This journal is locked, at least partially. I have added filters to my f-list just because I want to know who reads my entries.

There will still be public posts from time to time.

yeah, bad pun.

Anyway, there will be a new strike on the 19th. Public transports, schools, hospitals, etc... So that means that I have to sleep over at my coworker again. Don't get me wrong, she is nice to invite me but she loves her own voice too much and she is a bit mythomaniac. We don't have the same sense of humor (actually I think hers is missing ;) ) and she decided to get rid of her TV because she doesn't want the pay the tax *headdesk*. The evenings are going to be looooonng and boring. Fortunately her 78 year old neighbor is funny and witty (but that is another story).

I found this on someone's livejournal and found it hilarious (okay maybe it's only hilarious for cat's owners):


Your Cat's New Year's Resolutions

My human will never let me eat their pet hamster, and I am at peace with that.

I will not slurp fish food from the surface of the aquarium

I will not eat large numbers of assorted bugs, then come home and
Throw them up so the humans can see that I'm getting plenty of
Roughage.

I will not lean way over to drink out of the tub, fall in, and then
Pelt right for the box of clumping cat litter. (It took FOREVER to get
The stuff out of my fur.)

I will not use the bathtub to store live mice for late-night snacks.

We will not play "Herd of Thundering Wildebeests Stampeding Across the
Plains of the Serengeti" over any humans' bed while they're trying to
Sleep.

I cannot leap through closed windows to catch birds outside. If I
Forget this and bonk my head on the window and fall behind the couch
In my attempt, I will not get up and do the same thing again.

I will not assume the patio door is open when I race outside to chase leaves.

I will not stick my paw into any container to see if there is
Something in it. If I do, I will not hiss and scratch when my human
Has to shave me to get the rubber cement out of my fur.

If I bite the cactus, it will bite back.

When it rains, it will be raining on all sides of the house.
It is not necessary to check every door.

I will not play "dead cat on the stairs" while people are trying to
Bring in groceries or laundry, or else one of these days, it will
Really come true.

When the humans play darts, I will not leap into the air and attempt
To catch them.

I will not swat my human's head repeatedly when they are on the family
Room floor trying to do sit ups.

When my human is typing at the computer, their forearms are
*not* a hammock.

Computer and TV screens do not exist to backlight my lovely tail.

I will not puff my entire body to twice its size for no reason after
My human has watched a horror movie.

I will not stand on the bathroom counter, stare down the hall, and
Growl at NOTHING after my human has watched the X-Files.

I will not drag dirty socks onto the bed at night and then yell at the
Top of my lungs so that my humans can admire my "kill."

I will not perch on my human's chest in the middle of the night and
Stare until they wake up.

I will not walk on the key board when my human is writing important
Adagfsg gdjag ;ln.

If I must claw my human I will l not do it in such a way that the
Scars resemble a botched suicide attempt.

If I must give a present to my human guests, my toy mouse is much more
Socially acceptable than a big live bug, even if it isn't as tasty.

I wish all my family and friends a Happy New Year full of love, family and health.

Love you all.

So December 2008 was not a good month for me, I have been sick a lot, my pregnant sister had to go to the ER the day after Christmas because she was sick and the fever was too high (She is home now but exhausted) and I had to go to the dentist last sunday to have a wisdom tooth pulled out on the left side. Blood and pus are a disgusting mix and that hurt like hell. Fortunately the meds started to work today, my cheek is still swollen but at least the pain is bearable now. And to add to the fun, one of my teeth on the right side broke in 2 parts. I called the dentist but I'll have to wait until friday to see him. So I am sticking to soup and yogurts with a straw (okay, I might be exaggerating a little bit but not by much).
Almost all the members of my family are sick and we have not even planned anything for New Year Eve. I'll talk with my sisters about it but I'd almost rather stay at home alone. 

I had 2 of those week-ends in a row and it was so good. It's even better this week since I'll be working only from wednesday to friday. Those will be my last days off until december though. Then I'll be off for 10 days.

So what's new ? I bought an induction stove on saturday . I asked for it to be delivered on the 29th. It'll let me some time to clean the kitchen thoroughly and try to get rid of certain things.

I am planning on making Baskets for Christmas, basically it's baskets full of home-made cakes and treats. I think that I'll make "pain d'épices", almond and lemon cakes, lemon-curd, "milk jelly" (maybe it has different name in English but I don't know it), red Tapenade (with dried tomatoe), gingerbread men and homemade "Grand Marnier" (an orange flavored liqueur). I'd like to try a recipe of "marrons glacés", it looks simple enough but it has to be done over 6 days. And orange and cinamon flavored sugar and small bags of spices for mulled wine.

I am thinking on having my nephews over to help with the gingerbread men and stained glass cookies. Like every year I'd love to make a gingerbread house too but it's so much work, I don't know if I'll have enough time.

Work has not be going so well last week and I am not looking forward to go back on tomorrow, where's a good strike when you need one ?
My manager and me usually get along well but last week before the "departement lunch" (it means we have lunch together every 2 months and she talks about what's going on, what's wrong, etc...), she told me a few things that disturbed me while we were waiting for the others.What's bothering me it that she said nothing to the others when they arrived.
In my opinion, either I was the only one concerned by her remarks or she is afraid of the others' reactions and won't tell them anything face to face. Either way, I have decided to stand back a bit and not be as friendly as I was. I think that I lost focus of the fact that my manager and my coworkers are just that and not friends.

My last post was two months ago so I thought that I should update.

The biggest news, my sister Caroline got married on the 4th of october. She was so beautiful. Daniel and her make a beautiful couple and they'll have a baby in a few months. The wedding itself was short but the party after was great. Too much food, a beautiful wedding cake and a lot of fun. My Mom' sister was there and she had to make a remark as usual but Mom put her in line efficiently.

Work is crazy and I am so tired both physically and emotionally. I learned this past week-end that when my grand-father will pass away, the 2/3 of the inheritance will go to my uncle, my uncle also has a promissory note of 30 000 euros from my father, it means that my sister and me will end up with nothing. It's not for the money because I couldn't care less but I am angry because it's being rejected again by my father family. It's like we are our mother children, not our father. I guess I should be grateful because as my uncle said, the french law forbid disinheritance (so if I am understanding him well, should the law allow it, my sister and I could go to hell for all he cares). And my uncle plays the nice and solicitous uncle for his so cute wee little nieces. I am 38, you jerk and I can see right through your s***. Sorry for the language but I am so angry. I am thinking on turning down what little we will get, I am not a charity case, he can have it all and be buried with it when he'll die.

Then there was the not so real break up of my other sister and the father of her children (and let me tell you that love makes people do stupid things) and I really need a break. I wish I could take 3 weeks of vacations and go somewhere else with no family, no work and no problems. Like that is going to happen.

On the positive side, we had a get together lunch at my parents on sunday and it was really nice. We had a lot of fun with my crazy brother in law. Even if I am so angry and frustrated with my father family, I am lucky because I have a Mom, a step-dad, sisters, brothers in law and nephews that bring me joy, love and strength. I'll try to keep that in mind when I'll feel down.

Another week is gone, my parents came back from Portugal last week and we celebrated Mom's birthday.

Work is boring as usual so I'll just skip that part. My parents are back from their trip in Portugal and aren't we happy about that. They had a nice stay though so it's okay. I wish they had enough money to buy a house there (not because I want to get rid of them, just because it would make them very happy).

Mom's birthday was on the 19th and we celebrated it last night. 
Caroline wanted a couscous so Mom made it but god was it spicy. I still have heartburns. It was really good though. Then we had an Acapulco cake and a chocolat cake (because Nicolas begged for it).

I spent the day with Mom yesterday, we went to the hairdresser, then grocery shopped and bought her present. We bought her a whipped cream maker (it can make all sort of flavored whipped cream and those espumas). I want to try and make a cotton candy flavoured whipped cream. I found a wonderful site of pastry and cooking supplies and they have tons of flavors for pastries. I wanted to buy all of them *sigh*.
Then we had had lunch and Mom decided to do some really (un)needed cleaning. 
And half way through the afternoon, we realized that we hadn't thought of buying a birthday cake *eeek*.

So I called Valérie and we went looking for cakes. We found a nice one with fruits and we bought a chocolat one too. Then we picked up the children, she drove me back at Mom's and went to visit her friend before coming back later for dinner.

I helped Mom in the making of dinner (okay I merely took care of the vegetables) and we waited for the others to arrive.

Caroline and Daniel felt the first real kick from the baby on friday evening. They are so sweet together, sometimes they look so young I can't believe they're going to be parents. But they are also responsible and I think that they are ready.

It's was a very nice day and sometimes you just have to step back for a few minutes and enjoy those precious moments of life.

 There will be an other heatwave on tomorrow *whimpers*. The heat is getting higher every hour and there will be 33° celcius in Paris, I don't want to think about the public transports.  I am thinking on "being sick" ;p *waaaaaah*. 

Actually I am so tired that a day off would be nice. God,six months off would be even better but unless I win the lotto, that won't happen anytime soon.But let's look at the bright side, I could have a whole week off on the second part of september.

On another note, I found a fabulous blog of recipes and I want to try everything. If the heat is not so bad next week-end, I'll try to make some pastries. I am thinking on a cake for my mother's birthday.

 So after four days, I finally managed to install the layout I wanted but (there's always a but ;) ), there is a few bugs in the CSS.
First, there is no sidebar, the menu bar at the top is not perfectly regular and when I click on the comments link, a) the header appears there too and b) the menu bar there is vertical instead of horizontal *headdesk*

I am too tired to try to change that right now, I'll have to check a few communities and tutorial and CSS is so not my thing. I am sure I'll have a lot of fun with that.not.

On another note, my parents called and their ride to Portugal went well. They left at 3 on sunday morning and arrived at 11pm. I barely slept last night so I was exhausted today. I was so tired that I left at 3.30pm. 
It's not as hot as last week but it's really humid and commuting this morning was awful, I felt like a steamed lobster *eww*.