I want to sleep in my Braaaaaannnnnd Neewwwwww Beeeeddddddd!!!

I hope you read that in Bob Barker's voice.  We have a new bed.  It is so, so long overdue.  The previous bed consisted of a 50 dollar mattress, a boxspring of unknown origin, and a bedframe found in an alleyway in Kitsilano.  Sadly, I'm serious.  So we got a new one.  An adult bed.  Frame, boxspring, firm mattress for old people's backs, the works.  Even sheets good enough to make it worth listing the thread count!!  (56 is good, right? -I jest.)  Presenting, the newest member of our family!

Isn't she beautiful?  I'm tearing up here.

So long overdue.  Also, I have had many houseguests and a large party for hubby's birthday!! Happy birthday darling!!! I was cooking for the whole last week, I believe.  I made roasted red pepper hummus, meringues, lemon curd, raspberry semifroddo (my favorite dish so far), asian meatballs, chocolate dipped strawberries, profiteroles filled with creme patisserie, a lovely cheese plate... and other stuff.  What's that?  You want pictures? No.  I totally forgot.  Sorry.  Well, I do have one....

That was a decent dessert.  The party went well, the eggs benny bar for breakfast fed 12 people (whew!) and today the guests have left with my son (Yay! Waah!) and I decided to rest so I made...

homemade oreos!!! Win!!

and chicken and turkey broth.  God, I'm a masochist.  They were so so good though.... I gave them to the guys at the Mac store who "fixed my computer" (charged me 60 bux to tell it it was broken, duh, and that it may have had something to do with coins stuck inside it... well double duh).  However, they were friendly and informed so I made them cookies. (And they clearly checked out my arse which made me feel special.)  I need to focus on food less, and um.. life? more.  Jillian Micheals, come and get me.

Ti-iiii-iiiii-iime IS on my side... (Yes it is!)

No, It's not.  Breathe.
Okay, I sent the kids camping last weekend.  (Or was it the weekend before?)  As I waved off my family guiltily, eagerly anticipating a few days of rest, I was both excited and missing them before they were out the door.  Then the computer broke.  Then my friends came, and it was fabulous.  Then I drank. Then I woke up, a little hazy, and chugged a large glass of milk.  On the last swallow, I realized it was sour.  Then I lost it, over and over again.  Then I got a call from the homestay organizer (we have been on a wait list for a bit) telling me she was heading to my house now and would be here in 20 minutes.  And I was dog sitting an invalid dog.  My darling friend flew into action with me, gutted the spare room and made it International Student Worthy.  The inspection went well, but the student (who was set to arrive the following morning) was allergic to dogs.   Find a home for the dog.  Get inspection lady out.  Make bed properly, not just enough to look like we made it.  Thank goodness for those carefully honed skills I developed as a 14 year old to make a room look clean without (God forbid) cleaning it.  I prepped a little more, then went out and got my very long hair chopped/butchered off.  I asked for the Betty Draper.

I'm even hot through a mental breakdown.

Instead, I got the "Rachel", circa 1995.  The 90s are coming back anyway, right? Right?

I'm still relevant, I swear!

 
Damn you, shitty hairdresser!!  (And my darling friends, with their excellent points:  Have you been to her before?  Yes, she's butchered me 4 times now. Facepalm.)  So now I feel like David, or Goliath, or whoever that is in that book that lost all of their powers when their hair got cut off.
So, homestay arrives, she's 21, Japanese, lovely and kind.  And the family returned.  And the rest never came.  It's so much easier if you just don't expect it.  Hubby is now articling, and he's busy.  Like, super busy.  His aunties got him as a grad gift a "satchel" that is comically large and comes on a dolly.  It holds more than 6 large legal binders.  I chuckled.  When will you need a bag that big, honey?  It's been full every day and he'll need another one to stack on the dolly soon.  I wrote my to do list, and now I'm organized enough to watch passively and with some humor as the deadlines tick by.  If you're not gonna do it, at least be aware of what you're not doing.  That, my friends, is organization.   I honestly thought that when the kids were older, could feed themselves and wipe themselves and communicate with me that my job would ease up.  It does not, my friends, it does not.  I am thankful for the complete lack of summer here this year, I don't feel like I've missed much, and it has been a fun whirlwind.  We went to Playland on Saturday where my FIL won my daughter a pink pig stuffy that she named "Chubby" now providing endless hours of entertainment.  (Mom!! Look! There's a Chubby on my head!")  We went to International Ice Cream (218 flavours, such as garlic, pear and gorgonzola, balsamic vinegar!) The younger ones and I have started the Jillian Micheal's workout video (I have no weights and it still hurts) and today we're off for a family bike ride to get the computer fixed.  Mostly I'm just busy growing my hair out.  It's hard work, you know!  Anyways, the moral of this rambling, disjointed post is that my friends are amazing and my family is amazing and that's why it's all staying together (mostly).  I know that I'm a very lucky girl, and I love you all. (The end of this post was punctuated by glass breaking in my kitchen and a little girl crying.  LeSigh.)