BANK LINE SALES PITCH FROM HELL!

I have to go to the bank today and for some reason as I was pondering this I remembered an incedent that happed a cpl years ago in this particular bank.

My girlfriend liz and I were in the line waiting our turn for the teller. It was a particularly busy day, so the line was a long snake tamed between the confines of the roped fence.

Liz and I both do the same work as foster familys for mentally handicapped adults. We were trading war stories and talking about lots of different things to pass the time as we waited.

All of a sudden the woman in line behind us, interrupts us. All smiles, she says ''I couldn't help but over hear u talking ladies. If I may, could I introduce u to some products that could change your lives? Make you healthier but most of all, help you to lose weight!''

We were actually dumbfounded! I just looked at the woman, trying to keep from actually frying her to a crisp with my lazer charged eyes.
Liz however just muttered a slight ''Oh?'' for lack of a better thing to say.

As most who have seen my photos, knows I am far from being a slim woman. My friend Liz is the same. Struggling with weight issues is not fun and anyone who knows that can agree. I digress....as a matter of fact Liz and I did not utter a word about our weight or any diet we may or not have been trying out as we talked in the line. Neither of us knows where she got her segway to interrupt us. We figured just being so near two fat chicks triggered dollar signs in her frontal cortex, hense the pounce.

We just stand there in a line full of ppl, not wanting to make a scene, as this woman continues her speel. I am calmly seething btw. Liz is trying to be polite but turning redder by the second. Then out of a shopping bag , the lady produces this BIG ASS album/binder! With photos of before and after ppl and the products etc etc. She can tell by now that I am not being very perceptive...so hones in her claws towards Liz.

As we are coming to the end of our rope (in more ways then one) the woman hands us her card with glee. I gladly take it.

We get our banking done and on our way. I was hoping to catch the lady outside the bank but no chance. I was comforted by the fact that she gave me her card. (wicked grin)

I waited an hour to call. She answered. I reminded her I was one of the ladies of the bank. She was thrilled that I would call! I could hear the CHA-CHING in her voice.
I calmed said this;
''For future reference I sincerely hope you NEVER assault anyone in public again!''
''Um what? Um I um''.....she mutteres
'' As far as I am concerned u assaulted us. You were not solicited by us for your product. Nor did we invite you to show us anything. You ignorantly assumed because we are heavy women that u could *save* us or *teach* us, not to mention *sell* us products. What if we are perfectly content with the way we are? Or what if I told you that I have lost 100lbs already on my own terms, and because of that I felt fantastic about myself! (niether is true but I was making a point).
Then in the middle of a crowded bank, UNINVITED BY US! you start showing me and my friend your HUGE binder of products and photos. How is that supposed to make us feel! Who in the world do u thing you are to do that to ANYONE!..It was humiliating and uncalled for!
Let me suggest to you right now to NEVER do something so stupid again. I was planning to report you to the bank for your unsolicited harrasment while we were being held hostage in the bank line . I am also of a mind to call your superior to complain. I can only imagine he would find it interesting that u had the balls to do that and hopefully sell products but I don't think he would appreciate the bad press if I were to submit a story in the local paper not to mention the negative word of mouth generated by it.''

'' Um er, I didn't realize ....but u invited me to continue.''

''We did no such thing! We were like 2 deer caught in the headlights. We had no opportunity to stop you once you started and frankly given our predicament of being trapped like mice in a maze of ppl. We both acted with as much class as we could. Something you obviously know nothing about. I just hope that in future , if you try that again, you won't be as lucky. Someone else may not care how it looks if they took your Binder and shoved it where the sun don't shine!''

Click!

Have you had anything out of the blue happen to you? Or seen jaw dropping bad behavior? Share some stories lol.

SCHOOL...FINALLY!

Tomorrow marks the start of another school year. THANK GOD!...

Don't get me wrong, I was never a parent who couldn't wait till my kid started school. I actually enjoyed her constant presence during the summers and dreaded the end knowing she wouldn't be around as much. Ok, so I was using the excuse of her being home to make mud pies and finger paint...so sue me.
I am the first to empathize with moms who have more children who look forward to some well deserved quiet time lol.

This year is different. School could not begin fast enough as far as I was concerned. This past summer has been very difficult. As I have previously written about. Her new group of friends and this need to experiment with ilegal substances has been very hard to manage to say the least. The brilliant parent I previously thought I was is barely keeping afloat above the level of overwhelming emotions washing over me on any given day.

School will certainly not solve all the problems we are dealing with but it will hopefully help somewhat in keeping her busy. And my mental health somewhat intact....(no comments from the peanut gallery)

School equals routine, schedules, obligations and so on. We have also signed her up for more dance classes. Her choice being Street Jazz this year.(I think STREET whatever, would have been atractive to her lol) She's also renewing her piano lessons and plans to keep her weekend job at the chinese resturant doing dishes . All these things along with school can hopefully help us reclaim a semblance of control. Keep her BUSY BUSY BUSY I say. While she is doing all that, I know where she is and who she's with.

This is also the year she will graduate. Where has the time gone! My little girl will be graduating from highschool! WOW!

She will be sweet 16 next month. Sweet is not quite what I would apply to describe her right about now (pulling hair out) none the less she is my beautiful daughter inside and out when she is HERSELF.
Yes, she is young to graduate. Her bday fell just before the date limit so she has always been among the youngest in her class.
Also, the system is different here in Quebec Canada. They do not go from 1st grade to 12th grade. Here it goes....1st to 6th elementary. Then they start the numbers over and again and go from Secondary 1st to 5th. So she is going into Secondary 5 this year and they graduate. College comes after that.
Don't ask why, it just is lol.

I know some places in the states started school weeks ago already. Here in Canada they all start around now give or take a few days.
When do your children start school?
How does it make u feel? Happy, sad or both lol?

Out of FODDER?

I am seriously at a loss. Since around January, I had my wedding preparations to blog about..all the little details and the big.

Then the wedding ofcourse.

After that, the brief but beautiful honeymoon a few weeks ago.

Chris' Canadian citizenship swearing in.

I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT TO BLOG ABOUT NOW!!! I HAVE MILKED IT ALL DRY!

Do I want to resume the adventures of talking to my blind mute boarder? Atleast he doesn't interupt when I talk...so what if he opens his mouth to eat when I approach him. He opens his mouth when I say PILLS...cause I give him his pills in a spoon full of yogourt....Well, he would open his mouth if I said HIPPOPOTAMUS instead but hey ..I think its kinda cute, makes me smile.

If I am offending anyone by talking about my border and his deficiencies...it is not my intention. This is my way to share what some of my day to day life is, living and caring for such a severely handicapped person 24/7...365 days of the yr. You try doing that and not need to let off abit of steam. I try with humour or sometimes it comes out with frustration...but usually towards the *team of paper pushers I have to deal with in acordance to my caring for my blind guy and my other gentleman who lives with us who is high functioning.

So here is a convo I had with my other gentlemans case worker this week.

I had to fill out paperwork for Rays school/learning adult classes. Most times I have to sign as the one responsible in a general sense as his care giver/foster family.
One question stood out on the medical sheet asking Who is his LEGAL gardian...or signer incase of an emergency?
This I am NOT...it has never been an issue before..since all my former boarders had parents. My blind guy is under the Public Curator..but Ray isn't and he has no parents.
He has one brother but they spend 2 whole hours at xmas time with him and thats it.

So I ask the caseworker who says...

HER...Hmmmm I don't know. (big surprise)
Maybe it's u?
ME....No it's not me, I am his care giver (inward eye roll here)
HER...Or his brother? (start biting the inside of my mouth to feel pain)
ME....Ok, could be but it would be important to know either way don't u think?
HER...Well given he is high functioning and he can talk...maybe he can be responsible to make any decision?

ME....(TAKING A BIG BREATH TO REMAIN CALM)....UM (her name) I agree that he is highfunctioning but he lives in a foster care home because he is UNABLE to care for himself. If he could make said major decisions, wouldn't he be able to care for himself? Also, he talks yes, but ppl who don't know him have no idea what he is saying because of his diction disability..and when he is unsure of anything Ray ALWAYS says YES...(remaining calm on the outside while screaming ARE U FUCKING DAFT!! on the inside) I would even bet that if they told Ray that they wanted to remove his penis and stick it in his ear just for the fun of it, he would smile and say YES OK.

HER....Hmmm uh, yeah, I think u may be right.

THIS! is the kind of ppl I have to work with...Who are actually the same ppl who supervise, advise and /or makes sure I do my job correctly. I wonder when they figure out how TO DO THEIR OWN....

This is the same caseworker that held up her arm to ask a question at a medical conference of caseworkers and foster families and asked;
Does Schizophrenia fall under the heading of medical problem?... (I swear to god I kicked my friend under the table and bit my tongue to not laugh out loud)

NUFF SAID!

PS...Someone asked in comments if I got the answer to my question. Not yet, the caseworker has to ask the Social Worker who may have to ask another and so on and so on and so on...

THE BOOK HAS ARRIVED!

We finally recieved the wedding book my sister put together for us. It really is unlike anything I have ever seen before. A new take on the traditional wedding album of old. This is a real book. It isn't huge or bulky either, it's only 7'' by 7'' and has about 14 pages but with photo's on all sides...I will stop writting about it now and show u this cool book......



Please bare in mind that the photo's in the book are clear and prestine...do not judge their quality by the photos I took of the pages with my video camera still image option..they do not begin to compare lol.


I love the back cover pic...it just seems so perfect for one and for once the pretty inside of a shoe is finally noticed lol.

Have u seen photo books like this before? It's a first for me but my sister has a photographer coleague of hers that has put many of these together before.
What do you think?....I think it's unique and just plain adorable.

BATHTUB FIREWORKS!...

It's not what u think ya pervs....yes it was my honeymoon but like I would write about THOSE kind of details!

Our trip was a long 10 hours but we took our time. When we finally checked in we glad to finally have arrived. We got to the room and as I wrote about our lovely room on a previous post..we were blown away by the room and its awesome view.

We took the time to unpack and get settle in before freshening up for a nice late but leizurely dinner in the hotel at their Steak House (Keg) resturant. We were tired but happy and felt like we had all the time in the world.

We enjoyed the meal, it was great. We took a strole around the hotel to check everything out. On the 9th floor where the resturant was, there was also the Atrium where we were to recieve a free cocktail every evening during out stay. There was also the pool and spa area on the same floor.

Lobby level was very nice and had a Coffee shop and a Keg Bar and had a TGIFridays resturant along with a nice Gift Shop. Not to forget also the Attractions Tourist Desk for all your tourist needs and packages lol.

We made it back up to our room, by this time impatient to try out the jacuzzi tub for two! To let it just take away our days fatique to be trapped in the bubbles and wisked down the drain lol.

It was dark outside but with a view like that and being on the 26th floor we left the drapes wide open. They light up the falls at night with different coloured spot lights..its beautiful.

We dimmed the lights way low and both sunk into the bliss of the tub with its jets at full strength. Lying back with a deep sigh of pure enjoyment and luxury. AHHHH this is the life!

From the corner of my barely open eye, I notice some flickers of light on the wall. I sit up abit and turn my head to behold quite a sight.

Right there in front of our eyes, at room level..we see FIREWORKS!...YES FIREWORKS AS BEAUTIFUL AND SPECTACULAR AS EVER...RIGHT THERE in front of our window and we are seeing all this FROM OUR BATHTUB!!!.....HOW COOL IS THAT?!

Needless to say we were both AGOG...with wonder. It will be a precious memory for the rest of our lives...to have BATHTUB FIREWORKS on our first honeymoon night.

PS, the pic above was not taken that first night, but u see the window from the bathtub...imagine it all lit up with fireworks outside.

Have you ever had something totally unexpected happen to u that blew u away in your life that makes u smile when u remember it?

CANADIAN TO BE OR NOT TO BE?...EDITED!

Two years ago Chris applied for Canadian Citizenship. Although we knew we would eventually get married at the time he still wanted to apply by his own means. Married to a canadian or not, wouldn't have changed a whole lot. With his permanent working visa, he could live here all his life if he wanted but this way he retains his French citizenship but can add a Canadian one to his name AND he will be allowed to vote as a canadian.

Cool part is that after being married to him for 3 years, I too can apply for French citizenship, even without living in France. I will apply for sure, how many ppl get that chance.

He was accepted for the process about a year ago. It was just a matter of recieving more papers indicating when he was to pass the citizenship test.

When we got back from our Honeymoon we sifted through the pile of mail that had accumulated while we were gone. Amongst the envelopes was the Test date! Thursday 17th at 8:30am. Which is TOMORROW!

He has been studying for the past 3 days. He had recieved a book for that reason a yr ago when he was initialy accepted.

I have no doubt that he will pass...(no pressure right) lol...I will let u know. I sure hope they let him and others know the same day and not let ppl wait needlessly for nothing.

When it's all said and done...our 2 votes will be better then one in the future. We are very similar in our political beliefs so it will be cool to vote together.

If you could have dual citizenship..what would it be? and why?
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
JUST IN.....It is now noon Thursday 17th Aug....he just finished..YES IT WAS A LONG WAIT FOR HIS CALL!
HE PASSED WITH FLYING COLOURS! WHOOO HOOO CHRIS IS NOW CANADIAN!!! and French ofcourse but now HE CAN VOTE!!

They actually write the test..(he got everything right) Like I didn't already know that sheesh....then they correct the test then wait till it's done for everyone else.
They were 62 ppl from 31 different countries....that's pretty incredible..he was amazed himself.
After all the preliminaries, they actually do the whole ceremony then and there. They are sworn in by a judge as Canadians and sing the National Anthem and get their certificates all in the same day as the test. So IT'S DONE!...
He can apply for his Canadian passport now aswell. I have to get mine too lol.

HOW COOL IS THAT EH?!

The GOOBER Pic

Pic they take before we go in the tunnels behind the falls.
Originally uploaded by moonbin.

Yup, here it is..the GOOBER pic, we all have them, and on every vacation or photo fest, there is always THE GOOBER PIC.. This is ours. We both hate this pic lol, but it's also THE ONLY pic of us together on our Honeymoon!...We took pics and lots of video but never got anyone to take a pic of us. This was the pic they took when u go for the Behind the Falls tour. Then if u like it you pay for it at the end of your visit...yeah they get ya anyway they can lol...So this is labeled the Quentisential Tourist Photo...

This is where we went after that first pic was taken. Yes we had those cute yellow bags on ....Chris even made reference to maybe wearing them while naked later in the Hotel room...TMI...I know lol..what a nutbar...and IT DIDN'T HAPPEN!..

Getting back to the view...it was really something to behold standing inside the core and just outside the falls...the sound is something else to be impressed with. It really is a wonder I will never forget.

Till next post..

All we can say is WOW!!

Niagara Falls from our room
Originally uploaded by moonbin.

What a view!

We arrived around 5pm..it took about 10 hours in all but that was taking our time. Stopped for breakfast then a late lunch and enjoyed the drive.

Got to the hotel and still hadn't seen a glimse of the falls. We check in and we are told we could have an upgrade for abit more. Our original room was a partial view on 12th floor..but with my jacuzzi bath! Less then 300$ per night. Still a nice view ..but for 50$ more we could have the Junior Presidential Suite with a totally full view from the 26th floor. THAT we could do. (I researched most of the nice hotels in the area and booked our room, I knew that this upgraded room's price was in the $800 per night range tax included! hense not even considering it in a million yrs!)so it was a great value at that price and it was OUR HONEYMOON!

We unlocked our room to find ourselves in a living room area, had couch, chair, table & lamp with a big bureau and tv along with a nice big desk and closet. We walked down the short hall past the bar area and bathroom...to stop.

We wanted to see the falls in the same moment hand in hand for the first time together. With excited anticipation we walked to the huge window and let our JAWS DROP!
OMG! WHAT A VIEW WE HAD.....as the title says...All we could say was WOW!

What a great start to our honeymoon. We were giddy just being there and knowing we had 4 days...no 5! days alone to do with what ever we wanted. We ended up being able to steal an extra day because he was able to get the friday off and we got the same rate on our room for an extra night. It really made a difference to have another day.

And so it begins...I will continue this in a day or two....in the mean time, go have a look at the pics I put in Flickr over there----->

EDIT...Ppl have gotten the wrong idea that I am currently ON MY HONEYMOON...We got back Friday actually...my reference to ...(And so it begins)...refers to my reliving it through my blog lol...
Do you really think we turned on the computer DURING OUR HONEYMOON?!...HELL NO! LOL ..I will however enjoy reliving it through my blog for the next few posts lol.

THIS TIME TOMORROW!!

We should be arriving in Niagara Falls permitting we leave early like we plan. It takes aprox 6 hours to get there. I will be hard pressed to sleep tonight thats for sure.

I found another great photo to post on here. Hopefully we will have some of our own cool photos to post when we get back. Chris has to work on Friday so we should be back Thursday evening. I hope to update my blog with pics on Friday.

I am as giddy as the night before our wedding....well maybe not quite that much lol. We certainly CAN'T WAIT. Chris is at work till 9pm tonight so today I will get the packing done. I have a negligee I bought before the wedding that he hasn't seen, it needed some small alterations that I never got done. I can get that done before he gets home. Get it packed away in the suitcase along with the other new one he hasn't see hehe.

I mustn't forget the Bubble Bath Body Paint and the silly coloured Soap Foam Kit we got as a joke before the wedding....OH and also the...............

I better stop now before this gets out of hand..............(Walks off to search the cubboards for the chocolate syrup)

BIG BUBBLE BATH, HERE WE COME

T-MINUS 2.5 DAYS untill we leave for OUR HONEYMOON! Niagara Falls here we come! OMG I can't wait.

I thought this arial shot ontop of the falls was pretty cool. Over on the left of the pic, where u see some very tall, magestic hotels with awesomes views of the falls? Our hotel is one of them heehee, and our room will have that spectacular view! I CAN'T WAIT! I CAN'T WAIT!

It will be so nice to actually leave for 4 days. We have already filled the menu needs of the sitter. Got all our banking done. Got my nails done. Getting my hair touched up tonight.

Chris is working all weekend so we got most done yesterday. I am in the throws of laundry so all I have left to do is pack over the weekend. Last time we were gone was our wedding night in June. Needless to say, that went by in a flash lol. Time before that was last yr when we went on holiday to see family in western Canada.

Although this will be short, it will certainly be SWEET. Very well deserved for both of us too.

I think I will start counting the minutes now lol.

IN THE DARK

Summer time TV ...is an oxymorn...there is NOTHING good on tv during the summer. Thats ok, we shouldn't be sitting infront of the tube if its nice out anyway BUT..summer is also the time we actually rent movies more then any other time of the yr. Given we can't get out much with the clients we have here, it makes for some good movie night entertainment. So......

Last night we sat down around 9pm to start our movie line up. We were barely into the first one when we got hit by yet another thunder storm. This season we have been riddles with them. This one was a DOOZY though....Let me add that the past 2 days have been record breaking highs in heat and humidity...we were at 47C with the humidex yesterday...for u americans out there, that is aprox 113F...it's fricken rediculous is what it is. We are lucky because we have A/C but there are so many ppl that don't who were suffering all over.

I have seen many thunder and lightening storms in my day but this one was the worse bar none. Usually when they hit, u see a lightshow with flashes and thunder claps for 5, 10 even 15 minutes...with pouring rain then its over...well this puppy went on and on for over an out with the brightest constant lightshow we have ever seen...there were 100 mph winds that had our trees dancing and lots of rain ofcourse. Within 10 minutes of it starting our electricity flashed a few times then just went dead. We lit some candles, watched and waited through the storm. When the lights didn't come back on, we got the radio out. I recommend one of these for any household. It is a crank radio, so even if you don't have any batteries, it will work just by cranking it. We also have a cpl flashlights that work on the same principle. I think they are a must for any home. We had candles going too ofcourse lol.

Radio informed us that there was flooding in Montreal and some area's and over 265,ooo ppl without power. Lines were down and it would be some time before some ppl would get it back.

We got our power back 16 hours later lol. I am thankfull it wasn't longer. We have did NOT open the freezer downstairs to conserve the cold and we kept the house cool by not opening up windows. It could have been worse..ALOT worse. We are lucky but it sure puts things in perspective when u loose all power. I will continue to add what ever tool I can to our OUT OF POWER moments.

I write this now but another storm has started, its raining HEAVILY and filling up the street outfront. I think I will start crossing my fingers and toes. Wish us luck we don't lose it again lol.

LOOK AT DAT FACEEEEE!

This is Keyser...a border collie puppy. Isn't he adorable?...He belongs to my sister Brigitte..They just got him last week so she has been very busy trying to teach and train him. Border Collies are very smart so u have to start showing them the right behavior patterns as soon as possible. They can be a total hand full if u don't keep them busy..because they are curious and smart they can get into heeps of trouble in no time lol...yes intelligence can be a blessing and a curse lol.

We were hoping that my daughter would go spend some time at my sister's during this summer..up till now it has been with the idea of her being an assistant for sis, during whatever photo shoots she may have etc but now we are trying to focus on her helping with the puppy...we think...hope, she will go...atleast for a few days..and if she likes it we could bring her back for a week before school starts. Right now we are focussing on the time we will be in Niagara Falls, that way we drop her off in Ottawa on our way and pick her up on the way back. For me atleast it means 4 days away from her friends and any drugs.

Her dad is like...well u can't force her bla bla bla, I know that for god sakes, but I am using every tool I have to get her there anyway. He isn't really helping.

He brings her to his house this week..and ONE day later calls me in the evening to say, Cleo just phoned to ask if she could sleep over at her friends house....WELL DUH! I say..ofcourse not. He says, I thought so too but I told her I would call u first...........Jasus, lets make me the bad guy ALWAYS!...Not only did I make the guidelines and enforse them for the 3 past weeks (and he didn't call once to see how she was doing) But it takes less then a day at his house for him to call me. We had gone over the curfew to make sure we were on the same page the day before. Sheesh.
I swear he couldn't grow a pair of balls to save his own life.

He also let me know on Sunday that he had reserved a night out of town for them, (his gf, daughter and her cousin) on a lake or river place etc...and coming back late wed. I looked at him ...I told you we had a councelling session on wed. He's like, you didnt tell me. I said, I told u last week. Yeah he says...u told me it was last week, not another one this week.....WHAT THE FUCK? DO you really think councelling is for one or two times and all it good, we are done? JASUS... but then, how would he know, he hasn't gone himself yet, oh oh but he says that he DID TRY to make an appointment weeks ago and the scheduling didnt work out....AND? THAT WAS WEEKS AGO!

Now during our convo his gf is in the background hearing his side of it, and I hear her putting in her 2 cents worth..and even says, well aren't they going to NIAGARA FALLS NEXT WEEK? They will be cancelling the session then too arent they? She is USING a sarcastic *TONE*....I hear this and just let it rip, lol, I told Michel that he better muzzle that bitch so she shuts the fuck up before talking about something she knows nothing about! Michel and I had already made arrangements for that week, between us, in the event that Cleo doesn't go to my sisters. So the stupid bitch had no right to add her comments to the mix!.........I was already mad enough at him, I didn't need to hear her assinine comments added to it. AND TOLD HIM SO!

Can you glean the fact that I am a little frustrated with the ASSHAT?..IT gets better. I tell him I will try to reschedule the session for tues morning (this morning) because he is only leaving in the afternoon for this trip. I get a call from the centre, they are both able to take us at 11am. It is now 10am. So I call my daughter, wake her up and tell her to get dressed we are able to go this morning. She is not happy to say the least but says she will get ready. I jump in the shower myself in record time I am ready. Drive over there and as I am waiting in the driveway waiting for her, her dad comes out, and asks whats going on. I am not surprised that Cleo didnt tell him, so I do. He then says, OK ..but they may not be leaving now anyway...It's supposed to rain! OH FOR THE LOVE OF GOD...SO FUCKING WHAT...wasn't the point just to go do something with her anyway?...ARG!

Here again I am...trying to do my part, making Cleo totally perturbed with me on top of it all, and him nonchalantly mentioning this in passing. No wonder I have high blood pressure now.

Good news is that we went. Chris stayed home with the clients ofcourse. No time for a sitter. Cleo had a session, although pissed off, I am glad she connected again with her counceller. Specially given that she won't be seeing her next week.

So now....I have also vented my frustrations...with the counceller and here...and to top that off, I want some icecream.....For those of you out there reading..I am both sorry and thankfull lol...Please bare with me...I WILL SURVIVE EVEN IF IT KILLS ME LOL....I am now off to forage for icecream...if that doesn't work...theres a Dairy Stand cpl blocks away...