Intentions

 

 Today's the day.......... 

Time to write your New Year's resolutions........... unless you don't.  

I don't.... haven't for many years.... I wonder if resolutions are for the young - for the hopeful.. for the believers........ maybe?  definitely not for old folks like me - who have learned by experience that resolutions are an exercise in failure...... 

Yesterday my morning news show recommended not calling it 'resolutions' that it should be called "intentions" that way you won't feel as much a failure ... after all it is just intentions...... not resolutions.  

A rose by any other name ....... ya know?!

The one tradition I have is cleaning the house ....... sorting and tossing stuff...... resolutions? intentions? not so much ............. 

Life is good when the house is sorted before the new year..........

The Fantasy and the Reality

 

 

This week - the week between Christmas and New Year's - is our week.  On December 18th when Sir Steve started his 2 week holiday - I could SEE our 2 weeks together.  

Week one was family responsibility - the lil one was home with us ... eldest daughter and SIL were coming down for Christmas...... 

BUT - week two - no lil one (she's with her mother) - just us........ (singing) "just the two of us"..................... 

The Fantasy:

sleeping in late - having early morning sex - then breakfast in bed - croissants and hot coffee ... and absolutely NO crumbs!
binge watching movies ... meals magically appearing - amazing meals!  gourmet meals!
spankings - whips and chains and floggers OH MY! all the time!!
Late nights - sleeping all night snuggled together.

The Reality:

my internal alarm clock is still going off at 5:00 am -- no breakfast in bed cause I've had my breakfast and coffee before Sir Steve even gets up
Laundry to do - loads of laundry - all the bed linens and towels and clothes and table cloths ........... piles and piles of laundry
Dirty house - dog hair everywhere - bits of wrapping paper everywhere - dust bunnies
Decorations that for some reason look tired - so add to the mess/dirt  all the Christmas storage boxes - and ornaments and santas and sleighs lined up ready to be packed away.........
no gourmet meals - instead leftovers - and more leftovers - till I am tired of food.
BUT we have binge watched movies - and gone to bed late - AND I still wake up frequently... and am wide awake at 5 ......... so colour me exhausted before I even start my day........
OH and so far no sex - no whips and chains and floggers OH MY! cause we're talking reality here not fantasy..........

Life is good when you still believe in the Fantasy.......

 

News Headlines.......

 

 The one thing I really miss over the holidays is my morning news show.  Oh it's still on - but the regular anchors aren't there... BUT this morning the anchors were back on and I had my ass planted in front of the TV at 6 am........ ready to watch MY news.

The first news item..... covid? No.  Bomb in Nashville? No.  Politics? No.

The lead story was a video of a group of people bashing a 2020 pinata!! ?? And the anchor announcing today is "Good riddance day" ?!! 

Apparently today is the day we make a list of all the crap the past year has brought to our lives and then get rid of it - symbolically.... in this case by smacking the crap out of some cardboard sign.  Interesting concept........ I'd never heard of this "Good Riddance Day" - have you??? and I think quite honestly I could have lived the rest of my life without knowing .... shrug....... but that's what News shows are for right?? keeping us informed......... even if the information is useless. 

Life is good even with useless information...........

Post Holiday

 

 

Well the holidays are virtually over -- well the busy part of the holidays. New Year's week tends to be much much quieter ...... just Sir Steve and I.... with Netflix and decorations and trees that need to come down and be stored away.

BUT

we had a wonderful Christmas with eldest daughter and SIL .... they arrived on Christmas Eve and left Boxing Day.  We had lots of laughter.. lots of food (as usual I had way too much food!! and we'll be eating left overs for a few more days) I think everyone was spoiled by Santa...... and we even managed to have a rousing game of HedBanz on the 25th.   It was a tradition when my girls were small - Santa always brought a new board game and on the 26th we would spend the day playing games and eating leftovers! 

Even the dog got a present from Santa - it's a burrow (in our case it's a tree stump) with small animals that squeak inside.  The object is for the dog to find the squeaky toys and get them out.  

 

Now we settle down for another big lockdown for a month....... and my mind is already making lists for camping season -- yeah camping season!!  I just can't help myself .... grinning.

Life is good when you survive the holidays and have more lists to make......... 

 

Sunday Sentiments

 (still kinda recovering from Christmas .... leaving this for anyone who drops by..... )

AND...........

IT'S OVER!!!

 

 

Today is my traditional collapse and binge watch movies and eat leftovers..... BUT I promised a post a day for the month of December...... no slacking here (cheeky grin) 

Merry Christmas

 From our house to yours..................

 

May you have a joyful holiday 

And may the New Year bring you peace, health and much happiness!

Twas The Night Before Christmas.......

 

 

 

 

 

AHHHHHHHHHHHHH !!

We're down to the wire........ tomorrow is Christmas Eve!  

GAH!  and I have no idea what to write here today - and really no time to write anything....

 Soooooooooooooo 

offering this for your reading pleasure this morning......

 

 

Improving......

 

 

We finally seem to have had a break through with the lil one...... it has been a helluva month with her let me tell you!!!

She and I had a long talk yesterday -- let's say I had a brain wave and decided to try it out.... We talked about how she wants to be grown up and independent and that I GET that!!  I suggested that when she wants to do / try something new - something independent - she should 'check in' with her dad or me first... that way we might be able to offer some advise and keep her safe....... AND most importantly - she won't look so bossy!!   She agreed that might work............ 

keeping my fingers crossed that for now - not forever but for now! - behaviours will improve........ 

Best part of yesterday though - was watching her and Sir Steve build and decorate a gingerbread house from scratch!!  It was a first for both of them.  It was nice for me - I got to just supervise and take pictures - and let them bond .....
(BEST PART - I hate royal icing the standard 'glue' for gingerbread houses - and this year discovered if you melt sugar it works like crazy glue !  and takes about 10 seconds to set and hold everything together!)

Here's a picture of the finished gingerbread house proudly displayed in the kitchen !

 Life is good when you have Eureka moments!

Here We go Again........

 

 

We're gonna get the news today -- but it would seem we're gonna be in a full lock down starting on Christmas Eve.  Yesterday in Quebec there was a protest against the lock downs........ hundreds of folks marched the streets without masks.  Bloody brilliant!!

Quebec has been under heavy restrictions for - I don't know - 2 months now?? AND their numbers are still climbing.  Their Premier begged them to follow the restrictions and said they could have Christmas if they were good....... they weren't good so now he has cancelled Christmas.  Doesn't it sound an awful lot like a parent imposing consequences for bad behaviour?? However - we aren't children.  And it's obvious a lot of folks are thumbing their noses at the government and the restrictions.

"In my world" it seems so simple - limit your outings to only essential - groceries and such - and only associate with folks who follow the same self isolation protocols you do....... Shut out the world for the most part. 

Having said that - how careful we are - Covid can sneak up on ya.  I got a message from a friend on the weekend telling me that she had heard my dentist had tested positive for Covid.  I looked at the calendar ........ I was in her chair 7 days before she tested positive.  7 days!!!  I can tell you my heart nearly stopped!!  Took me a little while to figure out that on Saturday it had been 12 days since my appointment....... and today is the 14th day - and I have no symptoms.  phewwwwwwwww  

BUT for some reason - this lock down here in Ontario - has really bummed me out ya know?!  It doesn't technically change our life at all! We don't eat out in restaurants - we don't go shopping in the shops/malls - don't take winter holidays and the lil one is home schooled..... BUT it has definitely bummed me out.......  

Let's do a 'check in' ......... how's everyone doing in your corner of this madness?

 

Sunday Smiles

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Start of the Holidays...

 

 

Yesterday was the last day of school for the lil one (AND me!) and the last day of work for Sir Steve (he doesn't get holidays in the summer 'cause it's their busy work period - so they all take the 2 weeks of Christmas YAY!)

When Sir Steve got home - I went and got my hair cut and spiffed up for the holidays.  (of course after sleeping on it - I need to redo it today - le sigh)

When I got home Sir Steve went and got take out for dinner and we all curled up and watched "Klaus" (on Netflix).

 

Wasn't a bad movie actually....... in the beginning we were all wondering WHAT kind of Christmas movie it was!!! (I really should read the story line first) ....... but it turned out to be a GREAT movie.  

Not to spoil the ending for anyone wanting to watch it... but be prepared for Klaus to die.... our lil one gasped "What just happened??!!"  BUT it is a kid's movie so all's well that ends well......... 

Today I'm off to do the last BIG shopping run............. mask and hand sanitizer at the ready because - like most places - our covid numbers are up .......... Have I told you how ready I am to say good bye to 2020 AND covid? though I know the clicking over to 2021 isn't going to bring an end to Covid - but maybe a step or two closer??

Life is good when the family is home for the holidays............ 

Down to the Wire.......

 

 I've been busy this morning making party sandwiches - you know the ones I mean - well you do if you're close to my age!!  My mom used to make them all the time for parties when I was small........... 

OMG my absolute favourite - cherry cream cheese pinwheels!!
I'm making other food too - sausage rolls and cranberry meatballs... and anything else that comes to mind.......... 

Why am I making these party foods?? especially during  the pandemic?? 

cause........... 

Tomorrow night is our virtual Christmas with the family!!!  Traditionally this feast was on the 24th at my youngest daughter's and we always had finger foods on paper plates saving the good dishes for the 25th....... Last year we decided we wanted to make special memories at home... complete with the "Twas the night before Christmas" and waking up in the morning and climbing into bed with 'mom and dad' to open stockings. So we had the family celebration the weekend before Christmas.  At least that's a tradition we can continue this year - the year of the pandemic Christmas.

Life is good when you can pull yourself out of a slump and limp forward.......

One Week to go.......

 

Despite my mood or nonsense going on around here.. the clock is still clicking down the days till Christmas.  One week today will be Christmas Eve and hopefully (fingers crossed) the arrival of my eldest daughter and SIL.

The house is just about fully decorated - there are a few things still left to add - like the gingerbread house that Sir Steve and the lil one are gonna make (It was supposed to be a family event - but honestly not sure IF I will join in) 

I haven't taken you around the house to see the decorating......... SO ... guess what we're doing this morning (grinning) ............. 

This year I purchased some new pillow covers for the throw pillows in the living room... I absolutely love them!!  Discovered Christmas gnomes last year when we did 'Christmas Around the World' - we have incorporated them into our decorating scheme again this year............ 

(if you want a closer look - just click on the thumb nails et voila - full view!)

 

 

Keeping with our "Old fashioned" Christmas theme..... I cleaned up the lil one's rocking horse and added a couple of teddies and her Raggedy Ann doll........... 

 

Folks for the most part seem to be going over the top with their decorating this year ... and we were no different...... I brought Christmas into every room...... bedding in our room........ ribbons in the kitchen......... and even the lil one got her own tree .... 

Finally here are some of my favourite tree decorations - most of them go back many years - to when my children were small and when I was teaching full time........ 

 

(and yes those are  squirrels - thanks to my daughters' sense of humour)

 

AND that dear friends is a quick peak at our home dressed for Christmas...

Lost it's Sparkle?

 

Yesterday I had a headache all day........... even Tylenol didn't ease it and it usually does.

I didn't sleep much last night - that's the 2nd night in a row.  I gave up trying to sleep and got up at 4am.

It's cold - like -17 (which is about 1degree F) and there's no snow 

I can't shake the feeling that Christmas has lost it's sparkle and it makes me very very sad.  

Melt Down

 

I feel like that poor polar bear... hanging on to a thread.......... 

Yesterday was a 'no good terrible very bad day'.... the *child* (can you hear the exasperation in my words?) has pushed me to the breaking point.  It has been the month from hell - honestly!  

Despite my best efforts to get through to her.. I am fighting a losing battle.  I have stressed.. I have given consequences for her bad behaviours at 'school'.  I have told her - as has her teacher - that if she has spare time she is NOT to play but she is supposed to read - go to a website her teacher gave her... to finish work ........... did she hear us??? I thought so........ until yesterday.  I looked into her room to see her pulling all her dolls out .... she had dumped her 'food' and 'dishes' out and was in the process of setting up house!!  WTF?!  It was only half way through her day.... granted the kids at school weren't back from recess ......... BUT still!!!!  

I  threw in the towel .......... and I had a melt down.  I am tired of being the disciplinarian... I would like to just have fun with her too ya know... play games - do crafts ...no responsibility!!!!  

So - last night there was no lighting the next Advent candle - no Advent gift........ in fact I didn't even eat supper with them...... my head was throbbing and my stomach was upset. 

I have lived with grinches in the past........ and they didn't bring my spirit down over Christmas............ BUT an 8 year old with major attitude has..........  right now I have no joy over the upcoming holidays..... no desire to finish the baking or wrap the gifts.  I just want to go to bed and wake up in January.  

Merry Xmasochist

 

 

We had such a busy weekend !!  We managed to squeeze in our trip to Montreal to drop off gifts and food baskets early Saturday morning before any bad weather arrived (though the storm was more a tempest in a teapot!)   Sunday Sir Steve helped me bake more cookies - the food baskets depleted our supply of Christmas treats.

By Sunday late afternoon - I figured any play time/adult snuggle time wasn't going to happen - we were both pooped.  Imagine my surprise when Sir Steve said that he was going to have a shower and would meet me in the bedroom when he finished!!

Butterfly time!

And it wasn't a sensual spanking either - it was a 'test my limits' spanking.  (Sir Steve had said he needed this maybe more than me!)  Sir Steve brought out the leather strap!! and knives... "oh be still my heart!!" 

The strap was hard ......... I yelped and squirmed ........ 

Sir Steve slowed it down....... did a lot of stroking between hits... and gave me a chance to get on top of the pain....... something he's very good at ... working WITH me to make it a fulfilling spanking session!  

The knife - omg!  the knife !  it's been so long ... when I felt the tip bite into my skin.. felt it moving down my back... I absolutely melted!  Sir Steve spared no part of my body... the knife talked to me - sang to me.. .teased me ....... I held my breath when it slipped up my thigh finding its way to my most private bits...  Sneaky Sir Steve would let me fall into the sensations of the knife ... then grab the strap and get in a couple of really good hits!  

It was totally amazing!  much like it used to be........... 

Life is good when the Christmas fairies come out to play.......... 

Sunday Smiles

The all animal edition of Sunday Smiles.........