Friday Rambles

• It took me just more than two hours to get to work this morning. It wasn’t the snow that was falling that was the problem, rather the snow that was already on the ground making it impossible to see what side of the road you are on.
Someone needs to invent a heated middle line so you know you where you are.

• At about 7 a.m. this morning, someone from the City of Toronto came on the radio to tell us that in a few hours the snowploughs should be starting their routes. What! Shouldn’t they already be out? What are they waiting for?

• I followed an older man driving a newer model Mercedes Benz the other morning and his license plate was RICH IQ.
What does that mean? Is he suggesting because he is rich he has a higher IQ? Perhaps it isn’t right for me to be annoyed but arrogance is a trait that really annoys me.

• Friday is here. Happy weekend everyone.

Thursday Confessions

I am now scared of driving.

There, I said it.

It is actually quite silly of me.

My recent accident, where a teenager on a cellphone hit my Sunfire head-on, occurred on my street, literally about a minute from home.

While snow-covered, the roads weren’t terrible and the visibility was fine.
But now when it snows, my stress level goes through the roof.

I am a ball of nerves on my street, my body untensing the moment I turn on to the main road.

However, I am still anxious about driving in snow, including the inch or so of white stuff that fell during the morning rush.

I have become one of THOSE drivers.

You know the ones. Those drivers who go the speed limit or under when a flake or two falls; who gripes the steering wheel hard; and who is looking around and talking to those around her – ‘Where are you going? Stay in your lane. If you hit me, I will be really upset.’

I am sure it will get better but in the meantime, my apologizes to those who want to go to fast.

Beautiful Blogger Award

As was honoured when I received word that Danielle from Humes Party of Three awarded me the Beautiful Blogger Award.

As with any award, it comes with rules.

They are as follows:

1.Thank the link to the person that gave you the award
2.Pass this award on to bloggers you've recently discovered and whom you think are fantastic
3.Contact said Blogs to let them know they've won
4.State 7 Things about yourself

Some things about myself in no particular order:

1. I could literally sit all day and just watch my son as he plays.
2. I am a copy editor, web editor, writer and photographer for a group of community newspapers in the City of Toronto.
3. I love to bake, pack and organize.
4. Reading and writing are two of my favourite things to do.
5. My family is so important to me. I wish we lived closer to each other.
6. I grew up in a small town and I currently live on a street, on Lake Simcoe, connected to a small town.
7. My stepdaughter, who is 19, makes me laugh. I am grateful she is in my life.

...and now I would like to pass this on to:

Coconut Palm Designs
Amy's Assorted Adventures
Write Brained
The Mommyologist
Feeding Five for Fifty
Honey and Jam
Mommy's Sippy Cup
Frantic Mommy
God's Favourite Shoes
Moments of Clarity

Ah-Ha!

I have figured it out.

I have had the sad experience of thinking it’s Friday when it’s only Thursday for almost a month now.

And I have only just realized why.

I work at a chain of community newspapers in the City of Toronto. Recently, the deadlines for the three newspapers I am a copy editor for changed.

Instead of being swamped on Wednesdays and Thursdays, I am now really busy on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

Obviously, my brain hasn’t switched to the new way of thinking and by the time Thursday comes, and it’s a slow day, I think it must be Friday. I then I wake up Friday and realize I do have to get up and ready for work.

So now that I am aware of the problem, I am hoping this week will feel like it’s going by fast.

To no lost days.

Cheers.

Opps, I Did it Again

Can I apologize again for disappearing for so long? It seems like it wasn’t that long ago I apologized for the same thing.

Not including all the time I spent with my little guy, this year hasn’t been that great.

I don’t think I have worked a full week since the new year began.

First there was a sinus infection (awful. I sympathize with those who get them regularly), then there was the accident and the whole insurance company, buying a new car thing and then my computer died (I can’t blame that on not coming to work but rather why I am not writing) and then I had strep throat.

I can’t even blame my sicknesses on the little guy. Touch wood, he has been fairly healthy since December.

My mom blames it on being run down and not getting enough sleep. She may be right but I think it has more to do with stress.

I never thought the words ‘working mom’ would be uttered out of my mouth. I never had any intention of returning to the workforce after our little guy was born and I am a disappointed I am still working outside the home.

A stay-at-home mom is the ideal job for me.

But here I am, plugging away.

I have tried to create make-work projects to get me out of the slump I am currently in but the ideas were snuffed out – after, of course, all the work was done and I had reporters and experts excited.

Instead, I am doing the same thing I did leading up to my year of maternity leave. And while I love the work, I am a little bored.

I love to be so busy I am jumping from one task to another without being able to breathe. This is not happening currently.

So my working life goal is to doing more writing, assigning more challenging stories and picking up any extra jobs that come along.

I hope I have turned a corner and the rest of 2010 is blog-filled and healthy, which is also my wish for you.

Lost Day

It wasn’t until I got up this morning that I realized I had spent the day yesterday thinking it was Thursday.

I even participated in Kmama’s Thursday’s Thank You and was wondering why those who usually participate hadn’t yet done so.

Well now I know.

Today is Thursday, which means I have another whole day until Friday.

Sigh.

Thank You Very Much

Maybe I need a Wordless Thursday, except my computer crashed so I can’t access any new photos.

I could take a page from Kmama’s book and offer Thank You Very Much Thursdays but … yes, I can do Thank You Thursdays. Visit Kmama’s blog to join in.



* To the twit who hit me two weeks ago, thank you very much. I was feeling better and today I can barely move.
* To the insurance company, which has given me a car rental for about two weeks, thank you very much for not putting me under more pressure than I already am.
* To the Ford dealer, who despite rumours this is the best time to purchase a car but who won’t give me the deal I need on the car he was right when he said I would fall in love with it, giant thank you very much to you as well.

Condolences to the Parker family

Last night, my stepdaughter informed me a writer named Robert Parker died.

Today, I went online and discovered that my favourite author, Robert B. Parker, whom I have been reading for many years, died suddenly in January. He was 77.

Parker’s books are a quick, easy read. The characters are real, intelligent and moral.
While Spenser, Parker’s best-known character, is my favourite, I enjoyed the author’s other series including that of Jessie Stone and female private investigator Sunny Randall.

I enjoyed how the character’s, both primary and secondary, were found in other series.

I have read everything that Parker wrote, including westerns and a book about baseball.
I would recommend this author to everyone.

It’s a sad day for mystery readers and Parker fans.

Read more about Parker at http://us.penguingroup.com/static/pages/aboutus/pressrelease/robert_b_parker.html

Parker’s website is http://www.robertbparker.net/

Teenager+cellphone+speed=BadDayForLisa

I was involved in a head-on crash Jan. 28 with my 15-month in the car. I was literally about a minute from home.

Well they do say most accidents happen close to home and I guess I am helping that statistic along – two accidents in my life, both of which have happened on my street.
The twit who hit me was heading home from dropping off her friend. She claims she lost control and hit me. I think she was talking on her cellphone, driving too fast and taking the corner too wide.

Either way, she wrote off both of ours, suffered a knee injury and caused me to have whiplash. The baby, thankfully, was only scared and had a bruise where the seatbelt kept him in his carseat.

She wasn’t charged. That angers me.

My husband says the cop was really nice.

Great.

How about being nice and charging her with talking on her cellphone, which is now illegal in Ontario. Or how about being nice and charging her with careless driving because now I have to take what precious time I have with my son and go for treatments.
And now I have to buy a new-to-me car and worry that I am making the right decision and I am not going to buy a lemon.

I have until Friday to make that decision. No pressure.

On another note, bad things happen in three’s. I had a flood in the basement, my computer died (hence not blogging recently) and now the accident. I think I am done.