Happy New Year!

I just had to share that one with you, in case you were among my well wishers...

But in all seriousness, here's my wish for you for 2008


After serious & cautious consideration...your contract of friendship has been renewed for the New Year 2008! It was a very hard decision to make. So try not to screw it up!!!

My Wish for You in 2008:

May peace break into your house and may thieves come to steal your debts. May the pockets of your jeans become a magnet of $100 bills. May love stick to your face like Vaseline and may laughter assault your lips! May your clothes smell of success like smoking tires and may happiness slap you across the face and may your tears be that of joy. May the problems you had forget your home address! In simple words...

May 2008 be the best year of your life!!!

All the Best, for the Best!
Big virtual hugs to each and everyone of you.
Happy New Year!

The Paw

I was visiting Drowsey Monkey when I saw that she had an idea that I’ve been toying with for a while. Because she’s had 5000+ visitors she made a “Blogging Buddy Badge”.

At first I thought I wanted to create some kind of award, but soon realised that what I really wanted to do was simply to thank my regular readers/commenters and present them with some sort of “bling”. (I’m a girl who does like shinny, sparkly things!)

So, for those courageous, opinionated lurkers who, throughout the last twenty months became blog friends (also known as “blends”), I would like to bestow upon you “The Paw”, my way of Thanking You for Being a ‘Blend’.

“The Paw” is intended to be a sign that says: this blogger is a good ‘blend’ of Stinkypaw and is not afraid to admit it. He/She is not easily offended and has a good sense of humour and most importantly doesn’t take him/herself too seriously. - Stinkypaw =^..^=

In order to end the year 2007 in style, I present you, the first recipients of “The Paw”:

Ananke

Attila The Mom

Christina The Wench

Don’t Call Me Ma’am (even if she’s been MIA lately)

Hasarder

Jason67 (also MIA, from here, anyway)

Kim

Lizgwiz

Marius

Meow (also MIA)

Monkey

Mousse (not really a blogger, but sure is a reader!)

Mr. Social

Paisley

Preppygirl (also MIA)

Princess Slea

Purple Pigeon

Robert

Simplypink (a.k.a. Shopper)

SkippyMom

Trueself

Wreckless

I will let each recipient know that they were awarded "The Paw", and can only hope that they will accept this little token of appreciation. Recipients, please place this banner on your site with pride and feel free to link it back to this post.

I hope to do this regularly (at least once a year) . My way of thanking you for being a friend.

Don't be shy to comment, come around regularly and let's get to know each other. I'm always amaze to realise the friendships that are being created here, how from simply sharring life experiences and comments we got to know each other, care about each other and hopefully, if the opportunity presents itself, maybe one day get to "really" meet each other. One can only hope...

Last Friday Smile of 2007!

Al and Joe are bungee-jumping one day. Al says to Joe,"you know, we could make a lot of money running our own bungee jumping service in Mexico." Joe thinks this is a great idea, so they pool their money and buy everything they'll need: a tower, an elastic cord, insurance, etc.

They travel to a Mexican city and begin to set up in the middle of the town square.

As they are constructing the tower a crowd begins to assemble. Slowly, more and more people gather to watch them work. When they had finished, they looked down and realized there was a huge crowd. They are imagining all the money they will make from this trip.

Joe says to Al, "Man this was a great idea. Look at that crowd. We're gonna be rich!"

Joe agrees and says, "What do you think we should do to get them excited and ready to come up here and jump?"

"How about we give them a demonstration?" says Joe.

Al agrees and after a short discussion they agree since it was Al's money-making idea he should have the pleasure of introducing Bungee-Jumping to the crowd.

He secures the rope to his safety belt makes sure everything else is in place. He steps onto the platform, turns to Joe smiles and says, "Here's our first step towards retirement."

As he leaps Joe yells, "Go for it man!" Al bounces at the end of the cord, but when he comes back up, Joe notices that he has a few cuts and scratches. Joe reaches out to grab him, unfortunately, he isn't able to catch him, and Al falls again.

He bounces up and comes back up again. This time he is bruised and bleeding. Again Joe reaches out to grab, but misses him. Al falls again and bounces back up. This time he comes back pretty messed up. He's got a couple of broken bones and is almost unconscious.

Luckily Joe catches him this time and says, "What happened? Was the cord too long?"

Barely able to speak, Al gasps, "No, the bungee cord was fine. It was the crowd.....WHAT THE HELL IS A PIÑATA???"

***

A big Texan stopped at a local restaurant following a day roaming around in Mexico .
While sipping his tequila, he noticed a sizzling, scrumptious looking platter being served at the next table. Not only did it look good, the smell was wonderful. He asked the waiter, "What is that you just served?"

The waiter replied, "Ah senor, you have excellent taste! Those are called Cojones de Toro, bull's testicles from the bull fight this morning. A delicacy!"

The cowboy said, "What the heck, bring me an order."

The waiter replied, "I am so sorry senor. There is only one serving per day because there is only one bull fight each morning. If you come early and place your order, we will be sure to save you this delicacy."

The next morning, the cowboy returned, placed his order, and that evening was served the one and only special delicacy of the day. After a few bites, inspecting his platter, he called to the waiter and said, "These are delicious, but they are much, much smaller than the ones I saw you serve yesterday."

The waiter shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Si, Senor. Sometimes the bull wins."

Have a great weekend everyone!
All the Best for this New Year!
May 2008 be filled with lots of love, health, peace & money!
But mostly time to enjoy it!

Post-Christmas Down

Am I the only one who feels a little depressed after Christmas? Each year I get a little sad (on top of my regular S.A.D. Seasonal Affective Disorder) right after Christmas. It might be due to the fact that I always get excited about Christmas, about all the decorations, etc. It might also be related to the charity… the gathering of the goods for those in needs, all that is done now, so…

I know that there’s New Year and all, but I’ve never been a real fan of that. We’ll do the get together with friends, but that’s about it. I enjoy Christmas. And now I feel sad that it’s over… Today at the mall, Santa's chair was empty and I didn't like seeing that. Especially that it was snowing outside, and there was still a bit of frenzy in the air, lots of shoppers out.

I received an email today asking if I’d be interested in doing a NaBlo thing for EVERY day of 2008. I must confess that I did think about it. I still have a few days left… if I decide to join. In case you’re interested, check it out here.

As I was surfing around, I went to my “Blog Catalog” and “Fuel My Blog” accounts and looked around a bit. I don’t often go there. I don’t really know if those things really work. I came across a “Blog of the Day” award and it was a blog I read. I was a bit surprised. You see, for those types of awards I always assumed they were awarded by fellow bloggers, not because you nominated your blog and asked your friends and readers to vote for you. That, to me, is just … weird wrong or at least not the way I think it should be done. Someone became my “friend” on Blog Catalog and then sent me a message saying that he couldn’t find my blog in the 2008 Blogger’s Choice Award. I should sign up, nominate myself and then vote for him. WTF?

The little Blogger's Choice guy is cute, I must say. Looks a bit like one of those Alessi bonhommes, but enough for me to nominate one of my blogs. That just seems sooo wrong...
On BlogCatalog they even have a group, with over 250 members where they tell you how to submit your blog, etc. Check it out.

Thinking back, I wonder if all those blogs I’ve seen with some “This blog was nominated…” were actually self-nominations? Not the same at all, now is it? And to think that I wanted one of those… yikes.

Just last week I received my very first Blog Award ever. Yes, Lizgwiz presented me with “A Major Award” (Chech it out on my side bar under "Not So Stinky" You can read her post by clicking on the award)! I was very surprised and also very happy. I didn’t tell her to nominate me and that’s the way it should be, at least I think so… What do you think?

"So this is Christmas, and what have you done..."

Before telling you about how the delivery went, I thought I’d let you know about all the stuff we managed to put together for the men at “La Maison du Père”. I actually did more shopping this year, than I had done all the previous years. While at the cash, I was asked questions like: “Do you only had men in your life?” and “Did you emptied our racks?”…Funny what buying a bunch of razors, shaving gel, socks, undies, etc. will make people say.

With the generous contributions of our friends, I managed to buy:

• 51 cans of shaving gel
• 416 disposable razors
• 36 pairs of sport socks
• 42 pairs of wool socks
• 55 under wear
• 100 white T-shirts
• 36 kits of fleece gloves and hat

Plus I have a big bag full of second-hand clothes, including lots of socks, a snowsuit, a ski jacket, a blazer and some dress pant.

Once again, I’m touched by the generosity of our friends, and how well they responded.

Here are pictures of everything in boxes and bags, ready to ne delivered...

































We delivered today. The delivery experience was very different from previous years. We only had one car full of goods (compared to three years before). We drove to “La Maison du Père” and saw men lined up all ready. I had thought that if we went there between lunch and dinner it would be less busy, but I thought wrong. As soon as they saw me talking bags out of the car they offered to help. I managed to make my way to the front door and was welcomed by a drunken man, talking to himself and a few other lurkers. I explained to the man in charge that I had a car full of stuff, so he told me to go by the docks, someone would be waiting for me. As soon as I put down the bags, full of gloves, this old man came by and asked the one in charge, showing his old gloves, full of holes, if he could get a pair of new ones…

As I got back into the car, I told Hubby that the “good feeling”, or the joy of seeing people’s happiness from receiving it all, wasn’t the same here. At all. We made our way to the loading docks and started unloading the goods. The man in charge there was very appreciative of what they were receiving and was very excited to see the cans of shaving gel and the razors. He knew that those things were expensive, and in great demand by the men at “La Maison du Père”. We unloaded everything, wished them all a Merry Christmas and came home. Those last five minutes, made it all worth it. I know we "did good", but somehow the feeling isn't quite the same as when a kid's face lights up because he saw a treat in a bag or a bag full of gifts... In a way this is why I chose this cause this year, to help those that society has given up on, and seeing all those men lined up, on Christmas Day, reminded me how good I do have it...

I may not have felt like seeing the relatives today, but in a way I should consider myself lucky to be with those I love and who love me back (or so I hope think)...

If every one of us did something like try to help somebody in need, on a smaller scale, I’m convinced that the world would be a better place and that poverty would be taken care of. We need to help each other, and show compassion. We need to show, somehow, that we do care…

I leave you with one of my favorite song's lyrics, and if you click on the link, if you want to hear it and to close you'll see an interesting video...

Happy Christmas (Lyrics)

And what have you done - Another year over
And a new one just begun - And so this is christmas
I hope you have fun - The near and the dear ones
The old and the young - A very merry christmas
And a happy new year - Let’s hope it’s a good one
Without any fear - And so this is christmas
For weak and for strong - For rich and the poor ones
The war is so long - And so happy christmas
For black and for white - For yellow and red ones
Let’s stop all the fight - A very merry christmas
And a happy new year - Let’s hope it’s a good one
Without any fear - And so this is christmas
And what have we done - Another year over
And a new one just begun - And so happy christmas
I hope you have fun - The near and the dear ones
The old and the young - A very merry christmas
And a happy new year - Let’s hope it’s a good one
Without any fear - And so this is christmas
And what have we done -Another year over
And a new one just begun.

Merry Christmas!

The price of Procrastination

Poor Santa...

For Women Only!

Gals, you must see this...

Your Friday Smile!

One beautiful December evening Pedro and his girlfriend Rosita were sitting by the side of the ocean.

It was a romantic full moon, when Pedro said, "Hey, mamacita, let's do Weeweechu."

"Oh no, not now, let's look at the moon!" said Rosita.

"Oh, c'mon baby, let's you and I do Weeweechu. I love you and it's the perfect time," Pedro begged.

"But I wanna just hold your hand and watch the moon." replied Rosita.

"Please, corazoncito, just once, do Weeweechu with me."

Rosita looked at Pedro and said, "OK, one time, we'll do Weeweechu."
Pedro grabbed his guitar and they both sang.....
"Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, Weeweechu a Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year."

MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Now get your mind out of the gutter!

***

*This happened to me a few years back when I was still single, as my mother passed my closed bedroom door, she heard a strange buzzing noise coming from within. Opening the door, she observed me giving myself a real workout with a vibrator. Shocked, she asked: "What in the world are you doing?" I replied: "Mom, I'm twenty-five years old, unmarried, and this thing is about as close as I'll ever get to a husband. Please, go away and leave me alone."

The next day, my father heard the same buzz coming from the other side of the closed bedroom door. Upon entering the room, he observed me making passionate love to my vibrator.

To his query as to what I was doing, I said: "Dad I'm twenty-five, unmarried, and this thing is about as close as I'll ever get to a husband. Please, go away and leave me alone."

A couple days later, it was Christmas and my mom, some relatives and myself went to Midnight mass. My father never came, always having a good excuse to skip mass. That year it was he was going to pre-heat our meal for after mass. When we came home we heard that buzzing noise coming from, of all places, the living room. We entered that area and observed my dad sitting on the couch, downing a cold beer, and staring at the tv. The vibrator was next to him on the couch, buzzing like crazy.

My mom asked him: "What the hell are you doing?"

My dad replied: "It’s Christmas and I’m having a cold beer with my son-in-law!”

***

Merry Christmas Everyone!
Have a great weekend & please be safe.
Remember, don't drink & drive!

* This IS a joke, and never did happen… but it could have… ;-)

One for me!

I’m taking a bit of time for “me”. The last few days between the snow, the driving conditions from Hell (if it was to freeze over), and the Christmas frenzy I feel like I haven’t had tome for me at all. At moments like these I can’t help and wonder how parents do it… being pulled in all directions, all the time… I’m happy I realised that it wasn’t for me to be a parent… I know the joys out balance the rest, but still… Call me selfish, I don’t care! I need quiet time, alone, with my keyboard!

Since the storm, it kept on snowing a bit everyday, making driving a real nightmare. Yesterday on the radio, the traffic guy said that in twenty years of doing traffic reports he never had bad days like the last two days. To get anywhere was impossible. Of course, that is when you must get somewhere… like having my appointment with the neurologist yesterday morning. That went well. He’ll be sending me for more tests in the New Year, so no worries, I’m being “taken care of”.

This year, instead of adopting a family in need, due to space limitation in our new condo, I’ve decided to help the homeless around here. So, with the generous contributions of our friends, I’ve been shopping for those guys. I emptied a rack at Zellers of gift-set they had of gloves and hat. I did the same for wool socks. Last night was a Costco run where I got lots (I mean like hundreds) of disposable razors, shaving gel, undershirts, undies, and some more socks. Our room in the basement is packed, even if we don’t have the space for it all. At least, it’s nothing compared to previous years. I will post pictures and more details about it all, after we’ve delivered the goods. It was fun to shop for those men, thinking that we were helping them in some little way. It does feel good.

Aaaahhhh, the joy of giving… Read my post about it, from last year.

Explanation

According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, while both male and female reindeer grow antlers in the summer each year, male reindeer drop their antlers at the beginning of winter, usually late November to mid-December. Female reindeer retain their antlers till after they give birth in the spring.

Therefore, according to EVERY historical rendition depicting Santa's reindeer, EVERY single one of them, from Rudolph to Blitzen, had to be a girl.

We should've known... ONLY women would be able to drag an overweight man in a red velvet suit all around the world in one night and not get lost!

Snow Anyone?

What a weekend! Saturday was a nice & relax day with the goddaughter of Hubby. We met for brunch and it turned into a day adventure. It was nice to catch up, since we hadn’t had a chance to do it in a long time. We thought, after brunch, that we would go shopping, but it was so cold outside that we decided to come back home. Made some nice blooming tea and chit chatted. A nice day at home, in good company, what else can we ask for?

Sunday was a little different. It started with the cable guy coming in at around 10am. Yes, a cable guy on a Sunday. Can you believe that after more than six months we finally have cable? It’s almost making me dizzy to flick the channels! Then some friends came by, despite the snowstorm, because we woke up to another snowstorm! Not just a few flakes, noooo, I’m talking lots of snow!! All day. Non-stop. What we had last week was not much compared to what is falling now. Our friends were courageous enough the brave it all and came by to spend some time with us. I needed help with something and my girlfriend came to my rescue. She’s such a good friend. We also had dinner plans with other friends but those got cancelled. Today was a day for some serious cocooning. That’s what we did, for part of the afternoon. We watched some television and rested.

At 9pm I asked Hubby if he wanted to go for a walk. We dressed up like we do when we snowshoe and walked around our neighbourhood. I had brought our camera and took a few shots. They're not the best, because it was cold and didn't have a tripod or anything like that. The city felt so different, and Old Montreal was completely empty. We walked for 90 minutes. It wasn’t the warmest night, despite the snow, because of the wind. Walking in that much snow was almost like running in water, or in the sand… not the easiest, but I just loved it!

This was Place Jacques-Cartier, corner of St-Paul St. There's a Nativity scene that was almost all under snow.

This is l'Église Notre-Dame, on Notre-Same St., right in the center of Old Montreal. A beautiful church, where Céline Dion got married and had her son baptised at...

We made our way to Chinatown, which was also empty and eerier than usual... I saw this cat in a window, and thought it was dressed for the occasion... Don't you think?

As we made our way back, on Notre-Dame St., I couldn't help to feel sorry for all those poor souls who will have to be digging their cars out tomorrow morning. Look at the snow banks, some cars are barely visible...

And finally, as we were almost home, I asked Hubby to take this last shot. This is our street (as seen from the Notre-Dame overpass)...

Do you see my car on the left hand side, it's the third car? It's parked right on the corner of the entrance to the garage... Just by the little arrow in a black box that I put... Can't see it? Well... me neither! F*ck! I'll be shovelling with those poor souls as well! Oh the joy of winter! Or should I say to live here? No matter what, we had a great walk and it was the first of many I'm sure...

At least we will have a White Christmas!

Your Friday Smile!

***

Holiday Eating Tips:

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. Like fine single-malt scotch, it's rare. In fact, it's even rarer than single-malt scotch. You can't find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has 10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an 'eggnog-aholic' or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it!!!! Have one for me. Have two. It's later than you think. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy. Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's. You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet
table while carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind, you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple. Pumpkin. Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or, if you don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three. When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor
Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips: start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner.

Have a great weekend everyone!
Only 11 days to go before Christmas...
If you party, please don't drink & drive.

And please, let's not forget to let me know when your birth date is (here).

Santa Fear

When I saw this on Monkeybrigade's blog (thanks to Princess for letting us know about it), I couldn't help but reminisce... (what else do you expect, I’m at that age after all…)

From the age of two, age at which we moved to Montreal, my mother took me every year to get my picture taken with Santa, at Alexis-Nihon Plaza. We did that until I was old enough, I’d say seven or eight years old.

This is one of my first picture with Santa at the mall… I was two years old on that one. I wasn't too sure about being happy sitting up there! That was in 1968.

I don’t really remember when and how I stopped believing in Santa except that I do recall one Christmas when Santa showed up at my grandparents, in Amos, wearing some blue eye shadow. I also remember being pulled aside by my mother and being told to be quiet, because I had “noticed” it.

Every Christmas at my grandparents, it was a big production. I’m the oldest on my mother’s side, of seven. Every year one of my mother’s brother would dress up, and either make some noise in the basement or one year one of them made his way on the roof and we could hear the reindeers’ bells and steps on the roof… really impressive!

The year of the “eye shadowed Santa” was because the designated uncle started partying a little too early… and his wife ended up becoming Santa. There was always one of the young ones afraid on Santa, no matter who was under the tired beard… and we all had to go sit on his/her lap, kiss him/her in order to get our gifts. Being the oldest I would always go first. Some year I would tell my mom about Santa’s breath (even as a kid I hated beer breath!), or how much Santa looked like uncle R… I don’t recall my parents ever telling me that it wasn’t real, but I do remember them telling me to remain quiet about whatever I thought I knew, my cousins didn’t need to know.

Here’s my last picture with Santa. That was a few years back… Every time we would go to the mall I would ask Hubby to come with me for a Santa picture. He always refused. One year we made a bet and since I was totally certain of what we were debating, I bet him a picture on Santa’s lap. He was also convinced to be right, so he accepted the bet. He wasn’t.

The look on people’s faces while we were waiting in line, with the parents and their kids was priceless. I do have to say that Hubby was a good sport about it, and I was more embarrassed about being there than him. When we got to Santa’s elf, we simply said it was for us, Santa laughed and told us to sit on the arm of his chair for some strange reason. We simply told him that Hubby had lost a bet.

Every year, at Christmas, I take out that picture of us. It’s much better without the black strips across our faces. I like that picture of us. Every time I look at it I can’t help to think of that quote from “The Polar Express” (a “Must See”, if you haven’t yet!) : “May the bell of Christmas ring for you, as it does for all who truly believe in Christmas!” and wonder, will I hear that bell again this year?

I think I will…
What about you, will you?

Not that bad...

Hubby sent me this with a simple phrase:

"At least I'm not as bad as this geek..."

...and I'm so happy about that!

Two more weeks...

Little recap of our weekend: Round One of Christmas Party is over.

Friday night was a client’s party and despite my apprehension, it turned out to be a great evening. We had a fun time. We left home earlier and slowly walked there. We stopped at a few shops along the way; I did manage to find a gift for the daughter of a cousin, and it was small enough that Hubby put it in his coat pocket. When we got to the restaurant, I was happy to see that most people were late because they couldn’t find parking. Ha!

Saturday night we both had parties: Hubby’s client and my meditation group. So we left home at the same time, but opposite direction. We both had a good time and came home at about the same time… talk about timing! I came home with a bunch of gifts, among which was a beautiful table cloth with its napkins and rings, and without even knowing it she picked colours that match perfectly with our colours. I was so happy about that, since we didn’t have one that fit our new table.
Yesterday we went for a walk in Old Montreal (again) and I came home with a pair of Christmas socks and an Alessi floss dispenser. I just love those little guys. Isn't he interesting looking?

While Hubby worked on his mountain bike that he’s giving away to a teen who’s mother can not afford a bike for him, I was making six tourtières, in preparation for our Christmas dinner. We now have five left, since we had to “taste” one for dinner; we just had to make sure it was up to our standards.

I just love my new oven! I was able to put in the six pies at once, I’m new to “convection” and just for the fact that I didn’t have to do three baking sessions is amazing. Simply ‘loving it!!!

Today I’ll be preparing some meat balls for my Ragoût de pattes de cochon. That alone will take me a good chunk of the afternoon… While those little suckers are cooking I’ll finish wrapping my gifts. Only 15 days left…

___

Image: Otto

Your Friday Smile!

I wanted to post some Christmas joke, but don't seem to have that many at the moment, so...

I got this from Hubby, who is Hungarian, and I just had to share. It is scary, in the strangest way... and oh! so sad...

Check it out, here.

And to stay with the European theme, and Christmas, check this out.

Finally, scroll down and you'll see Santa's willy!






*





*

*




*





*





*





*






*

For God's sake... Act your age! There is no Santa!

Have a great weekend & PLEASE,
if you party don't drink & drive!

And let's not forget your birth date.

Open Season!

Last night we had our second condo meeting. Because we’re just starting it was held in the garage… Let’s just say that it was cold and in order to move things along quickly I think I seconded every motion that came forward. I asked if we were allowed to decorate our front door with a wreath as long as we don’t damage the door, it was accepted! Yay!
I also proposed that we should limit the duration of Christmas decorations and it was accepted, double yay! We are only allowed to decorate from Dec. 1st until mid-January and no blown-up decoration on the balconies allowed, triple yay!

Last night I did all our Christmas cards. This year we are sending 108! It’s crazy!!! In those 15 are for clients of ours. Now, I have to get Hubby in gear to sign them, Yikes, not an easy task! I already feel “late” so he’ll feel the pressure if he doesn’t get to them. Hee.

Tomorrow we will have our first Christmas party. It’s a client of mine, and he made my day earlier when he sent me an email telling me the company would contribute a generous amount for my “homeless project” this year. Tomorrow night we’ll be doing the fiesta at a Mexican restaurant not too far from here, maybe we’ll walk there if it’s not too cold. That way Hubby can drink and I don't have to drive!

Saturday we both have parties, Hubby’s client and my meditation group. So we will go our separate ways. We do a gift exchange at the group, and each year I come home with a hoard of gifts. It’s so much fun, even if it’s not a “party” as such, i.e. no dancing or such, just people sharing a good meal (pot luck, this year I’m making “Waldorf Salad”) and talking. There’s some signing, and music, two members are musicians for the Montreal Symphonic Orchestra, so that’s always nice.

It’s official, Christmas Season is open!!

A peaceful picture, maybe one day we will all reach that peacefulness... Let's hope so...

Christmas Meme

I’ve been tagged by Brave Astronaut to do this "Christmas Edition Meme". Here goes:

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?

• Most definitely wrapping with lots of tape! You have to work at it! But I must say that my “green conscience” kicked in this year and I used some canvas bags (tote bags) but it doesn’t look the same.

2. Real tree or Artificial?

• Artificial even if I would love to have a real one…

3. When do you put up the tree?

• I tend to do it beginning of December, like last weekend! ;-)

4. When do you take the tree down?

• I normally do that right after New Year’s, so that once I’m back to work there’s no more tree or decorations.

5. Do you like egg nog?

• Can’t say, don’t remember ever tasting it.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?

• That’s a tough one… I loved my "Easy-Bake Oven", and my 45 turntable! Look at me posing with it... As a teen I would have to say the year my parents surprised me with my stereo player.
  

7. Do you have a nativity scene?

• Nope! Actually, until my father’s death, there was no angel in my tree either. The year he died I saw this “old fashioned” Pooh as an Angel and it was the only one until this year. I put up an angel that my MIL painted.

8. Hardest person to buy for?

• Nobody really. I like to personalize my gifts, so when I see something that reminds me of that person or if I think they’ll like it, I simply get it.

9. Easiest person to buy for?

• Besides myself? He! He! I’d have to say Hubby.

10. Mail or email Christmas cards?

• Mail, of course! Even if it’s costing a fortune! I only send e-cards to people I don’t really know (thus don’t have their home address).

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?

• Any gift “combine” with my birthday gift. My grand-mother used to tell me “You’ll get a bigger gift at Christmas” (since my birthday is one month before Christmas) and each year, all seven grand kids always got the same things. One year I called her on it. Made my father laugh, but not my mother. I think I still have a lump on the back of my head…

12. Favorite Christmas movie?

• For the child in me “The Polar Express” and “The Grinch”; for the hopeful one in me “Joyeux Noel”; I just love that mushy stuff. This year I have to watch "A Christmas Story" since Preppygirl is such a fan. Also love all Peanuts, Grinch (cartoons).
  

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?

• No particular date since I shop year ‘round!

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?

• But of course, just like birthday, wedding… (who hasn’t, really!)

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?

• I love Fruit Cake, my mom’s donuts, her “gateau pas cuit” and her “fudge”, she only makes those at Christmas, makes us appreciate them more.

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?

• Colored for the tree inside and we used to put clear lights on the big evergreen we had at the house in the suburbs.

17. Favorite Christmas song?

• “Ave Maria” gets me every year. But I also love “White Christmas”, and the classics.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay home?

• As a kid we always went to my grandparents who lived seven hours North of Montreal. Now I enjoy being home for Christmas.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer?

• I don't think so, but I can name all my 59 first cousins!

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?

• Neither! I have a Mickey dressed as Santa holding on to the tree top and waving a lantern (check him out below).

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?

• As a kid it was after the Midnight Mass, now Hubby and I might open one before going to bed and the rest is on Christmas day morning!
  

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?

• Being in a mall!

23. Favorite ornament theme or color?

• Red, Green, Silver and Gold. And one could say that my theme is “childish” since my tree only has “Sylvester”, “Mickey”, “Tigger”, “Pooh”, cats and penguins.

24. Favorite thing for Christmas dinner?

• Tourtières & ragout de pattes! (traditional Québécois meals) For those curious and who enjoy cooking I've linked to recipes, don't know how they taste since they are not my recipes, but the ingredients look right. It might give you a better idea of what I mean.
  

25. What do you want for Christmas this year?

• A few good books, and some good tea!

26. Who is most likely to respond to this?

• Someone who enjoy Chirstmas?

27. Who is least likely to respond to this?

• Someone who doesn’t care about this time of year!

Give it a try, you'll see it's fun!

Red White and Green

As you may have figured out by now, Christmas is a period of the year that I love. It surely comes from my mother who is simply "jingle bells" about it. She's one of those people you don't really want as a neighbour at Christmas time. She over does the decorations, in every room there’s something. For example, the bathroom has the Santa toilet lid cover that smiles when closed and on the inside (when lid is up) Santa pinches his nose. The soap dispensers, the salt & pepper shakers, glasses, etc. Everywhere it is Christmas! I’m not that bad, at least I think not… I did put a Mickey Snowman in the bathroom and changed our hand towels for winter ones and a few decorations but that’s it. I tend to put things that are more “winter” than only Christmas. All this to say that because of the time it is and of my enjoyment of it all, I’ve decided to dedicate my December posts to Santa etc. It would be fun to start a "HoHoMoFo" month or something...

I must say, to me Christmas isn’t only a religious holiday, as in the birth of Christ. It is a time for love, peace and harmony (just like the rest of the year, anyway!) and to help others. This year I’ve decided to help a men’s shelter near home. Since we don’t have the space to store the goods like we did in the past (as you can see here), I went a different path but I will help those men with whom society is basically done with. Christmas, to me, always represented a good time with loved ones that I would get to see once a year or so, a time of joy and happiness. A time where we shared with others our meals, house, toys, love. Christmas, to me, is about giving. Last year I was hurt when I also faced hatred towards people who have different customs than we do, and it made me realised just how little I judged others based on their religious beliefs or nationality. I give because I want to. But after last year I can say, that I may not be a “churchgoer” but I do understand that true charity comes from the heart and it is based on the wanting to help others, no matter who they are. In case you’re wondering what I’m ref. to read this , or this one.

Expect a light month of December, but to those feeling the withdrawls from NaBloPoMo will be happy to read that I'll be here regularly!

Let it snow, let it snow...

It's strange how not posting for a few days and already I feel like it's been ages... it must be because it is right after the NaBloPoMo thing, or something...

This weekend I put up our Christmas Tree... since I had been "told" not before December. I was good I waited until the First! Last year I hadn't made one because of how I felt post op and all, and I must say, it looks puuurdy, don't you think? I just luuuuuv this time of year, and even if Hubby was playing disco and old songs from the 80's and 90's will I was decorating it, it did feel like Christmas, but that was nothing compare to today!


All day today it snowed. A LOT! I've lost my car. I parked it on our street and now it's just a big snow pile. Good thing I wasn't going anywhere today. I guess I'll have to be shovelling tomorrow, or I'll give another go at our metro system! I just went out to take that picture and I just love how quiet everything is! Despite the work(out) this will represent tomorrow, I'm just giddy with excitement!
Now it feels and looks like Christmas is coming! Yay!

And, since you've been dying to see it, here's our completed kitchen! That's after dinner last night, so don't mind the mess too much! It changed the whole look of it and I'm happy it is finally done!

That's it for now, I have Christmas cards to send... lots of them, so must get to it.

How about you, do you send Christmas cards? Do you do it because you like sending cards or is it a chore for you?