My neighbor has the same type of Washing machine as I do, its a front loader and I love it. Right now, however, my neighbor does NOT love her washing machine.

In fact, right now she is calling her adjuster for an insurance quote!!

You see, the front load washing machine has a lock on it, its an automated lock, that whenever you turn on the machine engages. If the machine has water in it you cannot open it. If tyou turn off the machine, there is a mechanisim to measure how much water is in the machine and if it is above a certain level, you cannot opent he door, even if the machine is OFF.

And yet, she opened her machine this morning to start a load of laundry and was flooded with water. Somehow, her empty machine filled with water and the lock failed. Her hallway, fromt he kitchen to the bedrooms, the flooring is ruined. The water even went throught he floor wrecking three walls in the basement and the playroom flooring.

Craptastic!

Jewelry.

From the plastic, tiara wearing toddler, to the ninety year old Dame reigning over her Nursing Home Bingo game, all girls love jewelry. We love the shine, the sparkle. We love the “Ohhhs” and “Ahhhs” our friends shower us with when they see our latest gem.

But what we love the very most about jewelry, is the excitement we feel when a loved ones steps up to us with a prettily wrapped package.

And guys? They know this. They know that we love jewelery, they know that they should get us something. But what? And when? Should it be gold or silver? Should it dangle or dainty? Bracelet or ring? So many times a guy does nothing simply becuase he is confused by all the choices he is offered.

Bella True, providers of High End jewelry and diamonds at the lowest possible price, has, with their Tips For Guys section, has made purchasing the perfect gift as easy for guys as checking the oil in their car!

Tips for Guys has Nine sections, each dealing with a different aspect of jewelry. From a list of what Jewelery is appropriate for each occasion, to a guide of gem stone colors and meanings. Each section is complete with pictures, commentary and real world advice.

I spent some time on Bella True’s website, Not just to salivate over the stunning pearl earrings, but to see what GUYS had to say about Giving the gift of jewelry. I assumed that the “Tips For Guys” section would offer me a few laughs and give me something to make fun of – but I was happily proven wrong.

Take for example, the advice that was given for what to give for a Six Month Anniversary. Not only does it offer the TYPE of jewelry and man should give, But a reason (awwww- it hangs over her heart!!) but it even tells guys what length to give depending on her clothing style. Smart. Very Smart!

Still in the “what to give depending on what occasion section”, I read the advice for married men. I asked my husband about this, and he agreed. Most men do not stop and think “I should tell my wife that I love being with her, not just “I Love You“. Bella True’s Tips for guys send out a helpful reminder of this, and then reinforce it by giving examples of what to give.

Yes, It’s true that when a Guy thinks the words ” jewlery and women” in the same thought, his mind will head straight to engagement rings, But Bella True is working towards showing men that jewlery is not just for weddings or getting out of the Dog House, it’s a way fo ryou to reinforce the words you whisper in her ear each night ; I love you.

Well. This is something!

I refuse to weigh myself. It’s just not a number I want to know. And. They say that muscle weighs more than fat, so wouldn’t that mean I would gain weight as I burn off  fat and replace it with muscle? So yeah. I refuse to weigh myself.

I have tried a few diet pills before, and on one of them I actually had some pretty awesome results, but then the bottle ran out and I never ordered any more.

My latest thing for losing weight has been *gasp* exercise and portion control. And it’s WORKING! Not as fast as the pills did, but hey, it’s still progress!

Sigh.

What a good weekend!

I had been so worried that this weekend would suck monkey butt just because we had so much to do, but it was great! Awesome! Wonderful!

We had arranged with Micah’s parents to watch the boys on Saturday night, over night, so we could go out on a date, but Friday afternoon my MIL called and said that she would watch the boys Friday evening – just for the evening, not the night, while we went into the city and did our grocery shopping. Of course, when we got home from shopping Friday night and called to get the boys, my mother in law gave me a cock and bull story about how She had given Parker’s hair a trim and that he had a shower afterward and should not go out in the cold with his hair wet.

Oh, it’s true that she had cut his hair, and that he had a shower, but it’s also true that we live three houses away, and he had a tuque with him. The truth was, after two months gone from the boys, my MIL did not want them to go home. Fine with me!

So. As i said, A great weekend. MIL had the boys Friday night, they cake home at ten Am and were home til just after five on Saturday, then they went back to my Mother in Laws for the night and hubs and I began getting ready for OUR night out!

Our first stop was to Boston Pizza – I love LOVE LOVE their Spicy Perogie Pizazz Pizza. it was extremly busy, we got the last open table, then had the pleasure of watching people line up at the doors to wait and wait and wait for a seat. Hubs and I were talking about the hostess station at the restaurant. Behind the station they have a rock wall. (this was anew remodel from the last time we had been there) I’d seen rock walls before, duh, but never in the inside, always the rocks were for exterior walls – like this Google image I searched out :

I really liked how the wall looked and said so to Micah. he replied that we should use that type of wall in our dining room, with slate*  flooring to match. I kind of looked at him like he was crazy and told him “only if we can get a wall fountains too”.

Seriously. It’s hard enough keeping the walls – plain painted walls – clean now after meal times, imagine trying to scrub bits of spaghetti sauce and splashed milk off a rock facing?

I N S A N E .

Anyway, Dinner out was most awesome, and I will continue our night out in another post at another time!

* The slate floor he refers to is a type of laminate flooring that is made to look like rock. It DOES look very cool, i get that, but to put that type of flooring in and have it look good in our home we would have to change wall colors counter tops and cabinets as well. Glaring white non-wood cabinets would NOT look good with a “natural” flooring. You would need some type of wood door facings at the very least! So, while the flooring itself is in our budget, we still will not do it, much to his dismay, becuase an entire kitchen remodle is NOT in our budget!

To me, it makes a lot of sense that if a portion of the world is having economic troubles, the troubles will spread. I mean. really.

But CNN, plus the radios television and newspapers are reporting that my province, Saskatchewan is still a great place for jobs and that our economy is not in danger at all. They say that there are tonnes of franchise opportunity, that our unemployment rate is staying static, that our banks are doing A-OK.

but I call bullshit.

My husbands company also deals in construction and automotive and those two sectors are feeling the pinch. the Agricultural sector, that’s where Hubs works, is supposedly still bringing in a  profit. But for how long? How long are farmers going to be able to buy 500,000 dollar machines? Banks aren’t quick to step up and lend right now you know, and if no one is buying, no one needs to make them, and boom, hubs is out of work.

Now. I’m a glass half empty kind of girl, and that’s fine, its part of who I am, but the news that Saskatchewan is an awesome place to be is starting to piss me off. Way to give people false hope! *clap clap* Economic woes will affect the entire world. not just north America, but Europe and every where else is feeling this in some way of another, and it is going to get worse before it gets better!

And that kind of sucks.