Becca’s World

I foolishly neglected to save my bookmarks from Firefox and Internet Explorer when I did my recent re-install, but I’m going to look at that as an opportunity to reorganise and also find new favourite sites.

Let’s start with blogs ’cause I enjoy reading some, most often AustenBlog, Brandilyn Collins’ Forensics & Faith and Wil Wheaton. Do you have one I should add to the list? Just leave a comment with the link, and I’ll check it out!

I’m probably quite far behind most chatter online about upgrading to Vista, but since I just switched back to XP, I wanted to say why and assure folks that I actually give Vista a thumbs-up.

With each new version of Windows, the amount of hard drive space and memory usage increases - or at least it seems to do so. (I don’t have data to back it up and won’t bother researching now just to prove my assumption.) Unfortunately for my laptop, it was designed for XP and only given 1 GB RAM, which means it seems to run really well with XP but became sluggish with Vista. I finally decided that I didn’t have to be running the latest Windows operating system just because I own it (free upgrade due to a promotion at the time I bought XP Pro). I’d rather not spend the money to boost myself to 2 GB of memory at this point - I can think of better uses for my cash, but it would be nice in the future. Of course, by then I might have moved on another machine. (Shh, don’t tell my computer I said that. It might take offense!)

Anyway… Vista is visually appealing and I found it very easy to use. For me, it wasn’t a huge jump from XP. I guess I’d sum up Vista by saying it’s XP with a dash of the Mac look to it.

I’m not disappointed to go back to XP since neither OS has treated me badly in the lifetime of this computer. And the more Windows installations I do, the better I’ll get at knowing just what needs to be done, so it’s not scary when it becomes necessary. I like the idea of a fresh hard drive as well. LOL

This would be under Great Song Lyrics, but to be honest, it’s been so long since I read and spoke French regularly that I’d have to do some translation to be sure I could endorse it all.

I’m surprised I didn’t hate this song after hearing it multiple times consecutively when the lyrics were a fill-in-the-blank exercise in French Immersion. (And one phrase in particular doesn’t seem appropriate for our grade level now that I have a kid of my own. LOL)

Anyway… here it is, in French (with the chorus always in English) because I can’t stand the all-English version my mum has. Call me crazy, but this is the original one I heard and it sounds best that way.

While listening to the local radio station this morning, Tim and I heard “Whip It” by Devo and “Hold the Line” by Toto. He started dancing with both, and I had to smile at that - I love both songs!

(He also seemed to like Fefe Dobson’s “Everything” when we got into the car later and that’s one I like a lot. Hee hee. For the record, though, he’s not just into pop and ’80’s tunes - I’ve used Nightwish, a metal band, to calm him down before.)

Am I back to the real world today? Maybe, but I haven’t found all the energy I need to get to the housecleaning yet. Guess I’ll ease into it.

I got in a short walk yesterday morning after listening to music and hanging out at Facebook, and then it was the kidlet’s snacktime. I started preparing our lunch then - chicken caesar wraps! Then I was on the phone for a while with one of the sisters before getting ourselves out the door with everything we’d need for a couple hours at the park. (And when you have a child, it isn’t as simple as grabbing your purse and keys…)

Lunch was yummy and the company was even better. My parents and oldest sister were there, which pleased the kidlet a lot. He took his time with lunch, but once he was out of the stroller - the only reasonable place for him to eat safely since we were at a picnic table and not on the grass - he just wouldn’t stay still! The parents took turns entertaining/following him as he wandered around the paths and playground area. I took a little turn myself - as a mother should - but some days I already feel like his energy level far surpasses mine!

We got home in time for his nap. I put on “The Princess Bride,” one of my all-time favourite movies, and played around on message boards. When it was the end of naptime, the movie helped to soothe his transition from sleeping soundly to having Mama insist it was time for a snack… With the movie over, we had a little time to fetch Slurpees, and I actually tried something new: Strawberry Limeade, with a little Banana mixed in. Tasty!

Supper was takeout from Weezie’s Borscht Hut, a nearby restaurant with Russian cuisine. (This area was part of the Doukhobour immigration, in the early 1900’s I believe.) We had borscht with potato cheddar perogies. So delicious! Later we had some ice cream cake.

I read for a little after the kidlet went to bed. (Safe Haven by Hannah Alexander, the June Book of the Month at iVillage’s Christian Bookshelf board.) Then we watched a first season episode of ’90’s TV show “Due South,” followed by “So You Think You Can Dance” and “The Listener.” It was a good night!

And now it’s a normal Friday, with a to-do list staring me in the face. Might be nice to get the bottle returns done early and see how cash that earns us. (In my experience, 5 - 7 cents per bottle, depending on the size, means you need the trunk of the car full to count for anything. LOL) Better get to that if I also want time to boil eggs for egg-salad sandwiches at lunch. (So far, the kidlet only likes eggs in sandwiches. Maybe they’re too boring otherwise. I indulge him, but eventually he’ll be at the stage where you can more easily convince him to try new things without throwing them on the floor or feeding them to the dog!)

Happy Friday, everyone! Special shout-out: birthday girl Carrie Ann!