Entries categorized as ‘I was thinking’
After much consideration, listening to both sides, the wonderland household has decided to vaccinate. Now the decision has been made I feel better.
I have talked with friends who went through this months ago in NZ. At least one of them was vaccinated. I cannot confirm if all five were. They did not have side effects and costed rather smoothly through it, but that may have been because one is a bit of an agoraphobe When germs are around 
I have read articles and watched and listened to reports. All which are biased either way. I’m not sure it helped. May have just brought my anxiety about it up. But this is what I do know:
1. Yes there is Hg in the vaccine ethyl not methyl (big difference). I would prefer if there wasn’t any, but no Minamata here.
2. That it is a “fairly new” vaccine, but they are using the same methods for previous vaccines that I have had.
3. You cannot get the flu from a dead virus. If you get the flu after getting the shot, you were probably exposed to it days before or with in the two week period before full immunity is reached. In Canada we’re recieving the dead virus.
4. There is adjuvant in the vaccine to boost its efficacy and make it go further so more can get the vaccination if they want too.
5. The risk for my children having a bad side effect from the vaccine are lower than the risk of them getting the flu.
6. We are in the vulnerable group
7. People who are not vaccinated and get the flu and have an “easy” time of it, can pass the flu on to others who cannot be vaccinated. I don’t want that on my conscience.
8. I still believe that washing hands, eating right and exercise are the best way to stay healthy and prevent transmission of disease, but have you seen the nation lately. I will do my best but I cannot trust that others are.
Now I post these reasons just to explain why we are vaccinating and not to change anyones mind. I understand the struggle to decide. We all love our families and wants what is best for them. You do what you gotta do and I will do what I gotta do and hopefully neither of us will suffer.
Categories: Family · I was thinking · Real Life
I can’t believe I am weighing in on this…but I haven’t posted in a while. In desperation, I decided to get a little muddy. I know, I too am disgusted with myself. But like a traffic accident I just couldn’t look away. I really should have more self control. Self control hmmmm, wasn’t that my goal for the year. Oh well since I have my wellies out.
Kate + 8
Last week I kept hearing all about how she was getting a new show, and then how she was going to continue with the TLC show, and how her now estranged husband wants the show to end for the sake of the children. I really was about to shout from the rooftops “KATE IS ENOUGH!”
But today I thought about it. I thought about it from a mommy’s perspective. I may be way off here because I don’t know any of them, and due to our lack of cable, I have only seen the show twice. So my experience with “them” is limited. But if I were in her position, if I had eight kids and was suddenly found husbandless, what would I do to support them?
I have been out of work for 10 years, my skills, knowledge and wardrobe (to say the least) are out of date. I sometimes dream of being able to go back to work and help bring money. I am also terrified at what I would do if I suddenly found myself husbandless.
I know having kids grow up on TV can mess them up, but I know having a single mommy that has to work to make ends meet can also have its negative effects. If I could find a job where I could still be “at home” with my kids and make the kind of money that I needed to support 8 children in a house big enough (4 bedroom minimum) then I would take it hands down. At least until I could find something better. In this economy there isn’t much better. Actually in any economy there isn’t much better.
Just saying
Letterman
For those of you who don’t know who Letterman is he is a late night talk show host and not an Alpha Super Hero in red tights fighting illiteracy in the dirty streets of New York. But I wager those who don’t know him probably don’t have internet so my explanation is only up there to get in a shameful joke in on someone else’s name.
Now on friday, I was really impressed with the way he handled things. Yes he was a dog for sleeping around, but he “manned up” and became accountable.
But today…although impressed with his “meeting it head on”, I don’t like what he did, I don’t like what the producer allegedly did. And I think all of this just shows incredible bad manners for all parties. If people just had better manners and listened to their mothers (because that is what we teach them, good manners ya know) none of this would have happened.
Again Just saying
And for the joke…I know, bad manners and I’m sorry.
And now I’m done.
Categories: I was thinking · The Insanity That Is Me · The Rant
So to explain… we were away at a reunion. Had fun in the sun which apparently didn’t make it to Alberta, thus making the vacation a little sweeter. I got rid of most of the Farmer tan on one side but alas the other side not so much, making me just that much weirder.
We spent our time at a campground just outside of Bozeman MT and then half a day enjoying the sites of Yellowstone National Park.
Things I noticed:
1. The Pop in MT is sweeter and when in bottled form fizzier. I don’t like it, but then I don’t like change. I suppose if I lived there I would get used to it and then think Alberta’s pop is flat.
2. The size of there combos are much bigger in the MT. i was going to say states but as we only stopped in one restaurant the whole trip I thought I would refrain from huge generalizations. When Mr. Wonderful ordered his pop he went back to say “sorry but I think I got the wrong cup. I ordered the medium” to which the friendly girl said “sir that is our medium.”
3. About 70-80 % of the prices are cheaper than Canada. Not everything is cheaper. We only shopped in two places (Bozeman and Helena) but comparing prices with family members at the reunion leads me to believe should I live where they live my money would go further. For one thing gas is just over half the price. Today I filled up and it cost me about $4.00/ gallon.
4. People in Helena are supper friendly and hard working. Maybe its the economy and people want to keep their jobs so they are working extra hard or… they are just plain friendly. Every store we went in to there was someone there to help. I even went into a fabric/ craft store and didn’t get the “stink eye” for bringing a toddler in. One lady got down to his level and showed him all the Cars patches and proceeded to let him play with them. Then she talked to him about other Disney characters. I can guarantee that would never happen here in Calgary. The Target and Shopko were so clean and people were actually working instead of holding up a rack with their bodies whilst discussing the latest co-worker gossip. I can’t remember the last time I had seen that in one of our local department stores. Good on ya Helena
5. People from the states don’t know how to drive. Again sorry for painting you with one large brush. Notice I didn’t say Montana as my only experience with the poor driving was the west gate of Yellowstone National Park where representatives from almost all of the contiguous United States decided to congregate. A dude from North Carolina blocked three lanes with his van because he realized that he had already prepaid and wasn’t in the express lane. Then he got frustrated and was gesturing at a dude from South Carolina because he wasn’t making room. Yet S. Carolina couldn’t move forward to make the room because California was in front of him. Mr. Wonderful said it probably was a rival thing between the states but I don’t think so. Meanwhile a van from Washington next to us was all “The Nerve of some people.” and shrugging their shoulders at N. Carolina’s display. Other examples:
a: Not knowing what a four way stop means
b: Passing on a double solid.
c: Not knowing your car has signal lights
d: U-turning in the middle of the road
e: driving 20 miles/ hour under the speed limit
f: driving down a wrong way
I don’t know which representatives committed theses violations so you are all on the hook. 
5. Roads in MT are hard to drive on. This may not be your fault as Alberta is more flat and has wide open spaces. I’m just not used to having Non-existent shoulders on a two lane highway. Then there the “road narrowing sign” we called it the skinny lady ahead sign and wondered how could it possible narrow anymore. But it did. They aren’t even wide enough for two motor-homes to pass each other going opposite directions. We saw it happen. Both had to slightly go off the road to do so. Crazy! The pilot car thing is cool though. I didn’t mind waiting the 10 min. for a guide ca to take me through the construction, but I have a feeling thats just me.
All in all MT is great and thanks for you Hospitality and warm hotel breakfast. You ROCK!
Categories: I was thinking · The Insanity That Is Me
I don’t think in all of my life I have ever seen a total Solar Eclipse. I know I have seen Partials but not a total Eclipse where the sky goes dark as if it is night.
The next Total Eclipse to be seen by North America (aside from Hawaii) will be August 21, 2017 in Montana, Idaho area at around 5:00/5:30pm. I think I might have to make a trip in 8 years. It would be fun to celebrate Tweedle E’s Birthday with an Eclipse viewing. He will be 16 then. Crazy!
Categories: I was thinking · Tweedle E
Back in the day, there were only 4 maybe 5 different kinds of movie ratings. G (general, for everyone), PG (Parental guidance, almost everyone), Mature (you had to be at least 16 or was it 14), R (you had to be 18 and there was usually nudity or extreme violence) at least that is how it went in Canada.
Now it goes something like this.I think they are missing PG-13 or is that American. Also here in Canada some movies that are rated R in the states are rated significantly lower. I guess thats what we get for having a more liberal society. Politics aside its all confusing.
Then you get into the warnings… talk about adding another layer of vagueness. My middle Tweedle went to a birthday party about a week ago and saw the movie Mama Mia. I didn’t think much about it because I hadn’t seen it yet and the score was all ABBA. What is there to worry about? Later that night when my husband and I were at the video store I grabbed the back of the movie and saw PG (Parental Guidance) with nudity and theme warnings. Needless to say I was a little disappointed that he had seen the movie and phoned one of my sisters right away, who I knew had already seen the movie. She assured me that there wasn’t any gratuitous sex scenes, but was alarmed herself that the movie was shown at a 7 year olds birthday party. With themes about marriage, shacking up, homosexuality, and a a daughter trying to find out which of three men her mother had affairs with was her father, she found that highly inappropriate for seven year olds. It doesn’t matter how good the soundtrack is. Heres hoping my little Tweedle’s “ADHD” kicked in and he wasn’t interested.
That night after the kids went to bed Mr. Wonderful and I settled in to watch our own movie. “The Bank Job” rated 14A (kids 14 and older can see) with a warning for violence, language, and sexual content. We thought it would be might ok because at least there wasn’t a warning for nudity. The movie opens right away with the sexual content and doesn’t get any better from there. I attributed that to the English (European) sense of entertainment. I was wrong.
Friday we rented the movie Crossing Over. The movie has been raved about all over the radio. It stars Harrison Ford. I like him so I was looking forward too it. We had to turn it off. This movie was also rated 14A. In the 30-45 min that we saw of it, It had Gangsters, sexual acts, nudity and according to kids in mind we didn’t get to the meat of it. None of this was on the warnings. I was chatting with Mr. Wonderful after, we came to the conclusion that we weren’t the target audience. This movie (except for some heavy immigration themes) was visually targeted for the teenage boy and meant to fill his head full of garbage. Too bad, I would have liked to explore some of those themes.
I’m not out to get these movies I’m just expressing the frustration with the vagueness of the rating system and wondering why these institutions/ organizations think these movies are appropriate for 14 and older. I’m not even old enough to see some of the stuff I saw. I also hate wasting my money.
Categories: I was thinking · Real Life
It is a very rare occurrence. In fact I’m not sure if this has happened before on a non-holiday monday. Today I woke up at 6:15, laid in bed for a while thinking of all the little family errands we would do. We were going to go to the bottle depot, play in the yard, replant the pole beans that were dug up by the squirrels and maybe plan our next camping trip. Nothing too arduous.
Anyway it took me a bit but as I snuggled into the warm body of my husband next to me, I realized “Oh darn it’s monday”. Normally this would have put me into a bad mood, but I just had such a good weekend, that I was fine.
Well now that the day is half over, it doesn’t feel like a saturday at all. I did get a lazy walk this morning and some garden observations, but it was back to the grind stone. I really miss the days when my kids were too young to go to school. When maybe a monday could feel like a saturday and there wasn’t as much pressing down on me, or them. The only problem with that is there wouldn’t be a third tweedle.
Well I should go. my phone is ringing yet again. I wonder what it could be this time. Like the garage holding a tenants car hostage isn’t enough. Maybe what I really long for is not having to work.
Categories: Family · I was thinking
I truly believe I came up with that phrase. I remember saying it when I was very young and every one else was saying “For the love of God.” I being young thought that was a swear (as in taking the lords name in vain) and most of me still does.
Now why Pete. Well there is some logic to that. When I was younger there were a lot of St. Peter jokes so I thought some one else that the world thought a little Holy should be substituted so I started saying “For the Love of Pete.”
Unfortunately I never “coined it” and therefore don’t receive any credit or royalties. I would prefer the credit though money would be nice. I’m sure the person who came up with the Childhood poem “Alyson and Wonderful sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G…etc.” feels the same way. I would like to know who made that up, just as I am sure there is someone out there who would like to know where the phrase “For the Love of Pete” came from.
This however is not the point of my post. The phrase came out a need to express ones frustration with undesirable situations that befall them in life.
Well friends, I am so there. As some of you know I am a property manager. I look after 8 units. I get a monthly commission and a break on my rent. Part of my job is dealing with people, the other part is books. Lets just say I prefer the books.
I find the older I get the more I don’t want to have to deal with people and their baggage, filth, whatever. Especially people I would not choose to associate with under any other circumstances. Its one thing to choose to be exposed to their junk, its another to be forced to deal with it.
I am already looking forward to the day that I can pack it all in and move away to a far off remote Island where no one will bother me and I don’t have to clean up after anyone, referee their petty fights, or have rotten fruit thrown at my window because I was there bearer of bad news. Wait I’m a mom. I guess that won’t go away entirely.
O how I wish I could say more. Maybe one day I will write a book. “The Moment I Became A Cat woman (A Property Managers Diary).” Get it Cat Woman, an old lady alone with cats. I think the play on words would be enough to sell millions. If the phrase “Cat Woman” catches on for Hermitish old women surrounded by cats, then you know where you heard it first and give me the credit I deserve.
Categories: I was thinking · I'm mad · Real Life
I am a proponent of Breast Feeding. I do not hide the fact that I think the breast is best nutritionally. I have nursed all three sons for at least 15 months, some longer. I have no problem breast feeding in public nor do I have a problem with others who choose to feed in public. It is natural, but doesn’t necessarily come naturally. I have known other women who have had great difficulty and have opted for the alternative and I support their right to choose. Who knows, under the same circumstances I might be doing the same thing. Basically what I am saying is there is no judgement here.
Now why, might you ask, am I bringing this up at all. Who cares where I stand. Frankly I don’t think anyone does. The thing is locally, there has been a sort of a movement. I emphasize the words “sort of”. A mother chose to breast feed her child in public. That wasn’t the problem. She chose to feed her child in a public pool. Not on the side but in the pool. She was asked to leave the pool. This wasn’t just a one time thing. She continued to go back to that pool and each time asked to leave the pool. Now it is not clear if she was just asked to leave the pool or if she was asked to leave the premisis entirely. Anyway she decided to form a rally, nurse-in, if you will.
The rally was set for this past sunday. It didn’t happen. She got a letter from the city stating they are a pro-breast feeding city and that they will make sure all of the staff know this. That should be the end, but now it is on the news that this almost rally happened and talk shows are devoting 30-60 minutes on it. I’m not even fired up about that. I think the more we talk about breast feeding the more accepted and normal it will become.
The thing that really gets my goat is that this pit mother against mother. I listened to woman after woman, all supporting breast feeding, phone in today and personally attack one another. “She must be old school and not informed.” “She must not know what is appropriate behavior” back and forth back and forth.
I personally wouldn’t choose to breast feed my child in a pool, but if I saw someone doing that my first thought would not be “She must be a moron” my first thought would be “o look there someone who takes breast feeding very serious and my friend jenthemom would get along with her.” I would hope if she had seen me breast feeding in a corner with a towel or a blanket that she would say “there is a mom who is feeding her child”, not “wow what a matter with her, she should be whipping out her mams, she just sent us back 20 years.”
Categories: I was thinking
Sometimes I wonder what the heck I am doing when I write these posts. I spell check and read it over several times before I publish. Then the next day I read it again. I’ll read it a few days later and find so many mistakes. Sentences that don’t make any sense are there for the world to see. I think I have yet to write a post with out some huge error. It is sad that I type my own brain farts. Sorry mom I know how you hate that word. Actually I do too. Now.
All flatulating aside, I think I need an editor, and not like the one I had at NAIT. She shall remain nameless (Gillian). I helped her with her science in return for her editing my english. Lets just say I was more help. Oops did I just type that? Oh well if I had a proper editor she would have caught that, but I don’t, and I didn’t. Until now. But I am tired so I’ll change it in a few days.
Bye.
P.S. The computer is telling me that flatulating is misspelled but when I check it, it says flagellating so I’m gonna leave that too.
Categories: I was thinking
