Author: Tanie

My apartment is very “open plan,” with the kitchen/dining/living areas all one big awkwardly shaped room. In my current set up, the living room area is sort of tucked into this smallish nook, which is cozy but a little cramped. There is a larger area which has never really been finished- it used to be the library until I took down all the bookcases to make room for the piano, so now it’s more of a music room/office.

For the past couple weeks I’ve been thinking of switching the main functions of these rooms, and I finally have Taylor on board (his biggest concern seems to be getting speaker stands, guys are so weird!). In this potential new set up the current living room would become a small shared office area for Taylor and myself, with two desks on one side and a wall of storage on the other. The new living room would still have the piano, plus new bookcases, as well as the couch and tv and Taylor’s crucial speaker stands,

I think this could really work! With the way it’s set up now there isn’t really room for bookcases anywhere, or a desk for Taylor, or end tables to put your drinks on when you are watching tv so that you don’t have to put your glass on the back of the couch and knock it off about three hundred times in a row (luckily this has only happened with things in capped bottles, empty wine glasses and cups of water), this would solve all those problems. So now I just need a week off and a bucket of money to make it a reality!

1. Love Me Tender Cookie Cutters, and 2. Matryoshka Measuring Spoon Set, both available at Urban Outfitters; 3. Fox & Forest earrings, from Joanna Rutter; 4. Disaster Life Trading Cards, from The Disaster Life; 5. Neverending Circle Scarf in Cloudy Day, from Ylaine; 6. Reproduction “Victoria” Chair, from Wire Home Furnishing; 7. Custom Specimen Ring (similar to those pictured), size six, from Specimental Design

Just putting this here. In case someone sees it. Who knows, it worked for my Kindle!

Yes, it’s been one whole year since I started this blog, how exciting! To celebrate I took this staid image from the internet and gave it a sweet Blingee makeover.

Since it’s the end of November again, that means it’s time to start making near-daily Christmas posts. Taylor already bought some disgusting booze-nog:

“Made with genuine Kentucky Bourbon!” Sick.

And soon I’ll be putting up my tree, which is turning into a huge dilemma for me this year. Since about 2002 I’ve had the same white artificial tree, first with blue ornaments and then red & green. It was pretty cheap and the years have not been kind, and it’s looking scraggly these days. I wanted to rent a live tree from Evergrow, but you can only keep them for three weeks, and since we’ll be out of town for five days it doesn’t make sense. Why pay all that money for a tree you only get to look at for two weeks?

I figured the most logical thing would be to just use my same old tree for another year and get a live one next year, but the thing is, it’s so sparse these days that to make it look nice I have to wrap a hundred or so feet of white garland around it. The white garland is really static-y and I think it’s what’s causing my lights to blow out every year, so like, that’s not safe! I’m pretty much decided that I’ll get a new fake tree, to use the years we’re not home for Christmas, but I can’t decide whether to get a new white one, or get a green one instead.

I was also tempted by a purple one I saw the other weekend but I would have to buy all new ornaments, so I’m practicing my restraint.

Another thing I want to do is start some more holiday traditions that aren’t necessarily centered around Christmas Eve/Day, since every other year Sym is at her dad’s and every third year we go away at Christmas. One tradition from my childhood that I brought back last year was the Christmas Elf, who will of course be making a visit this year. He or she has already picked up a sweet little fawn figurine and book of glittery fairy stickers to tuck into Symphony’s shoes with some candy and treats, date tbd.

A tradition I definitely want to start is having a champagne and doughnuts tree-trimmimg party. I read about it in the December issue of Real Simple but that doesn’t make it any less awesome of an idea.

I’m also making a pre-emptive New Year’s resolution to not be such a tree trimming control freak. Every year I try to get everyone to help but every year they quit in disgust because whenever they put an ornament up I immediately move it to a better spot. This year I’ll wait until the day after to rearrange everything, haha.

Another thing I want to do is MORE NUTELLA. Nutella everything! Did you know that there is a World Nutella Day? There is, and in 2011 it’s on my birthday. When I found out I immediately celebrated by making Nutella hot chocolate (for Sym) and a Nutella americano (for me).

The red mugs are new; Taylor wanted some smaller ones for coffee and I insisted on a colour that would help flesh out my dish rainbow.

I just put a teaspoon of Nutella in each mug before adding the hot water/espresso/hot chocolate powder.

I was worried this would be too sweet but it was actually more hazelnutty than chocolatey!

Finally, lest you think I’ve been focusing on dog paws & boots and neglecting their human counterparts, last night I went down to B2 on Robson Street and bought Taylor a pair of Sorels. Partly because I’m nice, and partly because I was tired of him being crabby about having cold wet feet.

It’s been hard for him to find boots because of his enormous size 13 feet, so I just asked the sales associate to bring me any Sorels in a 13. She came out with just one box and I had a moment of panic when I thought it might be this mysteriously $500 pair, but happily that wasn’t the case. Of course, after I bought them all the snow melted over night, but isn’t that always the case?

*not a day off due to snow, just a day which happens to be snowy

Let’s start with last night, before the snow. Taylor had worked a fifteen hour shift so he slept all evening so it was just a Mommy and Symmie night. I was too lazy to cook a real meal so we had Scoobi Doo-aghettis and popcorn in her room while watching iCarly and How to be Indie. I know, I know. Mom of the Year, right? Sym had on a cozy cold night outfit so perfect I had to put it on her lookbook.

Doubled up stripey sweaters, pink reindeer waffle leggings and Sumi slippers? It shouldn’t work but somehow it’s awesome.

Of course, her outfit this morning was a little different.

Yes, it’s snowing Vancouver today, but not like that sad amount last weekend. REALLY snowing. I got up earlier than usual to walk Georgie so I could shovel my stairs and the path before the daycare kids started arriving, and I’ve already had to shovel them a second time! Oh, and in spite of my sign the maintenance guy or some other “helpful” person chucked salt all over them again! I don’t understand how they don’t understand what happened when you just dump salt on top of snow- it melts in to water, which, when the salt is used up or IDK shoveled away with the rest of the snow, turns into ice, therefore negating the only purpose of the salt: de-icing! Anyway after I shoveled a second time (I actually use a small dustpan to do it since using a snow shovel in such a confined space is a hassle), I used Kichou’s old retractable leash to put the sign somewhere they can’t help but see it!

Now we’ll find out once and for all if they are actually illiterate or just unobservant.

The vet called me yesterday with the results of Claire’s blood & urine tests from the weekend, and they weren’t great. She’s gained a bit of weight (1.3 pounds since she was diagnosed) and while her blood sugar has come down a little it’s still too high, as well as being way to low at times throughout the day. Plus, she still has a lot of sugar in her pee. idk she’s a fuzzy mess, basically. Because of the points of low blood sugar the vet didn’t want to increase her insulin dosage, so instead we’re switching her to a different kind of insulin. People insulin.

On the left we have Caninsulin, for dogs and cats. It’s made from pigs, and costs $10. On the right is Lantus Insulin, for people (and also cats). It costs $70. ARGH. Plus $40 for all new syringes, great just great. The upside is that not only is the new insulin is clearly way bigger, but I also give her less of it at a time, so maybe it’ll even out? And since I’m now getting her meds from the drugstore I don’t have to pay the $15 fee for the sharps box. So it’s all good, right? Right.

As I mentioned in my dog boots post, at the first hint of snow my neighborhood goes crazy with the salt. I don’t like it, and I especially don’t like it when they salt my stairs. It just ends up getting tracked into my house and making a mess and really? If there was a lot of snow I could just shovel the stairs. It started snowing a little today so, like every year,, I made a sign:

… Aaaaaaaaaaand two hours later:

See all that blue and white stuff that isn’t old dead leaves? Yep. Salt. Sigh. All the time I spent making my awesome sign and APPARENTLY our maintenance dude (not the creepy one, a different one) is illiterate. Now I get to go out in the cold and sweep it all up! Fortunately,

DOG BOOTS. And as you can see, there really isn’t any snow outside anyway, so why all the salt???

Also, I left a bag of trash outside today and we were visited by some Night Ninjas, now in the day!

I may have mentioned before that Wednesdays are the most difficult day of my week, because I have SO MANY KIDS. In addition to my three full timers I have three of my four part timers, for a total of six kids. Now, I’m licensed for seven but let me tell you, six is too many!

At the start of this month I gave one of my part time families notice, since I could no longer accommodate their erratic schedule, and they asked if they could stay if, starting in January, they switched to a regular schedule. I said sure, but told them Wednesdays were no longer available because I just don’t want to deal with it anymore.

Originally I had eight of these Wednesdays, but one is during my Christmas vacation so that left me with seven. One of my part timers is going to be away for two weeks in December so that left me with five. The passage of time ate up three, and one part timer is home sick today, leaving me with just two more of these busy-busy days until I’m done with them forever! And who knows, someone else might get sick or have vacation!

While Sym and her dad were in Mexico, Dougal went to go stay with Sym’s Grandpa out in the suburbs. Today was the first day he was back here, and this was the scene all afternoon.

Look at what I wore tonight to take the dog for a walk:

-hat
-scarf
-wool coat
-elbow-length cashmere gloves with fingerless gloves over them
-tank top
-sweatshirt
-zip-up sweatshirt
-leggings
-jeans
-knee socks
-Uggs
… plus the regular lady unmentionables. And my hands and back were still freezing! Like, WHAT THE HECK IT IS SO COLD! I just check my weather widget and it’s -5°C. There’s a MINUS for temperatures now???? This is totally unacceptable, and it’;s supposed to be even colder tomorrow 🙁 Oh and I’m WELL AWARE that there are many places that are much much colder and have snow and wind chill and blah blah blah, but THERE’S A REASON I DON’T LIVE IN THOSE PLACES and it’s because THEY ARE UNINHABITABLE.

In warmer news, guess who is back from Mexico?