Public Opinion - Dear Anonymous...

                                                      

I thought I would write this post and dedicate it specifically to the Anonymous idiot that decided to make a nasty comment on one of my blogs. Won't tell you which one...lol Go find it since I allowed it to be published along with my reply...cause you know they'll be back looking for more to read. Their comment was nasty enough that they decided to call a total stranger a horrible parent because my blog posts seem to be all about my husband and not my children. Hilarious!! And, in case this person is someone that is not a stranger but who knows me and just wants to be nasty...that wouldn't surprise me either. I'm used to the love from certain individuals.

Note to Anonymous - READ THE TITLE OF THE BLOG!

Bringing FURMAN home is about my husband and NOT about my children. As a result, I choose not to post about my children for a reason and one of those reason's is their safety from Nuts on the internet. Nuts that post nasty comments and act like they know the person that is writing when they really don't. Hence, why no photos of my children have ever been posted!! Bet you didn't notice that! lol

So, i'm setting the record straight for anyone that might be confused about my blog. It is for entertainment purposes which means I hope and expect to get a laugh out of someone from time to time while at the same time probably giving someone else hope that is also going through the same immigration process that I am. That's it.  The rest of the posts are just to let you know that i'm still around and haven't forgotten about blogging like many people have. And, to give you an idea of how my husband is adjusting to his new life in Canada.  Like I said in my Reply to that nasty persons comment...if you do not like my blog...Bugger off!  You don't need to read it, especially if it's too happy for you.  I've had enough heartbreak and stuff in my life that I don't need to spend my time writing about the bad things. I'm trying to lift people up and not bring people down which was clearly the intent of Anonymous in posting their nasty comment.  It's ok though...because I AM TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED.

Anyways, as I said, the nasty comment and my reply is on one of my blog posts that I allow to be there because everyone is entitled to their opinion and I respect that. If I wasn't able to deal with the nastiness that comes with having things public on the internet then I wouldn't have allowed my blog to be public. Why not delete the nasty comment? Why should I? I'm educated and very articulate if I must say so myself. I think people might enjoy reading the Anonymous comment and then my response. lol So, i'll leave it posted and allow those curious to find which blog Anonymous actually posted their comment on. And besides, i'm a strong woman...i've been through Hell and back and someone's nasty comment is certainly not going to break me today!! haha  Nice try though.

With all this being said, I will say that after the day that I've had....the timing of this idiots comment was pretty funny. It certainly took my mind off of the other things that I've been dealing with. Personal stuff that I haven't been blogging about because they are personal and certainly shouldn't be subject to people that feel no way about posting baseless opinions.

                                      

God is good! Everyday!
It's nice to know that people are reading my blog whether they like what I say or not because it at least lets me know that I am not writing for nothing. lol God gave me a talent and i'm using it.

Now....to leave this blog alone for the evening and/or for a few days while I go home to the family that I love. That includes my husband and both my children whether they are at home when I get there or not. One thing my children know is how much I love them. I've been blessed with a wonderful husband that loves them too. I'm not perfect which means i'm not a perfect mother, perfect friend, perfect employee or perfect wife. But, i'm me and know who loves me....so....I take the advice of Dr Seuss....lol

                                              


                                                     

I've Got One.....

                                                                             Do I ever!

                                             

I'm sure there are parents that know exactly what I am talking about so I will keep this post brief. The photo says it all.  For those parents who aren't quite sure what I'm talking about, just shake your head anyways, lol...you don't want to get it....trust me.

May 2012 will always be remembered as the month I met my teenage daughter. Now if someone can tell me where I can get my little girl back I will be forever grateful.

Prayers for all of us to get through this stage stronger than when we got into it.

We got love.

We got each other.

We got God.

We got a teenage daughter!

Rocky Balboa - The Female Kind

My husband is feeling better after suffering from food poisoning for several days.  Double Dose of Sick
I am too of course...but he had it worse than me. While I was getting back to work, I was also getting back into my general routine and doing my workouts alone. Not much compared to what Furman would have me doing. But, I was doing something. Getting on the bike in the morning for 20 minutes for some cardio while watching Judge Judy after I completed my Ab workout from my Abs of Steel DVD.  Furmans Bootcamp - It Begins was on pause.

Furman had me outside this morning feeling like Rocky Balboa - The Female Kind. lol  

Never really watched those movies but I've certainly heard a whole lot about them.

                                        

I haven't been doing any running since my last run.  My focus is now on trying to build upper body strength so I can survive the Spartan Sprint at the end of June. That's why I've been using my bike at home and doing my Ab DVD as opposed to going into the gym at work early to hit the treadmill.  Now that Furman is involved in whipping me into shape, he's got me doing all kinds of crazy stuff.

Why did I feel like Rocky today?
I woke up before him just after 5am and put on my exercise gear.  No sooner was I ready to hit the floor to start my warm up to the Ab DVD did he come up the stairs all dressed in his exercise gear. The plan - go for a run. Ugh!  I was not expecting to run and wasn't fully in awake mode yet.  But, off we went doing a run at a slower pace than usual. When we started to run by the first park in my neighborhood, he all of a sudden instructed me to run up the small hill to touch the fence and run back. lol  Now that was a Rocky moment. Then, we kept running till we got to a second park. Up the hill we went. There, he had me doing jumping jacks (actually that might have been by the first park), lunges, squats and even showed me how to do burpees.  Now those....will be important!  For every obstacle in the Spartan Sprint that I am unable to complete I will no doubtedly have to complete a bunch of burpees to continue in the race.  Burpees!!

                      

I need to get to Love these!!  lol
This morning was a good workout though. I enjoyed it. I think Furman is being easy on me. Several weeks to go.....

TGIF!  Just found out that I have a day off at work that I need to use before the 31st. You know what that means? Long weekend baby!!  No brainer! I'm not even going to feel guilty about taking it on the Monday.  In fact, I'm aware that Monday is the American Memorial Day. Happy Memorial Day in advance to my American friends and family.  I think that considering that I am married to an American that I should have ALL American holidays off to celebrate with my hubby.  I know that's kind of pushing it but i'm just saying. lol   Long weekend...what to do, what to do.

Of course, mom always calls me to book her time. lol Looks like we'll be seeing mom again this weekend. She wants to go to dinner again....this time, her treat. Funny thing was, she invited us out to dinner last weekend her treat and then she had no money when we picked her up. lol I wasn't going to let her be out of money anyways. My plan when she does that is to let her pay for dinner when she wants to so that she feels good about doing it. Then, I slip her the money back to splurge on Bingo like she loves to do. Or, I hold onto the money because she is always asking me for money anyways. lol  So, we'll try that again this weekend - tomorrow. But, we definitely wont be going to Imperial Buffet. Oh no...not after being sick for several days. Besides, she insists on seeing me tomorrow because she has done her regular Sally Ann shopping and has picked out tons of clothing items she believes I will like. Oh boy.  Love my mom soooo much. She is always thinking of me it's crazy.  Don't think we'll be doing Bingo this time with her though. Turns out that my daughters baton club is have a Euchre tournament fundraiser that I have to attend.  I don't play Euchre. Apparently, neither does Furman. Imagine that? All I know is that it's a card game. Not interested. Don't even really know anyone other than the baton parents that play Euchre. But, because it is a mandatory fundraiser...which means that all parents have to pay for tickets whether they go or not...I will be there. So after hanging out with mom, Euchre it is. We'll have to play Bingo with her another time.

Did I mention that I am looking forward to my new found long weekend? lol What to do, what to do? Doesn't look like sleeping in will be much of an option according to Furman. Weekend does not mean rest from Bootcamp. lol  It's all good.  I'm happy that my hubby is finally back to himself. Like I said, i'm anxious to get whipped into shape.  I'll have to let you know after the weekend what we found to get ourselves into. :)  Yay!

Found this movie trailer that i'm hoping we'll find on Netflix. Looks good. I love cuddling and watching good movies with my husband. And....because my daughter is officially grounded till like "forever" (a long story), she should be around to watch some movies with us too.  Family bonding time - maybe.

Again.....Have an awesome weekend everybody!

Double Dose of Sick!

What a weekend!



I've got to be careful where I take my husband out to eat. After all, he is not covered by OHIP (free Canadian healthcare) while he is visiting. Oh no.  Never been any worries before because he is a very healthy man...but let me tell you this....


Something got to him this weekend.

Oh yeah.....It got to me too!

But, I think it liked him better. lol
Who wouldn't?


Thank God though....my Mom is fine.  That was a big worry. After all, we all ate out together at the same place - Imperial Buffet.  One of the places my mom loves to go to because it is across the street from her favorite place - Bingo.  So Saturday we hung out with mom for a while. Went out to dinner and then actually stayed with her and played Bingo right along with her. Yup..both of us.  Furman got a small four strip book though..so he could keep up.  After all, each game was a $1000 jackpot.  Funny thing was that we had just gotten finished working at a Bingo hall. lol One of the parent duties of my daughters baton club. Love hanging out with mom even if it means playing Bingo with her.


Neither of us won any money. I came close though...sure did.  "O"74 was the next number for $1000, but some Bingo happy patron who was clearly wide awake decided that they would shout out the words I was anxiously awaiting to holler....BINGO!!  lol  And, like a deflated balloon there went my excitement.  Never fails. Oh well.

Furman learned a few tips to help him follow along more easily. That, being the difference between a Randam and DabAll card. lol Took me noticing him checking every card for the number called instead of moving to the next strip of cards after he dabbed a number to realize that this was important information he needed to know. Sorry Furman.

Sunday we got up bright and early and relaxed before getting ready for church.  At church though....Furman wasn't feeling too well. He looked at me in the middle of the Pastor's preaching with a look that let me know something was wrong. I whispered for him to make a quiet exit.  Then, almost at the end of service when they had alter call I noticed that Furman had disappeared again when I was returning to my seat.  Oh boy....my hubby is not well at all.  After church, we went right home.

Food Poisoning.  That's what is was.  I'm pretty sure of it.  What do you do when you start feeling sick? You don't call the Doctor....oh no....you get on Google!! lol  And, that's what I did. I was feeling fine....for most of the day then the evening came.  I guess my body didn't want Furman to endure his pain alone.  I wasn't having the exact same symptoms though.  I felt like I wanted to be ill and was almost tempted to throw some fingers down my throat with hopes that I would feel better. But, the thought of that kept turning me off so I kept relaxing as Furman started to feel a bit better.
 
While being sick is no joke I have to share that there was a point where I was almost in hysterics at how fast Furman moved.  I mean one minute he was beside me and the next minute he was gone.  All I could do was rush after him and listen for any cries for help.  Poor man. It sucks to see a big man sick.
Eventually, my body gave in to the cry of the toilet.  My throat was very sore for a while after that.

So....our weekend didn't go so well.  My daughter was away for most of the weekend so she missed out on our fun. lol Our plans to head to Canada's Wonderland for Victoria Day were postponed.  While we were much better on Monday than we were on Sunday, we still weren't 100%.  We ended up talking ourselves out of going to just walk around the park and watch others have fun.  Good thing we did because the sickness wasn't quite over yet.  Google says it'll take a few days at least.

There you go! My husband's first Canadian illness - Food Poisoning.

We definitely wont be back at that restaurant for a while, if ever.  We have no clue what it was that did it to us. It was a buffet so it could have been any number of food items.  Whatever it was, it was something that Furman definitely ate more of.  But, I'm back at work today and feeling just fine now. I know he is still on the mend although not 100% quite yet.  Being back at work, I guess that means i'm well enough to play nurse now. lol

Ok...not quite like this.  hahahaha   But I wouldn't tell ya anyways.

• No updates on Immigration
• No updates on my neighbor issues and the quest for a new residence

Furmans Bootcamp - It Begins

                                                              FURMANS 

We started getting into it today.

Was up at 5am although I didn't crawl out of bed till about 5:15 to get ready, and into the living room to stretch.  Furman followed not too far behind me.  God bless him for being so dedicated to whipping his wife into shape. lol  He said he's realized that instead of being able to work out with me that he actually needs to stand over me and instruct. (Not in those words of course).  But Oh Boy!

                                         Hence - the photo that I think demonstrates very well. lol

 

He gave me a good workout this morning though.  The man was prepared with notes so he knew what he was going to have me do.  Gheez! I'm feeling it now, so it was a good workout.  Mind you, that since we weren't able to really get started yesterday (I had an errand), I ended up going to the office gym before work and working on some of those weight machines myself. So, the pain I am feeling right now can be a combination of what I did yesterday with what he had me do this morning. Either way, i'm feeling worked over.  I guess that's good.  I tried not to give him too much trouble. But, I really am out of shape.  It's sad actually.  Just happy that I don't look it and never have. I might have to start a chart showing what I am able to do now so that I can compare it with what i'll be able to do at a later date.  Document my progress.   Hmmm? Good idea. Furman, if you are reading this...get on that! lol I actually look forward to getting in shape. I'm sure Furman probably wouldn't believe me, but I do. I wonder what will be in store for tomorrow morning. I'll keep running just not as much as I was before. My next run is not scheduled till Septembers ZooRun so right now I want to focus on getting ready for the Spartan.  Speaking of Spartan. Check out a bit of what I will be expected to do.  I'll post the Miami video since that is where Furman is from. Spartan Race Miami 2012.  It's just a taste.  I'll be doing a Sprint...Thank God.  But it will be challenging all the same.

Long weekend ahead. May 2-4 as we call it. Victoria Day.  Look forward to having Monday off. At some point this weekend we'll be headed to Canada's Wonderland and hopefully even get to catch some fireworks. Supposed to hang out with Mom on Saturday for a bit and we'll finally be back in our home church on Sunday. TGIF! No rest for the determined....because I will be squeezing my workout in all weekend.

Hope my fellow Canadians have an awesome and safe long weekend.

                                                            

Update on.....New Neighbors - Time To Leave

Got a phone call the same night I sent my toasty email to the Landlord. It's funny when you get complimented on how you put someone in their place. lol Yup, he wasn't mad at me and said my email was to the point and I was justified in being upset. However, he claims he never gave them permission to throw out my chairs. It must have been a miscommunication when he told them they could throw out a few chairs that were in their yard from my set.  These are chairs that were stolen from the garage by the previous tenants and destroyed.  I'm telling you...I've been treated rough!  But oh nooooo, he didn't know about any Dog! Nope. He claims its written on her lease. So, he seems more upset about the dog than the fact that she is also running a Daycare.  After all, why should the daycare bother him? He doesn't have to live in the battleground. But the dog...he's already dealt with and cleaned up after a previous tenant that had a dog years ago.  So, i'm not sure how he will deal with his new tenants now.

When I came home from work yesterday I had an opportunity to speak with my local neighborhood watch guy. lol Well, I don't think he is really neighborhood watch in any official capacity or anything. But, I give him the title because he is the guy that you see sitting in his garage day in and day out watching everything that is going on everywhere. 

Oh Yeah....one day not too long after I moved in I was looking for my daughter outside.....when he saw me look at him directly across the street in his garage...he pointed in the direction she went. hahaha.   I knew right then that he was somebody to be friendly with.  So, we exchanged information on what we knew had been going on with my new tenants. He obviously knew already and then he filled me in on some more. lol My table that I thought I saw under all their stuff in the garage, the same table she said they threw out...yeah, my neighbor confirmed that it's my table alright. Wow!  His wife walks in as we are talking and tries to shush him talking about he's starting trouble. Man...this was info I needed to know.  I already made the decision that I have to leave.  Daycare and dog is too much for me to handle.  Oh well....I can't even say that good things come to an end because I really did go through a lot living there.  For what? Comfort.

New Neighbors - Time To Leave!

In March I wrote a blog about the fact that I was getting New Neighbors.  This is the third family but fourth tenant that i've lived below in the last 5 yrs. The previous family was the family from Hell and there were so many issues that it was ridiculous, a joke. The last tenant was pretty much invisible so i'm not sure if I should even be counting them. But now that my new neighbors have completely moved in, I am getting a feel for what we will be dealing with and I am not happy.  Today, was an eye opener. As a result, I've sent my Landlord one of my toasty and to the point emails to let him know he has pissed me off to say it lightly.

Here is the deal:

Last evening as we were leaving home to enjoy a good movie at the theatre, I noticed the neighbors had left the garage door open as I was getting in the car. Well, it seems that they are currently using their half of the garage as a storage facility and anything that I might have had in the garage had been pushed to the other side. Not completely!  Couldn't see my table and stack of 8 chairs that I had sitting in there before they moved in.  (This photo is just an example of what my garage looks like with the exception that everything is pushed to the right side.)  I thought I might have seen the table against the wall with all their stuff on it but can't be sure.

So, this morning as I was leaving for work I decided that I would knock on the door and ask about the missing table and chairs.  Now, I was already trying to figure a few things out about the neighbors to begin with.  A few days ago when I was leaving for work in the morning a lady was coming to the house and dropping off a kid.  Hmmm?  The neighbors already have two young children of their own. No biggie...people are allowed to babysit. That explains the extra noise in the house above.  There were a few occasions previously that I could have sworn that I heard a dog bark and move around upstairs too. Hmmm?  Don't think they are supposed to have pets.  Furman believed the barking that he had heard was actually coming from next door.  I asked the Landlord at one point previously if they had a dog upstairs and he advised me that they did not. He has always kind of been against pets anyways so I took his word for it.  Maybe they were dog sitting for the day.  Anyways......as she was telling me about how the Landlord gave them permission to throw away my table and chairs, MY table and chairs, a dog came to the door.  WTH? I was already upset at what she was telling me about my property being disposed of without permission.  Now, she is confirming for me that she has a dog. Oh yeah, it's hers....."it's hypo-allergenic" she tells me when I tell her I have allergies.  lol Like who cares? Are you serious? Why do people always think that just because a dog is hypo-allergenic that it shouldn't affect someone's allergies? Really?  Hypo-Allergenic Dogs  They sure as hell affect mine. My cousin has the sweetest hypo-allergenic dog and I still have to keep my distance.  So now I'm upset for two things. As I am walking towards my car, another parent pulls up to drop off another child. Are you serious? Now, I'm HOTT!  This woman is running a daycare or something. This explains why at quick peek her living room looks a bit spacious and like a playroom with tons of toys for girls and boys.  She doesn't have a little girl. So, I hop in the car and call Furman on my drive to work so I can let him know my findings and vent. I'm not happy.

She has shelves like that in her living room.

Bad enough I pay more rent for a basement apartment than I want to. I don't care if it's a nice 3 bedroom with a fireplace. I don't have control over the utilities because the controls are upstairs and the ceilings seem like paper with what we hear. But, I've been comfortable in a matter of speaking. Besides, Furman isn't officially here yet.  I figured we could stay till we are done with Immigration and till my daughter finishes her last year of high school. One more year.  Not any more.  I need to hightail it out of there. I can't wait for our own space. For now, we gotta rent, but we'll probably buy something once he is here and all settled with work and stuff.  Time to start looking.  Told my landlord so in my email.  He wont find a replacement tenant that tolerates as much as I have. No way! Sent my email to him which had three points for why I am very upset with him, not the neighbors.

1. He authorized and/or disposed of my property without permission
2. He is renting to a tenant that has a hypo-allergenic dog.  (I included a link for him to read online about hypo-allergenic dogs too http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hypoallergenic-dog-breeds/AN01953 )
3. He is renting to tenants that are running an unlicensed in-home daycare. (I included a link http://www.godaycare.com/childcarearticles/10 to let him know I researched that too.  They are allowed to care for up to 5 kids without needing a license. Interesting.)

Like I said, I blame this situation all on him because he chose them. I have no issues with the new tenants. They seem pretty cool actually. My issues are with him because he was more concerned about finding someone to rent his place rather than make sure he keeps his tenants happy while renting his place.  I so much as told him so in the email too!  I can't imagine he'd be very happy with what I had to say. But, I'm usually politically correct, professional and my written communication is usually quite exceptional if I must say so myself. lol I'm not trying to cause problems for the new tenants or anything. I wouldn't know whether they disclosed to him they have a dog (don't think so) and that they are running an in-home childcare (who knows).  If he doesn't know, now he knows.  I'm just letting him know that I have reached my boiling point and I've had enough.  I'm not trying to start any trouble with the neighbors either. I'm glad Furman is here. lol I just want him to know that his lack of consideration for me has created a situation that I can't deal with.  Now he is going to lose me and all my patience. Take that!  I probably should have left ages ago.  Everything happens for a reason.  I'll try to find something within the same neighborhood for now.  I just need to leave - before the winter. lol

I can't believe I'm going to have to start dealing with this. I absolutely hate moving. So much stress, so much to do.  At the same time, part of me can't wait. New life - new start. The hunt is on!

As for my email and what might become of it....we'll see.
I didn't specifically ask him for anything although I did question who was going to compensate me for the loss of my property. lol No, I just really wanted him to know that I was upset at items 1, 2 and 3 as I put it. lol And, that I totally blame him! So....i'm gonna take this advice I saw posted on Facebook today. And, i'm going to make a change as soon as I can.

                                         

Immigrations Unexpected Surprise

I wasn't planning on blogging till after the weekend but I was up early and after a wonderful day yesterday I had to share.

I completed my Starbucks Run for Women10k with a time of 1:10:13. Let me tell you, it was a task. The route we ran was beautiful through the small town of Unionville and in their trails.  We were lucky to have awesome weather too but mannnn, it was hot! I've now learned that running when there is a bit of a chill outside is much better than running in the heat.  It was hot! I swear it felt like the heat was sucking my energy. Yet, I ended up doing much better with my time than I felt I was doing during my run.  I stopped and walked a few times so that is what added the 5 minutes that would have matched my Toronto Yonge St 10k.  My cousin took this lovely shot of me headed to the finish line. And when I got there... This is my Bling!  Love it. It's different from all the others I've gotten. It's all about the bling I tell ya!



Right after the run we headed to Niagara Falls to go deal with Immigration.  Remember our Run-In with Immigration?  Yeah...we were almost at our May 15th deadline that they gave us to return by so we kinda had to head out there after the run unless we left it for Mother's Day.  I'm glad we went to take care of it when we did, sweaty and all!

Anyways, we got the the border and explained to the US border agent why we were making the trip.  After he let us cross, instead of making a quick u-turn, we drove onto Niagara Falls Blvd to do a little shopping.  When I say a little, I mean a little because we really didn't have a shopping list of things we wanted to pick up.  We actually only went to Tops and picked up a few grocery items like Red Velvet cake mix and some special flavored Pop Tarts that you can't buy in Canada. lol We wanted to go to La Nova for some famous Buffalo Wings but it was 20 minutes away from where we were and really made no sense. So, we made a u-turn and just headed back to the Rainbow Bridge to deal with Immigration.

At the bridge we told the Canadian Border agent why we made our trip and what we purchased in the short amount of time we were in the US and he allowed us to park and head in to see Immigration with our documents.  It was funny when we walked in and saw the same jerk or an agent that gave us the hard time in the first place making us return. But, after standing in line for only a minute, we ended up speaking to a different Immigration Agent seated only a few seats from him. Naturally, Furman was prepared with everything the agent requested and then some. With each request for a document Furman handed something over one at a time. lol He didn't just give him a pile of documents. He gave the agent his passport, our marriage certificate, email from Immigration approving sponsorship, Furman's bank statements to show he can support himself while in Canada and Furman's flight itinerary showing his planned return for August 27th. Then, we sat and waited for not even 10 minutes. When we were called to the counter we received our BLESSING.  The Immigration Agent advised Furman that he went ahead and approved a Visitor Record for him to stay for 1 year.  Yup...I heard right! 1 year! That's up to May 11th, 2013.

I was in shock at what I heard.  After all, we told him that Furman was planning to return to the US in August. I expected him to approve the remainder of his stay and give a visitor record dated for August but boy was I wrong and I am happy that I was. What a blessing!! Told you...Nobody gonna come between me and my man!!  haha (back in my Rachel from Big Brother voice lol) Our drive home was a very very happy one. We left the border and headed right o my Auntie house because her son and daughter-in-law were having a bbq for her birthday. We ended our evening hanging out with several members of my extended family and had a great night. It was a momentous occasion because my Aunt's son and wife had never held an event that included our family.  Things turned out great although someone forgot the birthday cake. lol But they did a great job. The food was great. I don't know how she seasoned that chicken but it was very tasty. The backyard was all cleaned up and nice too.  Like I said, we had a great evening. Thank to them for the invite and having the event. A few people spoiled what was supposed to be a surprise to my aunt...but it was all good.

Today is Mother's Day and i'm getting ready to get my mom for church as I mentioned in my previous blog. But I really just wanted to share what happened with Immigration because I am soo happy and feeling soo blessed. That is an awesome Mother's Day gift for me.  God is soo good and continues to remind me just how good he is. I thank you Father!

Again, Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. Have a Blessed day - I know I will.