Sunday, October 27, 2013

Oh the lies

This was never more apparent to me once I became a vegetarian over a year ago, and then again when I attempted being a vegan.
It first started with family and friends...."Where will you get your protein? Your gonna loose nutrients, your gonna miss out......etc." This list went on and on and on.
So I asked myself...WHY....why do these people think and say these things? Why are they so convinced that what I am doing is so crazy and wrong, where did this believe come from?
Who told them they had to have meat in there life to live "properly"?
I was told "our ancestor hunted meat, it's all about survival"......ummmm were you there with our ancestor? Where did you get this information about our ancestors if non of us were alive back then....did the government tell them this info? Did the "food" people tell them this?
Well someone somewhere who is making money off of this has been telling and brainwashing people for decades about this....that meat and dairy is the way........why, cause "they" make money of us being sick, they make money off of the industry of it all. Why do they want people sick....because there is big money in it...big money in medicine. One example of this: Celery.....it's a HUGE anti inflammatory....yet the doctors will prescribe expensive medicine that will have worse side effects then anything....OR you could buy a juicer and juice some celery....along with some other very effective things to make it taste yummy and you will have the same effects of medicine just with out all the other CRAP man put in it. I can give you this example because I DID IT and IT WORKS! I tried it, went into it thinking it probably won't work, and even with my negative opinion I was pleasantly surprised.
So if you would rather not take the effort to try something new, and take the effort to make something better for you and you would rather just "take a pill" then all the power to ya, but don't come to me and complain about all the side effects and complain about the government doing this and that or the food and drug act doing this and that....because every time you take a pill instead, your empowering those people and filling their pockets with even more money and confirming in their eyes that what they are doing is right.
Well, this has been your friendly Sunday morning rant....HAVE A GREAT DAY! 

Saturday, October 26, 2013

We adopted.......................A GIANT BUNNY :-)




He is a Giant Flemish Rabbit....and he is just weird and awkward enough to blend quite well into our crazy family. He's large enough he can bound over baby gates like a galloping horse, and he has the most amazing poop that will do wonders for my garden :-)
Welcome home Aspen!!!

Friday, October 25, 2013

Canning in October

Last weekend, the hubster and I were driving around, and we found a local farmer who was having a sweet deal on his potatoes and beets in a farm side shack he had. So we stopped and picked up a sack of everything, came home and started prepping the goodies.
The previous week, I had picked up some free jalapeno peppers from a lady who was giving them away....and not just a few.....a large bag. So we canned two different potatoes in a pressure canner, canned pickled beats as well, and made whole pickled jalapenos and pickled sliced jalapenos, and red and green jalapeno pepper jelly. I love being in the kitchen with my hubster, we always have such a great time doing this stuff together. And it's so nice to see the fruits of your hard work at the end :-)



Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Women vs Men

First of all, let me just add this little disclaimer first...not all men are useless...lol....my hubster being one of those men..he is not only brilliant but so very helpful, useful and so good at everything I am more often then not in just plain awe of him.
But then there is the men at work...I was hired at the same time as another guy the same age as me....USELESS is what his name should be lol....then there are two other guys who are just over the age of 20..maybe....well these young strong men....and I say that world loosely (men), you would think...were good hard workers. Ummmmmm NO. This seems so crazy to me....seems so crazy to me that at work they now ask for ME instead of dumb dumber and dumbest. Not only can I get the job done NOW, I get it done fast and efficiently and I look for the next thing to do....now this doesn't mean there is a ton of stuff to do, it just means I am good at getting it all done fast. They all just drag it all out and people then think...oh man, we are so busy...but we actually are not....does that make sense? lol.
So today I walked into the office and I may have had a small rant on the inefficiencies of these three men and how it really irritates me that I am so much better then them lol....at the end of that rant, my two supervisors sat there with their mouths hanging open. lol.
So yeah....my new job is going great lol...seriously though....I really do love it....just not the dumb asses that are in my vicinity, but it sounds like I won't have to for very long :-)



Friday, October 18, 2013

Workplace politics


Well I finished my first work week off yesterday....which is quite wonderful I must say to have a long weekend of Friday Saturday and Sunday off EVERY weekend. This is because I am working 10 hour days, which I also have no problem with for this pay off reason alone.
So now that I have been there for the whole week, some of the things that they try to hide in the interview and also try to hide in your first day, are now coming out...like the office politics. And when it's on a grand scale of people that are in the company I work for, I find it quite funny actually. Because I have been working in smaller companies lately, I have not had the opportunity to experience it on this larger scale which is nice, because I can sit back and watch it all without even being noticed. All I have to do is LISTEN...and nod my head in agreement and politeness while listening to them all bitch about each other.
I also appreciate this job a lot more as well...having worked in the customer service industry for the last while, NOT having to deal with customers is soooooooooooooooo refreshing. I can put up ALL DAY with office politics as long as I don't have to put up with that AND asshole customers.
I am already finding out who will be most easily manipulated for this and that, who will not take shit, who is the "yes" man and who is the dog effer.
I am pretty sure I am going to be quite entertained on this job...I still just can't believe I am getting paid a nice wage to work this little...it's still quite shocking to my system...it's to bad all the others there can't be as appreciative of what they have....they all need to experience their local convenience store for one week's worth of work, then they will come back and kiss the asses of each other...that I could guarantee!

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Working in a man's world

I have NEVER seemed to "know" what my place is exactly. Even as a young girl growing up in a neighborhood with all boys, I was never the "doll" type of girl...I was in the dirt full on with the boys, I actually was the one pushing and hauling the boys around in wheelbarrows when we were like 10 yrs old. Then....around age 13 I dabbled a bit in makeup and doing my hair, trying to be girly.
Yes I do have my "girly" side that I like to feel....but when it comes to working, I much prefer working in the "man's" world. It's rather great. You don't have to worry about your "p's and q's", in fact...the dirtier and nasty you can be with them, the more respect you get from them....there is a bit of the "you have to proof yourself to us" attitude in some of them....but if you can put those one's in their place fairly quickly, and do it publicly where they are then laughed at by their other co workers, it tends to change quite fast.
I loved wearing the carhart pants, the steel toed boats, high viz vests with all the other garb one wears in a big industry man's world.....the BEST part of this job...is that I NEVER have to do my hair...so awesome....we wear hard hats all day so I never have to give a rats ass about my hair....so tonight I showered when I got home....and I didn't even brush my hair...AWESOMER!!!!!!!!!!!
I was so excited I came running out of the bathroom yipping to my husband how excited I was that I don't have to care what I look like until Friday, Saturday and Sunday lol. All the other days.....nothing lol.
The weirdest experience today though, was working along side this older guy who was training me on something and I happen to get a "wiff" of his personal odor lol....and I swear he was wearing women baby powder deodorant...lol....so to be sure of this surprising smell I had to some how verify I really was smelling what I was smelling.....well....can you imagine this sight....me plotting how to "go in for another sniff" LOL...yeah it was as awkward as it sounds....older, redneck dude, with a mullet, smelling like girls deodorant...very fresh lol.
It was a good first day, can't wait to see what the next day brings and the day after that. Anyways....I know one thing for sure....there's one dude I work with who is using his wife's deodorant LOL.

Monday, October 14, 2013

Thankful list






I am thankful for the following:

My children
My children's other halves....for they make them happy and that makes me happy
My husband, and that he gets who I am, even if he doesn't always get why though ;-)
My home
That I have a job to go to tomorrow
That I have cupboards full of food
That we are alive and healthy and able to be thankful
That one day I will be able to travel to Germany and meet a brother in law and hug him and tell him I have loved him for 7 years yet I have never met him
That my life is full of amazing friends who care for me
For my parents, and that I have a Dad who paved the vegetarian way for me
For my siblings....yes....all of them, even the one that I don't see that often
For the internet that keeps me connected
For advil, for it helps with aches and pains
For gardens, as they gave us hope for the future
For kind neighbors who bring over treats often
For music festivals and the people that they attract to them

Last but not least.....ME....I am thankful for being here today to share with you, I am thankful that in tough times in life I did not give up but persevered, and because I did that, it shaped part of who I am today. I am thankful for all the good and bad decisions that I am able to make because I am afforded the capability to do that.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all :-)

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Fall leaf mulching

Well never in my life have I ever cut the lawn in OCTOBER....but today I did.....and I was so excited to do it! I raked up all the leaves first and then cut the lawn. After that I took all the bags of leaves and mulched then with my new fancy leaf mulcher I picked up from some guy off of Kijiji who bought it but never used it.
So needless to say....I was happier then a pig in shit really, cutting the lawn and leaf mulching....SO MUCH FUN! I then spread the leaf mulch all over my garden area, stepped back and felt very pleased and accomplished :-)


Thursday, October 10, 2013

Rejeception






Just as confused about the title of this blog post as buddy up top? Yup...well....that's how my day went yesterday for me. It all started at 8:30am.
I had gotten up earlier....gone for a wonderful, sunny yet cold cripsy fall walk, came home and there was a message on my answering machine. I pressed play and it was my soon to be supervisor of the new job I am to start next Tuesday. The "dream" job that I really wanted and got hired for...the job that I just did all the testing for last week.
So when I heard his voice on the machine telling me to call him...I thought to my self...hmmm, maybe he's just checking in with me before the long weekend and that's it. Well....when I called him back, and he knew it was me, his voice.....well...it changed.
He told me that one part of my testing that I did came back a "fail".
Well I pretty much died over the phone...and then shock and anger kicked in rather fast. WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN I FAILED....ummmmmm I don't fail shit! I excel at shit!
Well it turns out they head honcho people don't tell him "what part" I failed or the exact details of it...they just say..."she is not fit for duty". So this was shocking to me....since he already told me I was "hired and starting on the 15th"...not hired pending a passing grade. The thing that bothered me even more was that me and the other 10 guys were the FIRST ones to have to go through this whole stupid testing....it was all new to the company. So, while on the phone with him I said the following, "I understand your hands are tied and you have no control, but seriously, where did I fail? I am so confused, I was carrying 100 pounds...literally 100 pounds all over the place, climbing ladders, doing stairs, and the dude doing the testing even said I did a great job, my blood pressure was AMAZING, so this is very disappointing and confusing to me". He then responded with " Really? You carried 100 pounds around? Well that's weird...I mean, if there were certain things you couldn't do that's fine, I can live with that, but unfortunately I have no say".
So the conversation ended with him saying he was sorry, and that was it.
Well, I'm not gonna lie, I was pretty hurt and devastated. I went downstairs and had a wee bit of a cry, then got up, told myself to get over it....won't be the first, won't be the last, I can't be perfect at everything, and really, I'm a big girl and I can handle anything so pull up my big girl panties and get on with it, no sense in pouting about it.
So my son happened to be near town on a job so me and the hubster left the house and went for a visit in the city. We were gone for about 4 hours. Came home...and the freakin answering machine was lit up with 4 messages.
You see, before I left the house, I may have been a wee bit angry and bitter, and I may have applied for ten other jobs online before we left lol...well it turn out 2 out of the 10 called me back with in an hour of getting my resume. So yeah, that felt great, but the other two messages were what REALLY peaked my interest. 
You see, the other two messages were from the same guy that just REJECTED ME! What could he POSSIBLY want from me now.....does he need to rub it in more....well....I played the messages and he sounded pretty serious and purposeful on the messages.
I called him back....not knowing what was about to happen.
Well, turns out he marched over to head office, went up to the human resources and went to bat for me. Telling them he thinks their "new" tests are stupid, that he wants me working for him badly and I shouldn't fall into their "category" of what's acceptable.
I am not working in the same area as a lot of the men that will be working there, so he was able to find a "glitch" in their new found little system and "get me in".
So....I got my new job back after loosing it only 5 hours earlier. Huh...well....what a range of emotions did I go through in that short time.
So I had to say to myself....sure was nice that he did that for me....but should I still call back the other two jobs that called me and want me just in case there is another "issue". Do I put my eggs all in one basket with my dream job?
Well...I have decided to carry the eggs all in one basket...I tend to live a bit dangerously anyways lol.

Monday, October 7, 2013

Sending shambhalove in October

Today I mailed out 24 envelopes to people who were at Shambhala this past summer but I did not meet them.
Why would I do that? Why wouldn't I do that!!! How great would it be to go to the mail box and NOT get a bill but a envelope with a Hootie patch inside instead. How great to put a smile on someones face for a split second.
I put it out there on the facebook page for the festival that I had 24 Hootie patches left and wanted them to have new homes....it was great to get feedback and address's from so many people.
I wish I had more to give, but these 24 will have to do. I have mailed today all over Canada...from Victoria BC to Montreal QC. Can't believe Hootie will be from coast to coast. Makes me smile :-)
I can't wait to hear what people do with them...if they sew them to backpacks or on to hats or whatever.....can't wait to hear :-)

Two different Hootie patches...I had 12 of each left

All packed up and ready to head to their new homes :-)

Friday, October 4, 2013

Testing 1..2..3...

Well today I headed to the city for some testing that is required by my new job that starts in a few weeks.
Two separate tests, across the city. So the first one I was told would take an hour and it's was described to me as "some bending, lifting and crouching". YEAH.....well, it was more like a torture session with a personal trainer! First thing....blood pressure....mine was 110/80....I ask him what "normal" is...he says..."wow...yours is really good, normal is 120/90"...I then replied with "what...you thought the fat girl would have high blood pressure?".....so much fun to watch him stutter lol.
I then got hooked up with a heart rate monitor under my boobs....and I had to wear the watch the goes with it....and about every minute he asks what my heart rate is.
So I was put through a series of tasks....from carrying 100 lbs here to there, drop it, pick it up, carry again, lift the 100 lbs from this up to this and then down again. No prob...then I had to bend over and undo screws in a box for five minutes....okay..no prob....this test is for ones back....my back was not the problem...it was my ASS that was the problem...to which this mortified the guy testing me...he says to me "how's your back"....I replied..."back is great....it's the ass that's twitching...is this normal?"....he told me that he had never heard of this problem before today lol.
I then had to climb a step ladder 8 times, clime stairs 8 times...and do a eleven minute crouching, kneeling, carrying thing that seems rather weird. Did some pushing and pulling tests, I had to do a pinch test that was the most bazaar thing I have had to do yet...pinching.....really...what the hell a I pinching that it needed to be tested lol.
By the end of the hour, me and Mr.Test dude were not best friends...I thanked him for our lil torture bonding session this morning and left...I did not like his lil snicker on his face when I left.
Second stop....drug and alcohol testing and sight and sound test.
PASSED THEM ALL....husband now says I can't use the excuse that I didn't hear him....hmm...however....perfect sight means I can see where he forgot to pick up his stuff!!!!!!!!! lol.

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Reflection

Now this is not really what you think it might be about....I am not reflecting on life....I saw my reflection in the microwave this morning while I was standing there toasting a bagel....and what I saw was not all that shocking....as I see it daily....however....for some reason....it was more impacting to me this morning. What am I talking about?
Yeah....it's so sad....not that it matters at all...hubster likes em so that's all that counts....but just looking at the reflection and remembering when they were in their 20's and still had some "life".....ahhhhh the good ol days. But....with age and sag comes wisdom....and I'll take wisdom and sag any day over the ol days!

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Still flowering

Can't believe it's October and the flowers in my garden are still going...and by going I mean, they are still opening up daily with "beautiful smiles" as my Mom likes to call them.
Down the road an hour or so they are calling for snow....not here though...thank goodness!


Tuesday, October 1, 2013

How time flies!

I cannot believe it's OCTOBER already....wowzer. I remember a year ago, sitting in a recliner chair of the house we were temporarily living in...looking at my hubster and crying....because the at that time we had no idea yet what we were gonna be doing for a home, we did not know if we were gonna rebuild our burnt shell of a home...or move or anything...it was all up in the air....and winter would soon be upon us and it just all felt hopeless to me....I hated not having "our" home.
Not having something that was ours was difficult for me....yes I was very understanding and appreciative that I had a temporary place to live, but it was not ours.....and I knew that we would have "ours" again, I just did not know when, or how this would evolve.
So it's so crazy to sit here today in "our" home...knowing we are in "our" home and winter will soon be upon us and I have no worries. What a great feeling.
I love that my garden was put in this summer and that in the spring I can get to planting nice and early, I love that my spring bulbs are planted, I love that we have a garage that the hubster can tinker around in all winter. I love that I was blessed with not one but two jobs...I love that my son called me today for no reason but to say hi.
But seriously..it's freakin October 1 and there is 84 days and 6 hrs and 22 minutes left until Christmas!!!!