My Year in Review… l am really looking forward to 2012

It has been a year of ups and downs… like most years, but we really managed to hit some peaks and valleys in 2011!

So let’s start at the beginning:

January

We bought ourselves a Keurig as a late Christmas present.  And we love it!!

Mom and I decided to book our flights for our planned trip to England – I’d been checking the prices and first class was down to $1790 vs $799 for economy so we made an appointment with the travel agent for the 15th and went and bought our first class tickets for July 1st.  The 15th was Saturday.

On Sunday the 16th I discovered water pouring in around our bathroom window and the wall was bulging and soggy.  Monday the 17th I called our insurance company… and that was the start of several months of hell dealing with repairs, renovations, contractors, finances and delays.

If we hadn’t already booked and paid for our trip, it wouldn’t have happened due to the cost of the repairs/reno.  I’m very VERY glad we took the trip even though we are still paying for it.

Monday the 31st was Dress Rehearsal for Chicago.

February

Chicago opened on the 3rd.  Absolutely THE BEST show ever done here.  Ran till Feb 26th to sell outs, rave reviews and great fun to work on as we got to glam up everyone!  Lots of gorgeous gals to make even more gorgeous – what a fun job I have.

Got the “problem” fixed with the roof (over insulated attic with no circulation caused it) and were into hiring contractors and having the upstairs bath and one bedroom opposite ripped out by the restoration company.  The insurance adjuster assigned to our case was great to deal with and made that side of things relatively stress free.

Face painted at the Timbits Jamboree (soccer for ages 8 and under)… was given many pizzas to take home (leftovers) – still have some in the freezer wrapped in foil.  They are NOT good pizzas… one way I used some up was to cut up and layer in a sort of lasagna type thing… I may cut up the rest to make a savoury bread pudding or strata type thing.  I hate to waste food.

Dealing with the house repairs on a daily basis… once the bathroom was ripped out mom had no access to a toilet or bath.

March

Continuing with the repair/reno nightmare… why do contractors show up for a couple of hours then disappear for a week?

Naomi came over to model for a face painting for a competition.  Gorgeous as always!

Painted for St. Patrick’s Day at a local club – gotta love painting all those attractive  servers with all that skin showing.

On the 23rd tore my left rotator cuff at work on the day job (I was tossing garbage into a dumpster and reached up over my head to pull the lid down when there was a loud POP…) WCB claim filed and put on light duties by my doctor.  Thankful it was my LEFT arm as I paint with my right!

April

Finally got financial stuff in place to pay for the bathroom renos.  Still a construction zone – but close to being done.  Mom has the toilet back at least.

Dress rehearsal for Harvey on the 11th & 12th, show ran to April 30th.  Really fun show!  Enjoyed it.

Several doctor appointments for my shoulder injury.

Birthday parties and MS Walk for face painting.  Did a postcard mailing.

Tried to hire a casual caregiver for mom for evening and weekends - was not successful so using a nursing agency at over twice the hourly cost.

May

Still waiting for the final things to be done with the repair/reno… !  By the end of the month things appeared to be done – or as far as they will be by the contractors.

Doctor and Physio appointments for my shoulder injury.

Did a bunch of Zombies on the 21st with a photo shoot.

Corporate parties for face painting.

June

WCB flew me to Edmonton on the 9th for an MRI on my shoulder.  More doctor and physio appointments, including a “functional assessment.”

Booked every weekend for face painting – birthdays and corporate jobs.  Did photo shoot at Sulphur Gate.

Had to get a new windshield due to a rock.

Laptop crapped out and tech couldn’t “fix” so bought a new one.  But can’t load my Photoshop or MS Office on new one, printer drivers no longer available and external back-up drive not compatible…

I tried to fix the kitchen tap myself… Plumber came and fixed it the next day.

Had to have a root canal.

July

1st to 17th – off to England!  Had a wonderful time.  First class is great – those pods are fun.  However the wheelchair service at Heathrow SUCKS!  Not impressed at all.

Had a relaxing visit with Anne and Jill, and Bella.  Saw lots, ate lots.  Had several Cream Teas which we absolutely love.  Went to Eden Project, Looe, Mount Edgcumbe, the Devon Moors, etc.

Taught a workshop and attended my first proper face painting jam.

Finally, after being nagged to death got myself set-up on Facebook and ran a contest on my blog.

I turned 50 and mom turned 73.

Started a “return to work” Physio program on the 20th where I had to go for physio every day for my shoulder.

On the 21st, which was my third day back to work on the day job I was LAID OFF.  I was bumped out of  my job by a woman with 17 years more seniority as they finally upgraded their admin systems and her job had been eliminated.  So, she took mine.  I had been wondering why she was sticking around after I got back… so I sort of knew something was up.  I didn’t even cry when the boss told me I was  being “let go.”

Called WCB and my hours of attendance for the physio program were increased to 4 hours per day M-F.

Started looking for another day job, filed for EI, etc. Three interviews the last week of the month.

Birthdays and big weekend festival gigs for face painting.

August

First week attended the physio program and was “discharged” from it on the 4th.

WCB paid me full benefits for a couple of weeks which was wonderful – my case manager was fantastic.

More job interviews.  Was offered and accepted a part-time (24 hours a week minimum) position with a property management company and also had responses to other applications and had interviews scheduled.

Birthdays, weddings and festivals booked.  Also a few photo shoots with photographer on a project.  Designing props and costumes.

Auditioned for a show and was offered a role (a straight role, as in, NOT the fairy godmother!) and a position in an improv troupe!

September

Still interviewing for jobs.  Accepted a casual job offer at the convention centre – it is for events so I am called when they need extra help in the kitchen or to work the concession.  Lots of hours in September – some days I went from the day job straight out to the TEC Centre.

Called for last-minute “panic” jobs requiring glamour and special effects make-up by photographers.  The glamour make-up was for a calendar for the SPCA ”Shelter Bombshells” - my work is December 2012.

Rehearsals several times a week for the show I am in - ”Mad Moose Mayhem” which runs Oct 7th and 8th.

Building props and designing my entry for the “Wearable Art Show” on Oct 1st.

Final photo shoots for the photographer’s project I was working on.

Face painting at birthdays and events on weekends.

Ran another blog contest.

October

Wearable Art Show on the 1st was AWESOME!  I was so pleased with my work and with how my model Amy performed!  She really made it amazing.

Show of the photos for the project I was working on was on at the Centre for Creative Arts.

I was featured in a local arts magazine… as an “artist”.

Mad Moose Mayhem was great!  The improv was hilarious – mom heckled me one night and it was so funny!

Dress rehearsal for Twelfth Night on the 10th & 11th.

Made a group of 20/30 somethings into old ladies for a night of pub crawling on the 15th.

Working shifts out at the convention centre.

“Won” a weirdest pizza contest on local radio station Q99 and had to eat my creation on air!  It was okay… but the English Toffee was a mistake.

Face painted LIVE ON AIR on the 28th at 8 a.m. on Q99.

Face painting at parties and events – painted at the local Cineplex on the 22nd.

Booked solid for Halloween.  On the 29th painted the haunters at a local park, then back home for appointments.  Painted at a Libyan Freedom Party on the 30th.  Customers early in the a.m. on the 31st.

November

Root canal I had done in June abscessed… put on antibiotics and extraction scheduled.

Booked to do bling at a Gala in a neighbouring town. Lots of fun blinging and painting eye designs on women and moustaches on the guys.

Taught theatrical make-up at a local high school.

Christmas parties starting – first one was on November 18, another on the 26th.  Also birthday parties.

Dress rehearsal for Beau Jest on 28th.

Worked the concession at the Festival of Trees at the convention centre.

Bought my Christmas present a bit early – a Dyson!  Look out glitter I’m gonna git you!

December

Booked solid every weekend for Christmas parties – several with multiple painters required.

Attended Beau Jest on the evening of the 10th and enjoyed the show a lot.

Working fulltime hours at the day job until further notice.

Went out to buy ink for my colour printer, but bought a new 4-in-1 HP printer at 2/3 of the price of the ink for my old one.

Had my tooth pulled on the 15th.  Ouch.

Final follow-up appointment with my doctor about my shoulder… doing pretty good but have lost some range of motion.

Mom and I attended the day job Christmas party on the 17th and had a wonderful time… didn’t get home until close to 3 a.m.!! I won the Trivia, our team won the Christmas Cranium and I tied for guess the Stocking Contents, but lost the tie breaker.  My co-workers all think mom is “cute” and funny.

Cooked Christmas dinner for 10 people at home.

Got my bookkeeping all caught up on th 28th!!!  Looks like it has been an excellent year.

Booked by local club for Mardi Gras and St. Patrick’s Day… in advance!  He’d called about New Year’s Eve but we have plans so I asked if he wanted to book now instead of waiting to the last-minute, as usual…

Have multiple events confirmed for 2012 with deposits paid.

So that’s 2011 in review.  Couple of major lows – house damage and injury, but great trip and work opportunities with local photographers and art community.  First week of January I’ll post about my plans for 2012.

Hope everyone had a Merry Christmoose and have a great New Year for 2012!!

Another year end looms

Only five more sleeps left of 2011 and then it is 2012.  And if you subscribe to that theory about the Mayan calendar we’ve got less than a year left… so make the most of it!

(If you don’t know what I’m referring to check it here.)

I’m just taking a break from doing my bookkeeping.  Over the years I’ve perfected my system… I do a whole year’s worth of data entry in 2-3 days between Christmas and New Year.  I used to do my books every week – took a couple of hours every weekend to enter and file my receipts and pay bills.  Then one year I just kept adding things to the bin… until the year was almost over.  I sat down to do all of it at once and it only took a couple days to do it all in a blitz.

So I figured out that two hours a week average was 104 hours spent doing it opposed to spending 16 to 24 hours doing it all at once.  I spend an evening or two sorting out the paperwork (bills in chronological order so they are easy to key in), types of payments, bank statements, etc.

It goes pretty fast.  The most time-consuming part is entering all the individuals receipts from my Visa card… then I have to reconcile everything:  credit cards, bank statements, RSP statements.

It all gets done and then I just have to wait for my T4s and RSP receipts before I take it all to the accountant.

At this point I can say that 2011 was my best year to-date.  Haven’t got all the expenses input yet (had a few unexpected such as a new computer, back-up drive, printer) so not sure how it will be in the end, but total gross income is well up.

On Christmas Day I FINALLY got to watch some of the Dr. Who Christmas Specials!  All at once as they were running them in a marathon on Space starting at 6 p.m.  They don’t show them in the regular schedule so I’ve never seen them.  Started with this year’s “The Doctor, the Widow and the Wardrobe” and then all of the David Tennant ones… I didn’t stay up for all of them but think I saw five or six.  Went to bed around 2 a.m. or so.

We had a nice dinner here – I cooked for 10 people.   Mom and I are now eating leftovers for lunch and dinner… breakfast we’re having our usual for a break.  I figure we have about another three days of turkey and fixin’s to finish off.

My secret to an awesome turkey dinner?  Butterball pre-stuffed frozen turkey!  Tender, juicy, stuffing is delicious (just like mom and I USED to make, but now I don’t have to… and no one ever realized I stopped making it!)

And last night I… read a book!  Last one I had a chance to read was back in July.  Mom wanted to go to bed early and since I am off this week it was okay (if she goes to bed early she starts waking me up around 3 a.m. to use the commode… repeatedly so I won’t let her go to bed until 9 on work nights.)  So I had a chance to read.  It was really nice.  Managed to finish off one nice thick paranormal romance in a couple of hours.  And I might read another one tonight!  I have a stack of them I haven’t got around to reading yet.

My next gig is theatre – Snow White.  Dress rehearsals are the second week of January and then a three-week run.

Right now we’re watching that true classic of the season…. JAWS.

Christmas shows to get me in the mood

So Christmas Day is in a week… at this time in seven days it will be all over, the guests will have left and the dishwasher will be running and I’ll be sitting here relaxing as I mess around on my computer.

Right now I’m watching National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation… Clark just got the notice of the Jam of the month club and is spewing out his tirade… I love this movie.

I get annoyed though, about movies.  There are so many great Christmas movies that we just don’t see every year… we can’t locate them on the schedule some years at all.  And some of the Christmas TV specials too seem to disappear.

My favourites, in no particular order are:

A Christmas Carol (1951 starring Alastair Sim, in the original black and white.  Mom prefers the colourized version.)

It’s a Wonderful Life (Why isn’t Mr. Potter one of the top all time villans???)

The Bishop’s Wife (Cary Grant, David Niven and Loretta Young… What’s not to love ?)

A Christmas Story (you’ll shoot your eye out kid)

We’re No Angels (Humphrey Bogart, Peter Ustinov, Aldo Ray and Adolf the viper)

Die Hard (oh, the weather outside is frightful… terrorists and Christmas?  What could be more festive?)

Ernest Saves Christmas (THE best Ernest movie, ever.)

Scrooged (“That bitch hit me with a toaster”… how much more Christmassy does it get??)

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (the original 1966 animated version)

A Charlie Brown Christmas (the tree is a classic)

Bump-In-The-Night, T’was the Night Before Bumpy (a claymation series that aired on YTV in the 90s… it had Rolling Santas of Doom!!!  I really enjoyed it but only saw it once.)

There are more but those are the ones that pop into mind most of the time.

Last night was my (day-job) company party – mom and I went.  It was held one the staff’s home – there were eight of us so it was a nice size for a house party.  We played games, did a gift exchange and had Christmas dinner – we all made dishes (I took potatoes).  We didn’t get home until about 2:30 a.m. this morning…   Had a great time, won the trivia game, our team won Christmas Cranium, I tied for the “what’s in the stocking” game but lost on tie breaker.

I also had my last Christmas gig yesterday.  Out in the rural area at a rustic homestead.  There were sleigh rides and I was inside this old cabin with only a wood stove for heat.  Painted maybe a dozen or so.  And was paid in cash and one bill was one of those new plastic $100 bills… very cool.  It is transparent in parts and shiny.  First one I’ve seen in person.

Once I got up today … around 10, then I sat down to turn on the TV and dozed off again until mom called me at almost 11 a.m… I got some more candy made and two different kinds of cookies… Did pecan brittle, almond brittle, oatmeal raisin cookies and church window cookies.

Ran out of corn syrup and raisins.  So a run to the grocery store at lunch tomorrow so I can finish.  Have to get stuff on the bus by Wednesday!

Christmas… OMG it is next weekend!

Where does the time go?  I still haven’t done any baking, only have the barks made for candy (still have to do the brittles and toffees), haven’t shopped for mom’s present nor wrapped anything for others.

I am getting my abscessed tooth pulled tomorrow morning… and am hoping I feel okay to run errands, get mom a present, pick up some groceries, etc. before the freezing wears off!

Our dinner for 6 + 1, is now 9 +1 (the +1 is a 3-year-old)… who knows, it may increase again before next weekend.

I’ve got one more Christmas gig on Saturday afternoon, then my day-job Christmas Party for dinner on Saturday (which I have to make a couple of dishes for) …  Sunday is get the last chance to get the baking and candy done as I have to get my sister’s presents on the bus so it will get there before Christmas.  I have to work all week – we close at noon on Friday.

I am really really really looking forward to my week off between Christmas and New Year’s Day… I’ll get to do housework, attack the basement carpets with my new Dyson, get my old computer stuff on Freecycle, put away decorations, clean up my studio, get packed up for a production of Snow White opening in January and do a whole year’s worth of bookkeeping in a two or three-day blitz.

I went to buy more ink for my printer on Monday night… I have an 8-year-old Lexmark colour printer.  I can’t get drivers anymore so can’t use it with my new laptop.  I have to use my old messed up laptop and fight with it to print things.  I ran out of black ink so happened to remember that when I was out so stopped at Staples.

Staples has this huge banner over the ink cartridges saying “Guaranteed to be here when you need it!”  Guess what… out of stock.  The two-pack I usually buy was $95.  So I said to the kid that checked to see if there were any left that I was thinking of getting a 4-in-1 since I couldn’t get drivers anymore to load on my new laptop.

They had an HP wireless 4-in-1 on sale for $69!  So I bought it.

******************* I had typed a whole lot more about my computer saga… but it vanished.  WordPress locked on me and wanted me to log in and everything I’d typed for the last 40 minutes was gone…. and I don’t feel like reconstituting it right now.********************

So… the end of the story was…

Anyone want my old HP Scanjet 4470c?

Coming up for air

It’s been busy and I still have a way to go before I get a break.  I’m taking off time from the day job between Christmas and New Year’s so hope to get to all those things that I haven’t been able to get to… like everything.

Sunday was my first full day off in three weeks.  I spent it doing laundry, sorting recycling, stripping and making beds, cleaning bathrooms, dusting, vacuuming (with my new Dyson!), cleaning my kit, repacking my kit, getting out the Christmas tree, decorating, getting everything ready to start making candy, making stock, along with making bacon pancakes for breakfast and pulled chicken sandwiches for dinner.

I managed to over toast the whole almonds… not burn them, but they are really dark.  Luckily my sister loves them that way so she’ll get a LOT of almond bark this year.

Tonight I got all my barks made: well-done almond & chocolate, white choc cashew, and white choc candy cane cashew.  Tomorrow… the brittles!

We will be spending New Year’s Eve with friends this year which is nice for a change.  Usually we just make a whole lotta appetizers and graze all night until the fireworks.

I signed up for three gift exchanges online this year and got all my parcels sent off.  I’ve received one myself already – it contained Tribble Treats!! Made out of dehydrated Tribbles and white chocolate.  Really good!  I’m going to try to find some Tribbles (remarkably like Chex cereal… ) to make my own version.

This weekend I’ve got a two-painter party on Saturday and a four-painter party on Sunday.  And mom and I are going to a show at the theatre on Saturday evening.  Then I’ve got a party north of town next Saturday, then that evening my day-job company party.

Then I hope for a day to get all my Christmas stuff finished up!

Oh and in the middle of this I have to get my tooth pulled… that is scheduled for next Thursday.

We’ve been having fantastic sunsets this week.  Here is a photo taken by a local photographer, Rob Wiebe, of the sunset on Monday… and yes, this is exactly what it looked like, this photo isn’t enhanced – it is what I saw!