Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Happy 40th Birthday, BigSexy!

Once upon a time there was a little boy named Zal Joel...

(look at the smirk on his face, what a lil' devil!)

and a little girl named called Celeste Anne...

(apparently my bangs have always misbehaved themselves)

And after kissing many frogs, bobbing for the wrong apples, trials & tribulations, misfits & mistakes they found each other. And it's GREAT! Life really couldn't be any better.


Happy 40th Birthday and Valentine's Day to my BigSexy, Zal.
*also known as Zalbert, Zalvis, Zalfred, Zally, Zalentine, Snal, Sully, Syndrome, Cook, Cookie and the odd time Lenny, but most importantly...DAD!*

You are everything I hoped for and everything I need, because you know everything about me...and you still love me.

I love you and appreciate you more than I can ever express. You truly are a good apple; the very best in the whole big ol' barrel.

Love,
Your BabyDoll.

4-ever & 4-always...taking care of business, because that's just what we do.

Wednesday, February 06, 2013

Every little thing is gonna be alright : )

Today was one of those days where you wake up and things aren't great, but they aren't horrible, they're just kinda blah. You know? Everybody has them every now and then.

Bad hair, bad skin, bad mood and attitude, messy house, land line is dead (huh?), umpteen loads of laundry to do and dirty dishes up the wazoo. Zal's out of town, 2 outta my 4 kids haven't been feeling great, the alarm didn't go off, we're gonna be late and this was all before the 8am Mommy Taxi got rollin'!
Yoy.

So, instead of tackling things head on, I did what any completely overwhelmed woman would do and went shopping! First stop was groceries. Not so exciting, but all the fresh fruit and veggies we bought will be better for me to snack on than the crap I usually succumb to.

Talia was my little sidekick again today and we were on a mission to find thee perfect piece of furniture (yes, I meant thee, not the. It's just way more Candice Olson sounding and I love her show) to which our awesome *Bob Marley Get Up, Stand Up ipad/ipod/iphone dock/speaker* will live on forever more. It is one sexy beast and it needs a deserving home.


Well, no such luck. A few possibilities but nothing yelled "Take me home tonight...be my little baby!" just like Ronnie (and Eddie Money) sang. Oh well.

These are the two strongest contenders:



Nice. Well made. All real wood for only $85, and although I was able to talk the guys at the thrift store down to $70, there was a matching headboard and two dressers. I really didn't have the heart to break up the set. I know someone will buy them all before the weekend is through.
Besides which, it is perhaps a wee bit too fancy-schmancy for our living room and not really the best fit with the speaker {aka: Bob-o, Marley Man, Mr. Bob, I have a tendency to name inanimate objects. Don't judge me}

So next was this guy, a bargain at only $10 but definitely not real wood and would need some gussying up in the form of a paint job. We have been thinking the piece should have some color as Mr. Bob is wood tone to begin with. I like this guy a lot but I'm not known for my speed and efficiency when doing DIY projects and besides which he's a little bit stumpy, like George Costanza. I think the piece we end up with needs more height so we're not forever bending over to change the tunes.


***NOTE TO SELF; We NEED a boot rack/mitt dryer! How did you not notice the one in the background?***
Sigh.

Then, at another shop was this dainty lady for only $10, and I have been desiring after a bar cart because God knows that Zal and I love to throw a good ol' party. But it just seems too prissy. I like the brass, not so much the glass. I hate to dust and fingerprints make me angry. So, no.

But I have to admit that I am still thinking about her...



I'd like to quickly interject that I am pretty much a thrift shop hoppin' hussy. I don't choose one over another. I like to hit them all. I donate to where I think the donations will best be used and/or dispersed and I shop where I will get the best deal for myself and my family. I generally find that I spend equally at each one throughout the year when I keep tabs on my buys. My donations almost always go towards helping people and organizations right here in Saskatoon.
For me, it's fun. I don't bring my religious or political beliefs with me when I'm thrifting and I don't care to be judged by others for it either. To each their own.

So what did we buy? Well, a Justin Bieber charm bracelet, Mickey Mouse earrings and a Roots hoodie for Talia, and a Columbia spring coat and some books for Zaiden, all at amazingly low prices. If nothing else, I am frugal.
And for myself, thee (there it is again) very best siwash or "cowichan sweater" EVER (which was explained to me as the politically correct name) and some pretty smokin' hot boots.
I didn't NEED either, but the price was right and what the heck, you only live once.

Check this out. It's way beyond $7.99 worth of greatness, really...and it makes me wish I had aspired to be an Olympic ice dancer.





These boots were obviously NOT made for walkin'; but they are damn-well-dinner-out-with-my-BigSexy-worthy. ; )



So, a blah day turned into a pretty alright day thanks to a few measly purchases and a cool little co-shopper. Other highlights were having lunch out with Talia who is such an inquisitive, talkative, friendly and funny little chicklette and a quick visit with my lil' brother-in-law and his daughter at his home run daycare. He amazes me. And holy crunk, do they ever have a massive variety of TOYS there, and I thought we had a lot! My kids were in Heaven.
The mega-bonus was that Fabi (his daughter) took one look at me and said, "I have a picture of you". And she ran to get it, the pic we sent out in Christmas cards this year. Yay! She recognizes me. She is such a sweetiepie and looks exactly like Devan did at her age, minus the long hair and girly-girlness. It's uncanny.

I guess I should tell you all that the house has been tidied (to some degree), dishes are done, laundry is rollin', phone has been fixed, hair has been tamed, mood and attitude have changed for the better, kids were bathed and put to bed a little earlier, multiple alarm clocks are set and right at this moment I'm not worried about a thing. Except this zit, it's driving me nuts.

Omg! I can't forget to add this little ray of sunshiny goodness. The sole reason (other than furniture hunting) for shopping today was to find myself a citrus juicer for my tea. I cannot believe how difficult was to track this sucker down; new or used! If there was a Stokes or something similar near me I guess I might have found one. But definitely not for $1.99. Score!



Seeing as it is quickly going on midnight, I am going to set my alarm clock and hit the hay. Although I had 2 large iced coffees today, I'm not going to let caffeine win tonight. This Momma Bear needs sleep. Morning sneaks up way too quickly and I have another dreaded dentist appointment to deal with. I can't say I hate our new dentist but I won't go so far as to say that I love him, either.
G'nite!

Sunday, February 03, 2013

Caffeine overdose

It's nearly 2am and I'm about as far from sleep as I've ever been. I am so not doing great in the "get more sleep" intention that I've set for myself. Plop. It might be the fact that I took my multi-vitamin avec green tea a little late in the day. Or maybe the fact that I had a coffee at my friend Lindsay's house at 7pm this evening when I picked up my daughter. Chances are, it's an even-Steven combination of the two. I'm a one cuppa coffee kinda girl and God forbid it's any time after 2pm or sleep just flat out eludes me. Obviously.

I'm happy to report that I'm doing pretty ok in some of my other "intention departments", though. Phone calls to my Grandparents? Check. A concerted effort to swear less? Check. Holiday away booked for just Zal and I? Check. Fairly decent start, I think.
I've also been exercising and eating healthier...although it is taking a tonne of willpower to not go dig into some crackers, cheese and pickles right now (quite possibly my fav night time snack) or a big ol' bowl of cereal (a childhood habit that all 4 of my kids have carried on). I've cut out all eating after supper as of this week. It's been damn hard and there is nothing saying that it will continue or that I won't slip every now and then. Moderation, right? Right. One BK chicken parmesan/onion ring/iced coffee combo slip won't kill me. And quite frankly, the chicken parm wasn't even close to what I hoped it would be. Those iced coffees though? Best ever. And I followed it all up with a homemade detox juice (thanx Lindsay). And let me tell you, liquid kale and ginger really know how to get things going with the flow.  : S

As for the exercising,  I tried a new workout dvd every day this week except for Thursday. I didn't fall in love with any of them so Zal convinced me to try one of the P90X workouts today, I believe it was #8, called core synergistics. Ugh. So hard. Extreme, even. Just as Tony claims. But worth it. I actually surprised myself in more areas then I did disappoint myself. And Zal thought I was cute so win-win and I'll definitely try more of them. What do I have to lose? Oh yeah, weight. Right.

This weekend has been fairly busy for us with parties, showers, soccer and a lovely supper out at The Keg with my two beautiful nieces. More soccer tomorrow and possibly a visit to the Wintershine Festival downtown. I best turn everything off (Dear brain, please cooperate) and get some zzzzzzz's. The fact that I don't have any little rugrats in my bed right now is mind boggling. But I just wish that Zal's snoring would chill the f*ck out. Honestly.

G'nite, sleep tight...whatever that means.


Saturday, February 02, 2013

The YHL Unofficial Macklemore Thrift Shop Challenge

Not only did Young House Love's Unofficial Macklemore Thrift Shop Challenge SCREAM precisely and directly at my brain, "Oh, that's a Celeste challenge for sure!", my bff reinforced it with a text that read, "yhl challenge today? all you, my friend". She knows me well. Indeed it was.

http://www.younghouselove.com/

Unfortunately the weather has been so nasty ass cold here in Saskatoon that today is the first day this week that I've ventured out into the cold (aside from being Momma taxi driver, that is). So, Talia and I dropped off the boys at school and then went to get our thrift on.
We actually visited two of the Sally Anne's and one of the Value Villages in the city. We scored cool crap at all of them.

There were 3 rules to the challenge:
1. Go to a thrift store with $20 in your pocket and take a pic. Check. (I took Talia's pic, she's cuter)
2. Spend the $20 any way you choose and take pics of your finds. Done & done.
3. Find items referenced in the *song* and snap (you know it...) some more pics!

*clothing with fringe, an all pink outfit, moccasins, a velour jumpsuit, house slippers, a brown leather jacket, a keyboard, a kneeboard, shoes with velcro, luggage, a plaid button up shirt, flannel zebra jammies, PJs with built-in socks, a telescope, a big ass coat and of course…R. Kelly's pissy sheets*
; p

Well, you're wondering, what did you find? What didn't we find?!

I had no problem spending my $20. Like that shocks you. Talia got a few things too. As well she should, she's great thrift shopping company.

Here's the breakdown:

*Funky retro cloth suitcase - $5.99 (or luggage, totally one of the items mentioned in the song)
*Set of 4 brand new cork tiles - $2.99 (I plan to line the inside of the upper cabinet near the kitchen phone for the kid's schedules/newsletters, ect)
*Butter dish - $2.99
*2 wooden serving spoons - .49 cents each
*Soccer ball cake pan - $1.99 (I believe I promised at least two of my nephews cakes this year)
*Bacon and egg earrings - $1.99 (technically, these were Talia's find, but I'm not above wearing s
symbols of sizzling deliciousness on my lobes)
And because the calendar has flipped and it is the month of l-l-l-l-love...
*3 Valentine's Day cheesemo decorations for .99 cents a piece.
 ***Grand Total =  $19.90***



Ok. I cannot lie. We went over! But in our defence we couldn't NOT and it was soooooo totally worth the $2.99. As we got to the busy checkout line at VV we started browsing the cds and dvds. Let me just tell you, if you were in highschool/bar age/or just really freaking cool in the 90's and you happen to see a hell of a bargain in the form of  cd titled "90's Rewind"  produced and mixed by M.C. Mario distributed through Sony Music Entertainment Canada grab that bad boy and pump up the jam! So great. Seriously. Takes me right back and I'm happy for the visit.

Ok, so Grand Total = $22.89

I'm probably gonna lose quite a few pounds from dancing my arse off.

There were a few things we coveted. Yeah, by coveted I mean totally cut people off or snatched them before other shoppers could and then drove said objects around in our cart the whole time, only to return them to a different spot on the shelves after deciding..."yeah, we don't NEED that".

There are a few things that I'm sleeping on. Lol. If I decide I want them after all, I'll make some quick trips back tomorrow. If they are still there it's meant to be. If not, c'est la vie. And hey, no ragging on me about spot switching or moving, let's say a really cool deep turquoise vintage dress from the retro section, to let's say maybe the ladie's pyjama section. I worked at 3 different Salvation Army Stores for 6 years (oddly, about 6 years ago now already. Wow). I know the tricks of the trade. I least I don't rob the store blind like some of the Hutterite colonies around here do. For shame!

And now, because I am technologically challenged and don't know what the heck I did to my blog format/layout I'm just going to add all the pics we took. And there were quite a few. This is the edited version, people. Lol. Hopefully it isn't too random and goofy...I might need to call on a few of my blogger friends for some help.

Until next time. Keep calm and thrift on!