Pink Journey

Even Industrial Heating Is Not Sufficient

2012-01-18T13:01:00.001-07:00

This morning I awoke at 4:50am. Hubs was in the midst of getting ready for his day. A day that includes two flights to a warmer climate. A day of hanging out with my Dad. A day that starts the ultimate of their guys' weekend.

I enjoyed getting up early. It meant I had time for a coffee before getting ready. I got to watch the morning news, E and I had breakfast together, and relaxed a bit before I had to drive him to school. No rush, none of the last minute dashing about for misplaced mittens and school forms that usually marks our weekday mornings.

Today my husband and my father fly to Phoenix to attend the Barrett Jackson Collector Car Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona. They are flying to a 3-bedroom, 4-bathroom house in a gated community that may or may not be on a golf course. They are flying to 20 degrees Celsius.

They are flying out of -30 degrees Celsius. They are flying out of -39 degrees Celsius when wind chill is applied. They are flying out of snow covered sidewalks (too cold to shovel), and ice covered streets (too cold for salt). They are flying out of traffic crawling along at less than half the normal speed because someone decided to not pay attention to the poor road conditions and inserted the front of their car into another car's trunk.

Today, for the second day, I have a shawl wrapped around my shoulders. On top of my sweater. For the third day today, our office building cannot heat enough for any level of comfort. Our windows at home look like the inside of a deep freeze. Inside the house. I could feel cold air coming through the vent as I folded clothes out of the dryer.

This is what this week has for us. We were lulled into complacency with barely negative temperatures for so long. And now, Mother Nature is making up for it. With one week of sub-polar temperatures, she has dragged the average temperature for the year back down to where it should be.

Spring cannot come fast enough in my books.

The getting up early though? Like I said, I quite enjoyed it. Enough that I may try it again tomorrow morning. Maybe not pre-5am, but earlier than normal.

First Family Game Night

2012-01-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

Last Friday we held our first family game night. It's a perfect day for us, as it's my night off from cooking supper, thanks to our local pizza delivery service, and we're not as concerned with the boys' bedtimes.

Our sister-in-law is a big board game fan. Whenever our families are together, and the boys are in bed (or being looked after by an older cousin), she pulls out a game for the adults to enjoy. And she always has some really fun, different games. No Game of Life or Monopoly for this lady. She's more likely to pull out Ticket to Ride, Apples to Apples, or for the marathon board gamers, Settlers of Catan. Without fail a good time is had by all, and a lot of great conversations have taken place while we play. After witnessing this once again over Christmas holidays, I decided we needed to start bringing this into our boys' lives, hopefully lighting a flame within them that glows with the memories of quality time spent with family and friends.

For Christmas this year, my parents gave both boys their own games. They have other games, which will definitely get pulled off the shelf more often now, but we decided to start with the new ones.

S received Chickyboom. This is a fantastic game. This is our fourth Blue Orange game. I love them. They're wooden, painted pieces, and the games are fun for the whole family, but simple enough that when the kids are only 4 years old, they can understand the rules and play. And there's a level of education too. Chickyboom, for example, is a balance game.

E's game was played after S went to bed. Hubs is a chess player, and since E started reading Harry Potter, he's wanted to learn how to play chess. So, my folks found this Quick Chess game. One side is a smaller board (less squares), for faster games with less pieces, to get the new player used to how the pieces move. E beat Hubs his first time out. The other side is a traditional size, for longer games. E was able to focus for about 45 minutes on this one, which is pretty good for a 6-year old not playing a video game.

I have to say our first family games night was a success. The boys thoroughly enjoyed their game, and as adults we were able to let go of always being in control a little bit, and truly enjoy the evening for what it was, not what we hoped it would be.

WIP Wednesday - Prayer Shawl

2012-01-11T12:46:00.000-07:00

Last fall I agreed to join the newly formed Prayer Shawl Ministry at church. I'd been looking for some way to contribute that didn't involve being away from my boys a lot, since I work full time outside of the home. This was a perfect fit. Work at your own pace, meetings once every couple months, and something I already know how to do.

My first shawl is a simple garter stitch, and I plan to add some fringe to the ends. The colours are earthy, subtle, and soothing. It will be easy to take care of, so no matter who it is gifted to, there's not a lot of special instructions. I think that's one of the main ideas behind the prayer shawls. Low maintenance seems to be key.

I'm think I'm about 60 percent finished the knitting portion. The nice thing about garter stitch is that it doesn't require a lot of thinking, there's not reading charts, you can truly give in to the meditative process as you knit.

Pattern: Comfort Shawl. Yarn: Lion Brand Homespun in Mediterranean

For more WIP Wednesday creations-in-progress, head over to Tami's!

Sundays are for Quotes

2012-01-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

"I have enough money to last me the rest of my life unless I buy something." Jackie Mason

Apples!

2012-01-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

Sit back, and prepare to be transported back...to a wonderful time...a time when life was simple...to late September of 2011.

Confession...I wrote this post right after we picked the apples. And promptly decided to not download any pictures for...four months! Anyway, rather than re-boot this next fall, and since the weather here is pretty much fall-like instead of winter-white, I thought I'd share it today.

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Just in time, I think, we managed to get the majority of the apples off the tree.

On Wednesday night, our mothers came over, we grabbed a couple of ladders, some boxes, and got to work, with the anticipation of Chinese take away food to greet us when we were done.

It only took about an hour for three women, one man, and two children to get as many apples as could be reached and that were actually ready to say goodbye to their home. A goodly portion of that time, it was really one man working, while three women stood around talking about buying underwear, and two children chased each other around the yard.

But it was fun. And look at that bounty! And they're real McIntosh apples, not the transparents (or is it translucents?) that a lot of people in the prairies have. Good, tart, firm Macs. Not like the soft, flavourless ones that come from so far away to the grocery store. These will be great for all sorts of baked goods, but they're also just perfect for eating out of hand.

2 bins like this!


I call this one 'Brave Man on Tall Ladder'

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We now have five apple pies, some apple sauce, and dozens of bags of cut-up apples in the freezer. Now that Christmas season is over, it's time to start with the apple desserts again.

I love our apple tree. Next autumn will not come fast enough for me.

Friday Food - Warm Lentil Salad

2012-01-06T08:00:00.001-07:00

Excuse the quality of the above photo. I'm still a novice when it comes to taking pictures with my phone. I was at work, and this was my lunch.

When I need some cozy comfort food I quite often turn to lentils. Lentil soup is a favourite. But sometimes I don't want to make a big batch of soup. Sometimes I just want something I can whip up in the evening to have at work the next day.

French green lentils are my favourite. I discovered them about 5 or 6 years ago. At the time the only place I could find them was in bulk at the organic food store miles away, or in tiny little bags at the high-end grocers even further away. Then the distributor my food co-op uses started carrying them. Now I am the proud owner of a 10-pound bag of Lentils du Puy.

Here's one of my favourite warm salad recipes with lentils. Easy peasy, filling, comforting, and make-ahead friendly.

Warm Lentil Salad (makes 4 filling side servings)

1 cup French green lentils
1 1/2 cups water
bouquet garni (I like thyme and bay leaf for this)
balsamic vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
nut oil of your choice
toasted nuts of your choice (preferably the same as the nut oil)
salt and pepper to taste
chevre
Put lentils, water, and bouquet garni into a pot and set over high heat. Once it's come to a boil, cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the lentils are al dente. Drain any remaining water and remove the bouquet.

Drizzle with vinegar and oils to taste, and toss with toasted nuts. Season to taste. Before eating, crumble with feta or chevre. Enjoy!

Like I said above, this is a great make-ahead for lunches (and cheap!). I just pack it up, and bring it to work. Warm it in the microwave and crumble the cheese on top.

This is a fantastic recipe for experimenting. Different nuts, different oils, different cheeses or herbs, you could even add a quarter onion or garlic to the pot will the lentils are simmering. So many different combinations for that background essence. My favourite right now is walnuts and chevre. Play around and come up with your own favourite.

Falling Water

2012-01-04T08:00:00.001-07:00

My mother-in-law's Christmas present. I finished knitting this ages ago (in, like, September?), but didn't get around to blocking or finishing it until just before Christmas. Then I realized we were actually going to be seeing them on the 23rd, instead of the 24th like we normally would, and in a sudden panic, I had it soaked, measured, and pinned before going to bed on Thursday. Then I raced home from work on Friday to weave in the ends.

Pattern: Falling Water by Bonnie Sennot. Yarn: Estelle Cadenza

Anyway, she likes it. And I'm glad. I've never been able to get a sense of what she likes in clothing and accessories.

It's such a pretty blue, I kept a skein for myself.

Frustration

2012-01-03T12:49:00.000-07:00

I spent 30 minutes yesterday in frustration, attempting to upload a picture from my home computer (iMac) onto blogger, and on to Ravelry. They don't seem to want to talk to each other anymore.

I just did a test on my work computer, and it worked fine.

Grrrrr...computers!

Welcome 2012

2012-01-02T13:20:00.000-07:00

Looking back, I feel much better about 2011 than I did about 2010. Which is a good thing. It's funny though, because 2010 wasn't that bad. I think I just felt out of sorts for a good portion of that year. Out of control and constantly playing catch-up.

The past 12 months brought us some change, but mostly it was about us growing together as a family. For Hubs and I, something about our new house somehow makes us feel all grown-up now. For the boys, it seems that one extra year has brought a new level of maturity. Speaking and listening to each other is easier. Understanding comes sooner.

Christmas was wonderful this year. All the knitting was done in time, cookies were made, and while cards didn't get sent out, notes are starting to be written in reply to the ones that were received.

January brings getting our financial house back in order, which was neglected during December. The Freedom List will also be resurrected, after being forgotten in the move to the new house. The new family calendar has been chosen and sits by the kitchen phone, ready to keep our schedules at bay.

I've never been one to focus on resolutions (and apparently I'm not the only one, I've read that a lot today). However, Hubs and I did agree that our family is in need of one evening a week for things like board games and puzzles. And, after struggling back into my work clothes this morning, a focus on my physical health is definitely in order. Oh, and finish Hubs' sweater. Finally.

With all this, I'm looking forward to 2012. Not in the way I looked forward to 2011, gleefully waving at 2010 in the rearview mirror. Instead, I look back at 2011 with satisfaction and love, and welcome 2012 quietly with open arms.

Almost Forgot My Password...

2011-12-01T11:03:00.000-07:00

So, to continue to keep my head above water, I've just come to realize that there are certain months of the year when blogging is low on my list of priorities. I now know that October and November are in that group. I have one client in particular who demands a lot of attention during those two months, and unless I quit my job, there's just not much I can do about it. But, it's all good. they're a great bunch of guys (and lady), and I would hate to pass them over to another manager.

And so, I have looked up from my computer and seen that winter has arrived. I seem to be further ahead this year though, for the jolly season, as the first of our trees is up (there will be two this year), the lights are hung around the house, and the knitted presents are almost done.

I'm excited about Christmas this year. It's been a couple of years since I've been this excited.

We have a wood burning fireplace in our family room. We bought a lot of wood this fall. I don't think we bought enough. We're still in the passion stage with the fireplace. Almost every night we start a fire right after supper and keep it going until just before bed. I don't know how long it will take to settle into that comfortable long-term relationship sort of love.

My vision for Christmas morning? Gathering around the lit fireplace, the stockings full, the presents under the small tree that will be decorated with all the boys' ornaments, Christmas music on the iTunes. Us in our pyjamas (new ones for the boys, of course), enjoying our small family before heading over to the parents' home. If I could wrestle The Beast into a pair of antlers, I would.

From a totally self absorbed, consumerist point of view, I am excited about this Christmas for one reason: due to the layout of our house, I now have my 'designer-Christmas' area in the living room and dining room, where everything coordinates, and sparkles. I also have the 'fun-Christmas' area in the family room and kitchen, where the decorations are less matchy, and more about heart and memories.

Shallow? Oh well.

Sundays are for Quotes

2011-10-02T08:00:00.000-06:00

"Growing old is no more than a bad habit which a busy person has no time to form." Andre Maurois

Head Above Water

2011-09-27T13:18:00.000-06:00

Just when I thought things were slowing down...

Our crabapple tree exploded all over our front lawn.
Both our families enjoyed a warm weekend in Radium at the annual Classic Car Show.
I volunteered for a day for this wonderful local charity.
We joined Hubs' family for a weekend of camping, games, and dancing.
We took the kids to catch a glimpse of life on the prairies many, many years ago.
I interviewed some new graduates looking to join our company.

More on some of those soon...

Sundays are for Quotes

2011-09-18T08:00:00.000-06:00

"For man, autumn is a time of harvest, of gathering together. For nature, it is a time of sowing, of scattering abroad." Edwin Way Teale

Falling Into Quiet

2011-09-08T09:56:00.000-06:00

I feel like summer has been crazy. Crazy!

Selling, buying, packing, moving (home).

Moving, selling, learning, integrating (work).

Shuttling, registering, supplying, feeding (boys).

I'm grateful September has arrived. Everyone is signed up for the activities that will take us through the next few months. I am putting out fewer fires, and am able to look beyond tomorrow.

I'm a planner. I'm almost obsessive about it. Flying by the seat of my pants stresses me out incredibly.

E started Grade 1 last week. I'm dealing with the public school system in our city for the first time since I left it in Grade 3. We moved that summer to a new jurisdiction, and I'm learning they ARE different. But, I'm enjoying not paying private school tuition, for one child at least!

Dancing has started up again too. E had his placement class, so we'll find out next week who his instructor is. S will have his first lesson next week. Between them dancing, Hubs sitting on the Board, and me trying to start up the Alumni association, we will be well acquainted with the studio this year I think.

And so, as the nights turn cooler, we have come sliding into our routine. I'm feeling a bit dusty from it, but have picked myself up, and am in the process of brushing off.

(I even went shopping the other day! By myself! And bought things for me! That hasn't happened in years!)

Friday Food - Raspberries

2011-08-26T08:00:00.020-06:00

If you grew up in the Canadian prairies, chances are someone in your family grew raspberries. My Mum didn't, but both of my grandmothers did. When we were first married, we lived in the house my grandparents had lived in for their retirement. Grandma's raspberry patch was still in the same place it had always been, the northeast corner of the lot, at the back of the garden.

When we moved, we planted raspberries in the northwest corner of our lot, again at the back, against the fence. For anyone who is not aware, raspberries, if not kept in check, will spread. You will find shoots coming up metres away, in the rest of the garden, and in the lawn.

Needless to say, I was excited when I saw the raspberries in the backyard of our new house. And they are prolific. More so than mine ever were. I can get 2 cups in a day, and that's just the easy pickings. A good thing too, since E can ingest at least a cup a day. That boy loves his raspberries. I would normally buy, at a minimum, a pint of raspberries a week. Since we've been in this house (about a month now) I have not had to buy them.

I feel like I should share a recipe or something for raspberries, but they're just so good fresh out of the bowl, or sprinkled over some ice cream. You don't need recipes when in-season raspberries are bursting with flavour. But, here's an idea for fresh raspberries on a lazy weekend morning:

Lazy Raspberry Cream Sauce

Raspberries
Heavy cream
Sugar to taste

Mash the raspberries slightly with a fork. Not too much. Pour over some cream to make a thick sauce, and stir in some sugar. Drizzle over pancakes, waffles, or crepes.

What are some of your favourite ways to eat raspberries?

WIP Wednesday - Broken Rib Cardigan

2011-08-24T08:26:00.000-06:00

Pattern: Broken Rib Cardigan by Debbie Bliss, Yarn: Lion Brand Wool Ease thick & Quick in Wood

Would you believe this is the fourth project I ever started? Like my Mum, my thought process was 'go big or go home' (her first knitting project ever was a sweater).

It's a cardigan for Hubs. To warm him up in the winter. For cozying up at home or at the cabin. It's already close to two years old and I'm still working on it. For a few reasons:

It's huge. At 6'2", Hubs is a big guy, and hence needs a substantial sweater.
It's repetitive. Two rows to know.
I'm on the sleeves and the shaping scares me.
I haven't found appropriate buttons yet, which means I can't get going on one of the front panels.

So far, I've finished the back and one front panel. I'm 3/4 through one sleeve. So, I'm technically over 50% done, but considering I pick it up once a month to work on, there's still a long way to go!

(Apologies for the poor picture. This was one of my first cracks and photographing my knitting, and I also had to grab the picture back off Ravelry because I'm on a different computer.)

For more WIP Wednesday goodies from this week, head on over to Tami's!

Sundays are for Quotes

2011-08-21T08:05:00.000-06:00

"Friendship doubles our joys and halves our griefs." Dolley Madison

Friday Food - Beef Bacon

2011-08-12T08:00:00.003-06:00

In the summer, as many Saturday mornings as we can, we drive out to our 'local' famer's market. It's not really local to me anymore, but my parents still live in the area. The season always seems far too short. There's a couple markets in the city that I'm sure are closer, but I find it far more satisfying to go to an outdoor farmers market; it seems more authentic, and I think Millarville is the largest outdoor market in Alberta.

Anyway, we discovered Alpine Ranch this year at the market. They raise hormone-free, antibiotic-free, steroid-free beef (they're free of more than just those too). It is some of the best tasting local beef I've had. And I've had some.

Our favourite product is the beef bacon, or as we like to call it, 'steakon'. Thinly sliced beef strips, taken from the cow in a similar place to where bacon would be taken from a pig. Think of nice, thin, crispy bacon, but with an unexpected flavour of a juicy steak.

We barbeque ours over low heat, resulting in a nice, chewy texture, with very little fat. So carniverously yummy.

Apparently Unpacking is NOT Going Well

2011-08-11T14:37:00.000-06:00

I'm supposed to leave for a weekend in the mountains tomorrow afternoon. I'm driving, but once there, I will have a lot of time spent sitting and relaxing, which for me = knitting time! (I may get my brother to drive on the way home!)

But I can't find the socks that I started and wanted to work on, since my shawl is coming to an end. I used them as lightweight filling in one of the moving boxes and have not found them yet. Other projects are too heavy and hot to work on while sitting on the deck in the sun, I'm leaving them for fall.

I was sure I would have come across them by now, as they were in one of the last boxes to be packed. Along with them, is my 'support' bag. The little bag I keep with my needles for weaving in ends, my measuring tape, the pins I use for blocking projects. Without that little bag, I foresee an endless list of UFO's (unfinished objects) in my future.

So, when I get home on Sunday night, I am not allowing myself to open a book and read. Nor will I be allowed to pull out a DVD to watch (Netflix is grounded too). Once the car is unloaded, and the laundry started, unpacking resumes.

The past week I have used many excuses. I'm back at work. I only want to arrange the furniture and unpack once. But, it's time. The floor plans are done. I am fully capable of moving furniture myself. If I have to unload a box in one room and walk things across the house because I'm too weak to move the box, so be it. This needs to get done.

Because, dude, I'm excited about those socks. It's the first time I've used a yarn with a colour pattern that I'm unsure about. It took me a long time to work up the nerve to wind and start knitting with this yarn. And I can't wait to see them when they're done.

WIP Wednesday - Dishcloths

2011-08-10T09:13:00.000-06:00

For a Christmas gift for all the ladies in my family, I thought I would make a week's worth of dishcloths. I like working on them because they're fast, small, and I don't necessarily need to carry around a pattern. Just in the car ride to and from the mountains, I can knock off 2 or 3 of them, as long as Hubs does all the driving. So far I've made 17 of them, all in various colours. Most are a basic pattern, but I'm trying to make some picture cloths as well.

In all, I'll need 35 for gifts, 42 if I want to keep some for myself.

Knit dishcloths are fantastic. They make fantastic scrubbers due to the stitches, but are gentle on dishes and cookware.

I haven't tried getting 2 cloths out of one ball of cotton yet, as they seem to use just over half. But, maybe mine will be made with colourful leftovers.

Head on over to Tami's Amis and Other Creations for other WIP Wednesday fun!

Sundays are for Quotes

2011-08-07T08:00:00.000-06:00

(Haha, I just about typed 'Gouts')

I'm attempting to start a weekly post on Sundays that will bring you quotes that (I hope) sum up the week previous.

This week, in reflection of moving and unpacking:

"It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing." Thomas Jefferson

Friday Food - Madeleines

2011-08-05T08:00:00.024-06:00

I used to have an engineer on my team. She was a little slip of a thing, single, lived alone in a tiny apartment, and in her free time she would bake. She would bake all sorts of cookies and cakes, keeping our team and company well fed. Every now and then she would bake madeleines. I found myself walking past her office more often on those days. A couple years ago, my Mum brought me some madeleine pans from the Sur la Table store in San Diego. I finally got around to using them the other afternoon, probably as I was procrastinating from packing. M, these are for you.

Lemon-Coconut Madeleines - makes approximately 24

1 ½ Tbsp melted butter (or more) – for greasing pans

3 large eggs

2/3 cup sugar

1 tsp lemon extract

¼ pound unsalted butter, melt and cool

1 cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup cornstarch

½ tsp baking powder

¼ tsp kosher salt

1/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 375F. Thoroughly grease and flour the madeleine pans. I used a brush to help get the butter in all the grooves.

Madeleine pans pre-prep

Greased and floured

3 eggs

Beat the eggs, sugar, and lemon extract on medium speed for 3 minutes in an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. The mixture should be light, yellow, and fluffy.

Add the butter and mix.

Melting butter - remember to let it cool before adding!

Sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.

Sifted dry ingredients

Stir into the egg and sugar batter with a spatula. Stir in the coconut.

Batter anyone?

With a table spoon, drop the batter into the pans, filling each shell almost full. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until they spring back when pressed. Flip the madeleines out onto a cooling rack lined with parchment paper and allow to cool.

The first batch

These are best served right out of the oven, as they can dry out fairly quickly. I put mine in a Tupperware as soon as they were cool, and while they did dry out a bit, I think it helped them last a day or two longer.

Up close and personal

The lemon flavour was just a hint. For stronger flavour, add some lemon zest along with the extract.

Play around with flavours. I had a thought that lime zest and coconut would make an even better pairing. Even simple vanilla would be just as mouth-watering.

Enjoy!

WIP Wednesday - New Year Shawl

2011-08-03T16:15:00.000-06:00

On January 5th, I wound 900 metres of lace weight yarn (Handmaiden Lace Silk) and cast on the 10 in 2010 shawl by Janine Le Cras:

By February 8th, I had gotten this far:

Then, it was put aside as I worked on birthday gift after birthday gift, finished some socks, and finally got started on the prayer shawl I had signed up to make. I think the fact that it took me close to an hour just to knit two rows was a bit daunting for me. Then, about a month ago, I picked it up again. After knitting 2 shawls for my sisters-in-law, 2 pairs of socks, and 4 scarves for the men in the family, I was getting faster. Now the shawl looks like this:

I've made it through the main body chart, and the transition chart, and am on the edging chart. I am 44 rows from finishing this.

If you're interested in seeing more WIP Wednesday posts, check out Tami's Amis and Other Creations for other WIP bloggers.

New To Us

2011-08-01T20:20:00.000-06:00

Here she is...our 41 year old beauty. I just realized this house was built the same year my parents were married (it's their anniversary today).

We had most of the house repainted when we took possession. These pics are pre-painting. The walls are now almost exactly the same colour as the trim. In other words, goodbye mint green and mustard yellow!

Kitchen...redone in the early '90's. It's definitely in great condition, and while it's not our style in terms of decor, it's functional, well laid out, and in great working order.


I have gas!

Dining Room...yay! Finally! 'Nuff said.

Family Room...a wood burning fireplace, sliding doors to the patio, large enough for the addition of a piano in the future.

Living Room...OK, living room looking in to front entry. The point is, aren't the glass doors the best? They sealed the deal for me. There's four of them in total.

Outdoors, this brick monstrosity with the chives growing out the top will hopefully be converted to a wood burning oven in the future. A lot of research will have to go into this.

The raspberries in the foreground, with a nanking cherry peeking out behind. I've already gotten a bit of a crop out the raspberries, and need to start harvesting the cherries. Jelly, here we come!

This is our McIntosh apple tree. It will be interesting to see how big the apples get. Our oldest boy is an apple fiend, and can't wait until the apples are ready to eat.

And, where the future hammock will go. We're already arguing over whether it should be a Mother's Day or Father's Day present next spring.

I hope to post more pictures as we get rooms set up and decorated. I say decorated, but I mean furniture placed and some things put out. Get ready for barely beige walls!

In the Midst of Chaos

2011-07-27T17:21:00.000-06:00

I'm sitting in my kitchen, cooking my last dinner in this house (faux tarragon chicken and orzo with Parmesan and basil). Tomorrow is take-out, as hopefully the kitchen will be packed away. For on Friday morning the movers come to empty the house.

I'm surrounded by chaos. A pile of boxes here, half-packed boxes there, counter tops cluttered and messy. We've been going at it all week. Packing, moving things over, unpacking where we can, given there is no furniture and two painters there.

The new house is looking fantastic. The walls are neutral now, we wanted some time in the space before making major changes. The apple tree is showing a bounty of fruit, the raspberries and nanking cherries have made their appearances. The list of maintenance items that accompanies an older home has been started.

I know that this will be my last evening to relax in a long time. Tomorrow brings the last push for packing, Friday is the move, and then the move-in and personalization begins (I'm already having a panic attack about the considerably less cupboard space in the kitchen).

I've taken so many pictures, but they're still on the camera. Next week brings another week off work to get settled, and relax, and enjoy our new home.

Le Mont Saint-Michel

2011-07-23T08:00:00.002-06:00

Can you tell I'm feeling nostalgic for France?

Last year at this time we were pulling away from this place:


Le Mont Saint-Michel, France

Off the coast of Normandy, it's an abbey built on a granite rock that is separated from the mainland when the tide is really high. The walled town built up around it, spiraling up the sides of the rock. You can park outside the wall and walk in, poke around the village and tour the abbey.

We had decided early on to stay the night, as we had heard the atmosphere is magical when all the tourists head back to the nearby hotels across the causeway that has been built. We booked ourselves into a little hotel, packed what we needed into the lightest bag we had, and walked into the town and up the five flights of stairs to our room.

That evening was spent touring the abbey at dusk, enjoying musicians playing in various rooms. The next morning we went back to the abbey to snap some photos in daylight, and poked around the shops. I bought my copper bowl for beating egg whites. It was at about this time Hubs decided he was not taking enough advantage of all the crepe stands, and decided to not pass another one the whole trip without ordering a crepe.


Random tree, outside wall of abbey

Like most of what we saw in France, we loved this place, and I hope to return one day and bring the boys.

On This Day...July 16th

2011-07-16T08:00:00.002-06:00

One year ago today, this is where we were standing. The beginning of our very first (far from last) trip to Europe.

Eiffel Tower, Paris, France

I fell in love that year. With so many places. And with my husband, all over again.

Bastille Day!

2011-07-14T08:00:00.002-06:00

This photo was from last year, the flag was still up when we got into Paris.

Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile

Look at the size of it! Isn't that fantastic?

What Summer Is All About

2011-07-10T08:00:00.000-06:00

Parades!

2011-07-08T20:00:00.000-06:00

For the past couple of years my Dad has been asked to chauffeur in the Calgary Stampede Parade. I'm not sure how he was first asked, but obviously he knew someone who knew someone.

So, for the second time now, he's been up at the crack of dawn, drives his fancy ol' car down to the staging area, and gets paired up with someone who apparently is important enough to get driven around downtown Calgary for a morning. Last year it was a pair of figure skaters, this year it was a local alderman.

So, this year, my Mum asked if I would go down with her to watch my Dad drive past. Now, normally for me this day means a sleep in, since our office always takes the day off. But, with the possibility of seeing the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge as well, I thought, 'Why not?'

So, we found our space at 7am (which means we left my house at 6:15am). Unfortunately not front row, but that group was there at 3:30am. 3:30 AM!! About half a million people came down to the parade this year, more than the usual third of a million.

And we saw them, twice. Once as they left the hotel to start their route, again on their actual route past before the parade began. They drove quite quickly past (running late, according to the police officer near us). But I was able to snap a couple of photos.

(Aside: I'm not a huge fan of the Stampede, and think that Calgary could focus a bit less on its cowboy image, but I did think it was pretty cool that they donned those white hats for so much of their visit.)

See? That's Catherine waving from the driver's side back seat, William is beside her.

Now, some people were griping about how fast the motorcade went, and the fact that they were in an enclosed car. I figure, if people wanted up close and personal, they could have stood in line overnight with all those other people to get the event wristband earlier in the week.

And look! A tank! I never thought I'd see a tank on Calgary streets. Now, I haven't been to the parade in over 15 years, so I don't know if this is common.

And there's my Dad. Isn't that car beautiful?

We left pretty quickly after that, our excitement for the morning was pretty much past. And my stomach was growling...

Deep Woods

2011-07-03T08:00:00.001-06:00

No, not the bug spray, though I certainly could use some of that right now. The mosquitos are deadly this year! Big! And aggressive!

No, this is a shawl for my sister-in-law. A belated birthday present, I finished knitting a day after her birthday and need to block and weave in the ends, but it's still pretty. Just think how beautiful it will be when it's complete!

I have to admit, I'm not a huge fan of the colour green, but when I saw this in the store, it just screamed "L!" to me. Well, not exactly. It screamed my sister-in-law's name.

Pattern: Enchanted Wood by Janine Le Cras. Yarn: Cascade Heritage Handpainted

Happy Canada Day!

2011-07-01T08:00:00.001-06:00

A Bowl of Cherries

2011-06-29T08:00:00.000-06:00

Eat me!

Doesn't that look fabulous? Cherries are so cheery and inviting. One of the best things about summer.

My Irises

2011-06-27T08:00:00.000-06:00

I love 'em.

Spring 2011

2011-06-25T22:24:00.000-06:00

Wait, did we actually have spring? I thought this season was called Rain.

But, there were some awesome times to be had.

Our first trip to the zoo, and the pussy willows were in all their glory.

So were the butterflies.

A trip to the Badlands meant crossing the river on the Bleriot Ferry.

Birthdays were celebrated.

Holy smacks, do we have a lot of Star Wars Lego in the house now.

And now summer is upon us. A lot of excitement for our family is on the way.

2011-06-23T08:00:00.002-06:00

See that sign? That's the one outside our house.

About a 16 minute drive away from this sign is a similar one, signalling that new owners will be arriving soon.

We sold our house in about 5 weeks. It took another 3 weeks to find a new home. The one we're hoping will be ours for a long time. The one our boys will grow up in, bring their friends home to, bring their girlfriends home to. The one we want to retire to at the end of the day. The place we will share meals and laughter with family and friends.

The house is a gem. In a 40-year old neighbourhood where a house sells and a garbage bin shows up in the driveway as renovations commence. The current owners have lovingly cared for this house for the past 18 years, but not extensively renovated, it's exactly what we were looking for. Original walls, minor updating, new roof, a blank slate for us to slowly turn into our own. Large yard, fully grown trees, firepit. A gas stove! A dining room! A fourth bedroom! Attached garage!

We now officially have 37 days to get everything ready for the movers. Luckily we have some overlap of possession dates, so there's over a week to finish packing, paint, clean, measure, get everything moved, and clean the old house. Whew.

I am so excited about this new beginning for us, but so apprehensive as well. As much as I feel we've outgrown our current home, I loved how unique I felt it was, and it was our home. Two and a half years after we were married we bought that house. We've lived in it for three quarters of our lives together.

I'm trying not to dwell on what was, but instead focus on what will be. On the change we've consciously chosen and pursued.

We Have A Majority!

2011-05-03T08:41:00.000-06:00

After how many years of minority governments, Canadians once again have a majority. We have one party that hold over 50% of the seats in the House of Commons, with a strong opposition party to keep everyone on their toes. We have some stability. We have some sense of where this country is going over the next four years. We are not living under the threat that an election could be called at any time.

The Conservatives have it. The New Democrats are getting their turn at the big boys table too. The Liberals have lost a lot of voter confidence. The Bloq has imploded. And the Greens are making their entry. It will be an interesting four years.

Canadians!

2011-05-02T10:47:00.002-06:00

Go vote!

Now!

Royal Wedding

2011-04-29T03:31:00.002-06:00

It's 3:30am, and I've been up for 15 minutes to watch the royal wedding coverage.

I got up late...

One Week...

2011-04-14T20:41:00.000-06:00

brought me...

     1 spring snow storm (hello, heavy wet snow)
     2 restaurant dinners with the kids (is McDonald's a restaurant? Really?)
     3 relaxing meals with my brother (It was nice having an adult to cook for)
     4 house showings (at least we had fair warning on all of them)
     5 days of dropping the boys at school AND picking them up (usually a shared task)
     6 hours of working from home with a sick boy
and
     7 nights with a king-size bed all to myself (ahhhh...)

It also brought me...

The realization I work for some pretty great, understanding guys,
Almost to tears every time I had to hang up the phone with Hubs,
A chance to practice my patience, and
An even greater respect for all those ladies who are raising those great kids all by themselves.

Photography Practice

2011-04-01T08:00:00.004-06:00

Every time we go to San Diego we find something new to see or do. This time, near the end of our trip, we went to The Cove in La Jolla to see the seals lounging on the beach. I never stopped to count them, but there was probably over 50 seals laying on the sand in this little inlet. A lot of babies seals. Adorable.

A sea wall wrapped around one side, so you could see them from three different angles. It's quite the attraction. The wall was almost full of people when we were there. Mum said they had been earlier in the month and it took an hour to walk the length of the sea wall. My oldest son took this picture, hence the list to one side.

I took full advantage of the zoom lens and sports setting on my camera. I caught this guy coming out of the water:

And was able to get some good shots of the pelicans flying just overhead. With every pass they would get closer to the water, until eventually they would scoop some up in their beaks and fly off. On our honeymoon I would wake up and sit on the balcony with my morning coffee, watching the pelicans soar past for their morning meal.

Ever since then I've found them so graceful, and it's easy for me to get lost in my thoughts just watching them.

It was a fantastic way to (almost) end the trip.

On the Market

2011-03-31T08:00:00.001-06:00

The house is on the market!

Thanks to a team of painters and a couple of hardy cleaners, our house now looks all sparkly and new.

Hubs says two weeks. I'm trying not to think about it. Average for our community is 17 days. It seems so whirlwind.

It will seem odd in a way. Both our boys were born while we were here. So many family events have been here. OK, mostly our birthdays, the odd Easter or Thanksgiving. But many, many memories of gatherings with friends and family. And while it will be sad to say goodbye to the home that hosted us all, one of the reasons (I feel) we're moving is so that we can have these gatherings more easily.

I grew up with a dining room. A formal dining room. Oh, they were never fancy, but a place to have a nice dinner (or lunch, or brunch), away from the clutter and mess of the kitchen. Somewhere everyone can relax around a cup of coffee and slice of dessert without worrying about the dishes piling up in the sink.

I miss that in this house. Our kitchen is open to everything but the small room at the front of the house, certainly not large enough for more than four people. I always feel like we're tripping on our preparations when we have people over.

No more! One of my absolute must-haves is a separate dining room. I realize that may be old-fashioned. But, then, I am a little old-fashioned in some ways.

Freedom List - Update

2011-03-30T08:00:00.001-06:00

After returning from our vacation, and getting back into our normal routine, I pulled out my Freedom List on Saturday, as some of my prep for the house sale is on this list. It felt so good to see things crossed off, and as I got into the groove, more and more things were completed. I like having this list of everything in one place, otherwise I tend to procrastinate, or only focus on the lists of things I enjoy doing. Note that knitting is not on the list, it's my reward at the end of the day.

Most of the list has to do with decluttering the house. Clean out the closet, take old clothes for donation, put winter clothes in storage (um...but, but it's still snowing!) and so on.

But looming on the list is our 2010 taxes, and the 2011 accounting for my business, now that the year-end is a month gone already. I managed to do a bunch of filing yesterday, which will definitely help those two activities progress at a better pace though. But, really, who enjoys doing these? Even though I can do our taxes in an evening, it's still a few hours out of my day that I'll never get back,

However, I know I should be grateful for the fact that I have to do taxes, because that means we have income, right?

Ah, well, they will get done. And I will not fret about them. All I can say is thank goodness for tax software and bookkeeping software.

Signs of Spring

2011-03-29T10:00:00.001-06:00

When Calgary was in the middle of the deep freeze, I seriously needed some spring in my life. So, I cast on this lace scarf and these socks, and brightened up my days.

Tired of All the Snow (Spring Forward by Linda Welch, Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Daffodil)

The scarf is done (I wanted it for St. Patrick's Day on our trip, no pictures yet), and the socks are half done. I ran into second sock syndrome while packing for the trip, and decided that instead of finishing this pair while we were away, I would take a new skein of yarn and start a new pair. I almost finished one sock in the ten days we were gone. If I had gotten the nerve to take my knitting on the plane, I could have gotten much farther. But little boys need too much attention for me to even attempt that.

Now that we're home, I'm madly knitting birthday presents for the family. I'm currently working on my Dad's and one of my brother-in-law's.

Experimenting with Colour

2011-03-28T08:00:00.002-06:00

Our oldest son participated in his first science fair recently.

He's five.

While I understand why the school wants the children to do this (keep in mind the oldest child there is six), it was challenging for me to kind of abandon my scientific training and visualize how a five year old could pull this off. I was mentally going through a written lab report, imagining it written by a five year old.

Luckily he showed me.

He had a few ideas. First he wanted to explore math (Mummy, I want to do addition and subtraction). So, I got to thinking of how I could set up various operations tables (addition and multiplication were easy, subtraction and division took a bit more work), and he could have a display of the different items he used to help him find the answer (beans, markers, buttons, pennies, etc.).

The next idea was short lived (Mummy, I want to do dinosaurs). No, wait, back to math.

The third idea was what we finally ended up doing (Mummy, I want to do colours).

So, we have the Colour Theory science project. I set him up with jars of water, spoons, and blue, red, and yellow food dye drops. He played with some guidance from us (what do you think will happen when you mix blue and red, sweetie?). He created a colour wheel showing what happens when you mix the primary colours. He also created a couple of visual colour equations for black and brown.

I'm not sure what branch of science this would fit into (physics, I suppose), but what's more important was that he learned how to hypothesize, perform the experiment, and display the results. All in his Woody pajamas.

Back in the Land of Working Computers

2011-03-25T09:51:00.000-06:00

Ah, to be connected again.

We were recently on a holiday. Yay! Sunny San Diego. the land of Lego, Sea, and...and...beaches, pools, golf, and shopping.

I had been all excited about sharing some photos here while we were away, sort of a 'here's what we've been up to'. However, within a day of being there, the supposed-to-be-wireless condo, was not so wireless after all. For some reason Dad's computer and the router refused to speak to each other. Then Hubs' computer got the flu. My connections were down to Hub's iTouch, and my Blackberry. Fine for checking e-mails and finding the local drugstore, but completely unable to upload all those fabulous photos of Shamu that I took with my fancy camera.

We did try hooking Dad's computer directly up to the modem, but needed to disconnect the modem from the router to do that. After a nasty phone call from the office, we learned that the router in our unit was for our entire building, plus the two next door. 12 condos of angry, disconnected snowbirders unable to Skype with their grandchildren. Finally, about two days before we headed home, Dad decided to buy a cable for the rest of their stay to hook up directly to the router. By then, I had resigned myself to a life lived unconnected.

But, now we're home. I'm trying to pull together some posts about our trip for his weekend, but we're also trying to get our house up on the market (anybody want to see pics of our oh so clean and sparkly house?). Plus, I've got some posts in edit-stage, mostly just waiting for pictures. I'm hoping for a (mini) flurry of activity here.

Cheers!

The Fog is Lifting

2011-03-11T08:21:00.000-07:00

The mental fog that is. And although it hasn't been particularly foggy here, we have been blessed with a warm(er) day or two. But snow this morning, as I look out this 6th floor window. Snow blowing through downtown. It should be gone tomorrow. That's what they tell me. I think they figured last week if they didn't start telling people it was going to warm up (whether or not it was true), the blades were coming out.

We've spent the past week hotelling at my parents' place, while our house was painted. We're getting it ready to put on the market. Now we're trying to move back in, in the midst of getting ready for a holi-holi-day.

My parents live a 30-minute drive out of the city. In fabulous foothills country. We took the boys for a drive on the weekend to see some of that scenery (some of it my old high school stomping grounds). They fell asleep. Then we got ice cream at the candy store I used to work at. I think I was more friendly when I worked there than the guy behind the counter was on Sunday.

So, needless to say, there was a lot of driving done last week, getting the kids to school and us to work. One morning stood out above the rest.

The sunrise on Wednesday morning was amazing. As we headed east, there was a chinook arch behind us, and the clouds were pink and gold in front of us. It is one of the things I miss now that I'm living in the city. I wish I'd had a camera with me that morning.

And now, our routine is starting to return to normal, just in time to have it paused again, but for a much nicer, warmer reason. I'm looking forward to sand, sun, shopping, relaxing, playing. Rejuvenation. Connection.

~~~~~

Keeping all those who are affected by the earthquakes and tsunami in my prayers.

Ready, Set...

2011-02-17T08:00:00.018-07:00

So, three pages later, I have the Freedom List for our upstairs and main floor. I have yet to do the basement, and am, really, quite dreading it. Downstairs is where the boys' toys are. Downstairs is where the storage room is (shudder). Downstairs is the laundry room.

But, it needs to be done.

Certain events are in motion, and barring a really bad meeting next Wednesday, those events will kick into high gear. I'd like to be semi-prepared.

And if not, some of it still needs to be done. We, apparently, are really bad at getting rid of things. And it's not just physical clutter, it's the mental clutter that goes along with all the little things that need to get done around a house. That towel bar that needs replacing, the curtain that needs to be re-hung, those pants that need mending. It all takes up a little part of the mind until it's done, nagging you, yet consistently put off. Easy things that never seem to be addressed.

It's frustrating, and I'm tired of it. We're always tired at the end of the week. I'm not complaining or making excuses. Everyone is in the same boat. It's how we choose to deal with it that makes a difference, and obviously in our house, something is not working. We need to address that, make the change, and give it a solid shot. Otherwise we're back where we started.

Frustrated by all of it.

WOYNW - Spring in Canmore

2011-02-16T22:00:00.001-07:00

All this snow is really getting me down, so I wanted to make something that reminded me of spring.

On the weekend, I was going to make some socks, with a lovely yarn that's all blue, green, and yellow, and so lovely and bright, and cheery looking. But, when I got home from the yarn shop, I noticed one of the needles I needed had slipped out of the package somewhere between there and home. Short one needle, and not able to get back until later in the week.

So, instead I pulled this lovely yarn out of the stash, and pulled one the Three Sisters scarf patterns out of my binder, and cast on. There's been a couple of rough starts, but it's coming along, and it's looking lovely. Before I wound the yarn, I wasn't expecting this beautiful dark green patch. It had been hiding from me. I love the colours though, they really do make me think of springtime in the mountains, when everything is bright and new.

Pattern: Three Sisters #3. Yarn: SpunShine Fibers

Head on over to Kerry's blog Knit, Scrap & Sew to see what's on other knitter's needles.

Freedom List - It Begins

2011-02-11T09:14:00.000-07:00

I knew this would be a long process when I first thought about doing it.

I'm a list girl. I make lists for everything. Sometimes my lists are a little overwhelming, and therefore get conveniently forgotten. Sometimes they morph and change as my needs do. Sometimes they are simple, and it's easy to knock items off, and they're done. For a while I tried to not make as many lists, then I flaked on my walking friend three days in a row because I kept forgetting various pieces of gear.

Last night I started my Freedom List. (It even says that across the top of the page). This list will be many pages long. Some items will be easy and quick, and will get crossed off with ease. Others will take longer, and may require some more planning.

I'm not in this alone. Hubs doesn't know it yet, but my Freedom List is partly the family's Freedom List. There will be items where all of us need to pitch in. If our plans for the summer are to come to fruition, everyone has a part to play in that. For practicality, I even tried to think of a central place in our home, where I could hang the list, and we could all see it, and it would be a great visual reminder. I couldn't think of anywhere convenient I would put it, and still want to invite people over for supper. This is a reason I'm not a fan of open concept homes.

This list will take many days to create, and it will never truly be finished, as more will be added as we go along. In the beginning it may be frustrating, because we will be adding more than we're crossing off.

But, there will be a time when the list is growing less than it is shrinking. And when that time comes, if I can take the time to recognize it, there will be a big sigh of relief from me.

Last night I started. I started in our youngest son's bedroom. He's only been around for 3.5 years. Since he pretty much uses his room for just sleeping, I didn't think there would be a lot to do. And, I guess, there's really not. Only seven or eight items were on the list when I walked out.

Tonight, I tackle the master bedroom. If I can find my way out from underneath all the paper that will be created, I will report back in a couple of days.

Wednesdays are for Knitting

2011-02-09T08:00:00.054-07:00

Well, not just Wednesdays. But, I wanted to have a regular place to record my progress, and what better than a specific day? It also gives me a chance to practice my photography.

So, what went down recently?

Mum's birthday scarf, just in time for their trip down south. She bought this lovely yarn at a mini-mill in PEI in the fall. There's enough left that I'm looking at slouchy beret patterns to match.

Mum modeling her scarf. Pattern: Old Shale Scarf. Yarn: Belfast Mini Mills

Getting a head start on birthday presents this year, I knit this scarf for my eldest brother-in-law. It should be perfect for our cold Calgary winters. The yarn is 100% wool from Iceland. So rustic there was the odd small piece of hay in the yarn. A super-fast knit though, I started it just over 3 weeks ago, and just need to sew in the ends.

I call this 'Scarf on a Table'. Pattern: Staggered Rib Scarf. Yarn: Istex Alafoss Lopi

And finally, what's currently on the needles, is this fantastic lace scarf by Janine Le Cras. I love the look of her shawls, and this is the first one I am attempting. It can be slow going, but that orange life-line is a godsend. The yarn is a dream to work with...I would love to get my hands on some of their sock yarn.

Wow, it's really impossible to tell what the finished project will look like. Pattern: 10 in 2010 Shawl. Yarn: Handmaiden

You know, I started a cardigan for hubs back in June? It's really hard to work on. I've heard that about sweaters. So much knitting, so long to see the results. I will pick it up again. Perhaps this week, since I'm down to only a couple unfinished projects. Perhaps Friday, since he's going out...

Day 30 - Some Progress

2011-02-07T10:00:00.000-07:00

So, today is officially Day 30 of my decluttering journey. While I never got off the boat, there were some days I was barely hanging on. Those small victories included making sure the daily paper made it into the recycle bin by bedtime, and keeping on top of all the drawings that the boys bring home with them.

Some larger victories included cleaning out my inbox on my home computer, transferring my files from two, not very handy boxes to a real filing cabinet, and getting the shelf food storage organized (thanks sweetie!)

The next step? How do I move from a 30-day journey to a period of intense house clearing? Well, one of my tools will be my Freedom List as Paula would call it, but if you go to her next post, you'll see it's about more than just a physical to-do list, it's about emotional and mental to-do's as well. My freedom list will range from the small (mend my son's jeans) to the large (clean out the storage room).

We went and looked at a house yesterday with our realtor. We're not at the buying point yet, we still have to go through all the other stuff first, like talking to the bank, getting our house ready, and selling it (this is one point I will not move on). But, we've set the process in motion.

Much of the next few months for us will be focused around decluttering our physical space and (for me, anyway) getting past the emotional attachment to this space. We brought both boys home to this house. We've been here for eight years (I've never lived in a house much longer than eight years). Right now I know it's time to pass it on and let someone else build their memories in it. But when the time comes for that to actually happen, I need to remember that and believe it.

Awww, Nuts!

2011-02-04T09:14:00.000-07:00

Have you seen this?

What do you think?

Do you want to know what I think? (If your answer is "no", then you can stop reading) If you do, thank you in advance.

The first thought that went through my head was "Really?" (Please remember that I live in Canada, and while we have been getting worse, we are still nowhere near as litigious as the States.)

I had many other thoughts, and now that I've had a day, I can't remember what order they came in. Sorry.

They went something like these: (though not necessarily in this order)

Did this lady fail high school chemistry?
Did this lady fail high school biology?
Can she read?
They do have nutrition labels in the States, right?
Companies have been using that "...part of a healthy breakfast..." line for eons. It doesn't mean their product is the most healthy part of said breakfast.
I love Nutella.
Especially smeared on a fresh crepe while I'm walking along the Seine by the Eiffel Tower.
My boys don't like Nutella on crepes. My boys don't like crepes.
How could they be mine?
Did she notice that sugar was the first ingredient?

I don't know about you, but in high school I learned about the difference between calories and Calories. I learned the chemical formulas for fructose, glucose, sucrose, etc., the chemical formulas for the breakdown of those sugars. And I learned how to calculate the amount of calories (energy) that could come from a measure of sucrose during metabolism.

My Mum taught me how to read nutrition labels (thanks Mum!) She taught me that ingredients are listed in order of amount, from greatest to least. I learned later how companies break up sugar content with different ingredients, thereby scattering them around the ingredient list.

Mum also taught me that once I had a healthy breakfast I could eat whatever I wanted. (She hates that I tell people this, and insists I have taken it out of context)

She also taught me to take responsibility for my actions.

If I choose to stuff my face with Nutella every morning, that's my choice. (I don't, by the way) But don't turn around and complain if I've gained weight in the process or suffered a myriad of health problems because of that choice.

And certainly don't sue the company.

I mean really...it's like suing the makers of Gushers because the amount of liquid they show kids covered in on their commercials is not the amount that's actually inside the little candy.

/end rant

I'm Now Officially In Love With...

2011-01-18T09:30:00.000-07:00

On Saturday night, Hubs and I were so excited.

We had a date night.

The boys were at my parents for a sleepover, and we had tickets.

Tickets to the theatre.

Tickets to Nevermore.

By Catalyst Theatre out of Edmonton.

Presented jointly by Vertigo Theatre and High Performance Rodeo.

I was blown away. We were blown away. It was dark, lovely, intense, overwhelming, fantastic, breathtaking.

Heartbreaking.

It was indescribable.

Decluttering - Day 9

2011-01-18T09:16:00.000-07:00

Last night was a night of decluttering the already decluttered. Heehee.

Last week I managed to walk into a store that did not contain yarn and needles (although I did walk into one of those, too) and purchased a couple of portable files for the boys' school work. They each have 14 dividers, so they're perfect for everything from preschool up to Grade 12. Unless they turn out to be interested in art or architecture or drafting, at which point I will probably have to purchase a portfolio.

Anyway, those drawers I cleaned out last week? Well, those got tackled...again...and everything that was a keeper was put into the appropriate place in the file. With those drawers now empty, I was able to organize all their books and workbooks.

Which brings me to a question...do you keep all your childrens' books as they grow up? Do you sell some, pass some on, donate some? How do you decide? Do you let them help you clear them out?

I'm not sure I'm ready to get rid of any of their books yet, even though I know they've grown past some of them. The thing is...they're books. And lots of books is never a bad thing, right?

Oh yeah, and I cleaned out my inbox on my computer. Not quite the chore I thought it would be.

Decluttering - Days 5 through 8

2011-01-17T10:06:00.001-07:00

This was pretty much a non-event, unfortunately. It was a pretty busy weekend, and I feel like a dropped the ball a bit. Every time I had a free moment, my knitting got picked up instead of clutter.

However, I did manage to get the socks that I knit for my Godmother blocked. Now I just need to write the note and buy the envelope and put the stamp on and stick it in the mail. Whew. When it's -23C outside, I don't really want to do any of that! But, that is my goal for this week, to get those socks into the mail!

We did pass along some ski equipment and a Christmas present we were storing for my brother-in-law. So, there is not longer a giant box in our living room, and no more pink and white skis in the garage.

I'm picking it up tonight though. The plan is for some electronic filing to be done. I've got my business files back from my accountant, so I will probably be doing some books tonight, which involves paper filing too. Decluttering my e-mails after that. And if possible, to get our Paris pictures uploaded so that we can share them with the family.

Wish me luck!

Decluttering - Day 4

2011-01-13T09:40:00.000-07:00

See yesterday's post.

No, really, last night, another of the shallow drawers was cleaned out. There are 4 of them, one was pretty empty to begin with, just a couple owners manuals for things in that room. The other 3 hold my boys' work. Two are now done, the 4th just needs a quick pass through, but it's stuffed so full, I want to wait until I actually have a sufficient filing system in place before I tackle it. Hopefully that will be this weekend. Friday's the first day I will be able to hit the stores.

So, while last night was not crazy productive in the decluttering department, I did get a bit done.

~~~~

And then I knit on my latest shawl (see the New Year Shawl pic on the sidebar). one hour to do 4 (short) rows from the chart. Hubs came into the room as I was finishing the last row, saw me squinting at it, and said "what are you doing to yourself?!" To look at the finished shawl (scroll down, it's the green one), it doesn't seem that complicated, but I've never worked with this fine of yarn before, and the needles I'm using have quite a bit of grab. That will be another shopping trip tomorrow.

It's my first time working with a lace chart, and some rows take quite a bit of concentration. So, it only gets worked on about once a week. Luckily there's no deadline for this one. Maybe Jan 1, 2012?

Decluttering - Day 3

2011-01-12T10:38:00.000-07:00

Last night was a small accomplishment. One (very) shallow drawer that held a pile of the boys' colouring and school work. I kept a few pieces, and the rest went into recycling.

Then I decluttered a bit of the candy container into my tummy. Yummy sour skittles. Then my tongue hurt.

So, my question is, how do you store your children's school work, once you've decided what to keep? I'm looking for a consistent system that will (hopefully) keep everything for each boy organized in one place from now until high school. The only thing I can think of is one of those portable files.

Socks for Me!

2011-01-11T19:15:00.000-07:00

Check 'em out...

Bohemian Monkeys

I made these. Yep, me. And they fit my feet. Whoot!

The yarn is by Sweet Georgia, it's her Tough Love Sock in Boheme, and the pattern is Monkey. The yarn was absolutely a dream to work with, and it was fun to watch the pattern and colours play and interact as the pattern went along.

Too much fun.

Decluttering - Day 2

2011-01-11T19:08:00.000-07:00

I actually got a picture of this one!

In the middle of trying to clean at least a couple of rooms in our house, I started to work on the boy's cabinet in our front room. We have this little room off the kitchen. Enough room for a chair, footstool, side table, and a pint-sized armchair for one of the boys, and a nice, long cabinet for all their books and art supplies.

I opened one cupboard (well, it was really, not closed to begin with due to a 5- and 3-year old being the last ones to put anything away). Out fell a pile of construction paper and colouring books. I brought the box of markers and crayons out from its usual home underneath the cabinet.

It took almost an hour, but by the end, I had a nice pile of paper that still could be used, a nice pile of colouring books and workbooks, and a nice box of markers that still have ink in them.

On the opposite side of the ring, a pile for recycling of papers and colouring books that could not possible have any more written or drawn on to them, and a pile of markers whose ink was now on all that paper.

The Rejects

And now, the keepers are all stacked neatly in the cabinet, and the marker box even fits!

Sweet.

Decluttering - Day 1

2011-01-09T11:36:00.000-07:00

Two garbage bags full of old Christmas decorations. Decorations we haven't used in at least four or five years. Decorations with cat hair woven into them as the beast found sleeping on the cardboard box they were kept in to be, oh, so comfortable. Decorations that looked exactly like the cheap, fake wreaths they were. Decorations that were broken. Decorations that have lived in boxes in the storage room for the past 8 years.

Normally I would have tried to take these to a thrift store or something. One man's trash and all that. But, when I looked in the bags, I thought "how insulting", and promptly tied them up and put them in the trash bin.

Next year, when it comes time to decorate the house for Christmas, I will not be plowing through unused items to get to the really good, really memorable, decorations. It feels good already.

30 Days of Decluttering

2011-01-07T13:18:00.000-07:00

I am excited to be joining my friends Paula on her latest project, 30 Days of Decluttering. Starting January 9th, the challenge is to declutter one item from our home every day. Since one of our goals this year is to put our house up for sale in the spring, and find a new home to live in, this is a perfect fit. And to be doing it with a dear friend makes me that much more accountable. I've followed Paula's journeys before, and she has such a thoughtful way about her that makes them so enjoyable, and allows for so much growth.

My plan is to share the journey with you as well. Look forward to stories! artistic photos! poetry! OK, maybe not poetry, but I do hope to make this a creative process as well.

So, here's to Sunday! A fresh start!

Welcome 2011. Come On In.

2011-01-03T12:25:00.000-07:00

Wow. Have you ever experienced a whole year passing and you feel as though you did absolutely nothing? That's how I was feeling this morning as I drove to work. I know, looking back, that there were accomplishments this year: a trip to Europe, a new skill learned. And yet, there's this feeling...this emptiness...

I'm usually not enthusiastic about the roll over into a new year. I've tried to be. I've made the effort. But it lasts a couple days, weeks if I'm lucky, and old habits, cynicisms (is that a word?) creep back in.

I would like 2011 to be a year of accomplishments. I don't know what those will be. I actually need to sit down and draw out some goals. Find some focus. Put some effort into it (maybe that's always been my issue!) They don't need to be big, but I definitely need to see the importance in them.

Christmas this year felt like it came and went, and I was not ready for it at all. A tree was thrown up, ornaments were tossed on, hardly any other of the preparations that I normally delight in and love took place. No baking, no cards, no decorating. Even wrapping gifts was a last minute dash on Christmas Eve (thank goodness for Hubs, or it would have been even worse).

I don't like that. I didn't enjoy it. It wasn't Christmas. Even family visits felt rushed. Christmas Eve and Day came and went in a flash.

I would like 2011 to be different. I would like it to be...well, just more than 2010 was.

Perceptions

2010-09-28T09:36:00.000-06:00

Are your impressions of strangers' behaviour coloured by materialistic things?

On my way to work today, on a single lane road, I was in front of a Porsche. Don't ask me what kind. A small sporty one, not one of the SUV's, that's all I know.

When our two cars pulled onto a wider road, now a two-lane, he pulled out from behind me, gunned his engine, and proceeded to zoom past me. Only to come to a stop in front of me at a red light. I had not been driving particularly slowly.

Show-off.

That's what I thought, anyway.

Then, sitting at the red light, I reflected for a moment. Is he automatically a show-off because he's in a fancy sports car? What if he had been in a beater (Young Punk??), or a car like mine?

What would my impression have been then?

5 Pounds

2010-09-27T11:15:00.000-06:00

That's all.

That's my first goal.

If I can achieve that, I can set another goal. A bit more ambitious, but still within reach.

Than another, and another.

5 years it's been nagging at me. 5 years I've made half-hearted attempts.

I love you, babies, but this is one reminder of my pregnancies I do not want hanging around.

Joyous Heartbreak

2010-09-17T13:39:00.000-06:00

In one week, two things have gotten me thinking of how my boys are growing up. First, the return of a co-worker who just spent 2 weeks split between the east and west coasts of Canada getting her children settled in at university. Second, Tracy's post about their 13th anniversary.

In one moment I am counting down the years. In the next I am holding on so tightly to the present.

In one moment I am trying to picture them ten, fifteen years older. Trying to imagine their faces, their personalities, their interests and pursuits. In the next I am struggling to memorize every twinkling eye, every goofy grin, every painful tear.

In one moment I am longing for easy days, quiet morning coffee. In the next I am providing the vocal stylings for a female superhero, helping to rescue an innocent victim.

Last week we had a glimpse of the future, as we both were off work while the boys were in school. It was wonderful and confusing at the same time.

Sometimes I am caught off guard by what we have done by becoming parents.

2010-09-13T15:57:00.000-06:00

It's getting old, isn't it? Gosh, it's been so long since I posted...blah, blah, blah.

If anyone, anyone, is actually still reading here, I will be shocked. And flattered.

I think summer has officially ended here. It's turning into an early, cold, wet fall. The boys wear their rain gear to school more often than not. And it rained during our family photo session. And while I actually like rain, I do prefer it when it is broken up by periods of sunshine.

Leaves are starting to turn yellow. Already. Mountain peaks are turning white.

This summer brought a lot of fun. Hubs and I went to France for 2 weeks, my parents took the boys while we were gone. We've had some time in the mountains, but mostly have been enjoying our own front yard and all our city has to offer.

This summer also brought some self discovery. Goals that once occupied my mind have diminished in importance and been replaced. A veil of jealousy has been swept aside to reveal that some things just ARE and that's all right. And new experiences cemented my thought that I know so little of this world and its people. This is what travelling does to me. Seeing a different country and culture, and realizing how well it fits with my outlook.

I see changes in my future. Not quite near, but not so distant as they once were. And I find this comforting.

Hangin' By A Thread

2010-06-09T13:56:00.000-06:00

I had to get a post in before 31 days had passed before my last one! I couldn't let this go a whole month without reaching out!

I've found a new hobby. Something to throw my attention at with total abandon, foresaking all else. Cleaning, dishes, laundry, ~~child care,~~ blogging. Work continues because, well, they give me money!

I've learned how to knit. And I love it. In the space of 3 weeks, I have completed a short scarf and a dishcloth.

And have added about 20 projects to my "queue" on Ravelry.

Seriously dangerous.

I'm currently trying to figure out how to link my WIP's to my sidebar with no luck. Because pics are always nice.

Yes, I Had to Stop Working to Post This...

2010-05-13T15:13:00.000-06:00

So, living in Calgary, smack dab between peaky (is that a word?) mountains and bald-ass prairie, we get some interesting wildlife within our city limits. The city deals with skunks, gophers, rabbits, deer, and coyotes on a regular basis, and the odd cougar to spice it up a bit. Porcupines can be common too. And, every now and then one of the peacocks escapes from the zoo and ends up terrorizing some urbanite.

The type of wildlife you see is usually dependent on where you live:

Near the large provincial park within the city limits
Near urban park spaces or the river
In the suburban outskirts (we had a salamander vacationing on our back porch when we first moved in)

Now, having live in or just outside of Calgary my whole life, I've seen quite a bit. Deer, bears, and cougars are regular visitors out by my parents' place.

Working downtown, the most common sighting is the Canada Geese. Around now, they are setting up home, laying eggs, and soon will be wreaking traffic havoc as they push the babies out of the nests (commonly built on the second floor roofs of the office complexes, and apartment balconies), and hustle them across streets and down sidewalks towards the river. It's an awesome thing to slam on your brakes during your morning commute to allow a mother goose to herd her babies across the street. They don't like to be confined by crosswalks, you see.

But I've never, ever, seen this.

Fantastic. 'Nuf said.

Random Thoughts on a Thursday Afternoon

2010-04-22T13:27:00.000-06:00

We've started booking our 10th anniversary trip. France and Belgium. Yay! I've been wanting to go for years. 5 years ago we were booking our last pre-baby trip. I wanted to go to France, Hubs wanted to go to the Carribbean. We compromised with St. Martin/St. Maarten. Probably best anyway, I would have gone crazy in France...

7 months pregnant + all that wine not being consumed = 1 unhappy me.

So, now we are going, sans children. So far we've booked our first 6 nights. 5 in Paris, 1 in Mont St. Michel. Then back east through Normandy and into Belgium we will head. Bayeux, Juno Beach, Rouen, Lille, Vimy...so many things to see.

~~~~~

It's review time at work. I dislike filling out those forms. I'm always chastised for not seeing my strengths, which stems from a fear of sounding like I am in love with myself. So, this year I tried to at least make it fun for my supervisor to read.

~~~~~

My typing is atrocious today. I don't know what my issue is. And Blogger keeps messing with my font and layout. Grrr...

~~~~~

It seems spring has finally arrived to our corner of the world. I'm always hesitant to declare that before the May long weekend, but I am eager to work on our landscaping. A new shrub, some new herbs, some potted flowers. We just had the lawn aerated this week. The boys have spent the better part of the week trying to avoid all the little dirt pellets that resulted from that. Ah, they take after their mother.

~~~~~

My little project is just about done (close to 6 years after I started it!) I'll post a picture before I take it in for framing. Still not sure where it's home will be, it's not really my style. It had started out as a gift for my niece, but she's definitely grown out of it now.

~~~~~

Hubs and I had the pleasure of a weekend away in Victoria, B.C. a little while ago. I was there for a conference and he joined me afterwards. It had been over 5 years since we'd been there. We used to go at least once a year. It was so nice to walk around, relax, enjoy each other's company. And the accomodations weren't too shabby either. Next year hopefully we can take the boys for a holiday and introduce them to a city we love and all it has to offer.

~~~~~

Hubs turned 35 this week! He says it's a big number. I can't really comment, being a year away from that. But it does seems like a big number. Big enough that I now have this urge to create a list of things to accomplish before I'm 35. It will have to be a short list. I've only got 10 months.

~~~~~

We cleaned out our closet this week. Donated 2 bins, 3 diaper boxes and 1 large bag full of clothes and shoes.

Two Months

2010-03-29T12:11:00.000-06:00

That's how long it's been since I last posted.

Almost as long since I last even opened Blogger to check my favourite blogs.

Yes, I've been busy, but I've also been uninspired. And rather than leave a string of posts discussing my lack of anything relatively important to say, I've taken a break.

I've fought with computer programs.

I've embraced my new little piece of technology.

I've picked up an old project.

I've travelled and continued booking more trips.

I've played with my kids.

I've gone on dates with Hubs.

Basically, I changed up my routine a little bit and have refreshed myself. This year, when February rolled around, I was in a rut. I was no longer interested in work, keeping house, cooking, my health, and writing here. I was going through the motions, but there was not a lot of enjoyment there.

For my birthday, Hubs bought plane tickets for me and our youngest to go down to southern California and spend a week with my parents at the timeshare in March. I am not at all ashamed to admit that when I opened that confirmation paper with our flight itineraries, I broke down into tears. It was just what I needed.

We spent that week in the sun, shopping, playing at the park and at the pool, at a classic car rally, seeing all the grandparents, at the beach...so rejuvenating. And I always love seeing all our parents so relaxed. There is something intoxicating about the home away from home they've made for themselves. In the evenings, once the little boy was asleep, we relaxed with tea, cookies, and old TV shows.

And now, I am ready to embrace spring and all that comes with it. Playing outside, gardening, deep-cleaning (big kudos to Hubs for cleaning out the garage already!), grilling, going for walks (and maybe even runs!).

It is warming up outside, Easter is coming, and the grandparents are coming home...spring MUST be here!

When You Need A Pick-Me-Up

2010-01-28T08:00:00.002-07:00

This song always puts me in a great mood. From what I understand, this was all one take. Done in Montreal (doesn't the late 60's Canadian university architecture bring back memories?), it was shown a while ago on CBC. A friend passed along the link, and I thought I'd share it.

You gotta love the guy in the hot pink leotard.

Her Peeps

2010-01-26T21:43:00.073-07:00

Two years ago this day my Dad threw a surprise party for my Mum's 60th birthday party. He gathered her friends at the golf clubhouse, arranged for some entertainment by a close friend's singing group, and had a wonderful spread of food. My sister-in-law flew up from L.A. to be there. All my Mum's closest friends (that hadn't already flown south for the winter) were there.

My Mum has some wonderful friends. She forms these fabulous friendships with fantastic ladies. The support, love, and laughter they offer each other is inspiring. They come from different places. Some are my father's colleagues' wives, some are golf team members, some from church.

About 9 years ago, her closest friend moved from Calgary to Ontario, and I remember her heartbreak. The two of them were so close, and I wondered what would happen to Mum after V left. She's a pretty friendly person, deeply spiritual, and, I think, a very classy lady. But fairly private too. Another blow came 4 years ago when my Godfather's wife passed from cancer. J was such a light in all our lives, and such a good friend to my Mum.

Then my Dad started edging closer to retirement. Less hours in the office meant more time for golf in the summer and travel in the winter. A few years ago they bought a timeshare in southern California, a place frequented by Calgarians. Their friends. There's always another couple there, everyone overlaps their time. Trips to Las Vegas for concerts, to B.C. and northern Canada for adventure.

There's C, a rector with a wickedly smart sense of humour. There's K, who lost her husband to cancer and subsequently found love with a widower. And T, a real estate agent who has become a favourite walking partner. M was a nurse, and is an avid shopper. And then there was P, a housewife and doting grandmother who made everyone feel like family. We lost her to cancer last spring.

I watch these women as I move further into adult- and motherhood. Along with my mum, they are all an inspiration to me. In their relationships with each other, their partners, and individually.

I find myself thinking of my girlfriends. There are the gals I danced with. We share a bond that's so hard to describe. My dear co-worker who shares my passion for food, inspires me in photography, and gets my sense of humour. My sisters-in-law who are all different from each other, and from me, but we have come together as only the brothers' wives can. My co-worker's wife, the one who was able to put up with his antics and dish it out as well as she could take it.

Some of us are married, some are single, some divorced. Some of us have children, some are pregnant, some have no desire to procreate. None of us are in the same place in life at the same time. However, I can still see those support networks strengthening as we move through life, dealing with all it throws at us.

Activities

2010-01-25T16:18:00.000-07:00

So, Kami's post about hockey got me thinking.

We talk a lot about what we're not willing to have the boys do. I'm not a fan of hockey (for so many reasons). Hubs likes it, but never played when growing up (at least I don't think so). He played football and volleyball. We're not willing to spend every night driving our children around to various activities, eating in the car, rushing through homework, not getting enough sleep, etc.

We don't often talk about what we are willing to do though. Hmmm.

Of course, they are only 4 and 2. I think we have a bit of time before they start getting passionate about their extra-curricular activities.

Last summer we had our oldest in soccer. So far he doesn't really seem to be into sports, that one. His little brother was out kicking the ball around more than he was.

This year we have him in Ukrainian dancing. Five months of dancing to date and he's loving it. He loves his instructors. I went to parent viewing night and watched him skip, kick, point his toes, twirl the girls. His first performance is this Saturday at the annual fundraising dinner. His first Zabava. Little kids dancing, great food, a dance. Ah, the memories.

Hubs & I danced. We met through dancing. I'm sure I have pictures somewhere of the two of us in our full get-ups. The shirts that were made for us so lovingly by friends and family. The ridiculously tight headpiece of flowers and ribbons (always under the threat that if it were to fall off, it would be stapled onto my head). The red boots that set you back at least $200 per pair so you better take good care of them!

We spent hours in the studio. Hours in the board room. Hours on the tour bus. Hours working on costumes and props. Hours working on fundraisers, bingos, casinos, mail-outs. Blood, sweat and tears were poured into that ensemble.

Hours building memories. Hours building relationships. Hours building lifelong friendships. Bonds were created that can't be explained. When you spend over 20 hours a week with someone that's not part of your school or employ, working towards a common goal, and then 3 weeks with them on the road, sharing experiences, triumphs and heartache, a special relationship develops. Even now we laugh, cry, shake our heads at the antics, the emotions, the memories.

When I take my son to the studio, I show him the ensemble pictures on the wall. I point out myself, Hubs, his aunt and uncles, friends he knows. I choke up when I think about what that group of people meant and still means to me. The education I received.

I want that for them. Not necessarily the dancing, but the feeling, the passion, the friendships, the memories.

I am willing to help them achieve that.

Welcome 2010, Won't You Come In?

2010-01-05T21:57:00.000-07:00

We celebrated a lot of Christmases this year. Four different get-togethers with family, to be exact. And one more tomorrow night as my Mum introduces a bunch of her friends to a traditional Ukrainian Christmas Eve meal.

Christmas was quiet this year though. Not once was either of our entire families together, except at the beginning of December when we all trooped down to Lethbridge to celebrate with Hubs' brother and his family.

I worked throughout December, taking a whole 3 days off during the holiday season. I like being at the office when there's less than 25% of the staff there. It's quiet, but there's a cameraderie among those present. We share Christmas treats, go for coffee with people from the other side of the floor (oh, wait, that's every day).

And we even brought the New Year in quietly, at the family cabin in the mountains. Just us two, watching a movie (that now we can't even remember which one, how memorable is that?), boys asleep in their bed.

And now I'm ready for 2010 to come into full swing. There are projects I want to work on, things I want to do around the house, books to read, food to try, photos to take. (It was Varsity Blues, Hubs just remembered.)

I'm normally not a person to get very excited about the New Year. "Just another day," says I. But this year is different. This year I am excited. Excited for the possibilities, the learning, the decluttering, the time spent with close friends and family. Hubs and I are planning a big trip this summer to celebrate our anniversary, but there's more and more about my home city that I want to learn too.

I'm looking forward to my boys growing another year. Both of them will be going to school this fall, the youngest is learning new words daily, he's a regular parrot. And the oldest is so interested in everything. The solar system, the continents, colouring and drawing, dancing, languages. He's a human sponge.

I've spent the last couple of months at work learning a new software (really, trying to break it) and the last few weeks leading a group of people towards our project's first deadline, tomorrow afternoon. It's been such an experience, and I haven't had to e-mail our boss on his Blackberry as he lounges on a Hawaiian beach nearly as much as I thought I would have to. I've learned a lot about what motivates our team, what they respond to, their strengths and weaknesses. I've made some mistakes, and spent the better part of a day fixing them. And when our boss returns from his tropical vacay, I will be ready for a couple of days break myself.

2010 is starting out a great year (I know, we're only 5 days in), and I think my resolution (if I made one) would probably be to appoach the coming months with a sense of optimism and wonder. I plan on exploring and learning a lot this year.

The Final Frontier

2009-12-10T11:15:00.000-07:00

Seen this?

Apparently yesterday in Calgary there was an information session.

Would you go? (Assuming of course, you a had a fairly sizable disposable income)

I was thinking about this morning. I'm not sure I would.

Oh, yes, I'm a sci-fi geek. ~~Sometimes~~ Often Hubs shakes his head at me...as I quote...Star Trek...

I grew up watching Star Trek, the original Battlestar Gallactica. I love Star Trek! Stargate! Firefly! I read geeky books like The Philosophy of Star Trek and The Physics of Star Trek! I have Spock quotes on my blog, for Pete's sake! I encourage my oldest son's love of the solar system! My younger son sits and watches the opening credits of Voyager with me! I argue with my boss about Star Trek vs. Star Wars!

There's a universe of possibilities out there. I'm just not convinced I was meant to fly in a space ship.

Inquiring mind wants to know...what do you think? Too early? More testing required? Or would you jump on with both feet?

December 1st

2009-12-01T15:29:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it?

Has this year just flown by for you too?

In a single breath, I am full of excitement for the Christmas season, a bit of stress for all I want to accomplish over the next 24 days, and anxiety for strained relationships that seem to have magnified lately.

Hubs is in Toronto at a conference. I am taking the day off tomorrow to try and get some decorations up in the house and run a myriad of errands. And have a day of sanity before my VP head off to Hawaii for 3 weeks.

Family members have been changing their Christmas plans and it looks like it may just be us and our parents for Christmas Day this year. And maybe my brother. I'm tossing around the idea of having Christmas dinner at our house, something we haven't done since we were first married (9 Christmases ago!) We can handle 7 adults and 2 children in our house. A far cry from a possible 14 adults and 7 children. That gets a little crazy, especially in the winter when of going outside for any significant period of time isn't a real option.

So, have you made your Christmas plans? Do you surround yourself with family? Or escape from reality for a while?

Books, Books, and More Books.

2009-11-30T16:31:00.000-07:00

So, at lunch today after a conversation with a friend about cookbooks, I logged into my Chapters-Indigo wish list.

I counted the books.

I counted them again.

Fifty-four.

54.

Yep, 54 books (actually I think there's now 56, as I've just added a couple more).

And those are just the ones I don't mind admitting to people that I would like to read. And the ones I've actually remembered to include, so I don't forget I want to read them, and get to the bookstore, and flounder amongst the shelves because there's. Simply. Too. Much. Choice.

My brain shuts down.

Obviously I'm adding books faster than I can purchase/borrow and read them, since last year there was only 30 listed.

It's a varied list: historical fiction, philosophy, classics, science fiction, non-fiction, cooking, humour, biographies, financial, science, poetry, gardening, homekeeping. There's a whole world of books out there to enjoy! I'm not picky! Well, I'm not into westerns or romance.

I think part of the problem is the reading. I've got about six books at home waiting to be read. But, between technical papers, textbooks for night school, and bedtime stories, I find myself not having a lot of time for leisure reading.

So, what kind of books are on your reading list? Any recommendations? Because I obviously don't mind adding to this list. What books are you absolutely in love with?

God Bless Mary Walsh!

2009-11-26T12:40:00.001-07:00

Pushing Those Buttons

2009-11-19T08:00:00.001-07:00

This picture describes them perfectly. The contemplative one, and the active one.

My boys can be polar opposites. Yet, they are the same in so many ways as well.

But boy, can that little boy ever push his older brother's buttons.

One day the oldest was colouring his papers on the floor. He's a serious artist. Don't mess with the markers, man. Spread out all over the small room. Wails like a banshee when his younger brother steps on the papers.

I calmly ask the younger boy to stop stepping on his brother's papers, and remind the older one that he can't spread out like that. He has to leave space for people to walk through.

My little quiet one walks back through the kitchen, gets to the table (where I am sitting), turns around, and takes off at a run towards his brother's artwork, and does a bum-slide right through all the paper.

Can you imagine how hard it was to not laugh, and discipline him? Never once did he utter a word. Not even a grunt or mumble.

When I relayed the story to hubs, he replied that one day our oldest is just going to wind up and clock his little brother. The trouble he'll get into will be worth it for him.

Still My Baby

2009-11-13T08:00:00.001-07:00

As I rock him in his darkened room, his eyes slowly close. He's fighting it. Fighting the nap he desparately needs. Not everyday, but definitely today.

He's almost two and a half.

But his hands, feet, and cheeks still have that baby fat.

As he succumbs to sleep, his hands curl into the loose fists I fondly remember. One small hand wrapped around my finger. The other brings his stuffie closer to his nose.

His breathing deepens, I feel his whole body relax.

And I relax, lean back, and close my eyes. Enjoying a moment that doesn't happen very often any more. The laundry and cleaning can wait five, ten, fifteen minutes.

New Venture

2009-11-12T09:47:00.000-07:00

Check it out! And be kind. Please.

...Is My Two Front Teeth

2009-11-12T08:00:00.005-07:00

No, I still have those, thankyouverymuch. In a completely (and not unprecedented) selfish moment, and since Hubs doesn't like presenting me with things I need, only things I want, I now bring you:

All I Want For Christmas Is...

A cast iron fry pan. A cherry red Le Creuset would be the bomb. Another Le Creuset French Oven would be awesome too. Even a plain ol' black $25 cast iron fry pan would be welcome. Why? Because for the past 9 years, I've been dying to make true skillet cornbread.
A wooden citrus reamer.
French Taste, by Laura Calder (Yay Canada!)
Vij's by Vikram Vij (Yay, again, Canada!)
A black Lady Dior purse (I have been coveting this since the first time we went to Las Vegas and I spotted it in the Bellagio Dior store)*
A Paderno saute pan (Once again, Yay to the Great White North!)
A copper bowl**
Wine tumblers - not like the stylin' Riedel ones, but earthy, solid, won't-blow-over-on-the-patio-table wine tumblers
Novels, food books, geeky books
World peace***

So, tell me, what's on your wish list this year?

*If this is actually beneath the tree, I will oscillate between sheer bliss and wanting to kill him for spending so much money. Since he knows me so well, I doubt this will be under the tree.

**Anybody know where in Canada to find a decent one of these without having to remortgage my house?

***Couldn't resist throwing that one on there. But, really, do I need to wait for Christmas to wish for this?

Where the Heart Is

2009-11-08T22:21:00.000-07:00

Gah! Almost 3 whole weeks of no blogging!

Lots of "Gee, I need to remember this and blog about it..." and "Won't this be great to write about..." Gone. Gone forever.

It's been crazy at work. I'm trying to think of what has happened in my life over the past 3 weeks.

Hmmm...

Work,
School work,
House work (yeah, right!),
Cooking (OK, a bit more believable than house work),
Making Christmas cards,
Hanging with my boys, and
Date night with hubs.

How was your Halloween, faithful readers? I spent mine at the office, trying to get some stuff out the door to a major client by Sunday. Big shout out to my peeps, those faithful engineers who were in there with me, making sure all the drafts were oh, so professional and such. You guys rock. You really do.

Hubs took the boys down to Lethbridge to go trick-or-treating with their cousins. Wolverine, Spiderman, Batman, and Pablo (one of these things is not like the others...) all went out for a candy fix.

Sounds like the start of a good joke...Wolverine, Spiderman, and Batman walk into a bar...

Anyway, they had a blast. Ended up spending the night, which was good, because I was back in the office on Sunday morning. I actually kind of like going to the office on weekends. Nice and quiet. I actually am able to get work done.

I don't feel like I've missed out a whole lot though, just a little bit. You see, Wolverine decided to stay around (the old blue and yellow Wolverine, not the new black one, if you're geeky like me and was wondering), and occasionally Pablo's head reappears. Awesome. At least the costumes are getting put to good use.

Speaking of which, I finally got to ~~drool over Hugh Jackman~~ watch Wolverine: Origins last night. Thank you Hubs. You're awesome.

Today I took the oldest to church and to the zoo. Just some Mum-Son time. It was great. The plan is to do it with the youngest in a couple of weeks.

For now, it's just nice to have some time at home to catch up on this! I've missed being here, only checking in during stolen moments.

The Best Policy

2009-10-17T21:00:00.014-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, Jen from 3 Little Monkeys gave me my first ever blog award.

Yay! Bloggy bling!

We're supposed to list 10 honest things about ourselves. And then pass along the award. So, here goes...

1) I am not a patient person. Anything that impedes my progress throughout the day results in much grumbling, muttering and general cantankerousness. Thankfully, I'm also not an outspoken person, otherwise I'm sure I would have been taken down by some large biker dude long ago. I tend to keep my opinions of how inefficiency and disorganization are at the core of everything that is wrong with the world to myself.

2) This being the case, my children are often at the receiving end of my mutterings and grumblings. "Come on", "Let's get going, please", and "Eye on the ball!" are often heard around our house in the morning. Because, let's face it, children are not known for their efficiency. At least mine aren't.

3) I love my job. When I graduated with a Geology degree 10 years ago, I never dreamed I would be supervising a team of 2 engineers and a junior geologist. I never dreamed I would be spending less than 25% of my time in a geological role, learning more and more about engineering and management every day. And enjoying it. I've got some great young people working with me.

4) I love my company. I graduated in April of 1999 and joined them in October of the same year after a brief stint at my Dad's small oil & gas company. I haven't looked back. Not once have I thought I would have it better finding oil and gas than being a consultant. They have believed in me, they've walked beside me as a junior geologist, to professional and senior geologist, to supervisor, and to partner. They had the faith in me to ask me to invest alongside them and help take the company to the next stage as the original partners start to retire. I cannot express what that says to me.

5) I am a morning person. I chatter, I bounce, I annoy Hubs and my night-owl friends. I want to have in-depth conversations about the passing priority on the Autobahn. I can often do this without the aid of caffeine. When we drive to work in the morning, I am often shushed in favour of the sports report. Sad.

6) I can watch Food TV all the live long day. I love them all (well, ok, except for the 'reality shows'. And Rachel Ray). French Food at Home, Barefoot Contessa, The Main, Fresh, Chef at Home...I could go on for pages. Canada has such great kitchen talent (yes, I know Ms. Garten isn't Canadian, but the rest of the list is!)

7) I'm a bit of an Okanagan wine slut. If it has the BC VQA label, I'm all over that bottle. None of this Niagra stuff for me. Hey, Canada has great wines! BC has great wines!

8) I am scared of clowns. They creep me out to no end. Oddly, Cirque du Soleil clowns don't. But, a rainbow afro, giant red shoes and colorful clothes? Gah! And don't get me started on the haunted casino clown on Freemont Street in Las Vegas two weeks ago.

9) I love, love, love having two sons. No, we are not planning to "try for a girl". No, I don't want "one of each". I am looking forward to years of Lego, comic book superheroes, and sci-fi geekdom.

10) I want a tattoo. I know exactly what it is, and where it should be. But I refuse to do it until I have lost some weight. About 35 to 40 pounds to be exact. Hey, I've lost 2! I'm on my way!

Thanks for sticking around! Now, to pass along the award. I always enjoy reading what these ladies have to say. I hope you do too:

G's Blue Eyes
Interrupted Wanderlust
Just Another Mommy Blog
Kami's Khlopchyk
Mimi on the Breach
R Royal Family

Cheers!

Spectrums

2009-10-17T19:00:00.005-06:00

In class we learned about personality types, and the different testing that determines them. Myers-Brigg, True Colours, all those sorts of tests.

I remember taking a Myers-Brigg test back in Grade 11 (ack! 18 years ago!). I don't remember what I scored, what my personality combination was. When I look at the definitions now, and take the protracted test, I think I would probably be INTJ (Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking, Judging).

In class we did a shortened Insight Colour Energies exercise. I ended up as a "Cool Blue", again Introverted Thinking, analytical, detailed, objective, etc.

I also know my True Colours "Gold" designation. The Organizer, purposeful, respectful, details-oriented. We did this at work a number of months ago as a team-building exercise. A company full of Organized Thinkers.

Each time I take one of these tests, I find myself attempting to fit Hubs into one of the slots. He did Myers-Briggs at work. I don't remember his full designation, but he's definitely one of the 'E' crowd - Extroverted.

See, we're opposites, him and I. Hubs gets his energy from being around people, I need a lot of downtime. He's spontaneous, I am an intense planner (so much so that the other day he voiced his concern that I was developing OCD). He is creative in the kitchen. I need to follow a recipe at least the first time, if not more. He dives into projects headfirst, I need to have a roadmap, an outline, some sort of timeline.

On some level I've always known I'm an introvert, but never really knew what that meant. Often I would wonder why I had trouble striking up conversations at parties, public speaking can keep me awake for many nights in nervous anticipation. I always thought there was something wrong with me. Hubs never has trouble talking about his feelings, and often thinks I'm not being as open with him as I should be.

A couple of articles sent to me by a close (introverted) friend recently really spoke to me, and since then I've embraced my introversion. I am proud of who I am, my quiet. I have few very close friends and that suits me just fine. You will never find me on Twitter because I don't think the world needs to know what's on my mind every quarter hour that I'm awake. Besides, I don't think I could keep any tweets short enough. I am an in depth analyzer. Sometimes to a point of detriment.

But, I'm okay with that.

Look Better in the Shade

2009-10-17T18:00:00.001-06:00

Cars, cars, cars.

Estimates of how many cars were there ranged from just under 900 to around 1,100, depending on who you talked to. Due to the terrain and the flora, I have yet to find a good spot to take a picture of the whole event. However, the local paper usually has a good view.

The driving range of the Radium Springs Golf Course was turned into a parking lot for one day, and they sure packed 'em in. We were right near the 150 yard marker (well, my Dad and Hubs were). My father drove out his blue 1957 Chevrolet BelAir convertible, while Hubs drove out his brother's Corvette (Z06, I believe). One of those orange-brown-metallic-bronze colours that's hard to describe, and I can never remember the factory name for it. My Corvette, having come down with a case of "Dead-As-A-Doorknob Battery" Syndrome was left at my parents' home. A new battery for a leisure car is not in our budget this year.

My brother-in-law's Corvette.

Trying to be artistic.

My brother drove up Dad's Mid-Life Crisis, but arrived late and was near the back of the driving range. I never made it over to take a picture.

My Mum and I took the boys for a couple of hours to see all the cars. Beautiful paint jobs, gelato, gorgeous weather and scenery, friendly and fun people. Although, next year I will opt out and stay home with the boys. It's not fun trying to keep a four and two year old from touching the pretty cars. And the owners kind of frown on it too (unless you're naked). But, oh, wow, the attention to detail on some of these beauties. (And now, Blogger has decided that my photo-add button should stop working.)

Saw a great baby tee though, at one of the kiosks:

"I spent 9 months renovating my womb and the family kicked me out!"

Priceless. I wish I had seen that when my boys were small enough for it to be cute.

We also celebrated my brother's birthday, and his wife came up from L.A. for the weekend. A nice little family reunion (sans my brother's daughter) in the mountains.

Happy Birthday To Me!

2009-09-21T11:59:00.002-06:00

I just happened to look and see that two years ago I started this blog! September 20, 2007 was my very first post. (Though I see now that the type colour didn't update along with the rest of my blog. Thanks Blogger!) I've had times where my posting drops off significantly, but lately I've been really enjoying putting my thoughts out there. And I love the comments. Thanks! And keep them coming!

I've also been really enjoying my daily blog rounds! I love reading your blogs! It's especially great when I stumble across a new blog that captures my attention and becomes a new daily favourite.

So, here's to another great year! May all the world be an inspiration!

P.S. My new gadget? The Spock Quotes on my sidebar. Not sure if I'm going to keep it or not.

New Gadget

2009-09-18T12:35:00.001-06:00

(Sigh) Yes, I'm a geek.

Memories

2009-09-16T21:35:00.008-06:00

I was feeling nostalgic tonight and was browsing around my iPhoto files after paying some bills. I came across two pictures of my oldest son that I absolutely love. I feel they capture his mischevious, playful personality, even at such a young age.

The first one is at about 2.5 months. This fabulously soft Winnie the Pooh "blanket" that my Mum bought when she found out I was pregnant quickly became a favourite. He still has that smile today. I think he's got one of the best smiles in the world, but perhaps I'm biased.

This picture is a couple months later, about 4.5 months. Not staged, he did this himself, soon after he learned to roll around. He still gets that stunned look on his face that just cracks me up.

And, this is where we're off to this weekend. The annual Radium Car Show. Every year a few hundred cars descend on Radium, British Columbia, and park on the driving range at the golf course for a show and shine. Unlike most shows that tend towards strictly classic cars, all sorts of makes and models can be seen here. Old, new, import, domestic. The Mercedes Benz convertible in front
is my Dad's. That was his mid-life crisis. The '79 Corvette is mine, a university graduation present from my parents.

The yellow '57 Chevy BelAir behind that also belongs to my Dad. That was his first car. My parents dated in that car. It was our wedding car. It originally belonged to his father. My Dad has a whole gaggle of '57 Chevy BelAirs in his garage, in various states of repair. This year he'll be driving out the blue convertible, which he recently finished.

It's the first time we've been out there since 2005 for the car show. I'm excited to take the boys, especially our youngest. His head will explode at all the "beepums".

Will This Do?

2009-09-10T20:46:00.004-06:00

Okay, it's moments like this when I feel like a horrible mother.

Our oldest son has been in school for almost two full weeks now. And I still have not taken a picture of him in all his finery. You know, backpack, new jeans, new runners, new jacket.

I don't remember my Mum taking our picture on the first day of school when I was growing up. Ever. Maybe she did though. I'll have to ask her. Maybe she only did it when we were really young. But, I think I would have remember at least seeing the pictures. I've seen all the other pictures of my childhood. And I remember them pretty well.

So, for now, here is a picture from last year. He's gone from two mornings a week to four full days a week. I've gone from preparing two snacks a week to four lunches and eight snacks a week.

I go back to school on Monday too. Night classes for a management certificate. The company's paying. Maybe I'll get Hubs to take my picture.

Whooot!

2009-09-04T08:22:00.003-06:00

I had to post this quickly before settling in to work.

My baby boy used the toilet this morning!

I'm trying not to get too excited, but could this be it? Is the end of diapers near?

Can YOU Find Your Way Out?

2009-08-28T11:01:00.011-06:00

A couple weeks ago we took the boys here. It's hotter than we seem to be used to, and the previous weekend was an experience in cabin fever, as it was the first weekend at home in months. So, on Friday I sent hubs and e-mail "I know what we're doing on Sunday!" (thank you SavvyMom for the brilliant idea).

My three boys, searching for clues.

Petting the barnyard residents (our oldest dressed himself that morning...black shorts, navy shirt, Batman sunhat...stylin'!)

The BEST slide EVER!!!

It's corn season at last. Those golden sweet ears, so juicy. We're corn snobs. It's the only time of year we eat corn. If it ain't fresh and from Taber, it ain't worth it.

Life Is A Highway

2009-08-16T09:02:00.003-06:00

After returning from our respective vacations, Jennifer from 3 Little Monkeys asked me how our boys did on the road trip.

I have to admit, I love our portable DVD player. We bought it for a trip to Winnipeg a couple of years ago and haven't looked back. Our vehicle doesn't have the built-in option, and I'm kind of glad. Our boys know that the DVD player only comes out for long hauls (minimum two hours).

They're pretty good about it too. They usually have no problem about us turning it off, or if it goes kind of wonky (it's kind of a cheapy one). There's never been any arguments about what to watch. Of course, when you're two, and can't speak the best, you kind of go along with what your older brother wants to do.

And I kind of enjoy listening to the movies too. We've gone from Baby Einstein to Backyardigans, to the Wiggles. As a person who loves to sing, I am kind of drawn to Bckyardigans and the Wiggles. Now our oldest is in full-on Disney/Dreamworks mode. I have to say Cars is my favourite. No Disney princesses for us.

So, that, along with lots of healthy snacks, lots of water, and some treats, gets us through the long trips. Edmonton and beyond, the Columbia Valley, and now Kelowna. In October it will be Canora, Saskatchewan. When the boys have exhausted their books, are through with the toys, the DVD player carries us through.

We're making a concious effort to get the boys used to road trips. Our two big goals are to drive down to San Diego, and to drive Route 66. I don't enjoy doing 10-hour hauls that often, like we did coming home from Kelowna and like we'll be doing to Canora. For the two long trips in the future, I'm envisioning us driving for the morning, check into a motel, hang out and explore for the rest of the day, and then continue on in the morning.

Making it about the journey, not the destination (how profound!)

Procrastination, Lovely Procrastination

2009-08-08T10:08:00.010-06:00

Hubs had an "EDO" yesterday. Earned Day Off. They work an extra 30 minutes every day and get a day off once every three weeks. Pretty nice.

So, on Thursday he offered to take the boys out to Fairmont for the weekend, giving me the weekend to spend as I like. Yay, right?

Well, maybe not so much.

See, I have trouble spontaneously going out. If I had known, say a month ago, that I would have an empty weekend, it would have been easy to fill. But give me a day, and the spontaneous-fun portion of my brain freezes. Uh...wha...? I have complete freedom? Huh? Can't compute.

So, what usually ends up happening is I turn into total sloth-girl and catch up on my PVR shows. Or, I make (yet another) attempt to declutter and organize, get frustrated, and end up turning into total sloth-girl, catching up on my PVR shows. Either way hubs is happy, because I've either a) gotten some much needed relaxation, or b) cleaned at least a little bit but still gotten some much needed relaxation.

But not this weekend. I really was going to get that decluttering done (as done as it can be for a weekend). Because the other day I walked into the house and lost it. Shoes, coats, toy cars, bags, papers everywhere. Overflowing recycling bin, markers strewn across the floor. After a long day at the office, it felt like total chaos.

Basically we've become lazy about our every day picking up and tidying. And I'm convinced a big part of it has to do with the fact that we have too much crap!!!

(Wow, I just noticed that I completely got off-track from what I had been planning on writing...)

So, yes, I was going to work. It was going to be a nice balance between working on the house and relaxing, giving myself nice little breaks.

Then, on Friday afternoon I realized how much work is on my desk at the office. All those properties that I need to review and get back to the engineers, so that they have time to make their corrections before the client starts screaming for results. Those client contact lists I need to review and send in updates to the admin staff. The e-mails that need to be sent, updating my boss on what's gone down in his absence.

And, on early Friday evening, after the COO popped his head in my office and told me to go home, I did. With a full briefcase. Because I'm going to log-in from home and work. Because then I can at least still do laundry.

But, for now I'm procrastinating, writing on my blog.

Holiday Recap

2009-08-03T22:13:00.023-06:00

We're back. And we had a blast. We saw so much of the British Columbia interior, much of it we hadn't spent much time in since we were children. It was so fun to see it with our boys. What a beautiful part of the country. The weather was fantastic, it was not crowded for most of our stay (surprisingly), and our accomodations were first-class.

We started out from Lethbridge, after our nephew's christening. A view of the southern Alberta windfarms from the highway near Pincher Creek is getting to be a familiar sight. We headed north to spend the night at a cabin in Windermere.

A long drive ahead of us, setting out from Windermere, passing through Golden, Rogers Pass (the disputed highest altitude spot on Highway 1), and Revelstoke (including numerous municipalities that consist of a church and a house or two, and possibly evidence of a once busy mining or forestry industry). Driving near railway for much of the trip, this was our only train sighting! This one was spotted across the lake (river widening?) from Three Valley Gap.

Continuing through Sicamous, past the Shuswap Lake region, and though Vernon, we arrived in Kelowna and took possession of our condo. This is the view from our balcony. 17th floor! Whoot! Beautiful. It's always great when you can experience something for one week that you could never afford to live.

We played on the beach.

We swam in the pool.

We visited a lavender farm.

We tasted (and bought) wine from Summerhill, C edar Creek and See Ya Later Ranch.

We went cherry picking.

We ran through sprays of water.

And then it was over. Almost.

Subjecting the boys to the longest road trip they'd ever been on, we travelled south along the lake and valley through Peachland, Pentiction, OK Falls, Oliver and Osoyoos. Then east over the major passes through Grand Forks, Christina Lake, Castlegar, and Creston. Back north through Cranbrook to the family cabin in Fairmont. One night there to catch our collective breaths, then back home.

In all, over 1600km was driven. And I learned that my boys are way more resilient in the car than I thought they would ever be.

Holidays!

2009-07-24T12:45:00.008-06:00

We're off on holidays tomorrow, after our nephew's christening. Fairmont and Kelowna await us. We look forward to blue lakes, green mountains, trying to spot Ogopogo, and returning with a trunk full of wine. Hopefully the skies won't be too smoky (those poor people who've had to leave their homes!)

I haven't stayed in Kelowna for an length of time since I was a child. I'm excited to experience it with my boys. I remember the excitement of the waves and the beach, the waterslides and pools...things we never saw in Calgary. Even the food that seemed to taste so different, even though it was still my Mum cooking it. And those little boxes of cereal. Those were the only times I was allowed to have sugary cereal.

It seems we're having a busy summer (birthdays, reunion, babies), and I look forward to posting pictures when we return.

Faith

2009-07-14T12:18:00.003-06:00

This weekend my brother-in-law and his wife asked me to be Godmother to their third son.

Hubs is Godfather to their second son. Hubs brothers are our sons Godfathers. His sisters-in-law are their Godmothers.

We like to keep things in the family.

I'm really excited. And honoured. Apparently I am the "Godliest of the sisters-in-law", according to them. Which makes me wonder about the other two...

I think it's safe to say I'm a semi-practicing, questioning Anglican. I was raised Anglican, and when I married a Ukrainian-Catholic, there was never a question of me 'switching sides'. He knew.

When you're young, you don't generally question the faith you're raised in, if any. You follow your parents to church, attend Sunday School, get involved. Though, it may not be a big part of your world - it never was for me, my extra-curricular activities often fell on Sundays as I got older.

As I went out in the world, I met new, different people, was exposed to new experiences, and as my experience grew, my ability to question, defend, see multiple sides did too. Things that I was never exposed to growing up now made sense and were attractive to me. I was able to bring them closer and unite them with my own core belief, often enhancing it. I have been able to reconcile that I may not be a textbook Anglican (or Christian, even), but my faith is a reflection of what I hold dear.

My support for my Godson will be in the same way. He will be raised with a strong faith base. But I will encourage him to find his way on his own, to bring closer that which he draws strength from, and to recognize that each person's faith should be unique.

Hollywood, Da da-da-da-da, Hollywood

2009-06-11T20:38:00.005-06:00

A few weeks ago hubs and I accompanied my parents, brother, and his in-laws down to Los Angeles to attend the Ellsbeth CD release party. My sister-in-law (my brother's wife) is the lead singer and she's been down there for years pursuing this.

Shan, sweetie, I am so proud, and excited, and giddy, and things I can't even put words to. You chased your dream. You knew what you wanted and you worked for it.

You blew us away on the 23rd. You rocked, you wailed. And now, as I listen to your (first!) CD it takes me back to L.A. - watching you on that stage, meeting your bandmates for the first time, seeing your life down there.

Thank you for the wonderful experience. For L.A., for Hollywood, for Fred's, for the Magic Castle, for Galaxy Theatre.

P.S. the boys can't wait to come down and see Auntie Shan, who knows Spiderman!

Gray Clouds

2009-06-09T10:11:00.003-06:00

I'm looking out the window of my office and I can see gray clouds coming in from the west. It's been gloomy here lately, but I think it's pretty timely.

Last week we had to lay off four people from our office, including one of my direct reports. I was not involved in the decision, nor was I responsible for telling him. The pain on my boss' face was hard enough, and I can't imagine having to go through that...or put someone else through that.

There's times when you let people go and once the deed is done, there's some relief. They didn't perform well, created a toxic atmosphere, or any other reason why you may want them gone.

Then there's the ones that you don't want gone. It comes down to needing to eliminate a certain number of positions, and all else being equal, a case of last in, first out. To put it bluntly, it really sucks. You offer to pass along leads, offer to write letters of reference, tell them to stay in touch. But the relationship is never the same. And in an industry that's like a small town, it's awkward and heartbreaking...you see siblings and spouses on the street, parents in meetings.

But, we move on. And hope for better opportunities for them, companies where they will thrive, even more so than they did here. As the industry cautiously climbs once again, from the depths, as it has so many times in the past, they will be better equipped to deal with the future than the lucky ones.