It’s almost one of my favourite days of the year…

Car Rally tomorrow!!  Woo hoo!!  I can’t wait!!

But as usual, I must confess first before the fun begins…

Linking up with Aubrey @ High-Heeled Love :)

I confess… the painting progress is slow-going.  It IS going… but… it’s slow.  And I’m not the most patient person in the history of the world.  This is a tough test for me to endure!!  I keep reminding myself that it’s being done right and it’s being done well, which is much better than me slapping paint on the walls haphazardly and making a mess (which I know, without a doubt, I would’ve done.  Zero patience, remember?)  So that’s all that matters.  It’ll all be OK, Jill…

I confess… it dawned on me yesterday morning that I’m supposed to be hosting Book Club at my place next Friday night, and there’s a good chance my house will still be upside down.  I hope that at least the living room, hall & dining room will be done, but there’s no guarantees at this rate.  I had a moment of panic before deciding I can move it to my mom’s place last-minute if need be.  Mom to the rescue, as usual!!!

I confess… that I’m a little sad that I have a box full of Halloween decorations sitting in the spare room upstairs, and I know there’s absolutely no point in putting them out when everything is covered with dropsheets. 

I confess… that I feel like I’ve cut the grass eighty billion times this year.  I’m hoping the rain holds off this afternoon so that I can cut it after work.  And Lord help me, it better be for the last time!!!

I confess… that I’m 4 episodes into Season 5 of Dexter, and I’m still kind of not over what happened at the end of Season 4.  It still troubles me.  And makes me sad.  And I have to be cryptic like this because Lindsay is still only in Season 3 and I don’t want to spoiler her.

I confess… that it was a little weird trying to pick out healthy snacks for Car Rally tomorrow.  It’s generally a big junk-food-pig-out day for me, so it kinda felt wrong grabbing pretzels and low-fat cracker chips and a bag of dried fruit and bottled water to snack & sip on during the day.  But I’m still recovering from Thanksgiving feasting, and I’m still making strides towards reaching “The Magic Number”, so I don’t want to set myself back again.

I confess… that I don’t care if it makes me an old lady.  Truthfully, I so look forward to Friday nights now because I get to put on my comfy clothes and catch up on PVR’d shows and episodes of Dexter.  It sounds heavenly to me.

I confess… that this Friday evening is even more lucrative to me because I got up early this morning to get my work-out in, so I don’t have to do it tonight!  BONUS!!!

I confess… that I have had a spaghetti squash sitting in my fridge for over 2 weeks now.  I have no idea if it’s still edible or not, but if it IS – I’m going to try it for the first time tonight!  This is the recipe I have my eye on: Spaghetti Squash Au Gratin.  I think it will go great with some sweet & sour meatballs that I have in the freezer.

I confess… that I’m so looking forward to touring the back roads and having fun with Stacy, Ricky, Sara & Graham tomorrow!!  It’s looking like it might be a cool, showery day, but I know we’ll still have a blast!!  2nd place… HERE WE COME!! ;)

Have a fabulous weekend, everyone!! :)

The Scary Movie Marathon

I know from past posts on the subject of scary movies that many of my readers/commenters aren’t fans of the genre. 

And 95% of the time, I’m with you guys.  Scary flicks or TV shows freak me out, they spark my-already far-too-lively imagination, and then I have to spend weeks sleeping with lights on and jumping in fear every time I hear a creak or bump in my house.   That’s no fun for anyone.  Especially me.  So naturally, I usually try to avoid them.

Except for this time of year.

It’s around this time every October that I start to get the itch to watch something fitting of the season.  Thanksgiving is over, the trees are quickly shedding their beautifully coloured leaves, it’s getting dark earlier and earlier every day, and you can just feel the excitement of Halloween slowly building.

And with it, comes the urge to spook myself silly!  (or mildly.)

I have two weekends left before the big day, and I’ve been compiling a list of flicks in my mind that I’d like to watch in anticipation of it.  I haven’t yet figured out when exactly my “Scary Movie Marathon” is going to be, but I’m kind of circling next Saturday, October 26th, for it.  And here is what I have on my list to watch:

The Call

A while back, my friend Stacy recommended this one to me.  I don’t think it falls into the traditional monster/ghost/goblin/ghoul Halloween movie – it’s more of a thriller.  But she did tell me it was kind of scary, and I handle “kind of scary” better than “super scary”, so I might see if the local store has it available to rent!

The Sixth Sense

This one holds fun memories for me.  I went with my mom and brother and some friends to see it in theatres the summer it came out for my birthday, and I do believe it might be the only “scary movie” I have ever convinced my mother to watch – and she LOVED it.  I still enjoy it because it amazes me every time how fooled I was that first time - the twist ending was incredible, and I still can’t believe we never figured it out.  It’s also not filled with blood & gore – a few jumps and gasps here and there when the “dead people” pop up, but otherwise, a great story, and good clean Halloween Fun! 

Scream

The original – the best of the franchise – and though I own 2 & 3 as well, it’s the first one that I make sure to watch every year around Halloween!  More fun memories of watching this with a group of friends when we were in high school.  It’s a little dated, and a little cheesy, but I can guarantee it will still cause a few “screams” from me when I watch it!  God, I hate that mask!!!

Halloween: H20

I know, I know.  The first Halloween is the classic.  The scary movie purists would scoff at me choosing this one. And I haven’t seen most of the others in the Michael Myers series, so I really can’t compare.  But this is the one that I love.  Probably mostly because it features a young and studly Josh Hartnett.  Stick a hot guy in a movie, and I’ll see pretty much anything.

Fear

Much like Halloween: H20, there’s a reason I go back to this one year after year – a very young and ever-handsome Marky Mark.  He plays the possessive, psychotic boyfriend to a very young & sweetly innocent Reese Witherspoon.  Again, it’s not filled with guts and gore, and I tend to lean more towards the “mildly scary”, and that makes this one a perfect fit!

The Shining

This one was added to my collection last year, and it is Creepy with a capital “C”.  Those parts with little Danny riding around the deserted and haunted halls of the Overlook Hotel on his Big Wheel?  Creeeepy.  Realizing what “REDRUM” means?  Creeeeeeepy. Jack Nicholson’s smile and the line “all work and no play makes jack a dull boy”?  Creeeeeeeeeeeeeepy!!

The Exorcism of Emily Rose

This is the kind of movie that can really freak me out.  Exorcisms and demons and stuff like that can seriously keep me up at night.  That might explain why I’ve had this one sitting in my DVD collection for several years, but I don’t think I’ve ever actually watched it since I bought it.  I did see it once in my friend Sara’s parents’ basement, and every time I think of it, I can hear my friend Sara’s husband, Graham, saying “1-2-3-4-5-6!!!” in his scary voice.  It is also the reason why I will lie frozen in my bed for about 10 minutes if I happen to wake up around scary 3 AM time.  I might have to watch it this year.  Especially since I just realized Jennifer Carpenter, who I currently love in Dexter, plays Emily Rose.

OK – I think that’s it for my Scary Movie Marathon this year!  Realistically, I don’t think I can squeeze much more than that into one day!  If you’ll notice… I make sure to usually watch movies I’ve seen before, so that I can at least be prepared for the scares. LOL!  I’m such a chicken… I’m also not opposed to just watching episodes of Scooby Doo all day.  Sometimes, that’s all the “scary” I can handle.

So, do you have any Halloween favourites?  Scary movies that you watch every year in preparation for All Hallows Eve?

I’m not sure what stage my house painting will be at by next weekend – but if my house isn’t upside down, I’d love it if I could drag some friends into watching some of these with me!  If you live in the area and are looking for something to do… pencil “Jill’s Scary Movie Marathon” into your calendar!  

I’ll supply the scares & some sorta-healthy treats! ;)

Wednesday. What’s not to love?

Kind of a gloomy grey day here, so I thought I’d give myself a little pick-me-up by focusing on all the things I’m LOVING today!

Here’s what I’m lovin’ this Wednesday…

• Well, the fact that it’s Wednesday.  Nothing better than waking up on the Wednesday of a short week and realizing… “Hey! It’s already Wednesday!”
• My PVR.  I know, I know.  Enough about the damn PVR already.  Seriously though, guys. I knew I was going to love it, but I had no idea just how much I was going to love it.
• That “Mission: Get The House Painted” is finally fully under-way.  My painterfriend Doug was down sick last week, so the project was kind of stalled, but he was back at ‘er last night! Woo hoo!
• Yoga is tonight!  I LOVE Yoga nights!!

• I’m lovin’ being back on track with my healthy eating ways.  I tried to behave over the Thanksgiving weekend. OH, how I tried.  But I failed.  I don’t really regret it, but I do so now appreciate the days of “detoxing” that follow.  Lots of water, fruit and veggies… felt pretty sluggish yesterday, but I’m much better today!
• Goat cheese.  It’s my new favourite food in the whole wide world.  Last night I made myself a veggie pizza on whole wheat pita bread, with a few gobs of goat cheese on it… then dashed it with a little balsamic vinegar when it came out of the oven… and omgitwasgood.

• Dexter.  I’m well into Season 5 right now, and while I’m not entirely thrilled with the turn of events that came with end of season 4/start of season 5, I’m still lovin’ my little serial killer.

• My cousin Kayla’s call from out West to Tub Rave late Sunday afternoon to share her & Ben’s big news… I hear wedding bells!!! :) :)
• The memories and photos that I took away from this past holiday weekend… we celebrated my nephew’s 8th birthday at the Aerial Park at Camp Fortune Saturday, I had a ball at Tub Rave on Sunday, and finally got my turkey on Monday.  It was a truly fabulous weekend!!

The kids getting ready to go!

Caden zip-lining

Playing DJ!

   

Danica, Neve & Rowan

The Birthday Boy!

  Nevie & I

Happy Wednesday, all!! :)

Pre-Thanksgiving Confessions

Friday.  The best kind of Friday.  It’s sunny.  There is a long weekend upon us.  And it’s a Turkey Long Weekend.

Hallelujah!!!

But first… time to confess.

Linking up with Aubrey @ High-Heeled Love!

I confess… that I pretty much cried for an hour straight last night watching the Glee tribute to Finn/Cory Montieth.  I thought I was tougher than that… But apparently I’m not.  I was a snotty, sniveling mess.  I haven’t been a faithful Gleek like many; I watched for one season and then only caught the odd episode here and there last year.  But I think even someone who had never watched the show before in their life would’ve been moved by it last night.  And anyone who’s ever lost someone could relate to how at least one of them was feeling.

I confess… that I admire anyone who can sing through a lump in their throat; anyone who can sing through tears.  Last night, there were many performances just like that, and you know that they were real tears.  I’d imagine that show was probably one of the toughest things those actors will ever have to do.  Kudos to them for such a moving, honest, raw, and real portrayal of how they felt after losing their friend and cast mate.

I confess… that it felt really really good to be back at Zumba again last night!  I took a break for the summer, and the fall sessions started up this week.  I hadn’t realized how my current exercise routine was starting to feel stale until I noticed how pumped I was to be doing something different last night!

I confess… that I haven’t gotten into hockey yet this year.  I’ve only watched one Sens game (and they lost to the Leafs, joy to the world), and if someone asked me when they play next, I’d have to say I have no idea.  I don’t know if it’s the lack of Alfie or what’s going on.  But don’t worry.  I’ll get there.

I confess… that it took me a few days to figure out the PVR, but it is getting a serious workout now that I’ve got ‘er all down pat.  I have LOTS of TV to watch this weekend!

I confess… that it’s a good thing I have lots of TV to watch, because it appears I have a semi-quiet long weekend on my hands!  I had intended on cleaning – maybe even possibly washing windows – tomorrow, but my house is upside down due to the painting.  I think that gives me a free pass for the weekend when it comes to housework! ;)

I confess… that I’ve been a little disappointed with the painting progress.  Due to unforeseen circumstances, my painter was unable to come back after he did the patchwork on Tuesday night.  And I have no idea if he’ll be working on it this weekend, but I doubt it.  I think it’s going to take longer than I originally thought.  But I just keep telling myself that’s OK, as long as it gets done.  And hey, I don’t have to clean because of it.  Up side.

I confess… that I kind of had a bit of a lucky streak this week.  When I got my statement for my Amazon Visa, I noticed that it was less that I thought it should be.  Upon further inspection, I realized they had automatically cashed in my Rewards, so I had $20 taken off my bill.  Sweet!  Then on Wednesday, I was lucky enough to find the “treasure” in a contest that a local restaurant is putting on, and that won me a $25 gift certificate for their establishment.  My mom told me I should get out and buy a lottery ticket.   Something tells me my $20- and $25-winnings won’t translate into big money. LOL

I confess… that even though it’s a semi-quiet weekend, there’s still plenty to look forward to!  I’m going out for dinner tonight with my mom (gotta use that gift certificate!), I’m going to my nephew’s birthday party tomorrow afternoon (they’re doing a kids’ zip-lining course!  I wish I was a kid!), TUB RAVE is Sunday, and then our family dinner is Monday.  I have to wait a long time for my Turkey, but I know it will be worth it!

My two favourite T’s this weekend… Turkey & Tub Rave!!

I confess… that I still kind of can’t believe my nephew Caden is turning 8 on Monday.  EIGHT.  Seriously.  When did that happen?!?  Did he not just turn 5?!?

Know how you can tell he’s 8?  He thinks doing bunny ears in every picture is cool.  *sigh*  Poor Nevie.

Hope you all have a fantastic weekend, and Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian compadres!! :)

This is a long story, with a happy ending. And yes, it involves a PVR.

Anyone who knows me knows that change, upheaval, or just having things hanging in limbo in general… well, these are things that I do not enjoy.

It is for this very reason that I feel like I’ve spent the last month or so in a steady state of unrest.

It hasn’t been horribly debilitating.  I’ve managed to carry on with my every day life quite well.  But always, at the back of my mind, has been this list.  This growing list of things that NEEDED to be done.

I think I’ve run through it recently here in a blog post, but this list, which was started long ago and I kept adding to, looked something like this:

1. Get Dale (my cousin-slash-favourite electrician) to get power back in the garage.  After one whole winter of not being able to use my power garage doors, I was determined not to have to endure that agony again.
2. Get the house painted.  Especially the downstairs and my bedroom.
3. Get my broken tail light fixed.
4. Get an HD dish and receiver WITH a PVR.
5. Replace my water-damaged Blackberry.

I know.  There’s a list of “First-World Problems” if I ever did see one.

Really, in the grand scheme of things, all of this was small potatoes.  Nothing extremely urgent (other than the cell phone), and life could go on with these jobs being back-burnered over and over again, and no one would ever know it.

But I knew.  Inside of me, I knew.  There was a list of things that needed to be completed, and it was a constant nagging thought chewing away at the back of my mind.  All.the.time.

Getting the BB fixed was the easiest one on the list.  I only spent about a week fretting over it before I had the replacement and had it up and running.  (Even though I REALLY wanted to upgrade… but that’s a whole ‘nother post…)

Getting my broken tail light fixed also wasn’t a biggie, except there was miscommunication between the dealership and I.  They forgot to call me to tell me the part was in, and I delayed and delayed calling them, but finally, it got done (and it was cheaper than they originally quoted me, so bonus!)

I’ve been mildly harassing Dale for over a year to come back to my place and finish the job he started, and get the power running in my garage again.  (It’s kind of a long story, with a lot of electrician terms that I don’t really understand, so I won’t explain any further other than I really missed my power garage door.)  I’d send him the odd text to remind him, and he’d say, “Oh yeah, I forgot about that.  Keep reminding me.”  I honestly didn’t know if he’d ever get around to it.  So imagine my surprise when, a week or so ago, I discovered Dale, unprovoked by me (at least, recently), had got the spare key from my mom and been in to fix it!  WOO HOO!!

So… that leaves the two biggies.  The ones that have lingered and caused the most angst…

The painting.   And the PVR.

Painting the house has been on my “To Do List” for five years.  Literally, since we moved into house.   I rent the Manse next to the church I go to.  When we moved in, the house hadn’t been painted recently, the walls were all white or off-white, and whoever had painted last hadn’t really done a very good job.

My biggest wish was for a little colour on the walls.  It’s a very old house with beautiful baseboards and crown moldings, and I’ve always thought it such a shame that they just blended in with the plain ol’ white walls.  Yet, I kept procrastinating and putting it off.  Finally, a month or so ago, I took the plunge, and, along with some help from my mom, I made the decision to hire a friend and co-worker who paints to come in and do the job for me.

My house will be in a bit of disarray for a few weeks, as Doug can only work a few hours every evening (painting is a side-job for him) – but at least it’s finally underway, and I think I can deal with the upside-down house knowing the end result will be worth it!

So.  That just leaves the PVR.

Literally, this has been the bane of my existence for almost TWO YEARS.

It was the winter that my dad was sick and in hospital that my satellite receiver started acting up.  Every few weeks, it would go beserk, and I’d be without TV for a few days at a time.  I’d wiggle a chord on the back of the unit, and then it would work again for a few weeks.  Annoying, but I lived with it.

This past summer, my chord wiggling stopped working.  I had zero satellite signal and my receiver wouldn’t function at all.  But it was summer, and I was busy, and I didn’t really look into how to resolve the issue.  However, as fall approached, I knew I had to do something about it.  I mean, I couldn’t miss out on all that great Fall TV, and especially hockey games!

The process was long.  And tricky.  It involved two visits from the satellite repair man, a hand-me-down receiver from a friend, many emails back and forth with that friend, many phone calls to and even a visit from my brother for help, purchasing an external hard drive, and swapping remote controls with my mother, but finally… FINALLY… at approximately 11:15 PM last night, I could say I have a PVR.

Did you guys hear that??

I HAVE A PVR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have absolutely no frigging clue how to use it, and when I finally had it all set up and running, I was too tired to figure it out.

But I have a PVR.

It’s a friggin’ miracle.

Once the house painting is done, I think I will be able to cross everything off this list once and for all.

Although, I do know that as soon as I do, a new list will start forming.  I can already tell you what #1 is:

Start saving up for an HD TV now that I have all the equipment to go with it!!!

But for now, I’m content.  Finally settled a bit.

I think I’ll stay here for awhile. :)

Breaking my own rules. And other stuff.

Happy Random Tuesday, kids!!

• Anyone remember last week, when I said I had a new self-imposed rule which only allows me to place small, less-than-$50 orders from Amazon, and only after the last bill has been paid off?  A mere 24 hours after telling you about this… I broke my own rule.
• That’s right.  I placed another Amazon order.  When I haven’t yet paid off the last one.  Bad. Bad, Jillian!!! BUT – it was for good reason.  I have my new dish & receiver set up and working, and all I needed was an external hard drive to turn it into a PVR.  After all that work, I just couldn’t wait another two or three weeks to put the last puzzle piece into place.  Plus, the hard drive I had wishlisted went on sale.  I mean, c’mon.  It was destiny.
• Oh, and also, maybe, a little bit of the reason for the rush was because I watched the finale of Season 4 of Dexter on Sunday morning and it left me just WTF-ing for half an hour afterwards.  Waiting a few more weeks for Season 5?  Um, no.  Just… not possible.

• According to the website tracking report, both the hard drive and Dexter Season 5 should be in my hot little hands by this evening.  And then, I will put the rule back into effect.  Swears.
• Tonight is an exciting night for another reason, as well.  And that is because Project: Paint The House is finally getting under way!  Woo Hoo!!  It will just be patching and getting ready tonight, but I’m so excited that it’s finally happening!!
• Another cause for excitement in my life:  I’m getting ever-so-close to the “magic number”.  *squeeeee!!!*  When I first decided to try and lose some weight, I set smaller goals for myself that were more attainable, but all the while, in the back of my mind, there was a number.  A weight that I’ve always kind of considered a dream-goal.  This I’ll probably never get there, but man, if I did, it would be awesome number.  And I’m now only 4 pounds away from it… :) :) :)

• Despite my growing excitement at the possibility of reaching that magic number in the near future, I am well aware that it still won’t be easy.  There’s a part of my brain that’s going, “4 LBS. 4 MEASLY POUNDS!!!  THIS IS SO FRIGGIN’ DOABLE!!!”  But then, there’s the other, more practical part of my brain, which keeps saying, “Dude.  Turkey.  This weekend.  Don’t get too excited.”

• Some of you may be wondering why I’m not just telling you the “magic number”.  And that is because of this:  I’ve realized since making my weight loss journey public, and the further along I’ve come, more and more people are crawling out of the wood-work saying things like, “Don’t lose too much, now!”  or “I think you need to start eating again, you’re getting too thin.”  Which I personally think is ridiculous. I’m nowhere near tiny in size, I’m eating very well, I’m feeling better than ever, and there is definitely still work to be done.  (If you don’t believe me, believe my spare tire that still resides firmly around my waist.)  But those people are still out there, criticizing me and issuing grave warnings.  I realize it comes part-and-parcel with being so public about it all, and that’s my own doing.  But that’s also why I’m now holding my numbers  a little more closely, and not so willing to share them anymore.  These are exciting milestones for me, and I don’t need anyone’s negativity or judgment clouding these personal victories.
• Fact of the matter is, I will never be rail thin, and that is because I love food too much.  End of story.  I have visions of turkey and stuffing and gravy and pumpkin pie just swirling in my head this week.  And though I’m ever-so-anxious to hit that “magic number”, I’m definitely not willing to give up my Thanksgiving dinner because of it!  The “magic number” will just have to wait.
• THANKSGIVING!!  IT’S THIS WEEKEND!!!  AND SO IS TUBRAVE!!!  MY TWO FAVOURITE ‘T’S!!!  I’M SO EXCITED!!!!

My friend Susie & I at a long-ago Tubrave

Well, that’s all the random I can come up with for today… hope you’re all having a wonderful week so far!

Linking up with Stacy Uncorked for Random Tuesday!!

Autumn Soundtrack

In a few very short months, my iPod will be exclusively tuned to songs featuring jingle bells, and as I bake in my kitchen, I’ll be dancing around to Justin Bieber’s “Under The Mistletoe”.

But it’s not time yet.

I need some tunes to get me through.  And these are the ones I’m lovin’ right now.  My Autumn Soundtrack, if you will…

We’ll kick it off with my current country fave.  I saw Zac Brown Band perform this one live at Bluesfest earlier this summer, and instantly fell in love.  I absolutely adore the line, “Sweetheart, I’ve been livin’ in a fantasy/But one day lightning will strike/And my bark will lose it’s bite/But don’t’ give up on me”.

Next, we have the extraordinary Ed Sheeran with a Bon Iver cover.  This one was a recent recommendation from my cousin Bucky.  He never fails me, and I can almost guarantee when Buck tells me to check something out, that I’ll be a fan.

OK, my American pals – please don’t be offended by this one, it’s all meant in good fun!  ;)  This one is wonderful for belting out at the top of your lungs while showing off your Canadian Pride!  Here’s Tim Hicks with “Stronger Beer”:

There are a lot of ladies from my generation who worship the ground B.Spears walks on.  I’ve never really been one of them, but I do have to say, her latest has instantly become my favourite song to run to.  As soon as she says, “Now get to work, Bitch”  I feel my pace picking up!

This one’s a little on the explicit side, and from the little bit of the video I watched, it also appears to be kinda porny… so beware.  Don’t let Jacob Hogarts bare bum down there scare you.  I love the song, the lyrics, the message behind it.  Coincidentally, it was the song playing on my iPod when I crossed the finish line of the Army Run 5K, and I thought, How appropriate…

I know the dancy-techno stuff is all the rage these days, and most of it I can pass on.  Not this one, though.  First time I heard it, I knew I had to download it. ASAP.

This one is megacool.  I love it.

And now, for my absolute 100% current fave… I love to belt this one in the car, pretending I’m all Taylor Swiftish.  I’ve been picking up the guitar a bit again, and this one is on the top of my list of songs to learn.  Now if only I could find a quirky-cute British duet partner… ;)

So…what’s on your playlist these days?  Tell me what I’m missing out on, folks!

Happy Thursday :)

WWTKW: BOO!!

Now that it’s officially October, it’s time to start gearing up for Halloween!  I love Halloween – decorating, watching scary movies, carving pumpkins, and greeting the little trick-or-treaters at the door on the big night!

This week for We Want To Know Wednesday, it seems only appropriate to kick off this “Spooktacular” month with some questions about fears and scares!

Linking up with Scriptor & Kenzie!

1.) What is one legit fear you have?  Death, or losing a loved one.  As a kid, this was something that I actually lost sleep over.  I could work myself into a panic just thinking about it.  I remember lying awake at night listening to my dad snore, and if the snoring stopped for any length of time, I would literally start to worry that he had stopped breathing.  I was also always worrying that I was dying from a variety of reasons – heart attacks, brain tumors… you name it, I thought I had it.

In recent years, I’ve become more accepting of death as an unfortunate reality – inevitable – but that doesn’t mean it isn’t still a fear.

2.) What is one irrational fear you have?  The Man Under My Bed. 

You know that story, right?  I was pretty young when one of my cousins told it around a camp fire one summer.  This little boy was afraid to get up and go pee in the middle of the night (THIS WAS SO ME!!!) – so his parents got him a dog.  The dog slept under his bed.  When the little boy woke up, he’d stick his hand down, and the dog would lick it to reassure him it was OK to get up.  This seemed to do the trick, and the boy was very comforted by it.

One night, he woke up and heard a dripping sound.  He put his hand down, and felt the dog lick his hand.  He got up and went to the washroom, where he discovered the dripping sound was his pet dog, gutted and hanging from the shower curtain rod – dripping blood into the bath tub. 

So if the dog was hanging there dead… WHO OR WHAT LICKED THE LITTLE BOY’S HAND?!?!

Freaks.me.right.out.  Still.

I saw a short film version of this “urban legend” as a teenager (it was a silly low-budget flick on the Movie Network called “Campfire Tales” – my google research tells me this particular story is called “People Can Lick Too” eeeeek!!!) – it was slightly different, but in the end, there was this long-haired, creepy-looking dude lying under the bed, licking a teenaged girl’s hand.  Of course, adding THIS visual has not helped me in my irrational fear of The Man Under My Bed.

What makes this fear even more irrational for me is that I have a low-profile boxspring, which means there’s only a few inches between my bed and the floor.  There isn’t room for anything under there, let alone a person.  But do you think that stops me from getting panicky every time I need to pee during the night?  Do you think that stops me from taking flying leaps in and out of the bed?  Do you think I would ever, in a million years, dangle any of my limbs over the edge? 

Hell.to.the.NO!!!

3.) Do you like to watch scary movies?  Do I LIKE to?  No.  Not really.  But sometimes I forget that.  Sometimes – especially this time of year – I get the itch to subject myself to them.  I seem to forget that I have to turn the lights off and go to bed alone afterwards.  I almost always regret it, and have to sleep with lights on for days afterwards, but I can already feel that urge coming on…

4.) Do you do haunted houses?  I do believe I experienced my first Haunted House a few years back when I went with friends to Saunders Farm.  And it was pretty scary, if I do recall correctly.  But I still enjoyed the cheap thrill of going through it!  I’d do another Haunted House again – but only if I had an entourage with me.  I’ve seen ads on Facebook that a local business, Pine Lodge, is doing a Haunted House & Walk on the Saturday before Halloween, with daytime events for kids and nighttime spookiness for adults, and I’d be interested in going to check it out.  But again… only if I can recruit some friends!!

5.) Tell us about a time you were irrationally afraid.  Well.  As mentioned above, pretty much every time I have to get up and pee during the middle of the night… Oh, and also when I wake up around “scary 3 AM time”.

I’ve also told the story before about the Scream mask on my bed.  The full story is here, but essentially what happened was my friend & then-roommate Sarah, knowing how creeped out I am by the damned Scream mask, left one lying on my bed one night before we headed out to the bar, intending for me to find it before we left.  I didn’t, and she forgot about it, and then I decided to go home earlier than the rest of them.  Of course, alone in the house, with the front door unlocked so that the roomies could get in, and finding that damned mask… Well, it resulted in me running all the way back to the bar because I was so creeped out!  Even though I was pretty sure it was a practical joke, I couldn’t rule out the possibility that it wasn’t…

Bah!  Still gives me the heebie-jeebies!!!!

Ahhh… how I LOVE October!!! ;)

Tuesday Randoms… Hello, OCTOBER!

Tuesday has come around again.  I think I shall go random…

• Dear Jillian:  I want you to remember how you felt Sunday night and all day yesterday.  I know you thought rewarding yourself for eating SO well all weekend with a big basket of greasy goodness on Sunday night at a local restaurant was a good idea at the time, but was it really worth it?  The sick feeling you had that kept waking you during the night?  The eventual Pepto Bismal tablets you had to chew?  The gross sluggishness and continued nausea you had throughout the day yesterday?  It wasn’t really worth it, was it?  Sure, you need to treat yourself every now and then, but deep-fried-everything wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.  Remember that.  From: Jillian

It was something like this… except BIGGER.

• That little letter to myself up there?  That was what I planned on posting yesterday.  Unfortunately, I felt like such a bag of crap all day that I never got around to it.  I was too busy downing glass after glass of water and stuffing myself with “clean” foods in an effort to detox.  Happy to report that by evening, I was feeling much better.
• When did I become one of THOSE people?  You know the people.  The ones who say, “Ugh, I hate greasy food, it makes me feel sick.”  I was never one of those people.  I could eat poutines and cheeseburgers and onion rings til the cows came home, and have no problem with it.  Apparently that has changed.  And while I know that’s a good thing, it still makes me a little bit sad.
• I have this list going of things I need to get accomplished.  Things I’ve been back-burnering, or things I haven’t been pursuing when I should’ve been, or things that have unexpectedly become “important” – and I feel like I’m finally getting some of them crossed off the list.   #1 has, of course, been GET A PVR – and that’s still in progress.  (you don’t want to hear any more about it.  I know.)  I finally got that broken tail light fixed on my car last week.  My cousin Dale showed up unexpectedly last week and got the power hooked up in my garage for me (I’ve been bugging him to do it for over a year now! woo hoo for power garage doors again!!).  And I have my new Blackberry hopefully arriving by courier today to replace the water-damaged one that died on me last week.  The last big project?  HOUSE PAINTING.  And it should be under way soon.  I feel like I’m finally getting some stuff done!  Yay!!
• As everyone knows, baby news is ALWAYS exciting for me, so I was super-thrilled to find out that there’s going to be a new kid on the block in April 2014!  Sending big bloggy congrats to my friend Lindsay and her husband Ryan, who completely surprised me with their news!  I work in the same office as Lindsay, I see her every day-  and I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t picked up on ANYthing, especially after she told me she’s been pretty sick!  I’m so damn clueless. LOL!

 I thought their announcement was pretty cute!!

• I recently implemented a new system to keep my Amazon purchases under control.  My new, self-imposed rule is this:  I am only allowed to place one order on Amazon.ca per month, and that order must be less than $50, and paid off before I place the next order.  Here’s the problem:  I only have one episode of Season 4 of Dexter left, and it’ll be at least another week or two before the system will allow me to place my next order.  A week or two without DEXTER?!?  I’m going to go insane.

• Have I mentioned how happy I am that The Voice is back??  I was disappointed that Christina and Cee-Lo were returning instead of Shakira and Usher, but I have to say, it hasn’t ruined it all for me.  Adam and Blake make everything OK.

• Trying out a new grilled cheese sandwich tonight – fancying it up with tomato, mozzarella, and basil with a balsamic mayo.  Pinterest-inspired, of course.  I hope it tastes as good as I imagine it will…

 

• I’m SO excited that October is here!  This month is just filled with fun things to look forward to – celebrating friends’ birthdays, my nephew’s birthday, Thanksgiving, Tubrave, Car Rally, and Halloween… eeek, I get giddy just thinking about it!  Welcome, OCTOBER! :)

OK, that’s all she wrote for today, friends!

Linking up with Stacy Uncorked for Random Tuesday!