Dream Dream Dream

The Boy never remembers his dreams, so when he does – it’s note worthy.  His sleep was interrupted by the phone the other morning, this is what followed.

Boy – I was having a really nice dream too

Me – I was having weird dreams, what was yours?

Boy – We had just had a little baby.  It was nice.  Weird, but nice.

Me – That is nice.

Boy – What was yours?

Me – We were in the midst of a zombie apocalypse and your brain was eaten by zombies.  You were still nice though.

Boy – You win.

 

Hopefully only one is foretelling of the future.

 

Happy Monday!

Brrrr

I think the Boy misses my blog posting on a regular basis about non-Cancer issues, because this morning he generously gave me excellent blog fodder.  He’s nice like that.

As you may be aware if you live anywhere in Canada or anywhere north of he equator I can only assume, it’s frigging freezing outside.  The high today, -19C… feels like -31C.  That’s -23F for any Americans out there.  And that was the high.

This morning, when it was -39 our 2003 Camry with 309 000 km, decided it was too cold.  It thought better of going to work and general productivity, and made an attempt to barricade us in the house where we belonged.  That is to say, it wouldn’t start. The Boy upon realizing this, tells me we need to pull the Camry out of the single driveway so he can get to the truck that is in the garage.  I say, why don’t we ask the neighbours for a boost?  Actual Boy quote – “I’m not waking up the neighbours to boost us”  It’s 7:45am.  Not 5:30.  Our neighbours do not work shift work, and they have 9 year old, I’m pretty sure they’re up.

I go outside to find the Boy backing the car in neutral down the driveway – to go where, I’m not sure.  I go to the neighbours, ring their bell and low and behold, I am right – they’re awake.  They graciously give us their key and wish us luck. Point Meaghan.

The Boy says, “I don’t think it’s the battery, I think the engine block is frozen.  I don’t think this will work”

Well, the only thing I know about cars is when the car makes the clicky sound and won’t turn over, you try to boost it.  If that doesn’t work, call CAA.

We boost it.  It works.  Second point Meaghan.

The Boy says he doesn’t want to take the car to work for fear that it won’t start in the afternoon.  I said, I don’t want to take it to work since I work so close, the car won’t run long enough and it for sure won’t start in the afternoon.  (That’s the other thing I know about stalled cars, you need to let them run for a bit after you boost them).  I ask for a ride to work.  The Boy says, yes – he’s just going to switch the cars around.

We hit the road, we turned onto the main road, and the Boy says to me “Can I drop you at the corner? I have to go.”

Are you serious?

Yes.

It’s -39 billion outside.

“You have a hat and mittens, you’ll be fine.”

And he kicked me out.  And so I trekked in, on the unploughed sidewalk, uphill, in the freezing freezing cold.

My outrage was two-fold.  First, taking me all the way to work would have been an extra 2 minutes.  Literally. The Boy still got to work 20 minutes before school started.  He had the 2 minutes.  Second, who says “yes I’ll drive you to work and then kicks you out halfway there? Third, completely recognizing the distance is NOT far, it was the cold.  And the sidewalk was unploughed, which does not make for a quick walk and it did I mention it was seriously freezing?  By the time I got to work, I was frozen. My eyes hurt, my lungs hurt. My knit mittens were not definitely not enough to keep my hands warm. 

The Boy received the following text message…

 

Do I need a ride home? Clearly.

After much berating on the drive home the Boy was able to recognize that he was deservedly in the dog house. He went out again and got me a present.

 

Tim Horton’s Hot Chocolate – “to warm you up.”

Well played buddy. Well played.

One year… ish.

Let’s take a little break from the big C to talk about a little G.  Gordon.  Gordie Howe. Wee Gordy. The Brown One.  Little Brown Dog. G-dog. Monkey Face.

Can you believe it’s been a whole year(ish) since this little face came into our lives?

Tuesday after Thanksgiving was when we went to go and pick out (but not take home) our puppy. The plan was to go and pick one but go back on Friday so we could spend a sleepless weekend with her rather than start mid-week.  The plan did not go well.  How could we leave that little face there for another 3 days?

In honour of our one-year puppy-versary here’s five things about the G-dog.

1. What’s in a name?

The Boy and I had been referring to “our dog Gordon” since we moved in together 3 years earlier. Gordon is named after Gord Downey the lead singer of The Tragically Hip – the Boy’s favourite and (until Shred Kelly came along) only band. When it came to actually getting a puppy we had many predetermined variables. Name. Breed. Colour.  Sex wasn’t one of them – we didn’t want to be too picky! Gordon was the only brown (more gingerish really) puppy in her litter.  Her litter-mates were all white.  How could we not pick the one that was different? Clearly we needed the ginger dog.  And so we have a girl, named Gordon.  We have since met a giant boy dog named Kimberley. To each their own.

2. When we get a dog….

When the Boy first came home to meet the parents all those years ago he got his first real taste for what it means to have a city dog. He even went as far to say that if reincarnation is a thing – he wanted to come back as my parents’ dog.  I can’t blame him. When we got a dog, he had some rules he wanted in place. Don’t teach the dog to lick your face – it’s disgusting. Must be well behaved. No dogs in our bed. I’m not claiming that I’m any less of a suck with her, but I will say the Boy has definitely let her lick his face, and while she’s pretty good – she did jump up on my lap while we were in the middle of Thanksgiving dinner this weekend.  And as for the latter….

Gordon sleeps on our bed.  In our bed. And on our pillows.  If your arm is out to the side at all, she will curl herself up in the crook of your armpit and put her face next to yours.  Like a person.  I let her sleep on the bed one night when the Boy was away.  The Boy officially liberated her on March break when she was spade. They say a picture is worth 1000 words.

3. The Road.

This might be a little TMI but this dog does not like to poop on grass.  She’s a road girl.  She’s been known to literally stop traffic when she decides it’s time to go. I think this is hilarious. Others have commented that it makes her the most princessy of all the princess dogs in our lives.

No picture of this one.

4. Sock. 

The dog loves socks. Most puppies seem to, but this one has not grown out of it.  She will try and take them right off your feet if you’ll let her. When the Brother taught her the basement wasn’t scary but a wonderful magical place where all the socks get dumped on the floor… it was a good day in her life. A bit of a nightmare in ours.

5. Tragic Flaw.

Gordon has a PIERCING bark.  As I type this she is barking at me because she wants to play and I’m typing.  Despite her lack of English language skills , she’s pretty good at telling you what she wants, unfortunately she doesn’t typically let you know quietly. Only at ear piercing squeeky volumes.

However, despite this flaw, she makes up for it in her only-child suckiness. The best part of a sucky dog, how happy she is to see you.  Gone for five minutes? Back from a day at work? Gone for two weeks? Devastated when you leave… but when you get back

 

 

Two Years

When the calls and conversations
Accidents and accusations
Messages and misperceptions
Paralyze my mind

Busses, cars, and airplanes leaving
Burning fumes of gasoline
And everyone is running
And I come to find a refuge in the

Easy silence that you make for me
It’s okay when there’s nothing more to say to me
And the peaceful quiet you create for me
And the way you keep the world at bay for me
The way you keep the world at bay

Monkeys on the barricades
Are warning us to back away
They form commissions trying to find
The next one they can crucify

And anger plays on every station
Answers only make more questions
I need something to believe in
Breathe in sanctuary in the

Easy silence that you make for me
It’s okay when there’s nothing more to say to me
And the peaceful quiet you create for me
And the way you keep the world at bay for me
The way you keep the world at bay

Children lose their youth too soon
Watching war made us immune
And I’ve got all the world to lose
But I just want to hold on to the

Easy silence that you make for me
It’s okay when there’s nothing more to say to me
And the peaceful quiet you create for me
And the way you keep the world at bay for me

The easy silence that you make for me
It’s okay when there’s nothing more to say to me
And the peaceful quiet you create for me
And the way you keep the world at bay for me
The way you keep the world at bay for me
The way you keep the world at bay

Easy Silence by the Dixie Chicks was the last song the Boy and I danced to on our wedding day.

Two years has flown by, and these words have never felt more true for us.

Happy Anniversary Buddy… I know whatever this year brings for us, we’ll take it on it together.

Love always.

Would you Call Me Brave?

The Boy went to his parents to drop the puppy off for puppy-sitting a few days before our trip. While he was there he heard some brand new information.  The Cabot Trail is awesome and a MUST see in any trip to the East coast.

Really?  How is he only hearing this a few days before we leave?  Why didn’t anyone tell him this earlier.

Oh wait, someone did.  But she’s totally unreliable… wives are like that.

Typical.

Regardless of who said it first we worked it into our trip and it made our Must See list. And now that we’re back, I can honestly say it doesn’t matter who said it first – I’m so glad we went.

Welcome to Cape Breton

We discussed the trail with my Peep in PEI – “You have to do the trail counterclockwise” he said with authority, although, he had never done the trail.

We made the plan to leave PEI on Thursday, drive to Baddeck and spend two nights there so we could spend one full day driving the trail.  While I was driving from beautiful downtown Pictou, NS to Baddeck the Boy started searching the internet for places to stop along the trail.  He came across a blog post.  You know how those bloggers are… always stirring up shit.

He read that counter-clockwise indeed had its benefits.  but… “it’s for the brave” and “expert mountain driving skills are a must”  to say this gave the Boy some anxiety would be an understatement.

World Famous – but no warnings of expert mountain driving skills required….

We decided to survey some locals on the clockwise/counterclockwise debate and unanimously – counterclockwise won the day.  So we decided despite nightmare premonitions – counterclockwise it is, and the review –

That blogger is crazy and counterclockwise is totally the way to go.

This is the cliff you get to see if you take the Coast Road detour – recommended by gingers and giants

Selfies with a giant take practice

This was the hightlight of the trip for the Boy.  The Highlands are absolutely beautiful, and when we go back – again, we’ll definitely stay longer.  It was stunning.  The beaches are beautiful, the water is crystal, the hiking is awesome.  A vacation on the trail could include an awesome golf course, beach, hiking, biking and secluded unplugging.

One of the many reasons we’ll be back – Ingonish Beach… next time we won’t miss the cut-off!

Impressive Inukshuks

World Famous Whale Interpretive Centre

First time for crab legs

We took our time and it took the entire day to drive the 300ish km.  We hiked the Skyline Trail and it was breathtaking.  And we broke some rules and took some rocks… shh don’t tell Parks Canada.

Leaving the mark of a ginger and a giant… can you tell?

The work of the brave.

Because we’re brave like that.

For those that might be Googling “Clockwise or Counterclockwise on the Cabot Trail” here are 5 reasons we totally recommend going counterclockwise:

1. More people go clockwise, so going the opposite makes for less traffic.
2. You’re cliffside.  This does not mean you are doomed to fall off the cliff as other bloggers might lead you to believe.  It does mean you have a better view of the ocean.
3. You start on the ocean and end in the gulf – we stopped less on the way back, we were tired.  I’m glad we weren’t sleepy and done on the Ocean side.
4. A lot of the best look outs are on the cliff side – so right turns, and since vision is a bit limited The Boy liked this part.
5. After hiking the Skyline Trail (a must) you immediately drive down the mountain and you can look up to where you just were – WAY up there.

Setting out on the Skyline Trail

Amazing.

That’s not us… but it was a few minutes before.

 

Anne’s Island

The Boy and I are home.  I’m writing this sitting on my beautiful deck on a rare Ontario August afternoon, warm, sunny and not humid = a rare treat in Northern Ontario. We’ve been home for a few days and this is actually my last day of vacation.  Tomorrow I go back to work, more than that I got a new job so tomorrow I go back to a week of transition, taking on my new job while wrapping up my old one. This is what happens when you get a promotion (albeit a temporary one) within your own branch and just down the hall from your home position – you don’t get to quit and run – they can still find you.  For today, I’m enjoying this beautiful day by doing nothing.  And since those days can be as rare as one in August without humidity – I’m taking full advantage and blogging our trip before I forget all about it.

So on with it already…

The Boy and I made a Must See list in the car while were driving out,

1. Whale Watching
2. Golf on the coast
3. Peggy’s Cove
4. Tides at Fundy
5. Kayaking
6. Eat a lot of seafood
7. Giant wooden nickel
8. Cabot Trail

We left Moncton late – the bed was just too comfortable, so while the Boy slept in King size bliss, I booked a campsite in PEI National Park, Stanhope Beach. Our original plan was to do Bay of Fundy first, then Halifax, then PEI – but we switched up the order once we got there for a couple reasons 1. The Boy really wanted to see PEI – it was high on his list, and knowing that the end of a vacation is always a little rushed I thought we should give it more time by stopping there first.  2.  The Boy had recently learned (even though I told him this months ago) that the Cabot trail is BEAUTIFUL – and it had suddenly ranked higher on his list.  If we were going to get that in we thought we should switch the order and do PEI, Cape Breton, Halifax, Fundy. 3.  I had recently learned that an old friend from High School was in PEI – and not that I was stocking him… but  the Boy and I both agreed that if we could get there while a local was there to give us the goods – all the better.

To Charlottetown we went, walked around, had some lunch including my first bowl of Chowder – things were already looking good – PEI didn’t seem to be out of food like Moncton was.

We also found another Brew Pub – and another sample tray and a big bowl of Muscles.  Both were delicious.

We connected with my former peep and who graciously took us on a personal boat tour of the Bay at Brackley Beach.  The last time I was on a boat with him, he threw me off an inner-tube, twisting my knee…. I’m happy to report no injuries this time.

Then it was time to face the music…. camping…  for 3 nights.

The Boy and I have never been camping together… the Boy has hardly been camping without me either, and although I haven’t been camping in a LONG time – having done it so much as a kid, I still like to consider myself a camper.  This was a true test.

The review? Camping in PEI is beautiful, we were in a Provincial park, we had an air mattress – a necessity, and thanks to BFF Kristyn we had all the necessary gear.  Some of the differences? When camping as a kid, we had a tent trailer – this is not the same as tenting.  Tenting is not so much cold, but damp.  While our full queen 12″ air mattress is awesome indoors, outdoors you’re sleeping on 12″ of cold damp air.  Once I figured out how to stay warm – things got much better.

We will camp again, and we did camp again in Fundy, but we need some practice.  So I have a place to reference it when that time comes, here are somethings we wish we had:

1. A flashlight that is actually bright
2. A paring knife
3. An equally comfortable but slightly shallower air mattress
4. A bigger tent
5. A separate tent or covered area for food
6. Bowls
7. Less bugs/bug bites (okay – I know that’s asking a lot)
8. Better fire making skills (The Boy says the wood was wet, I say, no one else seemed to be having such a problem – maybe we just need more practice)

I’ll probably write a few shorter posts with more details of the highlights from each part of the trip, but in an effort to provide useful information for anyone that happens to be Googling “Traveling in PEI” here’s what the Boy and I did and highly recommend in no particular order:

1. Walked the Beach and swam in the ocean
2. Went for an easy bike ride, that turned into a 30 km near death experience – PEI is internationally known for their bike trails, and for their rolling hills.  I can’t say polite language was always adhered to.
3. New Glasgow Lobster Supper – pay for your lobster up front, and all you can eat bread, chowder, muscles, salad, your lobster (ranging from 1lb to 3 lbs depending on your anticipated level of gluttony) and dessert – a choice of 5 different kinds of pie. My peep told me this is where the locals go for lobster supper – we were not disappointed.  It was awesome!
4. Camping
5. Cottaging – if/when we come back we’ll probably stay for longer and rent a cottage instead of camping – camping was great, but at this point we’re still short-term campers.
6. Relaxing – we both found we unwound pretty quickly once we got to PEI – it’s a relaxed and sleepy little island and I can definitely see why people keep going back.
7. Golf – we golfed at Green Gables Golf Club – it’s one of the oldest courses and did not disappoint for both view and challenge…. unless you ask the Boy – who was not happy with his score card… but I’m not to speak of that. PEI has A LOT of Championship courses, but because we were golfing on a day that threatened rain – we didn’t want to risk getting rained out after paying $120 each. This course lets you play both on the ocean (the Boy’s request) and alongside Anne’s famous house – I think they call that two birds with one stone.
8. The Dunes Gallery – a must see and a must eat.  It was so good we went twice. Lunch and dinner (two days – let’s not get ridiculous). So. So. So. Good.

 

1. The wharfs – pick a hamlet any hamlet and get your camera ready for old fishing wharfs with piles of traps as far as you can see – if you pick one that’s off the beaten path all the better.
2. Cows Ice Cream – it’s sickly sweet smell will grab you as soon as you open the door, but since it’s voted #1 Ice Cream in the world – you have to do it… plus there’s a giant cow, so…. enough said.The Boy said by the end of the trip PEI was the least memorable part of our trip, but don’t think that means for a second we won’t be back, or that it wasn’t absolutely awesome.  I don’t think we really had enough time there to fully do it justice – the late start out of Moncton really only gave us 2 days there.  It was awesome to have a couple of locals in town to tell us where to go and what to see not only in PEI but for the rest of our trip.  And the food was the absolute best we had on our trip – so fresh and SOOOO good.

Despite only 2 full days there – we did pretty well with our list:

1. Whale Watching
2. Golf on the coast
3. Peggy’s Cove
4. Tides at Fundy
5. Kayaking
6. Eat a lot of seafood
7. Giant wooden nickel
8. Cabot Trail

Our list for the next time we’re there?

1. Golf one of the Championship courses
2. Eat at lunch and dinner at Dunes Gallery
3. Walk the gardens at Dunes Gallery
4. See that year’s Anne show
5. A little more time in Charlottetown – get in some Confederation history and a little shopping
6. Beach walk and full beach day
7. Bike the Confederation Trail
8. Take the ferry
9. Anne’s house and obligatory tour of Cavendish
10. New Glasgow Lobster Supper – an absolute MUST!

It might seem like a long list, but the benefit of touring around trying to do a little bit of everything – you get to learn the things you definitely want to do more of!

Tomorrow – we head to Cape Breton

30 While I’m 30 – or 31

First things first – I didn’t finish my list.  Is anyone surprised really?  I doubt it.

I did okay. Probably better than I thought I would truth be told.

1. Take Gordon for 30 walks – little Gordon and I didn’t make it to 30.  We both blame Mother Nature.  Snow in late April?! Come on! What we did do is get back to a daily walk schedule.  Puppy is happy and so am I.

2. 1 week moratorium on Starbucks I made it more than 1 week, 10 days in fact… but then I had training.  And turning 1 week into 3 all went to hell.

3. 2 week moratorium on Starbucks – HA! The Boy and I agreed that this really isn’t the worst vice.  I had one yesterday for my free birthday drink… it wasn’t very good.  Whenever that happens I think I should just cut it out for good… but then the 2 o’clock sleepies kick in and I’m screwed.  Meh.

4. Finish the ottoman

5. Make a jewelry solution – I have the solution AND I have actually purchased part of the materials…  I still have not made it.

6. Unpack my backpack (the last “real” box from our move) – the backpack is full of jewelry… see #5.

7. Organize purses/purge for easier rotation

8. Build a desk – HA! It might be changing to build a sewing table… we’ll see!

9. Clean/organize office – Everyone needs a disaster room right?

10. Take wedding dress to be cleaned

11. Update resume – there are some jobs that have been posted, so this actually is going to happen this weekend.

12. Take a long walk on the Tom Taylor Trail with my camera – Didn’t take the camera but we did go on a birthday walk.  It’s a lovely trail and we’ll definitely be back.

13. Organize photos on new computer

14. Frame canvases from Sista I’m picking them up from the framer today – I’ll post a picture when we hang them this weekend. They definitely deserve their own post.

15. Decorate bathroom

16. Go to a spin class – still thinking about it.

17. Set up a regular RRSP contribution plan – I’m pretty sure this makes me an adult.

18. Have Kristyn, John and Logan for dinner – or bring dinner to them – We split dinner and had it at Kristyn and John’s so that little Logan could go to bed.  Turns out he’s not interested in missing the party no matter where he is – so everyone had a great night! 

19. Organize knitting patterns

20. Finish Tanis sweater

21. Finish cowl

22. Finish baby girl sweater

23. Stencil bedroom

24. Clean hall closet

25. Surprise The Boy with a present

26. Clean and shelf paper linen closet

27. Vacuum and clean both cars – What is it that they say about good intentions?

28. Plan a front garden

29. Get kitchen table and chairs

30. Make cupcakes – just because.

13/30… that’s not great but not bad.  I’m thinking about the year ahead and contemplating another list.  I like lists.  They ground me.  I never get through them, mostly because I move on to a new list before the first one is done.  Alas earwax.

As for the knitting on the list – I haven’t finished what I wanted to… because in my head those things are done so I have moved on to other things (are you seeing the theme).  But I did finish a pair of converse boots for a baby shower I went to recently.  They might have been shown up by a GORGEOUS stuffed hand knit elephant that was opened shortly afterward – but I still think they’re cute.

If you’re a knitter and looking for an easy baby gift I highly recommend them.  If you’re not a knitter you should either become one or befriend one and sweet talk them into making them for you.  I suggest flowers or chocolate…. or yarn, yarn would definitely work.

And finally, the Boy restrained himself from eating 1/4 of an ice cream cake that was left over in one sitting and instead had a normal size piece on Monday night and saved a piece for each of us for my birthday.  He gave it to me and said “This is better than any birthday gift I could ever give you.  I saved you some cake. That’s love because it was REALLY hard not to eat it.” So thanks buddy.  You’re right… that is true love.

The Doorbell

Our little puppy is causing me quite the conundrum.  She has developed this habit of barking at the sound of the doorbell.  I know, nothing surprising, nothing weird.

She barks anytime a doorbell rings on TV.

I know.  This is not surprising.

Here’s the thing.  No one rings our doorbell.  In her 7 months of life she may have heard OUR doorbell ring twice – maybe three times.

Sure, sometimes people come over – but they rarely ring the doorbell. They just come in – knock while opening the door.

So, I ask you – where did she learn this? How does she know that the sound “ding-dong” means she should run angry and defensive to the front door?

It truly baffles me.

The only explanation I can come up with is barking at a doorbell is instinctual as a result of generations of domestic Shih-poos who have evolved like Pavolv’s dog to respond to a doorbell with a bark.  It’s fascinating to me.

Have you ever stopped to think about this?  Or is it just me… and the Boy – he finds it weird too.

Other quirks we’ve noticed: She refuses to go to the basement.  No particular reason that we can tell.  She is fully capable of going down the stairs.  She has been down there maybe once or twice when she was a baby and we carried her around everywhere we went.  Nope. Will not do it.  She stands at the top of the stairs and peeks her head around the doorframe.  We’ve called her from the bottom of the stairs – no dice.

That’s not really a big deal since our basement is not finished we’re really only down there doing laundry most of the time.  But this last one – is getting to be a pain in the butt.

She won’t come up the deck stairs from the backyard.  She’s done those stairs with ease for months.  No problem,  running up and down without a care in the world.  The last 2 weeks(ish)? No thank you. Stands at the bottom and barks at us until we come out and get her.  At which point she trots away a few feet and sits down, waiting to be picked up and carried up the stairs. 

We’ve started trying to treat train her into doing them again, and I’m pretty sure it has something to do with the 2″ ice patch at the bottom of the stairs that makes the ground nearly level with the first little stair.  And then there’s the fact that sometimes her leash gets stuck on a hard bit of snow and gets stuck.  This happened to her right before the refusal to climb the stairs started, she ran up the stairs and got pulled back a bit because her leash was stuck.  Is that enough to scare her out of it? And how long will she remember that happened?  How smart is this dog?

It’s a good thing she’s cute.

 

Does your pet have a habit that you don’t know where she got it from.

BTW – she totally sleeps in our bed now. And I would like the record to show that it wasn’t me that put her there – not that I mind, I was the one that said she would end up sleeping with us.  The Boy was adement.  No dogs in the bed.

This is where she likes to nap, and most mornings she’s wrapped around the Boy’s head… on his pillow.

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A Lollapalooza

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I can officially check something off my 30 While I’m 30 list.

This weekend I got the Boy a Lollapalooza.  While a recent trip to dictionary.com has informed me that Lollapalooza refers to something extraordinary or unusual, a person, thing or event or an exceptional example or instance – in my family a lollapalooza refers to a little present, that someone has bought for you for no particular reason.

A couple days after making my list, I brought the Boy home a peanut butter cookie from Starbucks. I told him I got him a present and gave him the cookie and his response was “this doesn’t count as my present.”  I told him he couldn’t continue to accept presents and deny they were presents just to get a bigger or better present out of me.  He said he wouldn’t – but a cookie is not a present. As it turns out, the new peanut butter cookie at Starbucks is AMAZING! Not as sweet as the other cookies – and really chewy… it was totally worthy of the present category. But since I ate part of it, I had to agree – I couldn’t quite cross the present off my list.

But this weekend, I got the Boy a little somethin’ somethin’ and he agreed – it could count as a present.

Apple TV.

We’ve been talking for a while about getting rid of our cable.  Honestly, I would be happy if we could at least get down to basic cable.  Sports is really the only reason we have as many channels as we do.  But since basically everything is streamed online somewhere, I see paying for cable as more and more of a scam everyday.

With Apple TV we can now stream from our computer, or iPad directly to Stevie – the TV.

Since we recently got a new computer (yeah!) we now have the ability to download movies and tv shows – and Apple TV let’s us stream them wirelessly to Stevie instead of physically attaching our computer to Stevie.

And why was getting the Boy a present on my list in the first place? Two reasons, when we did our marriage prep class, I learned that the Boy’s love language is receiving a gift.  So – I’m honouring the love language lesson and letting the Boy know that I love him.  Aww…

Before you go thinking I’m a total Sappy McSapperson – my second reason was to encourage the Boy to in turn find me a lollapalooza.

Lead by example.

So now we are officially Apple TVers.  This week we need to try and watch any sports deemed necessary by the Boy through Apple TV and then I can ditch cable.  Woot!

No commercials and no $70 monthly bill?  Yes please.

10 Things – Mostly about Gordon

1. Gordon graduated puppy school.  We are so proud. Yes, Gordon’s certificate is hanging on the fridge.
2. Sista said they just give away the certificates, but we clearly saw our instructor tear up a certificate that had the wrong spelling on it – you know just in case another Lacey came in and stole the certificate without completing the classes. That would probably cause irreparable damages to the reputation of the school.
3. I was sick.  It was just a cold but it did knock me out for a couple of days.  I only took 1 day off but when I went back on Tuesday I was asked repeatedly why I was at work.
4. I was at work because it was a cold, I’m not a baby, and I have work to do.
5. People are weird. Especially cubicle people.
6. The Boy built a work bench last weekend. Now I’m coming up with projects for him. This is what I’m thinking.
   

   source

   The Boy thinks it looks complicated.  I vote, how complicated can a wooden box with lid be.

7. I foresee shenanigans and excellent blog fodder out of this plan
8. Hockey is back.  The Boy is happy.  I am not.
9. Gordon got her first hair cut last week
10. .  This is her before:
    

    Really the grad picture better shows her complete inability to see

11. This is her after. Meticulous attention was paid to about 300 individual hairs on her face, paws and butt. $30 later she pretty much looks the same, but she has been warmed to the idea of grooming. Brother says – “she looks surprised”
    

    Can you even tell that she got a haircut?