Yesterday morning as we were wrestling around (NOT SEXING! I feel this immense need to point that out for some reason– mostly because everytime I tell someone they’re like “oh ho! WRESTLING eh??”) on the bed, tickling each other which we both hate

Rob AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! STOP!!!
Louise AAAAAAAAAAAHAHHAA! NO YOU STOP FIRST!!!

Eventually we stop, because we’re both almost dead

Louise (snuggling up to Rob) Hey weird!
Rob What’s up?
Louise I can see the cow-dog thing. In the ceiling!
Rob You can? Really?
Louise Yeah (pointing)– right there. This is the first time I’ve seen it since that first time, remember? When we were on the phone?
Rob That is so cool, baby. Hey, do me a favor?
Louise Sure, what?
Rob Close your eyes?
Louise NO WAY! You’re just gonna tickle me again!
Rob No I’m not…
Louise YES YOU ARE! YOU ALWAYS DO THIS! WITH THE “OOH CLOSE YOUR EYES!” AND THEN YOU TICKLE ME! AND I’M NOT FALLING FOR IT!
Rob WOMAN!
Louise WOMAN!
Rob Don’t be so foolish. Just close your eyes, willya?
Louise Okay… but if you tickle me you’re IN FOR IT. And I MEAN IT! (closes eyes)
Rob You love me, right?
Louise Of course I do, leem. I just don’t want you to tickle me.
Rob So how long do you plan keeping up all this loving of me?
Louise Oh… I don’t know… how about forever?
Rob Sounds good to me… Hey guess what, I love you too! Forever!
Louise Well that’s good– we match!
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Note: Please make sure to check this post a couple of times today. I’m in a crunch for time, and will be writing it in (probably three) parts and so there you go.

Phew, okay, lots has been going on here in the Land of Louise, and the more that’s happened, the more I’ve avoided the blog because I think “I want to get it all written down!” but then I think “Oh, but it’s so muuuuuuch!” and the whiner wins out pretty much everytime. But let’s start then, and hopefully get through to the now sometime.

Christmas

We had a beautiful Christmas. Christmas Eve was a bit stressful for me– I was still wrapping Rob’s gifts at midnight, and we’d run out of tape (I was forced to use very unnatural means to stick the paper on! Okay, not really– stickers. Instead of tape. I just didn’t like that at all). But eventually all was done, we were in our pj’s, and I even managed to get to sleep before 3 am. I woke up at six, and tried to get Rob to wake up too, but he was having None Of That so back to sleep I went. Finally at 8:00 I got out of bed and went and prepared the turkey (here is my turkey stuffing song: “Oh Mr. Turkey get ready! Get ready for Christmas when we eat youuuuu. Oh there are your guts. Oh there is your neck. This is so gross I might barf. Ooooooooooo. OOOOOOOOO. I touched your guts and neck and now get ready! Do you see the stuffing Mr. Turkey? Of course not you don’t have a head. Well anyway the stuffing! I’m gonna cram it all up in your [not genteel word, rhymes with patch]! and then I will wash my hands for six HOURS! ooooOOOOOOOooooo” etc. etc.) and then WOKE UP ROB. He has detailed his gifties from me here so you can check that out if you want.

My gifts? Hmm… Now I might leave some things out, because he went all nuts with buying me a TON of presents, but I’ll do my best. He’s such a sweetie. First of all, a GAME! for the GAMEBOY! Because I’m JUVENILE! ahahaha~! Yes, I was gifted with Doctor Mario, so that I might indulge in total OCD behaviour, lining all the colours up perfectly. Oh, he knows me so well. He also gave me a beautiful glass chess set (we’ve both resolved to learn to play chess– I’m math-impaired so it should be an interesting venture). And MONOPOLY! I love Monopoly. We actually ended up playing a game on Christmas Night that lasted until the wee hours of the morning. Then we were too sleepy. Plus he was winning. So we called the game a draw .
I was also gifted with some DVDs– James Taylor’s Pull Over (concert video– yeah, I loves me some Sweet Baby James) and a Kevin Spencer DVD which I haven’t yet watched… but it’s Kevin Spencer! WAY better than stupid South Park. Oh, and the Mack Daddy of them all, (and no, don’t mock me here you weasels), I am now the proud owner of the Monkees Season 2 Box Set.

I also got a beautiful new watch, and many things in my stocking, and tons of books, which is awesome. Rob was the BEST GIFT GIVER!!!

Lunch actually turned out okay– I was surprised, because I’ve never cooked a turkey before, but it was fairly easy. Aside from the part where I had to touch it when it was raw.

Another really great part of the day was when the rest of my family (sister, her 3 kids, brother, his wife and baby boy, and my parents) were all at my parents’ house. My dad bought my mom a webcam for Christmas (they were both so excited!) So we put it to use, looking at each other and showing off our gifts. I was on the phone with them at the same time– it was nice to be able to see them on Christmas day. And here was something awesome: My brother and his wife were in front of the webcam, holding their son. He was wearing a shirt which they’d made for him for Christmas (this is his second Christmas, and last year and this year they bought him a plain white sweatshirt and decorated it with fabric paint and things). I noticed that it had something written on it. I was on the phone with my sister at the time and she said “Hey, can you read Garrett’s shirt?” “Uhm…” David held him up so that the whole front was showing. “Ho ho ho, I have news”. Then he turned him around so that I could see the back:
“Mommy has a baby in her tummy and that means that I am a big brother!”
I screeched (my sister says she’s still deaf in one ear ) and hollered and HOLY COW, I’m going to be an aunt again! I spoke to my brother and he was like “How did you know?” Because last week on the phone I was asking him when they were planning on having another baby, it was about time, you know… but then again I knew (sort of) the first time too– went out and bought a bunch of baby things and no one I knew was having a baby. ANYWAY. I’m going to be an AUNT! AGAIN! WEEEEEE!!!!
Rob’s parents were also very sweet. They gave us a crystal oil/vinegar decanter to start our collection, as well as a foot spa (oh yeah baby, OH YEAH) and lots of other things which if I kept typing you’d think we were spoiled rotten plus my fingers are getting tired and I feel like a show off. Ah well. So that’s this part.

Our Trip to PEI

Well, we left for PEI. And we drove for about an hour, maybe an hour and fifteen minutes. And our rear right tire blew out. On the highway. Luckily we were near an exit, but couldn’t drive any further than that. And all I have to say is this:

Some fucking Christmas Spirit people have around here!

Okay, let me elaborate. It was at least -15 degrees Celsius (what that is in Fahrenheit I do not know). There we were, with a flat tire on the side of a very busy highway. And for some reason the jack was STUCK in our trunk– it’s bolted on, but somehow the screw thing had gotten bent so we couldn’t get it out. We had the four-way flashers on, and while Rob was trying to get the jack out of the trunk by brute strength, I was trying to flag down cars. It’s 2 pm, not dark, they can see us alright– but does ANYONE stop? Uh, no. They’d slow down and LOOK at us, but actually STOP AND HELP? Oh no, no. I ask you (those of you who’ve seen us)– do we look like axe murderers? Jesus. PLUS!!! At one point I was frozen and went into the car to warm up for twenty minutes (might I add that this entire time Judd and Emilio were in the back seat and I was FREAKING OUT that they were going to get REALLY COLD and DIE OF PNEUMONIA because guinea pigs tend to do that?) and during that time no less than FOUR POLICE CARS went by (not all at once) and didn’t stop. Aren’t police supposed to stop when they see someone in distress? And if they’re not, well, they SHOULD.
Anyway. We were also phoning people that we knew who lived nearby to see if they could come and help us (they weren’t home so that sucked) and calling our parents, letting my parents know we’d be later than we thought, letting Rob’s parents know that we were okay, because he always calls them when we go on a trip. Finally after trying to get the jack out for about an hour, Rob decided that he was going to Set Off On His Own and go find a jack somewhere. I was a bit freaked out because it’s winter and it’s cold and yes I know he was just going up the exit to see what was there but what if there were WOLVES there? So then he was gone for almost an hour. Turns out that there were just houses there and a man let him borrow a jack. Long walk. He was frozen SOLID. Then we (okay mostly he, I wussed out and went back in the car to warm up after ten minutes or so) changed the tire. By that time it was 5 pm, we’d spent three and a half hours freezing our asses off, and it was dark. We were not going to drive to PEI on a dummy tire, we had three hours driving ahead of us if we did, AND we’d only have one day at my parents’ before we had to head back– so we (and my parents) decided that we would just go home and I could come next week on my own. So that kind of sucked. BUT it’s okay because at least when I go on my own, my dad will not be working so we’ll actually see each other. I’m sad that Rob won’t be able to come but it will give him some time alone with the new computer so that he can love on it.

OKAY THAT’S THE END OF THIS POST. DON’T CHECK FOR ANY MORE UPDATES

We’re leaving (slightly late, but since when is that new?) for PEI right now. Anyone who usually sends mail to my @cow-dog.net email (or, actually, any of my email addresses), if you need to contact me during the next three days you can do so here: louise.mATgmailDOTcom .

Also– Rob is EXCITED! About a MOVIE! HE’s so cute when he gets excited about movies.

I’ve been wanting to right about Christmas but there’s just SO MUCH that I have to talk about, and I’ve been feeling really weird for the past couple of evenings and and and.

We’re having a crazy old blizzard here in Halifax (of course it started on BOXING DAY, not Christmas day or eve– hmph). Rob and I were going to leave today to go to PEI and visit my folks but it looks like we’ll be leaving tomorrow instead. Less time there, and more driving for me… but you do what you’ve gotta do.

I promise I’ll do a better bloggety blog once we’re there. Just wanted to let you all know I’m still living.

It’s Christmas Eve, 6:22 pm as I start writing this.

It’s been raining on and off all day, pretty much dashing any hopes we had for a White Christmas. There is a rumour, though, that there might be flurries tomorrow morning. That’s better than nothing. What’s ironic (if I’m using the word correctly, which I’m probably not) is that Rob’s parents in Newfoundland have informed us that they have tons of snow there, with more coming, and my family in PEI had a snowstorm a couple of days ago.

It’s our first Christmas away from our respective families. I thought it would be incredibly hard– I mean, Christmas is a time for family. And yes, it has been a bit difficult, thinking that I wouldn’t get to see my nieces and nephews opening all their Christmas presents, to see my one-year-old nephew experience the first Christmas that he’d be aware of. My parents are used to having at least ten people around their table and this year they’ll be two people short. Rob is an only child and his parents are going to have that one empty space in the house. So yes, it’s difficult that way. We are both missing our families and that’s not going to change. But really? I would rather spend Christmas here with Rob than to be in PEI without him. He’s my heart and I am so happy to be spending our first Christmas together.

SEGUE FROM THE SAPPINESS!

We went to finish our Christmas shopping yesterday. It was actually pretty okay — I mean, places were crowded, but I never had to stand in line for longer than 4 or 5 minutes. Rob and I went to the Halifax Shopping Centre at about 11 yesterday morning. Since the vast majority of our remaining shopping was for each other, we decided to split up, shop on our own, and then meet in an hour at the food court. I have no idea how things went for Rob, but everything went well for me. I managed to find just about everything I was looking for and get a smoothie while I was at it.

The only stupid thing that happened was when I was in Coconut Creek. I had just chosen what I was going to get for Rob and was looking at something on one of the shelves. I was standing in front of the shelf, looking at the little dragon statue thing that was there. There was plenty of room to go around me, both in front of me and behind me. A lady walks up to me. Doesn’t say “excuse me”, doesn’t say “Could I please get in front of you and look at that?”. Nope. She just basically shoulders me out of the way. Yep, you got that right. She pushed me. Then stood there for like, half a second, and walked away. I just called out after her “Merry Christmas!” and went up to the cash.

After Rob and I had met up, we left to go home and I ended up sleeping for a couple of hours while he puttered around and did some giftwrapping (have I wrapped anything yet? No… hey, it’s only 6:39! Why worry?). Later we went grocery shopping and had a whole adventure with choosing a turkey and trying to find all the things each of us need for Christmas (I like REAL cranberries, he likes the stuff in a tin). Rob’s parents had also sent another box of gifts, including some ornaments for our tree and a tupperware container of DELICIOUS shortbread cookies.

So now we are watching the Jimmy Kimmel Holiday Special. Flavor Flav is making me very happy with his Flavor Flav Christmas story.

Also. I sent many many cards out this week– if yours hasn’t gotten to you yet, give it time. I’ve also received a few cards and wanted to say thanks to everyone who sent us one.

And with that I will begone. There may be blogging tomorrow but probably not… so Merry Christmas to all of you. I’m going to snuggle with my handsome boy now.

I am about … halfway done my shopping for Rob. Payday is on I think Thursday of this week so I will finish up then. Yay last minute. After that I have some other gifts to buy:

Each of my (older) nephews gets some movie money. For my brother and his wife, a Home Depot g/c because they’re painting their house.

I have yet to finish that damn Mr. Bean bear for my baby nephew (although if I just sat down and worked on it it would take me less than an hour to finish the whole thing). Other than that, I pretty much have everyone on my side of the family done with. Also Rob’s parents are done. So that’s not too shabby. And now on to the Real News.

Nothing else much has been happening. Well kind of. As you all know, I’m allergic to beef. Sometimes, however… I can’t help myself. I just eat it, and then take the consequences as they come (usually sick to my stomach, sometimes itchy). It’s not like I go into anaphylactic shock or anything, but I go crazy with the beef cravings. And the time when that usually happens? During my period. I can’t help it. I also crave salt. A lot of salt. Nothing new there, really, I’m pretty sure that happens to lots of us ladies. But. The grossest thing? I crave– CRAVE– Hereford Corned Beef. The kind in the tin. With the picture of the cow on the front, so that you know that it’s meat from a cow, in case you were thinking it magically came from the Corned Beef Tree in Corned Beef Land. Go look at the picture. Oh, now isn’t that appetizing? No, I admit that it’s gross. Anyway. Rob, being my Enabler, bought some secretly when we were grocery shopping the other day. I discovered it last night and he said “Yeah, I knew you might die without it”. And he was RIGHT. Today, just about the time when I’m usually scarfing down my habitual lunch of raisin bran, I started feeling that feeling. The “Gimme that salty, salty beef!” feeling (oh admit it, lots of you out there get the “gimme that salty beef” feeling– but *I* meant *luncheon meat*). So I did what I do best– I went and got the tin. But lo! What the hell happened to the tin? It used to (a month ago!) open with the little key thing. You know what I mean– the KEY thing. On the tin! Where you like, twist the key! And the can opens! And you’re happy, and have a little swirl of metal around the key! Unless you don’t know what I mean in which case I can’t help you because you’re obviously not white trash enough to know that meats that must be opened with a key are the best kind of meats.

Well I am here to tell you that the key is now gone. GONE! Instead, it opens with a little tab at the top. Like some kind of pudding or fruit cup. It’s a beef cup! And I’m not sure if I like that. First of all, it did NOT have a key. Secondly, I first thought “Okay, well… I know how to open a fruit cup and a pudding. So I will be able to open this”. WRONG. There are DIRECTIONS. You have to READ DIRECTIONS to open the Beef Cup. Things about “Breaking the Seal” and “Pressing Firmly with your Thumb in order to Open the Can Correctly”. Yeah? Well guess what? It didn’t WORK. The Beef Cup sucks. Not only did I not have the key or the swirl of metal around the key, but I had to admit that I was defeated by the Beef Cup and use the CAN OPENER to open it.
Stupid beef cup!

The contents however? Oh, yeah. Microwave that big lump of beef for like three minutes, pour mustard all over it, and eat up.

If you are gagging or barfing right now? You just. don’t. know.

I was a bit of a brat in my last post, wasn’t I? AND THAT’S THE ONLY TIME I’VE EVER BEEN A BRAT. If anyone tries to tell you otherwise, don’t believe them. OR I’LL KILL YOU! Haha, yeah just kidding

Our tree is up. It has lights and garland on it.

We shopped for Rob’s parents’ gifts yesterday. I’m in charge of shipping them off today (yes I know, they’re gonna be LATE~! As it is I’m sending them Priority Po$t and they might still get there late). Then I go off to do my shopping for Rob, now that he’s given me a real list, and not the stupid cabbage list he thought would be funny the other day. I can assure you, that was Not Funny.

Now I know that many people out there would think that two people so in love such as ourselves shouldn’t NEED lists to know what to get each other, and I’d tend to agree– Rob didn’t get a list from me, and he’s been driving me crazy for WEEKS with his perfect purchases. I, however, suck. Okay, actually I don’t (in a bad way). The thing is this: with my parents/siblings etc., I just pretty muich give them whatever I want to give them and I’m okay. I don’t pick out crappy gifts, so they’re generally happy (although there was the year of the Old Spice d?©bacle but we won’t delve in to that here, hmmm?). I put thought into what I’m going to get them. My parents suck a little– “Oh, just you being happy is gift enough for us” YEAH RIGHT!!! COME ON!!!! but everyone else is pretty good at hinting and I’m pretty good at… knowing that they’re hinting. Okay basically my mom emails me and says “Your sister is asking for x, your brother would like Y, nephew A wants this, nephew B wants that, your niece could use… blah…. and your father and I? You being happy is gift enough for us”. Readymade list.

With Rob, however. I’m sure he’s been hinting, but he’s stealthy about it. Also, I have ADD. And we’ll be shopping, and he’ll be like “Oh my God! Look at this! This is so cool!” and I’ll tell myself “Okay. It’s the Red Radioactive Destructicon Turnip! Must. Remember. Red Radioactive Destructicon Turnip.” By the time we get home from the store and I’m about to write it down, it’s become the Puce Semiconductive A Little Bit Harmful Cheeseball. It’s happened over and over again.

So last night, in my PMS-induced fit of rage I cried for half an hour. Supposedly over the fact that I couldn’t beat world 6 in Super Mario Brothers, but more like the fact that I was going to end up getting Rob things that SUCKED and then he would HATE THEM but because he LOVES ME he would have to pretend that he LIKES THEM and I would KNOW THAT HE HATED THEM and it would all be a CHARADE!!!! Rob of course figured this out before I did (he was like “You’re worried about Christmas, aren’t you?” “NOOOOOOO It’s that the stupid Hammer Brothers keep JUMPING on me! And then I almost get to the end and I’m about to jump in the tube and another one JUMPS on me! And then I die! (sob sob. Hormones? Frig off, please)”, left the room, and came back with a list.

Now my mind is at ease. It’s not like I’m going to be like “Okay. I’m only buying things from his list. Nothing else.” No, just that having it there as a guideline, and maybe buying a few of the things, I can feel free to find OTHER things that I’m pretty sure he’ll like, because after all we DO know each other really well and love each other, and even if the other things suck, he’ll have things he actually wanted.

And now– off to the post office. Wish me luck.

TWELVE POUNDS.

TWELVE!!!!

No reaction whatsoever? TWELVE! That’s more than ELEVEN!

Wow, I’m kind of a non-blogger these days… it’s been what, since Thursday? That’s a bit slack of me. You all seem to have lived through it though

Okay, let’s see, where to start.

First of all. One night, Rob and I were sleeping as we are wont to do. He has this tendency to throw his covers off in the night, and then lay there shivering. I have a tendency to, when all the covers are thrown onto me, enjoy the extra coverage, and then be accused of hogging the blankets. Whatever. WHATEVER I SAY!!!

Anyway last week as we slept, he threw the covers off. At some point later in the night I woke up and discovered him shivering there like a little feather and since I’m so kindhearted actually started covering him up. He half-woke and asked what I was doing and I said “Bean, you have to keep your blankets on, or you’ll become a Robsicle!”
“A what?” he mumbled.
“A Robsicle!”

“A rock lobster?? Will I have long lobster hair and a guitar in my big claw?”

… then he fell back asleep. Funny part is that the next morning he didn’t even remember it. I was driving him to work and he said “I think I was dreaming about lobsters last night”. Then I reminded him and he couldn’t stop laughing.

On Friday afternoon I had an appointment with my doctor. We went through everything and she decided that I wouldn’t be going back to work until the 31st of January. Still though, the new meds *are* working, they’re just taking their time (well actually they’re taking the normal amount of time). Add to that the fact that I am supposed to get in to see a psychologist but she is only available during the day in January and I am supposed to see her before I can go back to work… so yeah. I’m stressing about it a little bit because this is not the impression that I wanted to give my principal, or my students, or their parents. I’m hoping they don’t start to hate me. However there’s nothing I can do about it and I’d rather get healthy than go into work and have some kind of meltdown happen because I went in before I was ready.

Other news, medically speaking: In the 3 and a half weeks since my last appointment, I lost twelve pounds. Twelve.
I haven’t been dieting, or exercising, really. I used to eat to comfort myself and I’m not doing that anymore– I’m not particularly interested in food. I eat to keep myself alive, and that’s it. So that’s good, right? And yes, I am eating healthy, balanced meals and I’m not starving myself– but holy. Twelve pounds in three weeks? Wow. The only way I can tell is that my sweatpants are a bit loose on me — but then that might just be because they’re five years old. And remember that I had apparently gained 7 lbs in between my first two appointments so really, I’ve only lost five lbs– the other 7 were just bringing me back to where I was before.
We shall see if this continues. I really should invest in a scale sometime– I just go to the dr’s office to get weighed and I can’t be there every week of my life.

Other news– CHRISTMAS CARDS. You want one? email me (louise AT cow-dog DOT net) with your address and you’ll get one. Before tomorrow, please, because I’d like to send them out tomorrow sometime.

Emilio and Judd are beginning to get along much better. I don’t think I’d mentioned, but Judd Nelson ended up being a total badass and actually started beating up on Emilio Estevez. Poor Emilio was covered in cuts and scrapes… we separated them for awhile, again, and took steps to kind of bully-proof their home. An extra igloo so that they wouldn’t fight over who got to hide out. Extra toys so they wouldn’t fight over toys. Separate cuddle time for each of them (Emilio likes to snuggle under my chin or in Rob’s elbow– Judd basically just tries to get in anywhere he can, including trying to hide inside my shirt. Lecher). They are cute little guys and I have to clean their cage today. BLAH!!!

Also we bought a fake tree the other day (I have never in my life had a fake tree– however we are not going home for the holidays, to either of our parents’, and we NEED a tree, and our apartment building only allows fake ones). It’s set up, but it needs to be “fluffed”. So that’s also a job of mine today. I have lots of decorations, but we’re hoping to find more, because, well, I don’t really know if I have enough decorations. The ones I had were used to decorate a tiny little tree that I used to have. IT looked full, but maybe a 6′ tree needs more. We’ll see.

Also that’s it. So there. Am I missing anything (aside from an internal editor)?

I haven’t felt like doing much of anything these past couple of days, including blogging. Not that anything exciting’s been happening (more finishing up on Christmas gifts that I was making, I should post a picture only some of them are for Rob and some of them are for my sister, both of whom have been known to glance this blog’s way every now and then). Well, something kind of funny happened, but I’ll write about that later.

ANYWAY. We have cards. Lots of cards. Who wants one? I don’t want to send them out only to have them get to you like, next May, so I’m setting a time limit. Say, Monday. I will send a holiday card to everyone who emails me with their mailing address by Tuesday morning, 3 10 am. Sound good? You should know the email address, if not, there’s a link up over on ze sidebar.
It would be nice if people sent a card BACK, but you don’t have to.

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