Are You Flossing?

It was that time again - time for the dental hygiene check-up with the friendly neighbourhood dentist's office. Things started off awkwardly: I had the fun task of informing the dental team that has looked after my family's teeth for years that my husband is now my former husband, after having walked out on me six months ago. He didn't bother informing them of his new address so his dental check-up reminders are being left on my answering machine.

The dental visit itself was fine, despite the disappointment of not getting a prize from the treasure drawer even though I'm still a member of the "no cavity club". I was informed, however, that I should get a mouthguard to wear nightly to prevent the teeth-clenching that occurs in my sleep. In the last six months the recession and wear from teeth-clenching has increased. It's stress-related, the dentist reassured me. At least it got me off the hook for not flossing as much as I should!

Sticking it Out

I have thought off and on over the summer about giving up my part-time job at the library. Working full-time plus raising four children on my own (every other week when they're not with their dad) plus three cats and a dog plus a new relationship with a very wonderful man plus a part-time library job is quite a lot to fit on my plate. However, I have such fun during my shifts at the library that it doesn't feel like work. Also, the bit of extra money makes a difference each month.

I have come to the conclusion that I'm not ready to resign. My supervisor was pleased to hear of my decision and has asked if I'd be willing to help out with the odd Sunday storytime. Of course I agreed - I absolutely adore doing the storytimes with the children. I should know my new shift schedule in a few weeks.

Exceeds Expectations

Life since my ex left me has had its ups and downs, but lately things have been up, in general. There have been problems, like my 13-year-old daughter wanting to live with her dad (a decision fueled, I believe, by the fact that discipline in his house is considerably more lax than in mine) but I'll get through them in time.

My performance review at my full-time day job took place on Friday, August 8th. (08-08-08 if you're superstitious and believe in the Asian "lucky number 8".) My overall review rating was "exceeds expectations". I was thrilled.

This past month of my life has also exceeded expectations. I have met a wonderful man who understands the mess my world has been recently, yet he's interested in me anyway. He's not scared off by the existence of my four children: he has met them a number of times; they like him and he likes them. I'm sure my friends will think of him as the "rebound guy", following so closely on the heels of the dissolution of my marriage, but neither he nor I think of things that way. I warned him when I met him that I had enough baggage to fill a transatlantic airplane. His response? "When you're ready, I'll help you unload that airplane one bag at a time." My rating for him is, for obvious reasons, "exceeds expectations".

UPDATE: A photo taken by this wonderful man:

Humidity

On a drizzly, humid day, I resemble the love child of Shirley Temple and Gene Wilder.

It's All About Me

Last night I decided to have for supper all the things I didn't usually make in the past because my ex didn't like them. Here's the menu:

Sole fillets sauteed in butter and seasonings
Ravioli with a broccoli and white cheddar filling
Lemon dill sauce (for both of the above)
garden salad with sliced tomatoes
Red wine (the last of the Tarapaca Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon)

I ate the above while sitting on my tiny back deck at my little bistro table, enjoying the beautiful warm evening. My ex doesn't like fish, cooked broccoli, dill, tomatoes, wine or eating outside. Funny how we can go for years doing things to please others and never giving consideration to pleasing ourselves.

I had a lovely meal, a lovely evening, and I'm definitely going to do something like this again!


Update: I've mowed and watered the lawn and am now caught up on outdoor chores. Next: vacuuming and dusting... tomorrow.

Finding Joy in Small Accomplishments

At lunchtime today, after the kids left to be with their dad for the weekend, I tackled one of the two jobs that used to be my spouse's: I took the Christmas lights down off the eaves of the house. Tomorrow I will take on the second job: I shall mow the lawn.

(For those of you who think it's odd to still have the Christmas lights up in May: where I live, there is often still a small patch of ice on the grass in the shade by my front door well into April. That ice is right where the ladder needs to be placed.)

I'm having a hard time thinking of any other household jobs that used to be his that I will now have to do for myself. Being on my own (so far!) hasn't been as difficult as I had expected.

It has been a lovely, peaceful day. I planted flowers in pots along my driveway, watered the flowerbeds, read a bit of my book, re-potted the tiny tomato plant my youngest son gave me for Mother's Day last weekend, and I plan to have my supper on my tiny back deck at my little bistro table with a glass of red wine. The temperature is +29 Celsius (84 F for any Americans out there) - warmer than usual for our spring. That's more of a summer temperature and I'm loving every minute of it.

Neglect

I've been neglecting this blog lately. I'll try to be better. I wanted this blog to be about things that bring a smile to my face, not sad stuff. Unfortunately, it has been a sad week.

I'm now a single parent. My husband and I have separated and will be sharing custody. It's not what I wanted, but I didn't have a choice. We're determined to remain friendly for the kids' sakes, and to keep their best interests as our priority.

In order to ease the financial stress, I've taken a full-time job. I'll still work a shift every week or two at the library, but I'll now be working 40 hours a week at a regular day job so that I have my weekends and evenings free to be with the kids.

I'm very lucky to have a good group of supportive friends and my parents just a short drive away. In the past I've always prided myself on my self-sufficiency but I'm going to have to learn to ask for help when I need it.

Lunch

I was taken out for a birthday lunch today by my folks. How lovely. I don't think I've been out to a restaurant for lunch since they took me out for my birthday last year. How pathetic.

Good Deed for the Day

I donated blood today. I became a blood donor while in university and except for an eight-year hiatus during which I was trying to conceive, pregnant or nursing, I've made it a regular habit. It's only an hour of my time and one little poke in the arm every few months, yet that pint of blood could help save someone's life. I encourage all of you to donate blood, if you are physically able. I passed the 25 donations mark a while back and now that I'm over 30 donations, my next goal is 50 pints. It will take a few years to get there.

I'm also on the bone marrow transplant list. It's not something everyone is comfortable with doing, but I thought long and hard about it before deciding to register for the program. I've never been contacted other than providing the initial blood sample. Perhaps one day I'll be able to help someone in need.

UPDATE: Please check out Emru's website, http://www.healemru.com. Emru left a comment on this post - he's a leukemia patient hoping for a match from the bone marrow registry. The more people on the registry, the better the chances for people like Emru.

Big Day

It has been a busy week, and today is the big day of my big week. This morning I have another course - the second of the week - for which there was a pre-assignment and reading. This afternoon is my very first storytime program at the library. I think I'm ready. I've practised reading the stories, singing the songs and doing the activities. I should be nervous but so far I'm not. I don't know why. It will probably hit me when I'm on the train from the downtown library branch to my suburb branch. There I'll be, sitting quietly among strangers, when I'll start to sweat and shake and feel nauseated. Gawd, I hope not!

To top it off, I have my three-month review this afternoon as well. Wow, I've been at the information desk for three months already! Today I'll find out how my supervisors think I'm doing. Again, I feel like I should be nervous but I'm not. And again, it will probably hit me later - right before I walk into the office for my review, I expect my knees will be shaking and my fingers will be like little icicles.

As a reward for making it through the day, I get to take my boys to a school dance tonight. It has a Hawaiian luau theme. Since I was planning on wearing a sleeveless little dress printed with hibiscus flowers and jungley leaves, it came as no surprise to see that it snowed overnight. Hmmm, I'll have to re-think that one. Perhaps jeans and a tank top with an obnoxious Hawaiian shirt and a plastic lei. At least that way my legs won't freeze on the walk to the school and back!

A Special Kind of Stupid

I worked at the library today, 10am - 2pm. Returning to the information desk after my lunch break, I found things to be busy. I jumped in and started helping people. As I walked back to the desk from the children's non-fiction section a little while (or what I thought was a little while) later, I glanced up at the clock. 2:25pm? Really? Oops - that takes a special kind of stupid. At least I was having fun ...

Procrastinators Anonymous Meeting Postponed Until Tomorrow

I find myself harping at my kids to get their work done, whether it's chores or schoolwork, before playing. It frustrates me when they announce there is a school project due that they've known about for awhile but haven't begun, and then we have to scramble to finish it in time.

The silly part is that if I'm honest with myself, I see that I'm no different from them. Just last week I assessed the 'frig, determined that we had enough milk to last another day and decided to postpone grocery shopping until the following morning. Later that same afternoon, I received a phone call from work asking me if I could do a shift the next day. Needing the experience (and the money!), I said yes. By this time it was too late to get groceries before supper, which meant I had to do an evening grocery shop. I hate shopping for groceries in the evening: the produce is picked over, and the store and parking lot are full of tired, cranky people who have worked all day and now need to stock up on food for the next week.

Why do I do this to myself? Just like my kids, I don't seem to learn the lesson.

In an attempt to get out of this bad habit of procrastination, I plan to do some baking this afternoon. I'm responsible for the treats at my quilt guild meeting tomorrow evening. I have tomorrow off and I originally thought I'd bake then, but why not this afternoon? That way, I'll have tomorrow free if something else comes up (and it probably will).


Update: The cheesecake bars and coconut cherry slice are in the 'frig and ready for tomorrow's guild meeting. If I'm feeling ambitious I might make something chocolaty tomorrow.

More Blog Links

I've been entertaining myself of late with some excellent medical blogs. So much so, in fact, that I've added links (see left) which has required a revamp of my list of blogs here. What was formerly "Blogs I Enjoy" has been reorganized into three different sections: library, medical and other.

One I've found particularly amusing is ER Stories, by a relatively new blogger. Back in my university days, I worked part-time at a local hospital in the housekeeping department. One of my regular areas was the ER and I found it fascinating despite being on the periphery of the action. I might have to write a few posts about stories from those days.

Technology

I've been dragged, kicking and screaming, into the 20th century. (And yes, I know it's now the 21st century!) My family got me a cell phone for Christmas - my first ever cell phone.

Up until now, I've not needed a cell phone. In fact, I'm still not sure I need one. My family, on the other hand, thinks I should have one. I can be found at one of a small number of places: home, work, my kids' school, or the grocery store. I should add the gym to that list, but I'm being realistic - I haven't made it to the gym all that often since I started working. Besides, cell phones aren't allowed at the gym in the locker room or on the weight room floor: something to do with privacy and people not using the camera function on the phones. Other than the grocery store or in my van (dubbed the "loser cruiser" by my pre-teen daughter), I can be reached by land line at all of these locations. Tell me again why I need a cell phone?

I'm sure it will come in handy and I know I'll have fun playing with the various features such as the camera, camcorder and text messaging. Still, I wonder how much influence my daughter had in this purchase. She has been bugging us since she started grade seven for a cell phone of her own. A few of her friends have them and she thinks she's being left behind. She has already begun her campaign on why I should lend her my cell phone when she goes out. Hah - not yet, chicky-pie. It's my new toy!

Eyebrows

For the first time in my life, I've had my eyebrows and eyelashes tinted. Twenty-five years I've spent drawing them on because they're so blonde they're otherwise invisible. Why did I wait this long? I'm happy with the result, obviously, and will likely do this again.

A few years ago my brother-in-law dropped in early on a Saturday morning. I was fresh out of the shower and had not yet put on any makeup. As he walked through the kitchen and said good morning to me, he did a double-take. Furrowing his brows as he looked at me, he asked "Did, ... did, ... did you have a barbecue accident?" I started to chuckle. He had never before seen me without makeup and he thought I had singed off my eyebrows and eyelashes!

I can see this being a real timesaver, speeding up the morning makeup routine and also being a blessing when camping. I'm very self-conscious and use mascara and eyebrow pencil daily, even while living out of a tent for a week. Next summer, booking the brow and lash tinting will be the first thing on the camping "to do" list! Ahh, vanity, thy name is woman!

First Day

Today was my first official day as a reference assistant. I didn't actually work at the reference (a.k.a. information) desk. I spent my time training at the circulation (a.k.a. checkout) desk, learning the computer system. Why these areas each have two different names, I haven't a clue.

It was a good morning and I hope I remember all I learned. I did card renewals, a new library card application, return of a lost item, found items on hold that customers couldn't locate on their own, received payments for fines, and plain old checked out books. My coworkers were helpful and the customers were wonderful - patient and supportive. I was told that it's rare in our branch to have a problem customer, but it does happen from time to time. I'm thankful it didn't happen on my first shift!

In the future it will be rare for me to be at the checkout desk, but I do need to know how to do it. Next week I'll have my official training on the computer system followed by a few days working at our branch, cementing in the knowledge. Once I have that under my belt I'll be learning how to do my real job - helping customers with research - and eventually I'll be trained to run the many programs offered by the library.

I'm so glad I worked as a support staff member first before getting this position. Knowing the staff, the branch layout and our collection gives me a bit of a head start and should make the learning curve slightly less steep.

This afternoon I volunteered in my son's grade two class and was able to watch him present his Home Project - a five minute presentation in front of his classmates on a topic of his choice. He chose Monkeys and Apes. When asked why he made this choice, he told the class "because my brother is a monkey". Nice!

New Job

After being at my local library for a little over eleven months, I have just received my second promotion. Insert big, cheesy grin here. I am now out of the workroom and in the public eye. Next week I will start my new job at the reference desk. The nice thing about being in the back is not having to deal with the three C's: customers, cash and complaints. The flip side, however, is that it's not mentally stimulating and the job quickly becomes routine.

My manager was the one who encouraged me to apply for any openings on the customer service side of things. She obviously had more confidence in me than I had in myself! The interview yesterday morning was made much less stressful by her being there alongside the Human Resources representative. I was told a decision would be made by the end of the week - I was shocked when I received a call yesterday afternoon with the job offer!

Today I will meet with my manager to get signed up for training and to figure out my new work schedule starting on November 28th. I have a big learning curve ahead of me. Thankfully, the library has lots of good training courses. I'll have two full days of training on their computer system and I'll be taking part 2 of their customer service training: how to deal with difficult customers. I've already taken part 1 and felt it to be plain common sense. Funny, though, how uncommon common sense tends to be.

Since I will also be expected to run some of the existing programs (Baby Story Time, Cyber Seniors, etc.), there will be lots more training associated with the different programs. My manager was interested to hear some ideas I have for new programs, particularly a discussion group for parents/caregivers of children with anaphylactic allergies. I've dealt with it for nearly 12 years and I think I can pass on some learned wisdom to parents with newly diagnosed allergic children. There's a lot I need to learn before I'm ready to do that, but I think it could be fun.

Darned Electronified Contraptions

Yesterday my husband came home with a new computer - a Mac. I'm still not sure exactly why he decided we needed a new computer and why it needed to be a Mac (we've been a devoted PC family until now), but there it is. Thank goodness I had squirreled some money away into our savings account. So, this is my first post from a Mac. I have a lot to learn but I'm getting the hang of things.

About an hour after the Mac was out of its box and running nicely, one of the boys went to turn on the TV. "Dad, the TV isn't working!" echoed from the family room. Yup, you guessed it, our sixteen-year-old TV died. Not a growl, not a whimper, it just rolled over and kicked the bucket. We've just spent big bucks on a new computer (tell me again why we needed a new one?) and now we have no TV. Many people have expressed surprise that we as a family of six managed to make do with just one television. Now we have none. Hubby talked with the kids for a bit and explained that we could buy a small, crappy TV now or go without one for awhile and buy a good one on Boxing Day at a post-Christmas sale - after we've had nearly two months to save up some cash. They surprised me and all voted for the "no TV until the end of December plan". Well, it has been nearly 24 hours without a TV and so far, so good. Twice I've had one of the kids ask if they can watch TV and I've said "Yes (snicker!)" just to watch them run to the blank black screen, press the power button and then get smacked upside the head with a dose of reality. Am I a bad mum to find this so amusing?

We'll see if we can handle life without a television. Personally, I don't mind. I rarely watch the thing - I read the local news on the web and prefer to read or sew instead of staring blankly at the idiot box - but I'm not sure how the rest of the family will cope. The kids will be without their beloved Nintendo/PS2 or whatever the hell the darned thing is, and hubby won't be able to vegetate on the couch every evening. I foresee more reading, board games and cards in our future. Sounds good to me!

Blog Name Explanation

I love chocolate (I am the cocoa nut) and I like to drink wine. Wine in => whine out. The tagline is a bad pun based on Harry Nilsson's song Lime in the Coconut, using the line "Put the lime in the coconut, then you feel better". Now you know. Yes, I'm twisted. (A twist of lime?)

Where to start?

I've thought about starting a blog for awhile now, and finally decided to take the plunge. What will this become and will I ever show it to anyone? I don't know yet. I currently choose to remain anonymous but that could change, too.

I would like to write about things that make me smile. Many things make me smile - funny things, cute things, stupid things, crazy things. The other day I had to smile when I saw a man at the library, so comfortable there that he had kicked off his shoes and lain down on a couch for a nap (making other patrons around him decidedly UNcomfortable).

I have four kids but this isn't a mommy blog. I work in a library but this isn't a library blog. I have three cats and a dog but this isn't a pet blog. I quilt but this isn't a quilting blog. This is definitely sounding Canadian - I may not be able to define what it IS, but I can define what it's NOT. That makes me smile, too.