Thursday Thirteen #12 - Pet Pictures

13 Pictures of Pets I DO own, HAVE owned or KNOW someone who owns.

This is Kelly, the family dog who passed away in 1995.

This is Ciara. She's the mom to Essence (keep reading)

This is Gizmo, technically m FIL's dog but currently lives with us

This is Essence, our beautiful girl who passed away July 2006This is Bailey, the new family dog, lives with my parents.
This is Kesa, my brother's cat
This is Scooter, the family cat that passed away in 1997. (Yes the cute girl is me)
This is Maharat, American Toad, one of 9 we had and the biggest


This is Kira, Mom of Kesa (above) Kira is my cat. This is Pagan, my dog, daughter of Gizmo (above), sister of Bandaid (below)
This is Rhoades. Son of Essence (above) Friend who lives with us's dog This is Swiper (as in Swiper the Fox from Dora), a cat we owned for a few weeks before we gave her back. She was named that because she would try to steal all your food.
This is Bandaid, daughter of Gizmo, sister of Pagan.

Thursday Thirteen #11 - Blog Pet Peeves

13 Blog Pet Peeves

1. Requiring registration to comment on your blog. I don't want to register with EVERY blog site just so I can comment on your blog. If you want comments, change your settings or go with a different site that allows you to change them.

2. Illegible text. What does that say? Exactly. It says illegible text. Don't put light colours on light backgrounds or dark colours on dark backgrounds. If I can't read it, I won't.

3. So much stuff on your side bar/blog that it takes over 3 minutes to load. I just don't have the time nor the patience. Trim it down please!

4. No Content. If it's boring, don't expect people to come back. I don't claim to be some wonderful writer but at least offer SOMETHING of value!

5. Contests/Giveaways and links to them that don't specify country. I hate going through the motions to enter something only to find out 5 minutes later that it's for US residents only.

6. Excessive use of swear words. Once in a while is one thing (although I prefer none, or just little ones like darn,) but every 5th word is another. I just won't bother reading your post.

7. Sudden absence. I hate coming across a blog that has tons of posts I like only to realize that the last post was 8 months ago. Or worse, 3 years. Grrr.

8. Entering secret codes to post comments. Especially when they aren't readable! Spybots can't read them at all right? So why do they have to be so hard to see?

9. Music that autoplays. For one thing it makes it load SLOWLY. (see #3) Also, who said I wanted to listen to music? Maybe my baby is sleeping in my arms while I surf and you woke her up!

10. Gross stories with TMI that don't have a warning. I don't mind gross stories and often even like to read them, just give us a warning so we can finish eating first.

11. An excess of religion. It's your blog. It's your religion so of course you are entitled to mention what you follow or quote scripture but PLEASE don't OVERDO it. I'm NOT your religion and I don't like feeling like it's being shoved down my throat with a reference to it EVERY post and EVERY other line. I've left many a good blog off my blogroll because I couldn't get over the feeling of drowning in a religion not my own.

12. Blogrolls with EVERY blog you've ever visited on it. It's supposed to be your FAVOURITES! I visit way more blogs than are on my blogroll (and I try to comment so you know I've been there.) Also not updating them. I've found many blogs through blogrolls that haven't been updated in 3 years. (see #7) You obviously don't visit your blogroll very often.

13. Discrimination of ANY kind. Luckily I don't come across that very often in the blogosphere.

Thursday Thirteen #10 - Commercials

My 13 Favourite Commercials (current ones)

1. The phone commercial where the son and father talk backwards: "You can tell me what to do. I raised you to talk to me like that." It's hilarious.

2. Dairy Queen - girl pretends she has an invisible friend so she can get her parents to throw a party for the friend and she can eat a Dairy Queen cake.

3. It's for Cogeco or Rogers, not sure but the grandfather is trying to get his sons attention and can't. The daughter in law says he's Televisiophoneanetting. Using the television, phone and internet all at once.

4. Hidden Valley Ranch - all the kids love to eat their vegetables and eat them like their cookies.

5. Malibu alcohol ones where the Jamaicans act like Americans. Talking about how his phone has an address book but it's really an address book stuck to the back of his huge cellphone. They are in a hurry and whatnot.

6. All the What Now? commercials. eg. A guy is in his car doing last minute preening with his car door open before picking up his date. A truck blares past ripping the open door off the car. Then it flashes, Now What?

7. Subway's fresh moment with the umpire saying how he took off points for no good reason.

8. Lotto 649 Happy Dance. They are so funny looking.

9. Telus - talk your gills off. The purple fish just keeps "talking" and all the other fish are like OMG stop talking all ready!

10. Canadian Tire - the one where the shopping car barely taps a car and the whole thing falls apart. Then a sign for rust-proofing swings down and they advertise products.

11. Power Washer (also Canadian Tire I think) where the guy is power washing his house then sees a bird poop on his (expensive) car so he turns the power washer onto his car and ends up power washing the paint right off.

12. Meijer - new shoes where all the high school students are walking around and their shoes are squeaking. It's funny because it really sounds like that for the first week of school.

13. Rogers phone - your 5. The guy is packing and the friends are looking at his five. They ask who Ellen is and he says a girl. They get all excited till it's revealed that Ellen is his mom.

Happy Thursday!

Thursday Thirteen #9 - Stuck!

13 Things I Did While STUCK in my daughter's bedroom for 20 minutes

*Yep, that's right, I was stuck. The door was sticking and when we went into the room, The Cuteness shut it behind us and that was that. Thank goodness I had both the kids in the room with me.*

1. Nursed the baby.

2. Read Cuteness books.

3. Changed Cuteness's diaper

4. Tidied up a bit.

5. Sweat a couple pounds off (there is no a/c in that room)

6. Closed my eyes and relaxed

7. Replaced Precious's soother a hundred times.

8. Tried opening the door.

9. Looked for something to pry it open with

10. Contemplated going through window but it's 4 ft drop.

11. Wondered if hubby was EVER going to get home and let me out.

12. Had horrible thoughts of what would have happened if one or both of the babies had been on the outside of the door.

13. Crossed my legs, I had to GO!

Thursday Thirteen #8 - Contests

Thirteen Contests Going On Now (not previously mentioned on this blog)

1. Win a signed copy of the book The No-Cry Discipline Solution by Elizabeth Pantley here.

2. Win a cool pair of shoes for your child from Skimasco here.

3. Win a Name Your Tune personalized kid's CD here.

4. Win a Toro Transportation System (stroller) here.

5. Win a Cuisinart Pure Indulgence Ice Cream Maker here.

6. Win a Canon Powershot SD750 digital camera here.

7. Win a Blanket/Bag from Chic Tots here.

8. Win an Easy PC System plus one program for your kids here.

9. Win a stationary set here.

10. Win a cute zippered pouch here.

11. Win a $100 gift certificate to Blessed Nest store here.

12. Win a $25 Mastercard Gift Card here.

13. Win Tattoos for Kids here. HURRY this one ends tonight!

Thursday Thirteen #7 - Stresses

The top 13 Stresses in my Life Right Now

1. Financial Woes. I hate not having money for things.
2. Father-in-law's health
3. Lack of proper sleep (which just makes the stresses worse, but I can't seem to sleep properly.)
4. My own health issues - physical
5. My own health issues - emotional
6. Streak of bad luck we seem to always have
7. Dogs misbehaving, peeing all over
8. Lack of a life, I don't go out, don't see friends.
9. Family Arguments
10. The upcoming Guiding Year
11. End of summer, I hate darkness and cold weather
12. lack of working DVD player
13. A/C is too big for windows

Thursday Thirteen #6 - Random Thoughts

13 Random Things

1. Been catching up on laundry and dishes before I go away to camp. Definitely need to do the laundry because otherwise I have nothing to pack!

2. Got a book in the mail today which I'll be reading and reviewing for MotherTalk on my SMS Book Reviews blog in early August.

3. Got 5 books in the mail last Wednesday, 4 of which I purchased from a friend for just the cost of shipping and the other was sent free (thanks!)

4. Got The Memory Keeper's Daughter from BookMooch as well, and so know I don't know what to read first!

5. I'm trying to decide what to make for dinner tonight. I have potatoes and rice but no meat, spaghetti sauce and noodles but no hamburger (which would be fine by me but hubby NEEDS meat lol), have no bread, no milk, no veggies.... I hate having an empty fridge!

6. The dog's in heat which is annoying but it's so much better without the male dog in the house. Trying to keep two dogs in separate rooms when all they want is each other is HARD. Before you all tell me to get my dog spayed, she will be as soon as we have the money.

7. Saw the latest Harry Potter movie last Sunday, was really good, although not quite what I expected storyline wise. I've just started reading the books and will be starting book 5 this week at camp so I didn't know what was going to happen in the movie.

8. It's been a year since our dog Essence died. I miss her SOOOO much.

9. Should be getting the roof and windows and doors replaced very soon. We've been given a grant from the city to get them done. Just waiting for the legalities to finish.

10. Trying to decide where to put the newest baby's crib. She'll be 3 months old a week from Saturday so she needs to get out of her bassinet and move to her crib. But I'm not sure if she should stay upstairs with us, share her sister's room or what. Hmmm....

11. My mouth and tongue are burning from eating food while it was still hot. OUCH!

12. My to-do list is so long I really shouldn't be on the computer right now.

13. I'm a recent member of shewhoblogs. If you're a woman blogger, check it out: http://shewhoblogs.typepad.com/she_who_blogs/

Thursday Thirteen #5 - 13 Childhood Memories

13 Childhood Memories

1. November 11, 1988 - the day I was run over by a school bus. Yep, you read that correctly. I ran to catch the bus and slipped on the ice and went underneath the bus. The back wheels went over me, crushed my pelvic bone and ruptured my spleen.

2. Playing water games in the backyard with my friend Katherine at age 5. Haven't seen her since, don't know her last name either :(

3. Dad taking us to the Peace Fountain at the Detroit River. We went at least once a summer.

4. Age 12 - the day I got my very first period. Embarrassing. Enough Said.

5. Grade 6 - the hairdresser cut my hair too short and I was embarrassed about it. I walked around school with my coat on so I could hide the length of my hair.

6. Tenting in the backyard with my friends. Sleepovers were so much fun!

7. Speaking of sleepovers, the one at my best friend's house when we were trying to do a seance and just as we asked for a sign that someone was with us, the friend's grandfather dropped his keys onto a table and scared everyone!

8. A red-haired babysitter. Unless I was dreaming. That's all I remember about her.

9. Sometime between Grade 6-8 when we had so much rain the street flooded and I had a friend over and we ran through the water (a foot high)

10. Finding out I was Lactose Intolerant. Screaming in pain at a friend's house after having ice cream and then the test. (You ingest their lactose potion and then wait and then breathe into something.)

11. Watching Cartoons! Tiny Toons, Animaniacs, My Little Pony and more.

12. Playing Boogieman with my brother. We'd be in the bed with the covers over us and then pretend the boogieman was pulling us into the bed and we'd be sucked under the covers.

13. My bedroom being redone just the way I wanted it... and them moving out 6 months later.

Thursday Thirteen #4

Happy 100th Thursday Thirteen Week!
Most people are featuring their 13 fav posts but since I haven't even done TT 13 times and haven't read that many ones from others to have a favourites list so I'll be doing my 13 obsessions/addictions.

My 13 Obsessions/Addictions
(none of which are cigarettes, alcohol or drugs!)

1. Poutines. I LOVE them. I will spend every last cent I own, even if I owe others money just to get one.
2. Chocolate Bars. If I have money and pass a store or someone offers to go, I get chocolate. If it's in front of me, I HAVE to eat it. I can't save chocolate for later or the next day.
3. Charmed. The TV show. I am so sad it no longer runs but I have 5 seasons so far and as soon as I get a new season, I watch it within a week's time and then fret until I get the next one. Don't know what I'm going to do when there are no more to get.
4. Blogging. Can't Stop Blogging. Can't Stop Reading Blogs. Need Help.
5. Sheets on Beds. I can't sleep on a mattress without the sheet. There HAS to be a sheet down.
6. TP on the holder. I don't care which way it rolls off but it MUST be on the holder. Not just standing alone on the bathtub edge or window ledge.
7. Planning. I can't stand not knowing what's going to happen, when and in what order. Running errands isn't enough info for me. I need to know exactly what places and in what order we are going to them.
8. Putting things back. If you take the ketchup off the fridge door, put it back in the fridge door. Not the shelf in the fridge and certainly not left on the counter. Why can't people just put it back where they found it?????
9. Closed/Open. If the door was closed before you opened it, re close it. If it was open, leave it open!
10. Emptying Car/Trunk. You load stuff in, go somewhere and then come back home. All the stuff you loaded in needs to come in the house. Just because you won't need the stroller right away, doesn't mean it can be left in the car. Take it out!
11. Star Trek. I can't get enough of Star Trek either. Voyager first, then TNG, then Enterprise. I don't care about DS9 and the original. I watch the reruns over and over and over and over and over.....
12. Watching ONE show. Speaking of TV, I hate channel flippers. Pick a show and WATCH it. Sometimes I'll flip to another show during commercials but I always watch the one shows completely.
13. Peanut Butter and Brown Sugar Sandwiches. Especially when pregnant.

Yep I'm neurotic.

Thursday Thirteen #3 - Favourite Songs

Thirteen of My Current Favourite Songs (in no order)

#1 - Pressure by Belly feat. Ginuwine
#2 - I Tried by Bone Thugs
#3 - Big Girls Don't Cry by Fergie
#4 - The Sweet Escape by Gwen Stefani
#5 - Makes Me Wonder by Maroon 5
#6 - This Love by Maroon 5
#7 - Welcome to the Black Parade by My Chemical Romance
#8 - Say It Right by Nelly Furtado
#9 - Talk to Me by George
#10 - Paralyzed by Finger Eleven
#11 - Fallen Leaves by Billy Talent
#12 - Dani California by Red Hot Chili Peppers
#13 - Animal I Have Become by Three Days Grace

I also like all Avril Lavigne, all Simple Plan, most Pussy Cat Dolls, most Fergie, all Three Days Grace and Stranger by Hilary Duff is alright.

Thursday Thirteen #2

This time I'm going to list my 13 favourite foods in order starting with most favourite.

1. Poutine's! I'm picky how they are made but I could eat one everyday!
2. Chocolate! Milk Chocolate preffered, White Chocolate okay, Dark Chocolate Gross!
3. Salt and Vinegar Chips. Lays are the best.
4. French Fries - if not in a poutine, then vinegar, seasoned salt and ketchup is second best!
5. Eggs - Cooked Over Easy is best!
6. Chocolate Chip Cookies - Soft is better!
7. Cereal - favs are shreddies, fruit loops, frosted flakes, rice krispies and honey nut cheerios.
8. Mashed Potatoes - with margarine, salt and pepper. Cheese is good on top too.

9. Cheese - Marble is my favourite, also mozarella and cheddar. Hard cheeses only though.

10. Raisins - soft and yummy.

11. Spaghetti - little meat, good amount of sauce, no mushrooms.
12. Peaches - Not too hard, not too soft. Also peach flavoured foods.
13. Grapes - green and no seeds.

Thursday Thirteen

See other particpants here.

Thirteen Things I've Considered Doing With My Life:

1. Being a Teacher. I love teaching others.
2. Being a Psychologist. I love helping others.
3. Running a successful website that many others go to.
4. Being a published author.
5. Having lots of kids and raising them.
6. Being a Web Designer. Designing websites for other people for money.
7. Pet Grooming. A good way to work with animals, but not when they are sick or hurt.
8. Being a Spiral Scouts Leader
9. Being an Interior Designer.
10. Being a professional organizer.
11. Travelling the world to learn of other cultures.
12. Being a Librarian
13. Being a Gymnast