For better or worse... meaning for better or Movember!

As most of you are probably aware, Movember is in full swing.  I can't say I'm a fan of the creepy mustache my husband is sporting these days... but nonetheless I know its for a good cause which is why I agreed to promote the month on the blog, using PC's face!

It's hard to keep a straight face when I see him... and I think I have resorted to saying 'I love you' with a smirk! All I know is that we have 8 days left to raise some money for a very important cause, prostate cancer - and with your help we can make a difference!

If you'd like to support PC, you can make a donation by visiting his page at: http://ca.movember.com/mospace/1275782/

Or perhaps you know of others in your community looking equally as creepy - you can search their names from the Movember homepage, and see what they look like and how they are doing!

Thanks in advance for your support!

Let me just say I can't wait for December 1st! 

Overheard at the kitchen table!

The following is a conversation, that, in the best interest of a husband's sex life, should not occur...!

Out of nowhere....

PC: So... I know you got your hair done yesterday, but what exactly did they do?
Me: *silence* + *look of death*

PC: I mean I know its lighter, but it doesn't look like it use to look when you use to get it done.
Me: Thanks - I know.

PC: *back peddling* It looks good, it just looks different than usual.
Me: Umm-hmmmm.

So I'm married to 'Captain Obvious', lucky for me!

Seriously... PC does not think through some things before he opens his mouth (which is not anything new to me!). It's one thing if I bring up the subject ... 'does my hair look like good or does it look like I didn't really get much done?' But I am sure in the book '10,001 things a husband should not say or do EVER' ... this conversation has to be in there.

Oh men... will they ever learn?

Do I mumble or is he hard of hearing...?

At our house... PC and I have this on-going battle about whether I mumble when I talk or he is just plain hard of hearing.

Now... since this is my blog and not PC's... you know how this one is gonna go, but I am sure in PC's world, on PC's non-existent blog, you know who would win in his version.

I don't remember this so-called battle being evident back when we first got together, after all... the annoying habits never come to light until the young love phase wears off, but ... for a few years now we have been going back and forth on the issue.

The evidence I have stacking up against PC goes like this:

• Whenever I talk... whether we are at the dinner table, down the hallway, or in the next room... he shouts 'WHAT?' as if he is an old man who is... (wait for it)... hard of hearing!
• If he stays up late watching TV, and I get up early and turn on the TV, its on at least 10 notches above what I consider an acceptable volume for the hearing elite.
• When he talks on the phone... he talks louder (than me), like someone *might* do when they think the other person can't hear them or perhaps, they can't hear themselves.
  
• I hear him saying 'WHAT?' to other people he talks with... not just me.

In his defense (and you know it will be a weak one)... he's got this on me:

• Whenever I talk... whether we are at the dinner table, down the hallway, or in the next room... he shouts 'WHAT?' as if he is listening to a woman who mumbles.
• And...
  

Clearly... he's got to be hard of hearing!

Its funny, because now that we have E in the family... I laugh as we use him to communicate to one another.

Earlier in the evening, I was downstairs surfing the net, when I let out an 'oh', as I discovered something online. PC says to me... 'what?' - not the hard of hearing WHAT?, the 'I clearly heard you... what did you say oh for' what?

It was really an internal oh that accidentally escaped... so I said 'I found a yoga class for the .... nevermind' (as it was unimportant and I knew he could care less about yoga).

Then he gave me the hard of hearing WHAT? To which E gives a grunt, and PC says to him: I didn't hear what she said either... she's mumbling again!

I will go as far as to admit that I do mumble... when what I am saying is not of importance, but when I want an answer... I make sure I speak up, and clearly make my statement, which leads me to believe that I mumble far less, than PC is hard of hearing.

Tonight for example... I yelled down to the basement to him:

Me: Is that dish loose on the roof? (because the winds were gusting at about 90kms/h)
PC: WHAT? (hard of hearing WHAT)

Me: The dish? Is it loose on the roof?
PC: WHAT. (double hard of hearing WHAT)

Me: The di... forget it (mumbling by now).

PC: Silence.

Now... you can't tell me, I was mumbling in the beginning of that exchange, I was yelling it, and yet NOTHING.

The only other conclusion I've come to is, if by some miracle PC's hearing is perfectly fine... then its gotta boil down to multi-tasking, which he will admit, he does not do. If when I am talking (not mumbling) he is watching Sports Centre or something else that he thinks is even one tenth more interesting than what I might be saying... he tunes out, and his go-to response is the hard of hearing WHAT?, which he doesn't want to admit to, so he chalks it up to me mumbling, therefore he is not in the wrong - typical male!

I have a feeling... we'll still be going at this one in 50 years, which by that time, he will definitely be hard of hearing, and I will most likely be mumbling about him being hard of hearing for 50 years!

Oh the joys of marriage!

What fun little back n' forth battles do you have with your significant other... ? Any that you would like to share?

Saturday night girls outing!

This weekend was spent working on a nightmare file, but the highlight was that I did manage to salvage my Saturday night plans to attend the Sens game with three of my closest friends.

I have to admit I am a Sens fan and I do enjoy hockey, but I just don't have the same intensity as I did back in June when we were on a quest for Lord Stanley.

To be honest... if Saturday night's game hadn't gone into over time, I would have left the building mainly wondering what the score was and who scored the goals. Terrible, I know.

But, that's what you get when you put 4 close friends together in the 300 level at the Bank during the pre-season! None of us were deathly interested in the game - and my interests went right out the door when I realized Ray Emery wasn't in the net, nor on the bench. For that point on, I turned to either side of me and began catching it up with the girls!

We chatted non. stop. and frankly, got a little perturbed when the rest of the place started cheering for a good save, or a penalty kill. All I could think to myself was 'excuse me, we are trying to have a conversation here - keep it down would ya'.

We actually had a really good time, we tried out the new Lonestar food booth - had fajitas and chips and conqueso... really nice treat, then had an after dinner latte at Tim Horton's. We got to people watch a bit, saw some interesting characters - just an all around good night out with the ladies.

The ticket didn't cost a dime, it was courtesy of a friend who knows a 'Cat' in high places, so it's not like it was a waste of money; however, when I did arrive home to PC still working on the basement (a 16 hour shift), we had the following exchange of words:

PC: Hey... how was the game?
Me: Game? Ahhhh... game was good.

PC: What was the score?
Me: Score? Ummm... 5-4. NO wait, 4-3... I think?

PC: You think? Didn't watch the game did you?
Me: Yah, well... no, not really.

PC: **shakes his head in disgust**
Me: Well, there was over time, and the Sens scored, they won - I know that.

PC: **still shaking his head in disgust**
Me: What?

PC: Too busy talking all night?
Me: **smiles, nodding**

PC: **shakes his head in disgust**
Me: Get back to work!

Okay... so if 4 close guy friends got 4 free tickets to the Sens game... they maybe would have done things a little differently - but 4 girls, in the pre-season - really, what did you expect?

Overheard at Home Depot.

So... as you know we are in the midst of finishing our basement, and this seems to require various trips to Rona, Home Depot, Canadian Tire, etc. PC has been tasked with the majority of these trips because, to be honest, I don't know the difference between 2/16ths and 5/8ths... nor do I care. I also don't care if we use screws or nails, 2x4s or 2x6s... yida yida yada!

However, we are starting to get into the choices that matter to me... faucets, paint, carpet colour... and so I've started making lunch hour and evening trips to the stores listed above.

Last evening while roaming the aisles of Home Depot looking at faucets, paint samples, and vanities, I noticed various couples at odds over choices. I found it hilarious at points, mostly because I could see myself and PC (had he been with me) having the same sort of discussion. A woman always knows what she wants... we have a vision, a well-layed out idea that makes sense. On the other hand a man can only see the amount of work involved in every woman's idea, and can only tell you exactly want they don't want (which is usually the woman's original idea)!

Overhead in the ceramic tile section....

Perky wife saying:
"I envision a mosaic look with lots of slate."

While the husband, raising his eyebrows, replies:
"No you don't, not if I am doing the work."

As I ventured into the kitchen counter top section, I dropped in on this conversation...

Husband said:
"Honey, look at this one... it's nice"

His not so impressed bride glances at him, and replies:
"It's not Granite... keep looking."

H: "It looks like Granite."
W: "It's not."

And while making my way into the vanity section....

Husband starts:
"I said the only thing I wanted was a double sink, and I don't see double sink vanities here... we are waisting our time."

Wife:
"Well they have really nice single sink vanities here... look at that one, maybe they don't make double ones anymore?"

Husband:
"They make them."

Wife:
"Well... single sinks look better, a double sink is so the eighties."

Husband:
"I am getting a double sink."

Wife:
"ya you are, in the basement!"
___________________________________________________

You can't help but laugh, or at least I can't. PC and I would have had those exact conversations, in fact, I know the next trip we take to Home Depot will be much the same. PC is all about getting a deal (surprise surprise), and I am all about the final presentation to the public.

I can imagine our first showing of the basement, if I get my way...

Me: Here's the bathroom.
Guests: Oh WOW, I love your faucet and the tile.

Me: Thanks, it took a while to pick them out, but I am really happy with the choices.
Guests: Great job, good picks, lovely... looks fantastic!

Now... if PC gets his way and gets all of the deals, this is what I imagine our guests will think...

PC: And here's the bathroom.
Guests: Oh.

PC: See the faucets, ten bucks.
Guests: Really?

PC: This tile, we got at the scrap yard, for FREE!
Guests jumping back off the tile: Nice.

I know I know, I make a lot of jokes. PC is pretty good on getting deals on stuff that is actually nice, but every so often, I have to fight to get my point across that I don't necessarily want something because it's a good deal, or because it's free. I want what I want because it looks nice, and I think it will make the room look even better. I also like to think that I know the boundaries in what is a ridiculous price to pay for something that may be nice, but not practical or even remotely affordable.

I guess home renovations require an undisclosed amount of compromise... and slowly PC and I are learning that...

S L O W L Y....!

The Workplace Bathroom Situation

This post has been brewing for a while, but after seeing this over at Chez Roz, and having the topic come up with my girls on stag n' doe weekend, I thought it was about time I formalize my concerns on the blog.

As the title indicates, workplace bathrooms create a stinky (no pun intended) situation. In any offices I have been in, there are usually three or four stalls in one main bathroom. Normally, this isn't a problem, if your heading through the doors for a quick pee. You're in and out in under a minute (unless of course you've drank 2 coffee and a bottle of water without making a trip to the lou, creating a power pee situation... but that's a whole other blog!).

Anyways, if you going pee, there is clearly no problem (minus the air farts - that's right I said air farts, you know what I am talking about, so blush, and continue reading)... peeing is not the issue here, it's those unforeseen circumstances when you eat some spicy Thai food for lunch, which brings on the number 2 situation in under 30 minutes. Your cramps make you power walk to the washroom, but when you get in there, 3 out of the 4 stalls are full, and you know if you step in the one that's free, you are going to be embarrassed in no time, so somehow, you hold it together, exit the premises, and return 5 minutes later hoping the place is cleared out. If you happen to be lucky, the coast is clear, you do your business as quickly as possible, and try to get back to your desk without being noticed BY ANYONE.

Now, if your a man reading this, you probably can't relate, because for some reason, most men don't have the same privacy issues as women when it comes to making a number 2. In fact, I know a few men who leave their desk, and say out loud 'shit, I forgot the paper', and walk back to get it. Then, they give the nod and wink to the other men in the hallway, while they proudly place the paper under their arm, as they enter the facilities -urrrrrrrrrrgh, disgusting in a woman's world, but to the rest of the male posse, they are non-verbally high-fiving one another with their eyes, after the deed has been done. GROSS.

However, back to the female issues. In my experience, when you're in the restroom taking a pee, and you don't hear any noise in the stall beside you, but you see feet, you know somebody is trying to wait. you. out. It's embarrassing for all parties involved, because you know what the woman is doing, but at the same time, the evil side of you wants to push the limits to see how long the guilty party is willing to wait you out - while at the same time mentally noting the shoe style and colour (and in my case trying to match them up later in the day with the other woman in the building - evil I know).

I know.... you were thinking I was a nice catholic girl, raised in a small town, with good family values, yet I am talking about people's poo patterns - but seriously, if you're a woman, one or all of these thoughts has crossed your mind at somepoint in a public washroom.

This weekend my girls raised these very concerns... and it was suggested that large offices, have one or two private bathrooms, where a woman can go and use the facilities without the fear of being interrupted mid-process. I would add to that suggestion, that there should be one hell of an exhaust fan in each of those private stalls, and for good measure a truck load of air freshening spray (or stinky bum spray as we use to call it at 130-O), because you just never how nasty the end result will be.

The private stalls are definitely one solution to the workplace bathroom situation, but perhaps you have others solutions? That is, if your not embarrassed to leave a comment, with your name beside it!

What do you think... any ideas on how can we make the workplace poopie situation more bearable for the average working woman?

Home Project #492: Finishing the basement

So... its on.

PC and I have started the heated arguments discussions about refinishing our basement. At times, its been unpleasant, but I think we are starting to arrive at some common ground... finally.

Pretty much since we bought the house, this has been a topic of discussion. Mostly, it was me discussing it, while PC would stare passionately at whatever hockey/baseball/football game was on the television, but lately the conversation has become more engaging on both sides, such to the fact that my so-called dreams are now being scaled back to realistic plans.

The one thing I loved about the house when we bought it was the fact that the basement was unfinished - a blank slate - free to do whatever. we. wanted. - however, PC and I have different visions of what 'whatever' encompasses.

PC is of the opinion that the basement project, although it will be a lot of work, is pretty straight forward. Slap up some walls, do the electrical, plumbing, flooring, ceiling, sanding, painting... and VOILA, we are ready to move. in. the. furniture.

I, however, have my own dream for the basement. One that includes a kick-ass laundry room, built-in wall shelving units, a wine cellar, luxurious home office, state of the art theatre system, maybe a wet bar... everything this side of Hollywood, except the sign itself.

I know, I know. In projects of this size, you have to be practical, and PC has delivered on his end of the bargain. He really doesn't want anything too exciting, and for once, this is a problem (yes, its true, you can never please a woman).

The number one motivating factor in getting the basement done is actually to provide PC with an office. He's been working from home in third world conditions for over a year now, and I worry about the long term effects of bad lighting, poor air quality, etc. However, he seems to be managing, but I would hate for this to go on forever.

So... now, with the proper funds in place, we are ready to make it happen. We have already signed up to have the historic 130-O couches picked up with next week's garbage... and we are starting to clear out the other shit into the garage to make way for the delivery of building materials. BUT, while PC just wants to start, I want to take the time to make some actual floor plans and figure out what things will be like before we put in the first nail. (This so makes me my father's daughter - Mr. I won't put the car in the drive until I know exactly where I am going on the map - it was so frustrating to me as a kid, but the point being, he never did get lost!).

We did visit our neighbours last night as they finished their basement not too long ago, and I really fell in love with their layout. It basically had everything we I want, and it was actually nice to visualize the end result, as opposed to just imagining where the walls would be, and what it would look like after all the hard labour ahead of us PC.

I am starting to see that perhaps I don't need everything I was originally dreaming of... so this is a good thing, but I am still gunning for the kick-ass laundry room!

To be continued....

Here's a surprise... women talk more then men!

The other morning, while driving into Ottawa, I heard some radio morning personalities talking about this new book by Dr. Luan Brizendine entitled: In the Female Mind. Apparently, Dr. Luan states the following:

'women talk almost three times as much as men, with the average woman chalking up 20,000 words in a day - 13,000 more than the average man.'

Women also speak more quickly, devote more brainpower to chit-chat - and actually get a buzz out of hearing their own voices.

And, if that wasn't enough, the simple act of talking triggers a flood of brain chemicals which give women a rush similar to that felt by heroin addicts when they get a high.'

So ... seeing as I like to think of myself as a talker... when I open my mouth in public I am pretty much preceived as... a woman all buzzed up on heroin?

Perfect! Just what I need in addition to the fact that my english roots seem to be escaping me.

I guess these facts clearly explain why PC can't seem to get a word in edge-wise at the dinner table... once I start talking, I have anywhere from 2500 to 5000 words to cover in order to reach my daily quota... and that's assuming that I've actually already put in a good 15,000 words throughout the day before I even get to him. If I happen to not speak to anyone during the day, PC better set up for office hours, as he practically has to listen to 13 short university essays before I can call it a day!

I guess its not easy being a man. Women do most of the talking... so that doesn't leave men with much time to say anything.... which may also explain why a men love to give one word answers...

For example:

Me: What do you want to have for dinner?

PC: Whatever.

Me: What time are you getting up in the morning?

PC: Early.

Me: Did you take out the garbage?

PC: No.

Me: Do you want to have to sex?

PC: Sure.

In PC's world... why use 25 words to say what can be clearly communicated in one!

I guess women will continue to get use to the fact that men don't say much, and men are coming around to the fact that women just don't shut up... and never will!

Oh the joys of communicating!

I should probably wrap this post up... all this typing has made me lose my buzz!