Ahh!! the sounds of summer.....

Normally, I would say that the sounds of summer make me very happy! Children playing outside, jumping rope, playing hopscotch, a game of hide and go seek at dusk, listening for Mom's to call them in when the streetlights come on and it's too dark outside to make it safe...these are all very happy sounds.

It's already warm enough to be hearing the whirring sounds of air conditioning units (I'm too cheap to turn mine on....it still gets cool enough at night to make sleeping comfortable) The birds are delighting in the fact that food is abundant once more. Our new neighbours across the street are out training their little dogs to do "wonder dog" tricks in their backyard.

Ideally the sound of adults laughing and carrying on in their backyard would bring warm fuzzy feelings of things to come for this time of year.....this is not the case in my reality.

I get to listen to the neighbours from HELL! Yup, them again! Music louder than needs to be, the sounds of some youngster horking up a lung from the hash he just bottle toked and Stupid and his whore arguing over who knows more about pools with the slurs of drunken stupidity! That my friends, is my reality and it's only Wednesday. Seriously, they start on Wednesday and don't stop until Sunday! After all even the Lord took a day to rest and I guess even the idiots next store need a day or two to make some cash to pay for the lifestyle they lead!

Every year at this time Hubby and I dream about getting rich and investing our riches in a new quiet neighbourhood. Don't get me wrong...I love my house, I just hate my neighbours and in rebellion I sit out here in my backyard with my laptop snapping my nails against the keyboard complaining about the gruesome twosome and their ghoulish offspring!

It's a beautiful evening, there is nothing on t.v. worth staying in for. My own children are off doing their summer thing, going out with their men for drives, walks by the lake with frozen treats from TCBY! Even the youngest has got plans to watch a ball game with friends.

Just imagine...that's what I do on a warm summer evening! Imagine winning the lottery and not having to listen to stupidity!

Well, it's just another day in paradise as Phil so eloquently put it....How's your paradise?

The nerve of some......

As most of you know, I've played pool with my Ladies Team for a number of years now. We originally started in the mixed division and moved to the all ladies division when it was formed. We played 8 ball and we were "FINE"and by "FINE" I mean we ROCKED! We went to Vegas two years in a row to represent our division, our city and since we were the only Canadian team in the Ladies Division of the APA, we represented our Country. And let me tell you....WE DID A FINE JOB! The first year in Vegas we finished 9th out of 65 teams. The second year we finished 5th.

Since then the Ladies league has disbanded for lack of interest from our local ladies and we've moved into playing 9 ball on the same regularly scheduled night. In 9 ball, we have not faired quite so well. That's okay with us, we continue, because most of our team members have commitments other nights of the week and we really like each other, so it's our night out. Another session is coming to an end once again all we can hope for is a chance at the playoffs through the drawing of a Wild Card, but I've registered the team for the upcoming session in hopes that with more practice, fewer teams in the summer and a little luck...well you never can tell about these things....

Anyway that's the background. Last night I got a call from Colleen informing me that we had pulled the wild card for another team that I'm on and she mentioned that the league operator had said the following:

LO: "So, I can't believe that your 9 ball team signed up for another session! You guys are awful!" giggle giggle

I think Colleen said she just kind of looked at her incredulously questioning if she had just heard her correctly!

Here's my initial reaction:

1. WTF! Are you kidding me? How dare she say something like that to a team that has supported her fricking league for many years!
2. So does that mean only good teams are allowed to play in her league? and if so, who the fuck would they play if only good teams are allowed to play cause it seems to me that if you lose you are considered "awful"
3. Should we go out and find another league to play in?
4. WTF!
5. WTF!
6. GFY LO! We'll show you who's awful!!

Alright now that I have that off my chest. Tonight our last regular night of play.....we will go, we will play, we will have fun and although we will still finish close to last...We will hope for the WILDCARD so that we can kick ass in the playoffs, get to regionals and kick some ass there as well and go play on her dime in VEGAS!!

So there LO, we'll show you who's awful!!!

Boring...this is sooooo Boring!

Here I am in the very middle of the first long weekend of our Canadian summer, a time where the kids think alcohol will keep them warm at night in their tents/cottages, husbands go off to play with their friends for the annual drishing weekend and all of my girlfriends are off doing their family thing.

I'm so Bored. I had made plans to go out yesterday with a girlfriend and do a couple of sessions of Bingo at the local Indian Reserve where it is cheap to play ($30 covers everything!) and the prizes are till pretty good. She backed out on me at the last minute (again!) I really should know better than to make any plans with this person, she tends to do this if someone offers her something better to do or even if she just doesn't feel like going. I mean honestly, she may have had a good reason for dumping my ass yesterday, but she's stood me up so many times before, I should be used to it.

So what did I do? NOTHING! I sat at home and watched TV. Mission Impossible 3 to be exact. Don't get me wrong , I like my own company but I was so glad when Bri and Bronwyn showed up from babysitting to at least to bring a change of pace. I actually went out to get them McD's. After dinner they had a couple of boys over and I went to my room to watch more tv so that they could have a place to watch tv with the boys.

Today, I will clean and get ready for going back to work on Tuesday so that when the rest of my crew comes home on Monday, I can just sit and listen to their noise!

Rainy Days and Tuesdays.....

We awoke this morning to the sounds of what seemed like the world coming to a very loud and boisterous end. Man, spring is always ridden with storms but this one woke even me...the Queen of Sleep!

As I lay in bed listening to the rain, the huge thunder and watching the lightening brighten the sky to the point of thinking it was daybreak, it occurred to me that "I am truly blessed.

That's right Folks, TRULY BLESSED! I read allot of blogs on the net and I've grown quite attached to sneaking into the lives of these strangers that share the good and bad in their lives in an effort of making it through another day. From some I've gained strength and knowledge of how to cope with the shitty little things that happen. From others I've learned coping techniques that help me maintain my sanity. Others have just made me smile! Those are the blogs I find myself returning to everyday, multiple times. I get to read all about the event that are making them happy and in turn I feel just that little bit happier about my perspective on things.

So some of the things that make me feel so blessed (just a partial list folks!)

1. My fabulous children, Jennifer, Aimee and Brianne
2. My loving husband Rob
3. My caring parents and the fact that they are in great health!
   
4. My fantastic friends
5. My furry friends Kilo and Hunny
   
6. My wonderful home
7. My interesting job
8. My great co-workers
   

What are your blessings and have you considered them today?

Anyway, it started out as a rainy day but the sun is shining, the breeze is warm and it's gonna be a great day!

Happy Birthday Aimee!!

Today my middle child extraordinaire turns 24.

This is the child that was considerate enough to appear on her father's lunch hour.

This is the child that would never smile during family pictures.

This is the child that had no fear!

This is the child that was always destined to become something bigger and more wonderful than what she appeared to be on the outside, a small little shy girl!

True to her destiny...this shy little girl has blossomed into a very beautiful, intelligent and wonderfully funny young lady!!

Happy Birthday Pumpkin!!!

Swing Batter Batter Swing!

I've never been much of a sport enthusiast. Never one to get excited about the National sporting events that are always on TV. In fact, I don't even join the bandwagon at playoff times, that is how unexcited I am!

Since my marriage to Hubby, I have been sucked into his enthusiasm for softball and I've brought the girls along with me to become known to the team as the "Fans"

Yes folks, we are the fans! Typically Hubby's ball season starts the first or second weekend of May and we pull on our woollies and head out to the metal bleachers to freeze our butts and tootsies off to root for the team.

This year, walking up to the diamond for the very first game I realized that this team should honestly be named "The Breeders" There were as many "two footers" running around as there were ball players.

Every year for the past four a new "little fan" has been welcomed onto the team and this year was no exception! On Sunday one of our core members MJ couldn't be with us as his lovely wife was being admitted to the hospital to give birth to their second child. Last night he was at ball and announced that another healthy little man was introduced to the world on Sunday evening.

Congratulations MJ and DJ! Welcome little BJ!

The guys have actually won their first two games with some spectacular hitting and pretty good defensive play as well! The new members of this years team are gelling quite nicely and providing wonderful fodder for the girls and I to spend our evenings in gales of laughter!

Good Luck Thrifty! We'll be there all season, laughing behind home plate, I promise!