Political Bloggy Thoughts

Ugh, I just became a bit disillusioned with a project at work and am ready to head home for the day. But, I still have some things to knock off before shutting down.

I've been following the US Presidential race lately, especially since the introduction of Sarah Palin to the mix. I'm not very informed as to the whole process or system, but it has been quite interesting. The length of time it takes to get from start to finish though? Let's just say I'm glad to be a Canadian.

So, tonight it is a tough choice. Do I settle in and watch the fun of the US VP debate? Or sit down for a serious Canadian discussion with the English-language Leaders debate? Not that the US debate isn't serious, or shouldn't be taken seriously. I'm not saying that at all. Quite the opposite. I think Americans should be very concerned about running mates that they had nothing to do with choosing.

And beyond that...shall I make popcorn to munch on while the politicos are going at each other? Or chocolate chip cookies?

I Did It!

I walked 60km.
I raised over $4000.
I camped.
I got to know my neighbour very well (in a good way).
I cried.
I laughed.
I met incredible men and women who believe we are making a difference.

In Which I Fall Down On My Son's Bed, Sobbing

So, hubs took the boys out to the mountains this past week. They left Saturday morning while I was traipsing around Calgary. Hubs is helping his dad develop the basement of the cabin his parents own in Fairmont, British Columbia (affectionately known as Calgary West). I use the term 'cabin' loosely. There are few true cabins out there, it seems people instead prefer to build replicas of homes they can find here in the city.

As I'm sure all of you moms out there can relate, I luuurrrv having the house to myself. Seriously, I think I started purring when hubs told me his plan. I've been able to get some cleaning done, eat what I want, not worry about leaving the office on time or what the traffic is like, things like that.

Sure, I missed them. Who wouldn't? I think I've got the two cutest, most lovable kids on the face of the earth. But, maybe I'm biased. And hubs is pretty great too (see above comment that it was his idea). So, needless to say, the first few nights I was a little sappy when bedtime rolled around and there were no little sleeping children to kiss goodnight, no one to tuck in or lay down with and no one to sneak in on in the middle of the night just to watch them.

Then Tuesday hit.

I had just finished getting ready for bed and I walked past my oldest son's room. So empty. No little body curled up beneath the blanket. No little head on the pillow. No soft rise and fall with tiny breaths. No little sighs or quiet snoring.

Holy crap.

I am not an emotional person by any stretch of the imagination. At least I don't think I am. Am I?

I was not ready for the onslaught of feelings and tears at that moment. The quiet of the house was overwhelming in that instant. I'm not sure there are appropriate words to describe it all. I don't think I ever realized just how long a week can be.

Needless to say, the cat has gotten a lot of attention this week. I'm sure she's loving it and will be extremely disappointed when those boys walk through the door tomorrow afternoon.

I was going to comment that I'm not sure I'll let them go away for this long without me again, but wait and ask me that next year.

Wordle!

Thanks to Maggie from and the duck said for the cool link! A little bit of fun for Friday morning. The is my worlde cloud!

Nose to the Grindstone

So, I'm officially back at work. I started 2 weeks ago and am starting to feel like this is actually do-able. I mean, I know people do it all the time, both parents work out of the home.

It was easy when there was just 1 child. Now there's 2 and for some reason, it feels like there's triple (or quadruple!) the amount of stuff to get done by the end of the day. And hubs is still on holidays! What's it going to be like when he starts back at the office?

I'm sure it's not that bad. Some mornings I feel a bit overwhelmed. I think because hubs is home, I haven't felt the need to be as organized as I normally would. He can pack the kids bag for the day. He can go grocery shopping and make dinner. And he does. It's so wonderful to come home to a house buzzing with activity and a fresh meal. I will miss it come August.

But, so far it has been fantastic being back in the office. The people are just as great as ever, and we're in a new location, right in the core of the city instead of on the fringe of the core, as we were before. Closer to our clients, closer to the action.

So, now, I'm going to pose a question to you all. What are your favourite organizing tricks and resources? Anything that you find invaluable in your quest to smooth out the wrinkles of your routine? I'm looking forward to hearing from you.

Flight of the Dragonfly

Recently I finished reading Flight of the Dragonfly by Melissa Hawach. It chronicles her experiences bringing her daughters home from war-torn Lebanon after they were taken there by their father, her estranged husband.

Melissa and her partner are aquaintances of my parents, so we watched and prayed from the sidelines of this ordeal, hoping for news, any news, as the weeks went on. Every night we held our children tight with teary eyes, so grateful and thankful that they were safe at home. And finally, we cried tears of joy when Melissa and her family returned home and got down to trying to obtain some semblance of normalcy.

I highly recommend it. Especially to mothers and fathers. It's quite easy to read in a literary sense, but you will laugh, cry, love and hate through all its pages.

And you will never look at a dragonfly in the same way again.

I live...

So this is what my blog looks like.

Yes, it's been a while. No, no excuses, no reasons.

Life happens, right?

We now have painted wall, lino and carpet in our basement. The doors have been hung and the baseboards have been cut and are anxiously waiting for their bare hides to be painted.

The flu hit. Not pretty, won't say any more.

We had a garage sale. Yay! More stuff gone.

Hubs took me went shopping for work clothes yesterday. I am terrible at buying clothes. He literally has to throw stuff at me from the racks, and actually his taste is pretty nice. However, I am not comfortable at my current weight, and hate spending a lot of money on clothes that I plan on falling out of in a few months. (Trust me, if I'm happy with the way I look, I can spend with the best of them)

So, a suit, linen pants, a skirt, two blouses and a pair of jeans later, hubs was satisfied and I can at least go to work for a few days without wearing the same thing twice in a row.

Why jeans?

Why the Calgary Stampede, of course! The week I return to work will be filled with pancake breakfasts, BBQ lunches, corporate events and general debauchery in the after-work hours.

Good times, good times...