Good Deeds

I spent the weekend doing some good deeds. It was a balm for my spirits, as I came home from work on both Thursday and Friday feeling very undervalued and discouraged (for reasons I am not going to go into here).

On Saturday, I spent the morning baking for Mary's family, who are soon to be home from the hospital and need their freezer stocked.) I wasn't confident about preparing meals, but when someone suggested baking, I was all over it. I made two loaves of bread, two batches of muffins (in both toddler and grown-up sizes), and an apple loaf. Gwen "helped" for some of it, as well. I am getting better at managing her in the kitchen. (Except for the part where I turned around and found her with a paring knife in her mouth. She was actually fine until my loud gasp and terrified face scared the crap out of her. She didn't cut herself, though. Also, GAHHH.)

In the evening I continued the theme of good deeds by donating money to two good causes: my cousin Sonia is participating in the Ride to Conquer Cancer, and a mommyfriend is doing the Weekend to End Women's Cancers, so I gave them both money. Some of you may not know that in 2005, I raised $5,500 for the Canadian Diabetes Association and did a marathon in Rome, so I have a soft spot in my heart (and wallet) for anyone who undertakes something similar.

The final good deed was to finish up the Advent Conspiracy this morning. Those who took home the giving cans were asked to either bring them back to church by today, or give them to another charity of their choice. Out of 36 cans I made, 15 of them came back, netting a total of just over $300. Along with the other monies donated, this gave us enough to build 2 wells in a developing nation. Once the money is tripled by CIDA, we'll be able to build six wells, which will provide clean drinking water for over 230 families! That's a lot of water. That's a lot of hope. That's a lot of love!

With that, it finally feels like Christmas is over around here. Chris finally took down the outside decorations - he wanted to wait for dry weather, and I feared this would mean our house would be festooned with half-lit reindeer until sometime in June, but the rain actually stopped long enough today for him to go out and disassemble the poor creatures. Glory Hallelujah.

The Video of Gwen Losing Her Mind on Christmas Eve

Toddler + both sets of grandparents + presents + staying up late = this.



(I tried FIVE SEPARATE TIMES to upload this video via Blogger. Basically, every time I have been at home and the toddler has been asleep, I have done this. Every day for a full week. Every time? BLOGGER HAS FAILED ME. So I finally turned to Youtube, where I got it uploaded in under 20 minutes. And now as I am posting the embed code, it tells me there's an error. I am hoping like hell that it resolves itself by the time anyone wants to watch the video. Otherwise, I'm locking myself in the bathroom with a box of chocolates and I'm not coming out until summer.)

(Why does the Internet hate me?)

Gwen's 2009 in a Nutshell

1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?
So many things! I turned one, I started daycare, I stayed overnight at Gramma and Grandpa's house, I ate an ice cream cone, I slept in a tent, and I learned a BUNCH of new words. And I'm just getting started!

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I resolved to learn how to walk, at which I succeeded admirably. (I also learned how to run and hop.) This year, I intend to master doorknobs.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
No.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
No.

5. What countries did you visit?
None. I don't have a passport yet.

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
The ability to fetch my own snacks. Or bend my parents to my will.

7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
I don't really have much of a head for dates. But I guess April 27th, the day I started daycare and my mom returned to work, was kind of a big deal.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Definitely learning to walk. Do you have any idea how much stuff I can get into, now that I'm upright?

9. What was your biggest failure?
Failure? Pshaw! I blow raspberries in the face of failure.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
I had a couple of owies, but no serious ones. I went to the doctor a bunch of times and ended up on antibiotics for a throat and ear infection. That wasn't fun, but it went away soon enough. And everyone was so impressed with me for being so brave and using my inhaler mask for my cough, too.

11. What was the best thing you bought?
I don't really get a say in how money gets spent around here. If I did, you can bet there would be a lot more bananas in the place.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Well, mine, obviously. And Mom and Dad are pretty great too. Dad knows this terrific game where he runs around and hides and then jumps out at me. It is HILARIOUS! I wish you could see it. And Mom, she knows like a ton of songs, and will always sing them for me if I ask. I think I must have asked her to sing Frosty the Snowman about ... well, I only know as high as ten, but I bet it was even more times than that.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Appalled and depressed? Does that mean throwing myself on the floor and having a tantrum? If so, the answer is Mom and Dad, when they wouldn't let me eat before dinner or watch an Elmo video in the middle of the day. Appalling and depressing, indeed.

14. Where did most of your money go?
Again, I don't get a say in the finances around here. But I'm going to guess that "my" money went to daycare, diapers, clothes, and groceries.

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Seeing either one of my Grandpas.

16. What song will always remind you of 2009?
"If You're Happy And You Know It." I am! And I do! Thanks for asking!

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

i. Happier or sadder? Happier - sleeping through the night on a regular basis really did make me a more cheerful person.
ii. Thinner or fatter? I don't know, but I am definitely taller.
iii. Richer or poorer? I have a lot more toys - does that count?

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
Playing on my slide.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Brushing my teeth.

20. How did you spend Christmas?

On Christmas Eve, we went to church and I got to be in the Christmas pageant! Then, we went to my Gramma Karen's and Grandpa Keith's house and we opened a lot of presents. The next morning, Grannie Maureen and Grandpa Ron came over and we opened even MORE presents. Then my mom spent the whole rest of the day cooking, which was silly because all I ate was vegetable dip.

22. Did you fall in love in 2009?
I don't think so.

23. How many one-night stands?
I don't know what that means, so I guess I didn't have any.

24. What was your favorite TV program?

I get to watch In the Midnight Garden and Blue's Clues at daycare. They are both highly excellent.

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No, that would require more of an attention span than I possess.

26. What was the best book you read?
The Monster at The End of This Book. What an exciting roller coaster of a story - and I don't want to spoil it for you, but the ending has a terrific twist!

27. What was your greatest musical discovery?
Raffi.

28. What did you want and get?

Lots of quality time with my family.

29. What did you want and not get?
More cookies.

30. What was your favorite film of this year?
The only one I sat through from start to finish was "How the Grinch Stole Christmas". I was a little bit afraid of the Grinch, but the music made me very happy.

31. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned one! Family and friends came to visit me and my mom let me have CAKE. Cake is AWESOME. Also, my mom's friend Amber made me a crown, which just goes to show how well she knows me.

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?

Being able to talk, so that I could issue my orders more clearly.

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2009?
I am a big fan of hats. You can't have too many, I say. Two or three hats on one head is a fabulous statement.

34. What kept you sane?
Sane? ... What are you talking about?

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Elmo. So red, so fuzzy, so shrill! What's not to love?

36. What political issue stirred you the most?
Full voting rights for toddlers. I'm in charge of the letter-writing campaign.

37. Who did you miss?
My Grandpas.

38. Who was the best new person you met?

Denise, or as I call her, "neese", who looks after me while Mom and Dad are working.

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2009:

If you say please, they will probably give it to you.

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
"I want it all, and I want it now!" by Queen.

Gwen's First Knock-Knock Joke

A few days ago, Chris told Gwen the knock-knock joke involving bananas and oranges ... you know, the one with a punchline that goes, "Orange you glad I didn't say banana?" Today Gwen, at 20 months old, not only demonstrated her excellent memory, but also put her own twist on the joke.

Gwen: Knock knock.
us (me, Chris, Uncle Mikey): Who's there?
Gwen: Nama! (Banana)
us: Banana who?
Gwen: Knock knock.
us: Who's there?
Gwen: Nama!
us: Banana who?
Gwen: Knock knock.
us: Who's there?
Gwen: Nama!
us: Banana who?
Gwen: Knock knock.
us: Who's there?
Chris (whispering to Gwen): say orange.
Gwen: Yes, please.

Much hysteria ensued. And yes, we gave her an orange - after all, she said please!

Resolutions

On Thursday afternoon I was busy writing a post about my New Year's Resolutions and Gwen's New Year's Resolutions and even recapping our resolutions from LAST year and how they played out, when suddenly a terrible, horrible, no good very bad MALWARE VIRUS came and ate my lappy.

The meaning is clear: both Gwen and I are perfect the way we are, and should initiate no change.

(The resolution I was writing about at the time was the one about giving up sarcasm. I AM NOT EVEN KIDDING.)

Chris is out at the movies right now, so I have borrowed his lappy. Before he went to the movies, he took my lappy to a computer repair place. That is how desperate the situation is: for the first time in my life, I am actually going to pay someone to fix my computer.

(I don't mind that much, actually. I'd much rather pay some stranger to do it, than listen to Chris sweat and curse and be grouchy and completely unavailable to help with anything else for a week and a half, OH YES I WOULD.)

(Maybe I will feel differently when they hand me the bill.)

Since Thursday's post is utterly gone, and also my motivation to recreate it, I'll just hit the highlights.

Laura's Resolutions 2010
1. Give up angry sarcasm. Not all sarcasm, just the hurtful kind. Can I still be funny without hurting people's feelings? Let's find out!
2. Be more accepting of myself. I've got a lot of stuff going for me. And according to recent photographic proof, I'm actually not fat!
3. Stop using that really annoying way of asking people to do things. "Do you wanna ...?" No, they DON'T wanna. If you need/want them to do something, just ask them with real words: "Could you please ...?"
4. Spend more time doing the things I want to do. These include blogging, needlework, picture management, socializing, and family time.

Gwen's Resolutions 2010
1. Grow. If I got just a little taller, I could turn the doorknobs, and then I'd be UNSTOPPABLE.
2. Learn how to work the DVD player. If I want to watch Kenshin, I want to watch it NOW!
3. Explore the possibilities of snuggling with my mom in a location that isn't my crib. It seems impossible, but maybe, just maybe, it'll work.
4. Pee on the potty. Maybe just once, so I can see what all the fuss is about.

Anyway, I have no idea when I'm going to post again because (a) dead lappy, and (b) I have to go back to work on Monday. I'm very mournful about this because I was really starting to like sleeping in till 8:30. 6:45am is going to hurt so very, very much. Oh, my life is SO HARD.

(When I do get to post again, remind me to tell you about Gwen's search for Jesus, and about her shopping trips at Gramma and Grandpa's.)