Broken Ankle Saga continues

The night Shel fell down we went to outpatients. We saw Doctor #1. Doctor #1 requested an x-ray and said that because of the swelling in Shel's foot she was unable to put a full cast on. she put a cast on the back half of Shel's leg and then wrapped it in a bandage and sent us home. She wrote a prescription for pain and told us to return in 7 days. Shel points out to this doctor that there is an unusual bump on her foot. The doctor doesn't make any comment about it.

The swelling never went down, the pain never went away. In seven days we returned and we saw Doctor #2. Doctor #2 took off the half cast and said the thing NEVER should have been put on. He said he looked at the x-ray and there was no break and what Shel was experiencing was tissue damage- probably ligament and tendon tears and she would be in a lot of pain and he gave her a walking cast. Shel told him her pain prescription had run out and he said that particular medication can cause stomach bleeding and so she should not take it for more than 5 days. The nurse made a comment to Shel (seeing how much pain she was in) that she needed to tell the doctor that she was in pain and get something else prescribed. She told him about the pain and he prescribed Tylenol with codeine - the one thing she said she did not like to take because of her reaction to it.

The swelling has not gone down, the pain has not gone away. Fast forward to week number three. Doctor #2 calls Shel and asks her to return to the hospital in the morning for a 3rd x-ray. Someone has apparently looked at the x-rays and believes there may indeed be a break and would like to get another look at it. Shel returns to the hospital for an x-ray. Doctor number 2 tells her she does not need to take the boot off for the x-ray and she says she would like to take it off and have him look at it because of the pain and swelling. She takes off the boot, he takes one look at her foot and says she has a SEVERE case of cellulitis and she needs IV antibiotics IMMEDIATELY. She needs IV antibiotics twice that day ( yesterday) and three times today and again on Saturday morning. She also goes back to x-ray to get her foot xrayed again. The X-ray tech goes and asks the doctor if she can xray not only the ankle, but the foot because she thinks something is wrong with the foot.

So yesterday she gets IV antibiotics twice.
Today she goes in for her first dose of antibiotics and she sees doctor #3. Doctor #3 gives her a prescription for 2 oral antibiotics. The nurse cannot get a vein and so she does not get any IV antibiotics. Doctor #3 tells her absolutely NOT to wear the boot. She must keep her foot elevated and he has now requested an MRI.

We are following each step and we are extremely grateful that she went in for a 3rd x-ray because cellulitis can turn dangerous very quickly and we would never have known she had it. They said again today she has a severe case. I only hope we see some kind of resolution soon - and not because I am carrying lots of chocolate milk up the stairs for her!

We don't have many more doctors in town. I hope we get it figured out before we run out of doctors.

Thursday Thirteen: June Snapshot

1. Photo of me:

Would you believe there is no photo of me in June? My spouse broke her ankle and apparently it curtailed her taking of photographs

2. Something I accomplished this month from my list of things to do that I am most happy about: I had some days off in June and there was a lot of things I wanted to get done. I had planned to do ten "projects" - one for each day I had off from work. In a way I was using the idea of ten projects to help me get over the guilt of watching as much soccer as I was. I watched every world cup game that was televised during my time off (3 a day!) Unfortunately my plans to do a project a day were cut short when Shel fell and hurt herself and ended up in a cast. Prior to that I DID get some things done - sand delivered for the boys, dead trees cut down, loads of trips to the dump, and a LOT of old boys clothes and toys sorted and donated. I wish we knew someone with kids younger (and smaller) than ours who we could donate clothing to, but everyone we know is no smaller than our kids. Oh well. I'm glad we can donate stuff anyway. Getting the spare room worked on has been awesome.

3. What I am currently reading: I am currently reading " The Education of A Wandering Man by Louis L'Amour. I was enjoying it but I am having a devil of a time finishing it and I have some other books I want to get to quickly.

4. What was my favorite book to read this month: This month I started to read the Rangers Apprentice Series by John Flanagan. I am loving it and I am just waiting for book 6 to arrive at the library. It is on it's way!



5. Movie I saw: The other night we watched Twilight on TV and I'll be honest, I fell asleep before it ended. Whoops!

6. Something yummy I made this month: I barbecued chicken with a lemon and herb seasoning. It was yummy.

7. Something fun we did together as a family this month: We played at home lots this month. I had time off from work which was nice.

8. Something that made me cry: I don't think I cried this month. I might have cried on the inside when Shel broke her ankle....



9. Something that made me laugh: The boys make me laugh every day. C has the best facial expressions ever and Max is saying something new everyday. Some of it I have no idea where it comes from.

10. Something I looked forward to this month: WORLD CUP BABY, YEAH!

11. Something I am thankful for: Being able to call and talk to my mom so much this month.

12. Something I want to remember about this month: Watching world cup and talking to my mom. (I want to forget about the broken ankle saga!)

13. A photo I took this month:

Adapting

Shel and I were talking the other night about how different our lives are now from what we have envisioned for ourselves growing up. Though we both wanted children, neither of us ever really "saw" ourselves parenting because of the difficulty it is to have children when you are lesbian.

Now that we have children we have to adapt again, this time because we have two boys with special needs.

One of the issues with both our boys involves sensory integration disorder. Sensory integration disorder is a neurological disorder that affects the ability to organize sensory information for use by the brain. Someone with S.I.D. has an inability to organize sensory information as it comes in through the senses. This is expressed differently for every person with the disorder. Our youngest has Oral Input Dysfunction (among others). What this means for him is that he is hypersensitive to oral input. He has difficulty chewing and even though he just turned two he still only eat "soft" or pureed foods. He gags with textured foods - and sometimes he gags for what appears to be "no" reason. He is highly resistant to having any dental work done - or to using a toothbrush. He LOVES toothbrushes though, but mostly uses them to clean the sink!

Yesterday was his birthday and his brother and I made him a "happy cake". When I got home from work we iced it and covered it with teeny tiny multi coloured sprinkles. Then we sang happy birthday to him and ate cake. I should say "tried to eat cake".

Part of S.I.D. is constantly finding new things about your child. I discovered yesterday that those tiny sprinkles make my baby gag. I will admit, it was kind of funny because he wanted SO much to eat the icing, but every time he put his finger into the icing and into his mouth - he gagged.

I have to separate myself a little from this whole thing because it can be easy to start to feel defeated by it. I wanted to do something special for him and it turned out it wasn't so special after all. We adapted, we took the sprinkles off and he ate some happy cake. It just wasn't what I thought it would be for him. I have to look at it as a learning experience and in the future we will have happy cake sans sprinkles!

I think what I fear the most is that if I spend so much time "learning", will my boys have wonderful childhoods or just feel like experiments?

Reading: Louis L'Amour

I am currently enjoying a reading "spree". Once I learned I was going to class in the fall and not doing my stats through correspondence (which was failing miserably) it was as if I had "permission" to read without guilt - and I went a little crazy. I am currently reading the autobiography of Louis L'Amour, "Education of a Wandering Man"- and one or two others and I have about 15 books on my nightstand waiting for me.
I have never read a book by Louis L'Amour, but I recall being told many years ago that this autobiography was very interesting and worth being read and that has stuck with me. I found it in my local library and checked it out and I am loving it - enough to venture so far as to pick up a book written by him in the future - and westerns have never been "my thing".

Here are a couple of quotes from his book that have made an impression on me:

" It is often said that one has but one life to live, but that is nonsense. For one who reads, there is no limit to the number of lives that may be lived, for fiction, biography, and history offer an inexhaustible number of lives in many parts of the world, in all periods of time."

"One thing has always been true: That book or person who can give me an idea or a new slant on an old idea is my friend."

" If I were asked what education should give, I would say it should offer breadth of view, ease of understanding, tolerance for others, and a background from which the mind can explore in any direction."

"Education should provide the tools for a widening and deepening of life, for increased appreciation of all one sees or experiences. It should equip a person to live life well, to understand what is happening about him, for to live well one must live with awareness."

Birthday Boy

Today is my babies birthday. He is two.

There's something about having children that reveals a lot about yourself as a parent.
I love my kids more than my luggage (you won't understand that unless you saw Steel Magnolias!)

This morning Max and I made a birthday cake for C-note. Max calls birthday cakes "happy Cakes" which makes me laugh, so I guess they really ARE "happy cakes".

I just spoke to Shel and tonight we will stop and pick up a bucket of chicken for supper on the way home. Shel's leg is still in a cast and she really cant do any cooking so I make supper when I get home which is proving to be a little too late for small hungry children. Stopping for chicken means we can eat right away.

I would do absolutely ANYTHING for my children. Shel mentioned calling some neighbours and having some kids come over on Saturday to play for a while and have cake and ice-cream. I balked.

HUH? People? At my house?

Did I just say I would do anything for my boys? I would, but I almost drew the line at having people over at the house.

I guess I am more reclusive than I thought originally. Does that make me a terrible parent? I know that on birthday's people go to great lengths to plan extravagant parties for their children. I think birthday's are awesome. In my family birthday's are a big deal and I would like my kids to feel the same way about their birthdays. I just don't want to have a big get together. I suppose I need to get over it for the sake of my kids. I want them to have wonderful, social lives (if that's what they want - and C-note "IS" social....)

I guess I should be happy he is only two and not asking for sleepovers with friends quite yet. I have a few years to gear up for that much action in the house! (which is weird because over Christmas my brother and his wife and their 3 kids and 2 former foster kids and our kids were ALL in the house and it was no big deal to me... something different about family though.)

Thursday Thirteen: Reasons I love Canada

Is it really right to post Thursday Thirteen on a Friday? I don't think so but I am doing it anyway....
You can link to the new Thursday Thirteen site here.

My topic this week is 13 reasons I love Canada - in honour of Canada day yesterday which was actually Thursday and I should have posted then, but I was at home celebrating!

1. Gay marriage is legal. On July 20, 2005, Canada became the fourth country in the world and the first country in the Americas to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide with the enactment of the Civil Marriage Act.

This is the reason my spouse and I moved here in 2003. I could wax lengthy on why this is significant in our lives but I will spare you all the details - for today.

2. Because Gay Marriage is legal, Adoptions by Gay couples is also legal. I would not have my family if this were not the case.

3. Fries with gravy.


Fries and gravy are divine, but I have to admit I have never eaten poutine. It is something classically Canadian, but it scares me just a little. I should put it on my list of things to do this year - try poutine.

4. Health Care. Last week my spouse broke her ankle. We went to the emergency room and we were in and out in the space of two hours. We will never see a bill (although we do pay for it in other ways.

Health care in Canada is delivered through a publicly-funded health care system, which is mostly free at the point of use. The government assures the quality of care through federal standards. In general, costs are paid through funding from income taxes. There are no deductibles on basic health care and co-pays are extremely low or non-existent (supplemental insurance such as Blue Cross may have deductibles, depending on income).
A health card is issued by the Provincial Ministry of Health to each individual who enrolls for the program and everyone receives the same level of care. EVERYONE receives the same level of care. It has flaws for sure, but overall it is amazing - take it from someone who lived in the USA and dealt with the health system there. There have been times in my life I was sick and did not seek treatment because I was afraid of the cost. No-one ever should have to make that choice.


5. Population density. What this means for us is that we live without neighbours so close that I can look into their kitchen while I am taking a shower. Sure, we have neighbours, and sure we even have had problems with our neighbours, but nothing like when we lived in Ogden and the teenage son of the neighbour would throw used condoms out of his bedroom window - right into our driveway.

With only three people per square kilometer, Canada has the fourth lowest population density in the world.

6. Water.

Estimates of Canada's supply of fresh water vary from 5.6 per cent to nine per cent to 20 per cent of the world's supply, depending on how one defines "fresh water" – whether it means "available," "usable," or merely "existing." One study says Canada has 20 per cent of the world's fresh water – ranking it at the top – but only nine per cent of "renewable" fresh water.

This is also another blog waiting to happen -- there are huge issues about where Canadian water is going - who owns it, who sells it and how much the public know about it. In the meantime, there's a lot of water here.

Specifically in my house I love that we have " Spring water". This isn't true for all of Canada,and not even true for all of Alberta, but we have spring water in our house. That's right. Not treated water, not water with all kinds of additives, but spring water. Water from the ground. Water that TASTES like water. I love my water.

7. The regent of England, currently Queen Elizabeth II, is the Canadian head of state.



I'm not going to lie. I love the Queen. I love that she is the head of state of Canada. God Save Our Queen.



8. Lot's of great people hail from Canada. For a comprehensive list you will have to link here, Otherwise here are a few:



John Candy, Shania Twain, Celine Dion, Dan Ackroyd, James Cameron, Kim Carrey, Mike Myers, Micheal j. Fox, Nelly Furtado, David Foster, Peter Jennings, k.d. lang, Wayne Gretzky, Art Linkletter, Howie Mandel, Sarah McLachlan, Anne Murray, Joni Mitchell, Alanis Morrissette, Carrie Ann Moss, Steve Nash, Sandra Oh, Matthew Perry, Christopher Plummer, William Shatner, Alex Trebek, Mike Weir.



9. BBC Canada and APTN



Most of Canadian television makes me laugh. Canadians have a distinct sense of humor which I admit I do not always "get" (For instance the red green show sometimes eludes me), but I love the BBC. I love BBC radio and BBC television and we get both of them! There are some great Canadian kids shows which I am grateful for since I have children. My kids don't really watch a lot of television - they spend most of their days outside, but when they do come in and we snuggle before bed, Canada has made some excellent shows - the Backyardigans, Four Square, Miss Spiders Sunny Patch, Mighty Machines. APTN is the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network and they have the best news broadcasts of any I have seen since moving back to Canada. My spouse watches LOTS of APTN, and I would be remiss if I didn't mention it.



10. World Cup Soccer Coverage.

O.K. I will admit that there is something lacking in some areas of sports coverage on television overall. For instance -there is an awful lot of Curling and Ice Hockey and Canadian Football on television and I don't watch any of it, but the things I DO watch I can ALWAYS find. We have GREAT coverage of the world cup and we had awesome Olympic coverage. I just wish there was more NBA and College Basketball coverage, but then again, my spouse might not be so impressed.



11. My Family Live Here.

This is one of the reasons we moved back to Canada - to be closer to family. As it turns out we are now spread out almost as far as we have been historically, but having said that we have still spent more time together as a family recently than when we were living in the U.S.

My brother and his family spend Christmas break with us and have been to see us twice since we moved here. We have travelled once to Saskatchewan to my sisters and we see my other brother and his wife fairly often because they live about 5 hours away from us instead of 15 or 20. my little sister spend some time with us and my parents have visited ( my mom twice). Having said that it WOULD be nice to be closer to everyone still.



12. Tim Horton's

I am not a real coffee drinker - if only it tasted as good as it smells! I do like to Stop at Timmy's for an iced cappuccino though. I wish they made Vanilla Ice like they have in Singapore :(

13. Summer.

Summer happens everywhere - I know. But since summer here is so short it seems like Canadians pack as many fun things into their summers as possible to make them memorable. There are always music festivals, rodeos, car shows.... you name it - we have it. I love summer. Hopefully soon we will have a camper -- then summer's watch out!

Max is so funny

Yesterday Max wanted to wait in the car for me when I picked up the baby from the neighbours. He always says that he wants to wait in the car for me when we run errands in town and I never let him, so when we were picking up C-note I told him he could wait. I took the key out of the ignition and he said to me "Leave the key, ma."... Yeah right!!!!!
I took the key with me and went to the door to get the baby and he started honking the horn. He honked and honked and honked the whole time until I came back to the truck. I opened the door and told him it was not nice to honk the horn over and over like that to which he replied... " I KNOW Mom. I was honking for you!"

planning on nothing

It is impossible to plan on doing nothing when you have a three year old and a one year old.

broken ankle .....

Shel broke her ankle. I was on my way out of town to run some errands. She sent me a text message... " I think I broke my ankle.". I turned the vehicle around immediately and came flying home. You would have to know Shel, but for her to send me a message saying she THOUGHT she broke something meant there was a serious problem.
The funny thing was that then she started to text me with things like..." It's pretty swollen so maybe it is just sprained.LOL"

I got home, got her loaded into the van (she only passed out once on the way out the door) and into town we went.

To make a long story short, she was too swollen last night for them to cast it so she is in a "half" cast with the back half of her leg in a cast and then the whole thing wrapped very tightly. We have to go back for more x-rays and stuff when the swelling goes down a little (about a week).

We are both relieved and frustrated that it happened while I am on days off from work. relieved because it would be impossible for her to be home with two boys and two dogs and a broken ankle. She is in a lot of pain today now that the adrenaline has all gone away also. We are frustrated because we were in the middle of doing a ton of projects which now we have to put off and we won't be able to get out of town at all. Bummer trails.

She did get a good library book today though - so although she is in pain I think she is glad she has a good book to read.

meme: day 25

My day in great detail is the assignment for today....

This morning was my morning to "sleep in" but Max had daycare today and so I needed to drive him into town. I took Max and Zuva into town. I dropped Max off at daycare and went into work for a minute while I passed some time. Zuva had a haircut appointment at 10:30.
When I got to the office I found out there was a sale of bedding plants at the greenhouse so I went over to the greenhouse with two co-workers and picked out two flats of bedding plants. I went back to pick up the van soI could just load them into the back and to get some money to pay for them. I decided when I went back to pick up the flats that I would just pick up another one and pay $18 instead of $12. It is such a bargain to get flowers from the greenhouse at work - and today is our ninth anniversary so it was nice to have something to come home with for Shel!
I took Zuva to get her haircut and they said they would call me when they were done. I hadn't planned on staying in town - for some reason I thought it would be really fast ? - I have no idea why I thought that. I didn't have anything to do so I went to the library and picked up two books. I took my books over to the hotel restaurant and had breakfast and a cup of coffee and read for a bit and then I went back and picked up Zuva. I hadn't received a phone call but it had been over and hour so I thought I would drive out and check on her and if she wasn't done I would just sit in the van and read, but they were done. It is weird to me when people say they will call and they don't.
Zuv and I came home and we arrived just as the trucks arrived to remove the grain bins from our property. The man who purchased the land around us asked us last year if he could move the bins onto our land until this spring and we said he could. They were just sold at auction and the people who purchased them have come to work on removing them. We will be left with four very large cement circles - which were the bases of the bins. I suppose we will have to figure out what to do with them which is somewhat annoying since they aren't ours and the owner just handed us a hassle. Oh well. I went to take some pictures of the bins coming down but realized it was going to take a long old time so I came back inside and went to take a nap. I lay down for a while but read mostly, it was not a very good nap.
When I got up from my nap I finished the book, took some more photos of the bins coming down and spoke to the case manager about having an aboriginal elder come out to the house this week to meet with us. I am excited to meet with the elder. Shel and I made a list a mile long of things we want to do before she comes. I called CC to check if the boys could spend one day with her so Shel and I could get some projects done and got that all arranged. Then Shel had me put together the steam cleaner we got for the floor. That was a HUGE pain, but I got it done and went to pick up Max.
Once I had Maxie we went to IGA and got drinks and chicken for supper and then went over to the ball diamonds at the lake to watch B play softball. We ate with B and B and watched ball until 7:30 and then we left to come home. Max fell asleep while we were driving home so I carried him up to bed and then the dogs and I went for a walk to check out how far they have come on the bins. It looks like they have two bins out of four taken down, and one of the pads is a MESS of rotten seed which we will need to clean up once they are gone.
Everyone in the house is asleep and I am now watching soccer and blogging!
That is my day - in detail!

technically a day off

Today it is Saturday and technically it is a day off for me from my projects but I still managed to get some stuff done today. I needed to get to the dump to get rid of some stuff in the truck but before we left Shel and I managed to get the air conditioner into the kitchen window.
We have a small window a/c unit which we have had for MANY years and which came with us from Utah when we moved. As we were putting it into the window Shel reminded me how we had a conversation when we were loading the U-Haul as to whether we needed an air conditioner in Canada! We decided to bring it and we are sure happy that we did!
Max and I went to the dump and then to the library. When we were leaving the library and heading to pick up the mail we noticed that it was the car show in town. We spent an hour checking out some of the cool cars and I took some fun photos which I will upload when I am using a computer I can upload photos from!
When we got home I mowed the lawn while Shel cooked supper (on the BBQ - YAY!) and then we hung out for a bit before putting the boys to bed. They are LOVING the sand and I need to build something around the pile to contain it as the pile comes down. I was feeling pretty warm and asked Shel to check the temperature. It was 30 degrees today, which makes me feel really good because if it had only been 20 degrees I would have been sad to be feeling so warm! LOL
It turns out we put the a/c into the window on the perfect day.
I told the neighbour that I would be over today to get some manure, but it was pretty warm and I was tuckered from mowing. There's still a lot of yard to be done, but a dent was made at least.

projects day five

I think I made up today for all the things I didn't get done yesterday. Shel and I had a meeting in town to go over concurrent plans for the boys. We HOPE that this is the last time we will be meeting to do these - the adoptions should be complete next month. (But we have been told that before so we are not holding our breath.)

We stopped by the vision center and picked up new glasses for Shel. We ordered two pairs and one pair had arrived. Just after we got home the plumber called to say he could come out and install the dishwasher if we were home so of course we jumped at the chance to get that done today. (Another project completed by someone else!)

While the plumber was here I figured it was a good time to start working on some projects for today. I couldn't face two days without accomplishing something on my time off!

1. I brought the new dishwasher in and unloaded it to get it ready for the plumber.
2. I had a burn pile for the garbage.
3. I raked up all the small twigs from the trees cut yesterday and burned them.
4. I brought the window A/C unit out of the Quonset ready for the kitchen.
5. I put the shell from tinkey winkey into the Quonset.
6. I took the old dishwasher out to the pile ready to take to the dump.

YAY! It feels good to be getting so much done. It just feels like the list of things to "get done" grows exponentially.

The boys are now in bed, the PVR is programmed for soccer tomorrow, and the dishwasher is almost ready to be unloaded! I am ready to grab a book and head to bed.

projects day four

Technically today is the day I am supposed to get my fourth project done. It is now ten pm and I haven't done anything today ! I watched three soccer games, watched the Lakers win the playoffs and watched a movie. I watched my neighbour cut down two trees in our yard for us (they were dead trees and I was worried they were going to fall) and he also rototilled a garden spot for us again... we have been working on it for a while. So I don't know - does it count when your neighbour does projects?

meme: day 23

A youtube video:

What we do in the summers in Canada.

Here is a video of ditchboarding. Some men in Saskatchewan needed something to do because the rains had put a damper on their farming. Very inventive, but according to CBC news who ran the video, it is illegal!



Remaining:

Day 24 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 25 — Your day, in great detail
Day 26 — Your week, in great detail
Day 27 — This month, in great detail
Day 28 — This year, in great detail
Day 29 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 — Whatever tickles your fancy

Thursday Thirteen: removing the trees

Unfortunately, we have some trees in our yard that are dying. The trees have been there for over 50 years and they are at the end of their lifespan. We need to do a lot of planting to make up for the losses we expect over the next few years. In most cases I feel confident enough with my chainsawing skills that I will remove them myself, but we had two that were pretty close to the house and I was not confident that I could get them to fall the "right" way and so my neighbour and "tree feller" extraordinaire came over to help me. I'll be honest. He has way better equipment and he is a LOT faster than I am, but as it turns out he did exactly what I would have done and the trees were not tall enough to reach the house anyway. It was nice to watch him work though!

Here are 13 pictures of the process unfolding:

1. Before photo. There is one on the left and one on the right. I was most concerned with the one on the right.

2. A closer look at the tree on the right.

3. Getting the equipment ready.

4. A closer look at the tree. Decision time.

5. Cutting!

6. On to the next one.

7. Cutting the wedge.

8. Cut number two - almost got the chainsaw stuck on this cut...

9. Bucking it up. ( I just love to say that!)

10. You can't really tell from this picture but the base of the second tree that was cut was soaking wet. I have never seen so much water come from a tree. We were very lucky the middle of this one was not completely rotten.

11. Twig pile.
12. Wood pile. I was surprised at how little there was from cutting down two trees.

13. After picture. Thankfully there is not an immense gap from losing these two trees. We still have a lot to plant in our yard, but I was grateful there was not a significantly larger difference made with the loss of these two trees.

meme: day 22

Today I am sharing a website:

Since we are right smack dab in the middle of the world cup, here is a link to the official world cup website. I know many of you may not be interested at all in soccer, however you might find something interesting on this site - even if it is just photos of some of the fans. I always enjoy checking out how the fans are dressing up to support their team.

www.fifa.com

Check it out!


Day 23 — A YouTube video
Day 24 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 25 — Your day, in great detail
Day 26 — Your week, in great detail
Day 27 — This month, in great detail
Day 28 — This year, in great detail
Day 29 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 — Whatever tickles your fancy

day three of projects already

How did it get to be day three already? These days are flying by and there is so much I want to accomplish.


1. Sorted the shoes at the back door. I swear those things multiply - unfortunately nothing in my size, just the boys!

2. Took a box of clothing to the donation bin.

3. Voted... There has been this big thing at work about getting rid of the union and joining the staff association that exists on another campus. Tensions have been high and I am glad it has come down to a vote that will be over today.

4. Took the mat into the frame store and ordered two (Should be in next week).

5. Replaced the camera Hugo ate.

6. Chose a spot for the sand delivery :)

vehicle frustration

What is it with vehicles? I am so frustrated right now with our van. Frustrated enough to never want to buy a Dodge caravan again. (Then again maybe it's just the dealership in town?)


We were pretty desperate for a vehicle when we went in and bought our van. By desperate I mean.... we had NO transportation and two small children and so we got what we could afford.

The process of buying a vehicle frustrates me and I LOATHE going to car dealerships. For anyone out there who needs to get a vehicle - go to your bank FIRST and get financing and THEN go to the dealership. Don't go there and let them play there financing games with you. Maybe I'm the only adult in the free world who doesn't do this already, but we (meaning "I") made the mistake of going to the dealership and not to the bank (because my spouse TOLD me to go to the bank but I didn't listen) to get the vehicle and the financing. ANYWAY. We got a van. To be honest with two small children it is what we need right now as much as I am loathe to admit it.


The van was under warranty when we purchased it. We got it around October and in the very first spring we realized that the air conditioning was not working so we took it in. The air conditioning at that time was "fixed" and it was under warranty and so we went on our merry way.

The NEXT summer rolls around and lo and behold the air conditioning is not working again. Back to the dealership where we purchased the vehicle and it was repaired again, under warranty still. At this time I brought up the fact that this has now happened twice and I wondered if there was something else happening with the a/c but we were told there was nothing wrong and that we should have no problem at all.

That brings us to this summer. We notice immediately as soon as the temperature begins to warm up that the a/c is not in working order for the THIRD time. So back to the dealership we go. This time the vehicle is no longer under warranty. This time in it takes quite a few hours and when all is said and done it costs $170.oo for a "temporary" fix. The A/c works - in the BACK of the van but not in the front. There is some cold air coming through on the passenger side and almost none on the drivers side. After many hours of working on the van the technicians have found a MAJOR problem with the system. The kind of problem that will cost over 3000.oo to fix.

I am so frustrated I don't even have words. How is it possible to take a vehicle in for work on the same problem, to the same dealership and have "nothing" wrong for as long as the vehicle is under warranty and then all of a sudden a massive problem which they had NO idea was indicated in previous visits as soon as we have to pay for it ourselves?

The truth of the matter is this. I don't trust them. I don't believe that they have been remotely honest with us. I believe they are dishonest in their dealing s and that they took advantage of us. I will never purchase another vehicle from them again.... nor will I pay them the 3 grand to fix this problem. I'm rolling down my window this summer - until I can get rid of this vehicle.

talking to mom, laughing and bleeding, and vuvuzelas

I hate living so far away from my parents. They are currently living in South Africa and the only contact we have is through email and phone. With the time difference I can call them, but only in the mornings - which doesn't work on days when I am working - or after 11 pm at night. I am usually awake at this time but I talk loudly and often wake my sons. ( I have tried to be quiet... I just can't!)

I am thrilled to be off from work for a few days because it means I can talk to my mom lots. With World Cup games being played in South Africa we are both watching them live and so it makes for sun and interesting phone conversations.

I initially called her tonight to tell her a funny story about me cutting myself. The cutting was not so funny. I do not deal well with my own blood being spilled. I was trying to open some scissors and I cut my thumb. I rushed to the sink and held my thumb over the sink and my spouse was taking care of me. She knows my weakness! As I was standing there my son came in and wanted to know what was happening. His comment to everything these days is "Why?" , so my souse was explaining to him what was happening and that I was in pain. He asked her why I was in pain and her response to him was " When people get boobies it hurts Maxie." Oh, I laughed. We just stood there, my thumb bleeding into the sink, laughing till our sides hurt. "She meant BOO-BOO's, Maxie" I told him. He was unimpressed with us and left us to our laughter.

Of course I had to call my mom and tell her. Our conversation went from boobies to soccer and from soccer to the vuvuzelas.Vuvuzela's you say?

Columnist Jon Qwelane described the instrument as "an instrument from hell".

Initially, vuvuzela's were banned from the World Cup, but the ban was lifted in July 2008, and the plastic instrument with the huge buzz will be a main feature at the games. In recognition of this truly South African instrument, the South African Post Office issued a set of stamps, a commemorative cover and a miniature sheet in June 2009.

The origin of the vuvuzela is unclear. According to Wikipedia, they are a derivative of the kudu horn, blown to summon African villagers to gatherings. First versions were made of tin, but by the late 1990s they had become so popular at soccer matches that a local company formed to mass-produce them in plastic. They cost a few cents to manufacture and are selling at the world cup for at least 7 rand - and some cost a lot more.

The origin of the word “vuvuzela” is also unclear. Some claim it is a Zulu word meaning “sprinkling around”, while others say it originates form township slang related to “shower” or “sprinkle” as it showers people with sound. A fanciful saying from Africa folklore is that “A baboon is killed by a lot of noise.” During the last quarter of a match, supporters blow vuvuzelas frantically, trying to “kill off” their opponents.

These things are insanely loud, they are said to be louder than a chainsaw. One of the very first things I noticed about vuvuzela's when I watched the first world cup match was the sound of buzzing over the television. At first it was very annoying, but I have become used to it already - though admittedly I have only heard them over the tv and not in real life! Apparently this sound has been so annoying to some viewers that networks have been adjusting the sound of the broadcasts. Other networks have been posting information for people on how to change their television settings to reduce the noise. All in all, there has been a lot of "buzz" about them.

For the game my parents are attending, they plan on taking earplugs - the sound of 60 thousand of the things can be quite damaging. Mom and I had to laugh though because friends of hers have been sending her emails and complaining about them as though she is personally responsible for their use and as if there is something she can do about it!

I am loving conversations with my mom and missing her dreadfully.

time off.. and what to do with it

I have ten days off from work. What I really should be doing is holing up somewhere and working on my thesis. In actuality I will be sanding time at home doing mini projects which I will keep you all up to date on here, and hanging with the family. I imagine that we will be barbecuing lots and I HOPE that for at least a few of the days we will be getting out of dodge and doing something "fun". It is the world cup though you know.... so we will likely be staying close enough to civilization that I can keep track of what is happening in the soccer world.
What i have decide to do is complete ten projects on my time off. One project at least for each of the work days I have off. That gives me the weekends off to do whatever I want to! We'll see how it goes. I'm being inspired by my mom, she is the project queen of the world and gets ridiculous amounts of things done.... I'll see if I can live up to her standard of accomplishment.

meme: day 18

Today is whatever tickles my fancy:

So my son and I were doing errands and we came across a car show in our small town. As I was walking with him (he of course was more interested in the drains than in the cars) I noticed all the different headlights and tail lighta on the cars. I thought it would be cool to take pictures of them all - so I did! I took as many as I could with a small child in tow who was mildly interested for a very short amount of time. Then I had to take him to look in some more drains! Here is some of what I gathered. Unfortunately I did not get all the names and dates of the vehicles so you will just have to enjoy the photos.

And here is what is remaining:

Day 19 — A talent of yours
Day 20 — A hobby of yours
Day 21 — A recipe
Day 22 — A website
Day 23 — A YouTube video
Day 24 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 25 — Your day, in great detail
Day 26 — Your week, in great detail
Day 27 — This month, in great detail
Day 28 — This year, in great detail
Day 29 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 — Whatever tickles your fancy
div>

belonging to something I don't believe in

I work.
The place where I work has "changed hands" over the past few years and in the time I have been here I have "worked for" three different employers.
The current leader of the organization has spoken with the staff here on a number of occasions and he has spoken about values. In those speeches the topic of ethics has come up. He has spoken of the belief he has that when you work for someone and when you draw a check from them it then you shouldn't talk badly of them. If you don't like them , leave. Don't stay someplace you hate, take their money, but then talk about them negatively.
I believe this.
Believing this creates some conflict for me - not at work - but in another area of life.
We are foster parents.
I BELIEVE in being a foster parent. I have loved the children that have come into care and have been in our home. Unfortunately, the system is broken. There are HUGE - and I mean HUGE flaws. I don't think these problems are going to be fixed anytime soon. These flaws have affected our lives and the lives of children we have cared for.
I honestly think it is time for us to be done with fostering - but if people like us leave - people like us who love the kids and who provide a great home for the kids (if I say so myself). If we leave then what is left? And if we stay - how can we stay a part of something so broken? How can I stay a part of something I simply don't believe in anymore.

opening emails I shouldn't

I have been known to have been suckered once or twice by emails people send ... "LOOK CLOSELY at the screen" they say, and then I am peering at my screen something horrible pops out and scares me. I would like to have thought that the days of being suckered were past me. But no.

I am a part of this email group at work. If you want to be a part of it you can sign up and its the group that anyone can advertise things for sale, send jokes or news stories or whatever. If you don't want to be a part of it you don't have to and then you don't have to worried about getting your email box filled up with things unrelated to work. I signed up. I receive the emails.
Yesterday this email comes around about hazards at work and there is a story about being careful around paper shredders. There is a photo attached to the email. What do I do? I open it.

Honestly I can say that I thought it was a joke. I thought it was one of those emails where they talk about how the faxes weren't going through and when you look at the picture there is a cute little kitten attacking the fax machine. I honestly expected there to be some funny thing "shredding" paper. Oh no. It was a REAL photo of someones REAL hand after going through a paper shredder. I threw up in my mouth. I can't get the image out of my head. It was downright NASTY. Who does that anyway? Who sends those nasty pictures around? I thought the email group was all rainbows and sunshine but it is not.

But worse than opening emails when I "think" it is going to be something of a joke is the fact that last week I went to a link - which there was a warning for - for video taken undercover of the treatment of animals in the USA at a dairy farm. The man in the video had been charged with multiple animal cruelty charges. (check out the "story"...no video! here) There were MANY warnings about the video. I thought " how bad could it be?" and I went to check it out. Let me just say this.. When there IS a warning about something - it is likely there for a reason. This warning was appropriate. I think I watched about 8 seconds of the video and I turned it off. It was 8 seconds too much though and it was very disturbing. I guess I just don't want to believe that things like animal cruelty to this extent can happen in the world I live in. I just do not understand why anyone would be motivated in any way to be so harmful, so destructive and cruel. I just don't understand human nature. I think to myself - it can't be that bad can it? But it can. Oh, it can.

There's a reason for labels people! In case you didn't already know. So I'm going out on the web now to google rainbows and sunshine so I can get the image of shredder hand out of my mind.

meme: day 17

An art piece

This is titled "The City on a Hill".

One of my all time favorite artists is James C. Christensen.
Here is part of an article from 2005 (the entire article can be found HERE)


FISH INHABIT THE HUMAN WORLD--breathing air, walking on leashes, balancing on noses--in James C. Christensen's art.

"Why not stick a fish in it?" he says. "If I [paint] a guy walking a fish it's more fun. Fish became a reminder that the paintings are magical."

Christensen, who lives in Orem, has gained fame over the past 20 years by painting "unique people, places and things that exist somewhere between adult dreams and childhood memories," according to a Web site that features his work. But, he says that as fantastic as his work can be, it's often grounded in reality, with conscious thought, not dreams, behind every stroke of his brush.

Take the "poofy" men, for whom he is arguably best known. These men exist under heavy layers of clothing, and though they often are unsmiling, Christensen's intent is to elicit a knowing grin from the viewer, to get us to laugh at our own weaknesses. "They're wearing on the outside what I think of as baggage," Christensen says. "They become us. We're all human, we're all flawed, but we're also colorful and fun."

(above: The Oldest Professor)

He sometimes interprets the classics. Jack Be Nimble is hilarious, with a poofy, aloof Jack appearing incapable of stepping--never mind jumping--over a candlestick. But there's more to Christensen's portfolio. Though works with titles such as Lawrence Pretended not to Notice that a Bear had Attached Himself to his Coattails suggest the extent of his whimsy, others such as Madonna with Two Angels highlight his serious, spiritual side.

Art fans take Christensen's work seriously. His paintings are in collections worldwide, and an original can sell for many thousands. Touching the Hem of God is being offered for $39,000; Sisters of the Sea can be had for $64,000.

(Above: The widow's mite.)

meme: day 16

A song that has made me cry....

The one that came to my mind immediately is the song by Evanescence... My Immortal.
For your viewing pleasure, here it is.

Doctor's. A HELPING profession

I understand I am not a doctor. I understand that I have not gone through the years of schooling necessary to become a doctor. I understand that doctor's know "more than me" about health. I understand that I am a part of a wonderful program whereby I can walk into a hospital or medical clinic to see a doctor and not worry about going into debt over it.

All of this knowledge however does not preclude me from being ridiculously irritated with doctor's right now.

My spouse and my boys were sick a few weeks ago. REALLY sick. All three of them had the same symptoms. They all went to outpatients - one of the reasons we chose to take them to outpatients is that BOTH boys have previously been diagnosed with RSV and both of them have spent time in the hospital before with respiratory problems. We could not afford to wait the weeks to see our regular doctor in his office. So off to outpatients they went. Shel was told at that time (and I may have to check my info here) but the two boys had bacterial infections and were given antibiotics but she had a viral infection and was given nothing. No swabs were taken from anyone. X-Rays were ordered for only one of the boys. They were sent home. THE DOCTOR BARELY LOOKED AT SHEL! He didn't ask one question about her.

You know - I get it. Emergency rooms are overcrowded with non- emergencies. People go in to see the doctor and start listing off ailment after ailment and think they can get ten things taken care of in one visit.

In this case there were three people in one room and all of them were sick. The thing is, there WERE three charts and the doctor will receive payment for seeing all three of them. All of them were checked in and they were there to see him for one reason each. Two of the people in the room were under the age of 3. If he had taken a complete history of all of them it couldn't have taken him more than 45 minutes - which would have meant 15 minutes of face time per person in the room. Don't get me wrong. I don't think he needed to take a full medical history. I don't think he needed to spend 15 minutes with each person in the family. The ACTUAL amount of time that he spent with the family totalled LESS than ten minutes. LESS than 4 minutes PER PERSON - and one very sick person was sent away without any care provided at all. What I expect when we go to the doctor is that he take enough time to find out what is wrong, what symptoms we are experiencing, how long the symptoms have been present and "perhaps" get some further tests done to determine what measures should be taken - for EVERYONE who is ill.

At about the same time I was also getting sick. I didn't get as ill as the others but I was sick. My breathing has been really laboured for about three weeks now. I have been relying on my asthma inhaler almost on an hourly basis just to "get by" and feel as though I was not drowning. I have been weak. So weak I can barely stand in the shower - which is WEIRD. I have had a fever and hot and cold sweats.

I am allergic to just about every antibiotic known to man. I am deathly allergic to penicillin and any derivative. I have NEVER taken an antibiotic that I have not reacted very strongly to. I simply do not like going to the doctor especially since because of my allergies there is often nothing they can do for me. So,I didn't go to the doctor. I got sicker. Should I even admit that I was getting through the days by using the breathing treatments prescribed for my sons?

Finally on Saturday I could stand it no longer. I couldn't sit. I couldn't stand. I couldn't walk. I simply could not breathe. So I went to the emergency room. As soon as I was able to walk into the door they rushed me into a room and gave me a breathing treatment. Outpatients was scheduled to start at 9 am and the nurse told me she wanted to doctor to look at me because she could still hear that my lungs were not clear.

The doctor, scheduled to begin work at NINE AM, showed up at TEN THIRTY AM. He looked at m. He sent me to x-ray. He did not ask ONE question about how long I had felt this way, or if I was having any other symptoms. He simply stated that I was indeed sick. It was pneumonia caused by a virus (again, how can he tell this?) and that he was not going to prescribe me any antibiotics. Thank-goodness for THAT since my chart states I am allergic to them.... oh wait - he never looked at my chart. So he prescribed me an inhaler and some steroids to aid in my breathing and he sent me home.

I don't want to paint ALL doctors with the same brush. We love our family doctor and if we had the time to book an appointment and wait weeks on end to see him we would have.

I simply do not understand why some doctor's - people who have taken on a career of helping people - are not interested in helping. Could you take a minute? Show up on time? Maybe take a swab and send something away to a lab so we could be treated properly for what is ailing us?

A friend went to a specialist last week on a referral and was told by the specialist that it was not his job to explain medical terminology to her - about HER OWN medical problems! Is it just me or is there something seriously wrong here?

meme: Day 15

Day 15 — A fanfic

I have absolutely no idea what fanfic is, so what has that left me with for options for blogging about on this day?

I suppose I will blog about my favorite team for the world cup this year...
England. England are one of seven national teams to have won the FIFA World Cup, which they did in 1966 when they hosted the finals.

Now I know that there is little hope for England to make it to the finals, in fact, they may not even make it to the quarter finals, but to me being a fan is supporting your team no matter what. When they "are" finally eliminated then I will have to cheer for another team, but until that point, I will be rooting for England.

David Beckham will not be playing for England due to an injury, but he will be present.



The captain of the team will be Steven Gerrard, who plays for Liverpool in the English Premier League. (YAY LIVERPOOL!)


A record number of Liverpool players have been named in their respective countries’ provisional World Cup squads, these players will all be going to South Africa, here is the full list.

England : Steven Gerrard, Glen Johnson and Jamie Carragher
Argentina : Javier Mascherano and Maxi Rodriguez
Netherlands : Ryan Babel and Dirk Kuyt
Spain : Fernando Torres and Pepe Reina
Greece : Sotiros Kyrgiakos
Denmark : Daniel Agger
Slovakia : Martin Skrtel

Goalkeepers for England will be David James, Robert Green and Joe Hart.
It makes me more than a little nervous that the goalie for England is known as "Calamity James." Goalkeepers are not the strength of the England team this year.

A team I am NOT a fan of is Argentina. The 1978 World Cup was won by Argentina. This year the Argentinian coach is Diego Maradona. In 1986 Diego Maradona was a player on the Argentinian team. Argentina and England played against one another in the quarter finals. Argentina went on to win the game, but Diego scored a controversial goal, in which he jumped for the ball and hit it into the net with his hand. When asked about the goal in the post-match press conference, Maradona responded that the goal was scored “a little with the head of Maradona and a little with the hand of God”.

O.K. - So the incident happened in 1986 - over 20 years ago. I probably should "get over it" and not judge the Argentinian team this year. Nope. I won't. I will admit the team has the potential to go all the way this year and I will watch them and likely enjoy the games, as I enjoy all well played soccer, but will I cheer for them? Not a doubt.

To me, that's what being a fan is all about.

meme: Day 14

A non-fiction book.

Again with the vague instructions!

This is a book I really enjoyed which was unfortunately made into a terrible movie. If you have not seen the movie - DON'T - just read the book! If you DID see the movie, I am sorry, and I still think the book is worth being read!

meme: day 13

The title for today is " a fictional book". I have actually no idea what this means. Am I supposed to give information of a book of fiction or a book that doesn't exist? Am I supposed to write a fictional book, review a fictional book, suggest an idea for a work of fiction?




The instruction for today could have been a lot clearer. ...
So here is a book, a fiction book, that I think everyone should read (even if you are not a fan of SCIENCE fiction it is still something that I think everyone should read).

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.

Read it!

My growing list (of 99 things to do)

April was a rocking month to get things done and we seemed to slow down a bit in May but I am not disappointed at all because we got a LOT done. June seems to be picking up a bit more and I hope we have another super productive month in June but at the moment I am sick and nothing will get done unless I shake this garbage in my lungs.

Here is the updated list!


1. Sort through the box in my bedroom closet that I have moved to two different households without sorting through.
2. Write monthly letters to my sons. ( I am thinking this should actually count as 24 "things to do" and not one. Depending on how much I get accomplished I may change this later!)
3. Start my thesis.
4. Finish my thesis.
5. Participate in Chad Darnell's 12 of 12 every month.
6. Go to a movie, in a theater, with my spouse.
7. Clean out the bathroom cupboard. (COMPLETE APRIL 2010)
8. Do at least ONE cross stitch project.
9. Get an updated criminal record check (COMPLETED APRIL 2010)
10. Get a carbon monoxide detector for the house. (THIS IS COMPLETE! January 2010)
11. Fence the dugout.
12. Renew my first aid.
13. Find our marriage license. (didn't find it - so I ordered a new one! APRIL 2010)
14. Change our last names - to a blended last name. (COMPLETE MAY 2010)
15. Send my spouse to see her dad in the USA. (COMPLETE FEBRUARY 2010)
16. Get haircuts for the boys. ( I cut it myself in June!)
17. Take family photos.
18. Finish my stats class.
19. Work on my mom's 60th birthday present BEFORE her birthday! (Unfortunately this was not complete in time to send to mom on her birthday..... FAIL)
20. Get the carpet up off the staircase - remove the staples from the steps. (COMPLETE MARCH 2010!)
21. Get the hallway painted.
22. Lay new carpet on the staircase.
23. Make myself a bookmark.
24. Replace Shels' cell phone (COMPLETE. FEBRUARY 2010)
25. Cancel the contract on my cell phone. (COMPLETE. February 2010)
26. Put up Maxie's toddler bed. (COMPLETE. APRIL 2010)
27. Change the furnace filter. (COMPLETE. January 2010)
28. Hang hooks in the bathroom. (COMPLETE. January 2010)
29. Put together the smart shopper cards from IGA. (COMPLETE. February 2010)
30. Sort the tools. (STARTED May 2010)
31. Work on the boy's baby books.
32. Get an electrician quote on the house. (COMPETED MARCH 2010)
33. Hand in all the paperwork for fostercare BEFORE March 31.(COMPLETE March 2010)
34. Take all the furniture from the old guest house to the dump.
35. Get tinkey winkey fixed (COMPLETE APRIL 2010)
36. Teach Max to ride a bike.
37. Box up all the clothes too small for the boys and donate them. (STARTED JUNE 2010)
38. Go camping with the family.
39. Take a family picture at Lake Louise.
40. Get a Christmas gift to my parents BEFORE Christmas!
41. Send out a family letter before December 31 2010.
42. Get a dutch oven.( Shel and Max found me a dutch oven in June! YAY!)
43. Cook a dutch oven meal!
44. Stain the deck.
45. Get a haircut. (COMPLETE APRIL 2010) for me and Shel!
46. Submit receipts by March 31. (COMPLETE March 2010)
47. Order Checks. (COMPLETE APRIL 2010)
48. Update my criminal record check and hand it in (COMPLETE APRIL 2010)
49. Get an electrician to the house to start on rewiring (COMPLETE APRIL 2010)
50. Pay my taxes. (COMPLETE APRIL 2010)
51. Put the new windshielf wipers on the van. (COMPLETE APRIL 2010)
52. Get a brush for Zuva and brush her. (STARTED APRIL 2010)
53. Prune. (STARTED APRIL 2010)
54. Fix the lamp from Homa.
55. Finish painting the barn.
56. Rototill the garden spot. (Started May 2010)
57. Take the lawnmowers in for repair. (Bought a new one! JUNE 2010)
58. Get Shel a new pair of glasses. (COMPLETE JUNE 2010)
59. Get the septic tank pumped. (COMPLETE JUNE 2010)
60. Start rewiring the house. (COMPLETE MAY 2010)
61. Get new wires installed for HDTV and PVR. (COMPLETE June 2010)
62. Get a new dishwasher. (COMPLETE June 2010)
63. Get the yard pinned.
64. Get the yard fenced.
65. Install new screens in windows.
66. Install new screen doors - front and back.
67. Install new doors. Front and back.
68. Plant a garden.
69. Plant some flowers.

meme: Day 11

A photo taken of me recently.......

Hmn. What do I have here......

Max and I were doing some home repairs in March. We had to glue a dresser drawer and then put something heavy on it. In this picture of he and I the gluing is finished and we are in the process of weighing the drawer down. We are hard at work in this picture.

What's left of the 30 day meme (and day TEN!)

Today I must post a picture of me taken over ten years ago:

Here is a photo of me and three of my siblings taken in Sydney, Nova Scotia. We lived in Nova Scotia in about 1984? Anyway - it was more than ten years ago!





And here is what is left of the meme:


Day 11 — A photo of you taken recently
Day 12 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 13 — A fictional book
Day 14 — A non-fictional book
Day 15 — A fanfic
Day 16 — A song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 — An art piece (painting, drawing, sculpture, etc.)
Day 18 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 19 — A talent of yours
Day 20 — A hobby of yours
Day 21 — A recipe
Day 22 — A website
Day 23 — A YouTube video
Day 24 — Whatever tickles your fancy
Day 25 — Your day, in great detail
Day 26 — Your week, in great detail
Day 27 — This month, in great detail
Day 28 — This year, in great detail
Day 29 — Hopes, dreams and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 — Whatever tickles your fancy

Hallelujah

One of my all time favorite songs is "Hallelujah"

Here are a few different versions (I know there are more out there.... I like them all!)

The original:


Canadian Tenors and Celine (one of my favorite versions)



Rufus Wainwright:


Annie Lennox:


Bon Jovi:


Justin Timberlake:

I will not regret this

Quote by Anna Quindlen:

“The biggest mistake I made as a parent is the one that most of us make. I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of my three children sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less.”

I absolutely love our boys. I love them more than I knew love was possible before having them. I had heard people say that having kids changed your life and I "knew" it in an intellectual way - I didn't know it in a "heart" way.

There are a million ways in which I feel as though I "fail" as a mother, but there is ONE way that I do NOT fail ..... I live in every moment with my boys. Here are a few moments from the last day or so:

Yesterday I had to travel to pick up some stuff for work. I took Max with me. While we were in the store picking up the stuff we heard a train whistle. I knew he had never seen a train go by and so we left the store and stood hand in hand and watched the train as it passed. I knew the stuff I needed to pickup would still be there when the train passed, but the chance to stand and watch the train with my boy might not come again anytime soon.

As we drove there was a semi in front of us hauling what Max calls an "earth mover" and he wanted to get closer to it for a better view. He said to me "Go faster mom". I responded "I am going faster" to which he replied "Why?" He makes me laugh every day.


Our house is insanely hot. I have had some trouble breathing at night and so in the middle of the night I have been going downstairs to sleep. Last night Max came into our bedroom and inquired as to where I was. When he discovered I was downstairs he came down and woke me up. "Move over mom" he said. I moved. He lay down next to me and put his head on my arm. "Move your arm mom" he said. "I can't move my arm, it is attached to my body" I replied. "Oh. OK" he said and rolled over and went to sleep.

My baby boy is really attached to me for some reason. I'm not being facetious, for some reason he is really bonded to me and he HATES when I leave for work in the morning. He clings to me and does not want my spousal unit to take him away. I should be used to it by now and I should just peel him off and walk out the door, but I love him. I love how he smells. I love how he rests his head on my shoulder and I KNOW he will not always want to cling to me or hate to see me go to work. We have managed to work out that when I leave Shel will take him to the front door and he will wave as we drive away. He has the CUTEST wave and I love to watch him wave to me every morning.

The last thing we do at night before bed - after supper, after baths and pajamas - is sit together in the rocking chair and watch treehouse for 15 minutes. I LOVE this time of day and not just because the day is over! I love having the boys on my lap. I love snuggling with them. I love just loving them.

library

I love that our small town has a library. Back in the day when we were living in a city and we were a "dual income" family we spent REDONKULOUS amounts of money on books. We spent hours upon hours in bookstores and never walked out of a store without armloads of books. We were members of book clubs and ordered books through those and we visited used and independent books stores with regularity.
When we moved to Canada and to our small community we found (much to our chagrin) that there is no bookstore in our town and only one bookstore in the city that is closest to us. This has curtailed our book shopping completely, but our desire to read has not been similarly stifled. THANK GOODNESS for our small town library. It was one of the very first things I sought out when we moved here and I got a membership immediately. They have an awesome online service where you can get online from home or work and search for books and place orders for books. Because we are in such a small community our library has partnered with others and there is a consortium of libraries who all share resources and books. They ship books between one another when you order online and there is no charge (beyond a very reasonable yearly membership) for this ordering service.
I have been ordering STACKS of books lately - and by stacks I mean probably ten books or more per week. Every time I go to pick up books that have been sent from other small libraries I try to go through the shelves and pick up books from here also.
Here's the thing. Our library is so small they have put the shelves very close to one another in order to accommodate the books they have. So close together in fact that they are like one way streets - you can't pass someone in the aisle if you are in the same aisle trying to pass them. More frustrating than that is the fact that the shelves are so close that it is impossible to see what is on anything on a shelf below eyesight. It is impossible to bend forward to see what is on the low shelves. You can turn sideways and bend down but then you have to turn your head at a weird angle to see the book spines.
If I ever win the lottery this little library in our town will be the happiest little library this side of the Great Lakes - and I will be able to check out books from shelves lower than shoulder height!

meme: day nine

Today I am to post a photo I took.

Sheesh, I take a LOT of pictures.........

Here is one that makes me smile - and today I need a smile! This is my boy - watering my shoe. Helpful little fella isn't he? He has ALWAYS been a good helper and he LOVES to be told he is a good helper.

supper

Last night for supper we barbecued. We have a new barbecue which we got on mothers day - and which I put together (go me!) This is the first time we have ever purchased our "own" brand spanking new one. In the past we have been given BBQ's from people who were moving or upgrading their own. We think we are special now that we have our own and we plan to use it a LOT.
We had hamburgers and hot dogs so the boys could choose which they wanted. Max cut his hot dog down the middle and put a hamburger in between the hot dog pieces and called it his "hot dog sandwich".

Inventive little fellow that one.

meme: day eight

A photo that makes me sad:

This picture came from examiner.com

It is a photo of a heron in the oil caused by the BP oil spill.