Breaking March

Well, the first weekend of March Break is over.

We headed out early this morning, hit Home Depot to pick up a mirror for the main floor powder room (to do list item #1 of 16 completed), then hit Costco for groceries. We then went to Party Packagers to order Chloe's birthday balloons for next weekend, where I discovered something. If perhaps there is a hell, and I go there, my eternal damnation could be either primary yard duty, or endlessly roaming the aisles of Party Packagers. What a terrible terrible store. Junk, junk, and cheap junk.

At any rate, while there I called Terry about something I needed help to pick up (because it's kinda heavy) (to do list item #2 of 16 completed) and he invited us up to Newmarket for a visit and dinner. So homewards bound, where we made a lightning fast grocery dropoff, packed a quick picnic lunch to eat in the car, grabbed the dog and headed north.

We hung out for a while, then Terry and I headed out to pick up the new square shade/shelter/canopy for the back deck. We had a really good time, even as we had to drive to multiple stores until we found what we were looking for. Gabi asked me why I had such a good time, and I explained that we were just being boys. Thinking about that, it's something I virtually never get to do. I rarely see my high school friends any more, I have good friends at work, but working in education and all means personal behaviour standards must be high (and after my Wonderland experience that I never want to repeat I'm pretty careful), and there just isn't a lot of opportunity for just joking around, especially since Gabi thinks my sense of humour often is inappropriate. Well, it is, she's not wrong...but c'mon. I have to be able to say SOME of what I think some of the time. Main point here, is that I had a really good time hanging out with my brother. I guess when you think about it, who else shared so many of the same experiences with you but a sibling?

My nephews showed us their Xbox Kinect, which was pretty cool, although the fact that only 2 could play at a time lead to a few snits amongst the four children, but otherwise we had a lovely relaxing afternoon/evening. Terry and I picked up some pizza and coffees, and we just hung out. Very nice overall....

Chloe is mystifying us. Her daycare loves her to bits and thinks she's the perfect child. We think she's trying to kill us. No idea which one is the real child. Sometimes I can manage her behaviour, but not all the time. Timeouts aren't really working on her at home - no idea what will. Her latest line? Leave me alone! So I did, which she actually doesn't like much at all. (before anyone calls CAS, I just left the room, not the house or anything).

So there's 14 things left on my to-do list, some big, some small, and I think I can maybe get them all done, or at least 13 of them. To be honest, painting the basement bathroom isn't really a personal priority, even though the canary yellow walls are disturbingly bright when I think more about. At least we already have the paint.

Some really good news on the canine front - Cora is completely clear of the parasite. She's shaved up right now, and except for one bent nail, seems to be in perfect shape and mood. It was hilarious how, since we've left her in Newmarket for a few vacations during her lifetime, that whenever we're there she never lets me out of her sight. I can count on having a dog within 3 feet of me at all times - when I'm in the bathroom, I know she's sitting outside the door waiting for me to come out. Talk about my best friend. Led to her getting stepped on once or twice during the Kinect session, but otherwise was fine. She was probably rather anxious while I was out shopping with Terry though.

I'm hunting around for a batting tee, or something I can use to just see if I can swing a bat before I pay for my baseball team. Maybe when school is back in I'll get a tennis ball and just do a few swings a day in the gym, start building up strength again. My arm is still uncomfortable, although I couldn't help but notice how much better it felt after a few weeks sans iPhone, and how it almost immediately started hurting as soon as I got my replacement. Coincidence? I am, as a result of that possible correlation, trying as hard as I can to limit my phone use. Shows how much of a coincidence I actually think it is.

At any rate, this break is all about coming out the other end of it more organized than I was going into it. So far, so good.