It’s a new year.
2013
I’m happy to start a new year.
2012 was not one of my favourite years but I don’t wish it away for anything because along with some of the really bad things that happened, a lot of really great things happened.
This year for the first time in my life I am making a New Year’s resolution that I know without a doubt I am going to keep. I promise on my honour for as long as I live, I will never, and I do mean never, move during the Christmas Holidays again. If some insane impulse ever makes me even contemplate this I beg all of you to please slap me upside the head. Do not hold back. Just swing back and wallop me with everything you have got!
Who in their right mind would ever decide to do such a thing? Well, I did find someone else who has done it. Amy over at The Bumble Files had a tale to tell in her A Christmas Journey: Ghost of the Past. I am letting her use the “temporary insanity” card.
It seemed like a good idea at the time and I was excited about being back in Niagara Falls for Christmas. I had a plan. I was organized. I made gigantic labels for everything so there would be no confusion.
1) STORAGE 2) NIAGARA FALLS 3) DUMP
Big Labels should have worked.
I had been purging for weeks and thought I had it all figured out. “Ha!” I say, “Ha!”. Let me just say this, the move began Friday Dec. 21st. Never in my wildest imagination of disasters did I picture us having to drive back to Oshawa everyday (including Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve) except for Christmas Day & Boxing Day. Pieces of furniture were missed that were to go in storage and we were unable to get them in the car so we had to rent a vehicle. A lot of things were missed with the load that went to the dump and the Christmas presents I had carefully labelled with the children’s name that were to receive them and set aside somehow ended up in storage. I hope. Yes, we were the last ones to leave Walmart on Christmas Eve trying to not disappoint a little one. Did I mention that we finally got the winter storms that had been predicted? The driving back and forth was pretty nerve wracking.
We had made arrangements in advance for some temporary measures to be taken both with Canada Post and with our internet provider as this location was not to be our final destination. When it came time to implement these plans all of a sudden we were told, “you can’t do that”. In the panic that ensued (admittedly more from me than from He-Who) tears were shed (yeah, me again) and we had to figure out a new plan. Needless to say we were off-line far too long. Somehow I am no longer getting all the notifications for the blogs I follow. It may take forever and a day to catch up on my reading and commenting but I am trying. If I miss any please forgive me in advance.
That being said I do have to acknowledge some awards bestowed upon me before the big moving fiasco.
Thank you Lisa from Life With The Top Down for “passing forward” the Liebster Award to me and to Meredith at The Wanderlust Gene for nominating me for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award. I have come to admire both these women for their writing and feel that I have come to know them well from our “comment” conversation. With each award there is always a criteria to follow for passing along the honour so here we go.
Liebster Blog Award
According to Lisa, Liebster (pronounced: leeb-stir) is a German word meaning sweetest, kindest, nicest, dearest, beloved, lovely, kind, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome. The Liebster Blog Award recognizes up and coming bloggers and winners are asked to “pay it back and forward.” The award is given to those bloggers who have less than 200 followers.
The Rules for the Liebster Award are as follows:
- Link back to the blogger who gave you this award
- Post the award to your blog
- Post 11 things about yourself.
- Answer the questions asked of you, plus create 11 new questions for your nominees to answer
- Nominate 11 people you think deserve the award and link them to your post.
- Go to their pages and tell them they have been chosen
Rules of the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award
Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award
- All recipients need to thank the giver
- Post 7 things about yourself
- Pass the award on to 7 other bloggers of their choice and let them know that they have been nominated.
- Include the logo of the award in a post or on your blog
I’m going to do a little cheating here and answer the 11 questions Lisa asked me and hopefully you will accept that as the “things about myself” for both awards.
1. What is you favorite song of all time?
It’s A Wonderful World – has to be Louis singing it.
2. Boxers, briefs, boy shorts, granny panties, thong or the universal choice of Commando?
Boy Shorts – To be honest it depends on who is doing the wearing.
3. Would you break the law to save a loved one?
Without thinking twice.
4. Would you go back to being a teenager, without the wisdom you have now?
I was much wiser as a teenager. Also, I could always use that I was “young and stupid” as an excuse.
5. What are you most grateful for?
The short period of time I had with my Mother.
6. Are you a beach or mountain kind of person?
Beach. Beach. Beach.Beach.Beach.Beach
7. Reveal one of your guilty pleasures?
American Hogger fascinated me.
8. Are you a dark, milk or white chocolate lover?
I know I will never hear the end of this but I am not a fan of chocolate. Give me butterscotch or caramel. If I had to choose chocolate it would be white.
9. If you could give a newborn child one piece of advice, what would it be?
Be kind.
10. What is your best childhood memory?
Listening to my Mother sing.
11. Do you act your age or your shoe size?
Neither…lately I have been acting way older than my shoe size.
I am passing forward the Liebster Award to:
• Woggins Writing • Twenty8 • Meredith With Her Mouth Open • There And Back • My Ideal Woman • Vyvacious • Edith Levy Photograpy • Cowboys and Crossbones • Matterings of Mind • Bohemian Sentiments • Personal Perceptions
The 11 questions I have chosen for the above bloggers are …
1) What is your favourite line from a movie?
2) Name three songs you have sung most recently.
3) What is your favourite flavour of ice cream?
4) Dog or cat?
5) Name your top five TV shows (past or present)?
6) When you walk with someone you love do you hold hands or link arms?
7) What is the one thing that will bring a smile to your face even on your darkest day?
8) Would you rather walk through a garden or on a beach?
9) Have you ever worn socks with sandals?
10) If you could go anywhere in the world where would it be?
11) Have you ever laughed so hard something embarrassing happens?
Here are my seven nominees for The Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award:
• IfYouNeverTri • Life On A Silva Platter • Words We Women Write • Jean Day Friday • A Londoner From Afar • Articles of Absurdity • JavaGirls Life
One other honour I would like to mention is that I was “Freshly Pressed”. Being “Freshly Pressed” is something I think we all would like to happen whether we admit it or not. Le Clown On Fire actually campaigned to have it happen to him. In my case the post that brought me the honour was actually written on another blog I am a part of called Canadica. It is a collaboration of a group of American and Canadian bloggers pretty much poking fun at each other’s country. If you are looking for a good laugh I suggest you check it out.
One final thing I would like to mention as we start burning through another year. He-Who has decided that he is no longer “He Who Shall Remain Nameless For His Own Protection” and has taken to calling himself “He-Who Must Not Be Blamed”. This is going to be an interesting year.
Michelle,
It’s not that Le Clown actually campaigned to get Freshly Pressed… The whole process was the perfect vehicle for Le Clown’s brand of humour, and to challenge WP and the folks behind the Freshly Pressed nods as to what seemed to be the preferred awarded blogs (food and photography, for example). I do see a huge difference as to the blogs that are now being FP’d, and being Le Clown, I do like to think he had something to do with it…
Le Clown
Freshly Pressed since October 2012
Perhaps “campaigned” was not the correct word to use. Forgive my tired brain.
I’m pretty sure I saw a memo somewhere crediting you with the changes to what gets a blog Freshly Pressed. Once there is a memo, it is official.
Michelle,
It wasn’t as much campaigning as harassing them until they gave Le Clown his candy.
Le Clown
Happy New Year, Michelle and congratulations on surviving! I always find the Holidays stressful, so to add a move to the mix, well, all I can say is you are a better woman than I am.
Every time I move I vow it will be my last. It never is.
And congratulations on the FP’ing, and the awards. Well deserved on all fronts.
Thank you Elyse. It does feel good to come out the other side.
Enjoyed this blog macho grande but i am one of those people that will not answer queries such as my favorite movie etc as when i read the questions, my mind roamed and roamed over multiple possibilities of the favorite or whatever and no decision was forthcoming, which tells me that I am at peace with what ever I decide to answer and every day could bring a different result.
I realize that some like playing these games, but not for budder thank you, I will just pass it on to those that enjoy the challenge of answering questions that challenge the memory. My memory is sadly..long gone…and I not live for the moment…this moment.
budder
Happy New Year Michelle and Congratulations on all your new found fame!
My sister also made that mistake with 2 little ones in tow. “What the HELL was I thinking” was said at least a billion times during that adventure. Not just by her, but all of us you willingly volunteered to help. I’m glad you are nestled in and back to writing. Best of luck in your new digs!
Ah, yes, my favourite line. “What the HELL was I thinking?”. I can still hear it echoing. Thanks Lisa and thank you for the Liebster.
Hi, there! Love your blogs, and love getting to know what makes you tick. We almost moved over the holidays and at the last minute thought better of it. Well, “better” to a certain degree. We may be paying for the house until a new renter is found! I’m sure we would have had many misplaced Christmas presents and furniture in the chaos. Glad to hear you made it out OK!
Thanks Ker, I’m glad you are reading me. All I can say is don’t ever do the move during the Holidays. Just don’t. Good luck when you do move.
Michelle, I’m sorry the move was so tough!! For some reason, everything gets so fouled up that time of you. I said, too. Just don’t move around this time. It sounds like you had your share of difficulties. Thanks for the mention! That was so sweet of you. I appreciate it. Can I pull out that card anytime I like? How is the transition going? Are things falling into place? I wish you the best for 2013! Happy New Year!
No problem, you can use that card any time you like. I made it special for you.
We seem to be catching up on a few things. Last night was the first time I actually got to visit someone. I went to JQ’s and he still had his Christmas stuff up so it was really nice.
We’ll get into some sort of routine just in time to move again. 😉
Happy New Year to you as well.
Oh, wow! You made it special for me, Michelle. I’m so honoured! Nice that you got to visit your friend with Christmas still in the picture. At least you got that in, huh? I also need to get into some routine, and I didn’t even move! All the best to you in your new place.
Thank you. Yeah, a routine would be a good thing right now. I think I’ll work on that too.
I could NOT have done what you did! I could NOT have survived moving over the Christmas holiday! You must be one tough cookie to have come through it all and yet you still sound sane…my hero!
I think the “sane” part is up for debate. 😉
Wise resolution 🙂 I hope things smooth out soon. Happy New Year!
Thanks Stacia, Happy New Year to you as well.
Moving during Christmas sounds horrid. I hope everything gets sorted out and that you aren’t missing too many things!!
Things are starting to calm down. I’m looking forward to catching up with some old friends before I move on. Happy New Year to you.
Oh my goodness – what a shemozzle! And all that added stress! Awful. No, I’ll never let you do it again 🙂
Well played passing your awards forward – I’m off to visit lots of new blogs – thanks for that 🙂
Thanks Meredith, I will hold you to that.
I hope you find a couple of new reads you will enjoy.
Are you packing yet?
No! But I must write those ads for new homes for the girls … Then in February I should get back to sorting books and things … 😦
I love your answers, Michelle, especially 9 and 10. Congratulations on the awards — well deserved, but that Liebster is a lot of work, don’t you think?
I hope you’re all settled in and unpacked.
Thank you Charles.
You’re right the Liebster is a lot of work. I was kicking myself for not getting it done right away and it seemed really long. The hardest part was finding people with less than 200 followers. I didn’t realize how low I was on the numbers totem pole. I guess the point is to get people to take a look at lesser known blogs and to get to know them and I guess encourage them to write more. There has to be a way to make that one easier.
We are settled for now but won’t be unpacking until we figure out where we are going to live. We are temporarily back in Niagara Falls house sitting for a couple of months. Our stuff is in storage.
Talk soon,
M
It’s never fun to move, but this one seemed quite nerve wrecking. I hope you are somewhat settled in by now. Every time I move, I say to myself never again – only until next time it’s time to move again… Congratulations with the awards and freshly pressed, it’s very deserved. I wish you all the best for the new year, Michelle.
Thank you Otto, and a very Happy New Year to you as well. I know I will be moving again … just never again at Christmas time. 😉
I am glad you survived enough to know…..That was a crazy thing to do.
Yes, yes it was. I couldn’t agree more. 😉
Glad to hear you survived the matter transmit. Beaming the particles can be very stressful.
Thanks so much for visiting & commenting on my blog ( 111 times ). It is greatly appreciated. All the best in the New Year. 🙂
Really? 111 times. It must be a very good blog!
In all seriousness I enjoy a blog I can learn something from and I do that from your posts. Thank you and Happy New Year.
Finally – a resolution that I think I could keep as well. Moving during the holidays? Sounds like a recipe for ‘cray cray’ indeed. Happy New Year Michelle! At least you started out with an award.
Happy New Year to you as well, Renee. I hope thing are starting to calm down for you as well. How is your Mother doing? How is your husbands knee? Are you healing from the cat attack?
Take care of yourself Renee, you know you can’t help them if you don’t take care of yourself first.
Thank you so much for the nomination for The Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award! I took a couple blogging weeks off, but I am back and will get to the questions ASAP! You are a brave lady to move over the holidays. I hope you are getting all situated in your new home! 🙂
I’m looking forward to seeing your answers. Some of these things they make to complicated but the questions can be fun.
As far as moving goes it seems to have been much more naive than brave.
Welcome back!
Happy New Year! Congrats for the nominations. 🙂
Sent you an important email. Hope you can read it!
Thank you Michelle for selecting us for this award. Wow, we’ve been so shocked, it has taken us over a month to respond! 🙂 Also, we are very sorry for your loss… your loss in judgement, of course, when you decided to move during the holidays! It sounds like Santa gave you more than you were bargaining for! Hey, at least there was no lump of coal in your stocking, eh? 😉
Heheheh…my judgement hasn’t gotten any better. We are headed out tonight (in a Canadian blizzard) to move our stuff from storage to the new place tomorrow. Then we have to come back to Niagara for 3 weeks to honour our commitment in house sitting. I’m thinking my straight jacket is waiting for me.
Wow, geez! You guys are either extremely brave or extremely nuts! 😉 How did the move and house sitting go?
The move was chaotic and I hated walking away with such a mess to come back to but I am still in Niagara house sitting. I won’t actually be able to go there until next week. Talk about a long an drawn out move!