly toads, 2 spiders, 1 snake and a hedgehog. If you count the crickets used to feed the toads and the spiders we have a whole lot going on here. Oh and if you count the family of Raccoon's and the Skunks we still have around, it's crazy!

So besides that fact that it took Bean 18 years to get into all of the creepy crawly things and now she fights Wolf spiders in a jar... ( Weird ass thing to do ) her new interests are pretty cool and the snake is oddly calming.

Grand baby boy has been entered in a Gerber baby contest and I hope he wins because he's the cutest thing ever!

Sese got to go see the Bates Motel set!


Sweet!

The past 6 weeks of premieres has overloaded my PVR with my existing shows and new ones like Hostages, American Horror Story Coven, The Walking Dead! OMG the countdown was on for that one, Supernatural and so many more!

What shows do you like? Which ones impressed or disappointed you?

Inquiring minds want to know!

Have a good Friday!
S














Friday, October 11, 2013

In My Head? Oh I Don't Think So!

Hi Lovelies!

The posts are coming few and far between these days as I try to figure out the next phase of things. Still looking for a new job and that has been my main focus trying to keep the household together.

The inhabitants of the zoo have been at hand helping when they can and they keep me sane as the interviews and the "hurry up and wait" stuff is going on. The problem is spending too much time in my own head. Who wants to be there? It's like a roller coaster ride! I don't and I never realized how much time one has to think when there is nothing left to do in the day.

Have you ever had so much on your mind that it's like scrambled eggs in a blender, swirling around at top speed? Sure you have and I'm a firm believer in everything working out for the best in time. Question?... How to speed up THAT time? Short of a time machine there is just no way so you go back to what you know and the things you're familiar with and for me that's right here.

I do have to change the subject for a second though to something that disturbed me. I have a Tumblr account and it feeds my obsession with Steampunk and my various TV fixations. Now just like other social media you can follow other accounts. I didn't realize that I had followed a young girl that either had or still has an eating disorder. She says she doesn't promote the disorders but constantly posts pictures of awfully skinny girls stating she wants to be that thin again.

Protruding bones and skeleton like figures of young girls was showing up on my feed and it was awful. I have daughters and I would never want them to EVER feel like the needed to be that thin to be happy. I always used to say to Choo when they became hormonal, "Be careful what you say to them because they could develop an eating disorder" Seeing what I saw on this girls page made that memory surface.

To see that these girls would go so far to share other pics with each other and the global universe with notes LIKING this is beyond me and makes me sad. I couldn't stand to see it anymore and had to unfollow her for my own mental health. So when the scrambled thoughts hit my head I wondered what inside her head was like...and then promptly squashed it.

So that makes me feel like my head isn't as full of crap as I thought and sadly kind of made me feel better. I know right...

I really hope she can find her way to a better train of thought and realize that she doesn't NEED to look that way.

Anyway guys as I write this I am yet again trying to upload a video and although You Tube is telling me it will take 120 mins it will hopefully take less time! In the meantime it's catch up time!

See Ya!
S




Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Those Were The Days!

As Fall approaches and the weather gets cooler, I start thinking about the cozy times ahead as we head into the dreaded holiday season. What comes before holidays though?... Thanksgiving and Halloween! OMG OMG OMG.

This year we have a plan for the kids...if you can even call them kids anymore.

 Remember when we were young and Halloween was one of the best days ever! When we'd ourselves dress up in silly costumes and raid houses for candy! Then as we had kids of our own we dressed them up in silly costumes and raid houses for candy! I can't even remember all of the costumes but I remember walking up the street in a massive pack with 11 kids and about 8 or 9 parents equipped with thermoses and toques trying to stay warm. At least it was dry that year. Bean was about 5, dressed like a witch and scared to death of the Scream mask. That was really evident when we got to a house and a guy dressed like that opened the door.

  Bean screamed and cried, we couldn't even get her to walk up the driveway until he took off the mask and apologized profusely. Sese was always a trouper...it didn't matter what she was she wore a smile ( who wouldn't getting free candy ) even if she was covered in purple balloons dressed like a bunch of grapes and couldn't see in front of her.

  Next came the parties where we almost didn't let T out of the house in what she was wearing. I can't even tell you what it was and neither can anyone else because all you could see was cleavage. Did we let her out of the house like that...no...she covered up...then uncovered at the party...of course...bad T.

  So this year we have a surprise for the youngins that will hopefully give them some good solid memories. Not like it matters there will be film and pics so they'll never get to forget. They know nothing and they'll have to work but it'll be fun!

  Be afraid though guys, be afraid.

  Besides that Salt and I are going to try something with duct tape and the newlywed, Salt and I are going on a semi spiritual quest! What could possibly go wrong?!

  Maybe we should be afraid...

  I've been having trouble getting the next video uploaded but it should load, eventually. I hope...

  Ok Lovelies, we'll talk soon

   See ya,
   S

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Off and Running!

Hi Guys!

It's been a busy couple of weeks!

After a good time at the 80's party everything moved really quickly from my battle with Employment Insurance, a call to my local MP, Fasttrack courses, a Wedding in Campbell River and the job hunt it all seems like a blur.

All of the employment crap is a jumbled mess that should not be this hard but I'm not letting it get me down. The job hunt is on and at this point my only worry is taking something that I don't really want but have to take.

This year has been one of reflection. Looking back at the years gone by. Where some of us wanted to be by now and where we actually are. My kids are grown and I don't need to worry as much about them. They have all been great and helpful especially during the stressful times. We lost power one night and I was so upset about it that the kids went above and beyond.

While the house was lit up with candles, they made sure I never went outside onto our back deck. When I finally got to go out there they had an extension cord running from the neighbours house to a projector and screen! It was the coolest thing. Sorry to the neighbour that tripped over it in the dark. They BBQ'd, we had chili cheese dogs and started our movie. ( Stay Alive ) just so we could freak out Salt ( which worked ) 15 mins later she was gone. Unfortunately the weather decided to be a jerk and pour down thunder showers so we scrambled and pulled everything in.

Now we want to make the outside viewing and Annual thing!

A few days later I was off on the trek to Campbell River, A Ferry and a bus up Island was easy breezy...on the way there. The Wedding was great and I hope it was exactly what she wanted and expected. On the day I left I trusted Google Map and apparently my decisions for stupid things. Google Map said 6 mins driving to the Greyhound station, I figured 6 mins! I could walk that and make it in about a half hour 40 because I'm a fast walker. The Bride, my bestie told me to take a cab...I should have listened.
Did you know Campbell River has lots of hills? Walking up them with 50lbs of crap on your shoulder makes walking much slower so with 6 mins to spare ( cruel joke ) and covered in sweat I made it to the bus on time.

So back to reality yay...

All in all though everything happened so fast! Now...I have work to do. Some of you are asking for the next Craig's War video and I'm working on it for you! Another Chapter is on the way as well so I'm off now to submerge myself and hopefully bring you something good!

Thanks guys!
See Ya
S


Monday, August 12, 2013

It Doesn't Matter...

Hi Lovelies,

I had some trouble this week with what to blog about. There's a lot going on but at the same time there's too much to choose from.

So I'm going with some small observations that I noticed this week.

It doesn't matter how many times your dog bites a bee and gets stung in the mouth. They will do it again.

It doesn't matter how many times you tell your child they're an adult now. They don't want to be.

It doesn't matter how many times you tell your roommate that she can't have a squirrel. She will ask.

It doesn't matter how many times you tell your friend that the racket with the wires holds electricity. He will still stick his finger in it and get shocked.

It doesn't matter how many times you tell the guy from Portland ( Benny ) not to eat the blackberries. He still does.

It doesn't matter that the mailman comes everyday. The dogs still scare the crap out of everyone barking at him.

It doesn't matter how many times you say you want to do something. Just do it, times a wastin!

It doesn't matter how many times you tell the ones you love 'I love you'. They will never forget.

Well that ended on a sweet and sappy note!

Be Brave and try new things!

See Ya
S


Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Bedbugs and Payback!

Hi Lovelies!

We've had a full house in the past couple of weeks. T, Craig and the baby were staying with us for a bit because the apartment building they lived in had a bad case of bed bugs that were using Peanut as a buffet. They got rid of the bed, had an exterminator come in that told them (thank goodness) that the bugs were confined to the bed. Oh happy day!

We're lucky we have enough space not that it mattered because we would have made room for them anyway. As they searched for a new bed Sese's boyfriend decided to get her a Hedgehog...a hedgehog! Ok she's cute I'll give her that and with Salt CONSTANTLY asking for a Squirrel  (don't ask) this could be bad! She'll show up one day holding a feral squirrel over me in my sleep with a giant smile  "I caught one!"

After having so much time with Peanut I'm sure his Nana was going through withdrawals without him around. Since he's back at home now, the rest of us are going through the withdrawal symptoms but we can laugh at his dad until he comes back again. Craig likes to trick people...all the time... so we turned it around on him this time and captured it on video. Unfortunately I didn't get all of the set up but the outcome was so worth it and I got that at least!

Craig tried to spike a bottle of water with salt so that when Choo got up in the middle of the night he would get a mouthful of salty water. He came up after Choo had gone to bed and asked me if he would get mad about the joke. I told him to leave it and that it would be fine. After he went downstairs I went to the fridge and dumped out the salt water then refilled it with fresh water.

In the morning I told Choo what happened and he said it was funny because he was going to drink out of it but there was so much salt in it the water was cloudy. He just thought that someone had put Crystal Light in it so he put it back. Choo started considering payback and it went on from there. At first we were trying to figure out how to pack his Slurpee straw with cinnamon and I figured the punishment should fit the crime so salt was the main ingredient.

When Craig came home T offered to go get him a Slurpee while he took a shower. She came back and the salt was added to his drink then we all sat patiently as we waited for him to seek refreshment.

To see the outcome click below
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zMNqIfWgGQ

There's lots coming up this month so I'll have more to share!

See ya
S

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Not By The Hair Of My Chinny Chin Chin!

It's that time again!

The weather has been so exceptionally nice that I haven't really sat down at the computer for awhile. While still Instagraming ( because I'm addicted to it, that's why the photo challenge I started has failed) and maintaining other social media I haven't spent much time writing and that's the thing I love to do!

So what's happened...?

Choo and I went to the City and Colour concert here in Vancouver a couple of weeks ago and it was fun night! Baking hot during the day and they put lids on the beer but keep the ones from your water bottle. We even ran into people we knew there in the midst all of the people.

With the collective help of the house and neighbours we finally have California and Smokey on some level of acceptance within the pack.

It's simple...Smokey must accept that Cali doesn't want him anywhere near her.

Went to a Bridal Shower for one of my best friends who is the hardest person ever to surprise and I think I might have...sort of. She's a tough cookie but there's a gooey center in there! Her niece was the comic relief that day in all of her cuteness.

Found out a neighbour was going to purchase a rabbit for his dog ( beagle) to kill...WTF??? People, I don't get it! I completely understand that some people use their dogs for hunting but...we're in the city and you want to trap it so it can't escape. The interesting thing was seeing how the guys reacted to it compared to how the women reacted.

Yes we love small furry animals and big Pitbulls that scare the crap out of you when he barks at a car honking. That just happened and I think I peed a little.

The general male consensus was " meh it's none of our business" while the general female one was to pen up the neighbour and have something much larger chase him.

(That was the nicest one)

Now for the record our outrage was definitely noted and we have no idea if they went through with it and after our very open disgust I don't think we'll ever know.

Deciding to get into some form of shape was a laugh fest! I bought this torture device called an Ab Roller. It's literally 2 wheels, a bar and my abs screamed at me the first time I used it. Watching B use it had me laughing so hard I almost fell off the couch and then it was my turn.

I almost returned it! B decided to use it when I was at the Bridal Shower and the next thing I knew I had a text message saying that my kid had hurt herself and split open her chin... The Ab Roller had drawn first blood.

How you ask? Well the Ab Roller is used while you are on your knees and you roll it back and forth engaging your core...simple enough? Well B "forgot" that she was supposed to be on her knees and tried to do it from a push up position. When she pulled back the wheels rolled under her and she slammed right onto her chin. The shit happens when I'm not home and with Craig here at the time the onslaught of jokes began,

1) Chin up B!
2) Chinny Chinny Bang Bang
3) Let's watch the Chinning!

Oh the list went on...and on. He did say she took the hit well considering he figured she should have been knocked out. Thank god she wasn't.

The Zoo itself is always entertaining!

That's all for now Lovelies everything will be updated and I'll be back soon!

See ya!
S

Friday, June 21, 2013

I Think I Snorted When I Laughed

I've been talking to a few people and it seems like this is the year of changes for almost all of them. At first I thought it was just people around my age but it's not just them.

Many employment changes, weddings, babies, graduations, dreams and nightmares. You all know about the changes going on in my life so far. Now after B has pulled it together and graduated early. she's all done! 

My girls are grown and their lives are their own...NOW WHAT? Trying to figure out what to do with myself seems to be the hardest part now that I'm laid off even though I'm still not quite off yet.

I always try to focus on the humour in The Zoo and there's plenty of it. It's hard to pick which one to talk about. I have a pick for this week and it's kind of at her expense but hey...she's used to it and does it to herself! Now my girl has this bucket list of weird things she wants to do. One of those things is to go grocery shopping in Walmart in a gorilla suit.

Why you ask?...

Because she's bat shit crazy that's why.

So me being me stepped it up a notch and fed into crazy.

Me: Why a gorilla?
Her: I don't know? I just have to do it!

Me: But why a Gorilla? Why not an Orangutan or...OMG a Baboon! (The light-bulb over my head shows up just as horror starts to sneak into her eyes)
       You have chaps! (She rides a Harley)
      We can paint your ass blue! (Horror fully takes over)

Her: Why?...
       NO...
       NOT GONNA HAPPEN!

Me: But it would be so funny! (Almost falling off my chair laughing because I can really SEE her doing this!)
Her: NO!
        No ass painting,
        NO chaps...
        NO!

Me: Go big or go home... (I think I even snorted when I laughed)
Her: Woman don't throw that in my face!

The conversation quickly changes from NO to BABY STEPS! So if you see a crazy woman in a Walmart in the Lower Mainland in a monkey suit of some sort and it's not Halloween check and see if her ass is blue. Take a pic, a good one because I know I will!

See Ya
S

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Sneaking it in!

Hello Lovelies!

Sorry for the constant delays but I should be back on track soon! I'm doing a side job right now so I'm still sort of working! Hooray!

Now it seems like I'm chasing the time off, which is perfectly fine by me. Once I get the time off though I can concentrate on upcoming and ongoing projects. I would like to concentrate more on my writing and another project with a friend.

You will have to check back shortly for the next 2 pics I have yet to upload. They will be there though! I have them ready.

Ok guys gotta sneak away now but I'll be back... frequently.

See Ya,
S

Monday, May 27, 2013

The End or the Beginning?

   Well it's been a whirlwind few weeks! I wrote a post not so long ago about losing a co-worker and now the hammer has fallen down to me. This will be my last week and then I will be joining the ranks of the UnEmployed! (Temporarily I hope)

   With an emotional week ahead and the statement that "Life begins at 40" stuck in my brain I can only hope that it does and think positively! ( with back-up plans...you know just in case. )

So it's short and sweet today guys. I owed you a pic from last week and one from this one and maybe one more just because!


Springtime by the Coquitlam River.

See ya Soon!
S

Monday, May 13, 2013

Not Average at All

Missed you last week guys...Sorry!

It was a tough week. Last Monday my office let go of a co-worker that was truly loved by the office. She was the new employee welcome wagon and friend to furry creatures everywhere ( as you can tell from her Intsagram photos ) after 4 years POOF she's gone.

While a few of us spent the week sulking and raging at her leaving, we quietly packed up her desk and got her things shipped to her ( Sad isn't it? ) the shock finally wore off and thus we had to being spinning the tragedy into something positive!

Like she has time to...

1) Take photos of her pets!
2) Drive her oldest daughter completely insane with her presence ( best part ever! )
3) Take more photos of her pets
4) Sleep in
5) Relax and plan the next phase ( change is good, go with it! )
6) Dress her dog in her cloths and yes take pics!

With everything we have today it's not like she's going to be far away. Miss you D-Rock! If you want to see the dog photo go to Aimlessly Average because yes she really did that.

This weekend was our towns annual May Day Parade and Fair! Peanut and apparently T's first real parade. Every year it gives us a chance to see those people that we don't see often and connect with our community. That goes as far as waving and nodding with simple pleasantries because every 10 seconds you see someone you haven't seen in a long time.

Peanut did so well! The only thing that even remotely freaked him out was the Firetruck siren and with that 3 people immediately came to his aid. One covering his ears, daddy Craig holding him whispering comfort and another with her hand on his chest to soothe him while I grabbed my camera and a shot of the disgruntled baby. After the parade it was off to the fair to check out all of the rides the kids thought were so much bigger when they were smaller. The weather held out and so did my twitter feed and my Instagram account with all of the activity.

I owe you 2 pics this time as part of the 52 week thingy so my pic from last week and this week will be posted today.

Click the tab up top to see.

See ya!
S

Monday, April 29, 2013

Happy Birthday to Me!

It's Monday, Blog day and just so happens to be my Birthday!

Now in the days building up to it I felt a bit horrified at times but as time went on it was more like *meh* I'm OK! It's like you think that everything will fall apart or gravity will mysteriously grab hold overnight! Well it didn't and I feel just like I did yesterday except that it was Sunday and I could stay in my PJ's all day.

I had a great day at home with the family on Saturday with balloons and streamers and CAKE and food and CAKE!

How surprised was I when I came into work and saw my little cubie space decorated in my favourite colours with tiny star confetti and tiny tiny 40's everywhere! I mean everywhere, even stuck to my ass and feet and tracked all over the office.



I read a blog this morning over at  Mama Pop that pretty much summed up a new view of life after 40 but for me without all the crying.

The kids are grown, now what?? Apparently Geo Cashing a girlfriend of mine we'll call her Salt because she's the Salt to my Pepa ( good grief, not dating myself at all) told me of this Global Treasure hunting thing, not that we really get treasure but we get to find shit and get out of the house!

Just think...by the time I'm 50 there will be people living on Mars!

As for the photo for this week I had a previous one but I choose a new one click the tab above to see!

Thanks for sticking it out with me!

See ya!
S

Monday, April 22, 2013

Stoners to Geeks what could be better!

Welcome back to to Gong Show!

   A little less of a show this weekend due to the beginning of the Spring events that will draw my zoo far and away as the weather gets warmer.

   Even if you are not a pot smoker, unless you have breathing problems you have checked out the 4/20 celebration at the Vancouver Art Gallery where people get to break the law and the cops just watch. For the first time in I don't know how long, my house was empty except for me and Choo and... I ...was...kinda bored! I puttered around not quite knowing what to do with myself and then...I went plant shopping because...I love to plant shop!

   I found one that even the plant lady at the store couldn't identify and that led to me getting it for half price, so the search is on!
Sunday was the Vancouver Sun Run and the Vancouver Fan Expo! I was supposed to be at the Sun Run but didn't feel well and I wish I could have gone to the Fan Expo! Embrace your inner geek people! My house was practically empty again!

Sese texted me from the line up waiting to get an autograph from Amanda Tapping ( Stargate & Sanctuary ) who's booth was right next to Robert Knepper ( T-Bag & Cult ) Now I would have beaten down any ailment to go see Norman Reedus ( The Walking Dead ) but due to a scheduling conflict he couldn't be there. Lucky for me Sese brought me back a Darryl Bobble head! His tiny crossbow makes me smile!

Included in her grab bag was a Tardis bathrobe to match her Tardis blanket and the mug and the 2 Sonic Screwdrivers among other things Dr. Who. Allan came back with an Italian Stallion bathrobe from Rocky. They all had fun and I wished I was there!

For the Sun Run, runners and walkers in honour of the Boston Marathon where sporting Blue and Yellow to show their support.

My photo for this week will be posted under the 52 Week Project page above!

That's all for now guys.

See ya
S.



Monday, April 15, 2013

My Own 52 Week Photo Project!

Good Morning Lovelies!

   Another week gone and we're back again this Monday Apr 15th and so starts my own 52 Week Photo Project! I was reading about it last week and approached a fellow Blogger Aimlessly Average to do the project with me!

   Now I was thinking of ways to kind of make the rpoject a bit different. At this point we're going to take a picture once a week and some part of our body has to be in the photo. Doesn't matter what it is as long as it's in there.

  This is Beaumont! He's just a dog  that visits our office every now and then.


He's teething... and his baby teeth hurt.

I'm hoping that by the end of all of this you'll be able to see the changes in techniques and perspective! At the same time you'll see lots of crappy stuff I'm sure because I'm no Pro.

I have added a Page up top to kind of keep track and hopefully there is a story that will go along with each photo. I can't promise that though depending on what kind of trouble my Gong Show gets into int the coming weeks.

That's it for now guys!

See ya,
S

Monday, April 8, 2013

I Promise I Won't Laugh is... not... me...

Back again I see!
Good stuff glad to see you!  

I received a strange text message last week from one of the boys simply saying " I got stabbed in the ass today at work. I just wanted to let you know that " Panic set in...for a second. As I asked questions like "How?", "Are you OK?" and "Did you go to the hospital and get stitches?" I got back...

"No, my boss hot glued it." HOT GLUE? I asked again to make sure he didn't really mean Crazy Glue and he reiterated that it was HOT GLUE. Who the hell puts hot glue in an open wound? Who would agree to have hot glue put on them? Have you touched hot glue? That would hurt like..well you know what it would hurt like. Is that toxic? He said he was up for a promotion and wanted to keep working. Yay good job! stabbed, glued and a renewed work ethic!

That's when the giggles started. Not because he was hurt but the image of him when the glue hit his skin. He said he was OK so full blown laughter took place. Have you ever laughed so hard that no sound comes out?

Yup that was me.

Sese came home from LA a day early last week and as happy as I was to have her home it sucked that she couldn't stay the extra day...( and get me jewelry made by Mexicans ) So because she flew in around 2pm I left work early to go to the airport. Thank god for the Canada Line to YVR it was an easy breezy transit trip to pick up my baby. When I dropped her off the airport was empty because it was so early, not this time though...PACKED! That's when my rage sets in, I want to find my kid and there's way too many people in between me and that objective. For the most part I was OK until 5 Min's before her plane landed Choo asked that we go to Tim Horton's...in the airport...with a HUGE line...oh...no.

By the time we made it to the till I was aggravated that I was going to miss Sese coming out mind you I have NO idea of how disembarking works. Anyway the whole time I'm in line I'm watching the ad for the NEW Vanilla Bean Latte. Yes I have a dairy allergy but I was willing to suffer for to try this. We finally get to the till and the cashier asks me what I want...

ME: Can I get a large Vanilla Bean Latte?
HER: A what?
ME: A Vanilla Bean Latte?
HER: Oh I don't think we sell those...
ME: Um...(points to the TV screen above her head)
HER: Oh...do you want an extra shot of chocolate mint?
ME: @_@ Chocolate what? No... Vanilla Bean Latte

So after going back and forth for a minute I decided to screw the Latte and just get my usual.

ME: Never mind the Latte I'll just get a large Double Double
HER: OK and an extra shot of Chocolate Mint?
ME: NO! NO CHOCOLATE MINT A DOUBLE DOUBLE.
HER: A double double, OK one sec...

We pay for our coffees and 2 cookies. Pick up my coffee then hurry to arrivals to wait for Sese. Open my coffee cup and damn it I smell chocolate mint. Choo backed up 3 steps when he saw the steam coming out of my ears.

All I wanted to do was walk back over there and loose my mind but then I saw oldest walking out from baggage with her little cow print luggage ( rolling luggage at that ) and the coffee fiasco went away.

If the distraction is good enough all the bad stuff goes away for a minute.

Anyway, Thank s for sticking with me for another week!

See Ya
S






Monday, April 1, 2013

She's Gone and I Caught the Chicken on Fire

Well Lovelies, I have to start off this post with my trip to YVR to drop Sese off for her flight to LA to see a friend.

We had a BBQ send off for her with some friends and I'm surprised I slept Friday night because I think I was more anxious than she was about the whole thing and she only got about 2 hours of sleep. I almost slept in! I had 3 alarms set and not one went off, that being my fault because they were set for Mon-Fri and this was a Sat wake up. I got up though only 1 min after the alarm was supposed to go off so we were all good.

5 am  we're out the door and on our way to Richmond someplace that I never go and I've lived here all my life but that's OK. After calling our driver a douche bag for stopping for coffee before he picked us up then getting in the car to see my double-double Tim Horton's cup beside my seat I apologized with doe eyes, sat back and shut up...

Temporarily.

At least the roads were clear of traffic that early in the morning. Once we got out of the car in front to the airport the mom panic started to set in. OK yes she's 20 and able to do all this stuff on her own but she was going to another country. Not so much of a stretch because they are our neighbours and at least it wasn't Scotland which is where she wanted to go this summer for 2 months. That's next year now oh...yes.

We found the check in and went to get her boarding pass. Neither of us really knowing how the airport check in went we checked her bags way too early and I had to leave her there in security while she went through but that's OK because she called me when she was done and I talked to her almost all of the way home. At 8am when her plane took off I was in a slight panic. Craig helped though by telling me to check the news repeatedly to see if her plane crashed.

Shut up Craig...

She called after she landed and my heart took a well needed rest!

 It's strange without her here but the zoo has kept me occupied since ( this is for you Jessie ) First if you text me when I'm drunk I'm not going to make sense and catch chicken on fire while drinking and BBQing ( not advised ) Man it went up fast! He promised me shots and umm....where were they? Besides that he's a good kid works hard at pimping himself out ( just kidding ) but he needs to find a nice girl to keep him in line. Is that mothering? Too bad that's what you got and if they don't pass pack approval you can't date her! ( Not Kidding ) Choose wisely... and I'm still waiting for my book, I'll harass you for it until it's in my hands.

The weekend was beautiful! Lots of sun, much needed warmth and time outside.

Season Finale of the Walking Dead!!! ( No spoilers )Things happened that I was hoping for but I didn't expect to be sad about 1 of them ( go figure ), now we have to wait forever for it to come back, but I had the Season Premier of Game of Thrones! Very excited for that and didn't realize the stuff I forgot that had happened but yup still hooked and looking forward to it every week!

That's it for now as I try to figure out how to make it the rest of the week until my kid comes home safe and sound in BC.

See Ya!
S

Monday, March 25, 2013

Some Movies Should Never Be Made...

Well it's a short week  due to Easter weekend coming up so that makes me very happy except that Sese heads of to LA to see a friend on Sat.
She's travelling alone...on a plane for the first time...leaving me, the family and her new BF for a whole week. I'm trying not to project my fear of flying onto her but I keep asking questions like...

Me: Lauren's going to be at the airport right?
Sese: Yes mom she's picking me up.

Me: but, your sure she's going to be there?
Sese: Yes mom..

Me: And you'll be ok on the plane? Don't take a window seat! Don't look down!
Sese: MOM! I want the window seat, I want to look down!

Me: O_O oh...
Sese: smiles devilishly

Me: What if someone steals you?
Sese: No one is going to steal me!

Soon we'll get to attempt to navigate YVR and she has to be there at 6am??? Oh this will be wonderful seeing as I haven't step foot in that airport since I was 6. Great I'll be one of those moms that's sobbing at the window watching the plane take off.

 Neither of the girls have been that far away from home for that long so a little separation anxiety is kicking in, she's tough though and so am I. I'm trying to get her to stalk the cast of SOA for me but I don't think she'll do that for me. You know being creepy and all.

She better come back...what if she doesn't want to come back!

Breathe...

Sat night we attempted to have a movie Marathon. After posting on Facebook for ideas we decided to just go with stuff we hadn't seen and I got to explore NetFlix. We started off with a movie called

The Asylum- I don't even know who was in that movie! There were some people that looked familiar but we couldn't place where we had seen them. 2 of the 4 cell phones in the room have the IMDB app and yet we were too lazy to find out. The movie took place in a University where a certain building that they have remodelled was actually an asylum. How original! So a bunch of fresh new college students move into this co-ed dorm only to find a locked door with a secutiry code...oooooo.

So of course the smart guy who cracked the code tells them they have to open the door! In turn they let out the insane crazy ghost doctor that they had investigated just moments prior to cracking the code. The thing that gets me is that out of everyone that is supposedly staying in the dorm that we see in the beginning of the movie, you only see 7 people throughout the whole rest of the movie...even outside. I do have to say though that the dumb abrasive guy was very entertaining and I was sad when he...ummm...I don't even remember what happened to him.

Impostor- I'm sure that would have been a great movie if I got to see more than 10 mins of Gary Sinise before one of my fav people in life showed up from Redcliffe Alberta. He completely surprised us because we haven't seen him in about 14-15 years! With that the Marathon was over.

I did try to watch a movie called Space Milkshake the next morning though...strange, strange movie with Kristin Kreuk, Amanda Tapping, Billy Boyd and Robin Dunne. Seeing as they all had a hand in producing the movie it made sense that it was really strange and I'll never look at rubber duckies the same way again.

So this was unusually long this week, I got it all out though!

I think... oh wait...

Jessie! You didn't bitch enough...

See ya!
S

Monday, March 18, 2013

The Boys Edition!

After last weeks post I got a message on Facebook from T's boyfriend Craig saying pretty much that he's hurt because I never mention him it's always the girls I talk about and he is SOOOO AWESOME that he should be shown some love in my blog.

Hence the Boy's edition!

   Allan ( Bean's boyfriend )- Stepping out of the 1940's Brooklyn street kid style was the first thing I thought when I saw this kid a year and a half ago. My second thought was "What was what do YOU want with my daughter?"

Choo was the first one to say the thought he was a good kid because he liked and knew cars. Apparently those were the only credentials needed to pass the dad test. He was shy at first so I was harder to convince.  This was my baby girl but he stepped up and takes care of her, kept her close to home and mellowed her from her teenage partying years. Thank God, I'd hate to see what it might have looked like without him around.

   Steven ( Sese's ahem... friend ) has been around almost as long as Allan. Bean and T brought him home from school one day kind of like a puppy. Another good kid that has a plan for his future, two jobs and is finishing up school on top of that he's good to his mother so how can you go wrong with a kid like that! Also shy at first I didn't need to worry because he wasn't dating one of my daughter's...until now.

Now you're fair game...

That's not a good thing.

   Craig ( T's boyfriend ) oh Craig...we inherited him when T came to live with us. The day she moved in was the first day they started seeing each other. Craig...is NOT shy! He is the complete and utter opposite of shy. Shy does not exist when his big head enters a room. If he wasn't making me laugh so hard most of the time I might have worried about him but he worked his way in with his constant smile (even when he's mad ) and his protectiveness over all of the girls. Keeping the shady ones away.

Good job Craig! You get the UFC fight and Yorkies for your constant support. We will continue to watch you chant "it's o.k." to your baby boy to stop him from crying, while at the same time telling others * cough cough * to GET TO WORK and listen to you sing that Thrifty whatever song about having 20 dollars in your pocket.

There are many others I could mention but these 3 being so constant for so long, get this week's honorable mention. ( Oooo that could be a thing! )

With that said so far you guys have made the girls happy, which you should continue to do because if you don't...

well you don't want to know what happens if you fail this.

That's it for the boys...for now.

Oh and Craig...PS...you still owe me a shovel.

See ya
S

Monday, March 11, 2013

It's Over! I'm Back!

Things are back to normal now...sort of.

A lot of things happened this week...

RRSP season is over!!!

After a stressful week of RRSP season, (I say week because that's when people decided their business should come in instead of the 2 months they have from Jan to March) it's done until next year! My branch manager got me a bottle of Crown Royal Maple Finish for my hard work. It smells and tastes just like MAPLE SYRUP!

You know what that means...you can't mix that shit with anything I tried. Shoot it or sip it are your only choices so, shots it was!

Sese had a date!

She was cute and nervous and oh sooo cute!!! Sleepy but still cute ( She'll kill me for this later )

Bean's having a small life crisis!

17 and doesn't know what to do with her life but very excited for whatever she does chose to do. Today she asked me for three things to describe her or something I would say to her frequently.

Unfortunately...'Your a brat', 'calm down' and 'you're kidding me' don't count as positive things to tell your child so we changed them to you're very helpful ( which she is ), you're determined ( to rip your face off if you get on her bad side ) and I think I left number 3 up to the girls to decide.

T has the cutest baby boy ever!

Yes I'm biased, he's too cute for words which is great because he had a hell of a time getting here and makes up for it in smiles.

We had a great sunny weekend and I got to do some stuff outside and my dog's got to hang out in the sun. Smokey got humped at the dog park and then decided it was best to pee on the insanely hairy Collie that had mounted him. His owner seemed unfazed by this so ok then!

Whiskey had his nose so far up a Multipoos ass it looked like a wheel barrel race and they would have won.

California my timid little girl was just that...timid.

Next is a trip to Saint Paul's on Wed for Choo to get another shot in the back and be high as a kite for the trip on the transit system. Whooo Hoooo!

I can feel the commuter rage already.

OK Lovelies away I go for now and I'll have another section of CF for you tomorrow possibly Wednesday if I can pry my laptop away from those that don't use their own stuff!!

See ya
S

Monday, February 25, 2013

It's Almost Over!

Hi Lovlies!

I didn't forget and this is just a quick drive by post!

RRSP season is almost over!!!! Once it is I won't be so mentally drained from the day and I might be able to focus on all of the wonderful things to come!

This is the last week of my work torture and then everything will be back to normal...whatever that is!

Oooo question though...what made this? It's a giant nest big enough to fit a small child or 2 after a closer look!




See ya soon
S

Monday, February 18, 2013

Another Weekend Gone!

Hi Lovelies!

So the posts are sporadic right now because of work and the busy season but it's Sunday night and after watching The Walking Dead my emotions are in a whirlwind!

There are very few MUST SEE shows for me but The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones and Sons of Anarchy are the ones that I will lock all of the doors and literally starve my kids until they're over even though I try watching them in the earliest time slot possible.

The Walking Dead though is the one that has me screaming at my TV almost every episode! It consistently surprises me...except for Andrea who consistently disappoints me but she's still alive for some unknown reason. I'm hoping that her future choices will eventually be...well...smarter. I won't give any spoilers away for those of you that PVR it but there were a couple of OMG moments.

Sese laughs at me because she watches the show after I do but she'll know how good it is by how loud I scream or the extra swearing that comes along with a dramatic moment. When you are actually sitting on the edge of your seat you know it's good.

That's what I love about the 12-13 episode dramas, they have to pack so much stuff into such a short period of time that you're hooked the whole way through then saddened when it's over and have o wait a whole 9 months for them to come back.

That is sweet torture...

Besides that small 55 min escape from mundane life everything else has been like a train wreck...hmmm bad choice of words.

On Friday it took me about an extra hour and a half to get home from work because of a Heavy Police presence at the 2nd Narrows Bridge/Iron workers Memorial because someone got hit by a freight train. One thing I've realized from taking the West Coast Express is that more people than I thought get hit by trains...a whole lot more.

So as passengers they wouldn't tell us what happened we sat there patiently...well some of us did. I was kind of amazed at the reaction to the situation on the train. We can't go anywhere so why waste the energy getting mad about it. I had music and my book that's all I needed.

So by the time I got home it was much later than usual and my Friday was almost over, the glass of wine that I had said I was going to have forgotten and dinner already being made ( not by me ) was great. Not the wine part I was a bit upset that I missed that.

Anyway the weekend came and went with the sun shining and thoughts of spring humming through my brain as the temp gets warmer and the sun shines more with the urge to do yard work building more and more!

Well off I go on another week of hell with only 2 more weeks of RRSP season to go and hopefully a change of Departments to go with it! Fingers crossed.

See you soon!
S

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Happy Days Will Be Here Again!

Hello Lovelies!

OK I'm not really sure if they are here again but things are looking up...sort of...depending on how you look at it! For me that means I have already wrote off winter and am looking forward to Spring, with sunny skies and happy faces.

Cause we all need some cheering up sometimes!

This is not that time...

I usually don't let work stress get to me, it's easy not too because I work with good people. The ones that aren't so good though are the ones that stress me out. Throw them on top of rude commuters and you have a complete shit show!

Like...

The 3 woman that shoulder check people out of the way so the 3 of them can stay together in line..really, must you everyday? You'll be up or down the escalator in less than 60 seconds, get a grip.

The people that stand behind you and poke you in the back when you're already moving as fast as the person in front of you? If I have to turn around, you'll get poked...right in the eye. ( even though I have eye issues and I hope that's your umbrella)

Stress is bad for the soul especially a soul that will go to HELL for raging about personal space issues or the person that butts in front of you in line at Starbucks when all your trying to do it get the Venti Soy Vanilla Latte Ex Hot that you have come to love!

Breathe..

you know that person that stands so close to you that you are highly uncomfortable? Ya that person...back off.

Wait I was talking about being cheery right??? I lost that somewhere but you know what I mean.

So looking to the bright cheery future...a lot of you know that I don't have a drivers license, not yet anyway and I've had my learners for oh...say...about...14 almost 15 years. So long that I have a 40% discount on insurance and I don't drive.

That's all about to change though...! By my __th birthday ( ahem ) I will finally get my license and join the mobile community thus increasing my carbon footprint where is hasn't existed much and instead of commuter or pedestrian raging I will be a calm and observant driver!

Oh you know me so well...

I'll try not to make my posts too far apart. It's RRSP season at work so it's crazy all the time and all I want to do when I get home is grab a bottle of whiskey and sit in my bathtub watching the UK version of Shameless until it all goes away.

hmmm a bit dramatic but you get it!

See ya soon!
S









Monday, January 21, 2013

Still waiting...!

Hi guys,

Sorry for the delayed post from last week...I had an awful Monday that hindered my brain from thinking about anything other than how some people are assholes but... no worries, cause I'm over it.

I've been with T as she's trying to give birth to her baby boy that was due Jan 9th has been increasingly difficult. She has been in labour now for about 6 days the poor thing because they don't want to give her a c-section due to her age. After a few morphine trips, starting and slowing of her contractions this kid should be born today! We hope... although T on morphine was very comical and I have video for little PJ when he gets older...if he comes out...eventually.

One minute she's calm and the next in tears but it was her angry streak that would make us laugh the most. I have to say that i feel for the nurses sometimes when they get someone in that's as agitated as T was.

Tie your hair back - so it won't be pulled out!

Wear safety goggles - so they won't be scratched out!

Stay out of arms reach - so they can't grab you!

To the ladies rotating in the bed beside T...she didn't mean it when she said it sounded like you were having sex during your contractions...it was the morphine.

PJ's daddy is calm on the outside but I'm suspecting completely insane and stir crazy on the inside. No one could be that calm and cool during something like this for this long.

Besides that, at home the girls are buzzing about being Aunts and already planning on spoiling this kid rotten. The fight already begins for the fave Auntie roll.

This should be entertaining and blog worthy!

Beside that there are a few more projects on the go. I love that people are giving me ideas! There are so many though I'm not quite sure where to start!

 We almost fostered a dog who needed a home which I would have done as long as I knew the dog was leaving.

So far 2013 is moving fast and not so bad! By the end of the day there will be another family member and after this maybe the only one T will give us.

See ya soon!
S

Monday, January 7, 2013

I posted it and I'm still alive!

Hi Lovelies!

Well I made it! I'm still here...

After posting something that's so close to me and not dying of acute embarrassment I have survived. Even though I did say that this is all in fun, I really want it to go well and I realize that I'm just getting started so hopefully it can hold your interest long enough to get the whole story out there.

Battling the thoughts in my head though was tough and after posting, I actually pulled it after hyperventilating then got some re-editing done. Of course because it's me after all of that I didn't even post the whole chapter!! I didn't even realize it at first but it was not left in the position I wanted it be but still, I did it and was a bit overwhelmed at the response I got from the story so far.

As I've told some of you already though..." I can't tell you what happens, you'll have to stick with it. "

I have barely begun.

For others that know me..." Yes, there will be adult content but it's not 50 Shades here. "

That's all I'll say about that.

For all my extended children..." I know your old enough but, don't read the sexy shit. "

You will all be GROUNDED.

Every Tuesday there will be another chapter posted and I'll try to make sure I don't mess it up too much, or skip shit or sound too repetative but by all means tell me if I do!

SYL

S