ohhh i'm so glad the lady found him a home jeni!! we've been busy with schooling here, and teaching tabor how to trade in seeds, its kinda cool, he wants to take after his mommy in something!! talla wants to be a princess model, ohhh heck i think she just wants to be a model. she's always telling me, mommy what are them things under your eyes?? then she'll tell me ohh ya, you didn't sleep well, then she will say mom, and she's always telling me something, as if i'm gonna get any prettier. LOL geez LOL she may just grow up to be one of them beautifying people, she does care deeply about skin care. hmmmmm i wonder where she got that from??? definately NOT me!! i'm very bad about skin care, my idea is to wash my face when i shower and then put olive oil on it. LOL ummmmm yes. i am the wrong gender. LOL i got an email from the kids school, they've been in only one month, can you believe it. it feels like 2 months, hubs says you've been slacking, **slap, slap a few times** ok so we dont' really get started till 10:30 am and we are supposed to start at 9. they are supposed to be in bed at 9 and the don't get to bed til 11 or so. i absolutely HATE scheduals!! they suck!! majorly!! i am a grown up child, i'll be the very first one to admit that!! so i hate that my hubs makes "us" go to bed early and be on a schedual. errrrrr!!! this is where i say "men suck" LOL no offense to any guys here. i'm just blabbering!! LOL i've never heard of the twilight series, what's it about? the only series i've ever read is the left behind series. i read that whole entire series!! when i got the book i couldn't put it down until i read every single page. i'm soooo bad about that!! hubs says once i pick up a book i like nothing exists, the house could burn down and i'd burn with it. i'd never know. mmmmm.....i don't think i'm that bad!! LOL my eye's are about to shut but i wanta to talk to someone til i fall asleep and these bugs keep crawling on me, theyr' not real, i think they're dust bunnies, but someone told me they are allergies, and the doc said they arent real. another doc said its dry skin. so k12 gave tabor a microscope, so i am forever curios. so where i feel like these invisible bugs are biting me i "picked" them off and put them on a "slab" and tried to see what they were, it looks like dry skin to me, hubs says it was moving, well i need glasses, tabor said it was moving, errrrr!!!! i don't know now, but when i put olive oil on, i never have the problem. so maybe i can use the magnifier and that??? think?? i wanta see that dang thing moving, of course they do like to freak me out, or as tabor and i say, the gross out factor. once i told him we were gonna have slugs for dinner. LOL and proceeded to go out side to "collect" some slugs, then once i told them after we had chicken that what we really had was slugs, man!! that was good!! you shoulda seen the looks on their faces!! especially hubs, i thought he was gonna toss on the way to killing me!! Hee Hee who'da believe chicken for slugs??? crazy family of mine. LOL ok i think i'll let ya'll go for now, the kids are done cutting up my nylons i don't wear and putting them on their heads, LOL at least they have an imagination!! LOL to bad it has to be all thugish!! LOL ~Medo

Hi Pelican Dave here in Toronto. Bottom line - purchasing stuff in the U.S.A. is often EASIER than in Canada. You often get better service in the U.S.A. We purchased our top of the line Subaru Outback from Van Bortel in N.Y. last summer and paid only $USD 30,500 (just had to email for a quote - that's it) all options and freight in, vs $CAD 48,000 best quote in Canada. Only additional cost - $190 + GST for the federal import fee - that's it. No Canadian dealer style B.S. of attempting to further pad the sale with glass etching fees - or worse "administration fees" for their sub-par service. Of course we paid Canadian (PST/GST/$100 AC) taxes to register it (but never paid any US taxes). Now that we are literally building a new home within our old home's 105 double brick exterior walls (totally gutted the interior - even gutted the studs, joists, etc), we're in the market for all new appliances, bathroom fixtures etc. Canadian dealers and distributors can go F*** themselves as far as I am concerned - and put that arrogant disservice attittude right in their ...... but I digress :-) You will pay no duty on any appliance manufactured in USA/Canada/Mexico, otherwise, as I understand it, duty is limited to 6.1%, since Canada is part of the World Trade Organisation. GST is collected at the border, and is calculated on top of the duty. Legally you are supposed to voluntarily declare your purchase to the provincial government and pay P.S.T. as well - as if you would - LOL. P.S.T. is not applicable to any energy star rated appliance in Ontario anyways. I plan to do the same for our bathroom fixtures. If you thought appliance fixtures were a rip off in Canada, check the Canada / US price differences on sinks, toilets, tubs, etc - often up to double the price in the U.S.A. Too many stupid, compliant, lazy Canadians, make for continued windfall profits for greedy, sleazy Canadian distributors, and their compliant, wimpy dealers. If only more dealers were like Walmart Canada, who temporarily pulled all Lego products off the shelves, until Lego cried Uncle, and agreed to sell their products here at the same price as in the U.S.A.

Happy Friday everyone! Thank you for your words of encouragement. I have lots of support and a friend who wants to join me at the AA meeting. I am looking forward to going and hope with all my heart I will take this seriously and not just go through the motions. Part of me thinks I can handle a beer but a larger part knows it is not in my best interest. It sure as heck can't hurt to attend. Especially now that I am working on a spiritual journey which fits right in. Jan don't worry about the cat. Just do the best you can. If you sit with the cat each visit for a few minutes the cat will get used to you. Each cat has it's own personality. If the cat seems distressed in any way don't be shy to call your neighbours or the vet. They sleep alot normally. Donna, I feel for you knowing how hard it must be. My dad was a binge drinker. It was hell on us when those episodes hit. I agree it's one day at a time. I am responsible for myself, no one else is. The same goes for anyone with an addiction or abuse problem. It does help knowing people care. I am okay right now - probably more now than I have been in years. Raeanne, it's not the gift that counts - it's the way it is accepted. Given the economy right now may I suggest you could ask these folk to make a donation to support a local food shelter, charity basket in your name? Let them know you appreciated the gifts of the past year but this year you would like to start something new given how hard times are affecting many people. If you do get some baskets anyway and don't want them - take them to a shelter, seniors home. They won't go to waste. I dunno, just a suggestion. My MIL asked what I wanted this year - I know she won't accept 'just a place at the dinner table and family'...I suggested a gift card to a home centre so I could spend it in the spring on my garden. She liked that idea. I won't waste it. Better than pj's that don't fit or one too many potholder/dishtowel sets. Happy Saturday! (I started this last night....) It's raining this weekend. Luckily I got my yard work done, minor things left now before the snow flies. Today I am going to take stuff to my charity shop, do a little retail therapy there and when I come home - who knows. I'll see what mischief awaits. DH is putting new trim around our livingroom window and sanding a couple of spots we touched up on the walls to prepare for painting. I'm sending all of my pals Happy Happy Thoughts today! LOL Will check in again later. Cheers, Peggy

The floor still looks great and cleans easily. The only imperfections are seen only in certain light and that is some pressure marks from the dogs before we got the claws trimmed. The finish isn't scratched, it's just from pressure on the wood. Had we not planned on the cork, I think we would have gone with a similar finish in a harder wood (this is maple -- the softest but DH loved it). The dogs are nearly 50 and 60 lbs and very high energy. We never had to trim their nails before, probably should have before the floors were done or right after, but we got busy and I still don't like it. They both have black nails so you can't see what is safe to trim. I took them to the vet so I wouldn't hurt them and the vet even got one of them. We are going to try filing now, but we know the floor's finish is really tough. I love the character in the wood, and you see that all the time, no matter what the light. It really is a beautiful floor.