I'm Going To Miss You Old Friends (aka ER's Final Episode)

Before the boys came along ... hell, even before we were married, and were simply living in sin together, the Ex and I had a Thursday Night Ritual.

It was TV night!

We always ate dinner late, so we'd grab our meal and park ourselves in front of the TV for 9pm.

Friends. Seinfeld. ER.

Didn't matter what came on in between, as long as we caught those three.

If someone happened to pop by between 9-midnight, which wasn't unusual in 'those' days - have a seat, shush, we're watching 'the lineup'.

If the phone rang, it went to voicemail.


We laughed until we peed ourselves with Jerry and the crew.

Pic courtesy of MSNBC.com

We grew up with all the Friends.

Pic courtesy of Wikipedia

But as time went along, it was ER that became my favourite. The lives I followed. The characters I rooted for.

Pic courtesy of NBC.com

The action, trauma, romance and adventure kept me glued to my seat each week.

And after I started having the 'lung issues', it was cool to be watching an episode and see them working on a patient, yelling 'Lung's collapsed, I'm putting in a chest tube!"

And I'd yell to the TV "Hey! I had that!"

Or they're working feverishly over a patient saying "We have to do a thoracotomy!" and they'd crack someone's chest open.

I'd yell back "Hey! I had that one too! ... UGH! GROSS!!!"

Then I'd turn to the Ex and ask ... "Wow, is that what it looks like to have your chest cracked open so they can get to your lungs???? I'm glad I was out for THAT ONE"

And their season enders, ALWAYS awesome!

If you're a fan, you'll never forget the stabbing of Lucy and Carter, and Lucy's untimely death :-(

After 15 yrs, it's hard to pick a favourite storyline or favourite character. But my favourite romance?

Definitely Doug and Carol!

Doug and Carol were my Romeo and Juliette. I wanted to see them TOGETHER and happily ever after.

Awww they look so young here!

Pic courtesy of NBC.com

I was sad when George Clooney left the show, and even more so to see Julianna Margulies leave, but, unfortunately, all good things come to an end.

And now, the entire series has reached that moment.

The end.

Good bye ER. I'm going to miss you old friends.

Thursday nights will never be the same.

ER's final episode is scheduled to air on NBC April 2, 2009 for a two-hour episode preceded by an one-hour retrospective special episode.

Source - ER (TV Series) Wikipedia

K

A Beautiful Death Trap

I live in a nice area.

I call it 'the country just outside the city'.

I've heard the locals refer to my area as the 'community of lakes', and yeah ... we definitely have lakes!

It seems wherever you go in this neighbourhood, you're driving by a lake.

There's one across the street from my house.





There's one where the boys go to daycamp every summer. A private lake, and community centre, which only the 'locals' have access to.

We drive by one on the way to school every day.

Lakes, lakes, everywhere!

While it's certainly a nice perk to be able to simply walk 'down the road' and jump in the lake for a swim and I'm sure the boaters love being able to simply pull up curbside, back into the water and launch their boats, it does pose one small issue for me ....

See this ....

And this ...

And this ...

This is the lake Adam and I drive by every morning on our way to school. And the one I drive by every night on my way home.

And the one the boys and I almost slid into a couple of years ago.

Beautiful in the summer! A death trap in the winter.

Yup, this is the ONE spot in my community that I absolutely HATE during the winter.

There is absolutely NO barrier to stop someone from sliding into this lake if the roads are bad. And around here ... that corner is ALWAYS bad in the winter.

The snow simply blows off the lake and packs onto that corner. Both lanes.

This morning, after dropping Adam off at school, I was on my way home again (I've been sick sick sick the past couple of days, so no work for me today) and this particular 'corner' was snow covered.

I have snow tires, and STILL slid over into the opposite lane on my way through.

Thankfully, there wasn't a car coming the other way. And even more thankfully, I slid in the opposite direction of the lake.

This evening, there were two other cars that weren't so lucky, and had a head on collision in that very spot.

Alec and I were on our way to the grocery store (chicken soup for the sick chick), when we reached this spot, and had to turn around because of the accident.

Because we couldn't exactly see what had happened, we both thought someone had finally gone into the lake.

That wasn't the case ... THIS TIME.

I honestly don't understand why some sort of barrier hasn't been installed before now. Even if it were simply the concrete ones they could remove during the summer months.

Is it because nobody has actually gone into the lake?

I can't believe I'm the only person in this community who thinks that particular spot is a death trap waiting to happen.

Two years ago, I had picked up the boys from the sitter's after work, and we were on our way home.

It was snowing. Roads were bad. I wasn't going fast.

We hit that spot, and I slowed down even more.

I started to slide.

Towards the lake.

I tried not to panic, and just muttered an 'oh shit' under my breath while lightly tapping the breaks, and pulling the wheel as hard as I could.

We weren't stopping. We were heading straight for THIS spot ...

I can't begin to tell you all the things that went through my head. But there was one thought in particular that kept screaming in there, and that I'll never forget.

'If I see we're going to hit that water, I'm telling the boys to open the doors and JUMP!'

Sure, they may break something on the fall, but I'd rather they hit the snow, then try to get both of them out of a submerged vehicle.

Finally, I just stood on the break, and pulled on that steering wheel as hard as I could.

We didn't come out of the slide, but ended up almost on the lawn across the street instead. LOL

Yeah. I can LOL now at the mental image of it. But I wasn't LOL'ing that night.

I still don't think I panicked, but the three of us were definitely shaken up by the whole thing.

We talked about it afterwards, and I told them my 'exit plan' if the situation had turned out differently.

I don't know if they would have jumped at the time, even if I said so, or if they would have understood the severity of the situation, and said "I'm outta here!!!"

So I told them, if anything like that ever happened again, and it looks like we'd hit the water, JUMP!

Sad really, that I had to have that discussion with them at all. And sad that they both get quiet and nervous every time we go around that corner on 'bad' winter days.

But simply a reality of where we live.

Yes, this lake is wonderful for boaters, and it's beautiful in the summer.

But, a beautiful death trap in the winter!

Drive safe! And watch those lakes!

K

Just Another Morbid Monday

There's a blog I like to read.

The Wonderful World of Wieners.

I saw a comment from WWoW on another blog.

See, that whole intersecting thing again ;-)

Hallie, from WWoW, has blogged about many things, with GREAT humor.

Family. Pets. Current events. Snakes. And many things that are just ... strange.

Funny. Always funny. But, strange.

Undoubtedly, her most famous series would have to be Morbid Monday.

Every Monday, Hallie educates her readers on those things in the universe guaranteed to make you hurl.

Not to be viewed during 'lunch hour'!

Morbid? Yes. Grossly educational at times? Absolutely! LOL

So, why am I telling you about Hallie and her Morbid Monday at Wonderful World of Wieners?

Hallie and her husband have gone to Disneyland, on a much deserved Spring Break/Birthday Vacation.

Being the devoted blogger that she is, when she found out she would be away from WWoW for an entire week, she sent out the SOS for Guest Bloggers to fill in for her.

I have never been a Guest Blogger.

I have never been asked, and I have never offered.

Not sure why I did this time.

Or why I offered to do the post I did.

Yeah.

I couldn't just pick a 'Happy Hump Day' Wednesday topic.

Nope.

Just another Morbid Monday for this Mom :-)

Hallie has graciously agreed to let me take on the challenge, and you can find my post over HERE today.


WARNING! NOT for the faint of heart.


I took the 'morbid' part seriously.

If you're into 'gross' and 'eeewwww' and 'OMIGOD!' ... sure go ahead - check it out!

If not ...

Wait a few days.

I'm sure something will happen that I'll need to vent about, LOL

K.

I'd Give You Dolly Parton's Face!

One Saturday morning, on the way to a basketball game, the song Jolene came on the radio.




Alec asked how I knew the song well enough to sing along.

I explained that it was an old Dolly Parton song. I had heard it many times growing up, and have always been a Dolly fan :-)

Flashback - Yeah, the kid blasting 9-5 in the basement, rollerskating in her red satin jacket and singing at the top of her lungs ... oh yeah, that was me.

I looked in the rear view mirror.

He was looking out the window, and I could see the small frown, his mind working.

'Yes' I said. 'The same Dolly Parton who plays Miley Stewart's Godmother, 'Aunt Dolly' on Hannah Montana'






Alec thought about this a second. Then, the conversation went something like this ...

Alec - How OLD is she Mom?

Mom - Oh ... she has to be in her 60's.

Alec - WOW! She looks really good!

Mom - That's what lots of money and a little plastic surgery can buy you Babe ;-)

**sorry Dolly**

We reached the gym, and the conversation ended.


A few nights later, Adam is sitting on my bed, playing his PSP, I'm folding laundry across the room from him and Alec is in his room.

Suddenly, Adam lets out a WOOHOO!

He's 'won' 20 some thousand dollars in his game.

I dropped the towel I was folding, stuck out my hand and said 'Cool, can I have some?'

He comes back with 'You can have half! You're worth that Mom!'

That made me smile. And just as I'm saying 'Aw, thanks Babe', I hear Alec from the other room ...

'You're worth more than THAT Mom! I'd give you Dolly Parton's Face!!!'

I'm pretty sure that was a compliment.

Both to me, and Dolly ;-)

After I stopped laughing, I threw back a 'Thanks Babe! I'm sure Dolly would appreciate that too.'

So, not only am I the Best Pisser Ever!, I'm worth as much as Dolly Parton's FACE.

Just so ya know.

Love ya Dolly! *smooches!*

K.

I Lost My Kid. Then I Found Him Again.

I made it almost 13yrs without misplacing one of my children.

We've been through crowded malls, amusement parks, beaches etc, wall to wall people, and I've always managed to keep both of them by my side, until we left the place/event.

They will be 13 & 9 in a few weeks, and I still wait outside the Men's Room door for them, and I won't let them go 'one aisle over' alone at Walmart.

Until yesterday.

It is our 'March Break' here, so the boys and I did a road trip to NB.

Yesterday, we went to the indoor/outdoor (during summer months) amusement park Crystal Palace.

We've been there a couple times a year, the past few years.

It's no Disneyland, but the kids like it.

There are rides, games, slushies and snow cones, mini-golf and a (very) small roller coaster.

It's all good.

And not 'crazy busy' because NB has already had their March Break, so most of yesterday's patrons were visitors from NS, or local kids skipping school.

We were there a total of 5 1/2 hrs.

About hour four, Adam (the 9yr old) decided he didn't want to go on the Roller Coaster with us again. He wanted to play the 'Bowling Game', which was right across from the Roller Coaster, and in clear view of the lineup Alec and I were standing in.

Only a few feet away.

Just as we're getting on, I look over and see Adam has moved down further to the Basketball Game. He motions to me that he's staying there.

Still in my line of sight.

We got on the Roller Coaster.

About a minute and a half later (if you estimate 30sec a round), we got off the Roller Coaster.

Adam was gone.

We walked down the row of games.

It was a short walk.

No Adam.

I wasn't going to panic.

Crystal Palace isn't THAT big.

He was JUST there.

He wasn't far.

Right?

My first mistake, was being comfortable enough at seeing the same families and kids running around all afternoon, and knowing he was right there, to agree to let him play the game while we took the 'minute and a bit' ride.

My second mistake, was walking around the Palace to try and find him.

Alec and I should have just stayed where we were.

We walked around three times.

No Adam.

We checked the games, the rides we had already been on, the ones he had expressed an interest in going on and the Prize Palace, in case he was checking out the prize he wanted to cash in his tickets for.

No Adam.

After 10-15 min of looking, I decided it was time to go to Security, and get his name called over the loud speaker.

Alec and I were on our way to the little red kiosk, where we purchased our tickets on the way in, when Alec said 'There he is Mom!'

I had been looking over at one of the rides and whipped my head around at his words.

There was Adam, walking toward me with a Security Guard at his side.

Our eyes locked, he ran the last few steps, and so did I.

I knelt down, grabbed him in my arms and we both let out a sob.

I was OK, until I had him in my arms again. Then I let go. And so did he.

He explained that he had looked over at the Roller Coaster when he was finished playing his game, and we weren't there.

He thought he had been playing for awhile, and that we had already gotten off the ride, and gone looking for him, when it had actually only been a minute or so, and we were still ON the ride.

So he started walking around looking for us.

And when we got off, we were walking around looking for him.

Not the smart thing to do. And we all knew it.

But God love 'im, when he didn't see us, he went to the same little red kiosk that we were on our way to. And he told them he couldn't find us.

They asked his name, age, my name etc. And the Security Guard had just started to walk around with him to look for me, when we met.

I thanked him, and he graciously replied that it happens every day, all the time.

Actually, we had heard names being called over the PA system two or three times while we were there that afternoon.

Didn't make me feel any better for being an idiot.

He then asked if I'd bring Adam over to the Prize Palace, where he gave him a kite, and a stuffed bear from the pickings (and you needed alot of tickets for those little suckers!).

To make him feel better after his 'adventure'.

I thought that was really nice of him.

After that, we played for another hour or so, stood in a half hour lineup to cash in their tickets for prizes, and left.

I'm not proud I lost my kid.

He was 15t away, in my direct line of sight, and I lost my kid.

Irresponsible on my part. Definitely.

Having a 13yr old in the house, who he often tries to imitate, I sometimes forget Adam is still only 9.

Yesterday was one of those times.

I don't know what I would have done, if some of the thoughts that were going through my head had materialized, instead of the outcome that was.

As Alec and I were running through the rides and games on our Adam Hunt, I couldn't help but remember a couple of years ago, when I found a lost little boy, on the Halifax waterfront, and then managed to find his Mom.

I hoped at the time, if I ever found myself in the reverse situation, that someone would be nice enough to return MY child.

Yesterday, the fates returned the favour. Thank you.

And thank you Mr Security Guard, for taking care of my boy.

And thank you Adam, for remembering the 'right thing' to do if you ever got lost.

K

P.S. But he wouldn't make a good eye witness. He told the guard I was wearing a brown and black shirt.

It was St Paddy's Day.

It was Green. LOL

People Intersect

I'm reading a book.

It's called Double Cross by James Patterson.

Pic courtesy of Amazon.com

I love Patterson. He's one of my favourites, and I've read all the books based on the Alex Cross character.

I even have the next one in the series sitting on my shelf - Cross Country - ready for when I finish this one ;-)

This afternoon, one sentence in Double Cross got my attention.

'People intersect'.

I thought about that for a second.

I read it again.

'People intersect'.

How true.

And my mind wandered to all the 6 degrees of separation people in my life. Both real, and online.

People who have come & gone, and then come back again (thanks Facebook!).

Lives intersecting.

That got me thinking of a question I'd read recently.

One posted by a fellow blogger, Beggar's Shot Glass, whose path intersected with mine almost a year ago on another blog site.

I didn't answer her question at the time, but I did think about it.

'What kind of impression are you hoping to make and leave with people in your life?'

The obvious has gone through my head. A good mom who loved and had fun with her kids. Good daughter and friend. Good person.

Ya know, the usual stuff.

Tonight, I was going to see a friend I met through a friend, who I met through my ex almost 20yrs ago.

Intersecting at it's best! lol

I was also running errands, and ran into a person whose path I haven't crossed in over 15 years, and who unknowingly answered my question of 'what kind of impression?' I left people with.

I was going into the convenience store, and this guy was coming out. We were walking straight into each others paths, so I started to move to one side.

He slowed down, turned around, stopped and asked "Didn't you teach at the computer school, XXX?'

I was suddenly having a flashback! This has happened before!

I stopped, said I wasn't a teacher, but worked in the lab right after graduation from that school, which we both agreed had been the 93-94 time frame.

He said 'YES! I remember you! You were a great help to me!'.

I was completely shocked.

Not sure what I was expecting, but it wasn't the words that came out of this stranger's mouth.

I didn't recognize him. Didn't 'know' him, but obviously our paths had intersected before.

He then said 'You probably don't remember, but I was one of old guys in the class at the time, and you really helped me alot that year.

And I remember those violet eyes!

But more importantly, I remember how helpful you were to me!' :-)

LOL

Wow.

He was right. I didn't remember him. Like I've said before, my memory sucks.

I'm just walking along, mindin' my own business, and out of the blue I walk into the path of a man who says I was 'a great help' to him 15yrs ago. That's how he remembers me.

So, I thanked him again, told him I was glad I was able to help him that year, that it was cool that he was still in 'the biz' after all these years, and went on my way.

As I pulled open the door to the convenience store, two thoughts crossed my mind.

People intersect and;

don't forget the toilet paper.

K.

Sissy's Song

Get your Kleenex!

You've been warned.

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that the mom of one of Alec's best friends was dying.

Nine days after I wrote that post, she was gone. She was 47yrs old.

She left behind a husband, a 13yr old son, and 10yr old (I believe) daughter.

And it just makes me so sad knowing they're going to miss so much.

Alec and I attended her funeral on Monday.

That morning, I worked from home, the boys went to school.

Shortly after 1pm, I left to pick up Alec.

On the way to the school, I was listening to my favourite station, and heard a new song I had only heard a couple of times before.

I didn't 'know' it yet, but I knew I loved it.

I had no idea who sang it, but it didn't matter, it was beautiful.

The first notes started just as I left the house.

I knew it probably wasn't a good idea to listen to it. Not while on the way to her funeral.

I knew the words in this song would hit hard at that moment, and driving and tears aren't exactly a good / safe combination.

Instead, I turned it up. LOUD.

I have since learned this is Sissy's Song. By Alan Jackson.

I DID say get the Kleenex.


Thankfully, it was over and I had manged to fix the smudged eyeliner by the time I'd reached the school.

Later that night, I thought about the funeral, and how that particular song had come on the radio at that particular time.

Strange.

But oddly, comforting and just what I needed.

Click on Alan's link above, to hear him personally tell the story behind Sissy's Song.

K.

There's Perks To This Blogging Thing Ya Know!

I've been doing this 'blogging thing' for a couple of years now, and lately, I'm discovering it occasionally has it's perks.

For example, a little while ago, I was contacted by a representative from Procter and Gamble.

She had stumbled into the Korner and thought I might be a good marketing candidate for some of their products.

She offered to send me free 'stuff' in exchange for a blog review of the product.

How can I say no to FREE product?!?!?

Well, OK, there were a couple of offers she had that I refused, but not the ones I REALLY wanted to try out :-)

Some of you may remember the dishwasher I bought myself for xmas a couple of years ago.

In that dishwasher, I've tried the powder and the cream.

Different brands. Different results.

Spots - no spots.

Rings - no rings.

Streaks - no streaks.

Clean - not clean.

One thing I haven't yet tried are the Cascade® pacs.

This is one of the products I was sent ...


Bonus points for the pretty packaging ;-)

Usually, I rinse the dishes before putting them through the wash.

According to the Ex, I rinse them to the point of no longer needing to run through the wash! lol.

So for this experiment, I decided to fight the urge to 'clean' them first, and stuck them in as is.

No. I don't usually take pics of my dirty dishes.

Actually, now that I think about it, this would be the FIRST time I've ever taken a picture of my dirty dishes.

I ran them through the 'Normal' cycle and ...

... those same dishes after going through a wash with a Cascade® tablet.

Clean.

Less streaks left on the glasses.

I wouldn't say everything was spotless, but ...

I was happy :-)

And maybe just a little bit impressed.

I'm not saying I'll immediately add it to the grocery list. When I need dish washing detergent, what I buy will usually be determined by what's on sale.

But the next time I need some, if the price is right, I'd throw it in the cart.



Now, I'm off to try the new Swiffer Dust & Shine® Furniture Spray that she sent me :-)

Actually, I received two . Lilac and Vanilla Scent and Tropical Sunshine.

The Vanilla / Lilac should be interesting. Considering I LOVE the smell of vanilla, and really can't stand the scent of Lilac.

But, I did warn the lady that I wouldn't be anything but honest about my opinions.

That's the chance they take when they give me the perks to blog about ;-)

I've also made it clear that if she has any flat screen TVs that needed reviewing, I'd be alllll over that one ;-)

K

My 'R' Rated Marriage Proposal

On the drive to school, Adam and I were listening to the radio as usual, when the DJ said "... and up next, a marriage proposal gone terribly WRONG!"

Of course, that prompted the questions from Adam.

What did 'terribly wrong' mean? Why would someone say no? Did Daddy ask me to marry him or did I ask him?

And then ...

Mom, where did Daddy ask you to marry him?

This shouldn't be a difficult question to answer right?

Right?

Yeah. Not quite.

I paused for a second, gathering my thoughts, so I could figure out exactly how much of the REAL story I was going to tell him.

Cause ya know, I just can't tell my 8 year old EVERYTHING his father and I have done over the years!

The version I gave him was ...

Your father and I were at a friend's wedding. We stayed at the hotel overnight where the wedding was held and Daddy arranged it with the hotel staff to bring in breakfast the next morning, with the engagement ring hidden in the croissants, as a surprise.

But, that night, after the wedding reception, Daddy and I were having a really good time, and a really good talk, and he couldn't wait, and he asked me that night in the hotel room.

And yes, the hotel staff was REALLY upset they didn't get to be in on the proposal the next morning, and were knocking at the door asking ... "Did she say Yes? Did she say Yes? Did she? Did she?" LOL

He thought that was a nice story.

Some day, I'll tell him how it REALLY happened.




Oh. You mean you want to know the real story too? Now?

Well, considering my brother-in-law informed everyone of how we got engaged at our wedding reception, in front of my GRANDMOTHER ... I guess I can share it with you ;-)

My brother-in-law started his 'wedding toast' this way ...

"It's very fitting that's it's raining today, because it was (sort of) raining the night Paul asked Kim to marry him ..."

We did go to the friend's wedding.

And we did stay overnight at the hotel.

And he did have everything worked out with the staff for the next day.

And he did get so excited that he couldn't wait until morning, and DID propose to me that night.


In the shower.

Yup. In the shower.

At about 2am, after all the festivities, in the middle of having a shower together, my ex looked at me and said "Don't go anywhere!"

I was left standing there ... in soap suds, looking through the steam, thinking "Where the hell does he think I'm going to go?" or better question ...

"Where the hell did HE go?"

I found out a minute later when he returned, got down on one knee ... IN THAT TINY SHOWER ... and with water streaming straight into his face, soap stinging his eyes, he held out a beautiful ring through the spray and asked ...

"Will you marry me?"

Yeah.

In the shower.

On bended knee.

I said yes. Obviously.

And it was a great night ;-)

And I'll always have a great engagement story to remember and tell.

And some day, I'll tell Adam the REAL story.

Maybe on his own wedding day. He should be old enough to hear the truth by then ;-)

K.

This Is How Radio Rolls In Nova Scotia

You know those mornings, when the second you open your eyes, focus, and realize it's morning, you're immediately pissed off (over nothing), and you know instinctively it's going to be a BAD day!

You're in a horrible mood and are ready to kick the nearest thing in your path, or chew the head off the first unsuspecting person who makes the mistake of wishing you 'Good Morning!'.

Cindy is having a day like this.

Some days, I feel like Cindy.

Cindy is the video below. I think you'll be able to pick her out.

This is the Fall '08 'Be happy at work' commercial from one of our local radio stations. 89.9 HAL FM

I liked it.

Who wouldn't actually like to pull a Cindy some days? ;-)

It would be wrong of me to introduce you to Cindy, but not to another local hero. From another one of our radio stations.


The Q104 Dancing Guy!

Based on the comments for this video, people seem to love him ... or hate him.

Personally, I got a chuckle out of him, and think he's got balls for putting himself 'out there' like that LOL.

I'm really not sure which of the two is the better station. I don't listen to either.

I'm an FX 101.9 country girl.

All country, all the time.

Unless the boys are with me. Then I'll allow them control of the tunes for the drive, so it's usually on 101.3 The Bounce.

Which I must admit, if it has to be on something other than FX, I'm GLAD it's The Bounce :-D

Unless I'm having a 'Cindy Day'.

Then, The Bounce is usually vetoed, because I prefer country and country makes me feel better when I'm having a bad day. Period.

So Stompin', Jigglin' or Bouncin' take your pick, cause this is how radio rolls in Nova Scotia!

K