Christmas Post

Christmas was wonderful. I got lots of great presents and people seemed to really like what I got them. So I brought home with me:

Four new huge fluffy towels in cranberry and cream (mom and dad)
A beautiful smokey oblong serving dish and a lovely green tea towel (Julia and Jason)
A drop stitch kick-ass scarf, cab-sav jelly, coffee mug and chocolate (Leone)
Three new shirts: a retro 70s in purple, paisley pink button up, and purple fitted cartigan (money from grandma and grandpa and gc from mom and dad)
A stacking food steamer!! (santa)
But I'm a Cheerleader DVD (Jim)
Napoleon Dynamite Calendar (mom)
Stain-glassed dancing woman (melly)
Book, amazing socks, and notebook (laura)
Pashmina (Allison)
Bookstore GC (aunti Shirl)
Ombra Bath Goodies, shampoo, socks, starbucks gc, purdy's, bookmark, and very very pretty gloves from santa.
And from Jim's gift to us all, coffee for the week! He bought a stack of gift certificates for us all to the local coffee shop. When I went through my Flickr account from christmas, most of the photos had at least one of us holding a coffee (hee!)


And Jim and I are doing a little christmas in January when he comes to visit me :)

Travel Jitters

I hate them. This ongoing worry all day that we won't get seats together or.. or.. what? I don't know exactly what I'm jittery about, but I do know I'm fine once I get on the bus/through security at the airport/into the car (whichever it is that means I'm officially just travelling and no longer just waiting to travel).

I have another blog entry I've not managed to finish with gifts and christmas stuff. I'll do when I'm home. Right now I'm worrying about how to pack my cheese sammich for the bus.

*rolleyes*

xoxo

jenn

My Cleaning Elves

I think they got shipped to my mom's house. Tonight I was watching TV with Julia, Jason, and Leone after having eaten my soup and bagel. At the commercial break I turned to take my plates to the kitchen AND THEY WERE GONE! Not only that, but I went to hang up my laundry downstairs AND IT WAS ALREADY ON THE DRYING RACK!

*eyebrow*

Very very interesting. Not to mention the food that keeps being prepared, the unending groceries, and the clean bathtub.

If it weren't for my inevitable seduction to slothdom, I would stay here forever!

:)

~And Here We All Are~

There is the puzzle on the go at the dinning room table, scrabble in the kitchen, DVDs to watch, gifts under the tree, booze at the ready, breakfast planned and good to go, BNL on the stereo, a plan for zombie board game later, some poker (kitten?), soy eggnog, grandparents and uncle to arrive tomorrow morning, turkey lunch at noon at their house, birthday for Leone to follow, and family bingo with presents to wrap it all up.

I really really do wish that Jim could be here, but we hope for next year to spend the holidays together. *special hugs and kisses to Jim*

Thank you to Laura - I did get your gift in time (yay canada post) and I'm glad to hear from some far off friends that my cards did arrive in time. Whoda thunkit?

Merry merry christmas to everyone and kisses and hugs to you all!
xoxo
Jenn

Job Interview

Let's just say the job interview was the very thing I had feared that my thesis defense would be - yeah. So I was feeling kinda crappy afterwards. Many thanks to my dear friends Melly and J for the chats this evening afterwards. Very helpful.

And not to say the interview (phone) went all that horrid or anything - it just had some aspects that were unexpected and I am all home and Christmasy and not so much thinking about examples of when I've implimented a mixed methological research approach including both qualitative and quantatative components.

Butter tart?

So I'm feeling better now and I'm glad that I can just think about coffee and friends and wrapping presents and UNWRAPPING presents!

Yay!

If you DON"T take the bus once in a while

...then how can you listen in on such conversations as "yes, it is a blessing from God that the federal election has been called" (we're Canadian, God doesn't care about our elections - hello!). Oh and then the two old biddies in the next seat having a BIRD about the "lady driver" who, by the way, was rather cute and spunky. I either wanted to sit on the bouncy driver chair with her or be her new best friend - or both. I'm not certain.

But a selection of bus riders were just in a tizzy. The speaker (crazy hat lady) of the above God comment did actually let the driver know that "in the past 50 years of my taking the bus you are only the second female driver I've ever seen." By the way, crazy hat lady did both yell when she talked and sound exactly like Pat from Saturday Night Live. And stood in the stall where the bus was to park arguing with another bus driver when we were trying to pull in. She had to be physically convinced to move out of the way. At that moment I knew she would be on our bus, and sitting in the seat ahead of me. Oh yes.

And when the bus was 'serviced' (not as fun as it sounds) the helper fellow with the yellow vest drove the bus over to be fuelled and washed. You know what I mean, right? But the tizzies started up "do we have ANOTHER new driver? It this one a man or a woman??" It was clear that prior to that driver trade off at the half-way point, they had never entertained the thought of a LADY driver for the bus. Now that they knew that was an option, they were right on top of it all. Never made it clear if they thought it a good or bad change. But hooboy, it was certainly different.

All in all, I'm here, I'm queer.. and all my presents made it without any problems. Napped on the bus, listened to odd ducks, mp3s, and had a little chat with this other woman (v. nice). I'm kinda tired and wired, but glad to be arrived - and doing important job interview tomorrow on the phone. How exciting!

Hugs,
j.

Dear Me

Rather than making another list that says things like "clothes" and "presents" -- why not just go and actually put them in the suitcase. Please go pack. It is 10pm and dear friend is picking you up at 8:30am tomorrow morning to get dropped off at the bus. Yes, still need to make a lunch and all these other things - but they pale in comparison to the actual packing that is needed. A killer lunch will not give you clothing options while at the parents.

And note to self, do be sure to pack the pashmina Allison sent you!! *girlkissers to Allison!*

Heading Home

I'm really looking forward to heading out. I'm excited about seeing everyone and having that time with mom and dad and grandma and grandpa. My sisters will arrive a little later. I'm looking forward to watching some DVDs, eating way too much, and some card games and drinks.

And I'm glad I'm taking the bus this year. The drive is long enough regardless - summertime it is about 7hrs. Winter roads? upwards of 9hrs driving. White knuckles the whole way.

Forget that. This year I'm settling in for a 10hr bus ride with my mp3 player, my laptop, and the notion of just relaxing and letting someone else watch the road. There is something very nice about that idea. And honestly, it is not all that much more money than the gas cost. So, good enough! I hope to head out tuesday or wednesday - depends on my possible job interview.



In other news I've been to the gym four times this past week and done pilates/weights twice. And thank god I've done that because I've also kept up a marathon of dark chocolate consumption. WHAT AM I DOING? mmmm, chocolate...

You know those commercials where the guy is offered something yummy to eat and he does sit ups or the thigh master or something before/after he eats them. It is supposed to me mocking that idea - but I'm thinking I need to go that route. Hee.

xoxo
jenn

Wrong Order.

So we sent off the form - from the back of a magazine you know - for some helper Elves. Specifically we asked for the Helper-Cleaning Elves in Sage Green (and the Silver bells $4.99 extra).


We were sure for a while there they were late arriving. Maybe with the holiday mail service and all.

But now we think we GOT THE WRONG ONES!


We think we actually got Messy Elves. Specifically Messy Elves who Untidy the Living Room with random water glasses, couple napkins, some yarn (not yam), Christmas wrap, and various projects. Also seem to NOT do the laundry, NOT clean the bathroom, and NOT swiffer the kitty-produced dust bunnies. In fact, we think these are also SHEDDING ELVES. And DUSTY ELVES. RANDOM PILES OF PAPERS ELVES.

Yesterday they were also Misplaced both our Library Cards Elves. But they had a moment of kindness and snuck mine in between some lists in my purse. Sneaky Elves.

Gingerbread

I've been a bit busy last few nights finishing up the cards and some shipping.

But tonight I think I'll make gingerbread. Oh yes. And it is J's fault to start. What with the feeding of gingerbread to moi on monday. I managed to not run in the kitchen and grab the entire bag of it and run out the front door.

Plus she knows where I live.


And then bettie posting about the eating of gingerbread - after I had done just that! Ohhhh!

So tonight I want to bake.

And a blog BoQ! (Bunch of Questions)

Do you have a great gingerbread recipe you want to share?

What sweets are Christmas time to you?

Want to come eat gingerbread with me?

xoxo
jenn

Sweeeet

Your results:
You are Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman 90% The Flash 85% Spider-Man 75% Green Lantern 75% Supergirl 75% Robin 55% Catwoman 55% Hulk 55% Superman 55% Batman 30% Iron Man 30%

You are a beautiful princess with great strength of character.

Click here to take the "Which Superhero are you?" quiz...

Getting back into The Groove.

I've been sick for the past two weeks and it kicked my exercising totally off track. *doh* So yesterday I got back to the gym and I'm very glad. I have two 1 week passes for a women's gym here in town (to test them out). There are some things I really like about the gym - but just not their bottom line... money money money.

Now I know this is important to all gyms. But this one it seems more obvious. They are one of the only places in town that still does the 2year contract. Since some new gyms have finally opened up here they've had to alter that somewhat and give an option for month by month. But they charge more for that "option" so that puts them at a higher monthly rate than the Y. So the Y makes more sense monthly price-wise... but they just aren't as nice. And they get busier and don't have as much equipment and sometimes you have to wait to get the machine you want and I'm not good at that.

It is all I can do to get to the gym in the first place.. let alone then having to wait around and maybe not get the workout I want. But the Y is closer and I might be more likely to do an early morning workout there than the women's gym. Also, the Y doesn't have a sign-up fee. I'm completely opposed to sign-up fees. They are straight out cash-grabs. Of course, that cash grab at the women's gym is probably why they have all those treadmills....

The next consideration is yoga. The Y does something where each season (three per year) you get a Core programme as part of your membership. These are programmes you would usually have to pay extra for - yoga, pilates, dance, etc...

Their yoga is very cool and taught by one of my favorite teachers in town. It is for eight weeks of each 16, once per week. For the other two months of each season, there is the option to enroll in the yoga and pay the $30. Their thing is to offer you one per season and give you the chance to add something extra to your experience. Neat to think of doing the pilates or something else one time.

The women's gym has yoga as just part of their offerings. They offer three classes per week and I know the one woman who teaches there - she's okay. But hey, three per week - all year long, no extra charge (well, unless we factor in how much more they charge per month... which is what I'll end up figuring out at one point).

Oh the decisions. But for right now I have two 1 week passes for the women's gym. So that is cool.

Right - my point. I went yesterday for 1hr 20 and then today I did pilates and weights at home. I also bought a new balance ball to replace the one Chuck the Cat killed dead.

So go team exercise.

xoxo
jenn

Got my UK and US cards out!

Yesterday was a good one. Got my Uk and Us cards out and my canadian ones started up nicely. I'll finish those this weekend and also finish up any gifts I need to mail.

As per usual I ordered a few things too late online and they also need to be shipped. Er, some people might be getting IOUs for gifts. Classy. *doh*

Today I got The Amazing Haircut (TM) and then had sushi with Leone for lunch. Excellent day. Now I'm looking at this house and rather miffed that the helper elves I ordered have not shown. Leone believes they may have actually arrived but are actually Messy Elves rather than the Helper ones. I'll check my credit card receipt. All in all, the cats have tried to help out by eating random things off the kitchen floor - but then the also ate stuff off the counter and knocked the bag of crackers onto the floor and ate a bunch of those and then opened the lower shelf door and went and sat with the pots and pans which actually means I now need to also vacuum in the cupboards as well as on the floor.

Oh, and someone has apparently come over and had a series of baths without cleaning the tub. I can't believe it was me. No. I think it was someone else. They need to come and clean that.


And to balance the good with the bad, as of yesterday I got the final little item downtown and I'm now officially DONE my christmas shopping. Anything from here on it will simply be me doing that thing where I just keep buying more and more because I've finished too early.

xoxo
jenn

No longer in a horrible mood.

Can I just ask, is there anything better than dark chocolate?

I didn't think so.

Very good. Carry on.

xoxo
jenn

I'm in a horrible mood

Currently accepting Terry's Chocolate Orange (dark), or any other dark chocolate as medication.

I'd like it noted I'm rather tired of being an adult and dealing with adult things and plans and jobs and decisions and choices and trying to figure things out.

Let it be known: I have no clue. I don't know what I'm doing. I have no idea where I'm going.


Blah.

Is Jim's Birthday!

And I already gave him his present when he was here. The Oxford Companion to Food!

Is very loverly. And he seemed to like it very much. A wonderful combination of geek and foodie.


Happy birthday sweetie!

xoxo
jenn

Today I hope to finish my Christmas shopping.

I'm pretty damned happy about that. And I think tonight I'm going to try and do up the bulk of my Christmas cards. All that will be left are those gifts I'm making and the remainder of the cards.

And wrapping.

And mailing.

Okay, so not all that close to done - but I'll be glad to not have to shop any more for gifts.

In other news, I don't like Jonathan who was the movie reviewer on DNTO today. Blah.

I'm feeling better...

.. but now Jim has left so I'm sad. Stupid emotions. *kicks toe in dirt*

But on the upside, I am feeling a bit better health wise and hope to fully recover this weekend.


In other news, I've managed to continue to apply for jobs. It has kinda gotten me down of late as I'm not getting any of these jobs yet, but I'm just going to focus on keeping my eyes open and continuing to learn as much as I can at this job so I have all those skills they talk about in these fancier jobs.

Part of this will be really understanding what I want to do. Or what direction I want to go. At our committee meeting today we were talking about our Vision with respect to our department and the university. I think that is something I want to get for myself. And part of this might be to have a better understanding of the limitations of working in academia without a PhD. I'm just not sure that I'll ever be able to reach the levels I want at the Uni without that check-mark. And I don't know that I want to get it. So that might mean I want to move out of academia and into a field that will not look down on me just because I only have my Masters. And right now I think that is a little fucked up (sorry mom).

I don't want to be somewhere where I feel lowly because I only have my MA. I would like that to be something that people look at and think "whoo, good for her. We like smart chicks with drive. She is a smart chick with drive and imagination and amazing people skills. Let's hire her and give her challenges and allowe her to move in rewarding directions."

So far the things about my job(s) that I've enjoyed is teaching, helping people (advising/talking/supporting/counselling), event planning, organizing, and putting together information (research, writing, thinking).

I think I just need to figure out what that is going to mean and how to keep moving in those directions.

With that said, I just applied at the Uni Library which doesn't tie into anything other than it is full time and unionized with benefits. Plus, I do good books.

xoxo
jenn