OK…maybe I am not caped, but I am a crusader!

Tonight, the teenaged boy who lives down the street flew past me and my neighbours for the last time. Yes folks, I lost it.

This kid is about 18 or 19 and lives about 10 houses down the road. He drives a silver, late model Jeep Cherokee as if it were a Ferrari. Many times, my neighbours and I have yelled out for him to slow down as he flies past us while our children are playing on the sidewalk (and sometimes, my older boys are actually throwing the football in the street). Tonight, I took it a step further (quite literally) and as he approached, I ran out into the street in front of his car. He slowed and swerved a little and I yelled at him to slow down. Marylinda, one of my neighbours yelled out, “Jackass!!” He got around me and then GUNNED it around the corner.

I hoped he hadn’t gone far and kept an eye out for his return. About ten minutes later, he flew around the other corner (purposely avoiding where we were) and pulled into his driveway, all the while, being followed by a woman, on foot. I started to walk towards him and as I got to the house just before his, he ran right up to me, screaming at me like a madman, “What do you want?! You got a f*%^ing problem? You got something to say bitch??!!”

I must admit that I was taken aback. This kid was coming at me with his hands in the air like some rap star, screaming and cursing me out! I hadn’t even said a word yet! I calmly told him that there are lots of children on the street and that he needed to slow down. He got RIGHT UP IN MY FACE, literally one inch from my nose and told me to “Shut the f&%k up!” He told me that he was doing the “f%$%*ng speed limit of 50 kms and that I should f%^k off”. OK…NOW I was mad. Hence the “I lost it folks” comment.

I went postal on him. He was a good 4 inches taller than me and had earrings all over his ears. He looked like a bad ass. I didn’t care. I had NO fear for that few moments. I got RIGHT UP IN HIS FACE…in fact, my nose touched his. I yelled at him to have respect. I yelled that he would end up killing a child. I screamed that the speed limit was 40 kms, NOT 50 kms per hour. I screamed that he was a moron. All the while, he was screaming every curse word in the book at me. His spit was flying in my face and I was getting angrier and angrier. Meanwhile, the other lady that was following him originally was getting in on the action (from a distance) and all the neighbours from his area were out on their porches, taking it all in.

Marylinda was making her way over, but by the time she arrived, he had headed up his steps and gone inside.

I was livid. First of all, how dare he speed through the street like that and secondly, to be so disrespectful and in my face like that??? Who the hell does he think he is?

I called the police.

I told the dispatcher what had happened and that I would like a police officer to come, at some point, to scare him a little. I told her that clearly, his parents hadn’t taught him any respect, and that maybe the police officer knocking on the door would either scare him or open his parents’ eyes to the situation. She agreed and told me that an officer would be over shortly.

Within 15 minutes, there was a cruiser at my house. We were all outside, so I went over. The officer was at LEAST 6′4″ tall and was a very large man. He was lovely. He asked me what happened and I told him and he said he was going to speak to the kid now. He was in the house for a good ten minutes and then came back to report to me that the kid told him the same as me…he was doing the speed limit of 50 kms…lmao. The officer explained to me that there is a place on the police website to report him and recommended that I do so and that if there are three reports, the kid could actually lost his licence. Nice. I put in a report and Franca and Marylinda will also put in a report.

Next time, we will report it on the website again, but something tells me there won’t BE a next time. ;o)

Don’t mess with me!

sucks.

I love being the Trainer, but being trained sucks.

I have to be in a small boardroom for three full days, trying to stay awake through the most boring training I have ever endured.

UGH.

One more day.

Can you please pray for Nanny B? She’s been in the hospital for a week. I think it’s bad. Mom is flying home next week, unless things change. Please pray for my Mom and for my Nanny.

Also, Ann lost her Mom yesterday. Would you say a prayer for Ann and her family? Especially her Dad…Ann lives here and her family lives in Australia. I can’t even imagine how she feels.

Gina is a double lung transplant recipient who is really struggling. Please pray that she gets through this horrible time. She just can’t seem to get a break.

**Edited to add:** Please include Nate, Tricia and Gwyneth in your prayers. It’s just so unfair what this family has had to endure. Please pray for Tricia’s healing and for Nate’s strength through this difficult time.

Thanks.

Wow.

Here’s the story in photos:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=48976&l=c9a0f&id=515968972

What a weekend. Talk about fun.

I headed over to hairdresser extraordinaire, Mary, at 10:30…apparently, my appointment was for 9:00 and I messed up and went late (thanks for accomodating me Mary!) My hair was coloured, high and low-lighted and straightened to perfection by around 12:30 and I headed up to Orangeville to pick up Karen.

In person, Karen was just as lovely as I had imagined. I truly felt like we were old buds…never once feeling uncomfortable, even for a minute. Caitlin, Karen’s daughter, was so cute. She hugged and kissed her mommy so much…I knew Karen would be missed! I think Caitlin was afraid that I was a psycho and that I might have axed Karen to death, so she was a little clingy. She texted Karen minutes after we were out of the driveway! LOL! I hope my boys will be loving like that when they are nearly thirteen!

Karen and I chatted all the way to Oakville, where we picked up Wendy and Lauren…Rachel stayed with Craig while Lauren went to stay with Grandma, ten minutes from our hotel in Niagara Falls. Wendy checked my carseat because she is a certified car seat technician and I was surprised to hear that other than the tether strap being fed through the seat instead of over it and the shoulder straps being a little too low, it was not half bad! Phew. She fixed it up, put Lauren in the seat and away we went.

One hour, major traffic and lots of rain later, we were dropping off sweet little Lauren at Grandma’s house, ready for the kidless time to start!

We got to our hotel in ten minutes and checked in. The girls were good enough to carry my stuff so that I could cover my hair from the rain (it was so perfect and I was terrifed that it would frizz). We got into the room and the smell was disgusting. Like bad breath. Eww. We turned on the air conditioning and within a few minutes, it was much better. Our room was right next to the ice maker. Thank goodness we didn’t plan on sleeping much. Buddy across the hall took enough ice to freeze a body! He must have had a tub full of ice in his room. Ugh.

It only took us about 15 minutes to change and put on our faces and we were off to find somewhere to eat. We decided to take a cab to the casino and try to find a restaurant there. Luckily, we happened upon Shoeless Joe’s and grabbed a table. We loved the fact that there were no kids to feed, no need to order chicken fingers, that we could eat our food while it was still hot and that there was no mess to deal with!! I had ribs and the girls had pasta. Karen and I shared a bottle of blush wine and Wendy had a 34 oz glass of beer. Yes…34 ozs. Oh but the night was young.

After our relaxing meal, we headed up to the casino. I was shocked to see that there were SO many slot machines out of order. We also noticed that the cashiers were all PACKED with winding line ups. I decided to try my luck on a 25 cent machine. I fed my $20 bill in and played. After about 15 spins, I was up to 180 credits ($45.00). I played a few more spins and cashed out with $38.75. Not bad for five minutes’ work. Keep trackwith me…I was now up $18.75.

I headed over to another machine, but it wouldn’t take my ticket. It was then that I realized that the problem with all the machines and the lines at the cashiers was because the machines weren’t reading tickets. I stood in line for 5 minutes and cashed in my $38.75.

We walked around for a minute and Karen decided to use the washroom. While we waited, I joked to Wendy, “OK…watch how fast the dollar slots can eat a $20.00 bill!” I put in my $20 and played three spins. I won again. This time, I had 184 credits…on a dollar machine! CASH OUT! So, this machine gave me $164.00 in profits. Yep…I had a grand total of $182.75 profits. Nice.

We headed into Club 365, a bar within the casino and ordered our drinks. Wendy stuck to beer, I chose white wine and Karen went with red wine. About half an hour after we sat down, the msot amazing group got on stage. They dressed up and sang songs of the 80’s…AMAZINGLY. They were REALLY, REALLY good. The second set was all 70’s, also amazing. The third set was all today’s hits…unbelievable. The last set was all rock and roll. Absolutely the most enjoyment I have had at a bar with a live band. We danced and laughed and drank and repeated. Several times.

Wendy found a new boyfriend guy that freaked us out just a little bit. We called him “cap boy” because he wore a white cap…backwards. He shook his bootie like a stripper and kept bending over, touching the ground and shaking his bum in the air. Everyone in the bar was killing themselves laughing and at one point, another guy started to imitate him. It was HILARIOUS. The drinks were flowing nicely and we started people-watching. Pointing out individuals who deserved special attention, like “sleeping lady” and “Pat”.

The last set ended at about 2:15…yes…I was still awake at 2:15! I was so sad that the entertainment was over because they were just THAT good. Karen found a boyfriend guy who was at his future brother-in-law’s stag and he would just NOT leave her alone. It was really funny and he was really creepy. Turns out Wendy knew the guy getting married and we just stood around and chatted with them for about half an hour.

At around 3:00, we decided to go and find a 24-hour restaurant to have some middle-of-the-night breakfast.

On the way out, I decided to try my luck one more time on another dollar machine. I put in my $20 and pressed the buttons..sometimes playing one credit, sometimes playing three. I had two credits left and I hit “Bet Max”. I got two 7’s and a triple. The lights started flashing and the bell went off and people started gathering around me. All the while, the machine was adding credits to my bank. I was completely stunned and forgot that I was playing on a dollar machine (I usually play the quarter ones) and had no idea how much I had won. Some old guy came up really close and looked at my machine and I asked him how much I had won (I didn’t see the little flashing ticker at the bottom that showed the number). He pointed at it and said “4,500 credits.” 4,500??? Wow…that was alot of quarters….maybe even $1,000! (I had been drinking all night, it was 3:00 am and math is not my best subject).

The lady from the casino came over and put a “Big Winner!” sign on my machine and said, “Oh wow! Congratulations…$4,500!! I’ll be right back with it!” I nearly crapped my pants. FOUR THOUSAND, FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS???!!!!

She came back and counted the money into my hand. Oh.my.gosh. It was like a dream!!! Karen tried to take a photo and was nearly clotheslined by a security guy, so we skipped out to the lobby and took a couple of photos there. Wendy was kissing me and hugging me and we were all screaming! It was amazing.

My grand total winnings was $4,682.75. Un-freaking-believable.

We headed over to The Flying Saucer for breakfast and I gave the cab driver a large tip. That was fun. I asked him to come back in 45 minutes to pick us up and he was thrilled to do so! LOL!! After we ate, I gave the waitress a huge tip too (I hope I made her night) and then we headed back to the hotel. Another big tip for the taxi guy and we were up in our room. I hit my pillow at 4:25 am. I don’t think I was awake at 4:26. I woke up at 9:05 am. I couldn’t sleep any longer, so I just laid quietly. Karen’s phone woke her up at 10:00 and we were up for the day. I paid for our room (well let’s say the CASINO paid for our room! LOL!) and wee headed over to Timmy’s for our breakfast and kill time until it was time to pick up Lauren…there was NO way any of us could have done a wine tour. (vomit)

I went to the washroom and saw this thing that I think was a woman, but she was from a horor movie. She was just standing in the bathroom, clutching a tissue and a little purse. She had this awful, straggly black dress on and her hair was all messed up. She was alone and she had something really freaky going on on her forehead…like flakey, scaley, gross skin. She REALY freaked me out, so I ran out of there as fast as I could. Shudder. I sent Karen in to see her and Karen was freaked out too. That woman stayed in there for the whole hour or more that we were there. At the last moment, she emerged and found a seat in the corner of Timmy’s by herself. Yuck. As soon as she came out, I insisted that we had to leave.

We went to pick up sweet little Lauren and were on our way home. I dropped off Lauren and Wendy then Karen and I headed up to Orangeville. By the time I got home it was 4:15. I put my bag in the house and then we headed over to my Mom’s for a visit. We left there at 7:30 and came home.

I was so wired and restless, so I didn’t get to sleep till after 10:00. Julian was up most of the night fussing and crying out (molars suck) so I am still exhausted today. I can’t believe I drank as much as I did and didn’t pass out to be honest.

So, WHAT a weekend. This is definitely just the first of many. Hopefully, next year, there will be more of us and we will be further away than Niagara Falls (think Vegas and start saving NOW).

Good times, good wins, good friends, good fun.

Thank you Wendy and Karen. I had a blast.

doesn’t begin to describe how I feel.

I think it’s more exhaustion than hangover, but still…holy crap I am not longer 20 years old.

Boo.

I’m in Niagara Falls, getting drunk and winning dollaros.

See ya!

WOOOOHOOOO!!!!

Girls’ Night Out is tomorrow night!

I am SO pumped!

That is all.

But I SO have to brag.

For Christmas, Joe and the boys got me a gift certificate for the local day spa. The certificate was for a Seaweed Scrub and Wrap and a Tropical Mist Airbrush Tanning. “What are THOSE?!” you ask?

Well…..

The Seaweed Scrub & Wrap is a customized scrub, used to exfoliate the skin and prepare the pores for a detoxifying and nourishing body wrap. This truly incomparable treatment leaves the skin feeling incredibly smooth and well-hydrated.

and

Tropical Mist Airbrush Tanning is a perfectly even, non-streaking treatment that reveals a golden sun-kissed glow that looks natural on any skin type.

Yes…Maria, my neighbour, who used to work at this day spa, told me that these are the two BEST treatments at the spa.

So…

Tomorrow, at 12:15, my girls’ weekend begins. I start with a pedicure, which I desperately need. I then have my Seaweed thingy and then the airbrush tan.

I will go to bed nice and early tomorrow night, so that I am ready for action on the weekend.

So please, don’t hate me. I haven’t had this kind of treatment for a long, long time and yes, I DESERVE IT!

As human beings, we have this almost sick need to stick to the “norm”.

We are supposed to have 2.8 children, have sex 2.4 times per week and have 1.6 dogs. I could go on and on about what is “right” and “normal”. If we don’t do what is expected, it is frowned upon.

I have a very special bond with my neighbours. I have spoken of them here many times because they are a HUGE part of my life. We even travel to the States together in a convoy every year for our annual IHOP breakfast and shopping spree. Other people don’t get this relationship. Neighbours should be neighbours…if you are in a pinch, you could ask them for a bowl of sugar, but you would replace the sugar ASAP and try not to ask unless absolutely necessary. I have been told that I should keep my distance…what if we ever had a fight? How hard would it be to live next to people you are fighting with??!!

The relationship I have is SO much deeper than that. I know that any day or night, middle of the night, whatever…if I need them, any one of those four families would bend over backwards to help me. I would leave my children with them with absolutely NO worries whatsoever. Julian is closer to my neighbours than to some of his relatives. He goes to them as easily as he comes to me. Their children are the same…we are one big happy family. It is wonderful.

I am embarking on another “strange relationship”. Karen has been reading my blog for quite a while now and over the last six months or so, we have been communicating over Facebook and through email and just getting closer and closer. This weekend, I will meet her in person for the first time…at an overnighter in Niagara Falls. Originally, I opened it up in a Facebook invite to about 30 people. I had several maybes and one or two yesses and alot of non-responses. At one point, it was just Karen and I on the yes side and it never even crossed my mind that this would be weird, until someone said, “You realize you don’t even KNOW this person, right?” At that point, I did think for a second…”Wow…I haven’t met her. It must seem really weird to people that we are going to a weekend away as our first in real life meeting!” But although I haven’t MET her, I feel like I really KNOW her. She makes me laugh and we have ALOT in common (being British is the main one!) I am really excited about meeting her, but people just don’t get it.

Internet relationships are not strange to me. Kate and Wendy are both people who I met over the net. I have many other friends who I met over the internet as well and I don’t see anything weird about it at all.

Wendy has decided to come this weekend too, (what a blast the three of us will have!) so at least I know that if Karen is a psycho and kills me, that there will be a witness. LOL!

So, my PSA of the day is…just because it’s a little out of the ordinary doesn’t mean it’s wrong. I am looking forward to a great weekend (three more sleeps!!), and hopefully, the beginning of another long lasting friendship!

Name Bands With The Letters

A: Aerosmith
B: Back Street Boys
C: Carpenters
D: Def Leopard
E: Expose
F: Fallout Boy
G: Goo Goo Dolls
H: Huey Lewis and the News
I: Insync
J: Journey
K: Killers
L: Led Zeppelin
M: Madonna
N: Nirvana
O: Our Lady Peace
P: Platinum Blonde
Q: Queen
R: Rolling Stones
S: Stevie B
T: Triumph
U: U2
V: Van Halen
W: Weezer
X: XTC
Y: Yes
Z: ZZ Top
Which Is Your Favorite?: Huey Lewis and the News
Do They Really Rock?: Hell yeah!
Have You Been To One Of That Bands Concert?: Not one…MANY!
Are You A Vampire Or A Ninja?: Neither…that’s a gay question.

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