ThistleThoughts

Tattoo Musings...

2012-01-31T14:42:00.004-07:00

What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!

Sola Scriptura
Sola Fide
Sola Gratia
Solo Christo
Soli Deo gloria

Somehow, the Five Solas are REALLY speaking to me. I found a tattoo resource online that only does literary tattoos, and my soul leapt. I love words, I adore books. It makes sense that my next tatt will be a literary one. (Even if the literary source is Luther's Reformation!)

Last Day Of Kindergarten

2011-06-23T09:06:00.003-06:00

This morning has been kind of emotional for me already.
Today is my youngest child's LAST day of Kindergarten.
Today was the last time ever that all of my 4 children will walk to school together as my oldest is off to Junior High in the fall.

I didn't think that I would be emotional about it, but I really am. :(
Last time that I'll ever do Kindergarten vicariously through one of my kids. In the fall, he's off to Grade 1. *sniff, sniff*

I must say - I'll really miss our Kindergarten teacher and especially our Educational Assistant, Kelly. They've been awesome.

School Assignments

2011-05-12T10:54:00.000-06:00

I handed in two school assignments last week (on May 3rd) and I got the marks back last night.

100% on BOTH!!!!
This is the feedback from my prof for the first assignment:

Well done Cindy. You have captured MasterFile Premier well - it is indeed aimed at public libraries. The match of the biographies with book clubs was good - I had not thought of that use for it but will try it next Book Club meeting I go to.

This is a tool that anyone working reference in a public library will become very familiar with it - I think there will be more links to more full text (electronic) in the future.

Feedback from my second assignment:

Good assessment on each of these

Glad you liked the poetry index - it is a little known tool but is great for looking for any poetry imaginable. And I agree with you on the National Geographic site - I found it cluttered and disorganized - which was a disappointment given the NG's reputation and excellent magazine. I think they had so much they wanted to share they lost the focus of organization

Good work Cindy"

YAY!!!! I am so proud of myself!! So, with these marks I have

Assignment #1: 100%

Assignment #2: 86% (I know... I was cheesed off too, but hey. I passed.)

Assignment #3: 100%

Assignment #4: 100%

Overall average: 96.5%

YIPPEE!!!

"Love Wins"

2011-05-11T14:57:00.000-06:00

I have had Rob Bell's book "Love Wins" in my "To Be Read" pile for some time... And to be completely honest, I was very intimidated in even starting to read it.

Don't get me wrong.
I love Rob's point of view on Christianity and our journey of faith.

I didn't want to start it because I didn't want to have to finish it. (Weird, I know, but true.)

But there's so much in this book that is stupendously amazing. Here's a few passages that thwonked me on the soul...

"Central to their trust (meaning church fathers like Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Gregory Of Nyssa, Eusebius, Jerome, Basil and Augustine) that all would be reconciled was the belief that untold masses of people suffering forever doesn't bring God glory. Restoration brings God glory; eternal torment doesn't. Reconciliation brings God glory; endless anguish doesn't.Renewal and return cause God's greatness to shine through the universe; never-ending punishment doesn't." (emphasis my own) - page 108.

"What happened on the cross is like...
a defendant going free,
a relationship being reconciled,
something lost being redeemed,
a battle being won,
a final sacrifice being offered,
so that no one ever has to offer another one again,
an enemy being loved."
-page 128.

(In talking about the 8th miracle that Jesus performed in the book of John's Gospel - how Jesus rose from the dead)
"The tomb is empty,
a new day is here,
a new creation is here,
everything has changed,
death has been conquered,
the old has gone,
the new has come.

John is telling a huge story,
one about God rescuing all of creation."
-pages 133-134.

Honestly, I found this book to be completely compelling and thought provoking. In reading the chapter about trusting God, I was challenged to the core like I have not been in quite some time. (Rob used the parable of the Prodigal Son to make a point of how we need to trust God's perception of us more than our own perception of us) How Rob used the parable was effective and a big "ah-ha" moment for me. We can choose to believe that we are like the prodigal son - that we are worthless and that we always make bad decisions, or we can believe God's version - that we are worthy to be sons and heirs in Christ Jesus - not anything based on what we can do, but all based on the love that God has for us.
We could also side with the son who stayed behind with the father - the one who did the right things (stayed home with dad) - who ended up feeling angry and cheated because HE had never had a party thrown for him. What really jumped out for me was there were two sides of that story that I had never seen before.
It's not as simple as "Son Who Is A Screw Up vs The Good Son" or even "Son Who Throws Himself On His Father's Mercy vs The Son Who Didn't Need His Father's Mercy" - it's that one son believed his father's perception of him (the prodigal), and the other did not, and the second son was believing that HIS works would earn him favor with his father (which we all know is self-righteousness).

As I said - AHHHHMAZING.
Baked my noodle for suresies!

I think I'm going to have to buy my own copy of this book. I would wholeheartedly recommend it to others.
Beware those that have small views of God and of His Kingdom - you will not like this book. (As per usual with Rob's stuff)

Genius. Pure, utter genius....

2011-05-08T16:57:00.003-06:00

Mother's Day

2011-05-08T16:43:00.004-06:00

So. I'm laying in bed (fully clothed) with my laptop. Hubby gets out of the shower, dries off and comes over to get dressed. He gets half dressed, then lays down beside me. He ogles my cleavage (which I'm very proud of as my boobs are pretty small and with small boobs you don't have much cleavage), and waggles his eyebrows and says, "When do I get to give you your OTHER Mother's Day gifts?"

I looked up at him and said, "Because every Mother's Day needs a Mother's Night?"

He burst out laughing and said, "Exactly!! Perfectly worded!"

I gotta admit - I stole it from this video....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0DeIqJm4vM&feature=feedu

Weird.

2011-05-05T13:15:00.007-06:00

So I finished up and submitted two assignments for school the other day (yay!) and starting printing out the next module.
Like normal, I have my reading material out of my textbooks to do, and I have reading material that I needed to print off (like normal). Then I see another assignment and a self-test. Again - totally normal.
Then I read that I have a Midterm Exam.

And then I read a note attached to the Midterm Exam that I have to write the exam on campus and that I have to give my prof minimum 1 week notice as to when I'm going to write the exam.

All of a sudden, I was having a hard time breathing.
And I thought I was going to throw up.
And my hands and feet went numb.
I couldn't shake the dread and anxiety that had suddenly engulfed me.

Take the test on campus???? What were they... nuts? Or were they just trying to kill me with stress??

And then it wasn't playing around anymore.... I REALLY couldn't breathe.
Like. Really. Could Not. Catch. My. Breath.

So what do I do?
Of course I Google "panic attack".

"Symptoms of a panic attack can include the following:

Palpitations, or accelerated heart rate - Check.
Sweating - Check.
Trembling or shaking
Sensations of shortness of breath or smothering - Check.
Feeling of choking - Check.
Palpitations, or accelerated heart rate - Didn't notice, but it wouldn't surprise me.
Chest pain or discomfort - Check.
Nausea or abdominal distress -Check.
Feeling dizzy, unsteady, lightheaded, or faint -I def. felt unsteady.
De-realization (feelings of unreality) or depersonalization (being detached from oneself)
Fear of losing control or going insane
Sense of impending death
Paresthesias (numbness or tingling sensations) -Check.
Chills or hot flashes -Annnnnnd, check.

So out of 14 physical manifestations of a panic attack, I had 9. NINE.
All over having to write a midterm on CAMPUS!!!

Fortunately, I was able to get a hold of one of my most favorite people on the whole entire planet, and she was able to chat me through it via Skype while she was working.

I ended up having the panic attack at 1:25 pm and I had to be at my daughter's classroom at 2 pm, AND I still had to eat something for my lunch.
Talk about stressful.

So, in hindsight, I had a panic attack in November when I was touring the Library on campus for my final assignment for my previous class (although I thought I was just hypernervous about the whole process at the time...). These are the first panic attacks I've had in over 11 years. I wonder why I've just started getting them back now, of all times.

Weird.

Hubby was very thoughtful and understanding about it, and he was extra kind to me that night. (And yes, I was STILL shaky from the adrenaline dump from earlier in the day)
It's times like this that I wish a teensy bit that I wasn't so phobic about seeing a psychologist, just so I could talk about it and get more ideas about the triggers and how to handle it better.

He Is RIsen!

2011-04-24T09:42:00.001-06:00

Luke 24

Jesus Has Risen

¹ On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. ² They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. ⁵ In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ⁷ ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” ⁸ Then they remembered his words.

⁹ When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. ¹⁰ It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. ¹¹ But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. ¹² Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

On the Road to Emmaus

¹³ Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles^[a] from Jerusalem. ¹⁴ They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. ¹⁵ As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; ¹⁶ but they were kept from recognizing him.

¹⁷ He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”

They stood still, their faces downcast. ¹⁸ One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”

¹⁹ “What things?” he asked.

“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. ²⁰ The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; ²¹ but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. ²² In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning ²³ but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. ²⁴ Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”

²⁵ He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶ Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” ²⁷ And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.

²⁸ As they approached the village to which they were going, Jesus continued on as if he were going farther. ²⁹ But they urged him strongly, “Stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over.” So he went in to stay with them.

³⁰ When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. ³¹ Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. ³² They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

³³ They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together ³⁴ and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” ³⁵ Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread.

Jesus Appears to the Disciples

³⁶ While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”

³⁷ They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost. ³⁸ He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? ³⁹ Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”

⁴⁰ When he had said this, he showed them his hands and feet. ⁴¹ And while they still did not believe it because of joy and amazement, he asked them, “Do you have anything here to eat?” ⁴² They gave him a piece of broiled fish, ⁴³ and he took it and ate it in their presence.

⁴⁴ He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. ⁴⁶ He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷ and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

The Ascension of Jesus

⁵⁰ When he had led them out to the vicinity of Bethany, he lifted up his hands and blessed them. ⁵¹ While he was blessing them, he left them and was taken up into heaven. ⁵² Then they worshiped him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy. ⁵³ And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.

Trying Not To Stress Out

2011-04-15T12:11:00.003-06:00

So there's a remote chance that Hubby will be transferred for work. Very remote. Like 5% chance. (As far as I know) He told me that he would update me when it got to 25%.

I'm not one who embraces change. (Shocking, I know.) It takes me a good 3 years to settle in. Perfect example? We moved from Calgary to Okotoks (which is 11 minutes SOUTH of our old house in Calgary) 3 1/2 years ago. I am JUST feeling like I'm settling in. No word of a lie.

The funny thing is - the place where Hubby would be transferred to is in England. Right around London, to be precise.
Now, we have lived in the UK before, and I'm pretty confident that I can say that it was a sheer, unmitigated FAIL. I ended up with depression and suicidal thoughts, and Hubby ended up with walking pneumonia.
What a great souvenir.
"I lived in England and all I got was walking pneumonia."
Put THAT on a tee shirt, Snorg Tees! I dare you!

Anyways, I digress...
So part of me is excited. I have missed England. I miss waking up to the rain, and I miss the tea (because NOBODY makes tea quite like the Brits). I miss the chocolate. I miss the feeling that everywhere you go is steeped in history. Canada does NOT have history until you get closer to Ontario and Quebec and the Maritime provinces. Alberta. We have buffalo, wealthy native tribes and lots and lots of rocks. Big ones. Shaped like mountains.
I do not miss other things about England. Like the fact that they get zero sunlight. Ever. I swear. They're a nation of vampires or zombies or something. It's indicative that they have to include things like, "There will be a chance of sunny spells later on today in the forecast...". Where we live right now, sun is assumed. Or snow. But you get my point.
I also don't miss the tv programs in England for the most part. There were some stellar ones like, "Rex The Runt" and "Goodness Gracious Me!", and even Coronation Street and EastEnders to a certain degree. I've gotten very ... particular/choosy in what I watch on telly these days, and to be honest, I'm not watching a whole lot. I did watch 2 episodes of "America's Next Top Model" yesterday, and I did watch some "Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson" on YouTube today.

But then that gets me to thinking... Do you really watch tv when you can just stream it over the internet? Are you really THAT far away that you cannot access it via the Intertubes?

The only other thing I would miss is all of our friends that we have here in Okotoks. You know that feeling of running into people you know at the grocery store? I would miss that.

I think our one consolation would be the fact that we wouldn't be transferred alone. Hubby's boss would go as well, and we are quite close with Hubby's boss, his girlfriend and his kids. Like, we would probably purposely move close to them just for a support system. The girlfriend and I get along famously well, which is wonderful. I think she's delightful.

And then I have a girlfriend in England who I went to school with in Toronto who I haven't seen in a good 8 years.
So we wouldn't be ALL alone, but we would need to kind of jump in with both feet to make it our home. (I'd have to join something just to make friends)

So yeah. Just trying not to stress out over the POSSIBILITY of something happening. Maybe is God trying to shake me out of the trap of being hostile to change? I don't know.

And I am missing Facebook more than I thought I would. It seems to come and go.... I won't miss it for ages, and then (like today) I will miss it like mad. :( Oh well... Nine more days and it's alllllll over.

Is Lent Over Yet?

2011-04-09T22:10:00.003-06:00

15 days to go before Lent is over.
What a weird time this has been... One of feeling very 'removed' and 'out of touch' with some people.
I must admit, I don't miss some people's Facebook statuses at all.
But other people - like my good friend Alysa and her sister Joy - I miss talking with them.
I was actually texting with Alysa a week or so ago, just telling her about how I think I'm really gonna get a tatt now, and she said something profoundly wise.

"So, it's an outward manifestation of an inner change. Cool. That's deep."

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Maybe this Lenten season was one not unlike when a farmer sows seed in a field - the farmer plants the seeds, and then has to wait for them to germinate and grow.
Maybe this Lenten season has been one of germination in my life. Where God plants new seed in my life/heart/soul, and I get to see it germinate over the next bit of time.
Self acceptance and setting of boundaries is always a good thing. :)

Lent Day #31

2011-04-08T09:59:00.004-06:00

I am trying to fight off a major case of the grumps (rather unsuccessfully too, I might add). I don't know WHY I'm as grumpy as I am - I just am.
:(

So I thought I'd self-medicate with an extra large decaf 3 cream 2 sugar coffee from Timmy's. Which means I get to ingest a whopping 12 mg of caffeine. Go me!!!

Let's hope it helps....

Gems That Kids Say...

2011-04-06T14:38:00.003-06:00

So my 5 year old and I are driving in my minivan when he asks me a question.
"Mum, am I going to live with you when I am 30 years old?"

I answer him, "Probably not. You'll probably have your own house and your own rules. You'll be a man."

He thinks on that, and then says, "Good. Because I don't want to kiss on the lips. That's gross. Maybe I'll live by myself."

I ask him, "But won't you be lonely?"

He thinks about it, shrugs his shoulders and says, "Yeah, maybe. But that's okay."

Kids. If I ever figure out what makes their brains tick I'll be a genius!

Almost At The Halfway Point

2011-03-29T20:39:00.000-06:00

Wow. What a wild ride it's been this last week or so.

Hubby's been on an IV antibiotic since Thursday morning, and has been at a hospital 4 times since Friday. I'm so ready for him to get better.

It seems that our oldest son has been having some issues and it's all come to a head at the same time. Talk about stress.

I drove my girls to Pioneer Girls tonight, and I literally had to force myself to drive home. I feel so stressed out that I was starting to cry in the car. I'd love to just drive, drive, drive and get away from all the stress. Chase the sun... Escape to somewhere where the sun shines all day and it's warm and there's green things rather than snow and dead brown-ness.

This Lenten season has NOT been shaping up to be what I thought it would be. I thought it would be a season of renewal, change, growth. Instead so far, it's been a season of breaking and complete paradigm shifts in my thinking and belief systems. (Hello.... Me. Trying to track down a tattoo artist so I can get a tatt. Talk about weird.)

Well, 21 days of Lent down. 25 to go.

Lent Day #12

2011-03-21T10:44:00.000-06:00

Ran into a friend at Wal-Mart yesterday, and I gotta say... I miss being on Facebook! I miss the interaction with people, and the jokes, and the comments. I miss it all.

That being said - I was sort of shocked to realize that I am 2 days away from it being 2 weeks since Ash Wednesday! Wow. Where has the time gone??

Delicious Irony....

2011-03-20T13:28:00.000-06:00

So. Remember me telling you about going to Pioneer Girls and that sleepover? Remember me telling you about the "inner beauty" speech and the thought of "hmmmm. I should go get that tattoo I've been thinking about for 18 months"?
Well. I was in the shower thinking and bam.

I had made up my mind.

If a person doesn't agree with my choices now, there's no way in hell that getting a tattoo is going to change that for the better.

Like, my mother is ALWAYS going to have that little disapproving tone in her voice no matter what I do.

So, I might as well stop being so bloody afraid of other people and be true to myself.

I emailed my tatt artist, asking for a specific day. (Which is a good 2 months in the future, so hopefully *fingers crossed* she's not too booked up yet. )
I asked Hubby to take the day off work so he can come with me.

Eeeee! I can't believe this is getting into motion!

Lent Day #9

2011-03-17T10:32:00.000-06:00

Yes. I admit it. I had to count out how many days we are into Lent on my fingers using iCal.
Shut up. ;)

Well, I gotta say, I'm starting to feel very cut off from society... Very out of the loop. I mentioned this to Hubby and he grinned at me and said, "Isn't it a great feeling?". Granted, he also DEACTIVATED his Facebook account a couple of months ago out of choice, he wasn't convicted to give it up for Lent. I had to disagree with him - I don't like this feeling. I feel like I'm missing out on something, which is funny, because most of the stuff on Facebook is other people's drama. (And I just end up hiding the drama creators anyways.)

Other than that, I have noticed a sense of calmness and peace that I haven't experienced in quite some time. Which is nice.

Well, only 31 more days, right? *groan*

Lent Day #3

2011-03-11T22:27:00.000-07:00

Lent Day #3.
I did something today that was pretty far out of my comfort zone. My daughters are in Pioneer Girls and they were having a Mom/Daughter Sleepover & Spa Night. I didn't want to go. Oh, how I didn't want to go. But, because my daughters looked up at me with their happy, shining faces while they drawled out, "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease Mum, will you goooooooo?????", I relented and went.
I participated in the disgusting making of the skin masques that they get to take home (ewww. Oatmeal, brown sugar, honey, olive oil and vanilla? Uck.), I painted their nails, and I sat through the Spa Treatment of "let's all lay back, put cucumbers and a cool cloth on our foreheads and listen to ladies talk about inner beauty". (Except I sat. I was afraid that if I laid down, I'd cry because of falling on the ice the other day. I STILL hurt from that!)

As I sat and listened I realized that Lent was doing it's job in my heart.
I feel like I don't fit in anywhere.
I don't fit in at church as I'm too much of an Open Theist and not enough of a Calvinist/Armenist, and because I'm too loud, I'm too opinionated, I'm too outspoken.
I don't fit in with other Christian women as I see the majority of them to be boring and repressed women. (At least a lot of the Christian women that are around me are like that!) Let me put it this way - if the Christian women around me were flavours, they'd be a very bland vanilla. Not a French Vanilla with flecks of vanilla bean to jazz them up, they'd be a No Name boring vanilla.

I am not a boring Vanilla kind of girl. Never have been, and never will be.
I like action, I like challenges, and I love thinking and coloring outside of the lines.

So if God is trying to get me to have a period of reflection and to take stock, then I'd say that He was succeeding magnificently. I am. And I don't like what I'm coming up with.

I feel like I am so far removed from the ladies at the one church I used to do a Bible Study at... Like we are kinda on different planets.
I sat there during the Inner Beauty talk, and all I could think was, "I think I should get my tattoo done." Not as a rebellious sort of thing, but more like a "this is who I am, and where I've come from" thing.

I can't see any of those ladies getting a tatt. Heck, the most "daring" lady there was wearing a week little silver toe ring.

So I think Lent is doing it's job. I'm taking stock, I'm reflecting. And I don't necessarily like what I see.

Lent Day #2

2011-03-10T14:20:00.000-07:00

I messed up and looked at Facebook today. :(

IN MY DEFENSE... There was a Twitter link to something and I clicked on it and ta-dah! I was on Facebook unintentionally.
And then I compounded it by clicking on my "Pending Friend Requests" and I saw that an old friend of mine who had sworn UP DOWN & SIDEWAYS that she would never join the plebian ranks of those on Facebook had finally joined Facebook. :)
Just in time for me to take a break for Lent. How deliciously ironic.

But, I am getting school work done. My house is marginally better than it was, although I fear that all day tomorrow I'll be cleaning. Without children as they are all at school for Fantastic Friday. (I think they call it that because all the moms are walking away from Kindergarten going, "Fantastic!!! A WHOLE day to myself!")

Thought I'd document the slip up.
It's been harder than I thought it would be to cut out Facebook. I was/am so dependent on it for socialization. Makes me feel all lonely and alone not being on there.

:(

Funny bit out of my textbook...

2011-03-10T11:52:00.000-07:00

Yes, this is HONESTLY in my textbook. It's in the chapter of "The Electronic Library" discussing the Net and how it has no classification standards whatsoever. There is a quote, "On the Internet, truth needn't take precedence over humor" and this is the story that they use to make that point:

This is from Ton Kuntz from the article, "The Information Age is Here. Ah-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" from The New York Times from July 3, 1998. This is the story of an "actual radio conversation between a U.S. naval ship and Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland.

Canadians: Please divert your course 15 degrees to the south to avoid a collision.

Americans: Recommend you divert your course 15 degrees to the north to avoid a collision.

Canadians: Negative. You will have to divert your course 15 degrees to the south to avoid a collision.

Americans: This is the Captain of a U.S. Navy Ship. I say again, divert YOUR course.

Canadians: No. I say again, you divert YOUR course.

Americans: This is the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Lincoln, the second-largest ship in the United States' Atlantic fleet. We are accompanied by three destroyers, three cruisers and numerous support vessels. I demand that you change your course 15 degrees north. I say again that's one five degrees north, or counter-measure will be undertaken to ensure the safety of this ship.

Canadians: This is a lighthouse. Your call.

Now, it's stuff like THAT that make me chuckle, and you KNOW I'll remember it for a long time. But do you think I can learn all these different givens and wanted descriptors and the different categories of tools to search for reference interviews? Dear Lord, help me!!

The Lenten Season

2011-03-08T21:31:00.001-07:00

Sometimes it truly sucks to be able to discern the voice of the Lord.
Like, it totally sucks.

I have had it on my heart since about January to observe the Lenten season this year. And Lord knows I've tried to shake it off... But it keeps getting impressed upon my heart to observe it.

And no. I am not Catholic in any way, shape or form.

I'm what you would call a Christian. I am not too weird (at least to my brain I'm not weird), and I know some hymns. Don't remember the last time I sang hymns at church, but I know some at least.

So. Yes. Lent.

A period of reflection where you purposely die to self in order that you may gain spiritual riches.
A period of time where we give up trifling things in remembrance of the not-so-trifling things that Jesus gave up for us.
A period of 40 days where we spiritually echo Jesus' 40 days in the desert after being tempted by Satan.

And guess what God wants me to give up this year.

Facebook.

When I told my darling hubby what I was feeling the Lord tell me, he just laughed and laughed. Then he said, "Usually, if giving up one particular thing is what you're least wanting to do, then that's exactly what you should be doing. (but you knew that =P)"

Darn. Why is he SO right all the time ?????

So this is my journey of self-denial. I don't really have any high hopes for what God's going to say to me during this time. I'm not going to be all mystic-y or anything... I'm hoping that I can burn through my school course in the next 40 days and get that bad boy accomplished and DONE. It feels so good to put a little check mark next to a course....

Lent.

Sometimes to get a greater appreciation for a thing, it is good to take a break from it so that you rediscover it's beauty, magnificence and the value that it adds to your life.

Pets.

2010-12-05T11:09:00.000-07:00

I have 2 cats who are sisters (they are orange tabbies) and I have a Gordon Setter dog.
My cats are named Bella & Toffee, and the dog's name is Katy.

Now, my kitties DEARLY love to play the game "Let's Attack Each Other And Try To Look Really Mean While We Do It And Then 10 Minutes Later We'll Groom Each Other's Ears Like Nothing Happened". So they pounce on each other and chase each other and seem to have a lot of fun.
But neither of them give the memo to Katy.
Which is where it gets funny.
So Bella & Toffee get to the part of the program where they are biting each other and mock clawing each other, and Katy stands a few feet away with the most concerned look on her face like, "What are you two crazy felines doing??? Where is the LOVE??? It's the season for family, not strife! Let's make up!!".
Then, when they are all done their playing, they saunter over to Katy as if to flaunt that while yes, they were fighting, they are okay now, and she worriedly smells them all over to make sure they don't have any undiagnosed owwies or any fur out of place.
So, she licks them as if to give them a benediction (a doggy benediction, LOL), and then the kitties retreat to some part of furniture to rearrange what damage Katy's tongue has wreaked.

And it's all over until tomorrow.

What a stress filled day....

2010-11-15T23:34:00.000-07:00

Today I had to do something that I dreaded.

I had to go into the Polytechnique where I take my Distance Education course through, and I had to tour their library.

I was so nervous.

(I really wish I could draw cute little drawings right here... Just saying.)

So. I packed up my 5 year old, and all the snackies I could lay hands on for him, and I packed up his sister's Nintendo DS, and we drove into the Big City. (Which is no small thing... It took me about 40 minutes to get there)
We got to the school, and I was already stressing out... I could feel my heart pounding a mile a minute, and my feet and hands were blocks of ice. (I had the van heater directed AT MY FEET and they were still completely cold in my shoes, that's how nervous I was!)
So. We get to the school, and I'm driving to the parkade (I hate parkades. Big anxiety thing for me). I park, and we start walking. (Because hellloooo.... Parkades make me stressed, so I park where there's lots of parking. Which is normally at the back corner furthest from the exit.) We walk and walk, and then we walk up the parkade stairs and emerge into the sunlight of the outdoors.
Now, I wish I could say that there was this magical sniffy thing that waved a magic wand and poofed my fears away but I'd be totally lying. And while it's my perogative to write whatever the heck I want on here, I'd like to stay as close to the truth as possible.
So. As I was saying. Walked up into the open.

And looked around.

I couldn't find the Library.

That was the ONLY PLACE I NEEDED TO GO on that god-forsaken campus. The LIBRARY. How freaking hard is it to lose the Library, for heaven's sake????

Walked around. Looked like a complete and utter dork, I'm sure.

Finally, found the library.

Maybe God WAS smiling on me, after all!

Walk around and try not to look like a local yokel as I stare amazed at what the library looks like.

Tour around - upstairs and downstairs and peruse the collection. (I've only ever used the online library before as I tend to do my schoolwork in my pajamas or at the very least, fluffy wool socks, yoga pants and a hideous sweatshirt I stole from my mother-in-law)

Go upstairs again, and sit down, and start doing some of my assignment. Get 5 year old son all situated with a video game, and start writing.
Realize that I have no idea how many staff work at this library.

Try to look it up on the computers, but guess what? Still nervous and forgot ALL my passwords for school. Argh.

Look over and voila! Like a beacon of goodness - a librarian is sitting at the Information Desk.

I think to myself , "The girls I work with are nice. I bet this lady is nice too! I bet I could ask her my question!".
Get son all packed up, and go over to the Information Desk.

I put on a nice smile, and ask, "Excuse me... Are the number of staff members that work here included on the website?"

That was my question. Pretty benign, no?

She looks at me and says all snarkily, "Well, shouldn't YOU have made an appointment to find out information like this???"

I stammer back that I'm a Distance Education student and I just have to tour around the library and that I had to come from out of town to do so.
She looks haughtily at me, "Well, I'm not sure you NEED that information...."

I ask again, "Is that kind of information on the website just so I can be extra anal?"

She ignores me and tries to kiss up to my 5 year old. 'Hi! Did you check out a book from the children's section downstairs?"
To which I say, "I'm not going to borrow a book from here... It's a pain in the rear to return it to here! Besides, we have tons of books from our local library at our house...."

She looked at me and said, "Just get them to return it by an InterLibrary Loan."

In my head, I am saying that there's no way in HELL that I'm going to make my local library incur the fees to send something back like that.
But outwardly, I smile, and say "Thank you for your time."

As I walk out of there with my 5 year old clutching onto my hand, I inwardly call her a bitch.
I wish I would have had the chutzpah to call her on her rudeness right to her face. I COULD have just done a virtual tour of the library, but I wanted to go "that extra mile" and do it in person even though it made me nervous to the extent that I was concerned I was going to have an anxiety attack again.

So thank you, Random Librarian Bitch. Thanks for ruining what could have been an awesome experience. You took a shitty time and made it shittier. I hope you get trampled by elephants with poo on their feet.
And I hope your coworkers give you Midol for Christmas, because you CERTAINLY need it!

And don't kiss up to a kid when you've just been a bitch to the mom. So not classy.

I hate ironing. With a passion.

2010-10-24T22:23:00.000-06:00

I'm sure that every person in the world has ONE job that they absolutely hate.

Some people - it's picking up dog poo.
Or cleaning up puke.
Or shoveling the snow off the driveway in wintertime.
Or cleaning bathrooms.

You get my point.

My least favourite thing to do on the planet is ironing.
Yes.
You read that correctly.
I. Hate. Ironing.

I'm sure most irons and ironing boards are quite nice and effective.
I just can't get through a shirt (or God forbid a pair of pants!) without uttering some choice four letter words on how I'd like to send all irons to the deepest part of the ocean, and I'd toss in all things that need to be ironed after them.
I kid you not.
I shop according to the care label that is sewn underneath the label. If it says "Iron on medium heat" I don't buy it. I've even really LIKED shirts that I've tried on, but if it has to be ironed, it's an automatic candidate for the "NO WAY IN HELL AM I EVER BUYING THIS" pile.

My mother used to moan and berate me for my non-ironing ways. "What do you think you're going to do when you're an adult? You can't just wear jeans and tee shirts to work, Cindy!", she'd say.
Of course, I totally bested her in that. At my job, I DO wear jeans and cotton shirts! Ha! I won, Mom!

And when I fell in love, I fell in love with this great guy who was super sensitive, outspoken, and tidy. Who ironed all his stuff, including his jeans. Who never owned a dresser that he actually put CLOTHES in - he hung all of his stuff up in the closet.

Fast forward 13 years. I just finished ironing HIS WORK OUTFITS. I drew the line at using the lint brush, because honestly, if I had to lint brush his clothes on top of ironing them, I'm pretty sure I would have either a) burnt all his clothes on purpose or b) gone stark raving mad.
My blood pressure was already quite high to begin with. I could feel throbbing in my forehead (which is never a good sign).

I ironed all of his clothes.

Hubby was super appreciative but leery of me as I was finishing up. (Not sure what tipped him off.... Maybe the steam/smoke coming out of my ears was a good clue) He tried to make a joke, and to make me laugh, and I skewered him with a Death Glare that we females are famous for.

He quickly fell silent.

I then finished the last sleeve that I was working on, and told him that I loathed ironing.
He seemed to nod, like he understood it. But I could tell that he didn't.
Then I said something that shocked him.
"I would rather have a Pap Test than iron."
He looked at me, agast.
"Seriously? You hate it THAT much?"

I looked at him and said "What did you think when I said that I hated ironing? I would rather get braces put on my teeth again than iron clothing."

I think he finally got that I hate ironing.

Let's hope I never have to do THAT again.

I am the best dayhome provider EVER!!!!

2010-10-19T20:26:00.000-06:00

Not that I would ever toot my own horn or anything, but man!!! I am a GOOD dayhome provider.

What's that??

You'd like proof, you say?
I can totally accommodate you with that.

Exhibit #1.
I made breakfast for my dayhome kids. Tonight. The night before. (Yeah, I normally make them breakfast, but I went WAY above and beyond the call of duty tonight)

I made homemade pancakes with a wee touch of homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice in them.

*drool, drool*

And, if that's not yummy enough, I made bacon for them too.

Those kids are soooooooooo gosh darned lucky.
They don't even know how good they are going to have it in the morning.

C.

The Hour When We Reappear...

2010-09-20T23:25:00.000-06:00

When it's late at night, and everyone is in bed and the house is silent except for the dog snoring and the cats running around pretending like they are "valiant hunters" *snicker*, I find that I rediscover Me.
It's quiet.
I plug in my iPod (God bless Apple!).
I hit "shuffle songs".
And somehow, magically, I come back to myself.
The cares of the day/week/month/year peel off slowly, like a winter coat and all of it's trappings.
Somehow, I find myself doing something mindless in the kitchen (like cleaning out the plastics cupboard) and like a mist that rolls in slowly, there I am. I see Me.
Not the Me who is a mummy.
Or a wife.
Or a daughter dealing with a difficult parent.
Or a daughter-in-law who constantly has to turn the other cheek and forgive.
Or a sister who has to appease all sides.
Or a friend who "has all the spiritual answers".
Or even a dayhome provider who loves kids who aren't her own.

I see Me.
The Me who used to listen to her Sony Walkman and would WALK for hours (or until my batteries wore out) all over the city where I grew up.
I remember walking late at night, with barely enough light to see where I was walking.
I remember walking down prairie roads that yawned endlessly, with the stars twinkling overhead.
I remember walking away from home so I wouldn't say something that I would later regret.
I remember walking to school.
I remember feeling like some artists peeked into MY life to write their songs - like Sarah McLachlan, and Jann Arden.
I remember thinking that I wanted to strive to have the life that inspired songs like what Harry Connick Jr was singing about.

The Me who was so afraid all the time about the future and things that were out of my control. The Me who would get so stressed out around the holidays that I would end up with cold sores from the stress.
The Me who was so conflicted about what kind of a person did I want to be when I grew up?
The Me who was convinced that a simple matter as choosing Keds over Converse high top sneakers was a PIVOTAL moment in my development.
The Me who didn't know what kind of a woman I wanted to be. (Because all the women around me weren't too impressive of role models...)
The Me who was positive that no one would want to marry me, and I'd end up alone with just my cat for company.
The Me who dared to be different, to be an individual, who was not a cookie cutter teen.
The Me who didn't do things like everyone else.
The Me who worked her arse off in high school so I could afford to go to Germany on a 3 month student exchange trip.
The Me who was the percussionist/drummer.
The Me who was passionate (albeit completely misguided) about her faith/religion.

It's a brief flash of myself in the mirror of time, but it's enough to make me nostalgic and foolish enough to stay up way later than I ought to, just to try to catch one more elusive glimpse of myself.

But it makes me think - would 15 year old Me like 33 year old Me? Maybe, maybe not. 15 year old Me might think that I had copped out by marrying early and having kids and relinquishing My freedom.
33 year old Me would see the insecurity and unloved mantle that 15 year old Me carried belligerently as a defense mechanism from all those years of being rejected, cast aside and made to feel less than important.
33 year old Me would probably weep for 15 year old Me.
How far I've come.
From unloved to loved.
From almost crippled by fear to being completely ruled by anxiety and fear, to living a freer life.
From depressed to joyful.
From alone to surrounded by loved ones (sometimes loudly surrounded too!).
From thinking that marriage was a compromise where no one is ever happy to finding the love of my life and my best friend all rolled into one person.
From feeling misunderstood to someone finishing my sentences for me.
From feeling ugly all the time to saying "I look pretty cute today.".

And slowly.... The mist recedes as I realize the lateness of the hour, and scramble to assume my responsible, adult side again. There's laundry to be folded, dishes to be done, breakfast to be prepped....

And I hope that I get another glimpse of Me again soon.

I really should blog more often....

2010-05-26T20:54:00.001-06:00

Well, hellloooo there! Long time, no see!

Wow. My last post was Feb 20th. Wow. Lotsa sh!t has gone on since then.... Shall I fill you in???
*deep breath*

Since February 16th we've had
-Hubby get laid off from his job
- our dishwasher quit working and we had to replace it
- Hubby's grandmother passed away
- my great-aunt passed away
- an old friend of the family passed away.... ALL within a week of each other! Sheesh!
- we've been broken into (over the Easter long weekend) and Hubby's rims and tires were stolen
- Hubby was diagnosed with follicitis and is now on AT LEAST a 1 month long regimen of an antifungal oral med and a topical antifungal cream. (Cha-ching!)
- Oldest son broke his glasses and needed new ones
-I chipped a CONTACT somehow, so out came an old one for me to wear....
-Hubby went to Vegas
-Hubby and oldest son went to Grande Prairie for a Tae Kwon Do tournament
-Oldest son won his first gold at said tournament
-Hubby and oldest son went camping for a long weekend with Hubby's friend and son
-I ended up with a sinus infection
-I got a Pandora bracelet for Mother's day! (Yippee!)
- I have decided to go back to school to get my Library Information Technician Diploma from SAIT in Calgary. I have a face-to-face meeting with the dep't head to discuss my online schooling options.
-Youngest son is SIGNED up for Kindergarten in the fall!

Just writing that out made me tired. *wearily rubs face*

So yeah. Lots of changes going on. Hubby hasn't found a new job yet. I keep on hoping and praying that TODAY would be the day that the Lord provides a job for him, but to no avail. :(
To be honest, I'm so tired of hoping. I really am. I'm just tired of being worried all the time.

But yeah. Me going back to school is pretty exciting/nerve-wracking/freaking me out. It looks like I will be able to use some of our RRSP money to pay for school (I just have to pay it back within 10 years) which should be do-able. I'm excited to actually use my brain again. (I wonder if it's still there after all these years of preschool television??? Maybe the Teletubbies DID rot my brain out!! Eeeps!) And it looks like I should be able to do the vast majority of the diploma online, so I can balance out my school with my family and all that jazz. Because honestly. With 4 kids in school in the fall, there is NO WAY on God's green earth that I will be able to drop my kids off at school in the morning, drive 45 minutes into Calgary, take my 2 hours of classes and then nip back into Okotoks to pick up Youngest Son from Kindergarten and still stay on track to graduate in 2 years. Not going to happen, I can guarantee you.
But maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to take a few classes online and do them while Youngest Son is at Kindy and in the afternoons while he's napping/resting/watching tv/destroying the house.
Just maybe.
And it looks like I won't be the only one going back to school... It looks like Hubby is going back to school too to get a degree!
I still have to see how THAT'S going to pan out for life/work/school balance. And he needs a job. He's starting to get bored of me which is bad news.

Other than that, there's been some changes - I've really eased up on the online bulletin board stuff that I used to read on Babycenter.com. I think I'm over that part of my life. Even Farmville on Facebook I'm getting tired of. (Really? There's no more levels after level 70? Really???)

But spring is sort of here to the Foothills of Alberta. They are calling for snow tomorrow night possibly. I just keep on trying to remind myself that snow is better than venomous snakes and Gargantuan Bugs That Attack People. And hurricanes. And tsunamis. I'll just freeze to death here in Canada, thankyouverymuch.

And I've really been jonesing for a tattoo....
I'm thinking something like a scottish thistle. I did have a great design, but someone removed the photo from the Intertubes! Argh!!!!
Anyhow - every time I watch "The History Of Scotland" I get all patriotic for my heritage (my grandfather emigrated from Scotland to Canada) and I want a tattoo. But with me going to school it might be difficult to come up with the extra cash. (Seems somewhat foolish to get a tat when there's so many other things going on financially... Know what I mean?)

Anyways. Now you're pretty up to speed. I know you missed my wonderful happy presence on the tubes (yeah, right! LOL).

It's Been A Bad Week....

2010-02-20T21:10:00.001-07:00

You know... After weeks like this, you sure find out who has your back.

As I said, it's been one of the hardest, worst weeks of my life... Lots of emotional upheaval, and confusion, and uncertainty and anxiety.

Now, I am not going to say what my Bad Week was all about, and as the writer of this, that is my perogative, and you just have to accept that.
But I can see changes in myself already.
I am putting up with way less crap than I normally do from people around me. I chewed out a telemarketer on the phone the other day, for heaven's sake. (Note to the Shaw people who employ telemarketers from Toronto - make sure you hire a firm that ACTUALLY has English speaking employees... The guy was reading off his script, but he had no freaking clue what he was saying!!)
I think the next telemarketer I get, I'll just tell them that I'm allergic to whatever they are selling.
"Hi, ma'am? I'm calling from the Globe And Mail newspaper... Maybe you've heard of us?"
Me: "I'M ALLERGIC!!"
Wonder if it would work....

Anyways, I digress....
Yes. Much less crap from people. As in, I am screening my calls from 2 people for sure. Maybe more. Depends on the level of insensitivity that happens. I ain't putting up with no shit, no more!!

So.... I have had a Bad Week. Right? Right. So all week, I've been looking forward to Friday... The end of my work week, and I could justify having a Grey Goose vodka. Mmmm. Grey Goose. It's all Grey... and Goosey. :) Well, I mixed the GG with some ginger ale (mmmm) and I threw in some Minute Maid Orange Guava and Passion Fruit juice (the kind you get in a little frozen can and you mix it with water?). Surprisingly tasty. Very delectable. Surprisingly potent!! Woo!!!
You know how they say "Merlot And Email Don't Mix" - well, neither does a GG Fruity Cocktail and fun email surveys! I sent off a Girlfriends Survey half done because I was a little too happy!!
Down side of my GG Fruity Cocktail - it made my rosacea flare up. (Way to make me feel completely unattractive!) So here I sit, letting my Metrogel soak into my face and do it's thang...
Bummer. I can't even get my drink on!

So here I sit... On a Saturday night all alone in my house (except for 4 sleeping kids, a snoring and farting dog and 2 cats). I think I'll go pop some popcorn and read a book. Hopefully next week is better, but I'm don't think it will be. I don't know when it will get better... I have a feeling that it will get worse before it gets better.
If you, dear reader, feel compelled to do something, I would love it if you could be praying for wisdom and direction and guidance for us as a couple and us as a family.
Thanks.

Holy Memory Loss, Batman!!

2010-01-05T23:06:00.000-07:00

Wow. That was actually... painful for me to remember my password in order to blog. (Wow. That sounds really brainless of me, doesn't it?)

Well. It's been ages since I last blogged. Let's see...
Since July, when I last blogged, let's list the things that have happened... Shall we? It'll be like a macabre game of "Look at all this cool stuff I didn't let you in on". :)
Okay. Focus. Since July, we have
- gotten kitties (Bella! Toffee!), they've gotten VERY hairy, and they are big girls now who barely ever fall into the toilet or walk into walls anymore.
- said kitties have gone to the vet a few times (vaccinations! Spaying! Credit card now loves me and said vet!). All is well now.

- my kids have started back at school, then had Christmas off, and are now back IN school again.

- I started up my dayhome again. What a growing experience THAT'S been! :P

- Hubby got a tattoo. It's so hot! I can't believe how teenage-girlish I feel around him now! He's a geek and a nerd - but he's a BAD boy too!!! EEeeeeee!!!!!

- I've had a ...... not-so-good experience with a bunch of women that I do a study with. Let's just say it put a sour taste in my mouth when it comes to females. :(

- I think I know what I want to do when I'm grown-up. I think that I want to work in a library. Think of it - surrounded by books, finding information, and encouraging literacy - my main loves!! So, in order to do that, I need to go back to skool. The program I'm eyeing is a 2 year diploma, and I can do the majority of it from the comfort of my own home. (yay!) So yeah. Lots of decisions I need to make in the next bit (like timing of courses, and figuring out grants/bursaries/loans and how to pay for the courses). Secretly I'd LOVE to get my Master's in Library and Information Science, but one step at a time. First a LIT diploma, then we'll look into more schooling. (Because a Master's is 6 years! And the cost! Oy vey!) But it would be awesomely cool to be the first person in my family with a Master's.

- And I've made this stupid New Year's resolution to knit my very first cardigan. I'm chickening out already. I will be knitting it FOREVER!!! Do you know how long it takes to knit something??? Like, eleventy thousand years!! (And I'm having a really hard time finding a pattern I just adore.) (And I shudder to think of how much I'm going to spend in yarn)

So that's me! That's what I've not blogged about in the last *counting silently in head* 6 months.
I'll try not to leave it so long next time!

Testing, Testing.... 1, 2, 3...

2009-07-11T07:55:00.000-06:00

Hello??? *taps microphone*

Sorry I've been so MIA lately.... There's been much of Life that's been happening as of late (like everyone else, I guess).

Here's a brief overview to "bring you up to speed" on what's been going down...
- the kids finished school. All went well..... M is going into grade 5, B into grade 3, N into grade 1.
- I sorta got a job.... Tee hee.... :D
I am opening up my dayhome again, and I'll have 3 part time boys (with the possibility of another on days off school). The cash will be nice.
- I was looking into the possibility of going back to school. To become a library technician (kinda like a junior librarian). Those of you who know me, know my love of anything printed on paper that is readable. Annnnnnnd, that leads me into the next item....
- I heard about an opening at my local library for a possible part-time staff member. I wouldn't need a diploma or anything yet (which means I could study and take my courses at my leisure). Which means I have to create a resume. Something I haven't done in over 11 years! Eeeps! *bites nails in anxiety!* I'll have to pursue that and see where that leads.
- We got kittens!!! (and not in the "My mother's going to have kittens!" sort of way.... actual real kittens....)
The one with the white face sitting oh-so-prettily is Bella.... Who has decided that Hubby is her person. My kitty's name is Toffee, and she's a little lighter in color, and she's decided that I am her person. *grin* It's so nice to be chosen! Which takes me to my NEXT point.....

- I was days away from a blood infection. I got a bite from our kitties mom (completely my fault - I got between her and our dog Katy, and the cat was TERRIFIED!!!), and my whole hand swelled up, and it was sooooooo sore. So, off to the Emergency Walk-In I went.
I ended up having to fill out PAPERWORK to the Public Health Officer (apparently, you have to report all animal bites... who'da thunk?). They wanted me to "narc out" the mom cat (even though it was my fault) so they could put her in isolation for 14 days and look for signs of rabies.
Now.... those of you in warmer climates may be all "Well, yeah!! Give up the cat! Absolutely!"
This is Alberta, people. We have had 1 case of human rabies in the last 30 years. And it was transmitted by a bat. Honestly. Our risk of rabies is SUPER low....
I did not narc out the cat.
The Public Health officer tried to "scare me" into doing that.
When he couldn't succeed - he basically said "Well, good luck then!".
I'm pretty confident that I'm A-okay. If I start frothing at the mouth, Hubby will take the appropriate steps. (And no.... He won't shoot me in the head like something out of "Old Yeller"!)
I ended up on the strongest antibiotics I've ever been on (and that's saying something!). My tummy is sooooooooo upset pretty much 24/7 since I've had to take 1 pill every 8 hours. Ooohhhhh.... my tummy!
- I'm so sick of yogurt. See 2nd last sentence for further clarification.
- The kittens are doing great. We brought them home last night, and they are litter trained, and on kitty kibble, and slept from 10:30 - 5 last night without crying or meowing. (they are actually scampering across my floor, chasing each other as I type) (they almost sound like mini horses.... Aaaaaah!! Bella's trying to climb up my leg!!! SHARP nails!! aaaahhhh!)

SO yeah. That's my life right now. Loads of kitty fun!
Thanks for reading!
C.

Obituary....

2009-04-23T09:27:00.000-06:00

Le MAY, Richard (Dick) George

April 18, 2009

Le MAY - Richard (Dick) George
March 29, 1948 - April 18, 2009
Richard (Dick) George Le May passed away peacefully after a short but courageous battle with cancer.
Dick was born in Calgary and remained here except for the years he spent in BC apprenticing as a machinist, a trade that he excelled at. Dick was motivated by anything mechanical, he built and restored classic cars, sprint cars, dabbled in boats, airplanes, and raced motorcycles. Dick designed and built the 'LEMAY' car literally from the ground up. The 'LEMAY' is an original work of art, and like Dick there will never be another. Dick also enjoyed sharing the distinction of being one of the craftsmen having a part in the manufacturing one of the prototypes of the Olympic Torch for the Calgary 1988 Winter Olympics.
Dick is survived by his sisters, Barb (Gord) Morris, Deb (Sonny) Hauser, Jean Le May, and Kelly Jackson; brother Les Le May and sister-in-law Rose Le May. He also leaves extended family, Ken Jackson, Bonnie Le May, Stephanie Butterwick, and numerous nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his mother Kay Jackson, father George Le May and brother Norm Le May.

At Dick's request there will be no funeral service. Relatives and friends are invited to an open house Saturday, May 2, 2009 to celebrate his extraordinary life. Please call 403-###-#### for details.
Forward condolences through
www.mcinnisandholloway.com.
In living memory of Richard Le May, a tree will be planted at Fletcher Park, Airdrie by McINNIS & HOLLOWAY FUNERAL HOMES, Chapel of the Bells, 2720 CENTRE STREET NORTH Telephone: (403) 276-2296.

Rest in Peace, Le May. You were a good guy, and were loved by many.

2009-04-14T22:03:00.000-06:00

There's been some sad stuff going on in my life lately. 10 days ago, I received a phone call that an old friend (who was actually my mother's boyfriend after she & my dad divorced) was dying in a hospice of colon cancer that had metasized to his liver.
I went to see him the next night, and he knew me. He was lucid, and talked intelligently for 75% of the visit (which is a gift from God, I'm sure).... Towards the end, when his meds kicked in, he started rambling, and muttering....
I won't lie to you - I was completely dumbfounded when I saw him. I had no idea that a man could get THAT thin and still be alive. (He was about 100 lbs and 5'11")

I was supposed to go see him today, and I got another call last night saying that he is not eating or drinking at all (and he has specific orders for no IV and no feeding tube) - he is just getting meds to keep the pain manageable. My mom sounded really shook - they've loved each other for 40 years, and he didn't know her. She advised me to think about not going...
So of course, I started praying and thinking about her advice.

I ended up not going today.... I felt like if I was to go, it would not be to encourage him, or uplift him.

And another weird thing..... Since I found out about him, and his cancer, I've been seriously interceding at every opportunity... For God to soften my friend's heart towards His love, and for God to open the eyes and ears of his heart so that he can see God in all His Fullness... On Saturday, I was praying for him, and since then? God has taken away all of the burden to pray for my friend (which is weird)... I've been praying that the Lord would be merciful to him, and that He wouldn't allow the suffering to continue. And I've been praying a blessing on the family. That's all I really feel the freedom to pray! So odd!

So that's it. I'll write more later....

Happy Easter

2009-04-10T08:59:00.000-06:00

I sit here, with a cuppa tea in hand, contemplating the reason for Good Friday. They call it "Good".... but my Saviour was betrayed, flogged, whipped, mistreated, and nailed to a cross.

For my sins.

For your sins.

So that we could be reconciled to God.

He didn't have to. "Father, if it be Your Will, take this cup from Me! But not My will, but Yours be done."
His submission was what led Him to be the Cup of Redemption for us.

Thank you Jesus for being the Lamb of God. Who died so that I may live in Christ.
Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus!!!

Happy April....

2009-04-04T10:36:00.000-06:00

Well. Another month! Wow! 2009 is starting to accelerate quickly! (Or maybe I'm just becoming old.... The jury is still out on that last point....)

Easter is fast approaching... Did I tell y'all about the challenge that God sorta dumped in my lap? Well, I was listening to Shine FM (our local Christian radio station), and I swear I heard a challenge from a congregation in the States to read thru either the entire Bible in 90 days, or the Hew Testament in 21. I was a little intimidated by the whole Bible in 90, and I thought the New Testament in 21 was a more "realistic" goal, so I decided to do that one. (Apparently, I was the only one I know that heard that challenge) Well, I DID it!!!! *insert cheering*

I did have to take 2 days off - I was so sick that I actually couldn't read because if I read, then I couldn't breathe because of all the congestion in my nose. I was so drugged! LOL But I did it....

This was my reading schedule:

March 8: Matthew 1-10, Revelation 1.

9: Matt 11-20, Rev 2

10: Matt 21-28, Mark 1 & 2, Rev 3.

11:Mark 3-12, Rev 4

12: Mark 13-16, Luke 1-6, Rev 5

13: Luke 7-16, Rev 6

14: Luke 17-24, John 1 & 2, Rev 7.

15: John 3-12, Rev 8

16: John 13-21, Rev 9

17: Acts 1-10, Rev 10

18: Acts 11-20, Rev 11

19:Acts 21-28, Romans 1-5, Rev 12, Philemon

20: Romans 6-16, Titus, Rev 13

21: I Corinthians 1-10, 1 Peter, Rev 14

22: 1 Corinthians 11-16, 2 Corinthians 1-13, Rev 15

********** sick & couldn't breathe*************

25: Galatians (all), Ephesians (all), Phillipians (all), Rev 16

26: Colossians (all), 1 & 2 Thessalonians (all), 1 Timothy (all), Rev 17

27: 2 Timothy (all), Hebrews 1-5, Rev 18

28: Hebrews 6-13, Rev 19

29: James (all) 1 Peter (again, apparently! :D), 2 Peter (all), Rev 20

30: 1, 2 & 3 John (all), Jude, Revelations 21-22.

Out of all that I read, I think reading the 4 Gospels were amazing, but I also loved Corinthians, and Romans, and Hebrews (but it was tough slugging there for a bit.... Lots of stuff I just didn't completely grasp). And Revelations??? Wow. I don't get that book at all. It's so full of imagery and symbolism that I find it hard to understand (what is the symbolism, and what is actually going to happen??? HAS it happened already? Why has God tarried for so long?). And the whole "whore of Babylon" thing - woo! Makes my head hurt. ;)

But, I was SO PROUD of myself for doing that.... I think I am going to commit to reading thru the Bible in a year. It's been a long time since I last did that... And reading every night was oddly right-feeling to me. (I did it as a teen every night, so maybe I feel that I'm getting back to myself... Who knows.) Often I'd be reading and I'd start being all excited and start talking to Hubby, "Honey! Wow! Listen to this...." and I'd look over, and he'd be hunched over his iPod, completely asleep. So I'd just underline it instead. (Why does it always seem that you get the best stuff late at night???)

But loads of amazing things have happened in conjunction to this spurt of Bible reading... I felt the utter breath of God one day, when I was praying where He busted my chops over my attitude of "God is my buddy, but not the King Of All" - I was only trusting Him to be the Lord over the "little things" in my life (like kitchen utensils, and where I'd park, and traffic, and finding me new plates). He busted me big time.... I didn't realize that I was putting God into a box! He wants to DAILY be transfigured in my life! He DAILY wants to show me that HE is Lord over ALL!!! That He is not some small thing to be taken out of a box, or to be given token prayers, but that HE is YHWH!!! He is the Alpha and Omega! He cares for me - absolutely. But He wants to be the God over ALL my life, not just where I park when I'm at Physio! And He wants me to believe Him and in His Might for more than just Corelle plates at an amazing deal.... He wants me to entrust Him with all my hopes, dreams, fears, and my everything. He is big enough to handle everything.

Too long I've been treating Him like He is this fragile being who is susceptible to "cracking under the strain" of my neuroses/neediness/fickleness/lack of commitment/lack of character (fill in the blank)..... If God can handle all my raw emotions, why can't He handle me in all my humanness???? As my Hubby is fond of saying, "Why are we surprised when we fall down? God isn't!"

God knows what we are. We are frail, we are prone to mistakes. We are bull-headed, stubborn, and oftentimes stupid as sheep. (Which is pretty stupid, from what I've been told.) But God doesn't let that color His perception of us.

Over all our faults.... God sees us as HIS.

If God had a fridge and a wallet, we would be displayed with the utmost of pride.

I don't know why that blows my mind like it does (for the love of Pete... How many seminars and conferences have I sat in? How much inner healing have I had? And I am still floored by the BASICS of the Father Heart of God towards me????). I'm not even sure that others are as impacted by this truth as I am.....

But if I am to live as a follower of Jesus, who is God's Only Begotten Son, who was crucified for my sins (even though He didn't have to - He was spotless! I was far from spotless....) then it looks like I have some life adjustments to be making. It looks like I have some appointments up on top of the Altar of the Lord, allowing Him to prune me (awwww, shit....), refine me, and teach me to be like Jesus.

What a way to start the Spring! And what a wonderful entrance to Easter!

What Is Your Favorite Jewelry?

2009-03-06T20:00:00.000-07:00

I saw this on another person's blog.... and I gotta say, it intrigued me. So I thought I'd steal the idea and put it on MY blog! *evil grin*

I have several pieces of jewelry that I simply adore. I don't know if I can choose between them! They all have meaning that is precious to me....

First up - my engagement ring. My ring now is a 3 stone ring, with a sapphire in between 2 diamonds - all about a 0.25 carat size each. It is not the original ring that Hubby proposed to me with (that one was a 0.25 carat solitaire).... But I adore it. It's different from the average engagement ring, and I love how unique it is. And I'm a sucker for colored gems, too.

Next up - my diamond earrings. I have princess cut diamond solitaire earrings that my Hubby gave me one year... Just because he loved me. He tucked them inside of some roses, and I actually was CRYING so hard when he handed me the roses that I didn't see the earrings in the center of the blooms! I wear them all the time.

My necklace is next up.... It's a chocolate diamond pendant that he surprised me with at Christmas. I was SHOCKED..... I never expected to get anything like that for Christmas! (I was thinking maybe an iTunes gift card, or an Old Navy gift card....) Needless to say... being a typical girl, I did a typical girl thing - I burst out into tears on Christmas morning. The kids were a little worried! :)

Then my family ring that Hubby picked out for me. It's so cool.... We actually picked out the SAME setting for a family ring (you should have seen the relief on his face!) He has great taste in gems...

There ya go! My most beloved bling.

Tell me about yours!

Wow.... Been A While! Sorry!!!

2009-03-03T15:10:00.000-07:00

Well, happy March everyone!

So the last update I had given was that I'd popped a stitch out of my palm. That was long time ago. Sorry!

The stitches came out. I took them out myself (I had 3 actually fall out all by themselves -so gross!), so I decided that Now Was The Time. Armed with my trusty nail clippers and my tweezers, I set out to rectify the wrong that was stitches in my flesh. Easy peasy. They came out great. (I actually got complimented on the stitch removal by Casual Diane's fill in for the day!)

So, I've maintained what the surgeon gave me. I can move my middle knuckle about 80-85 degrees. and the top knuckle (by my nail) has maintained it's dismal 5-10 degrees. No change there.

In February, we focussed on ultrasounding the CRAP out of my hand so to minimize scarring. I think we accomplished that! My scarring is nowhere as deep and as "thick" as the first surgery's scarring. Actually, I've responded so well to what's gone on, I'm actually "conditionally discharged" depending on what the surgeon says next week when I return back to the Hand Clinic at the Rockyview Hospital. (We need his opinion on whether the rebuilt pulleys are strong enough yet for unsupported active use or not as I can still feel the tendon bowing when I bend my finger.) But really?? So minor. Casual Diane had brought up the possibility of yet ANOTHER surgery to try to loosen the tendon further up my finger so that I can bend the top joint (so I don't jam it all the time when reaching for things). Shockingly, I didn't recoil in horror like I thought I would.... Surgery #2 was so easy that I would sign up for Surgery #3 no problem. We'll have to see though.....

I did achieve a milestone recently - I was able to wear my ring on my right hand once again since last September. I felt very posh and swish waltzing around with BLING on my hand rather than yet another splint! LOL! Only me!

I have developed a bit of allergic reaction to all the silicone sleeves that I've been wearing. (Translation: my pinky is disgustingly gross looking. It's flaking, and red, and painful looking.) We are Elecom-ming it up and have switched to Coban wrap with a gel over top of the scar (to soften it at night)

But I can do ANYTHING I want to do (I even played piano! Woo!). Washing dishes is no problem, neither is typing or cleaning (boo!). I am still a little achy when I write, or do tasks like sewing (which I take as a sign from Above that I'm simply not supposed to sew! LOL).

All in all - really pleased with how this has all turned out.

Yay God!

We Interrupt This For A Fast Breaking News Story...

2009-01-20T20:06:00.000-07:00

So I had mentioned that I was "bleeding like a stuck pig" on my last update....

This just in - I was popping a stitch! (cue cat throw up noises)

When I was at Physio last night with the lovely Casual Diane, she mentioned that "Oh! I can see your stitch is pulling out!". I told her that I was bleeding quite excessively (well, at least in my ind I was), and she had a better look at it, and I was actually RIPPING the stitch out of my finger.

Gross, hey???

So, we've Steri-stripped the sucker, and have allowed it to be a little more supported today. The bleeding is less today, and I've tried to maintain my bend. (Which is hard. YOU try not bleeding all over the RoboHand 3000!!!)

So yeah. Mystery solved. Unfortunately. (bleah!)

What I Think Every 30 Something Says To Themselves On The Inside...

2009-01-20T19:58:00.000-07:00

So Am I The Million Dollar Girl, or Just The Thousand Dollar Girl?

2009-01-19T16:32:00.001-07:00

As promised, here are the pics of the new & improved, bionic me. *laughs* So I'm not sure what they call this contraption - maybe the "Bend-o-matic 3000". All it says is "Wave Flex" on the carrying case, and there is no user's manual (to my consternation!).

And, like always, get ready for your guided tour...

See?? Kinda cool how it attached on, and bends your fingers for you..

More Super Cool Bending Action....

Annnnndddd, a side view.....

oh! Check out my extension! See - there's little sticky pads that

attach onto your fingernails (I kid you not!), and then there's little

Velcro straps that you hold your finger more securely with.

There's this little remote as well, that you control the speed and

degree of flexion/extension that you get. Pretty gosh darned cool.

I was using the Bionic Hand this morning, and I was bleeding like a stuck pig! (I hope it's not a bad sign!) I have physio with the lovely Casual Diane tonight, and so I'll ask her how it's looking. My finger is very achy today, and very sore. (Granted, I keep on forgetting my Advil, so it's prolly all my fault..) On a pain scale of 0-10, 10 being where you pass out, and 8 is where you are nauseated from the pain, I'd say I'm a dull 3. Not too bad, but still painful.

Here We Go Again...

2009-01-16T17:51:00.000-07:00

So..... guess what??? I had to go see my hand surgeon again, and he determined that I needed another surgery. (How did I get so gosh darned lucky??!?) I saw him January 12th, and my whole entire appointment was 10 minutes from me walking in the door, checking in with the receptionist, sitting down, getting called back, getting seated, seeing the doc, and leaving. WOW!!! Fast! (But on the up side - I only had to pay $1.50 for parking! W00t!)

Yeah. Surgery. His office called me on the 12th in the afternoon, and set up surgery for January 15th. (cue inner freaking out...) With much fear and trepidation and memories of the last hand surgery floating thru my mind, I showed up for the surgery Thursday morning. I won't lie to you.... it was incredibly gross. Knowing that once again, you get to undergo extensive therapy to be able to move - I think it is mandatory that successful physio patients have to be a bit sadistic. And hearing your own scar tissue rip away from your tendon during the ever-so-fun Patient Participation portion of the surgery (you have to move your hand when they tell you - with it wide open... "Annnnddd, make a fist? HARD!! Again! Really hard!!" ) - barforama. I am still a little urpy when I remember it. (I try not to remember it)

But this is my latest owwie.... I'll take you on a tour. I'll post pics of my Bionic Hand later... ;)

All bandaged up from Physio today - looking pretty 24 hours post surgery.

Look Mom... No Coban wrap! It's a little bit of gauze to catch some blood.
The white strip is a Steristrip - you can use it in place of stitches. We are using it as a support for the pulley that the surgeon reconstructed for me to hold my tendon.

Look at my stitches! Not as many as the first surgery (hallelujah!), and he followed the previous incision line so it will eventually look prettier. What a sweet man!

And get this.... I am in Physio already. Moving it, bending it, and trying to get the tendon gliding and hopefully moving it enough that the scar tissue won't adhere to the tendon again. (Scar tissue treats muscle, bone, tendon, ligaments, and skin all the same - it just glues it together hence the reason why I couldn't move anything.) I can bend the middle joint a lot better than I could before, but the top joint wasn't released... The surgeon said that there's very little success to be had with those itty bitty joints, and that we were asking for more trouble than it was worth.

I'll take photos of my Bionic Hand later tonight and post it...

How is it January already??

2009-01-02T18:46:00.000-07:00

Wow. What a hectic holiday season!

Christmas Eve went well.... Christmas Day was a smashing success! All those hours in the kitchen did their trick - my in-laws were SO impressed with the food (inside I felt like cheering!). I must have spent 9 hours cooking, and just laying out the tables to perfection. (Yes, I said TABLES, in plural. We had 1 grownup table, and 1 Big Kid table, and 1 little kid table. All went well. No food was thrown to my knowledge, and it all got cleaned up. Eventually. :D )

Now, here we are thrown into January. My youngest daughter is turning 6 next week (how did THAT happen!?!).

And we are smack dab in the middle of setting New Year's Resolutions. I personally like my youngest son's "revolutions".... He wants to learn to fly this year, and he wants to learn to swim "really well, like a big big boy".

My resolutions are not as lofty as his are. Mine are pretty simple, I think.

In 2009, I want to spend more time outside. I love being outside, but part of the downside of living in Canada is that you risk life and limb at times when you go outside in the winter. (Case in point? Today. Our high temperature today was -24 C, and with the wind it was a balmy -37C. Brrrrr.... You go outside too much and hello frostbite!)

In 2009, I want to relearn how to play the piano. I am so out of practice, and it shames me. My scales are all herky-jerky and my fingering is consistently incorrect. (Poor Mr Curtis would whack me on my knuckles in horror, I'm sure!) I also love being able to make something beautiful happen when I sit down to play.... not something that sounds like I belong in a grade 7 concert band! Yeeks!

Also, in 2009, I'd like to get my finger as close to normal as humanly possible. Yes, I understand that it will probably entail another surgery on my poor pinky. And I"ll be in for some MORE physio, and yes it will suck temporarily. But if I could use my pinky again! And to bend it properly! That would be tremendous!! (I was sort of "discharged" on December 29th. All I need to do is go see the Hand Surgeon, find out when he can slice me, and there I go.)

Those are my "revolutions".

Happy New Year!

So, This Is Christmas??

2008-12-22T16:53:00.001-07:00

I am all done all my shopping, marketing, errands, wrapping... Thank the Lord above!

Even though I'm hosting Christmas Eve (for 15 people) and Christmas Day (for 14 people), I actually don't feel that stressed out. (Makes me wonder what's wrong with me, LOL!) The thing that's bothering me the most is just this Arctic weather we've got going on! (You try doing stuff outside when it's a -35 windchill!! Poor dog doesn't even want to PEE outside!)

But I've....

-gotten water

-gotten groceries and the turkey (which is defrosting in the fridge as I type)

-wrapped everything

-"arranged" the guest bathroom.

So far I need to still....

-bake Christmas cookies

-vacuum

-mop

-dust

-finish up laundry

-finish baking bread (I love my breadmaker!)

-figure out what we are eating for Christmas breakfast

-knit like crazy to get a scarf done for a lady at Hubby's work. (I'd like to have it done by the 24th)

-buy more milk and cream for Christmas morning coffee

All in all... not too bad of a "To Do" list. Pretty do-able. Especially since I'm not going to Physio until the 29th (I got a vacation! Woo!). Hurray!

My hand is pretty achy though.... I think it may be just the COLD. I find that my finger isn't as "bendy" as it normally is (but I haven't been wearing my Buddy Sleeve as much due to parties and having my hands in water). I keep on doing my passive stretching, but I feel like I"m pretty close to normal. Just, I can't bend my pinky! :D

That's me.

Merry Christmas!

Oh The Weather Outside Is Frightful!

2008-12-13T10:20:00.000-07:00

WINTER STORM WARNING: Okotoks-High River-ClaresholmIssued at 6:11 AM MST SATURDAY 13 DECEMBER 2008

HEAVY SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW TAPERING OFF BY THIS AFTERNOON. THIS IS A WARNING THAT DANGEROUS WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE IMMINENT OR OCCURRING IN THESE REGIONS. MONITOR WEATHER CONDITIONS...LISTEN FOR UPDATED STATEMENTS.

AN INTENSE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER MONTANA IS MOVING EASTWARDS TODAY INTO THE DAKOTAS. AS OF 6:00 AM RADAR INDICATES AN AREA OF SNOW SOUTH OF THE TRANS-CANADA HIGHWAY. SNOW IS BEGINNING TO TAPER OFF THIS MORNING IN THE VICINITY OF CALGARY WHILE AREAS FURTHER SOUTH WILL SEE SNOW AMOUNTS TAPER OFF THIS AFTERNOON. AS THE SNOW ENDS MOST REGIONS HAVE SEEN ACCUMULATIONS NEAR 15 CENTIMETRES. IN ADDITION A COLD FRONT IS CURRENTLY PUSHING INTO THE SOUTHERN REGIONS OF THE PROVINCE. ALONG THE FRONT STRONG NORTHERLY WINDS OF UP TO 60 KM/H ARE PRODUCING POOR VISIBILITIES IN SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW IN SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE PROVINCE. IN EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN ALBERTA NEAR CYPRESS HILLS IS EXPERIENCING WINDS OF 60 GUSTING TO 80 KM/H THIS MORNING. WINDS WILL BEGIN DIMINISHING NEAR NOON OVER SOUTHERN ALBERTA. AS THE TEMPERATURE PLUMMETS AND WINDS PERSIST TODAY WIND CHILL VALUES OF -35 TO -40 CAN BE EXPECTED. IN THE CORONATION REGION, EXTREME WIND CHILLS NEAR MINUS 42 CAN BE EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON AS TEMPERATURES FALL TO -28 THIS AFTERNOON. THIS WINTER STORM CAN PRODUCE POOR TRAVELLING CONDITIONS. PERSONS IN OR NEAR THESE AREAS SHOULD BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS AND LISTEN FOR UPDATED WARNINGS.

Yeah. We are staying inside. It's just not worth it to go outside. So instead, I think I'll do some baking. Maybe some homemade bread?? Cookies?

And Hubby has his work's Christmas party tonight. So that'll be interesting. I hope my presents go over well (it's a homemade scarf and a mug from Starbucks).

Later!

Mistletoe Fruitcake!!!

2008-12-06T00:14:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite commercials of this year... I love how the initials of the words that the elf uses corresponds to actual bad words! Tee hee hee!!!

Enjoy!

The Waiting Game....

2008-11-25T08:43:00.000-07:00

Well.

So. Saw the Hand Surgeon yesterday. The drive in was actually quite pleasant. I was rather shocked! Normally, the drive from Okotoks into Calgary is quite busy, but I got from the Okotoks Overpass onto the #2 Highway to the parkade underneath the Rockyview Hospital in 24 minutes. And I didn't even speed!!! And I found a parking spot (yay!!!) .

I walked into the hospital, and found the Cast Clinic (man, it's a labyrinth in there!), and waited. And waited. And waited some more.

Finally, 25 minutes AFTER when I was supposed to have my appointment, they called me back.

The surgeon came over, and said hello, and asked what was going on.

I said, "My physio therapist wanted me to give you this (gave him a note), and wanted you to just check out all the scar tissue."

So, he took my gimpy pinky, and blocked the bottom of it and said "Now, bend please."

(a second passed while I obediently bent my pinky)

"No seriously... Can you bend your pinky please?"

To which I said "I AM!!! This IS my bend!"

He looked at me and said "Oh. (long pause) Is this ALL the bend you've ever had?"

I replied that yes... This is all I've ever been able to move it.

He "hmmm"ed, and poked my finger, and felt part of it.

Then, he told me this.

"Sometimes, tendons are kind of like cars stuck in a snow drift. You rock them, and rock them, and sometimes they get enough momentum to get out themselves. Right? Well, your tendon could do that, and the scar tissue would just rip off while you are doing your everyday normal exercises. Or, if that doesn't happen, we have to open your finger back up, and strip off the scar tissue again, and then you are sort of back at square 1 again, having to go to physio for the next 4 months."

Ummm.... bleah? Either way sounds gross to me!

But, we are to keep on doing what we are doing. We have to be super aggressive with my finger (I am SO not looking forward to that!) and we will re-assess it in early January.

But, on a positive side, that means that I am relatively good to go for Christmas! I don't have to be afraid to cook up a proverbial storm (which is good, seeing as I'm hosting Christmas Day and I think my SIL is coming with her two boys to stay for a week!).

So that's my update. :(

I am the Master Of Procrastination.

2008-11-23T23:06:00.001-07:00

I have a "hot date" with the Hand Surgeon tomorrow morning. Ohhhh, in about 10 hours or so.

A sane individual would be in bed, sleeping right about now.

But have I ever CLAIMED to be sane???? NOOOO!

So what am I doing instead?

Writing on my blog.

Surfing the Net. (our dog, Katy, has some weird pustules on her back. I squeezed them, and pus came out, and of course, my imagination started to run away with me... "What if it's cancer? Oh no! What would we do? Would we put Katy down? What would I do with all her dog paraphernalia? Oh my gosh... The kids would be so sad!")

Getting ready to put a Band-Aid on my knee (I tripped over the vacuum hose, and skinned my knee. I am some sort of genius, I tell you..) And I banged my pinky when I fell.... Good thing I'm seeing the hand surgeon tomorrow! (I am such a DOOR KNOB!)

And I am doing my "passive stretching" which is a really fancy-schmancy term for "bending the crap out of my pinky using some sort of a stretchy - velcro strappy contraption, and leaving it there for at least 15 minutes". I normally put it on when I'm driving in the car, because I'm sitting still for at least 15 in there. And then I can claim that I'm multi-tasking! :D

Oh, and look..... my stretch is almost done. Yayyyyyy..... * waves a pennant half-heartedly...*

Oh, and the Calgary Stamps won the Grey Cup. So you know what THAT means! Hubby was quite cheerful at dinner tonight! Yay!

G'night!

I'll update when I get back from the surgeon's hand clinic!

I did it.

2008-11-22T21:24:00.000-07:00

I caved to my kids incessant demands and put up the Christmas tree.

Granted, it took Hubby and I like 15 minutes to figure out how the f*ck to hook up all the little lighties so the WHOLE christmas tree was lit up, rather than just the middle section. *roll eyes*

Yep, so after searching and SEARCHING both online and in my ornament box, we STILL couldn't find the bloody instructions, so we actually figured it out, and TA DAHHHH! We figured it out!

I later found the instructions at the verrrrry bottom of the "breakable" ornament box. (Really helpful of me to have packed it that way last year!)

We also went to "Light Up The Night" in our town the other night. It was "ehhh". We froze our toesies off while waiting for the tree to be lit up, and refroze them later on while we were waiting to get onto a wagon ride. The kids had fun, but by the time we got home, it was after 9 pm. (Bed time is 7:30!)

But, for better or worse, the tree is up.

What An Electrifying Time!

2008-11-18T15:44:00.000-07:00

So either my physio team is getting desperate, or we are just resorting to weird ass treatments.

Today, they hooked me up to a "Muscle Stimulator" machine today. Basically, it's a nicer term for what it REALLY is.... An electrifying machine. Seriously. I kid you not.

They stuck some electrodes onto my arm, and tried to pinpoint where my tendons are (by trial and error, of course!), and then turned up the voltage! Aaaaaahhhh!

My hand did all SORTS of weird things that I had no control over! It started out feeling like pins & needles, and then escalated to my fingers curling and moving of their own volition. Really hilarious.

But it was by FAR the most exhausting thing I've done in recent memory! When we left Physio, we walked out to the car, and I was actually TREMBLING from exhaustion. (I don't remember the last time I felt that way!) So I went to Co-Op and bought something to eat, in hopes that I would stop shaking and stuff.

I did, but it's taken about 3 hours to sort of "get my bearings" again. (3 hours, 2 danishes, an egg salad sandwich and a cuppa tea, to be precise!)

I have a feeling it's going to be another early night! I could go to bed now, and sleep thru the whole night!

Hubby is going out with 2 of his buddies to go see the new Bond flick (so jealous!), so it's just me & the kids tonight.

Later!

If I Make It Thru November....

2008-11-15T11:01:00.000-07:00

I hate November. I really do.

Normally, it's Hubby that has a hard time with November. (Just full of bad anniversaries and stuff) This year - it's me. I'm having a hard time in November.

I don't know if it's just the pain from my hand, or the constant frustration of not progressing at all with it (Casual Diane is sending me back to the Hand Surgeon as she can't tell if the tendon is intact at all or not), or it's just some sort of spiritual "funk" that I'm in.....

I haven't done any Christmas shopping (save for 1 gift), I haven't done my Christmas cards, I haven't started my baking..... None of it. (Hubby was actually surprised.... he started talking about how "we" need to do the shopping and get it done. :( )

We now return you to your regularly scheduled program...

Farewell, Quackers.

2008-11-04T20:03:00.000-07:00

My new splint. It's so tiny!!
Look! Practically itty bitty!!!
Oooooh..... More sexy mesh. Somehow I get the feeling that Casual Diane is trying to reduce the swelling (it works like those pantyhose that helps to control varicose veins - compression!)

My new night time splint!!! What she is trying to do HERE is trying to straighten out my gosh darned pinky!! Argh!

Well.

Bad news at Rehab today.

My OT, who I call "Casual Diane" to differentiate her from "Formal Diane" and "Institutional Diane" (apparently, they like to hire Dianes there! LOL) told me that she is NOT pleased with my progress so far. Or shall I say, my lack of progress. :(

My pinky actually regressed in mobility this past week. All due to my nemesis - scar tissue. My pinky is "thick" (so they say) with scar tissue, and they are amazed at how MUCH scar tissue I've laid down. My OT is now thinking that I've created so much scar tissue that there is tendon, scar tissue, and then the other side of the tendon. Which is extraordinarily bad news. That means that another surgery to release scar tissue along the tendon sheath is all but guaranteed for me.

*sigh*

Casual Diane was telling me about another patient of hers with the exact same injury as mine. He is 6 weeks into his rehab, and he has full mobility, full range of motion.

It's so hard not to be so insanely jealous at times.

But then I sat next to a guy who has almost the same injury as mine (minus the butter knife), and he is on tendon reattachment #2. The surgeon had to recreate tendon sheaths, as well as put in a silicone spacer so they can later do a tendon transplant. He had some muscle spasms as well - right AFTER his was originally sewn up, and it ripped and they couldn't catch it for 6 whole weeks.

So, compared to him, I am golden.

Sad, but true.

I had no idea how COMMON tendon injuries were!!!

Oh, before I get too far - Casual Diane told me to throw out Quackers. I was sad, and managed to hide him in my purse before she could grab him. So now, I have new splints! Yay! It's like shopping, except not as pretty. :D I think I need to get ahold of my sister's heat gun to affix some sparkly stickers to it. *grin*

So that's all that's fit to print! I am instructed now to use my hand, and bend, bend BEND my pinky as much as I can! *groan!*

2008-11-04T09:25:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update before I start my Crazy Day....

Well... I am off to Physio again today. Hopefully we will discover why my middle knuckle is so stiff and achy (almost like I have arthritis or something goofy like that in that particular knuckle). I am not looking forward to the actual WORK of physio though. If someone would have told me in the summer that simply trying to move my pinky would make me break a sweat. I would have laughed. So incredibly hard.

Yeah.....

Joke's on me. :)

But I have a day full of errands to run

- pick up Natty at 11:15 from Kindy

- make it to the Chiro for an 11:40 appointment

-head to Ikea to hopefully get replacement bolts and dowels for Liam's Big Boy Bed

- eat lunch (if I don't put it on the list, I won't eat.) (Which I've been told isn't healthy for me)

- head to Shawnessy where I....

- take back my Library books to the Library

- Physio is at 2 until 3

- the kids "Fun Bag" is packed with the nintendo DS's and some granola bars so HOPEFULLY they will be good while I "work it!"

-rush home to the 'Toks for Birdie when she gets home from school at 3:30

and then I still have to go to the 'Toks Library, the water store, and No Frills to pick up some bread.

No wonder I'm already tired! :D

Have a great day, and to all my American readers - GO OUT AND VOTE!

Later!

4 Weeks Later, Or, 4 Weeks of Sheer, Unmitigated Hell

2008-10-29T15:44:00.000-06:00

Well, it's been a full 4 weeks since my tendon surgery. If I would have known what a long & winding road this journey would have been (not to mention how pain filled), I'm not 100% sure I would have done it.

Yes..... the finished product will prolly be great, and will prolly be what I envisioned..... But I am not at the Final Product yet. I am nowhere NEAR the Final Product, trust me! Right now I can MAYBE get 20 degrees of bend out of my pinky. Pretty frustrating.

But here.... let me take you on a bit of a tour.

This is my Buddy Splint. Basically, it gets my pinky to move when my ring finger moves. Note the mesh?? Very sexy. (Not.)
This is possibly one of my FAVORITE things. It's something like a sticker, but it just protects the still healing skin a little bit more, so it's not quite so raw and sensitive. God bless scientists.
This is my NEW night time splint. Pretty cool!!! After 4 weeks of having the splint on the TOP of my hand, now it's on the bottom. Comfy. (Also good for konking Hubby on the noggin in the middle of the night.)
This is my incision.... 4 weeks after the fact.
This is Quackers now that it's been modified some more. (Note the ever-so-attractive white sleeve underneath? Roaa-rrr! Sexy!)

All in all.... I am really surprised how HARD this has been! Between the pain, the lack of mobility, and the challenges of being one-handed in a two handed world (hello! Jeans? What's up with that? Bra clasps! CAN OPENERS!!).... Some days I just want to scream in frustration, or to start bawling in utter humiliation. (Case in point - we were at a wedding this past weekend, and Hubby had to cut up my dinner for me.)

I THINK, and I sincerely hope that all this is worth it, and that my finger returns back to a functioning state. They (they being my occupational therapist at my tendon rehab, and my hand surgeon) think that I'll prolly have to have a second surgery to strip off some of the scar tissue off of my tendon, to get it gliding more smoothly and effectively. (To which I said a very eloquent, "Well, poop. That sucks!")

I thought that in 4 weeks, I'd be laughing, and ready to resume my normal life. Ha ha.... turns out that the joke is on me. I can't write, I have a hard time slicing bread, using a knife with my right hand, I can't lift anything with my right hand.... I JUST started using my right hand to type (hallelujah!), and washing my hair.

4 weeks down, 4 more to go.

A Long Overdue Update..

2008-10-20T15:28:00.000-06:00

This is Quackers, Version 2.0. Note the ever-so-classy Velcro straps??? All I can say is THANK GOD it's so easy to get on and off.

My lovely healed up incision.... It is looking alot better than it was 2 weeks ago!

Look!! I am straightening my pinky! (Well, sort of....)

Given that this week is the third week since my surgery - I have to look on the upside, right??

But our main concern is definitely the swelling from my muscle spasms that I had over the Thanksgiving long weekend. So far, ice and compression are doing wonders for both my comfort level and the swelling.

Thanks for all the well wishes... I am still on the search for an Electric Can opener, so if anyone finds a great deal on one, let me know!

Happy Fricking October!!!

2008-10-01T21:59:00.000-06:00

The incision is from mid-palm to almost fingertip. And, in case you needed to know, finger tendons look A LOT like chicken tendons. I'm not liking chicken too much right now.....

Hubby thinks that we should name my splint "Quackers" and glue some googly eyes on it.

Got the tendon surgery done.....
Here's some pics.... (sorry 'bout the little to no narritive.... i am typing this one handed.) Boy oh boy.... it HURTS!!!!!

Happy Hump Day....

2008-09-24T15:27:00.000-06:00

I told you all about how I get to go see a hand surgeon, right?
Did I tell you that I'm also KILLER nervous about it?? Part of me thinks that this surgeon is going to be a jerk, and say that it's all in my head (like that other doc did). Part of me thinks that they'll just open me up and fix it there and then.

Yep. Pretty nervous.

I honestly just want to be able to bend it again. I'm so tired of jamming my finger (it's gotten so painful that I'm swearing while crying. And I don't want Liam to learn MORE bad words from me!). And, I never thought I would EVER say this, but I'm missing the wrinkle that used to be where my joint is. (It's disappeared from lack of bending)

Well, off to go do more laundry.

What's The Hullabaloo About?

2008-09-21T10:29:00.000-06:00

I realize that I am not the "hippest cat" on the planet. I totally get it. A 31 year old woman with 4 kids living in a small town is rarely a hipster, or "ahead" of the times (especially technologically!), but really.......

What's the big idea about things like Twitter and Facebook??? I've heard that Twitter is, simply put, the BOMB (in a good way, I"ve been assured). Why are we, as a society, so drawn to social networking sites like that?
Is it because, we as humans, are intrinsically CURIOUS about each other?
Is it because we are essentially longing for a place to belong, even if it's just a website?

Is it because we long for a community in the day and age where we (mostly) don't even know our neighbors names? (For the record - I do know my neighbors. On the one side. *embarrassed grin* The other side - I know their cat's name is Scotty, and I know they have 4 kids that are grown, and I know they are French Canadians.... Not too sure on their names though.)

Now, I'm not saying that these sites are "evil" or "wrong" or anything....
I'm just merely asking.
I quite like the graphics on Twitter.... I like the look of it a lot better than Facebook.
(And is Facebook going the way that MySpace went?)

So yeah. I"m on Twitter. I'm on FaceBook. I know how to use FaceBook... still figuring out Twitter. (And still needing to find friends on Twitter. Haven't figured out that yet.)

Oh, and happy Sunday. So far it's been a "meh" day..... Hubby is working again... 7th day straight.
Let's just say that I've been praying. Hard.

What Happens When You See Your Family Doctor...

2008-09-18T19:18:00.000-06:00

Soooo.......

Remember my lovely experiment with testing out the sharpness of my new Lagostina butter knives back in July???

Well, I FINALLY got in to see my family doctor last night.
I had forgotten how much I like her. She's a great doc - fantastic bedside manner, competent, professional and oh-so real. (You gotta love it when your doc is absent-minded enough where she HAS to wear a pen around her neck, so she doesn't lose it! LOL!) (Also, it doesn't hurt that she has a REAL body that has wibbly bits just like the rest of us! But, I digress.)
She wrote out some prescriptions that I had run out of, and then saw my note about asking her about my pinky finger. The whole story came tumbling out, and she immediately said "Oh, you SO got the tendon! I'll just..... start..... * typing furiously* referring you..... So you said it was the PIP joint, going up to the DIP joint?"
I just looked rather blankly at her, at this point.

BUT YAY!!!!!!
this morning, I got a call from her office.
She hooked me up with a Hand Surgeon......
FOR SEPTEMBER 29TH!!!!
*Valley Girl moment...*
Like.... Oh. My gawd!!! Like... HOW AWESOME!!!

So that's exciting. I call and confirm the appointment on Monday, and then it's off to the Rocky for me! (In the Casting Department.... But whatever. As long as they fix it!)
I'm still not sure what I'll do with Liam. I might ask my younger sis to keep him for me. Who knows. (Or I just may resort to taking along the Nintendo DS for him to play)
I'll make sure to take pics though... Just for you!

Later!
C.

Dedicated to all the Stay at Home Dads....

2008-09-12T23:08:00.000-06:00

Been Gone So Long....

2008-09-10T10:06:00.000-06:00

Ooooh..... Sorry everyone for not updating this more. I just realized that I haven't been writing as much. (Mostly because I'm 90% on the Mac most of the time, as opposed to being on the PC)

And boy oh boy..... Has it ever been BUSY here as of late!!!!!!

Michael started his football in earnest.... He had 1 exhibition game at the beginning of September, and has had 2 games since. (1 at McMahon Stadium during the U of C Dinos game and 1 at the Shriners fields in NW Calgary.) School is going well for him, and he's really liking his teacher.

Bridget - is liking grade 2, and I like her teacher. Other than that, she's been getting wiggly teeth (ewwww), and lost 1 on her second day of school. (Who knew that the school office would keep things like little plastic treasure boxes to put your teeth in? Lots better than the smushed up tissue I got when I was a kid in school!)

Natalie.... *sigh* Well, my "Latalie" is in morning Kindy, and on the first day, she came home crying. (Which didn't really make ME feel good at all....) So far, we are on Day 4 of Kindy, and the crying was just on the first day. We are working on trying not to get hurt feelings when someone accuses us of things we didn't do. We are also working on using our words to communicate our feelings. And we've gone back to having a daily nap (she goes out like a light, she's so tired!).

Liam.... He's lonely. Oh so lonely for his Latalie... He likes dropping her off at school, but gets very sad on the walk home. So far we've learned about taillights, headlights, bumpers and how cars have wheels.

And, I've come to the realization that I think I'm going to have to start up my dayhome again. The extra cash would be nice, and Liam is just so lonely. So I've been really praying about it, and asking the Lord for guidance and wisdom. I don't want to advertise... I've never advertised my dayhome. It would be great if the Lord would bring me the family that I'm supposed to work with.

Other than that, it's just life as usual around here. You know.....

Congrats Jemaine!

2008-08-19T15:36:00.000-06:00

Conchord forms new duo

Aug 19, 2008 7:33 PM

Flight of the Conchords funnyman Jemaine Clement has become part of another duo.

The comedian took a break from writing the second series of the Conchords' Emmy-nominated series to wed his long-term girlfriend and fellow performer Miranda Manasiadis. The pair tied the knot in a Los Angeles registry office before a small group of friends, including Conchords co-star Bret McKenzie.

Clement, 34, was described as one of Wellington's most eligible bachelors while Manasiadis also hails from the capital and works as an actress and theatre director.

The Conchords are now filming in New York.

Happy Monday!

2008-08-18T19:56:00.001-06:00

Well.... happy Monday!
We were super busy today. We did all our grocery shopping which entailed me going to 4, yes, count 'em... four grocery stores. Oh, and did I mention that today was a record breaking hot day?? Oh yes.. it was very nice.... not! Today was 34 C (which is dang hot for Alberta!).
After getting all our grocery shopping done, put away, and the Library all done for another week, we went and got a slurpee.
Can I just say that whoever invented Slurpees should be given some sort of Nobel prize? For peace, or calming the savage beasts within?? Besides... a Mug Rootbeer Slurpee is quite possibly the yummiest thing ever.

Well, off to go bathe my kids and hopefully cool them down a bit before bed.
Toodles!

Sorry For The Silence....

2008-08-15T14:26:00.000-06:00

Golly.
Sorry, everyone. I honestly didn't mean to NOT blog for all these days... Life just kinda got away from me.

Wednesday....
That was my hell day. I dropped the dog off at the groomers (which, by the way, I'm SO OVER Groomingtails!), went to Michaels to pick up some leather thread for my Mother In Law.... Aaaaaannnnndddd, I got sucked into the vortex that is Michaels. Again. (It seems to be my downfall!)
After I had purchased some crafts for my kids (Birdie wanted some Wonder Woman bracelets which are VERY hard to find! We found some wooden bracelets on sale and decided that she could paint them up herself as a sort of "Make Work" project to keep her entertained one afternoon.).

Taco picked up a little "Build Your Own Little Wooden Airplane" kit (hey - it was a BUCK!!!).
Nally picked up a little diary that you can lock. (And, having just seen "The Princess Diaries" - it was an unqualified success.)
Liam - he got some mini Frisbees with "Michkey Mouse Clubhouse" on it.

I got a bunch of Mary Engelbreit magnets! (One of my fave parts of Michaels is the little wire bins at the front of the store that hold all sorts of notebooks, magnets and cards. Can you tell???)

So after we got my MIL the waxed thread she needed for her leather project, we head out to the car, and my cell rings. I pick it up, and the conversation went like this:

Me: Oh, I'm so glad you called! I'm just leaving Michaels right now to come up to your place, and I got you some white waxed thread for leather - the one you were asking me for.
My MIL: White??? You got me WHITE waxed thread? For my leather pouch project?? Well, THAT won't match!!
Me: That was the only color they had. I tried calling you 6 times....
My MIL: Well, it's not right! I can't finish my project with WHITE thread! It won't match!
Me (getting a little frustrated): Well, what would you like me to do? They only had white.
My MIL, getting more emphatic: Well, I can't have it! You'll have to take it back!
Me, looking around while parked in the parking lot, all 4 kids buckled in their car seats and ready to go... : You want me to take it back?
My MIL: Yes! Don't they have a light tan or something?
Me: They do, but not the waxed thread like you specified that you originally wanted! In waxed thread, they only had white. In the artificial sinew, they have black, brown, tan,
My MIL, interupting: Go get me the tan.
Me, sighing with weariness already: Fine. I'll unbuckle the kids and go get you the tan stuff. We will be late getting to your place then.
My MIL, dismissively: Oh, that's alright. I'll see you when you get here.
End of cell transmission.
And I, of course, was EVER SO MATURE, and muttered some things under my breath about "picky, ungrateful mother in laws..." and "if I don't do a good enough job, you can just go do it yourself!" and assorted other things that were, in hind sight, a little mean spirited and nasty. But folks... Keep in mind. My MIL has a brain injury. She is frustrating on her best days. (And to be honest, I'm just glad that she loves my kids, and that her and my Hubby (her son) have had a chance to say everything they wanted and needed to say to each other. )

*slams head on computer desk*

Other than that, Wednesday was a day full of errands in the city that I really didn't want to do. I'm getting to the point where I actually don't LIKE Calgary any more... It's too big! We had a picnic at the Flying Saucer Park, we went shopping at Winners (bought the girls some cute Mary Jane shoes), went to Please Mum, and had a Strawberry Lemonade at Second Cup. All while waiting for the dog to be done at the groomers.

We got home at 4:45.... Just in time to get Taco ready to go to his football! *flashes you the double thumbs up rahter sarcastically*

Now I know full well why I would not cut it as a working mum. I simply can't deal with it!

Thursday... We vaccuummed, and just tried to get caught up on all that we had to do.
Today - hallelujah - it's Friday!!!
This weekend we have 2 birthdays to go to (so of COURSE I have to go buy the presents still!). It's going to be busier than I'd like.
And my insomnia has come back.... How I long to go Hollywood, and just use sleeping pills, but I'm too chicken. I already get weird-ass dreams (last night's dream was my best girlfriend Leese, asked if my Hubby would be her "babydaddy" as she wanted children. WEIRD!!!!) - I don't need some chemicals in there too!!!

Have a great Friday, all!
C.

Laugh For The Day

2008-08-12T15:28:00.000-06:00

This tee shirt reminded me of the skit from Saturday Night Live....
Enjoy.

For the Wee Geeks Among Us....

2008-08-11T19:08:00.000-06:00

Get the geeky started young, is what I always say. If that's your parenting mantra as well, then this All Your Milk Are Belong To Us Onesie ($15) is for you.

You've got to be a supergeek to even get the allusion (here's the joke for the uninformed), and even more so to buy this and put it on your baby. Not sure if this is the geeky onesie to express yourself/your baby? Check out these ones, too!

But is it cruel to subject your child to your borderline-obsessive nerdiness?

And to that last question, the answer is HELLZ, NO!!!! (Isn't that what therapy is for??? :D)

Can I just Say....

2008-08-08T14:44:00.000-06:00

that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE great guys like my Jim, the Hot Tub Guy, who not only fixes your stuff, but assures you that it isn't your fault, charges you a fiar price for fixing it AND teaches you how to take care of your hot tub?????
*blissful sigh*

I love my hot tub guy.......

And now my hot tub works again! Yay!!!!

Now, off to get ready for Rob & Sharon's Wedding!!!! Safeway, here I come!

C.

I'm Melting.... Again!

2008-08-07T21:33:00.000-06:00

Well, it's HOT here.... again. A whopping 31 degrees today.... Which, on paper, doens't SEEM hot, but you factor in 1) no air conditioning and 2) I had the oven on today and it feels pretty hot in here. Plus, there's no breeze... At least not one I can catch....

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day....
We have the Dentist at 9 am. For all 6 of us. I'll let you know how THAT goes! LOL
The hot tub guy (or as I affectionately call him, "Jim, The Hot Tub Guy") coming over at 12-ish. I have to call him....
Our babysitter is coming over at 5, so that Hubby and I can go to a wedding (and CRAP!!! I forgot to get a gift!! SHIT!) in Calgary.

I've done a trial run of my Wedding Outfit, and all is good. I can't find my necklace that I was going to wear... Which is kinda bugging me, but oh well. That's the way the cookie crumbles, I guess. I have other necklaces to wear... Just they are black. Kind of looks like I'm heading off to a funeral.

I'll try and get someone to take a photo of Hubby and I (because we honestly haven't taken a nice pic of ourselves in a few years!).

I gotta go cool down.... I'm sweltering.
Later!
C.

Wordless Wednesdays....

2008-08-06T14:22:00.001-06:00

2008-08-03T17:59:00.000-06:00

Kids are funny.
So yesterday, before the debacle that was grocery shopping, Michael was perusing my list (because I am a devoted list follower in grocery stores, otherwise I get all distracted by the pretty colors and shiny objects. But, I digress...)
As he was perusing my list, he stumbled upon something that he just didn't understand.

"Mom, how come you need to get sanity pads????"

I was trying my damnedest NOT to absolutely KILL myself laughing....

But I did text it to Hubby, who then shared it with all the guys he was away with. They all had a good laugh, and now you will too!!!

Have a good Sunday night!
C

I have found the 9th Circle of Hell, and it's not crafts like I previously believed!

2008-08-02T11:16:00.000-06:00

Well, I went to the grocery store this morning and did my shopping (with my posse of kids in tow, thankyouverymuch!).
Y'know, I'm not too impressed with the new no frills grocery store that replaced my Extra Foods here in the 'Toks.
I get that they are trying to compete with the Wal-Mart Supercenter that's being built right now. I get that. I get too, that they are "upping the ante" so to speak so they have a loyal customer base before Costco comes in and blows it all to hell. I get that. But honestly!!! You tell us that we have to bag our own groceries. I am honestly fine with that, and I actually prefer to pack my own stuff. Lord knows I have enough bins for it!
So if I'm supposed to do that.... Wouldn't it make SENSE to 1) Provide me with a cart that is specifically MADE for the bins you sell??? and 2) make the grocery tills conveyor belts not only WORK, but a little larger so that people can pack?????
So yeah. Bought my groceries, couldn't find the sour cream or eggs at all (WTF?), but the FIRST TIME I"ve ever seen Ichiban there *hurrah!*). But NO Pop Tarts????? At all!???? You gotta be kidding me..... And NO Electrosol tabs in the big containers? And no large containers of hot chocolate mix?????
And some of the prices were not cheaper at all!!! I feel a little gypped as a customer that's been a loyal Loblaw's shopper since I was 15!
I can guarantee you.... When Costco comes to the "Toks, you can bet your bippy bodka that I am SO shopping there!!! I"ll do all my large items there, and screw no frills.
*growl*

Another thing that pissed me off royally was I KNEW that I was supposed to pack my own stuff. I knew that going in (hence the reason why I had my bins and bags with me! D-uh!). So what happens???? Well this young "chit" decides that, "Oh, she has 4 kids! She must need some help!!!" and started packing my groceries for me. I get that. But she was SHITTY at it!!!! I had 5 bins, an Ikea blue bag and 2 sobey's bags. More than enough for what I had purchased! And she was making noises about "Oh, it's not all going to fit!". In a pig's eye. I had to tell her to stop packing my stuff in cardboard boxes. I directed my children to pack all the cardboard stuff (ie cereal boxes, etc) in the Ikea bag. Easy, right??? Well, she couldn't follow it! I ended up repacking 3 of the bins. She was asking me where to put the frozen corn - I told her to put it with the meat, and she started like arguing with me!! It's my f*cking food!!! Who gives a sh!t! It makes sense to me.... Put the meats and the frozen stuff together - that way the meat stays cold. Right? Put the dairy all together. (You can fit 3 big jugs of milk in one bin, and still have room for the butter, and yogurt on the sides.) You put the produce in one bin. You put cans in another. Makes sense to me...... But apparently, I'm the only one who thinks that!

Argh!!!
And when I was packing the bins in the back of my minivan, I said a few bad words that I had to repent for.

I'm sure that the 9th Circle of Hell is grocery stores where you have to pack all your food up with a limited space and 4 children and a disgruntled underpaid store employee.

I think I need a drink of wine.
(Oh, and I got my AF yesterday too, to add insult to injury!!)

Off to go eat and drink my troubles away....
1 more sleep until Hubby comes home. Thank the Lord.
C.

Happy Long.

2008-08-01T10:18:00.000-06:00

I don't know about you, but up here, it's a Long Weekend this weekend! Yahoo!!!

That being said - of COURSE Hubby is busy all weekend with a stag party! *grin*
So, I am all alone.... All by my lonesome with my "posse" of kids. I'm looking forward to the simpler weekend, but I'm going to be so lonely.... Oh so lonely.... :(

So that's my weekend. I need to go grocery shopping as well.... (We are down to no bread, no mac & cheese, last stick of butter, and last jug of milk. No fresh produce.... We need to go shopping.) I was thinking about going to my usual grocery store, but (insert whining here) that means I'd have to pack my own groceries. And with 4 kids? That's a disaster waiting to happen. (And their grocery lanes that they send the food down after they scan it are freakishly short! Like, WTF???)
So I think I might try something new... I think I'll do my produce shopping at our local Farmer's Market this afternoon, and get my staple food items from a combo of stores.
Orrrrr, I'll just go to the liquor store and drink my troubles away! LOL

Have a great Long weekend, all.
C.

2008-07-30T20:31:00.000-06:00

Hey.....
Well, did I tell you that Hubby brought down the "hammer" on our children's poor behavior?
YES, he did!!! (and hallelujah!! To them, he is not someone you can "tune out" like you can Mum!) (Remember in the Peanuts cartoons where the parents would be a muted trumpet??? That's what I feel like most days. Waaahhh, wah, wah, wahhhhh......)

But other than that, I can't believe that HALF of our summer vaycay is over!!! Where'd it go????
Part of me is excited for the next school year.... I'll have 2 kids in school full time, as well as one in Kindergarten in the mornings Monday- Friday. Swweeeett!! So I'll only have 1 at home with me full time.

That's really all that's fit to print. Later!
C.

What a Weekend.

2008-07-28T15:44:00.000-06:00

I think I need another weekend to recuperate from my weekend.

So Friday night. We did the whole "Annual Birthday Bash".... Much merriment was had, and our tradition of somebody almost shooting a beverage out of their nose was upheld (and no! It wasn't me this time!). Vonnika, Guy Ginborgness and Phart all came over (along with the Lovely Little Miss Katy), and Vonnika was declared the winner of Trivial Pursuit at 1:15 in the morning, because we all were getting a little goofy and punchy.
But honestly, we had a great time. We indulged WAAAAAAYYYYY too much with yummy food (heelllooo!!! Homemade guacamole??? It's not indulging - it's a law of some sort somewhere!).

So Saturday came awfully early. (Ugh) Hubby had to go to work for 10 am, and I spent the day trying to catch up on cleaning the hoopla from the night before.

Sunday..... We met my MIL, and my SIL, her hubby and their two boys for lunch at the Cheesecake Cafe. Y'know, I really wasn't impressed with the Cheesecake Cafe.... I've had a lot better food (and granted, lots worse). But it didn't make me want to go back, I can tell you that.
Maybe next time we'll try Moxie's or Red Robin's, or maybe Jack Astor's.

So tday is my Monday.
I've already done 2 loads of dishes in the dishwasher (how does THAT happen!), and I picked up the holds that I had at the Library.
I'm looking forward to a quiet week.
This weekend, Hubby is busy, so I'll be all by myself.... prolly wanting some adult conversation. (Maybe we'll go up and see my sister and her new babe!) Awwww, jingers!

Happy Monday, and pass the caffeine.....
C.

It's Our Annual Birthday Bash!

2008-07-25T07:53:00.000-06:00

I have a great group of friends. There's 5 of us that I think of as "The Gang", and we were all born within 8 months of each other in 1977. And two of us have birthdays on the 26th and 27th of this month (no not me! But close!), so that gives us a great excuse to get together, share a meal and laugh until our sides ache.
It's always such a great time.
The 5 of us (and now our offspring) laugh and play games like this:
And we end up laughing so hard that either a beverage comes out a nose (that was me, last time), or someone threatens to pee their pants!
Aaaahhhh..... Good times....
*smiling just remembering the laughter*

So, we are gearing up for that tonight. Which, of course, means that I need to clean the house! Aaaahhh!!!! I need to vacuum, mop, clean the kitchen, I *think* I'll make some cupcakes, and I have food to prepare (marinating chicken, prepping potatoes, slicing watermelon). Not to mention making Hubby his lunch and taking it to him.
I can tell it's going to be an interesting day!!!
Have a great Friday everyone! (I know I will after all this work is done!)
C.

The Shoe Fairy!

2008-07-23T16:57:00.000-06:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDaszN9ByxM

I need a shoe fairy. (Except I'd be happy with shoes that don't make me hop, mop, or are polka dotted flip flops.) I'd be happy with some nice shoes that don't hurt my poor feet!!!
Or some Dr Martens! (whoa! 90's flashback!!!!) *evil grin*
Did I tell you that I *thought* about buying some Mary Jane Dr Martens when I was in Spokane in February? Yep, I did. Then I saw the price, and I quickly thought, "That's HALF my grocery budget! Eeeps!" and put them back on the shelf. They were amazingly cool though.

I love the Number 4!

2008-07-23T16:51:00.000-06:00

Funniest. Faux. Bollywood. Video. Ever!!!

2008-07-22T15:36:00.001-06:00

This is Devendra Banhart featuring his girlfriend, Natalie Portman, in the song, "Carmensita". Please read the hilarious "sub-titles"! ROFL!!!!

2008-07-22T08:33:00.000-06:00

Tuesday.
Did you realize that 1 week ago today, I cut my finger? *sigh*

Well, today is looking to be not quite as hot as yesterday, thank the Lord. Yesterday, we hit a high of 31 Celsius here in Okotoks, which is DANG HOT for Southern Alberta! And now, as I sit writing this, a nice cool breeze is winding it's way thru my house. Aaaaah..... bliss.
So today should be about 21 Celsius, which is going to be heavenly. Last night, it was so hot in our house, I couldn't fall asleep until after 2! And then Hubby and I fought over the flat sheet (which he says he didn't steal, but WHATEVER!!! He is SO a flat sheet thief!), and it was just so incredibly hot all night. Ugh. I hate nights like that.

Well, that's all for me.... Gotta go get started on my list of things to do!
C.

Today's the day!

2008-07-21T08:35:00.001-06:00

I took out the stitches today! Awwww, yeah! (Taking out the stitches is my favorite part of having stitches)

My finger is still a little "touchy" - just somewhat painful, but the seam is holding great, and it looks like it will continue to hold. My finger is a bit painful just towards the bottom of it - I think just from all the blood that bled into my finger - it's all just pooled in the base of my finger.

I'm sure more Arnica will do the trick... eventually!

Happy Monday! Supposedly, we are supposed to hit 31 today. I have a feeling we'll spend some time at the river, splashing in the water and having fun!

Later!

So this is my finger.... And the ensuing drama.

2008-07-20T15:40:00.000-06:00

So, my finger is actually healing up REALLY well.. The doc at the Urgent Care was super impressed with the condition of the seam, and told me that I can take out the stitches tomorrow. (Yay!)

But the bad news is - I just started to be able to bend one of the joints yesterday for the first time. Do you realize how many owwies you get when you can't bend your pinky? Yeah.... I didn't know either. The answer - you get alot. You jam it on everything from your car ignition, to the railing as you walk down the stairs in the morning. (Not to mention on corners, in your purse, and my personal fave - jamming it on your kids seat belt buckles as you're putting them in their car seats!)

I went back to the Urgent Care yesterday morning, as I was a little concerned about me not being able to bend my finger properly. I still can't move the top joint, closest to my nail, but I can move the mid joint.... Hallelujah! I hope that I'll be able to "rehab" it somehow... Without having to pay for stupid physio! :D

So that's my latest "drama". I have acquired a new nickname courtesy of a guy I call Britney (so I guess it was time for payback, really....). It's just so embarrassing to have done this with a BUTTER KNIFE! Argh!

Sincerely,

Butterfinger.

I am such a dunce.....

2008-07-15T10:11:00.000-06:00

Hi all.
Well, I am officially accident prone now.
This morning, as we were eating breakfast (getting ready for VBS - yay!), my kids were complaining that they wanted juice. I totally understood that, but I didn't have any juice defrosted. So I did what every other stay-at-home mum does.
You haul a can of frozen concentrate out of the freezer, run it under some hot water, and Bob's your uncle. Right? Except, mine didn't defrost enough to get out of the can.
I picked out a butter knife, and started to basically STAB the offending (read: still FROZEN) juice concentrate (I've done it before, and it works).
Well, I ended up CUTTING myself on the freaking butter knife!!! (I know.... I'm "special", huh?)

I knew it was bad, and it was bleeding like crazy, so I called up Hubby to ask him his opinion. (I ended up almost throwing up while I was on the phone with him, it started to hurt so bad! Poor guy!)
So Hubby drove me to the Okotoks Wellness & Urgent Care Center, dropped me off, and drove the older kids to their VBS.
I got to see a Triage Nurse, and then the doctor came in, and informed me that I needed stitches.
All in all, I got 2 stitches, some injections of lidocaine, and a Tetanus shot (lucky me).
I'll add photos later!

What a day......
Cindy

2008-07-14T14:30:00.001-06:00

It is, quite possibly, one of my favorite weeks of the year.

That's right, folks!!!!

IT'S VBS WEEK!!!!!!

My kids are excited to go, I'm excited for them to go, and it gives me a good "feel" as to what the next school year is going to be like. I'm going to have 2 kids in school full time, and 1 going in morning Kindergarten. Yahooooo!!!! *Cindy cheers while doing a Happy Chair Dance*

So today was Day 1 of VBS. Poor Liam! He was just sort of not understanding what was going on. "Mummy, where Lally? Where Michael? Where Bribrit?"
But it was nice..... Just to have 1 kid with me while my "bigs" were in VBS.... It made me look like less of a freak - normally, people look at me, and hey.... I'm 31, and yes, I have 4 kids. (Kid overload! Whoa!) Then, I get the large family comments, and the inevitable "But you're done having kids now, right???" questions....
With just 1, I skip all of that altogether. It's kinda weird in a way! I get the sense that people think that Liam is my first child, not my fourth. (Which, hey.... Could happen, but it isn't the case with me. When I hit 30, my ovaries and fallopian tubes were OUT OF ORDER because I didn't want to be in my 30's and pregnant)

So kind of surreal, but really nice. It's nice to get the one-on-one time with my youngest.
But, it's time to go clean up, and get my shizz in order for tonight.
Bye!
C.

Lazy Sundays.

2008-07-13T15:11:00.000-06:00

I'm just going to put it out there in cyberspace land......
I love the lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer.

I also love being in bed. That being said, I've crept back INTO bed about 5 times already today (and it's only 3 in the afternoon!). I think I'm trying to catch up on all that sleep I missed out on, but I keep on reading interesting books instead! LOL

Hubby took our youngest to go see Wall-E at our local movie theatre today, since he slept thru when we took the older 3. I'm sure he'll come home full of movie quotes and doing the noises that Wall-E makes. (So cute!)

Well, I just looked at my watch, and oh look! It's time for my Horizontal Therapy again!
"Sorry kids! I can't get you a snack! Mummy needs to have a lay down!" *skips merrily off to bed*
*grin*
Have a great, lazy Sunday!
C.

Happy Fricking Friday....

2008-07-11T08:55:00.000-06:00

I am so bloody tired.
Y'know, when you get used to sleeping thru the night every night - when your kids start waking up again, it really drains you! I honestly don't know how I did the whole getting up every night thing when I had little kids. (Maybe that's where my extra 50 pounds came from.... Hmmmmm)

But, it's a Friday. Hallelujah. It's Friday.

I saw the funniest thing (I so wish I had my camera recording it, so I could show it here)..... Hubby was skipping through the kitchen with excitement today. "Why?" you ask.... Well! Good question!!!!
He got some new tires delivered for his car this morning, right before he went to work. So I know what he's doing tonight! *grin*

I spent all last night on the "pe-cuter" (as my 2 year old calls it), looking at vintage food art. You know... The old Cadbury and food ads that they had in the 1900's.... The cute ones like this:

I personally love that kind of art, and when I saw some at Hubby's work yesterday all I could think was "Cool decorations for my kitchen and house!!!"
And, of course, I instantly thought "Perfect housewarming gifts!". (My mom is building a new house, and I found some great ones for her)

I'll have to email them to Hubby to see what we can do. I found some amazing travel posters from the 40's of London, Manhattan, New York and Edinburgh that I would love to put up. We'll see.....

Well, off to start my day! (I feel the need for some caffeine and sugar - preferably together!)
C.

John Mayer - acoustic cover of Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'"

2008-07-11T08:53:00.000-06:00

What a chilly day!

2008-07-10T14:10:00.000-06:00

WOW. So for those of you that understand the Fahrenheit system better, let me translate for you.

51 F.

THAT'S IT!!!! 51! I am freezing, and I'm in yoga pants, and a tee shirt! I'm seriously thinking about putting on jeans and a sweater! Brrrr!

Other than that, nothing's really going on today. We painted river rocks yesterday (yes, I was THAT desperate! LOL) - I'll try to get some photos up of them. I was really pleased with my children's imaginations. We all had fun, and it was washable paint. Hallelujah! *grin*

Hubby is going out for dinner with his friend tonight.... I like to call it his "Date Night" in my head. (I know that he would just shake his head at that last comment, but ha ha ha!! It's MY blog, and I can say what I want! *sticks tongue out*) I never mind him going out for dinner with his friend.... Actually, come to think of it, I rarely deny him the opportunity for him to go out and have fun. (Actually, I rarely tell him "no", for that matter!) I like to think of it as if I allow him the "freedom" to go out, then he appreciates it/me all the more. Right??? *grin*
Plus, I really enjoy being home by myself. Odd, I know, but maybe that's MY "freedom".... I can read a book, and scarf down popcorn by myself. (I love nights like that!) And, I don't know about you - but I cannot get into ANY new shows this summer!
Reality shows=boring.
Sad, but for me, oh so true.

Other than that, the "natives" (read: my offspring) are getting restless, and I'm sort of running out of things to do with them to keep them from NOT fighting or bickering. (Somehow, the recycling depot just doesn't hold the same appeal for my almost 9 year old that it does for my almost 3 year old. Crazy, hey???)

We got the Mac back from WestWorld Computers!! Yippee! (I'm so glad - my iPod was in serious need of some new material to play!) So I am re-acquainting myself with Safari and iTunes, to see what I missed.

With that being said, I better get a move on if I'm to do any more recycling this afternoon..... (We are doing pop bottles this time) Supposedly we're getting rain this afternoon. *shrug*

Later!
C.

Ferragamo Tie....

2008-07-10T14:08:00.000-06:00

When I hear Salvatore Ferragamo, I generally think "shoes I can't afford," not "geeky ties," but it seems that the renowned Italian design house is now in the business of making my boyfriend happy with this legit tie.

Run-of-the-mill from afar, but when you look close, the subversion begins! Tiny CDs and headphones are printed on fine blue silk.

Keeping your man true to his geeky roots in a cubicle will run you quite a bit though ($160), and you may have to stick with one of these geeky work staples! How awesome is THIS?????

Oh, Excuse me! My geek is showing!

2008-07-10T14:02:00.000-06:00

Talk Nerdy to Me, Baby

You might know how I feel about message tees, but in this case, though I wouldn't wear it, I am wearing a big ol' grin. Who among us geeks and geek lovers hasn't gone weak at the knees at the sound of your crush talking tech specs, operating systems, and onboard RAM?

It's hot, put simply. Its hotness and its very aphrodisiac status validates the existence of this Talk Nerdy To Me T-shirt.

Sadly, Delia's says the shirt is all sold out, but let it be an inspiration to you: Go home to the hot geek in your life and whisper this in his ear. Single? Hightail it to the Apple store. You guys will be wearing these in no time.

Tuesday, Tuesday....

2008-07-08T14:21:00.001-06:00

Well, today's been a good day thus far.
We've......
-taken out the garbage
-gathered up the recycling
-taken the aforementioned recycling to the recycling depot
-drove the empty pop bottles by the bottle depot - and they were too busy, so we just drove on by
-went to our local Library
-signed my older 3 up for the Reading Race *cheers erupt from Cindy*
-came home, unloaded empty recycling bins, Library books and children (after chasing Liam around the garage for a few minutes)
-made Hubby his lunch, set it on the table
-made the children their lunches (6 peanut butter buns later....)
-cleaned Liam up and took him upstairs to his nap (blessed silence!)
-drove Hubby's lunch to him (I hope he likes it!)
-tidied up, took out garbage
-broke up arguments, and judged who's horse drawing looked better (I don't get it either....)

and now I'm blogging!! Wheeeee!

The UPS guy came at 4 pm yesterday - and let me just add in that he was possibly the sweetest UPS guy I've ever had the opportunity to meet! What a nice guy.
I'm still waiting on my toe ring though.... (I ordered one out of guilt, but that's a different post, for a different day).

Have a great afternoon! I"m off to go have something to eat!
C.

2008-07-07T14:44:00.000-06:00

So they are sending me for x-rays on my feetsies.... Even the doc was a little baffled.... "Well, you've got pain like you've got a stress fracture, which is really not a big deal.... But you've got swelling like tendonitis.... Hmmmm..." I prolly should have told him that I generally have cankles, hey? :)
But I've been putting off the x-rays because hellloooo.... It even SAYS right on the requistition form for the x-rays "Please, do not bring minor children to your appointment". Like I have an au pair or something to take them. *Sheesh!* I figured that I'll get my x-rays done when my older kids are in VBS... That way I only have 1 kid to control. Much easier.

Other than that, I am just spending my day waiting on the UPS guy.

Oh, My Aching Feet.....

2008-06-24T15:05:00.000-06:00

So...... I'm petrified.

These are my feetsies.... after my last pedi (notice the lovely purple polish that my youngest daughter picked out?). You can see that they are relatively white (which is good, seeing as I'm a white Canadian), and that my polish is dee-lightful.
What you can't see is that my feet hurt so much, so consistently, that I'm forced to limp quite frequently - both around the house and in public. My children cannot sit with me on the couch for fear that they will bump my feet and bring me to tears with the pain. I have the HARDEST time finding shoes that simply just FIT, let alone look good..... I've even outgrown the wide width shoes.

So, with that all in mind, my wonderful hubby caught me limping the other day (I try not to let him see me), and instantly sat me down and TOLD ME that I was going to call the podiatrist FIRST THING on Monday morning.
So I did. I was okay with it - because honestly - in the Calgary region, you CANNOT get in to see a specialist really quickly, so I thought it would take me ages to get in to see the Doc.
WRONG!!!!!!
They could have gotten me an appointment on Wednesday (but it was too close to when my 2 older kids get out of school), so I opted for the Friday afternoon appointment.

I am so nervous, I am ready to puke! What if???? What if I have to have surgery? (Oh no! How will we afford it??) Who will help me if I have to have surgery?
What if I have to have those gawd awful orthotics that are hideous and don't allow me to wear cute shoes?
What if, what if????
Hubby just doesn't understand my anxiety about this.... He's a guy. He doesn't have to have purty toes. (Nobody looks at guys toes anyways!)

Just wanted to share......
C.

Love. It.

2008-06-11T15:30:00.000-06:00

Even the Guy Who Plays a PC Is a Mac

I've outed John Hodgman before for being an iPhone user (scandal), and I have heard rumblings that he is not, in fact, a PC user. Now I've got it straight from the horse's mouth!

He recently came clean and admitted his devotion to Apple:

"I play a PC only on television. I've used Macs since 1984. When I was a kid, I talked my dad into getting the very first Mac and I've been loyal to the brand ever since."

Yep, I think he's my favorite tech star!

What a delicious sense of irony!!! *grin*

Hello June......

2008-06-05T21:43:00.000-06:00

I can't believe what a slacker I am about writing in here.

Oh well!!! :)

Well, we have some...... interesting....... stuff coming down our way. A possible job change (again!), the kids get out of school in exactly 3 weeks (aaaahhhh!!!), and it's summer. Sort of.
Our weather here has been really wacky as of late - like to the point where we've had so much rain that our main river here in our little town flooded, and we are STILL on a boil water advisory to make our water drinkable. Needless to say, we've been drinking a lot of water from a water store here in town that I just adore.... $3.50 for a refill on an 18.9 L big ole jug. Hallelujah for cheap Tuesdays and Thursdays!!!!
I went on a date on Monday night, with Hubby to Sex And The City (the movie). Damn. I love those characters. I WANT some of those purses and jewelry!!!!! (Which is funny, since I'm not much of a purse girl)

It's just been a really busy time lately. But, I'm getting to the point where I'm so tired that I'm getting stupid, so I'll sign off.

Ciao!

Thank Goodness - It's the Last Day!

2008-04-12T08:29:00.000-06:00

My hubby comes home today, and I am ECSTATIC!!!! Who knew that I was such a dependent creature of a wife??? *grin*
Seriously - I have been completely shocked at how much I've missed him..... I've even resorted to watching the hockey game so I'm not so lonely!!! (Which, if you know me, I don't DO sports. At all!)
I knew that I would miss his presence in bed - I do like to have a cuddle buddy at night, and we normally just snuggle all night long. But I had to resort to putting a PILLOW behind my back, just so I could sleep!!!
And, I've come to realize that he is what makes my life fun. He brings me laughter, and shares my burdens with me, and multiplies my joy. (Awww! Don't I sound like a greeting card!)

But, before I pick him up at the airport, I still have housework to do, glasses to pick up for my eldest son, I have to vacuum, mop, tidy the kitchen and do more laundry.

Off to accomplish my day! But, let me tell you.... I am SO looking forward to tonight, when I see my hubby!

C.

Looking Past the Storm to the Mountains.....

2008-04-10T21:56:00.000-06:00

You know..... I just sat at my keyboard, asking the Lord to speak to me today. All I heard was

"Peace. My peace I give you."

Now, honestly, I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes.
Why does the mention of heavenly peace move me so??? Is it because I realize that most of my life lately has been in storm-mode? Is it because I realize that I, too, can be volatile and unpredictable like a storm?
Or is it because I know, deep down in my heart, that I am so busy with day-to-day stuff that HAS to get done, that sometimes I am too busy to listen to the Spirit's whisperings? (Which shames me to my very core.....)

Father........
I have sinned. I have made my own stuff, my own NOISE drown out what You'd like to say to me. I am so sorry.....
Lord, please teach me to listen to You. I know that I have to sometimes "buckle down" and do what needs to be done - You know all too well. But Lord, teach me not to remain in that place for too long. Help me to remember to lift my eyes to the mountains, for that's where my help comes from. Not from obedient children who make no messes or no noise....
My help is You.
My Salvation is You.
My Everything is in You.
You hold all together, Lord. I acknowledge that You are the Head..... You are the King.
And I thank You for loving me like you do..... You are so patient, Lord. Thank you.

Cindy

Quiet in the storm....

2008-04-07T17:10:00.000-06:00

Lately, I've been praying. A lot. Don't ask me why - it just seems to be a season that God has me in.

I think God is teaching me how to be quiet in the storm. (Or should I say "in the midst of the storm"?) Because, let's face it - with 4 kids - my house is CONSTANTLY noisy and chaotic (kinda like a storm). And even though I may be slapping together YET ANOTHER pb & j sandwich or cutting up 4 apples for my kids to dunk in caramel, it doesn't mean that I can't still pray to my Father. (Even if it's just "Oh God! Help me to get thru today! I'm so tired!" -> God appreciates honesty - right? *grin*)
Isn't that what Paul meant to "pray at all times, without ceasing"?
Richard J Foster wrote a wonderful book called "Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home" that I read a long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away) in my pre-mummy times. What a wonderful truth it held..... Prayer is not something scarily profound - it's not a magic formula - it's not something just for the learned or the PhD guys - it's just simply our hearts communicating honestly and openly with our Father who loves us no matter what.
What a wonderful and amazing truth..... That God desires a deep, intimate relationship with us! Even thought the cost was so high (that is Jesus, Himself) - God still thought we were worth it. Even though we are broken, and needy, and dirty, and poor - He still loves us. He still wants us to be His friend.
"You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. 23And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,"^[a] and he was called God's friend."
James 2 :22-23

WOW. Can I just say that I want to be known as a friend of God???? I would love for the Lord to talk to me, honestly and openly - without holding anything back.

Just a few thoughts.......
C.

Cavity Free Wall Of Fame, Here We Come!

2008-04-01T19:36:00.001-06:00

This is Liam's first "official" tooth cleaning at the dentist.... I had to bribe him with gum (hence the blue Hubba Bubba in his mouth!).
But it was all good!

Blah Ditty Blah....

2008-04-01T19:30:00.000-06:00

Well, here I sit. It's Tuesday night and I have a SERIOUS case of the "blahs". *sigh* I am so bored, that the thought of giving the dog a bath sounds intriguing. (And she's really hairy too, so it would take me a while)
Nothing's really been happening lately.... Just more of the same. Hubby goes away for a few nights next week..... I haven't slept by myself in a while, so we'll see how I do. I haven't been "on my own" yet in this house (his last trip was last winter and we were still in our old house).... I'm not sure how to feel. In some ways, I can sense myself almost pulling away from him, just so I don't miss him so much. (Which is dumb - it's not like he's going to be DYING or anything! He's just going away for a few nights!)
Stupid, I know.

That's about it. Maybe I'll go wash the dog now.

Happy Sunday!

2008-03-30T11:38:00.000-06:00

So, here I sit, at my faithful PC... contemplating my blog post for the day.

Sorry if it seems a bit disjointed.... I was out late last night with a bunch of girlfriends and I'm still a wee bit groggy. *grin*

Well, it snowed this morning. A good 2 inches worth of it, actually. Apparently God didn't get the memo I sent Him about wanting Spring. Good think I bought the kids some rubber boots! It looks like we might need them!
Although, I must admit - having the snow does help with the dryness level around here. We had another grass fire on Crocus Hill, a big ole fire in Springbank (caused by some freaking dumb redneck trying to kill gophers with a propane flame- thrower - I couldn't make that up if I tried!) and all of the region has a fire ban imposed on us. So some moisture is very welcome.... I just wished it was in the form of rain!

My feet REALLY hurt as of late. I've been hobbling all about, trying to not hurt myself by just walking. I think the time has come to face the music, and just go to the bloody podiatrist already. I may just need some orthotics (how uncool is that!!!), or I may need surgery. I have hammer toes, a tailor's bunion and some bone spurs from where I fractured a bone in my foot when I was a teen and I *tried* to dance. (I'm not very coordinated) Who knew that having toes that curled sideways was a bad thing??? To me - I was born with them, and my dad's whole side has those toes that curl under. True, it makes the polish rub off faster off those toes, but I actually thought they were cute. *shrug*
Well, being in constant pain from your feet is not so cute. It seems like ever since I hit my late 20's, my body's gone to hell in a handbasket. I've gotten white hairs on my head, foot pain, rosacea, my eyes have gotten worse and I just feel so gosh darned OLD. *sigh*
It's even gotten to the point where "wide width" is even too snug on my feet. Hello Birkenstocks. Good bye cute shoes.
Ooooh, I am having a pity party today, aren't I? Sorry, I don't mean to. Honestly. I don't.

Other than that, we've kind of had a bizarre week.... My hubby has had the tummy flu, and now I think I have it. It looks like herbal tea and dry toast for me!! (Yumm!)

The kids go back to school on Monday - hallelujah. I"m so proud of me for making it the whole week without losing it on my kids. It's so odd to think that at one time, I had 4 kids at home everyday, and that was my "normal". Sending my older kids to school and having them gone for 7 hours a day has spoiled me. Hopefully, we'll survive Summer Vacation. (Watch, by the end of the summer, I'll cry having to be without them! Again!!! LOL)

That's about it. We have church tonight, and I just got a Last Minute Phone Call of desperation - "We're having a finger food night.... Can you bring something??" I agreed this time. I won't next time. It isn't MY JOB or my responsibility to cover someone's ass from their lack of preparation.
Besides, my 4 kids eating at church always ends up with it being a gong show. No one wants to eat - not when all their friends are there!
So I'll feed the kids (and myself) before we go. Like always. *sigh* I just hate how it's always SOMETHING last minute!

Well have a great day!
C.

I committed a sin today......

2008-03-26T21:52:00.000-06:00

Okay girls...... Y'all are going to SO know what this is like.

So, my hair's been really knotty lately. I don't get split ends - I get knots that tell me when it's time for a trim. I'm used to it, it's what I know, so I'm cool with it. So I realize - I need a haircut.
Maybe it's the Scot in me, maybe I'm just too cheap, but suddenly I remembered a COUPON for a brand new salon! (Oooh - break out the jazz hands! 30% off!!!)
So I call, and nervously demand - nay- ask if there is somebody there at the salon who is good at cutting naturally curly hair. I am assured there is, and am told that "cuts her friends' hair, and she has naturally curly hair", so I book an appointment, blissfully hoping for the best.

Why oh WHY is life so cruel?????
I came away with my hair shorter than it's been in 5 years (when I asked for a bob (still don't get how THAT happened!)), and I had tears in my eyes as I was driving home.
I know that I only have myself to blame for this hideous haircut. I should have had patience and just called my regular magician (aka beautician), but I didn't want to wait.

Isn't that similar how we are in our walks with God? We are longing for the end result, but sometimes take (what we mistakenly perceive) as a "shortcut" (pun not really intended, but I'll go with it even though it makes me want to cry again), and we end up bawling our faces off to the Lord, begging for Him to return our "crown of beauty" as we fall into His arms, awaiting His work on us.

5 Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel.
Your hair is like royal tapestry;
the king is held captive by its tresses.

6 How beautiful you are and how pleasing,
O love, with your delights!

Song of Songs 7:5 & 6

Lord, teach me to wait upon You alone..... Fix my eyes on the genuine-ness of Your plan for me, and my life. Help me not to be swayed by flashy things that have no substance at the core.... Comfort me, Lord! Whisper your assurances to my heart! And please - help my hair to grow quickly! *sniff!*

Happy Spring!

2008-03-01T10:19:00.000-07:00

Yes. I know I'm being optimistic, but I am heartily ready for warmer weather. Oh yes, indeedy. I am tired of bundling my 4 kids into parkas, snow boots, mittens, hats and scarves everytime we leave the house. I am tired of my dog sitting on the deck, shivering to be let back in.
I long for the days of sunshine again. Of warm weather. Of walking in sandals. Of not having to wear a coat!!! Of having sunlight at dinner time!

Last summer was like a Lost Summer for me.... I normally have Lost Summers when I have a newborn babe, but last summer was a Lost Summer because we were getting ready to move and we put our house up for sale. (Wow! Was that ever a lot of work!) From March onwards, I was packing boxes at least 3x a week, I was sorting thru lots of stuff and getting rid of the stuff I didn't want.
It intensified around the end of June - we had the painters in to redo the old house, and then in July we had the floors redone on the main floor and up the staircase. I pulled up most of the carpet (Hubby and his friend did the big pieces in the front room and in the living room) on the staircase. If I knew how to post photos, I would. I have a VERY IMPRESSIVE collection of befores and afters.
(Oh, loooook. I can share my Facebook with y'all!)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=42338&l=e91aa&id=565670995

Looking back - I am amazed at what we managed to pull off. Wow.

But I am determined that this summer will not be a Lost Summer. I vow to be outside as much as I can, and to explore my new neighborhood as best as I can. (hopefully, I won't get lost so much....)

What are you planning for this summer? What are you looking forward to the most? Barbequeing? Sitting around the fire at night? Listening to the wind in the trees? The gorgeous sunsets that look like they are made of cotton candy? The birds? The rains? The sound of kids jumping in the sprinkler?

Talk back to me, dear reader. Tell me what you are looking forward to......

I am anticipating spring. I hope you are too.
C.

Oh The Joys Of Life With 4 Kids...

2008-02-22T22:41:00.000-07:00

Lucky me.

My kids have had this entire past week off school. We had 2 days of Teacher's Convention and 2 "In Lieu" days and 1 why-the-heck-don't-we-just-give-them-this-day-off-too day off.
I gotta say...... I didn't think I'd be one of those parents that ends up not liking their kids home on holidays, but having my kids all home is hard!!!! They bicker, they argue, they yell, they fight.... And this is all before Sesame Street is on at 8 am. *sigh*
So I managed to kick them out to go play at the park behind our house today. The littlest one was asleep (praise Jesus) so I had 1 hour of peace and quiet. (Of course, I cleaned up the mess they made while making Jello and Trail Mix Cookies) It was blissful.

Other than that, nothing's really shaking 'round here. It's been wonderfully nice outside with the weather lately. At the bottom of our driveway is a massive puddle that I can just tell is going to turn into Tait Lake in the real springtime. Boy oh boy.... my kids are going to like that. (Okay, me too.... But I think I need a pair of galoshes)

I've really come to a place where I don't honestly KNOW what God wants me to do (remember He kept on bringing up grace to me?). I really don't It's like God is staying silent on it.... But I am being obedient and am submitting to His will for me. (I hate blindly submitting - I always want to know the reasons behind it all) But I feel a great measure of peace in regards to the submission thing. I just wish I knew what the heck it is/was that God is doing in me.
I figure that I'll figure it out sooner or later.

It's interesting, though. Hubby had lunch today with someone we know from our church, and (bear in mind that I've only talked with Hubby for 5 minutes today on the phone all day (and it's almost 11 at night right now)) Hubby kind of TOLD me that we are resuming our normal activities in regards to the church. There is a part of me that just rankles when I am told what to do. (Just had to be honest and uncensored...) Is there anyone who gleefully skips around saying "Whee!!! Yippee! You're going to tell me what to do, and I get to blindly obey it! Oh, happy day!".
Honestly, I don't think so. I think most people cop an attitude, get a massive chip on their shoulders and say in their heads "Who the hell do you think YOU are telling ME what to do?". (Right??? Please tell me I'm not alone in this observation......!)
Granted, I've gotten LOTS better than I used to be. I used to be Miss Independent (which is funny, because just before I got married, I had Carpal Tunnel and I couldn't even brush my teeth normally, or open doorknobs, or butter my toast or cut up my meat. I even had to get Then-Boyfriend to button up my jeans for me! Thank goodness he married me! That would have been awkward to explain to Future Hubby!). I thought that I had improved in the attitude of my heart in that (not so small) matter of submission.Apparently I still have a ways to go yet.
But, on the plus side - at least I don't throw up in my mouth anymore when I say "submission"!

I'm not too sure about how I feel just jumping right back into the church that we were going to..... At the end of the day, I am not following the pastors, I am following the Lord. Sometimes, they are one and the same, and other times they are football fields apart...... Part of me wants to ease back in, ever-so-gently.... ever-so-slowly so I don't create so much as a ripple. And yet, part of me thinks my Hubby is going to cannonball into the deep end. (And in doing so, drags me in with him)

I guess what I'm sort of struggling with, is the person whom I've come to notice some undesirable character traits in, is apparently taking over the Children's Church once a month. I have 4 kids in that. If he feels no hesitation in displaying these character traits in front of adults - what is it going to look like in front of children???? I know, to the very core of my being, that I am responsible, before God as to what I allow my children to be influenced by in their formative years.
Does this mean that I look like a complete and utter jackass and say "When he is in Children's Church, my kids are not allowed under his sphere of influence?" (Because that just looks like I have a giant grudge! Which I don't. I'm assuming the worst behavior out of him, and I hope to God that he proves me wrong) I guess I just am not sure as to what to do about this.
Hubby doesn't feel the same way as I do about it..... which is fine. I understand that he's different than I am, and he sees things different ways.
Normally, he is a black and white kind of guy, and I am all about the grey areas... But in this, I see only black and white. No inbetween-y bits.

Lord, give me wisdom. Give me knowledge. Give me understanding. Tell me what's going on! Direct my paths.... and please make them straight. Dear Lord, make them straight. I can't handle anymore curves or hairpin turns.
Open the eyes of my heart, Lord. Open my ears to hear you. Rain your Holy Spirit down upon me..... Refresh me. Water my spirit. Create in me a clean heart, Oh Lord. And renew a right spirit within me.
Amen.

C.