New Favorite Website - sidetaker.com

So I thought I would share my new favorite website with everyone:  www.sidetaker.com 

SideTaker is a place to vent out your frustrations and see if you are justified. You can even have the two people who are in an argument tell their own sides and people vote on who is right and give advice. AMAZING!

Honestly, people bare it all on that site. From a woman wondering if after being cheated on should she give back the engagement ring, to a man wondering if he should tell his sister-in-law she is obese, to a man being upset that his roommate wants him to remove his sex machines, sex swings, and sex toys out of their basement... 

If ever in need for a good laugh, hit it up. A sure way to make you smile, because at least 1 person has a harder/weirder life than you!

Top 5 Reasons I Couldn't Live In A Small Town (again)

Before I moved to Calgary at the age of 14, I lived in a small town with a population of 226. I went to school 15 minutes away in a 'metropolis' with a population of roughly 3500. While this was fine when I was young and didn't know of anything different, I would simply go crazy if I had to live there again.

So, here are the Top 5 Reasons I Couldn't Live In A Small Town (again):

#5 - Relatives

The smaller the town, the more people you are related to. The more people you're related to, the more people you have to be nice to (even if you don't like it). The more people you are forced to be nice to, the more you want to blow your brains out... you see where this is going

#4 - EVERYONE knows you

or your parents, or grandparents... and trust me, if you 'step out of line', your parents and/or grandparents are going to find out. And forget going to the grocery store wearing your sweats, because you WILL see someone you know, and they WILL talk about you

#3 - NO 7-11's or Macs', or anything else that is open 24hr a day

I NEED to know that if I wake up in the middle of the night and want a hotdog that my lovely husband can drive to get me one. Or that I can pick up aspirin at 6am, instead of waiting until 9 or 10am for the drug store to open

#2 - No Walmart

I NEED A PLACE TO GET GREAT THINGS FOR BEYOND CHEAP. And this 'place' needs to be 20 minutes or less away from me. That is all.

#1 - GOOD internet.

Honestly, every time I go 'home' I feel as though I am going to die without my internet. I'm not used to get booted off and having bad internet at certain times of the day anymore. Without being able to check my e-mail, be in facebook, and watch a youtube video all at the same time, I will explode. Call it snobby, but it's my addiction. I put up with all your guy's alcoholism, drug use and smoking, so you can handle my internet!!!

Top 5 Reasons I Dislike Calgary

I moved to Calgary when I was 14. While I enjoyed growing up in a small town in Newfoundland (honestly, 250 people, 75% elderly), I was pretty happy to have my teenage years in a city. It didn't matter that it was Calgary, just a city. Somewhere to stretch my wings and become my own person. Somewhere that had a 7-11, a movie theater that had more than one screen and more than one playing time per day, a place that had groceries stores open on Sunday's, etc....

I say, 'just a city', because I actually really dislike Calgary. While most of mine and my husband's immediate family live here, which is great, I find this city revolting. Everyday I say to myself or my husband, "I HATE THIS CITY! WE HAVE TO MOVE!!".

So that you can feel my pain, here are the "Top 5 Reasons I Dislike Calgary"

5. CONSTRUCTION
Calgary is constantly under construction... roads, condos, developing neighborhoods, you name it! You can not drive anywhere in the city without seeing it or it slowing you down. The projects NEVER seem to end, and when they do, the project needs to be "updated" because it took so long to finish!

4. 3 1/2 HOURS OF RUSH HOUR
In this city of 1.5 million people, rush hour lasts from 3:30pm until roughly 7pm. City planners really dropped the ball when it came to developing the roads here. And the thing is, it isn't just Monday-Friday. There is still rush hour on the weekends, it just doesn't last as long. YUCK!

3. POOR CITY PLANNING
When new communities are developed,  schools, fire stations, and ems stations are after thoughts. Some new communities don't get schools for 5+years after being developed... This makes NO sense! Who moves to new communities: FAMILIES. These kids have to go to school somewhere, and busing them up to 45 minutes is unacceptable!

2. SNOW REMOVAL
Or should I say LACK of snow removal? You'd think an oil town could get their acts together and have clean roads, but no. It's too much money to clean the roads, but lets spend obscene amounts of money on a footbridge!

1. THE CALGARY STAMPEDE
For 12 days the entire city, along with it's thousands of tourists turn into drunken cowboys. People who are 'fashionistas' all year long bring out the Wranglers, cowboy hats and boots, bad western shirts, shirts with sayings like "save a horse ride a cowboy', and all that cheesy crap! As if that isn't bad enough, everyone drinks until they pass out, and then they drink again. Crime spikes, emergency response teams are over-worked, the city looks like a dump, and smells like urine. This one time of year is Calgary's sad attempt at culture, and it makes me so sad. Calgary has a reputation or being a closed minded, conservative, stuck in the past city, and Stampede only reinforces this idea. You can't go anywhere to escape it. EVERYWHERE is decked in western crap! City Transit is packed and basically un-usable for the duration of the Stampede. The only good thing this 'event' offers is free Stampede Breakfasts, and even that isn't enough to make up for anything else. Honestly, I just want to stay in my house for 12 days... it's disgusting!

Disclaimer

OK, I thought I had already did this, TWICE.... but I guess I need to make it VERY PROMINENT! 

THIS BLOG IS MY WAY OF VENTING MY STRESS. 

If I have to keep all this in, I will lose my mind! If you don't like what I write, don't read it! All you have to do is close your screen.

winter wonderland and sky high insurance

Yesterday in Calgary there were over 200 accidents!!! Good day for the insurance companies! 

Those of you who are unfamiliar with Calgary might look at that number and be in shock. I used to be like that too. I am from Newfoundland, where even roads that service communities of less than 15 people get plowed/salted on a regular basis. Here in Calgary, only main roads get sanded, and maybe plowed, and all secondary side roads are left to the way side. Every year the snow comes, and every year the city releases a statement saying not to call the city about the state of the roads. And year after year the city goes WAY over it's snow removal budget, yet never increases their budget by more than a few percent to change it's problem!

This is my recommendation, stop giving yourself high raises ever year city alderman and mayor Bronconnier, and amp up your snow removal budget! Sand and plow every road on a regular basis! How many people need to be in accidents, get injured or die, and get insurance rates they can't afford before the city actually does something that is worth while? Trust me, if the mayor's or someone in his family got in a serious accident on a side road, or a main road that was un-plowed, it won't take long before things changed!

But of course, all the citizens can complain our asses off, but the city won't change a bit. They will cry back to us "a chinnook is coming! a chinnook is coming! all the snow will go away then", even if the chinnook doesn't come for 3 weeks! Great idea Calgary combat Mother Nature with Mother Nature... your sure to win... NOT! So drive safe Calgary, be on your toes, because no one else will be making sure your driving conditions are adequate. Your life is solely in your hands!

Routine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Some people are free spirits who do whatever they please. Other people are more structured and need routines and order. I am one of those people who needs the structure. And luckily for me, my daughter is too.

My daughter is the kind of baby who will NOT sleep if constantly stimulated, not in her own crib, swing, or stroller.She eats at regular intervals, poops at regular intervals, sleeps at regular intervals and is only her happy self when her daily routine is kept up.

Now as I have said before, everyone seems to think they know better than me. Things like, "come over at 6", when her bedtime routine starts at 7:30, "if she stay up later, she'll sleep longer", when she wakes up the same time no matter how long she sleeps, and "it's ok to break her routine every now and again" when she she won't get back into her normal routine for at least 4 days, are said to me often. And you know what, it's all well and good for someone to say all those things, but guys, guess what? YOU DON'T HAVE TO HANDLE THIS CRANKY, UNHAPPY, CRYING & SCREAMING BABY WHOSE ROUTINE IS SCREWED TO SHIT!!!

I understand my daughter is adorable, lovable, and fun to be around, and that EVERYONE wants to spend time with her, but the reason she is that way is because she is on a schedule! Mess with it, and she becomes a whole different person (much like if you mess with this mommy's sleep!!). But why can't people just understand that the saying "mother knows best" is actually true for young children? Oh, and then when the EXACT thing I say will happen, happens, these people with their 'advice' and comments are shocked! It's almost as though they don't know my daughter as well as I do or something.... C.R.A.Z.Y!! 

Am I trying to keep her from people? Of course not! My daughter has a family who loves her so much, but it sure would be nice if they would take her in to consideration before planning events!

Well I'd love to rant more, but I have a baby who is having an "outburst" from being overtired, seeing as she hasn't slept right in 3 nights...  But no, you guys are right, it's totally worth screwing with her routine!

Top 5 Reasons I have Become A Bitchy Mommy

For those of you who know me well/for a long time, you know that I have always had an inner bitch. It often remained buried DEEP inside, but it was there. Well in the past year, that has REALLY changed! My inner bitch has been set free and it has grown and flourished, transforming this usually opinionated yet quiet woman into a full on, in your face, not going to take your crap, B.I.T.C.H. A lot of people have been surprised by this change, so I thought I should explain my 'transformation'...

So, here is is, the TOP 5 REASONS I HAVE BECOME A BITCHY MOMMY:

#5 -People not approving of my marriage. 

My husband and I got married after just over a year of dating. We decided to get married after only 3 months of dating. I was also 14 weeks pregnant when we got married. Some people say we got married too fast. Other people think that we got married because I was pregnant. All I can say is when you are in love and you know it, nothing is too fast and I found out I was pregnant almost 2 weeks after we sent out of invites. Plus, didn't your mother's teach you that "if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all"? Keep your comments to yourself.

#4 - Everyone thinking they know how to raise my daughter better than I do.

While I will say that people who are mothers do have some great experience, I would love it if people would acknowledge that things change over time. More research is conducted, more technology is created. In just the 22 (almost 23) years since I was a baby, so much has changed. How to put your baby to sleep, when to start feeding solids, what foods your baby should and shouldn't eat, carseats and carseat locations in the vehicle and even certain toys that were considered 'learning tools' are now banned/against the law. What was normal even 10+ years ago may not be today, so advice from when you had kids may be out of date. Also, a mother's instinct is the best mothering tool there is. Chances are that will lead me in the right direction. And again, keep your comments (advice) to yourself. If I want to hear what you have to say, I will ask.

#3 - I'm sleep deprived.

I have not had a decent night's sleep since I was 4 months pregnant. So for 14 months, I have been sleep deprived. Even when Charlotte does sleep through the night, I still wake up to make sure she is ok. I think anyone would be bitchy after over a year of getting awful sleep.

#2 - An awful first Mother's Day.

For my first Mother's Day, my husband spent 5 hours with his mother and sister and my daughter had one of the longest she has ever had (6 hours!). So I spent most of the day by myself. Then when my husband did come home, his sister wanted to see our daughter, so my sister-in-law and brother-in-law came over for a BBQ. It was nearly 8:30pm before I got any time with my new family unit. This has been the start of my family not being allowed to spend special events alone together. Maybe I am selfish, but I want some good family memories of just my little unit. My family comes first, then everyone else comes second.

#1 - Not being the first person to hold my daughter.

Not only did we have 4 visitors in the hospital while I was in labour (2 friends and my husbands parents) when I said I wanted NO ONE there, because I wanted it to be a special moment for our new family, but I didn't get to hold her first. Now it isn't really anyone's fault as there where some minor complications with my daughter's birth. There was some meconium present before my daughter came out (essentially she pooped before she came out), so we were informed that they would not be able to lay her on my chest right after birth, my husband would not get to cut the umbilical cord, and that I special team would be present to check her directly after birth. While she was being checked, I was going through after birth, and complication #2 occurred. My placenta wouldn't come out in one piece. I had to be rushed to the OR so that they could manually remove it. SO it was about an hour until I got to get a good look and hold my daughter. In that hour my husband and mother-in-law got to hold her before I did. Now my husband holding her is whatever to me. I mean, I was in the OR, who else was going to hold her, but my mother-in-law holding her before I did really hurt. Not only had I expressed countless times that I wanted this to be an event for my husband and I and that went in one ear and out the other, but someone who wasn't her parent got to hold my daughter before me. I feel robbed of that special moment. I know that I get her all the time now, but I really feel as though that moment was ruined, and that my new family unit was robbed of making a special memory and having time to bond. 

Well there you have it... there is why I am a bitch. It isn't as though I woke up one day bitchy, it was a progression. Trust me, if all this happened to you, you'd be bitchy too!