Mr. Demille.......

I have been asked to act in a play with our local community theater group. The play will be performed on Saturday night, September 23rd. And I guess I must be masochistic or something, because I said yes! Not only that, there is a chance that Jason too, might be added to the cast. We must be out of our minds.

The end of September is when our pre-fab house is scheduled to arrive. The kids will be back in school, Abby in pre-school and myself back to working my one day a week in the cafeteria. Add to that, the fact that we will be living over in my Grandparents house, and the million things that we will have to do to get ourselves and the house ready for move-in time and you've got a recipe for burn-out.

On my list, No.20 was to "Act in a local community play". I just didn't expect to be crossing this one off so soon. I was thinking more Springtime, or at the very least, Christmas. For me, it's a bit of a "facing your fears" situation. I've always been uncomfortable being in the spotlight. It's kind of unnerving for me to picture being up on the stage and having everyone in the audience listening to and looking at me. Thankfully, my part is only a small one. Sherry said it was the perfect opportunity for me to get my feet wet. Then I would know if I ever wanted to have a larger role, in the future. Sherry and I are actually supposed to write a play from scratch. I had suggested that they do a play set in the 40's, kind of Casablanca-like. It would be full of great music and costumes. And no sooner had I opened my big mouth, I was told that Sherry and I would be writing the thing. Don't expect that one anytime soon. LOL. Maybe by Spring?

As for now, you can catch me, Sherry, Philip, maybe Jason, and more this September in "Nothing But The Truth". Mr. Demille...I guess I'm ready for my close-up.

Hard To Believe

Today is the last day of school. It's hard to believe that my two oldest kids are all done kindergarten. Last September, I was so nervous and scared for them, but mostly for me. I didn't know how I would handle all this change. But they did wonderful. Beyond wonderful. They are reading better than me!

I took their picture, just like I did on the first day, just to compare. I should try to do this every year. Track their growth, you know. They change so fast. You can't say anything to Samuel without him rolling his eyes at you. And tall! They're getting so big!

We are going to take them to see "Cars" tonight, to celebrate the end of school. Thanks again Kellie for the tickets! Sherry asked me what I was buying my kids for passing. Like a present. Last year they bought Paulina a bike. This year Gary is building her a big sand box. I have to say I think I disagree with the whole "buying your child a gift for passing" thing. Shouldn't they be passing anyway? I mean what if one year they don't pass? What then? I buy a big gift for Samuel but not for Jules? I mean hopefully they will always pass, but you never really know. School does get harder the older they get, and maybe they will lose interest in learning. Who knows? This is not to knock Sherry and Gary. A lot of parents are doing this. I'm probably in the minority. Personally, I'm just more apt to celebrate the "end of the school year" or "the start of Summer" or even just "celebrate" the fact that they passed and how well they did in school without the grand gifts.

What is also hard to believe is that it has been a week since we ordered our house! Last Thursday, June 15th( a.k.a. Kel's birthday) we spent the day going to the bank, dropping papers off at the lawyer, and making any last minute changes to the floor plan. And by 5pm, we were done! I must say it was quite exhausting. My head hurt. I mean math always makes my head hurt anyway so maybe that was it. All those numbers, all day long. Way too many zeros!

We also ordered our new kitchen table. It's very nice. Almost too nice, really. It's one of those high pub or bar styles, where the table and chair legs are longer, like in a bar. The table is about the height of a countertop. It is very dark wood, which will go well with our cherry cabinets. It's square(when the leaf is in use) and comes with 8 chairs and a lazy susan. We're going to use 2-3 of the chairs at our breakfast counter, so it works out great because I don't have to buy stools. There were two different styles available for two different prices. The nicest, of course, was more expensive. It's wood was darker, it's chairs constructed better, and just looked nicer overall. We had planned on buying the cheaper one (which believe me is not cheap!) but the saleslady ended up letting us buy the other one for the same price. So yippee for us! I guess that just goes to show you how jacked up the prices are around here on such things, that she would drop it $300 without blinking. Oh well, it is a damn nice table.

Living in that new house, with all this new furniture is going to take some getting used to. I think it will be a long time before it feels like home and not a hotel. Well, with 3 kids and a cat, it might not take as long as I think. :) Maybe just a week or two? Until the first crayon marks are on the wall, the first scratches on the finishing, etc... Oh well, there's no place like home.

Which That 70's Show Character Are You?

You're like Donna

Jennifer, you're like Donna

The girl next door? Not exactly. Like Donna, you've got a feisty and independent spirit. You're no shrinking violet. If somebody's giving you a hard time or stepping out of line, you're not afraid to stand up for yourself and tell it like it is. A competitive character, you can keep up with the boys, no problem.Don't get us wrong. With your no-nonsense approach also comes a sharp sense of humor and a sexy edge. Your brains and brawn only make you that much more alluring to your fans. So keep matching wits and wills with the rest of the gang. You're sure to bring on the laughs and the good times. Groovy!

Which That '70s Show Character Are You?
Brought to you by Tickle

IT'S OVER!!!!!!!!!

That's right!! As of 8:11pm tonight, our drama with the union, contract, strike, etc.... was officially over! I still don't believe it.

Jason and I left for town at around 4pm. First we hit Tim Hortons for an ice-cap, and then Jason ran in to vote. Then we went to Wal-mart for some grocery items and to pick up something for Connor's birthday. There was a clearance rack that had various items on it. One of which, was photo albums. Two-packs of the large magnetic stick albums were on sale for only $2!! That's like $1 each! Buying photo albums is#23 on my list
so I picked up two packs (or four albums) in black. Awesome deal!

I also took the time to browse through all the houseware section, furniture and bedding. I found two queen sized bed-in-a-bags that I really liked. They're like $100 each, but apparently that's what a queen sized one goes for. Hopefully we'll manage to get one sometime between now and when the house comes.

Ooo! The house is coming! Did I mention we were buying a new house? N. E. W. !!! I can't believe it! I wonder how long it will take to sink in. It's like this is something that happens to other people. We've gotten so used to waiting and watching other people do it. I've dreamed of this since I was a little girl and used to have my imaginary house in the woods beside our house. A long time ago, I blogged that I would never get any sleep once I had a house because thinking about getting one helped me go to sleep. I think I was right. I don't know how I will sleep tonight.

After Wal-mart we had to run into Canadian Tire to get Dad's Father's day gift. And then into Sobey's to finish up the groceries. We were driving through Newcastle at exactly 8pm, which is when the voting was scheduled to stop. So instead of sitting home and waiting for someone to call and tell us what happened, we drove over to wait there for the verdict. There was about 15 other men lined up outside talking and more inside the building. I had to call Sherry and talk to her while I waited because I thought I was either going to faint, vomit or shit myself. I thought I was going to have to leave Jason a note saying, "Gone to poop at Tim Hortons". Honestly. It wasn't going to be pretty! My stomach was aching. Even my arms were numb. I thought I might have a heart attack there in the car. Then suddenly all the men filed into the building, and I knew that the votes had been counted. I could feel my blood pressure drop. I actually reclined the back of my seat because I thought I might pass out. One by one, men started leaving. I studied them, as they flipped out their cell phones, looking for any hint to what the result was. One guy looked relaxed but another looked nervous. I was just about to march into the building, when finally, Jason emerged. When he told me that it was accepted. That there would be no strike. That it was over. I think I went into stunned mode. I wanted to cry but couldn't. It felt odd. Weird even. For this part to be over.

It wasn't until on the way home, when Jason called his father to tell him the news, and said the words, "It's over.", that I started to cry. I was so overwhelmed with gratitude that I was shaking. We drove into Mom's yard tooting the horn. I wanted to tell her in person. She was really excited for us. When we walked into the house, all the kids were still up. We told them that tomorrow Mommy and Daddy was going to go and order our new home. They jumped up and down. They are so excited to have their new bedrooms. Now they will get to have real mattresses. Bye-bye duct tape!!

Jason's Mom was babysitting and was happy when we told her. Dad stopped in on his way home and I ran out shouting "It's over! It's over!". I still can't believe it. I called Kellie and Christina and told them. It's just surreal. Un-real. In the true sense of the word. Plus someone is coming to look at the trailer tomorrow night too. I cannot imagine selling the trailer the same week as we ordered the house. Now that would be freaky!

I've been sick the last few days and losing my voice. This morning I could literally just whisper. And now, after talking to everyone, spreading the good news, I am pretty much back to a whisper again. I joked to Sherry that Jason would be glad if I had no voice when we ordered the house; that way I couldn't change my mind about anything. Oh well, I think I'm going to go now and pop a couple of my herbs and try to get some much-needed sleep.

yippeee! (whisper)

If...

This is it. By the time I go to bed tonight, I will know if it is all over or not. If they voted to accept the tentative agreement. If we are going on strike. If we can order our house tomorrow. If it is finally all over and we can move on with the rest of our lives.

This time, something tells me that it's going to be ok.

Fingers Crossed

Well it seems that things are finally turning around on the whole strike/contract/house thing. The two parties met on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. Last night Jason made a phone call and rumor has it that they have hammered out a tentative agreement. When he hung up the phone and told me, I got tears in my eyes. Over six months of this and it finally may be over! I know it's not like one of us was sick or dying or anything as dramatic as that, but it has caused quite a lot of stress in my house. The not knowing.

Jason checked his work email today and it is official. They are going to be shown the proposal on Tuesday night and vote on it Wednesday night. Assuming the votes are in favor, we could order our house as soon as Thursday! Jason thinks that where this is a "tentative agreement" and not just another "offer", it means that the union will suggest that everyone vote to accept. Here's hoping.

Today was my last day of work at the school. It's bizarre how it's become so normal now for me to work there. Especially when you think of how stressed out I was in September. Hopefully this September will be less stressful. The kids will be going into grade one, but they are old pros at this whole school thing so they'll be fine.

I've got Abby registered for Clora's preschool. I requested she go on Friday's. That way Sherry won't have to babysit. It's work out pretty good. On the days that Jason works, Mom can take her and everyday I get off at 1:30pm so I can always pick her up. I just hope I don't get too sad about it. I know I'm going to have a hard time when she starts kindergarten. She just turned 4 on the 31st of May. Kellie supplied some tickets so we took her to see "Over The Hedge" and ate at Dairy Queen. We got her an ice-cream cake that had Dora on it, of course. I don't know when Dora will leave this house.

So today, after work, Jason and I drove down to see the Kent show house, again. It was exciting to be in it again. They've gotten some new flooring and counter-tops options since we've been in last. Plus they've switched their standard of doors to two-panel ones like Sherry's and their door knobs and all hardware to silver instead of brass. This pleased me more than words could say! I can't believe that we are actually going to get to live in it.

It seems too good to be true that things will finally work out. I find myself waiting for something to screw up. I think we had come to the conclusion that it was never going to happen. Jason and I are both being cautious with our happiness - we want to wait until the contract is actually signed and we go to the bank one last time, before we celebrate too much. I think I have to work on allowing myself to be happy. Too often I look at other people's lives, their tragedies, illnesses, etc.... and feel so guilty for ever complaining about anything. How could I ever complain about something so superficial like a house when children are dying? This is what I do to myself over and over again until I literally get sick. But I'm working on finding a way to be sympathetic to other people's situations without completely taking it on myself and making it my reality.

Maybe I should have put this on my list. Anyway, things are looking good.

My List of 101 Things To Do In 1001 Days

Well I've been working on this for quite a while but here it is!