60 things

1. What is in the back seat of your car right now?
car mats and some enviro grocery bags...a broken up oreo cookie.

2. When was the last time you threw up?
November.   it was gross.  

3. What's your favorite curse word?
don't really swear much, but the f word is really effective.   I also like saying OSS (ass in the british way) just because it sounds so great! 

4. Name 3 people who made you smile today?
My husband, my kids

5. What were you doing at 8 am this morning?
sleeping!!! For once in a long tme, we slept in!

6. What were you doing 30 minutes ago?
cleaning out a waffle iron and juicer I nabbed from my dad's place.

7. What will you be doing 3 hours from now?

reading a story to the boys and tucking them in

8. Have you ever been to a strip club?
yes.

9. What is the last thing you said aloud?
no

10. What is the best ice cream flavor?
chocolate brownie peanut butter cookie dough

11. What was the last thing you had to drink?
lemonade

12. What are you wearing right now?
jeans and a black t

13. What was the last thing you ate?
dinosaur fruit chews 

14. Have you bought any new clothing items this week?
t-shirt and jeans for Ethan.  

15. When was the last time you ran?
two days ago with my kids at the park. 

16. What's the last sporting event you watched?
part of an oilers game a few months ago.

18. Who is the last person you emailed?
My friend Lorena

19. Ever go camping?
yes..I think I'm ready for a trailer though. 

20. Do you have a tan?
nope, I'm see through at the moment.  

24. Do you drink your soda from a straw?
only if there's alot of ice. 

25. What did your last IM say?
I don't IM.

26. Are you someone's best friend?
yes.

27. What are you doing tomorrow?
Tomorrow is Tuesday...take Ethan to kindergarten, clean up the main floor, continue with laundry...pick up Ethan, go to swimming lessons in the afternoon.

28. Where is your mom right now?
her ashes are scattered in the Wupper River in Wuppertal, Germany

29. Look to your left, what do you see?

My front window looking out at the lawn and the neighbours across the street.

30. What color is your watch?
I don't have one!

31. What do you think of when you think of Australia ?
marmite, big bugs.

32. Would you consider plastic surgery?
yes -I'd love to get laser eye surgery if it was at all possible, plus a brow lift or botox to even out my droopy eyebrow (from poor eyesight since I was a baby) and if I had the guts, I'd have a boob lift. I don't care about my cellulite or my flabby tummy, but I would love to have great tits (without the bra to help)

33. What is your birthstone?
emerald

34. Do you go in at a fast food place or just hit the drive thru?
usually drive thru

35.How many kids do you want?
two is it.  And that's more than I originally wanted.  :-)  But I'm crazy about them :)

36. Do you have a dog?
Mandy - a  yellow lab rescued from Prince George.  She's gorgeous, and as much as I complain, she's an amazing spirit. 

37. Last person you talked to on the phone?
Trent

38. Have you met anyone famous?
I grew up with and played with Matthew Good (the singer).  He lived in the house behind me.  

39. Any plans today?
Just cleaning up from the mess we left unpacking the car from our trip back to bc.   Everything needs to find it's place again, but I'm a little tired.   

40. How many cities have you lived in?
Lived in Coquitlam, Victoria, and Sherwood Park

41. Ever go to college?
I went to Simon Fraser University first year, flunked and demoted myself to Douglas College.  It was actually a great thing, as I "found" what I wanted to do...went through their music program for two years, then transfered to the University of Victoria, to complete my degree.

42. Where are you right now?
In the computer room

43. Biggest annoyance in your life right now?
Not knowing where we will be in the next year.   Halifax?  Vancouver?  Edmonton? Calgary? (a new prospect has appeared)

44. Last song listened to?
Backyardigans Pirate Song

46. Are you allergic to anything?

sometimes dust/pollen if it's alot of it. 

47. Favorite pair of shoes you wear all the time?
I did have a pair that I just bought a few weeks ago in New York...but my dad's dog ate one.  :(

48. Are you jealous of anyone?
No. 

50. Is anyone jealous of you?
if they are, there's nothing I can do about it.  

51. What time is it?
5:48pm

52. Do any of your friends have children?
yes, many do, and many have chosen not to. 

53. Do you eat healthy?
there's always room for improvement.  I wish I could kick my sweet tooth habit.  

54. What do you usually do during the day?
it varies every day.

55. Do you hate anyone right now?
no

56. Do you use the word 'hello' daily?
yes, and hi too.   I even greet the house when we come in... "Helllooooo house!"

58. How old will you be turning on your next birthday?
38, I just turned 37 last month. 

59. Have you ever been to Six Flags?
yes

60. How did you get one of your scars?
On my knee - when I was four I was jumping up and down on the chair in my brother's room and fell into and crashed his fish aquarium.  Shattered it everywhere...guppies everywhere.  Can you believe all he cared about was saving the fish? ;-)

OK....there are 60 things about me...how about you?

You are tagged if you have read this!!!

ongoings...

Off to Vancouver (Coquitlam) on Wednedsay to help my dad clear out the house of 40 years of accumulated crap. Here's how it will go.
"what the hell are you doing? i need those!" [those, meaning, the 20 year old yogurt containers that he uses for storing used, rusty, bent nails]
or
(after I just arrive) "andrea, come and sit down, lets have some coffee"
"dad, I just got here, i just had breakfast. I'm here to work"
1/2 hour later "come on, let's go out to zellers and have lunch"

"I'm going to give those to Ralph. Maybe your boys would like to make them too" (meaning, the plastic army tank kits and paints my brother made when he was 12 years old and hasn't touched since he was 12 years old)

"don't throw those away...god dammit, Andrea those are very expensive books!" (meaning, the funk & wagnalls encycolpedia set published in 1969, I'm not even sure digital is a concept in there yet)

"why are you throwing so much away! There's only a two bag limit here in Coquitlam." Well, dad, here are the over limit stickers I bought from the city so we could toss more away. "did you pay for those, Andrea?" yes i did. "jesus christ, they made you pay for those stickers? They're always nickel and diming every red cent out of you. What the hell do they use the money for anyway...obviously not the hospital system since they screwed me over last year and almost bled to death.. " drone on and on and on.

So yes, it will be a pleasant time. My kids will be my shield and my excuse to get some "away" time. And I've timed it that we will be leaving on Sunday morning. A quick trip, but a busy one.


Saturday we will be walking the Relay for Life (cancer) in Coquitlam. Trent will be doing most of the day, I will show up for my hour commitment and the candle light walk at 10pm. I'm walking for trent's aunt Jean, who passed away in July last year after a very long battle. I'm also walking for my dad, who had colon cancer, Trent's mom, who was recently diagnosed with a cancerous tumour on her collar bone, and for my many other friends who have family members going or gone through it. One day, we won't have to have these kinds of fundraisers.

Halifax came up again. We wrote it off not hearing from them for 3.5 weeks. Funny thing. The day after my dad's house sold (1 day on the market) we got the call. Weird? To me it was like some kind of sign saying, that we did the right thing in not pursuing the house and things are falling into place correctly.

Waiting to hear this week about Trent flying out there to visit the location mid June and see what he thinks about the company culture, people etc as well as the area surrounding Halifax. An offer would be presented thereafter if Trent felt good about the fit, and vice versa. We could easily get our dream home, a pool, on an acreage for way less than this house. We'd be practically mortgage free. And I'd get my acreage...on a lake. with a pool. and the ocean. or even ON the ocean. far far far away from friends and family. not so good. what to do what to do. i know in my heart I want the sense of adventure and the change and the opportunity. I never have a strong desire to go back and visit Vancouver..just the desire to be around friends and family...which sometimes I wonder that we want it more than they do. Oh well. there's definately a path being paved, and we'll see where the road leads.

Need to research about well water and septic systems. Seems that's very common over there, unless you live right in Halifax.


Taking Mandy to a new bording kennel in morinville tomorrow. They're lab breeders, and I really will have to refrain from spying on the new black and silver puppies that were born last month. oh if we lived on an acreage, Mandy may just need a playmate.

I'm so freaking crazy.

Quilting...I have 4 projects on the go. Haven't touched them for a week now. Need to get back on it. When I get back.

The week

We've had a crazy, but fun week...

I got back from New York, we got our new Nissan Quest Van registered, inspected and now to get the full insurance on it this week. We drove it down to Kananaskis for a weekend away that Trent's work put on as a wind up celebration for his team. It was gorgeous there. It was pouring rain all the time, and those trees and mountains and puddles were awesome. I could have played all day. :) We stayed at the Delta Lodges at Kananaskis, which was the most family friendly place I'd ever been to. I'll post more about it later, but wow, they really catered to families, and we will definately return.

Now we're getting our Pathfinder ready to sell this week. I love this truck so much, I will actually be a little sad to let it go, but the van is more functional for us at this time. My Pathfinder was so great on the winter roads out here, it was the best thing ever when I needed to feel more confident driving to and from work last year on those rural highways. :) I'm going to get the kids to help me with the inside and out, it should be fun :)

Anyone need a gorgeous 06 Pathfinder?

New York Trip

So one day home and all the family drama is still in full swing. whatever. My dad already has an offer on the house after the first day being on the market. We'll see what pans out. My dad is being a tyrant and totally disrespectful to my brother, kids and sister and spouses. First he badmouths them for not helping. Then he's yelling and screaminig at them while they're trying to help. You can't win. All my childhood memories of that stuff is coming back swiftly. clearly. you're damned if you do.. damned if you don't. whatever.


Copied from my bc babes forum as I told my great friends about my trip :)

My trip to NY was awesome. Lorena broke the news to me that she was newly pregnant, by some fling she had. This is another story. Lorena told me about her new pregnancy on the first day. She's very nauseous and sick all day and night, and very tired within a few hours of doing anything. That was a bit disappointing because I spent most days on my own...and even the mornings I spent with her I found her quite moody and unpredictable, so it was like walking on eggshells a bit. I'm glad I ventured on my own...there was no way I was going to nap in a hotel room at 1 in the afternoon! I was already embarassed to be crashing in bed at 9pm! But that was after walking around for a good 10 hours each day.

macy's was HUGE!!!!! Oh my god I cannot believe how many floors of shoes and clothing......

The city is gorgeous...old buildings, rickety buildings and cobblestones in places. The little grocery stores that are crammed with narrow aisles... the many different ethnic groups everywhere. The locals sitting on the brownstone building steps and laughing and chatting (just like in the movies!) Everything you see in the movies or tv shows...it's just like it!

Central park was super - all the huge tall buildlings surrounding it, and the trees camouflaging the city. People are really really nice there, very polite and friendly. Fast pace, but I didn't meet one negative person. I even had a very clutzy moment in the subway system where my ticket flew across the turnstsyles...the lady picked it up and handed it to me. I got stuck in the turnstyle And then my ticket wouldn't work because I had just swiped it prior to getting stuck in the turnstyle...the same lady saw me having troubles, and came back and swiped her card for me and told me to have a good day...don't worry about it! So cool.

The bagel shop we ate at most mornings was a typical NY deli/Jewish bakery place...the 70 year old man hit on me each day The first morning we arrived he walked right up to me (cross eyes) and told me how beautiful I was and asked me if I wanted to join his naked volleyball team (with his one eye crossed the whole time, so hilarious!). Then he screamed out to his counterpart - - Mike! Call the Rabbi, I'm getting married! I got a daily bantering from those two, and it made for a lot of fun

Shopping was amazing...they had so many shops, but to tell the truth, I came home with two pairs of shoes and that's it. Everything I wanted, they didn't have my size...everything seemed picked over. Shoes - all the 9-10's were gone, and the 12-14's, L-xl's didn't exist from so many people being there, I guess. It was so busy everywhere. DSW had a line up of 47 people when I was there on Monday. It was PACKED everywhere, so part of me not getting alot of goods was the busy-ness just wore me out and put me out of the trying on mood. That and the size thing being not available. But I was happy to just walk around and explore.

Soho was proabably my favourite place it was so beautiful...very expensive elite stores, but really amazing architecture and feel to the neighbourhood. I went to Chelsea (very nice too), Soho, Chinatown, Little Italy (very little) and downtown by ground zero. Uptown and midtown were where I did most exploring and shopping. Union Square... Our hotel was midtown. TimesSquare was a 15 minute walk from the hotel. It was busy busy busy everywhere!

We went and saw a broadway show called Wicked - it was super too. It was basically the story about the wicked witch growing up, and how she became wicked.. Very cool

Chinatown was one of my favourite adventures! Canal Street is where the asian jewelers, pashmina, purses, etc kiosks were. Tons of them. You'd walk by (with the other zillions of people) and the asian vendors were muttering quietly coach coach, tiffany, prada, rolex... and they'd lead you through their little "store" and near the back or side was a hidden door behind a wall of hanging goods, and they'd lead you behind and up some rickety narrow stairs into this closet like display of all the illegal goods. I went to about 3 of these (along with some others...I kind of just followed people so I wasn't alone) and then another lady led me to a van on the street and she had a makeshift operation in her minivan. I faked a nausous/hot feeling in that circumstance as I felt uneasy being in there by myself i nthe back of the van. It was wild! So I fed the illegal industry and bought a coach bag in black (large carly signature bag in black) for $40. Then I appeased my guilt of buying illegally by buying a similar, obvious and legal knockoff one with C's and A's on it, but the pattern was black/silver/zebra/grey's and slightly smaller. It was so much fun, I was starting to get very serious about the purse shopping, I almost bought another 2, and then talked myself out of them as I'm usually a one bag owner anyways. I don't know if I'll even wear the two I bought, but it was just the whole experience of being led somewhere sneaky It was os fun!

Our hotel was great. I would recommend it to anyone. the room was small, yes, but the bathrooms were really clean and the showers were awesome! In the room, there was a sink, mirror etc to do some stuff if you needed, but it was perfect for us. We had bunk beds...and on each bunk you had your own little tv that swung out and you could plug in earphones to listen and watch what you want. It was actually one of my favourite parts of the evening after a long day...I went and bought yummy snacks and drinks and had a little party in my cave while watching the Kardashians marathons each night.

It rained most of the time, we had one gorgeous day though, and one beautiful morning where we went to central park. Then rain the rest of the time, but that was fine. How can you complain about rain when you are in such a great city?

Dear Mom

I still miss you. I think of you every day and wish you were around to give me your take on things. Even if I didn't always agree. I wish you were here to see the boys and how incredible they have become. I wish I could hear your stories of being a mom, and any struggles and worries you had as we grew up. I wish you could see with eyes of awe, the different milestones Ethan and Cameron are achieving. Just like I am. I wish I could share with you my life as a mother, and share motherhood with you. I miss you so much. I know Dad is thinking of you today too...and remembering how dear and important you were to our family.

We miss you forever.
Happy Mothers Day where ever you may be.

Sadness

My dad has decided to list the family home and sell it. He has bought a new apartment. I'm happy that he's doing this for him, the house is way to big for him. It will be so much easier for him to travel etc. He is giving the dog to my sister's boyfriend's parents. That will be a big toll on Dad. I wish the timing were better as we were interested in purchasing it. I understand that he can't wait forever, and who knows, maybe this is a good thing, that perhaps I shouldn't be buying it, and maybe waiting for better things to come along, like a better home, and better timing...or a better job offer/location (halifax still dangles)

I'm just feeling quite sad about it all..the memories of my growing up there...my dad is feeling really frustrated and overwhelmed about all the clearing out, gardening, painting, organizing, and I'm sure memories that will be left behind from him and my mom, our family home... living there for 38 years. He needs to get the house ready for selling and for moving. I just wish it wasn't so quick. So I need to get out there and help him clear out. My bro and sister are there, but we all need to help out, and my bro isn't the best at that kind of stuff, and K and Dad fight alot.

My life has had so many huge emotional swings to it lately. This one is making me feel pretty awful though. I knew it would come, I just didn't expect it to be a hard one.

Worm Composter

I finally got a chance to empty out and sort through my worm composter today. I think it's called harvesting the compost. Anyways... I dumped the bin on to the ground on newspaper, and made a couple of tall mountains with the stuff. The worms hate the sunlight, so they dig down deep and then you can skim off all the compost. only thing is, mine was a bit clumpy (too wet) and so quite a few of the clumps hate wee baby worms in them, so I was meticulously crumbling and sorting through them.
My husband would roll my eyes at me if he saw me trying to save all the baby worms *lol*

So now, I have 3 icecream pails full of compost for the garden! But before I unload it all, I'm going to take it to Ethan's class, and the kids can have a go through the compost and see if they can dig up any of the hiding worms. I know there's a ton of them left in there, babies especially...towards the end I got fed up of all the sorting, and started to get lazy ;-)

Tomorrow, I'm bringing it in for Ethan's class, and he's going to tell/share about the composter, and we're going to build a new one for his class. The kids will try and identify some of the almost composted things (peels, carrot stick, newspaper shreddings) and find some of the worm eggs, as well as big worms and baby worms...and the little microbial bugs in there.

It's either going to be a hit, or a big scary miss. :)

Bargello Quilt Top!!

OMG my bargello quilt top is almost done, and I want to photographic so bad, but Trent has the camera right now!!! ARGH!!! I may have to figure out how to take a pic with my cell phone and download it to here. I have no idea how to do that. It takes me 10 minutes to figure out how to take a picture from thatthing! :)

Bargello looks really stunning!

Crotchety Old People Who think all teens are bad

To the crotchety old 50 something man who brought his daughter and his 2 year old grand daughter to the park today:

The three youths that were playing on the equipment before you arrived, and while I was there were nothing but pleasant, outstanding role models for youth today. Yes they were 14 years old, and the bylaw says 12. Yes they were running on the playground equipment. But did you notice that they were avoiding the places that the younger kids were? Did you notice that if they came in contact with the younger children, they slowed down and cautiously passed them? Did you notice that in the hour that I was there (5 minutes you were) that not once did they use inappropriate language, and they actually engaged with a few of the children? They humoured my two little guys on a few occasions! So when you SCREAMED at them to leave at once, that they were frightening the children (NOT) and that you would call by-law enforcement on them if they didn't leave....what were you trying to do sir? Aside from totally embarassing them and upsetting them (they were sitting on the wall getting their shoes on and one of them was in tears, the other two totally pale with embarassment. Yes I realize we have bylaws that stipulate that playgrounds are for 5-12 year olds. But if they are not offending, and in fact doing a fine job at being teenagers and having some play time, would you rather them sit on the sidewalk in front of your house smoking up and defacing your fenceline with grafitti?

Not all teenagers are bad sir. In fact, I really hope to meet up with those stellar teens who graciously, without a fight, but tails between their legs left the playground. There are some really great ones out there.

And on another note - why shouldn't I have called bylaw enforcement on YOU for bringing your 2 year old grandaughter to a 5-12 year old playground? She was slowing down my 5 year old on many occasions as he was trying to get by her on the equipment. If rules are rules then....

Mother fucking gawd am I seething at this man.

I made a point to approach the kids and let them know that I honestly thought they were doing a great job, and being respectful of the kids there...I told them that I was thankful that there were teens out there that were kind and polite and respectful in our community.

Sometimes it's even in the WAY you say it. He could have easily made it a friendly approach - hey guys...there's a lot of little ones around right now and my granddaughter is pretty nervous on the equipment...could you play over on that end, or maybe come back in awhile?

OMG I'm so mad!!! And I'm totally stress eating right now over it!!! :lol:

waaaaaa!

The house is empty without him..... I'm going to miss him so much! Work trips are different...this one is a bit of a pleasure one, and I think it's one of the longest times we've been apart. :( Come back soon my love, I'll miss you so much! We both had quite a teary goodbye today. :(

Quilt Progress

Little bits at a time...



Just need to sandwich it, quilt it and bind it. :)

TAXES

Oh yes, and I am so excited.. we did our taxes this week, and are getting a HUGE refund, if we did it correctly! this really eliminates any worry I have about spending a few extra bucks in New York!! I know it's money that was already ours, and we overpaid in taxes, but to have that extra money right at this time, is such a treat!

I'm a discount shopper anyways, so Jimmy Choos aren't in my budget or interest anyways!

Crazy Life of Mine.

Our life goes like this - nice calm pace for months...and then whammo! Craziness! Here goes:

1. Trent has a hockey tournament this weekend, one game a day. It's for charity, and he loves to play, but I'm a little worried because he hasn't worked out / trained for this and I hope physically he'll be okay.

2. Tuesday, he flies to Toronto for his job interview.
Tuesday night, from Toronto he flies down to Myrtle Beach to spend time with his folks, golf, relax, and pick up the van we are buying from them.
(did I mention this? They were trading in their fully loaded 07 Quest to the dealer for a rock bottom price. We were thinking of trading in our suv for a minivan again later this year because we really miss the space. We stopped them and told them to hold off and sell it to us and we'd give them a better deal So we bought their van for a ridiculously low price....only caveat being that Trent's driving it back home, from SC!) So we're getting a fully loaded minivan for about 1/3 the price that they are selling up here. Selling our Pathfinder of course.)

3. Trent drives to Mason, Ohio to stop off and visit his sister for a few days. (13 hours from SC)

4. Trent drives from Mason to our home...about 31 hours, over a couple of days. This is where I worry, as it will be a long trip, long days and he will be alone. he will be fine, I know...but I do wish I could be the 2nd set of eyes, a driver for him to take a break for him on this long trip. I was thinking of flying with the kids to meet him in Ohio, and then driving all together back...but not sure what kind of nightmare trip that would be with the kids on such a long drive.

5. He gets back the weekend before I head to New York.

6. I fly to New York for 6 days. (yahoo!!!!) Feeling a little anxious about leaving the kids for that long though.

7. The weekend I get back, we're heading to Kananaskis for a company employee recognition retreat, family invited (finally!) for the weekend.

8. In this all we have 3 birthdays, mine included, mothers day, and a 40th wedding anniversary (his folks)

Luckily, we have opted not to buy the tent trailer at this time *rollingeyes*

Oh yes, and somewhere in there, perhaps may be a big decision of a current company job offer, or the company he's interviewing for?

So...yes... we go from quilting quilts, kindergarten trips and playground romps to... craziness.

I love it.

Winter woes

Forgot to post some pics of day two of the snow storm. By day three, there was a ton more, but you get the picture. It was nasty! And it's all melting away now.... yahoo!

Note Cameron's scowl, he hates snow blowing in his face :)

Another Quilt on the Go

This one is from the book Happy Hour Quilts... Here are the fabrics before:


And the blocks are done...now I'm just arranging and re-arranging to see the colour combos. Excuse the kid shrapnel and of course, the cat is always right there *lol* Not quite fond of this combo yet, but it's the best I've done so far, so I've taken a pic to remember it:


It's a very easy quilt to make. Once I have it all pieced together, I just machine quilt it and so on the binding. The blocks will be rotated as well, so the little inner blocks will be positioned vertically or from side to side or top/bottom. For now, I'm just working on the outside colour combinations.

My other bargello is still on the go....I just saw this fabric and HAD to have it. The blues are just delicious! It reminds me a bit of sand and surf colours...well, maybe not the dark browns, but it has that feel, very calming colours.

I've become quite inspired by this blogger Crazy Mom Quilts She does simple but beautiful quilts and it seems like she rolls them off every day! She has kids too, and I wonder how the heck she gets it all done. I'm just not as devoted or dedicated as her..... yet. :)

Would you rather live close to family and friends and live in an older smaller home or townhouse that needs lots of renos that you can't afford for awhile, alot more of a commute, higher taxes and cost of living? The place(s) we were looking at, including my dad's are minimum 550,000 for something that needs a LOT of work. Pros- close to my sister, brother and dad, and our friends too. I'd probably (maybe not)have to go back to work to support the extra vehicle we would need and the higher cost of insurance, gas, taxes. etc/

Or would your rather live practically mortgage free on a big property (possibly lake or ocean front) in a newer home with an easy commute..where you don't HAVE to work to pay the mortgage? But no family friends that you know... (a new city) A smaller city, but a new adventure?

Although nothing has come to fruition yet, it has gotten closer to really making us weigh in on these decisions. I really wish an answer was so definite for me. As a fence sitter, I now realize the impact of both sides of the fence eating away at me, instead of just one.

Somewhere Frickin Cold in Winter - IN APRIL

Geez louise. It's mid april. It was 24c last weekend. We were in the garden, in flipflops, shorts. Had a bbq and a fire at night. Even a few bugs showed their pretty faces. This week? Well, yesterday it started snowing, and it hasn't stopped since. We have at least 20 cm of snow, which is impossible to figure out because its BLOWING SIDEWAYS most of the time. Then being the weather addict I am (what else is there to interest me in this desolate place?) the weather networks has a big shiny flashing red banner across the screen stating a severe winter weather warning... Slightly East of us, the snowfall warning is for 40-60 cm with blowing snow and poor visibility...slightly north of us is a lot nicer with only 20-30cm. We're smack in the middle of it.

Unbelievable.

Upside Down

Cameron loves to be upside down, and has so since I can remember. Mostly, he does this on the couch, or with me when I'm on the floor with him. He'll go upside down at school, while we're waiting for Ethan, on the couch, in my lap...whenever.

Ethan likes it too, but not as much as Cameron, and it's not "in" him like it is for Cameron.

Here's a sneak peak at my acrobat. He just did this headstand for the first time against a wall. Usually it's on the floor and then up over the seats of the couch, or head on the seat of the couch and legs over the back of the couch

Speaking Out

Why is that as much as I feel a passion for a certain cause or a belief, that after I type it out and want to post it or speak of it, I withdraw and almost feel like, Nah..I'll just keep quiet about it.

Why can't I have confidence that yes there will be people that agree, and people that disagree, and there's nothing wrong with that.

The Zoo

We(I) have a fish tank of fish.
We(I) have a bucket of goldfish for the pond outside.
We(I) have a cat. A Dog. Two Boys. A husband.

It's a zoo. I often dream of one day having an acre or two (or 20) for them to roam around. Yet then again, I joke about how we have such a big house and where does everyone end up? with in the same 10 square feet of each other...on the coach or at the foot of the couch, all nestled in together.

Lookie how jealous Shatzi and Mandy are for attention and one piece of kibble. Note Mandy's new bling around her neck. Her monogrammed one finally bit the dust.

Blue NailPolish and stuff

Ethan went on a field trip to the local highschool two days ago. They visited the horticultural dept (where was that when I was in highschool?) and the cosmetology dept (again...where was that?) and the foods dept. They potted a plant to take home, and at the cosmetology dept, the students face painted the wee ones, did their hair with streaks and mohawks with coloured gel, and painted all their nails.

Ethan will not allow his blue polish to be removed. I think it will be there forever.



...and of course, shadow needs to model as well *lol*

The colours of my new quilt

If anyone's interested...I guess I should document it.

Twelve kinds of roses

The last one...the red one that looks like it has tiger markings is my favourite :)

Daily appreciation...

1. The beautiful roses that my neighbours brought over on Friday night. A dozen roses, each a different colour/type. Roses aren't my favourite flowers, but I do love them and put into a bouquet to show how different and various they are, it made me really appreciate the beauty of each one. (pic to follow)

2. Trent always taking the time to say thank you for the things I do - even if it's hot dogs for dinner :)

3. The dreams that Trent and I conjure up and plan, often sacking our plans, but giving us things to strive for, and a common goal.

4. Cameron and Ethan's love for simple things in life, buckets, sand, and the backyard... Ethan found a ladybug yesterday in the garden and spoke softly to it and calmly and in to show me. Then he proceeded to "take her back home so she can take care of our garden..." *melt*

5. As weird as this sounds, I had someone post a comment from one of my January postings. Someone I had no clue who it was...but it was a nice comment. Instead of a driveby, and me wondering who the heck from xxxx was reading my blog, they posted a quick comment. So, it was appreciated, whoever you are Frank.

Fire Season

It started!! We had our first fire last night in our back yard... it was wonderful!

Nothing like friends, some drinks and good laughs around the fire.

ugh

I hate weather.ca The forecast has changed so much so quickly lately. only 1 cm snow expected now (which i doubt will happen) and 19 on sunday.

I'm really looking forward to getting outside and setting up the yard.

snow

predicted again tonight and tomorrow = up to 10cm by tomorrow. ugh

the best part? It's supposed to be 17c on Sunday. WTF????

Life is a roller coaster

Please keep an open mind and don't worry about any financial comittments from *******. It is impossible to know whether this opportunity is right from a career standpoint unless you meet J and D. Once you are excited about the role and the company you can then move to the next step to decide whether you want to come out to Halifax. If the interview was in Calgary you likely wouldn't even think twice about meeting them!

An email from my husband's headhunter, after Trent kindly closed the door of the opportunity.

Financial committments meaning..them flying him out for interviews, etc to Toronto.

Life is such a rollercoaster with my husband. It is so thrilling yet so frustrating too! I love the thrill of change and adventure...

Lorena received my package today, and called me crying. :) what a great feeling.

Someone scratched their head at me today when I posted about Costco granola. I mean, don't they know? I'm scratching my head at HER. She needs to go and get some. Sheesh. ;-)

My cat and dog won't leave me alone. Shatzi has this angular stare at the computer screen as the letters appear and scroll across the screen. Mandy sits at my feet and grumbles when I move.

Must feed the kids. It's raw night. Raw peas, daikon, celery, cucumbers and perhaps some chocolate milk. We had a late lunch today.

Cameron's just come rushing into the computer room grumbling I MADDDD. I maddd. So I say "is Cameron mad?" and then he replies with the hugest frown no mommy mad!

New York Trip

I finally booked our hotel! The Pod Hotel Think of it as a little train cubicle....but how fun! Look at the rooftop lounge. Lorena and I are going to drink a bottle of wine each night and bask in the New York skyline. I can't wait!

Home

Really missing home this week.

Spring Break

So before Spring Break I had no plans.. Monday and Tuesday were great for running errands and doing some backyard tidying (er poo removal yuk)

Then Lorena announced she was in town and she stayed over from Wed-Friday afternoon.

Friday afternoon I sped over to a show home furniture/accessories sale in a former showhome. I bought two lamps and some greenery. Everything was gone pretty quick.

Our friend Fiona from Calgary was coming Friday night till today - she was coming up for an animal rehabilitation course (oil spill rescue)

So it's been busy!

Yesterday I got my hair cut and coloured, finally, after 1.5 of not getting it coloured professionally. Why did I wait so long? It looks awesome now. I even felt like people were looking at me when I went to Costco afterwards lol. It must be my stunning new colour. Either that or they thought - geez she got a new straight iron didn't she :)


Today we're putzing around...I baked muffins, do some of my quilt, and probably head out to buy a straight iron. Those things rock (at least at the salon!)

roller coaster of emotions lately over a possible job in Nova Scotia, super duper opportunity...but we've buried the thought now, and continue to set our eyes on BC... unless of course, a job in the hot coastal waters of the USA pop up.

We had snow yesterday. Lots of it. And more predicted for tonight. I'm so not impressed.

And to think I shoveled dog poo, and it could have been covered for a few more weeks.

Quilting stores

I've been to a few now and have learned that they all have their own sense of style and flavour, personality.

The one here in my community, is very country and traditional. I don't get the ooh and ahh feeling very much when I go there. I tend to go and look, and not get inspired. Lots of soft muted colours, and country flair.

Another one about 15 minutes away, is a mixed bag, really. A little more up my alley, but still a lot of folk and traditional styles...but they have branched out and have some more modern pieces in there.

Now one that I got super duper excited about was one called EarthlyGoods which is about 25 minute away. It was super. I got so inspired, it felt like i wanted to do every quilt there. Lots of bright colours, lots of fresh colours, odd mixes of colours like teal blue with lime green and pink which looks so amazing together and modern/contemporary looks. Art quilts, Japanese fabrics, a ton of batiks and of course my favourite retro looking lines Amy Butler ,Heather Bailey , Moda Fabrics

They even have a graduate program there for classes, is that not cool? Yeah, it's not a university, but you get "credit" for your courses and work up to getting a quilting degree. You must complete the basics like cutting, piecing, applique, triangles (blech), and then you work your way up into specialties like art quilting, fabric dying, embellishing, landscape desigin etc.

I was thinking about how the different stores really made me feel and how each inspired, or uninspired. The last one, really fit my personality and I'll be going back often.

How hokey is this post?

OMG.

I did the unthinkable.

I dove into my garbage just now. To rescue the cookies I threw out.

Really.


I made a recipe from the new Cookies book by Martha Stewart. LOVE the book. It's fantastic. But for some reason my Brown Butter Toffee Blondies didn't turn out. Everything was done to a 't'. I'm thinking it just wasn't baked long enough.

Anyways..they turned out way underdone. and the thought of having gooey underdone squares containing at least 2 cups of brown sugar and 1.5 cups of butter which haven't chemically reacted properly just made me ill. So I bagged up the entire 9x13 pan of it, minus a few bites from Trent and I, and chucked it in a big plastic bag and threw it in the garbage.

This evening. I had a craving. For one. last. bite.

I can't believe I fucking did that. I'm laughing histarically at myself right now.

Oh it was so righteously worth it.

They're back in the garbage again. without a bag, mixed in among the coffee grounds and banana peel so I won't dare touch it again.

OMG I cannot believe I admitted to this!

Phew!

Oh my gosh. It's done. Finally! Totally done. All I have to do is package it up and send it off to my friend. :)

So what took so long with this freaking project? Nothing, just shameless me wasting time. Got into a winter funk and was unmotivated. Then when I got motivated, I decided to try a "new" way to stitch the binding on by machine, and it looked like hell. So then I had to rip it all apart. Then...well, handstitching it really wasn't thrilling to me. But this weekend, I finally got the courage to tackle it, and believe it or not, I loved handstitching it. It was soothing, calming, and well, the outcome was way better than before.

I've been reading alot of quilting blogs about people who have UFO's and quilt forever but have all of these UnFinishedprOjects on the go. I just can't do that. I need to finish one completely before going on to the next. Now...I'm off to organize all my fabric and decide what ones to place for my bargello quilt pattern.

Toodles.

Oh yes...lots of new photos posted on my mac page....It just takes too long to upload them here..click on the top menu bar for the 3 different pages..Family photos

Ever have those days where you just feel like you're spewing orders all the time?

the following conversation (er...scoldings) just occured while on our trip to and from the library. Am I the only one?

Ethan, stay close, there's cars.
Cameron hold my hand. ow ow ow. hurting. owow well stop yanking your hand out of my hand. we're crossing the parking lot you need to hold my hand.
Ethan, walking feet. Slow down. Ethan, out of the mud, now you need to stomp your feet because it's stuck in your boots. Wipe your feet on the way in.
Cameron stay here. Cameron!! me doi it me do it okay you can put the books in the slot. me do it. ME DO IT
ethan cameron walking feet...walking!! (Ethan grabbing Cams jacket to slow him down) Shrieking.

Jibber jabber about the library..get books. sign them out.

Can you go wait at the red bench please. Cameron, this way. Cameron, away from the doors. No you can't have Dora yet, we need to give them to the lady. (shrieking)

Ethan, away from the doors, there's people trying to get through and they don't want to squash you.

hold my hand. Hold my hand. Off the slope. out of the mud guys! Cameron, walk forward (walking backwards) Ethan, slow down, we need to wait for Cameron. Cameron, hold my hand. want doraWANT DORA
you can have dora when we get home.
shrieking.
Hold my hand there's cars coming out. Ethan! Right beside me NOW! Pay attention, that car just about backed into you. It didn't see you!

Watch the door, it's a tight parking spot. Careful Careful!

(getting into the car now)
hurts. hurts.
lean back so it's not so tight then, Cameron.
want dora WANT DORA!
I put the bag in the front seat. You can have dora when we get home.

Close the door.

ahhhh. Silence. They're locked in, I can breathe a little. I take a deep breath before I open my door to get in. Take a moment to look at the clearing skies and try to calm myself and remember that this is just a little moment in the grand scheme of things. For some reason, I'm very agitated at this moment, but the deep breath helps. I'm on my way home again.

open the door. Step in.

mama picking nose! mama picking nose!
Mommmeeeeeeeeeeeah! Camerons' picking his nose and putting it in his mouth. Mommeeeeah, he just did it again.

The last hour was one of those Calgon take me away moments.[/i]

Ha!

All the times my husband laughs at me because I watch the Shopping Channel from time to time. (usually once a day to see the Today's Showstopper at 10pm for about 5 minutes) I've purchased a few things from there and really like some the things I've purchased. I like their 30 day money refund/satisfaction guarantee, and the shipping is not outrageous either.

Anyways...I filled out a survey online for them... and I won $100 gift card from them! It arrived today!!!! Yay me!!!

Can't do it

I'm back on the forum I thought I'd take a break from. I'm not going to take it so seriously now, and just read and post the fun stuff.

Weekend

What a great weekend...Trent and I spent most of the weekend dreaming and pondering our future, spent time with the boys.... When I mean dreaming and pondering our futures, we pick a possibility (today was open up a Cobb's Bakery in South Carolina) and then discuss all the pitfalls, and hopefuls as well with the idea. Weird I know. But that's how we got to where we are, so it can't be that weird. 11 years ago (omg almost 12 now!) we would lay in our bedroom of our basement suite rental and hash out how to get out of his mail room job and where we would be 10 years from then.


Trent made a divine roast on the bbq yesterday, with roasted potatoes/onion/carrots and a very fancy salad as well. Glass of wine and ice cream for dessert made for a great night. I love when he cooks, he's so good at it.

Bought Ethan&Cam a new toy yesterday, a playmobil dinosaur set. I'll probably pick up one more kit to go with it, they are just loving it so much. They set it up in and amongst the trains (or rather the trains amongst the dinosaur stuff). The next kit has a little safari type car with a trailer cage and a few more skeletons/dinosaur things for the dinosaur experts. I'm always amazed at the playability of some toys vs others.

We had an easy weekend, little to do, and Trent had little work on his mind, which is always good. I pointed out that he was less stressed this week. He pointed out that his boss has been away for the week. *lightbulb*

Winter Makes for Weird People here on the Prairies

Jane - the following is not at all about you. :)

Why can't I meet some normal, down to earth people that don't have tons of baggage, or bring their lifes problems to the table all the time? Am I the only one around here who is somewhat happy with my life, my kids, my marriage (aside from living in this crazy city)?
I'm totally in a rut of boredom and non-engagement lately (winter has taken its toll on me), but part of it stems from the fact that I'm so frustrated with not having NORMAL people to engage with. Most people I have met here are just so freakin weird!!!

I'm taking a break from one of the forums I frequent...people there are starting to appear nutso. Or maybe they always have been, and I'm just really noticing it now.

I'm better off dis-engaging. I'm just so sick of not knowing normal people!!!

Is it the petroleum refineries that are polluting the air around here, theerby destroying people's sense of reality????

I'm venting, but this is freaking weird!

Maybe I'm the crazy one. Probably.

Start Spreading the News!!!

I'm leaving May 14-20

I'm going to New York City!!!! A girl's week with my friend Lorena!

I need hotel b&b advice!

blah

Having a blah week since getting back from BC. Trying to get back into sewing, and can't seem to get my mojo back. Hopefully soon though! I've done a few scrapbooking pages in lieu to keep up with my crafting. Nothing special, but something nonetheless.

So blah though...I have no energy to do much. I'm fighting a cold though which I've been using ColdFX as people have recommended. Well, it seems to put it off for a few days, and then the cold symptoms start to reappear again...then I coldfx it again, and a few days later it comes back. So, I'm ditching the meds. I'm sick of fighting off a headache daily and the pressure in my head and the weakened body feeling. I'm going to let this cold take its natural course.

My guess is my blahs are due to returning back to reality here. Perhaps it's the cold as well and my body just isn't up to it's normal self.

it's not pms so I can't blame it. I'm going to try and force myself to get productive again today and hopefully I'll conquer this funk! There's just way to much of life that is passing by right now!

Winter

Well, it snowed about 10cm again last night, and it warmed up to about -10ish. The wind was blowing a bit, so I'd say it was colder than that, but it was nice enough to bundle up and go outside for awhile. The kids absolultely love it, and it's kind of like a massive dirt pit for them, as they dig, plow and play for a long time. Mandy loves it out there too, and can't get enough of play time when we all are outside. Even Shatzi came out for awhile, but gave me a bit of attitude when I covered him with snow. He then proceeded to go inside again. Party Pooper.

I rarely get good pics of Mandy, but finally snapped one that I love.

By the way...look at how Ethan's nose has healed! You can barely notice any redness anymore!
Cameron has a scratch/puffy eye from falling into a sit-up bench at my sisters, FIVE MINUTES BEFORE WE LEFT FOR HOME!! unreal.

Happy Anniversary to Us!!!

Two years ago, yesterday we moved to Sherwood Park from Coquitlam, BC.... I've experienced 3 winters now (hopefully my last?) and 2 incredible summers. Can't beat them here!

We are so grateful for the experience this has brought us. As much as we want to move back, we have absolutely no regrets. I think the Alberta landscape is incredible. If I could mix the two lifestyles together (Alberta space and terrain with BC forests and waters + BC friends/family) life would be perfect. No one can ever tell me that it's flat here...I love the rolling hills and am in love with the canola fields with the black thundercloud backdrop....And the big sky ...

As Dreary As Rain Can Be

As dreary, dark, damp and cold as it can be, it sure was beautiful too....one morning, the sun decided to peek out and shine through the treetops at my sister's townhouse. This is her living room and kitchen view. The pictures truly don't have that same quality as the smell, showcasing the mist and the sounds of the droplets and the stream next door rushing by...but it was something spectacular. I wish I could have captured the droplets on the branches better and the mist forming..









And this photo, I just HAD to take....Real Canadian Superstore's Garden Center is getting ready to open..look at the flowers! My heart skipped a beat when I saw these all ready to go! I so miss having a spring season...I miss the heather blooming, the crocus peaking out and the hydrangea about to bloom the beautiful blue balls of flowers. *sigh* I have to wait until at least mid May here to begin any garden. :(
When we went for a walk in the woods, even though it was soppy and mucky...it was so much fun! I loved the bark mulch squishing and the smell of the woods...the moss on the trees.. I missed feeling wet and soppy after being rained on. It was glorious!

*disclaimer. Yes I know it was just a visit and once I was living in that rain I'd be complaining about it all the time. But when you don't have it for 2 years, you really do appreciate Mother Nature's best and worst features.

Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Happy New Year to my friends! It's Chinese New Year, and the celebrations are underway!

I contributed to the festivities by buying some of my favourite asian things at my favourite supermarket T&T. I know we have one in Edmonton, but the one here in Coquitlam just seems better for some reason. I frequented it more I guess, because I lived so close! I bought some of the little pearl shaped cookies for the kids, the ones that are made with cornstarch and literally melt in your mouth. Also bought coconut cocktail buns (OMG DON"T EVER TELL ME THE NUTRITIONAL LABEL ON THEM!!) a bbq pork bun, some sushi, steam buns, Pearl Tea (strawberry flavour) wasabi peas.... can you say indigestion later? :)

I'm going back tonight to pick up these adorable chinese tea mugs with the tea strainer in them. they looked like handmade pottery, and were 2.99 each. I was in a bit of a hurry with the kids and Trent waiting in the car, so I couldn't really decide.

It's been a fun visit so far. A little stressful the first day or two while we "settled in", but now it's great. Passed by our old house, which the new owners have totally let it slide. I'm guessing they're renting. Been looking at neighbourhoods we want to buy in (yay!) even though it's not for awhile yet, but still nice to get a feel for it. Mandy is having a blast with my dad's yellow lab, Tina. Good god she's a huge barrel chested lab though! Mandy is a shrimp beside her! And of course my dad is in dog heaven. He walks those two so proudly each day.

My dad looks fantastic and is keeping busy with his new friends. I'm so relieved to see that :)

I've been having so much fun visiting with my friends, and getting a healthy dose of connections. It feels so good.

Tonight not sure what we're going to do. Tomorrow is visiting with my dad again, as well as sneaking in a brunch with Trent's grandma, even though Trent will be skiing....I'm sure she really wants to see her great grandchildren.
Saturday I'm going down to theMossom Creek Hatchery where I used to volunteer a few times a week for a few years way back in the late 80's early 90's. Some of my co=horts have recently been volunteering there again with their own children, so I thought it would be great to take my kids and show them around. I'm sure Ethan and Cameron will be amazed at the 100,00 coho and chum eggs and alevin right now!

I'll post later...just have a million thoughts swirling in my head right now.

I took the most amazing picture this morning of the sun's rays shining through the dripping wet evergreens...the mist, the rays, the dewy droplets. It looked like one of those religious pictures. I'll post them when I return to Alberta. I needed Jane's macro camera, gosh those would have been amazing pics then

THERESA!!!

Theresa, I'm in Port Moody...and of course, I don't have your phone number..I know the prefix, but that's it! And of course, I can't access or find your email, and this is the only place I thought you may read!! Email me at my telus email, and I'll call you back. I'm here though, and hope we're still on for Wednesday!

Everyone else... I'm in BC for the week, visiting friends and family. The smell of the trees here is incredible!! I so miss it! I never got to post about it because it was last minute, and on Friday before we left, we were delayed and interrupted by Ethan smashing his face into the corner of the coffee table... which resulted in the all day excursions to the medicentre and then children's hospital. Ethan received lots and lots of stitches from the plastic surgeon in and up (a long way up) his nostril. He's much better now, but is a bit swollen and turning a few colours that are now surfacing. Plus he's a little numb and looks like he's had botox to his upper lip region. I hope that's just swelling and not nerve damage!

Anyways...post again soon, most likely when I get back on Sunday!

My other gripe

I have another gripe about this unbelievable cold too. The cold air is seeping through the windows and gaps etc. You can feel the drafts, see the ice on the INSIDE of the windows. So, I want to close my blinds and curtains to keep the drafts out. But then I get almost a claustophobic feeling it's so dark inside!!! Thus, I have everthing wide open so it's nice and bright and I can see outside. But then it's cold. :( Wah. The furnace has not stopped.

OMG Winter is here

So fricken cold, the coldest I've experienced in the 2 years I've lived here. Yep, my two year anniversary comes next week!

It's currently -34 with a wind chill of -42. It's damn cold. And the wind has polished all the streets so it's a skating rink out there. Not fun!

School busses aren't running, therefore the schools are practically empty, but they are open of course. Schools are always open in horrible weather it seems. I opted to not take Ethan to school yesterday or today. Yesterday it was blowing snow sideways, with a windchill of -46. What really is he going to miss when most of the students are away anyways? Tomorrow we'll try to trek in, we'll see how it goes. We have insane cabin fever right now. Sunday was blizzard and temps dropped to frigid so we stayed in, as the snow drifts were insane. Yesterday was the same mess, and today, it's sunny and gorgeous outside. I want to go out so badly, the snow looks beautiful to play in. But alas, the warnings are that in less than 5 minutes, skin exposure will receive frostbite. It is so deceiving though, it looks like it's a warm and balmy day!

Poor dog too is a major wimp in this cold weather...she did her quick business even quicker, and her legs actually were buckling last night as she attempted to get back inside. Poor thing, I think she froze her legs!

So, we're stuck inside, we've painted, playdoughed, baked, read, played games, coloured, did "schoolwork", and I think I'm going to surrender the kids to the tv for awhile. Why I feel so guilty about that, I don't know.

Later.

Finally back from the sickies...

Well, Ethan had the stomach flu, and of course, me being the one who somehow wakes up when he throws up in our bedroom (I still don't get why my husband doesn't hear it.... I know he pretends not to hear it) cleaning up from it, and nursing him while he's sick. So who got it then? Yep me. I cannot believe how you can crash and burn to zero energy and strength. It amazes me. I couldn't even climb a flight of stairs without collapsing on the bed for a few minutes to recuperate. And how your body just takes over. It's not even a mind over matter thing. Oh well. So my gripe is this...and I'll make it into appreciation and see if I can turn it around. While I'm sick for the day and a half, it's the weekend, thank god. But it's like my household has stopped functioning. Dishes haven't been done. Cutting board from two days ago has not been wiped and cleaned. ALL toys have been taken out, played with, and never put away. Cat and dog hair tufts accumulating under the kitchen chairs. The evidence is there. MOMMY HAS BEEN ON STRIKE AND NOBODY HAS TAKEN OVER HER ROLE FOR THE DAY.

So, after my gripe, here's my appreciation to turn it around...

1. So thankful that the little bits of housework I do each day actually manifest into the big clean picture. I'm not a clean freak, but the little tasks I do each day maintain a relatively tidy and functional household.

2. Very appreciative of Kirkland disinfecting wipes in each bathroom. They were in good use this weekend.

3. TV is often shunned upon, but when one is sick and cannot tend to the kiddies, is a great babysitter. Thank god for Playhouse Disney.

4. Even though the house turned mad, still thankful to dear husband for letting me sleep for an entire day, while warding off the kiddies from my pounding head and churning stomach.

5. As sick as this sounds, sometimes it's really great to be emptied of everything from your stomach and intestines. Totally empty. Makes you rethink what you put in there after it has been so fragile.

Daily appreciation...

1. Having my husband home today after being away on business since Monday. Thankful to have the husband I do, who is helpful and loving and supportive...when he is gone, I really miss him.

2. Ethan, having the stomach flu today, thankfully didn't have any accidents on the bed, couch or anywhere else. Good aim for the bowl...

3. Mandy sensing something was up with Ethan, and resting her head on his tummy while Ethan was lying on the couch. What a precious sight, I wish I could have caught it on camera.

4. The box of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream WITH CHOCOLATE BROWNIE CHUNKS SWIRLED IN....waiting for me in the freezer.

5. Health - my thoughts to our next door neighbour Rama, who had a massive heart attack on Monday evening and passed away. :(

Quilt top finished!

My disappearing 9 patch top is finished, now I have to sandwich, quilt and bind it.

Here's a peek!





I love piecing them together...not a fan of the sandwiching. The machine quiting is interesting, because I'm such a beginner it's a challenge to get it nice and smooth. But the quilting is what really gives the shape, form and character of the quilt. I love the brown chenille that I bordered it with. Although it was a nightmare of bits all over the carpet, stairs, floors, up my nose...it's awful!!!!

Kids are funny

Ethan loves to train Mandy, and is doing so well. He feeds her and tells her to "leave it" and "okay" for wait and go commands. He also puts Mandy in her crate when we leave the house "Crate" is the command..and gets her out when we come back. Mandy has to sit and wait for Ethan to get upstairs (crate open) until she hears Ethan give the "okay" command.

Now, this week, I've been laughing hysterically at him. And Cameron. They've taken all the back cushions from one of the couches and made a fort between the couch and the hutch. A great hiding space. Except Ethan now tells Cameron the "crate" command, and Cameron obeys! Of course, Ethan closes the crate with the cushion, and Cameron is stuck in his crate.

God they're funny!

How a sewing machine actually makes stitches!

Saw this and it totally makes sense now! SewingMachineGraphic

My newest inspiration....I've wanted to do a bargello quilt for some time now, and eventually want to do a large scale one with one colour and it's values.... but I found this one which is alot smaller, an art quilt, and I love the colours. I will experiment with the colour ... I can't seem to upload the image, but if you go to Kaleidoscope the Kaleidoscope quilt is there.... I can't believe, I actually discovered a quilter who is around the same age as me. Some days, I feel like the youngest quilter around, and I'm not young! :-)

Things to celebrate

1. Trent's new title which he's been "working" on getting aligned for the last few months finally came to fruition.. He's now a Director! That's big news for us, as well as more possibilities to get back to BC! why am I so grateful about this? Not the money, or the status, but experiencing the stepping stones he's made to get here. 11 years ago when I met him, he started at the company as a shipper/receiver driving a forklift on graveyard shifts. He moved to the call center as a tech, back to the warehouse as a manager, then manager for the island and northern bc, then all of bc, then manger of regional operations in edmonton north/fringe, ..now director of regional operations in edmonton north/fringe. So you see, I'm so proud of him because I've been with him every step of the way, through the sleepless nights, the worries and frustrations and the dreaming about what would happen in the years to come. I still have all the letters we wrote to each other while he was on night shift and I on day shift...we'd write letters as we were each eating breakfast (for him late night dinner), dreaming of what was to unfold in our future. :) Sappy I know.

2. Trent formally spoke with his boss in addition to the HR guy about his plans for the year ahead, including BC. ;)

3. We earned a trip to LA, Vegas, or Orlando because we referred 3 or more people to sign up for a cell phone! Hurray! Actually, we signed up 8, so we may receive more incentive!

4. Ethan went to his first movie today with daddy and was so excited I thought he was going to pee himself! He announced to everyone in the theatre that it was his first movie, and that he was going to be able to order popcorn AND POP! :lol: Only thing is he lasted about 1/2 hour...the darkness and very loud sound system scared him. :( Poor little guy...but I'm very excited about his excitement and "milestone".

5. I finished sewing valances for both the boys' rooms today. They were super easy and quick, and look much better than the victorian pastel stuff that was up. I know, I've been here almost 2 years and I just did this.. slap me.

6. the glorious sun and 4c weather we had today.

Turkey Dancer...

OMG we FINALLY caught him doing the turkey dance to Shrek the Halls.

choices

Ever play around with the settings on your blog for a good two hours only to realize that it's no better than it was before?

fuck.

ugh

so the common cold has kicked my butt tonight. Today was not so bad, but right now my head feels like a pressure cooker.

Oh well.

Things to share:

1. so happy to have learned about a new (to me) playgroup in the community that I hadn't heard about. it's just awesome, and the people there are sooo nice! I've been there twice and so far just love it. Looking forward to meeting someone who referred me to it, as well as I've gotten to know her through her blog and LP. (she couldn't make it today)

2. Made a great dinner tonight where my kids actually tried everything on the plate. Cameron actually ate dinner! hurray!

3. No work on my quilt today, but very motivated and excited to try a new one... a bargello. I'm thankful for my artistic motivation that has sparked back up inside. It really makes life feel good.

4. Very proud of dh for speaking with his HR contact regarding the plan to get back to BC. I'm proud of him for working so hard for us.

5. Mandy and Shatzi sitting at the bath tub waiting for the kids to feed them bath water from a cup. My cat and dog are best friends and it's got to be the most coolest thing ever. They are two peas in a pod.

Things about today...

1. The amazing chili recipe I made was fantastic today!

2. My trip to the Parent Link playgroup was super, and I felt right away that it will be a place I frequent at least once a week with Cameron. (Thanks for the info Jane!)

3. Ethan trying to help me by loading up all the scraps of fabric from my quilt onto his freight trains, and dumping them in different corners of the basement. Then, trying to help me refit all of the "puzzle pieces" of fabric into a new quilt. He has decorator tendencies... LOL

4. Listening to Ethan and Cameron belly laugh as Trent was playing with them on the bed.

5. My 6am wake-up call from Ethan whispering loudly into my ear "I get to go to school todaaayyyyy I get to go to school todayaayyy." And then seeing him waiting in the car 15 minutes before we actually had to leave.



I love doing these...they make me really reflect on my day and some of the little moments that sometimes just pass by. I don't want them to pass by, I want to remember them and revisit them.

Quilt in Progress Pics

Here is a closeup of the 4 little blocks put together as one block...





Here is the Disappearing 9 patch in progress. I pieced together all the difficult ones, and now I'm going to build some larger patch borders, followed by strip borders to frame it. i thought of doing a piano key border, but now that I have it pieced, I can see that I don't want too much more pattern in there...

Today...

Pretty bland day this morning... we had our neighbours over for dinner last night and then we watched the hockey game after. Ethan and his little friend were up way to late last night, and he was wired when Reid went home. So finally at 11:00pm he fell asleep. And of course, up at 6:30. I was not impressed.

Trent had to go into work today, so we had a lazy day. I continued to work on my quilt, and got a lot done of my piecing. I will post photos tomorrow in the natural light. I'm doing this without a pattern, and so some of it is alot more difficult that would be with a pattern to follow. But, hey..why make life simple? I'm really happy the way it's taking shape, and I know my best friend Lorena will adore it.

Grattitude today...

1. I'm grateful to myself today for not feeling angry at Trent for going into work (again) outside of normal long work days. I'm trying my very best to understand his committments, and be gentler to him. I'm grateful I was gentle today ! :)

2. My quilt pieces and seams lined up almost all perfectly today, making it that much nicer!

3. Cameron and Ethan playing in the dog's crate WITH the dog today. They were pretending to be her puppies. I'm grateful to have such a gentle soul of a dog.

4. Trent coming home from work and saying, let's go out for a donut, double double (tea) and a drive. So out we drove to the country side and through all the beautiful acreage areas, just for fun.

5. Cameron, from being tucked into our bed and reading stories with Daddy, climbing down two flights of stairs to the basement, grabbing my hand and saying "cmon mommy les go!" and dragging me up the 2 flights of stairs bringing me into bed. Then proceeding to snuggle in between Trent and myself and holding each of our hands...and then falling asleep within a minute. I'm grateful for the way he made me feel so important and so monumental in his sleeping routine. Some say we need to break this habit, but I relish how I make him feel comforted and secure at bedtime.

Things I really appreciate today...

1. My husband makes coffee almost every morning. This morning, especially after a not so good sleep…coffee was very appreciated this morning. And just now...a new pot, a new mug placed infront of the keyboard for me.

2. Ethan and Cameron setting up the blankets on the floor of the living room this morning to have their pancake breakfast picnic. And then hugging each other once it was done.
3. My husband letting me ride through a low moment of frustration and letting me cry without prodding and trying to solve things.
4. Watching Ethan put on his ice skates for the first time, and wobbling all over like a weeble, yet try try trying again.
5. Trent sending me out on my own to get a few things at Costco. Without the kids.

Grattitude

I’m going to try and record daily the things that I normally don’t take the time to be grateful for.
1. Watching David Letterman with Trent last night and feeling like we were really having fun.
2. Laughing hysterically at Robin Williams (on Letterman) for his constant comedy on overdrive. Thank you for being so funny, Robin!
3. Ethan and Cameron hugging and kissing each other for no apparant reason, other than a game of “look how cute we are”.
4. That Ethan has matured enough not to have meltdowns when we leave the playpark, and sets this example for Cameron.
5. My husband never questions anything I purchase (I know I’m not a big spender…but still!) and today I bought a sewing machine from ebay and he was very happy.

Ebay Purchase!

I don't buy alot of things off Ebay... I'm up to 21 now on my profile! But a few days ago I won my auction, yay! I bought a sewing machine. It's a Janome 8080 which is a computerized machine. The one I have now is a Pfaff 1020, which has straight and zigzag and a buttonhole feature. that's it. It's a workhorse however, and excellent quality. I don't know if I'll keep it or sell it. We'll see how I like the Janome. I'm very excited though...I get to go from 2 stitches to a whopping 80 stitches. I'm sure I"ll never use them all, but the option will be great when I'm doing some decorating stitches on my quilts or whatever..

Now I have no excuse not to go and sew. Well, I can always use the kid excuse...you know the one? Gosh, they were at me all day, and I couldn't start or finish anything because of them. LOL

Bring me back to earth!

I can't get it out of my head. I'm so stoked! I just want to move home now!!!! I know this could be a years worth of waiting. I hope it's not longer!

had a fabulous conversation with dad on the phone yesterday. He arrived back from his 15 day cruise of the Hawaiin islands. He sounded over the moon about his travels. This is a side of dad that I've never known...to enjoy cruising, festivals, nice meals, entertainment.

I remember dad to be sitting on his chair, reading his book and smoking his pipe (waaaayyyyy long ago, he hasn't smoked for at least 20 years) Camping tent style..hiking, canoeing, and frowning upon cultural excursions. I wonder if any of this was because of money, the kids, my mom? Or maybe this is just a new facet of his life. He has been doing so many things that I've never known him to do.

My greatest pride is knowing that he has moved on and is doing things that he is enjoying. He speaks of mom every time I talk to him, and I know he thinks of her all the time with great memories, great sadness....but I'm just so glad that he hasn't let it get to him and has decided to live the life he has to the fullest

My shadows.

I don't have my own shadows anymore. Not since having children and pets. My cat, who is lying against the keyboard and monitor at this moment... my dog, who is lying at my feet at the moment, and Cameron and Ethan who are not shadowing me at the moment while Max and Ruby entertain them. Some days I love it, and others I hate it, especially when I'm tripping over them all and pulling muscles or twisting my knees trying to avoid a huge accident.

I can never say I'm alone, as I always have them with me. It feels nice in a lonely world.

As you can see, Cameron has another few shadows too, especially Mandy. Mandy is with those kids everywhere. Okay, so she's a food whore and is just waiting for the droppings from their hands, but look at how Mandy is leaning against Cameron in that picture???

Feast or Famine

I've started a new quilt. I bought two types of fabric collections from ebay, one in browns, turquoise,lime green,yelow and white. The other collections are pink, fuschia, turquoise black and white. i started on the brown collection for this quilt.

It's called a disappearing 9 patch. Here is a tutorial I got the idea from:

http://quiltsatcs.blogspot.com/2007/04/disappearing-9-patch-tutorial.html

You take 9 squares of fabric and sew them together in a grid of 9 squares. Then with your rotary cutter you slash the 9 patch in 1/2 lengthwise, and then widthwise. You then have 4 new patches. You rotate and turn the squares (which gives you infinate patterns to do...hell for me because I hate making final decisions), and match them together in a 4 square..then sew together to make a new patch.

Here is the fabric and the squares in progress...



Good grief, it's feast or famine for me in this blog world.

I will take the lime and the turquoise and make some skinny borders, and then accent it with a wide chocolate border...we'll see how it goes!

Happy New Year!!!

2008 is going to be a great year. I know it. 2007 was good to us too, but there were so many ups and downs. We already have our brains working overtime and planning our biggest goal of the year - our move back to BC.
Trent has his meeting with his boss this week for his professional development meeting, and the forefront of discussion will be how to get us back to BC. He is also consulting with his HR manager to discuss how to get back there. If the company doesn't have any opportunities or ways to get us there, we will seek elsewhere. The compnay is not IT for working worlds. It has been an excellent company for us though, and we'd definately like to continue with them. We don't even mind paying for our own move/transfer back. We just want to resume our lives back near friends and family. Year one was relatively easy...all the excitement and adventure of exploring a new city.

Here is a photo of my dad's house on Christmas Day.... this is the home I grew up in, and although I'm biased, I really think this is a beautiful house.