Poor Daisy. I guess she is as accident prone as her momma. We have matching bandages. We took her to the park for a doggie date yesterday and she cut the pad of her paw on something. She's such a good girl, she isn't even trying to pull off the bandage, which is what we thought she would do. It is such a sin to see her hobbling around on 3 paws, it makes me want to cry. Normally she is such a tough girl. I've seen her running to catch a ball and just smash her head on the side of the door frame. She just wobbles a bit, shakes her head and keeps going. I've seen her flip over in the air and land on the ground on her back while trying to catch a frizbee the wind has got ahold of, and still get it and bring it back to play some more. But this time she won't walk up or down stairs by herself. She just stood there yesterday staring at us from the top of the stairs for about 20 minutes until Paul figured out that she was afraid to walk down the stairs. She is too heavy for me to carry so Paul had to go get her. And carry her up to bed last night. What a sad sight!

I returned the RR no problem. They didn't have a manual one like the nice one out west everyone in the family seems to enjoy so much. So I bought a cheap $22 General Electric 135 watt mini-chopper. No blades to change, cause it only comes with one. It actually works great. I cut up onions last night for our hamburgers in 2 seconds...hehe. I love kitchen gadgets. And because it is small and white, I can leave it right out on the kitchen counter. Someday I will find a nice Cuisinart. Who knows, I may even come accross an old one at Value Villiage. A girl at work has a really old one and it still works like a charm. My little chopper only does one thing, chop. But hey, at least it doesn't turn everything to baby food and there is less chance of me earning a new nickname, something about only having 9 fingers...

I was looking for a Cuisinart when I bought my food processor, but they are hard to find around here. I know RR's food processor is the ugliest thing I've ever seen but I bought it anyway because it had 700 watts, so I thought it would get the job done. Yea, it turned potatoes, carrots, onions to LIQUID, on just one pulse with a "big chopping" blade. It is going right back to the store today. I don't care how bad the lineup is.

And I am still not out of the woods with the cut finger yet. It keeps opening up & bleeding (I just had to wipe blood off my keyboard) right through the bandages. Plus, when I try to put my finger straight out it hurts like hell. Might have cut a tendon or something...never excelled at Biology so not really sure (wiping off more blood here).

Anyway better go and buy more bandages as it looks like I am going to need them. But, on a positive note, who knew I could type with only 9 fingers? Hey, I've learned a new skill! Thanks RR!

PS. She doesn't even use her own food processor on the show! This pic is from her website. Her's is blue, orange & silver (and the cup sits at an angle). The one below is white (and the cup sits up straight).

Does anyone own a really good food processor they would like to recommend? I want something to dice & slice mostly.

I bought a Rachael Ray thinking it would be good, but no matter what blade you use, it turns everything to puree. And normally they come with big round blades you can just pick from which one you want to use. Not this one. It has one big round plastic piece which is the blade disc, and then there is this little "blade" (the sharp part) that you have to insert into the big plastic part every time you want to change the blade or take it out to clean it. And the thing does not go in or come out easily! Hence, the very large finger bandage I will be sporting with my New Years fashions this season. At first I thought I may need stitches, but it seems to have closed up pretty well.

So I got to thinking about how some of the folks out west have a new interest in the MacAulay family tree so I decided to start a new blog. I will add to it what I have (first I have to find the hard copies...they are here somewhere) and anyone who wants to add pics or info can e-mail it to me at jenlmelvin@hotmail.com.

We will see how this goes.It is worth a try.The address is themacaulayfamilytree.blogspot.com.

We went to the annual Christmas Eve gift exchange/turkey dinner at Paul's sisters house tonight.As always, I was in charge of the potatoes and made my special whipped sour cream & chives and cheddar & onion ones, plus some au natural ones for the traditionalists in the family.

Tomorrow is turkey day and I get to peel more potatoes (groan) but hey, I enjoy eating them to. It was a full house but we didn't take all that many photos. Shelley took a bunch with her camera and she said she would e-mail them to me once she finds the time. I am still waiting to get ones at work from the Exxon Christmas party. I will post a couple of those once I get them.

Here is Brandon (Santa) & Jarrod, Paul's newphews, holding a picture of their dog Taffy that has gone to doggie heaven.

Brandon with his Nanny, Paul's mom Gloria.

Daisy got a dog cookie for Christmas. Here she is hiding under the coffee table with it so Mommy won't eat it on her, cause you know dog bones are my favorite...
Daisy with Daddy eating her bone. Daisy helping Mommy wrap gifts in the spare bedroom (and yes, I know, I haven't finished the paiting in this room yet).

Daisy trying to see what Santa brought her.

Me with my early Christmas gifts, earrings! Taa daa. Daisy looking at my bear that came with my earrings. It plays music and Daisy just loves it.

Mom is coming over tomorrow for turkey dinner. I will take some more pics and post again soon.

Merry Christmas Everyone, and a Happy New Year!!!!

My very first "Thursday Thirteen" post:

Thirteen Things I Will and Will Not Cheap Out On:
1. Toilet Paper - I agree with Lesley, single ply is down right nasty.
2. Books - If I really want it, I must have it no matter what the cost. Hey, I'm not rich here, but I'll admit I have spent a pretty penny on some books when they were new releases because I wanted to read them right away. I am getting too old and no longer have the patience to wait until a book gets in stock at the library, then there is the uptown parking to deal with, plus time limits, then you gotta give it back, even if you really liked it. Not for me.Plus, a lot of the stuff I read will never be at the library.
3. Clothes - What can I say? I am a cheapski. I buy stuff when it goes on sale. It is very, very rare that I pay full price for anything.
4. Jewelery - Why buy the real deal when you can have a knock off & no one can tell the difference? Plus, if you lose it, no harm done. My only exception to that is sentimentel things, like my engagement and wedding rings which I wear every day so it has got to be the real deal.
5. Perfume - If I like it, I don't care how much it costs, or doesn't cost. That said, I have never found a really expensive one that I like yet, so that still goes in the cheapie catagory for me.
6. Make-up - I buy what I like over and over again. I don't care about the price tag. I don't wear it enough to worry about that because it lasts forever. I am not looking to save money. I just want what I know and like.
7. Skin care - Same thing, but the stuff I buy isn't really all that expensive. Still, I get what I like and don't look at the tag.
8. Memories - Trips, events, concerts, family gatherings, pictures....all of that stuff goes in the "I don't care how much it costs as long as I have enough cash to pay for it, let's do it" catagory.Mind you, I do try to save money where I can. But if it comes down to going to a concert and there are two seats left, one too far away to see at all and one right up front, if I have enough cash to pay for the ones up front, I'm buying them. Hey, you only live once!
9.Soda - No Pepsi for me, thanks. I don't care if it is 10 cents a liter. Gross. I got to have what I like, not that I drink all that much pop.
10. Household Scented Products (ie. candels, room sprays, etc.) - If I like it I must have it.
11. White Paint - I don't even want to count how many gallons of white paint I have used in the last 3 years. Gotta love the Fixer Uppers! It is all the same, so I try to find the cheapest I can.
12. Spray Butter (like Pam) - It is all the same.
13. Dog Toys - She's only going to wreck them eventually, so might as well save a buck or two.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!!!!

Yes Lesley, I did find a dress at Reitmans. It "will do". It is a black stretchy thing that has a criss cross front and a tie around the waist that I am not so crazy about. But, the thing I hate most is three quarter length sleeves. I just can't escape them! Oh well. I think I will buy some chunky braclets to cover the rest of my arms to kinda keep the lines long. Oh, and can't forget the stilettos. Although it has been awhile, I better dig them out and wear them around the house a bit to get used to them again.
I'll post a pic of us after my work christmas party, if any of them turn out decent.

So I see David and family are moving back east. That is wonderful! Any word yet on what province?

On another note (Mat probably heard all about this at work), the apartment building where Mom lives had a fire during the week. They had to carry Mom down 4 flights of stairs in her nightie. The Red Cross & the Salvation Army set up a shelter center at a local hotel and everyone spent the night. Mom was really upset. We were all waiting out in the lobby of the hotel for hours waiting to get rooms assigned and the landlady came over to a girl who lives on Mom's floor and told her that the firemen had to break down her door and the place was basically trashed. She said she just came home from christmas shopping and laid all her gifts out on the floor to wrap when the alarms started going off. She also said she didn't have fire insurance and we noticed she was all alone. It was really sad. We were terribly worried, but the RC & SA did such a fantastic job of feeding everyone and getting them rooms and stuff like toothbrushes, paste, etc. it was great to see. Everyone was very gratefull.

We were told the next day that some people could go back to stay and some could go back to retrieve stuff, but would not be allowed back to their apartments to stay. Mom was the first one back and the girl from the night before was right behind us. She went to her door, but it was just a sheet of plywood screwed on so they had to find some power tools before they could let her in. Mom's place was fine, just a bit smokey. Thank god!! She said Dad must have been watching out for her.

Apparently the newspaper said the fire started on one of the lower floors and went up the walls, basically causing damage to one apartment on each floor, one above another. When we were in the elevator going up to her floor with the firemen, it stopped on the second floor and when the doors opened, the smell on that floor was SO bad, it made me gag. It was a carpet cleaner guy who wanted on, but we were too full so he had to catch the next one. We didn't know what to expect when we got up to Mom's floor, but she was OK. Thank GOD! First thing she wanted to do was go to bed and sleep. She didn't care about anything else. She was so upset and tired from all the excitement, she just had to sleep. Can't say I blame her. I came home and took a nap myself after work.

Well all ended out OK for Mom. I feel bad about everyone else in the building though, that weren't as lucky. So sad.

Here are the firemen on one of the balconys at Mom's building, from the newspaper. I tried to paste the article from the newspaper, but it didn't work.

OK peeps, I need mailing addresses. The ones I am missing in the MacAulay Clan are: Mat, Amy & Mitch, Monica & JJ, Heather & Jeff, Melanie & Jimmy, David & Paula, and if anyone has moved recently, please give me a new address, because I may have an old one in my address book.

Which brings me to my next question, am I to understand that David & Family are moving back east? I got that impression from some comments on one of the blogs, but maybe I just had too much rum in my eggnog, you never can tell with me.

Also, I saw on Mel's blog about Mike being in a commercial and on Trailer Park Boys.Was that Mike, our Mike, or just another friend of yours with the same name? Just curious. I think I've seen every Trailer Park Boys episode at least once, so now I want to know which ones so I can go back and look. Can't belive I didn't see him, if it is Mike Marsh (and not another friend of the same name), please tell me which episodes, cause I'd love to see! I know Mike is a popular name though, kinda like Jen and Paul, so could be someone else.

I haven't had much time lately to keep up on all the blogs like I would like, but I try to steal a few minutes here and there. It looks like everyone is doing well. Babies in bellies are growing, toddlers are becoming little girls, cookies are getting baked, walls painted (and those nasty baseboards to), presents are being bought, cards are getting sent and Santa's lap has been visited. We are all very busy this time of year, to say the least. Hopefully in the new year I will be able to update my blog more often. Who are we kidding here? I am just hoping I have something fun and exciting happen around here to blog about ...lol. Things have been so boring, I never have anything interesting to talk about. I need to get out more.

I guess I will get my wish with work Christmas parties, friend's parties, family gatherings and a great New Years Eve party to look forward to. By 2007 I will probably be wishing I had more time to be bored!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year everyone! Don't forget to e-mail or post your address!