Best Buy, not Best Service!

I like Best Buy, I really do. I think they have some of the greatest prices around on electronics. They finally wised up and lowered their prices to reflect what people are selling on eBay etc. They are FINALLY competitively priced. I've never liked their service though. NEVER! I had a huge issue with them about two years ago regarding honoring the warranty on a laptop. About 3 years ago I had a problem with just getting customer service. I was wandering through the television department and there was no one there to serve me. I was annoyed. While in the store I called Best Buy and complained that I was standing there and NO ONE came by to help me. Suddenly I have 6 employees on me. UGH! So annoying!

Anyway, last night my husband asked me if I minded him using the gift card my boss gave me to Best Buy on a universal remote for the basement. We already had one for the upstairs family room but George wanted one for the basement. We went to Bestbuy.ca to see how much they cost. My boss had given me a $500 gift card and the Logitech Harmony One 1100 Universal Remote was there and on sale for $379.99. I told George that he'd have to pay a little extra out of his pocket since I did use about $120 on some Wii Games on Christmas Eve. Not a problem! Usually the website lets you click a button to see if your local store has it in stock. There was a message "During Boxing Week in-store pick up and store stock availability is unavailable until January 4th. We apologize for any inconvenience. Visit a store near you". Okay. Well we weren't in the mood to go out to Best Buy only to find out that it wasn't there so we decided to give our local store a ring...and a ring....and a ring. We tried pressing 0 to speak to customer service and no answer, we listened to the automated messages to direct us to Audio/Video Accessories including remote controls. No answer.

George was at home for about 10 minutes on hold when he decided to actually get up and go to Best Buy. He went, found the remote, and came home. He was still on hold with Best Buy (he called from his cell and took his cell with him). By the time he showed me his phone the call log was up to 48 minutes and 37 seconds on hold. I decided to hang up at this point. Not only that but while George was in the department he saw the phone ringing and asked a customer service rep "are you going to get that" to which they replied, "I'm too busy!"

I get that its a very busy time of year for stores right now. Americans have Black Friday and we have Boxing Day which has slowly become Boxing Week. It's our biggest shopping days of the year. People go insane. But why not change your automated system to reflect that of the website? How about something like, "We are sorry for any inconvenience but due to the number of in store customers at this time we are unable to answer any questions over the telephone regarding products or stock availability? Please come to your local store for any questions or call back after Jan 4, 2010?"

I mean its a really crappy thing for a customer to point out that the telephone is ringing and for the employees to just shrug it off and claim they are busy. Yes, you are busy but why can you not excuse yourself from your in-store customer for 30 seconds and pick up the phone and say "Best Buy, please hold". Finish with your customer and take a minute on the phone with the phone customer before finding the next person to hawk commission from? Believe me proper customer service goes a long way and the person who called is very likely to come into the store, into your department and ask for YOU by name to serve them to give you the commission. I know that I do that when I call a store. I ask for their name and when they are working, I especially do that if I'm doing comparison shopping in stores and have just eaten half an hour of someones time. I'll ask for their card as well as when they are working next in case we decide to come back and get the item from that particular store.

Anyway I thought that was rather crappy of them and thought I'd share. I guess its true that you always complain about bad service and never really rave about excellent service!

Baby List

So I kind of stole this from Future Mamma's blog.

It's so hard to stay organized while you are pregnant and the amount of things a newborn baby needs is completely overwhelming. Not only that but apparently a side effect of being pregnant is that you completely forget everything. I honestly find myself having to write things down instead of depending on my amazing memory. Very craptastic for me!



So Future Momma put together a list of things she needs, thinks she'll need, knows she doesn't need, or already has. I figured I'd do this as well to track my progress!


NURSERY
Crib and/or bassinet Thanks Mom and Dad!
Crib bedding Thanks Mom and Dad...and George!
Crib mattress Parents again..
Mattress pad
Waterproof crib liner
Fitted sheets (2-3)
Sleep Positioner
Receiving blankets (4-5)
Changing tableParents again...
Changing pad
Changing pad covers
Dresser Parents
Rocker/gliderbought
Hamper nursery
Nursery monitor
Mobile
Night Light

Feeding Supplies
Bottles been bought off my registry even though I haven't sent out invites
Bottle Sterilizer
Bottle brush
Bottle warmer
Bottle drying rack
Nursing pillow
Breast pump
Nursing pads
Nursing cream
Breast shields
Nursing bras
Nursing gown
Milk storage bags
Travel formula dispenser
Pacifiers
Pacifier clips
gas relief drops
High chair Also bought from my registry
Meal mat
Infant spoons
Sippy cups
Teethers

Bathing
Bathtub
Washcloths (5-10) Mom's random shopping I have like 20 already
Baby wash pruchased
Baby shampoo from
Baby lotionregistry
Bath toys
Tub toy pouch
Hooded towels (2-4)

ACTIVITY

Toys and More
Swing Purchased from registry
Bouncer seat Purchased from registry
Play gym
Crib mirror
Jumper
Rattles
Walker
Toy Chest

Books and Music
Preggo Planner Don't believe this is necessary
Pregnancy books
Childbirth books
Breastfeeding books
Parenting books
Baby book
Journal
Educational music
Lullybuy music

NEWBORN ESSENTIALS

Diapering
Diapers (disposable or cloth)-- Too early to buy because baby might be allergic
Wipes
Wipes warmer
Travel pack for wipes
Diaper bag (Afraid to cross this off because I THINK I found my dream bag!)
Diaper pail and refills
Rash ointment
Diaper sacks for travel
Disposable changing pads

Clothing
Homecoming outfit Sister in law bought
T-shirts mom, sister in law, best fright bought
Onesies mom, sister in law, best fright bought
Sleepwear mom, sister in law, best fright bought
Bibs (5-10)mom & best friend bought
Burp cloths Best friend bought
Booties and socks
Hats (2-4)
Mittens
Footed rompers
Sweaters
Swaddle blanket
Baby laundry detergent
Stain remover
Baby clothes hangers

BABY CARE

Health -- All items removed came in a kit that was purchased from my registry
First aid supplies
Thermometer
Medicine dispenser
Baby fever reducer
Nasal aspirator
Humidifier/Vaporizer
Baby brush and comb
Nail clippers

Safety
Safety gate
Corner guards
Outlet covers
Drawer latches
Cabinet locks
Toilet locks
Fireplace bumpers
Fire alarm
Carbon monoxide detector

TRAVEL
Rear-facing infant car seat Sister in law bought from my registry
Car seat base for 2nd car
Full-size stroller
Lightweight stroller
Stroller rain shield
Stroller toys
Infant car mirror
Pack and play
Soft carrier

MISCELLANEOUS
Birth announcements - Already have a designer in mind
Thank you cards - see above
Stamps
Camera
Camcorder
Picture frames
Growth chart
Batteries
Baby calendar
Personalized items



OPTIONAL STUFF I'D LIKE
Baby sling - Still debating on if I'm a baby wearer or not
Baby Wrap
Diaper stacker Came with my bedding set
Nursery curtainsCame with my bedding set
Pregnancy pillow A life send!

So far it looks like I have a lot crossed off my list. Other things that aren't crossed off are on my registry but only like 5 people know of my registry so it's not shocking that a lot of things haven't been bought. My mom goes nuts everytime she goes out shopping she has to pick something up for Demi.

Demi already has mounds and mounds of clothes just waiting for the nursery to be put together, washed, dried, and put away. I already have my bag for the hospital (obviously not packed yet)and I'm waiting to find my perfect dream diaper bag. Demi and Mommy are going to be styling the entire way!

So what do you guys think of my progress? What do you guys think of my registry? Too much? Not enough? Useless things on there or not?

I know that people don't recommend wipe warmers but its something that I want for Demi so damnit I'll get it for her! I have a bunch of little things on the registry because between my mom, sister, sister in law, best friend, and best friends mom/sister, all the large "Bulk" items have already been purchased. My parents bought the entire nursery for me (crib, crib mattress, bedding set, changing table, dresser, night stand, bassinet, and glider). My best friends mom and sister have bought me the bouncer, the high chair, the play pen, a bathtime set, some bottles etc! My sister in law got me a boat load of clothes (that she won't let me see) and Demi's stage two car chair (infant over 20lbs). My sister hasn't bought it yet but shes getting me the travel system which is the stroller and car seat. Nicole (best friend) has bought me a bunch of clothes (she also won't let me see) and some random small things for Demi.


So yeah, thats my list and I'm kind of proud of the progress made. I'll probably be updating this post as the months pass by (sheesh I'm already 6 months along) and again after my baby shower!

By the way what do you guys think of my sample invite? It's the first shot only and we are making some changes to it.

Dallas is so expensive!

First of all, Sorry for being such an epic fail with NaBloPoMo...but at least I am posting more regularly right? Oh But I have like 3 blogs I'm about to pump out today!


Now for our regularly programmed blogging!

As most of you know I have a dog, a very cute dog with a hell of a personality. He has the cutest face in the whole world and his eyes are so expressive but man this dog is freaking expensive! He is on a raw food diet meaning that George and I always have to feed him raw chicken, beef, lamb, pork or whatever. (He hates turkey!) We never complain about the cost of his food because, well, we chose to get a dog that is on a raw food diet. But this dog is funny with his expenses... Allow me to explain.

It's Saturday afternoon. George and I have to go do a little Christmas shopping and we decide to leave Dallas with George's dad in our house. You figure the dog has a baby sitter, he shouldn't be too hard to watch. Give Dallas a chew toy or a stuffy and he's really content for a few hours.

George and I get back about an hour and a half after we left the house. We walk in and Dallas is super excited to see us but we aren't so excited to see him. All we see all over our living room floor is a red mess. George and I are looking at each other like "What the heck?" then it clicked. I had left two Christmas cards for our Secret Santa's on a table that Dallas is tall enough to reach. He took one of the cards and decided to shred it. (Thanks Gramps for watching out for him!)

The more I walk into the house the more I realize I was wrong. In the sea of red is also some pink. What the heck!? Turns out that George's dad wrote us Christmas cards and put them on the tree so that when I wrapped the gifts and put them under the tree I'd see them. Inside the cards were money. Canadian money is colored. 50's are pink.

Dallas doesn't mess with the tree but since he saw my father in law go near it he decided he had to do some investigating. He took one of the cards off the tree and ripped it open to see what was in the card. In the process of opening the card (aka shredding it to pieces) he decided to EAT some money. He tore a whole lot of 50's up and ended up eating one completely. Yeah, I'm not gonna be looking for that in his digestive tract. UGH!

C'mon you have to admit thats funny. The dog actually ate money. So George and I came home, threw down the bags with shopping and started taping money together...and then George punished Dallas for an hour by making him sit all by himself with no toys or anything. :(

Dallas doesn't go near the tree anymore but just to be on the safe side the envelopes are way up high on the tree now.

Is the end near?

Is the end near for work? NaBloPoMo? My pregnancy? The cold weather?

No, I'm not complaining, okay well maybe a bit! Work has been so long this year that I just can't believe the holidays haven't started yet. Seriously I think this was one of my longest years. I think the stress is starting to get to me considering the fact that last night I had a dream that my boss/co-worker pissed me off and I just said "I quit" and I stormed out of the office not even bothering to look back.

It's really funny because I honestly don't feel the stress while I'm there. Sure there is a lot to do but two of the big projects are off of my desk and in the hands of the printing company who can hopefully meet the deadline. But I think just being in the office on a daily basis and having to answer all the questions my boss has which are like, "Did you do this?" "Has this been mailed?" "Do you think we should..." It's like GRRRRR! I was trying to plan on all of this stuff MONTHS back but no one cared. You know that expression "Procrastination is like masturbation, you only end up fucking yourself?" Oh so wrong... everyone else's slacking off ended up fucking me!

It's so freaking cold here in Montreal right now. No snow or anything but just bone chilling cold. Like super cold. To top that off George borrowed my car and left me with 2L of gas. Basically that would have gotten me half way to work only. I had to stop to pump gas in freaking -20 weather. Not fun. I bitched so much that when I went to work late my boss was like, "It's okay. Don't worry about it." But I was just so furious! I don't think I spoke to George for the entire day because of that. All I have to say it that I'm so happy that today was the FIRST day in my 10 years in Montreal that I chose to wear gloves!

I don't want this to be a pregnancy blog and I really feel like I talk about the pregnancy so much its driving me crazy but I wanted you guys to know that at 24.5 weeks I am starting to FEEL pregnant in the sense that apparently Demi is 1.7 pounds right now and I can actually FEEL myself carrying that around. Getting in and out of cars that are low to the ground takes some extra effort. I don't have the need to pee in the middle of the night or other weird things that apparently some people are feeling from 10 weeks pregnant (yes that sarcasm and yes thats me rolling my eyes). Although when I do feel the urge to pee I have to pee, like right then and there. There is no more "Oh I'll go in a few minutes."

I'm so sorry I've missed 2 nights in a row. :( On Wednesday I had two doctors appointments and I found out that my best friend is going to have baby girl so Demi will have a best friend. This also makes the baby my SECOND little girl to baptize! George and I are going to baptize her together and this excites us so much! :)

Now I'm off to read all the blogs I missed over the past few days!

I feel sooooo freaking accomplished!!!

I think my blog title really sums up what I'm feeling. Today was a busy yet great day at work. I showed up at work a bit late... I don't know why but I can't seem to leave my house prior to 8:40am so I'm at work between 9:05 and 9:10, not bad but I'm MEANT to start at 9. I think Daniel comes to work late on purpose around 9:20 to not see me stroll in late on a daily basis. The way I see it though, I work late practically EVERYDAY, coming in 10 minutes late is more than made up by staying at work an hour late or working for 3 hours from home. I dunno, I think its beyond making it up. My boss knows though. When he sees that I send emails around 9 or 10pm he always tells me the next day "Thanks for your dedication."

It makes me feel good to see that he actually does see how hard I work. Anyways today I worked super duper hard! I finished the price list and confirmed the prices against last years and made our head office verify the prices. I also completed the promotional binder that we are giving all the dealers that sell our products complete with sell sheets, advertisements for our products, order forms, sign up forms for our websites spare parts ordering system, condensed color catalog, and much much more.... I made sure that all corporate Christmas gifts were ordered and being delivered on time (so far everything is a go with no hiccups which does please me as I will not be in the office tomorrow to make sure that nothing goes wrong), I sent an ad into one of our distributors and got feedback that "your ads are always the best looking ones". I wish I could take credit for the look but I can't. I just come up with the promotion and the concept and the graphics designer puts on paper what I had in my mind. The graphics designer and I work AMAZING together and we always get such great feedback. I also ordered my boss's Christmas present and got the email confirmation that the order went through and now I just have to write his Christmas card.


Today was just such a productive day that I didn't mind staying an hour late (hey I was also on 3way with my mom and sister) in order to complete everything I had to. That extra hour really helped make sure that everything was done properly and on time! Not only that but my boss asked me jokingly if I had a connection at Oakley and I told him that matter of fact, I do. A lady who brings her children to the daycare my hubby owns is a senior manager at Oakley and she gets 50% off everything Oakley. My boss ordered his son something for Christmas from Oakley and I managed to save him 110$ and have guaranteed delivery before the Christmas closure!

All in all, I just feel really great tonight! :)

Oh, I went to my sister's house to see how the progress on the renovations is going and it seems to be going oh so well. The upstairs bathroom turned out AH-MAZ-ING! I was in shock. They spent at lot of money on the tiles for that bathroom but it is looking really stellar. I wouldn't expect anything less from my sister!

I just went downstairs to see how the progress is going on our basement and I'm really impressed at the speed that this contractor is going. I didn't have any time to take pictures of "before" but I am taking pictures of the progress. If you were to see yesterdays pictures to todays pictures you'd be floored. My bathroom is MASSIVE and the tile work is soooo freaking awesome. One of the biggest downfalls of this reno job is the amount of dust (putting up walls, ceilings, and everything else that needs to be plastered and sanded...) gosh. I'm going to have to pay my cleaning lady DOUBLE just to clean the basement. I'm glad she loves me and she wouldn't dream of me going into the basement for cleaning it. Pregnant people and chemicals just don't mix. Sheesh, George won't even let me downstairs unless I'm wearing a mask so that I don't breath in any dust. He's too cute!

NaBloPoMo: 13/31 (and I think this is my first chipper post!)

Shopping? Baking? Where did the time go?

I'm really freaking out because I thought that this year I was more into the holiday spirit, that I was doing a great job getting ready for Christmas. Apparently, I'm not. I put my tree up in November and thats about it. I've hardly decorated and honestly thats because I don't have that many decorations... I was never into decorating for holidays but now with Demi on the way I figure I should be more into it. I'll be going shopping on Boxing Day (Canadians version of Black Friday) and picking up 50-60% off holiday decorations. I already have a mini tree for Demi's room though!

I started my baking yesterday and figured I'd get some done today but I didn't have time. I got home late, ordered dinner, ate dinner with George, picked colors for the basement and Demi's room, wrote Christmas cards, looked up some addresses for my sister's wedding shower and wedding (seriously, are we still sending these damn things out!?). I seriously considered just putting together my list for my baby shower invites but since the invites aren't ready yet and I haven't heard anything much from the designer as of late I don't know where we stand. I honestly think that if the invites aren't ready or at least a proof ready by the end of this week I'll just look online like I had done for my wedding and wedding shower invites.

I might bake more tomorrow but who knows how I'll feel after work? I thought about maybe baking on Wednesday but I have two doctor's appointments back to back, and then run an errand for my sister's wedding and then come home. I might be in a sour mood by the end of the day. Actually maybe not, on Wednesday we find out if Nicole and Rody are having a baby boy or a baby girl. Which really means I'll find out what George and I are going to be the God parents to. A part of me wants her to have a baby girl so that I'm not the only one with a girl...and another part of me wants Demi to be the only little princess in the group. She is the first to be born so I know shes going to be the boss. It makes it easier if there aren't two little girls fighting for the Queen role. If Demi is anything like me, she'll definitely be the ring leader of this group (and eventually the world... I just feel it!!)

I haven't done ANY Christmas shopping yet. Like seriously! On Saturday night we are having our groups little Secret Santa...which isn't really a secret since I know who everyone has. I was going to order something online for the person I got but I'm afraid the gift won't be here in time not to mention that it will probably end up costing more with rush shipping, duties and taxes... and if I get it delivered directly to Montreal instead of to George's warehouse in the US is the added cost of international shipping plus brokerage charges. Gosh, I'm happy we have that warehouse in the US.

I just feel that all of this time is passing by so quickly and nothing is getting done. Sure I'm putting small dents into everything but NOTHING is 100% complete...well I did manage to get out all of the corporate gifts for work but I still need to think of what to get my boss. Yes, my in office co-worker and I always buy our boss something. He's honestly treated us great and always gives us awesome gifts so we try to return the favor on a smaller scale.

My first year at work I was only there for 3 months when Christmas rolled around. Daniel bought me a gorgeous pink rolling luggage carry on thing. Everytime I've taken it ANYWHERE I get compliments on it. Everyone nudges their friend and goes "Oh look how cute that is! Isn't that nifty". I sent him an Edible Arrangement since I barely knew the guy right!?

Last year he gave me a 500$ gift certificate to Best Buy that I used towards the purchase of a 60" television for our basement (George and I paid the difference). My co-worker and I went to a store called Tin Dex (I think thats the spelling) that sells a lot of collectible products. Daniel has a real penchant for Coca Cola products. Like, seriously loves them. He has a cabin "up north" and he has one room that has EVERYTHING Coca Cola. So Ernesto and I bought Daniel a Coca Cola clock that has the neon red light around it and a Coca Cola napkin holder.

I told Ernesto we should go back and continue his collection of Coca Cola products. Daniel has no idea where this store is, not many people do. I only know of it because George is in the toy/collectible industry and they deal with each other. I'm completely out of ideas on what to get Daniel. Daniel has EVERYTHING he could ever ask for! His other hobbies are just too expensive to contribute towards. He loves to water ski (barefoot too!) Um actually that's the only hobby I can think of. Last year his wife recommended that we get him some accessories for his iPhone but Daniel has everything related to his iPhone possible. I was thinking either getting more Coca Cola related things or getting Daniel a gift card to Swiss Ski School in Florida which is where he goes at least twice a year? Maybe $100 from each of us? It wouldn't be much but it is a one night stay there.

Opinions? Ideas?

By the way: Are y'all done with your shopping!?

NaBloPoMo: 12/31

Oh so tired.

I think I'm going to make this my theme song. I'm so tired. Sheesh I'm tired. Damn I'm exhausted. Wow, I'm beat. Yep pretty much sounds like things I can be heard saying over the last FOREVER. I'm just sooooo tired all the time.

You know how Sundays are meant to be the relaxing days? Yeah, not so much. It seems like Saturday is the running around day and Sunday is the do home errands day. Well today consisted of baking and I can honestly say I'm tired from doing that. I made two batches of fudge, 2 batches of greek shortbread cookies, and 2 batches of chocolate chip cookies. Oh word of advice, if you are baking be sure that you don't have people over because they tend to eat a lot of cookies and then it doesn't even look like you made that many because so many are chilling in their tummies...I'm just saying.

So after baking all day we decided to order dinner. Well that was a crappy idea. I called to place the order at 6:15 and was sold that the food would arrive between 30 and 45 minutes. Yeah, dinner got here at 8pm. You'd think there was a blizzard or something outside but it was just normal snow fall. Like 1 to 3 cm. We got the food for 50% off but seriously, it wasn't worth it. By the time the food got to us what was meant to be hot was cold, what was meant to be cold was hot, the pitas were soggy because the tomatoes had been left cut on the sandwich for too long. All in all, I would have rather eaten fudge for dinner but my husband doesn't seem to think that its healthy for me or Demi. I can tell you that Demi liked the sliver of fudge a lot more than then food she ate. Oh, maybe thats me talking and not Demi.

So I've been reading people's blogs and following them on twitter and I think to myself "These people are freaking crazy!" What people? The pregnant ones. The ones who ask 80 million questions about their pregnancy, the ones who I am CONVINCED are only having "phantom" symptoms of various things. Ones who want to feel something because they think they should or because everyone else is. Yeah it bothers me. Like sure, I have pregnancy questions too but I don't bother the whole net with them. Either I troll the internet for medical journals to answer my questions or I call my OBGYN who is not only amazing but her assistant knows SOOOOO much. I always get an answer right away. If the assistant doesn't know then the doctor personally calls me back before the end of the day.

On Friday I kind of avoided blogging and being on the internet because in all honesty I started to get paranoid. Normally Demi kicks me a lot but on Friday she was rather still. I started to wonder a million things, mainly "Is something wrong". Instead of posting it on FB, my blog, and twitter I sat online and did some research. Turns out that for as far long as I am its very normal for Demi not to always be active. It's after 28 weeks that I should be concerned if I don't feel her move too much. I read on the internet but I was still a bit freaked out so I called our Info Sante number (Health Info) and spoke to a live nurse who told me its very normal. If I was really freaked out I could try to push on various places on my tummy to try to get a reaction out of her. I did that and I laid on the couch on my side and suddenly my little soccer player was on fire.

I guess my point is that while although Twitter, Facebook, and blogs are meant to be an outlet and a good place to get advice, I wouldn't trust my babies health or life to it. Sure a lady in North Carolina might have experienced something similar and thinks its normal while a lady in Texas never did and thinks its horrible and I should rush to the hospital. Social networking sites and blogs really shouldn't take the place of a health care professional.

Okay enough ranting. I'm going to lay down because very soon I'm going to fall asleep at the computer. Part 2 of baking commences tomorrow.

NaBloPoMo: 11/31

So Much To Do

First of all, I'd like to really apologize for not blogging last night. It was actually the first time in a very long time that I had the house to myself and I really wanted to enjoy it. I was on the computer for a short while and then decided that vegging on the couch with a bowl of sunflower seeds and my doggie cuddling me! It was a great night and although I felt a bit guilty for missing a day of NaBloPoMo I didn't mind too much. I mean, my mental health or writing a blog? After I write this, and before I get ready for the Xmas party I will read/comment on my friends blogs too, cuz thats just how I roll.

Well last night when George got home from the Daycare Staff Party (he owns a daycare) we discussed what we had to do on Saturday. Our schedule was something like this:

George- wake up, watch tv, relax a bit, make some breakfast (Um he wakes up at like 5am) and wait for me to wake up, go pick up tiles for basement bathroom when he hears the water start running.

Me - Wake up around 10, take a shower, get ready for running errands and complain the whole time how I'm hungry because he ate without me.

US- Go to bank together to do some transfers from one account to another, do some Christmas shopping, go grocery shopping for ingredients for my huge bake-fest tomorrow, put away the groceries and gifts, relax for a little bit and then get ready to go to Joe & Rolanda's for their Christmas party.

Instead this is what happened: George woke up, watched tv, relaxed, went to pick up his nephew when he woke up, pick up our tiles for the bathroom, went to get McDonald's for me so I wouldn't complain about not having breakfast, while I ate him and Mimi started to bring things from the basement to upstairs to make room for contractors. As I finish eating and I start to write my shopping list I hear a loud OWWW and then Mimi running up the stairs saying "I need ice and aspirin". I get the ice and put it in ziplock bags, I grab the aspirin and water and rush...okay waddle...down the stairs where I see George on the floor and the contractors surrounding him. I see his ankle and get an icky feeling. His ankle is swollen like 3 times its natural size and it looks like a softball is coming out of the side of it. Ew.

Go to hospital, check in, wait, be seen by a doctor, leave hospital, pick up medications and an ankle compression wrap and an ankle brace (for in a few days). Ask Mimi to take Dallas for a walk, get my grocery list done and go shopping with Mimi (he's such a helpful kid!) and we talk about going home to get a jump start on the backing since we aren't going out tonight. While shopping George calls me and asks me to pick up a bottle of porto to take to Joe and Ro's because he still plans on going even though he can't put ANY pressure on his ankle. Rush home. Watch George in pain while I blog and screw around on Facebook. I think around 7 we'll be going over there so I'm just trying to relax..and do laundry...and put away groceries...and feed the dog....and all kinds of other things!

I don't mind that I didn't get too much done today. When driving George to the hospital we drove by a couple of malls and I thanked my lucky stars that I was NOT doing any shopping today. I would have punched someone just to get into the parking lot and then when in malls apparently I have a sign on me that says "please bump into me" and of course I'd lose it again.

So now banking on Monday....Shopping for gifts on Monday during lunch....and baking still stands for tomorrow.

Hope you all have a lovely night!

NaBloPoMo: 10/31

Wedding Bells

Again, its 11pm and I'm just NOW sitting down to write my blog. Seriously, something has to be done about this. I'm not finding time to blog, instead I find myself rushing something else to be able to sit down to write and then of course the post is crappy like last night.

Either way, todays topic is about wedding bells! Nope, not mine! My sister is getting married in 6 weeks, yep you heard that right 6 weeks. Jan 30th is the day and I thought it'd never get here. In fact it really seems like this is the longest engagement in the history of the world.

My sister is not much of a wedding planner. She didn't really help me out with my wedding planning and she hasn't really helped out anyone with the planning of her wedding. I've given up on doing anything "wedding" related as far as the "big day" goes. If she doesn't have any flowers its not my problem.

My best friend is my sister's koubara (like a maid of honor) and together we are PLANNING her show (my momma is paying, I just do all the leg work!) So far the venue is booked, the invitations went out, and the RSVPs are rolling in. The problem here? Her registry kind of sucks. It's really not her fault. It's my mom's fault. My mom has bought EVERYTHING for my sister and her hubby to be. Pots and pans...check. Tupperware...check....towels...check (like 19820392 of them)....bed linens....check and double and triple check (duvet, comforters, and sheets all done...like 7 sets of each)....toaster oven, slow cooker, coffee maker...check check check.

See why its hard to blame her for a bad registry? Not only that but I went with my sister to register and she didn't want to add anything to it because she thought that everything was priced too high and she didn't want anyone to feel obligated to buy her what she asked for. I told her to do it anyway. Some people will be willing to spend the money on the gift and others won't. Thats why you put items from different price categories onto the registry. Someone may only spend $40 (placemats for the table) while someone is willing to spend $150 (those photo frames sets...)for big ticket items a few people may pitch in get her something really nice. Nope, she kept her registry pretty bare and all the good things were already purchased by her koubara as well as koubara's mom.

Now I'm stuck taking the RSVP's and answering the question: "Is there anything Alex wants that isn't on her registry?" How do you explain to them that anything needed for a house is already purchased and she just wants decorative knick knacks... oh but shes very picky and has taste like my mom? It's almost too easy to say "Yeah I think you should give her cash" but that sounds greedy and makes the shower look as if its a money grab which its not and shouldn't be.

I remember when I was getting married I was on some wedding forums and people said the tackiest thing in the world was to be told "no box gifts" or "they couple is collecting cash for X reason". Let's be honest, part of the fun of a wedding shower is to watch the bride open her gifts, not to watch her open envelopes and count cash.

So now I have to come up with some fun and interesting games that can be played with people of all ages, get some prizes for these games, order the cake for the shower and just wait for the shower to be over with....then start the bachelorette party...then the spa day and then wait for the wedding to get here....all while fat and pregnant and in my 3rd trimester.

I'm going to be 31 weeks at my sister's wedding. I had to order a tent for a dress....seriously, I'm not joking. The dress was ordered when I was 3 months pregnant and they sized me and guessed where I'd be...my dress is a size 24. Yes, thats TRIPLE my CURRENT size... I guess I'm spending a boat load of money on alterations!!


NaBloPoMo: 9/31

Tonight I'm cheating.

Yeah I'm cheating. I'm not going to really blog because I feel like poop. I think being out in the cold playing with Dallas did a number on me so I'm just laying on my couch watching a movie with George while Glee records. I'll have to watch it tomorrow or later on or something.

Good thing I left work early otherwise I'd be in a major world of hurt.


I'm embarrassed to say NaBloPoMo 8/31

Got Nothing to Say

I seriously feel like I have nothing worth blogging about. I've had a super stressful day at work and I thought I had to rush home to take Dallas to his lessons but when I got here George decided to call to cancel. George, as most of you know, owns an online toy store so of course this is his busy time of year. They are short staffed this year and orders are pouring in. He goes into work around 5am and stays until about 2pm, comes home for a rest and then goes back to work its INSANE! I called back the dog school to explain the situation to them and asked if we can just come for his next lesson at the beginning of the new year. He understood and agreed that the beginning of next year would be perfect as long as we promised to work with Dallas while at home.

George takes Dallas for walks and practices the command heel and I work with him here at home. He's doing pretty good but when people first come over he's really excited. I'm hoping he can get trained to the point that when I walk in the front door after being at work all day that he doesn't just straight up jump on me for hugs and kisses. These past two days George has been taking him to the woods by our house to let him run free and Dallas LOVES it. He comes home and naps after his runs.

As much as I am dreading our snow storm tomorrow I am kind of looking forward to it. Not for me, for Dallas. He loves the snow. He hates the rain. When it snows he'll run through the yard trying to sniff UNDER the snow. He's hilarious.

George made sure my car is snow ready. Winter tires, checked all the liquid levels, full gas tank, and all that jazz. I'm ready for this snow storm but a bit scared too. It's my first pregnant winter and this is going to be a big bad storm. I was thinking my boss might call us and say just don't come in (he usually does that in these blizzards) but you have no idea how much we still have left unfinished. It's unreal the amount of things that we have to do still. Taking the day off tomorrow will really put us behind with meeting our deadlines and I just can't afford it. I can't imagine missing work tomorrow and then playing catch up the rest of the week. I already work straight through my lunch, stay at the office late, and do a lot of work when I get home. My boss makes sure my life is easy (days off for drs appointments, personal and family reasons). I've taken basically 2 months off in 2009 and never had a day of pay docked so I only feel its fair to work extra hours to make my deadlines.

Other than that I'm freaking boring, cranky, and super tired tonight so Dallas and I are going to go upstairs and watch some mindless television.

NaBloPoMo: 7/31

I'm not normal am I?

I knew from a young age I was different than most people around me. I have always had very thick skin and making me cry was something that was rare. Maybe it was caused by being teased in grade school for being ugly? I dunno, I obviously out grew that eh? LOL

Either way I'm really starting to think that maybe I wasn't wired properly. Why? Well, George and I are cheesy and we watch things like "Say Yes to the Dress" where they have brides trying on wedding dresses and of course they have to say YES to the dress so the bridal consultant can make her commission and believe me, with some brides its like mission impossible to get a yes! 90% of these bride to be chicks CRY when they find their dress. They just break down and start bawling and of course their mom/sister/aunt/cousin/entire fucking entourage cries when they see the dress on the bride to be comes out in "THE DRESS". I dunno. I didn't cry. I saw myself in my dress and said "Oh damn this looks great...but I'm going to keep on looking". And thats what I did. I continued to try on other gowns because I didn't want to buy the very first dress I tried on without continuing to look.

I went back at the end of that day and told them I'd like to buy the dress I tried on that morning. No tears, no shaky hands believing that this was actually happening. I knew I was buying THE DRESS without the water works. My sister cried. Both times. My mom cried when she went with my sister to find the dress. Me, I'm a freaking rock. I'm like "thats cool. I like it". I just don't cry.

Now that I'm pregnant and others around me are pregnant I think I'm strange still. I didn't cry when I first heard Demi's heartbeat. I just smiled and giggled a little bit, actually a lot. I think it was nervous laughter but I was excited, but not enough to bring me to tears. When I first saw Demi on the ultra sound again I didn't cry. I just told George, "Oh my god, look at our little person!" and I was happy. Over the moon, no tears. We found out that our little person was a girl and I didn't cry. I smiled and said, "I look forward to meeting you Demi."

I don't keep a pregnancy journal, I don't mark down my feelings each and every single day, and gasp, every now and then I forget to take my prenatal vitamins. I'm not a pregnancy nazi and not every single one of my conversations revolves around being pregnant, my pregnancy, or my soon to be daughter. I can talk about anything and everything. My pregnancy hasn't consumed my life. In fact, a lot of the companies that I work with (buyers, distributors, dealers) don't even know that I'm pregnant because I'm not the type that is going to shout it out from the roof tops. Believe me, I'm so happy and excited. I just can't wait for the day I give birth but does it mean that I'm not normal because I haven't allowed this to take over my life? Because I didn't cry when I heard the heart beat or when I saw her for the first time on the ultra sound? Does that mean I'm going to be a bad mom? An uncaring mom? Or God forbid a cold mom like one of George's aunts? I don't think so. I mean, I guess, I'm just pregnant but still the same great Jenny. This is just one aspect of my life that's changed and I really wish that other pregnant people would realize this. Seriously, your pregnancy isn't the only thing I want to hear about. How are YOU doing?! How is work? How is everything in your life besides your pregnancy?

It's annoying. Before you get pregnant you start to get fed up with all the questions, "So when are you guys going to have kids," "Are you trying," "When can we expect a new addition?" and then after you are pregnant you get tired of all the new questions, "Are you feeling sick?" "Do you want to know if its a boy or a girl," "Have you felt the baby move,"? My replies is "I'm fine and how are you?" It's really funny I've gotten more phone calls from family members in the past 5 months than I have in the last 10 years I've lived in Montreal.

How rare is it that I cry? When my daddy walked me down the aisle at church on my wedding day I actually HEARD people say, "Oh my God, Jenny is crying, take a picture take a picture!" or "No way, shes CRYING?!" Maybe I'll cry when Demi is born and put into my arms? Maybe I'll just smile and be speechless while looking down at the bundle of joy in my arms?

Does my lack of crying mean I'm not normal?


NaBloPoMo: 6/31

I'm Clueless

I normally know what I want to write about. Something happens to me during the day and I'll instantly say "OMG I have to write about that" but today was an unblog worthy day. Did some sleeping, went to eat, made dinner, had friends over and now I'm just relaxing at home. Pretty uneventful eh?

Tomorrow should be a pretty eventful day. My cleaning lady is coming and shes going to change the curtains in my kitchen, dinette, and family room. (My mom sent me all new curtains for those 3 rooms, new rugs and decorative towels for my bathrooms, and a new bedsheets. It's an early 2nd year anniversary gift). But I'm starting to think that putting everything up tomorrow is a bad idea. Why? Tomorrow the contractor comes to start on the renovations for the basement. I don't know. It's like one person is cleaning and the other person is making a mess and dust... just doesn't seem that normal to me but I can't tell her to not come. She really does depend on the money she makes each day to support her family. Losing $100 she gets paid can affect her bottom line and I'm not about to do that to a. a family friend b. someone who does so much more for me than she should.

I just might ask her not to change the curtains and rugs until the next time she comes because the contractor is going to be here for about 2 weeks. Then again the renovations are happening in the basement and the basement is separated from the rest of the house by two doors. The mess and dust should pretty much be contained right?

Then when thinking of doing all these home renovations I keep on thinking about how I have empty out the room that is going to be Demi's. I have to get rid of that Ikea set that George brought into this house (100% completely against my will. I wouldn't even let him assemble it because its sooo not my style and it really doesn't match the look of this house.) I have to get rid of it because I need to empty out that room and get Demi's room painted and then bring in the boxes with her furniture. It's too early to set it all up (besides I want to do that with my mommy...not the assembling but the actual putting together of the room). So far I have in storage the crib, change table, dresser, chest, nightstand, glider with ottoman, and the bassinet for my room. A lot of things have been taken off of my registery already which is so amazing and amusing. I haven't even sent out invites for the wedding shower or really told a lot of people where I am registered but all the big ticket items are already bought (playpen, bouncey swing, high chair, and car seat).

I think I'm finally getting into the nesting phase. Everytime I see a mess I have to get rid of it. I'm cooking more, looking into things that are easy to make for when Demi is here, thinking of what else I can do to make the house more child friendly and just plain ole getting that feeling. Nesting is kind of fun. I didn't think I'd enjoy nesting because lets be honest, George has done all the upkeep of the house between the times our cleaning lady comes, he's done all the cooking since I got pregnant, he does all the grocery shopping...in all he does everything while I rot my brains on the computer, reading a book, or watching television. The only thing I really do is accompany George and Dallas to doggie school. George does the walking with him and I do all of the commands (he's pretty good too. Did you guys see his birthday and Christmas pictures? He does the sit/stay so well!)

Anyway my nesting has hit and its great. My house is going to be in tip top condition until this feeling goes away...or until Demi comes along and totally kills my sleeping pattern.

Which brings me to my next thought, before I got pregnant I was completely insomniac. I'd literally go to bed around 2 or 3 each morning and thats only because I KNEW I NEEDED sleep, not because I felt it. Now, I find myself struggling to stay awake past 10pm (although these past couple of nights I've been going to bed way late). Once the baby is here will it change for me again? Will I find late nights and early mornings impossible to deal with or will I be fine with it? Will I go back to not needing sleep?

Oh the many questions I have. Oh I have a post in mind for tomorrow, just someone remind me okay? It's called "Am I normal".


NaBlogPoMo 5/31

What Makes Me Happy?

So as you all know I'm doing the daily blog posting thing for the month of December. It's actually pretty fun but some times it can be really hard trying to think of something to write. Hard as it is to believe, I don't lead the most interesting life!

Well last night Ashley tagged me to do this thing about happiness. The rules are below.

List 10 things that make you happy.
Try and do at least one of them today.
Tag 10 bloggers that brighten your day.
Link back to the person that tagged you.


1. My marriage. Seriously I can sit here and say my husband makes me happy but the truth is that my entire marriage makes me happy. I have a great supportive husband who would bend over backwards for me. We have a great relationship together, we have a wonderful home, are expecting our first little bundle of joy, have the most amazing dog. Our marriage makes me happy. The complete package.

2. My pregnancy. Truth be told I thought we were going to have problems. It took me about 6 months to get pregnant and it was really starting to worry me (of course not my husband, nothing bothers him!). After going to the doctor we found out why, I had too many follicles per ovary and my eggs weren't maturing enough. A bit of medication was prescribed and within two months I was pregnant. Besides the extreme morning sickness and complete inability to eat meat unless its covered in something else, my pregnancy has been great. I was scared because of my disease that pregnancy would leave me bed ridden but it hasn't. I've been kicking some major ass...and lets be honest, I look good pregnant. I'm not all fat and round all over, I didn't get the wonderful "pregnancy mask" which discolours your face. I'm thinner and freaking glowing! Instead of complaining when little Demi kicks me, I smile and giggle.

3. Changing the radio station when Lady Gaga's song comes on the radio. Yes that makes me happy. Some may think that Taylor Swift is over rated but I stand behind Gaga being over rated. Her music is stupid, her videos are too over the top, her clothes and attitude are just out of this world. She's a walking freak show and I don't support that crap. Sure Just Dance was a great song...after that I can't stand any music she produces and I change the station when she comes on. I smile as I press the "next" button on the radio.

4. Cooking. It relaxes me, it puts me in a great mood, and of course I feel super productive. Cooking is a way of expressing yourself. If you are feeling fancy just make something fancier, having a bad day? Make some comfort food. The kitchen is my favorite place in the house and I'm happy that the smells no longer bother me like they did at the beginning of my pregnancy.

5. My Job. Sure, I complain a lot about my job but its never a complaint about the work I do its about the people I work with. They irk me to no end but its really great to leave the office everyday knowing that you are smarter than your co-workers. That their jobs really rely on you and if you don't feel like doing something because of their lack of response time or whatever that you don't have to care. I also love my boss. He's so easy going and very understanding. I get any days off I need to deal with family, personal, or medical issues. He understands and actually CARES.

6. My family. Yeah I know they should be somewhere closer to the top but I didn't want to be completely predictable. My family drives me up the wall. My sister is the most scatter brained person I know, my mom is the most stressed person I know, and my dad is just a wonderful man but I wouldn't trade them for anything. (Occasionally I have thought about it though.) My parents are my rocks. They support me in everything that I do, they trust me, and I know that no matter what they will always be there for me. Even though I'm married my parents haven't stopped helping me out with anything. My parents are the most giving human beings I've ever met.

7. My computer. Cheesy I know but its oh so true. I moved from Texas when I was 18 years old. I did all of my schooling there and had tons of friends. I moved. Without my computer and all the good things that come with it like Skype, MSN, Facebook, Myspace etc I wouldn't be able to keep in great contact with them without breaking the bank. I love coming home after work and just unwinding while chit chatting with my friends!

8. My house. I guess its part of my marriage but honestly, just being home makes me so happy. My house is big but its also cozy. Everyone comes over and enjoys themselves. Home is where the heart is and I guess that is true for me too.

9. and 10. I'll have to get back to you on that one. I'm really at a loss as to what else makes me happy. Can't I just sum it all up and say my life? My friends and family, my house and home, my job, just everything in my life makes me happy?

I tag (this is the easy way out) everyone in my blog roll. Reading their blogs make me happy and make me smile and I believe thats the best thing one should do!

Happy Friday?

Of course, just my luck. The minute I sit down to blog my friends come over. I just told my best friend to give me some time that I have to blog because I have my commitments. Remember, part of blogging was to find time for myself because that apparently disappeared and seriously, if I have no time now just imagine what is going to happen when I have the baby.

You know how everyone says TGIF? I wasn't too pleased that today was Friday. Not because Fridays are always bad but because this Friday was just hectic. I got a bunch of stuff done but it really doesn't feel (or look) like I got a lot accomplished. My desk is still overflowing with paper work and things that need to be done. Believe me, its not fun! I spent the first two hours of my day in the office with my boss just basically reviewing everything that I did, have to do, and of course what he has to do...which is nothing! Everything in the office seems to fall onto my shoulders! It's okay though, we all realize that I thrive when under pressure.

Um wow. I wrote that and then went away for about 3.5 hours because my friends were over and we ate dinner and all that good stuff. I completely lost track of what I was talking about. I am going to blame that on my pregnancy. It's like placenta brain or something, my baby is sucking my brains out.

So my mommy called me today at work bitching for a good two hours about a situation that happened last night and it honestly pissed me off. It irked me that my mom lets things bother her, it irks me that people can't be responsible when they should. The entire world isn't going to always be there to pick up YOUR messes but hey, who am I to talk?

Anyway after work I came home and went with George to go to my mom's house to unload some things that she had sent to my sister as part of her wedding dowry and of course my mom smuggled some things in for me. :) Actually I wasn't too excited to see what she got me (things for my house, some pretty bathroom rugs and new decorative towels) but more for the things that she got Demi before we knew if we were having a boy or a girl. Well its very obvious that my mom was hoping for a boy. The outfit was brown and cream with a little airplane pilot and the other one was white with little teddybears and lions and looks pretty boyish. I mean, sure Demi can wear them because they ARE gender neutral colors but they are just boyish looking. I don't mind. I'll still put my little girl in clothes from Grammy. I'll just be sure to wear them on her when shes home... with just mommy and daddy.

So yeah, its nearly 10:40 and I totally lost the steam that I had when I started this post so I'm going to end it now and read all the great blogs that are in my google reader.

Can we add more hours to this day?

Goodness gracious! Do you people even know the meaning of busy? Just to give you a little info on how long my day has been I woke up at 5:00am and its now 11:00pm and I'm just now sitting down to blog in order to get my post done in time for Dec. 3rd! I've honestly considered hiring a personal assistant to help me out with my everyday life things especially until this work load blows over. I still have to take care of my house, get Demi's room ready, do Xmas shopping.... UGH. It's just never freaking ending! Heather has volunteered to be my personal assistant and then Demi's nanny once she is born! Isn't that swell!?

I'm not much of a procrastinator and it really irks me when other people are. Since about mid September I've been trying to get my boss and co-workers to prepare for the end of year activities we have to do. Every year the first of December we end up scurrying around to figure out what kind of corporate gifts to give to companies that we work with, prepare and send out Xmas cards, come up with a new promotional binder that has product information, price list, important contact info and all that jazz. I didn't want to scurry this year. Oh and our graphic designer is leaving for vacation on Dec. 19th and wants to quit working by the 16th.

So what happened on Dec. 1st? My boss calls me into his office for 4 hours to discuss all of these topics, changes to make, what to order for who and so on and so on. 4 hours. I had a crappy lunch delivered to me and ate it during the meeting. We took notes on what to change and of course I'm the one who puts it into action.

So I email my co-workers discussing what I need from them and giving them deadlines. Of course they ignore the deadlines yet complain if I'm like 3 minutes late replying to their emails. I re-send the email with the little "high importance" exclamation point and copying my boss on the email. Of course I then get a half assed reply from one co-worker and not from the other.

Added to all the stress of end of the year, this is the first year that my boss decided that we should send the promotional calendars from our marketing office in Canada. Oh wait, that means from MY DESK! Yes. I didn't have enough work now I need to print out over 200 labels for dealers, 200 return address labels, stuff the envelopes, seal the envelopes (thank God for self sealing envelopes), apply the labels, apply the stamps, and put them in the bucket for mailing. It's not THAT bad but it is just at the wrong time. We have so much to do before the 16th and this is soooo freaking time consuming.

To boot, I had the day off yesterday for my check up on how my little girl is developing. So of course I'm a day behind. I wanted to stay late at work today but then George called me and told me he was staying late (he owns a toy store, its X-mas season you do the math) so I had to come home to let Dallas out of his cage. George calls me at 4:30 and tells me that he's going home so I can take my time. I worked until about 7pm and eat dinner and then started working from home until 11pm. JESUS! Talk about a freaking burn out just waiting to happen.

On top of that, my head office (in Germany) has requested I have something done by Dec 4th which is like 99% impossible to get done unless I wake up early again tomorrow to start on it. I'm not looking forward to it though. Maybe I'll just work straight thru lunch tomorrow to try to get some stuff done. Even if I send it in on Monday or Tuesday it won't really make that huge of a deal right? My head office is so slow to reply to my requests why should I rush to reply to theirs?

Seriously, I complain too much right? At least I'm cute. That's my excuse for everything thats negative about me. LOL :)

So this is day two for me of NaBloPoMo and to be honest with you, I was really looking forward to blogging all day! For the first time in a long time I couldn't wait to finish up what I had to do in order to do my blog and of course read and comment on other blogs.

BTW: The entire 23 minutes its taken me to write this post my mom has been on the phone with me bitching about something. Being on the phone with her just basically means that I just have to listen and mumbled "uh huh" "yeah" while she talks...for 24 minutes straight now.

I also realize that my blog posts are just too long and since my move I've lost a lot of followers and commenters. :( Stupid poopieheads! Stupid move.

NaBloPoMo 2/31.

NaBloPoMo - A day late

So I don't know if you guys have heard of this or not but there is a thingie going around that bloggers call NaBloPoMo where bloggers will post one blog a day for an entire month. It's usually done in November but some are doing it in December. Some including me. Ari who is the most active blogger I know, Heather who has taken a long hiatus, and Ashley who was a bit spotty with her postings. So thats basically my ENTIRE blogging circle. I read a lot of blogs, have some followers but those are the bloggers I keep in touch with the most. Hopefully doing this together will help us all stay motivated. I've been so busy lately and just always feel that I never have any time for myself that hopefully NaBloPoMo will help me set aside some much needed me time!

So enough of NaBloPoMo. I did something very very interesting today. Interesting in an eerie way. Today my husband and I, along with his brother and sister in law, went to Mont Royal Cemetery (MRC) to reserve our plots. Yes, you read that right. We reserved our graves. Interesting right? Kind of freaky too? Why in the heck would I do that if I'm only 28 years old?

Well, George's mother died unexpectedly a bit under two years ago. We were all emotional and shaken up and then struggling to find a nice place to lay her to rest. On top of that, when you go to make funeral arrangements they want to charge you an arm and a leg for their services. The funeral home charges you for the wake, the flowers, the hearse, and of course the casket and of course they are going to charge you premium rates. I can honestly tell you that we paid over $30,000 to bury my mother in law because the funeral home takes advantage of you when you are in need.

Last week George's partner buried his father. They were a bit smarter about it. The father was ill and they had been expecting this for quite some time so the went to the funeral complex AHEAD of time and booked a package. They pre-paid for everything and the only arrangements they had to make for the wake and the funeral were actual small details like, "what type of floral arrangements do you want? What time do you want the funeral to be."

Of course being curious we had found a nice way to ask about how much they paid vs how much we paid and we found out that it was a lot cheaper. My sister in law called the MRC to find out if there were any graves available close to where our mother in law is buried. It turns out that they are making another circle and that there is a waiting list. When we told them that we were looking into purchasing 10 side by side double plots they bumped us on the waiting list and gave us an appointment for today. The cost of a double plot (27 sq ft) is $7,500. When we buried my mother in law it was $5,000 so basically its increasing at about $1,250 a year. Let's just do some math shall we? I'm 28 years old and plan on living until at least 80...can you imagine how much a plot would cost in 52 years? $72,500 IF there are spaces available. Okay so maybe I'm over doing it. At the meeting today we had said that in about 20 years from now these plots would be going for about $30,000. Could you imagine leaving your spouse or children with that kind of expense? George and I put 20% down on our plot and signed an interest free contract to pay it off over the next 5 years. I think its a great investment because you won't be burdening your family with these kind of decisions when you pass away.


My parents don't live in Montreal right now but they do plan on moving back here eventually. I discussed this with them and also discussed with them how the other family did an entire package and my parents were completely on board. For the time being I just put their 20% down and gave some post dated checks and when they get here in the winter they can decide on what kind of package they'd like as far as a 1 or 2 day wake, type of casket, and tomb stone they want.

I know it sounds eerie, creepy, and a bit sad but we look at it like planning for our future. Let's be honest shall we, we will all die one day. Why not be prepared? You can get taken advantage of when you are feeling extremely emotional or you can have everything prepared and you can just mourn without having all these big decisions to make.

What I found the creepiest is that one of George's cousins bought a plot for his mother, a plot for him and his wife, and one for his kids. Um your KIDS? You have two young and healthy kids. Two kids that will probably grow up and get married. Get married to people who might not want to be buried with their inlaws. Let's be honest, most times the women go get buried where their husbands are. He has one boy and one girl. Does he plan on them sharing? Give it to just one of the kids? Sell it to someone else at a later date? I dunno, I found that part really weird.

Oh lets talk about something a bit more cheerful. I went to my OBGYN today. I lost a pound (I still weigh less than when I joined Weight Watchers)but the baby is growing just fine. She kind of freaked on me (OBGYN) she was like, "I can't yell at you for not gaining weight because your stomach is growing fine, your uterus has expanded properly and your daughter is growing at a great rate (length/weight)."

1/31 NaBloPoMo