Robot Monster
Ring Wedding
Kangaroo Droppings
Savage Garden
Alien Invaders
Television Set
Media Television
Crack Whore (eek)
Hanger Wire
Construction Site
As always, word associations are pulled from Write Anyway
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Snowed-in and bored on a Sunday
Today was supposed to be spent taking Owen to London (Ontario, don't get too excited for me) to visit my mom. We've been planning a trip to the craft show at the fairgrounds for a couple of months now, and I was looking so forward to it. I have a list of things I wanted to try to find: a stocking for Owen, some homemade tree ornaments, a unique "crafty" gift for my MIL, and some delicious baked treats (you know, a reward for shopping so hard...). Afterwards, we were going to pick up my Grandma and have her over for dinner. She hasn't had any one-on-one time with her Great-Grandson since he was 4 months old (he's 11 months old now), so I had my camera all packed and ready to capture some wonderful moments.
Then I had a play-date planned for tomorrow morning with a mom friend of mine from high school, whom I reconnected with on Facebook while we were both pregnant last year. Her daughter is just a couple of months younger than Owen and the last time we got together they had a lot of fun - again the camera was ready for certain cuteness!! After that we would go to my mom's place of work where she would show of her one and only "Bright-eyed, Beautiful Baby Boy" to her co-workers and we'd likely go out for dinner afterwards. Tuesday was to include a visit to my cousin's house. She has three young children and also runs a home daycare, so it's always tons of fun over there!!
So, we woke up this morning, very pumped to get on the road. I called my mom right away, and was talking about how excited I was to get there when she totally burst my bubble - there is a major snow storm watch in her area and it would not be safe to travel. It took a few minutes for me to totally accept it, and if were just me going I might have even chanced it, but now that I have such precious cargo to transport, it's just not worth it. The warnings were for "severe and dangerous driving conditions". Who wants to mess with that? Certainly not me, but I'm just so disappointed that our plans have been ruined. To top it all off, Luke had to go to a work course all day today, so it's just me and Owen hanging out at home. There's absolutely nothing going on on Sundays - no drop-ins, no programs, and none of my friends are available to rescue us. So I'm stuck trying to find ways to entertain a spunky kid (who, by the way, has decided to switch to only one nap a day recently), without having anywhere to go, or anything in particular to do. I must say that, so far, it's going well - he's in pretty good spirits and happy playing in the living room. But how much playing in a two bedroom apartment can a kid do before he gets bored? I fear what happens when that time comes. And it is imminent...
Anyway, if anyone has any Sunday boredom busters (for today or future reference!) I'd love to hear 'em!
Then I had a play-date planned for tomorrow morning with a mom friend of mine from high school, whom I reconnected with on Facebook while we were both pregnant last year. Her daughter is just a couple of months younger than Owen and the last time we got together they had a lot of fun - again the camera was ready for certain cuteness!! After that we would go to my mom's place of work where she would show of her one and only "Bright-eyed, Beautiful Baby Boy" to her co-workers and we'd likely go out for dinner afterwards. Tuesday was to include a visit to my cousin's house. She has three young children and also runs a home daycare, so it's always tons of fun over there!!
So, we woke up this morning, very pumped to get on the road. I called my mom right away, and was talking about how excited I was to get there when she totally burst my bubble - there is a major snow storm watch in her area and it would not be safe to travel. It took a few minutes for me to totally accept it, and if were just me going I might have even chanced it, but now that I have such precious cargo to transport, it's just not worth it. The warnings were for "severe and dangerous driving conditions". Who wants to mess with that? Certainly not me, but I'm just so disappointed that our plans have been ruined. To top it all off, Luke had to go to a work course all day today, so it's just me and Owen hanging out at home. There's absolutely nothing going on on Sundays - no drop-ins, no programs, and none of my friends are available to rescue us. So I'm stuck trying to find ways to entertain a spunky kid (who, by the way, has decided to switch to only one nap a day recently), without having anywhere to go, or anything in particular to do. I must say that, so far, it's going well - he's in pretty good spirits and happy playing in the living room. But how much playing in a two bedroom apartment can a kid do before he gets bored? I fear what happens when that time comes. And it is imminent...
Anyway, if anyone has any Sunday boredom busters (for today or future reference!) I'd love to hear 'em!
Monday, December 1, 2008
A new Coalition government?
We had a national election about 8 weeks ago, in which the Conservative Party of Canada secured another minority government. The other three main parties have been butting heads with the Conservatives, lead by our Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, for ages now, and it looks like they've finally had enough. Our Finance Minister delivered his economic and fiscal statement the other day, and its lack of a comprehensive stimulus plan has enraged the opposition. They see it as failing the Canadian people, and the final straw. Jack Layton wrote in his official statement on the coalition, "We have a government that refuses to act when our economy, and the people whom it serves, need it more than at any time in a generation. The government has lost the confidence of the people of Canada and therefore it has lost the confidence of this Parliament. It falls on us to act." The opposition's stance is that more than half of the country does not support Harper and these people are not being listened to. We all deserve a more definitive strategy regarding the economic struggles our country is in for. So now the Liberals, the NDP, and the Bloc are forming a united coalition in the hopes of creating a better economic future of Canada and all of its citizens.
I've been trying to wrap my head around all the millions of pieces of information that are floating around on message boards, and on official party websites, but truthfully, I find it all pretty mind-boggling. Certainly, I do not care for Stephen Harper, but I wonder if usurping the Conservatives with a coalition government is the answer. And do I want Stephane Dion, the presumed choice for the leader of this coalition and, by extension, the would-be Prime Minister representing this coalition? Representing Canada? Representing me? I would need to be convinced that he's up to the task before I can get on board with this plan.
I read a number of posts by people who thought the idea of the coalition isn't a bad one in itself, but they're wondering what on earth took them so long to do it. They're wondering why didn't they didn't do this before the election, so as not to waste the time and energy of all of us who voted (not to mention all those who volunteered and campaigned). My thoughts are that they were hoping the election results would bring in new numbers that could better influence the Conservatives in its second time around in power. However, even though the election did result in a slightly more diverse group of seats in Parliament, the opposition says that Harper won't listen to or negotiate with the other Parties. This is frustrating because, again, more than half of Canadians do not support his government or its ideologies.
I suppose drastic measures do need to be taken, but I can't help but feel uneasy about this plan for now. I'm hoping for more comprehensive information from all the parties - the rhetoric from ALL sides makes my head spin. It's so hard to know who to have faith in. I just wonder what it would be like if we could all actually work together... although, I suppose, that is exactly what this new coalition is proposing to do. I guess we have to wait and see what happens in the upcoming weeks.
What are your thoughts? I'd love to hear them.
Friday Fill-In (On Monday)
1. My stomach is in knots.
2. Trailmix is what I ate the most of today.
3. The yard is underwhelming.
4. On the beach is where I'd rather be at any given time.
5. The smell of my Vaseline lotion reminds me of my vacation to Panama a couple of years ago.
6. Faith in government is what I need right now!
7. And as for the weekend, Friday I'm looking forward to Aquafit, Saturday my plans include seeing The Nutcracker ballet and Sunday, I want to go to the London craft show with my Mom, and have dinner with Grandma!
2. Trailmix is what I ate the most of today.
3. The yard is underwhelming.
4. On the beach is where I'd rather be at any given time.
5. The smell of my Vaseline lotion reminds me of my vacation to Panama a couple of years ago.
6. Faith in government is what I need right now!
7. And as for the weekend, Friday I'm looking forward to Aquafit, Saturday my plans include seeing The Nutcracker ballet and Sunday, I want to go to the London craft show with my Mom, and have dinner with Grandma!
Owen being hilarious
I'm having trouble getting my video to show up here... *shrug* can't figure it out for the life of me. To see a funny video of my little guy, Owen, cracking himself up, check out my You Tube page here:
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