11:55 - Saturday, Jan. 27, 2007
Catching Up - Longest Entry EVER?
I am at work right now & it is pretty dead so I guess I have some time to update on shit that I have missed in the last couple months of my non-diary writing.
So, going back as far as our holiday... I wish I had the pictures here so I could add a few as I talk about it, but I don't have them all ready yet even at home, nevermind sent here. Eventually I will try to post some here though.
On December 15th, a Friday, I worked until noon & Hank did too. We rushed home to get the last minute packing done & got Frankie over to his Mom's & wernt off to the airport. Hank hasn't been on a plane since he was so small he can't even remember it so was a bit nervous & nauseaus. I was excited & started drinking :) It was a kewl flight, they had the TVs on the backs of the seats so you can watch whatever you wanted. It was neat & helped Hank to be calm & forget that he was on a plane. He watched something on the OLN or something & I watched Rachel Ray. Fun! The flight attendents were very funny & realky kept the booze flowing & my glass full. I was impressed. The way home though, not so much... maybe they were all tired & hungover on boxing day or just didn't want to be there, but there was no humour & after my second drink they wouldn't give me a third one, said it was too close to landing time (we weren't decsending for another 30 minutes!) ...jerks. Anyway... off topic again...
So we got to Edmonton & Prairie Dog & Princess & the kids came to meet us at the airport. The weather was horrible and the roads were the shits so it took us over an hour I think to get to Mom's. Jam was there waiting for us as well. Mom made us dinner & we hung out there awhile & then PDog & family had to leave as it was getting late. AA came & joined us & we sang some karaoke & drank some more. AA looks like shit by the way. I'll get into that another time maybe. Jam was tired & had an early morning the next day so left quite early, but we were up pretty late.
Then we had to get up bright & early to get ready & go to Tyler's last skating lesson of the season. Since it was the last day, they didn't have a lesson, it was just a 'family skate' so we got to join him. It was really fun. He looks so darn cute out there! Princess is a raelly good skater, has been doing this for years, but no one ever taught PDog & I so we're not so good. He's better than me but has had a lot more practice. I don't recall being on the ice since I was about 10 years old & even then was only the 2nd or 3rd time in my life I think & I was falling all over the place! So I was pretty scared to attempt this & was so worried I would fall & break something, but I actually did really well for a beginner & was skating around without falling for the first hour and a half or so, but at the very end I cot cocky & was trying to do more than I could & fell. Oh well. I didn't get hurt. Stopping is what my biggest problem is, I have a lot to learn! But it is really fun & I'd like to maybe start doing that more often... except Hank doesn't seem to enthused - he wasn't doing as well or having the confidence that I did out there & was kinda slow & wobbly. I'm gonna make him try though - it would be fun for us, and a great activity here in the 'Peg on the river etc. and when we have kids would be a great thing to do.
I am going to back up a second here. On that first night when we got to Mom's I was surprised. Mom hadn't told me but she'd had the house renovated. Spent about $25,000.00 doing it. Kitchen, floors, living room, bathroom, a bunch of stuff. It looks really great & I am happy for her. But I am pissed about one thing: Hank's Mom called us that first night to see that we got there okay and everything. She asked me what I thought of Mom's house, because I guess she knew all along. She said, she was having such a hard time keeping it a secret aaround my birthday & not telling me that's why Mom couldn't come. I was and still am very pissed about that. For my 30th I really wanted my Mom to come. I actually phoned her begging & crying & she lied saying she just couldn't get out of work. Then I find out she couldn't come because she was too busy renovating her home? Nice. P has told me she's been wrapped up in nothing but that, but c'mon, her daughter's 30th birthday & she's begging for her Mom to be there? Not cool at all. So I confronted her about it. She then added that she just couldn't afford it. Wrong thing to say. Don't tell me that you can spend $25,000.00 on your precious house but not a couple hundred to fly out & see me for a couple of days. Fuck that. She better not expect me at her 60th bithday in 2009. Not gonna happen, and I told her that. Maybe I am a bitch, but I want her to feel what I feel about that.
While I am at it (I'm pretty sure she doesn't read this anymore anyway, but even if she does, she knows how I feel about these things, it is nothing new.) One other thing that pissed me off that first night too, was Hank's gift. She sent a card to him in NOvember saying his gift was waiting here for him. I asked her to give it to him that night & she brought out a 15 pack of beer. "Alberta Genuine Draft". Nice. Not even wrapped... as if that would make a difference. But I mean c'mon - his Mom spoils me all year long, and gets me an expensive karaoke machine for my birthday, and Hank gets a fucking case of cheap beer? Grr. I was mad. I am over it, because it doesn't seem to bother him, and because she got him lots at Christmas, but still, it was just weird and rude, I think.
Anyway, back to the holiday. After skating we just went back & hung out at PDog's. It was a nice time.
The next day my Dad's side of the family all came over for the afternoon. I haven't seen them in YEARS. I was a bit uncomfortable at first and then I was fine. It was actually good to see them all. I really appreciate Princess putting that together so I could see them this time around.
That night we went to Pickle's place & had drinks over there. It was fun & good to see them. We ordered Dallas spinach & feta pizza, I haven't had that in sooo loooong and it was sooooo gooood... my mouth is watering right now just thinking about it! I wish they'd open a restaurant here. Houston pizza in Regina is similar... I will have to have some when we go in February.
Monday Mom & I went to get pedicures. I promised her one for her birthday gift in October. It was nice. From there she dropped us off at Lippy's. We had an awesome lasagne dinner there & then got out the karaoke... and the booze. We all got hammered & had a blast singing away. Lippy had her neighbor over too. We partied into the wee hours & I feel so bad for her husband who had to get up to be at work for like 7am! I think he had to get up at like 5! And he was up with me the latest, maybe 2 or 3, I forget. Brutal! And her poor daughter was saying she could hardly sleep listening to us down there! Ah well, I'm sure she was fine, it's not something that happens often at all in that household I am certain. Lippy had to get up at 7am I think too and get her ready for school & take her to the bus & then stay up with her son all hungover! Ugh! Hank & I didn't get up till like 10:00 or something & I was hurting bad! We went to McD's for some hangover feed & lazed around all day. I even puked!
That night was the night I had planned to spend with Jam & Hank was going to the Oilers game with PDog & meeting us later. Jam wasn't too happy with me 'cause I showed up all tired & hungover & couldn't party with her. That's okay though, I didn't need to drink, I still had a good time. youngstud came over & she made us a really nice dinner & then we just hung out bullshitting. They were drunk & I was sober so it was actually quite comical to watch & be on the sober end for a change! Hank came back & we were about to go to bed & suddenly her room-mate came in with a bunch of friends at 1:30am. We were tired & went to bed, but it was tough, even with my earplugs, they were pretty rowdy... but I couldn't complain, normally I would have been right in there partying with them! :-) Except one guy suddenly forgot we were in there & just walked into the bedroom & turned the light on & stood there for a few seconds. Then he's like, "Woops, sorry" and turns around & leaves. What the?!? Good thing we weren't naked or doing anything naughty at the time!
The next day it was Jam's turn to be hungover. I almost forgot how grumpy she can be when she's hung! Wooweee! Oh well.
Anyway, so we left & then went back to Mom's to meet her friend/neighbour/designated driver and we all went to meet 'Uncle' Bill at Koutouki Taverna, the Greek Restaurant featured on the Food Network, and probably other channels too, on the TV show called The Family Restaurant. It was so great. Hank and I watch the show all the time so wanted to try it when we got there. Made reservations for 5:30 & didn't lave till about 10:30. So much food, drink, laughter & fun. It was so awesome seeing Bill again. He still seems so young for his age (I think he said 78) and such a sweetheart. What a blast he is. I love him. Anyway, the food was so good, I highly recommend you check it out. You definately must try the Saganaki, it's a fried goat cheese... oh God, it is to die for! I can't find anywhere here that makes it yet, but I will keep searching! Let me know if you know of a place! Kally, the wife & mother & one of the owners was there, running around & working hard. I wanted to meet her but I know she was busy & didn't want to bother her. I was sober & shy though at that time too... I didn't want Mom to do something silly and embarrass me... but then, after enough liquid courage, I noticed the daughter, Dina sitting at a table with her new husband, the Chef, Chris. So I approached them & asked to take their picture & they were happy to have one taken with me. I felt silly and apologized to them, "You probably think I am pretty weird asking for this, but I just love your show & came from Winnipeg to eat here & meet you!" *What a loser I am eh?!? Lol* But Dina said, "No, not at all" or something nice like that... she was not snobby at all and for some reason I expected her to be a little bit. They were all so nice and just as cool as they are on TV. Thanks guys! I will post the pic another time too maybe. I would have loved to meet the Dad Yianni and the brother Theo and watch them smash the plates & dance with tables in their teeth & have the belly dancers around us, but I guess a Wendesday night just doesn't get that wild! ;)
What a night...
We get back to Mom's (Bill went home) and the neighbours husband & his buddy came over. We pulled out the karaoke machine & got crazy! It was a late one... 3:30 or so. But fun as hell!
The neighbours have a Dacshund (one day I will learn to properly spell that...hahaha...just not concerned today!) and Mom warned us not to keep Frankie because she said they can be so mean. I didn't believe her & wanted to meet this dog. Apparently this dog only likes it's owners & not many other people, and is worse with women than with men. Hank was able to hold her leash & eventually pet her a little but when I came near she freaked out barking etc. So I got down real low so she wouldn't feel threatened & could smell me. She got closer & closer & seemed to calm down. So I reached out to pet her... the fucking thing jumped up and bit me in the thigh! HARD! It hurt bad! I had a huge bruise for over a week! Wow... I sure hope Frankie never turns evil like that... but I just don't see it, he is just too friendly. They were told that it is partly because the dog was taken from it's mother too early in life & other social behaviours that were (or were not) trained early in it's life.
Yeah, so we all (even my Mom) slept in till like 12:30 the next day! We were pretty lazy & didn't do much. I knew that day was my only chance to visit B-L though so we went there for a couple of hours. Saw her Uncle Ron & her Dad who I haven't seen in ages, but was glad actually not to have had to see her Mom. She has gone crazy with this long distance business she is in... seems like a friggen cult or something & that's all she can talk about... I wasn't there for a sales pitch that's for sure. B-L's son is really cute & wasn't shy at all. I got a cute picture of us together.
Spent the rest of the night with Mom, not doing much, but helping get ready & organized for Xmas.
The next day, Friday, we went to the Co-op (taxi company that I used to work for & Jam still works for) Xmas party at their office. It was good to see a lot of people from my past. Had some drinks there & then left to go to Youngstud's birthday party at his house. Not really a 'party' per se, but a dinner & get together. There was 7 or 8 of us I think. His room mate made a wicked prime-rib dinner & again, the booze was a-flowing! (Yep, did a lot of drinking on this holiday!!!) We went back to Mom's & crashed.
The next day I was really coming down with something. Not only was it super dry there & I was so stuffed up, it had turned into a cold & flu. Yuck. I went to PDogs feeling pretty ill. We spent the rest of the weekend with them & it was so great to have all that time to get re-aquianted & bond with them & the kids & have Hank get closer to them too. The kids just love him of course.
Christmas Eve we stayed over at their place (after watching a nice religous Christmas movie classic - The Trailer Park Boys Christmas - friggen hilarious!) and woke up bright and early Christmas morning to open gifts with the kids. It was a really great morning, I loved being with my family like that, it's been so long. It really meant a lot to me to have that time with them Christmas morning. Mom was in a rush to get home & get prepped for all her company, so she left at like 10am. We got ready & left about noon for her place. We opened more gifts there from her & then the rest of the extended families started pouring in.
It was really good to see everyone, cousins & their families & children. Everyone seems to be doing well. Mama looks good & seems happy. She really loves Hank & didn't mind showing it at all, cuddling up to him having her picture taken with him & telling me, 'he's my favorite guy... if you ever get tired of him, you send him my way!' It was sweet. I told her the story about how last year his Grandma asked me if I was pregnant, and I answered, "No, just fat!" and she said, "Oh sorry dear, it must just be your dress!" Hilarious... but then Mama goes, "So... are you?!?" I was like, "NO!" and showed her my beer I was drinking. She said, "Well, why not?!?" I was shocked! I said, "Well, we have to get married first." And she replied, "No you don't!" Wow, I thought Mama was Little Miss Traditional etc. but she doesn't care about that anymore, she just wants me to keep Hank & have his babies! I'm so glad they all love him & accept him into our family just as his has for me.
My Aunt made all of us beautiful quilts, she must have been working all year. I just love mine.
18 of us for dinner, Mom did a great job but was too hectic & ruched the whole time & was all stressed out & just didn't get to enjoy... a lot of us didn't because she was yelling out for help all the time... we helped as much as we could, but I also wanted some time to spend with the family I only see every few years so stayed out of the way part of the time. hank was her worker bee all day though, which was kind of him, and just like him really, but it didn't seem fair. Oh well, again, he didn't complain.
When everyone left Hank & I went back to PDog's. Princess was tired so went to bed soon after the kids. PDog, Hank & I sat up drinking & had a lot of laughs & I really enjoyed my last night there with my Brother.
The last day was sad... I hate leaving, it is always hard. Brooke gave me lots of sweet hugs & kisses and I have great memories of her to take with me. Tyler was very sweet and loving too. I told him it might be a long time before I see him again and he sat with me & cuddled me and was such a sweet good-bye with lots of hugga-bugga & even a kiss. It was really tough holding in the tears. He decided he was coming to the airport with us to say goodbye some more & when we left them and were walking to the doors he was waving with Gramma yelling "Love You Auntie Karen, Bye" again & again. I have a mental picture in my mind of that I will keep forever. What a great kid.
Hank wasn't feeling well on the plane home, nerves mostly I think. His Mom picked us up at the airport & we picked up Frankie & went home. It felt good to be home even though it ws very sad to know I was leaving all of that behind again for who knows how long. It is hard having them so far away, but it is for the best, I know, Winnipeg is my home now, and that's the way it's supposed to be.
So it was back to work the next day to finish off the week. We went to Hank's Mom's for our family Christmas celebrations. It was a good night, my sickness was pretty well gone (or so I had thought) but Hank was getting worse. So when we left there I wanted to keep playing, I kinda missed D & Jes & the kids, so he went home & I went to their place. The weekend felt like it was still a holiday & I played quite a bit. Hank just kept getting sicker and spent lots of time laying on the couch feeling like shit.
New Years we were supposed to go to his Dad's but we had a big snowstorm & were unable to go, we didn't mind, as Hank still wasn't well & I felt it comibg back to me also. Plus, that was when Bobbie started getting ill & she wasn't up to partying anyway.
Hank & I just rented movies & had a really quiet relaxing night. Paused the movie for a quick kiss at midnight & that was that. I think that was my first sober new years since I was probably 14!
Both Hank & I were still sick all that week, we went to work, but dragged our asses sorrily though it. On Saturday we went to the wqlk-in clinic to find out what was wrong, since it was alsting so long & just wouldn't show any signs of letting up. The doc gave us drugs for bronchitis. It didn't help me much, I felt worse & worse as Hank gradually improved (although his started before mine, so maybe that's why...) I went to work on Monday but left after an hour I felt so awfully miserable. I missed work all that week I felt the absolute shits. I went back to the doc on the following Friday & he said I had a really bad flu (had quite a fever too, I forget the tempurature now, but it was high) and gave me some nasal spray to clear up the nose/throat and a puffer thing like people with asthma have to help me breathe. He said I could maybe even have mono, but whether it was a flu or mono, there was nothing that could be done to 'cure' it, since they are viruses. SO I just had to wait. I got tested for mono, but I never did go back to the doc to find out what the results were, because eventually I felt better.
We're all okay now, finally!
So I think you are pretty well caught up now to date... either way, this entry has gone on long enough, so I will end it now. If I think of more, i can always add it another time. I do hope to post pictures soon.
I'll try & update more often too.
Bye for now.
