Kami's Khlopchyk

Insert Curse Word Here

2013-05-22T14:08:00.001-06:00

Hi.

So.

It's been an interesting few days, can I start there?

I opened this page to start writing this hours ago. This is kind of hard.

I'll start at the beginning.

I was born.

Oops, that might be a bit too far back.

About a year ago, at a regular appointment, my doctor found a lump on my thyroid. My thyroid is next in line for my body to attack since it has already annihilated my ovaries. So he's been watching it's function for probably two years now.

I was a bit concerned but discussed with a friend and she said she had one too. I was scheduled for an ultrasound 6 months from that date so I forgot about it and moved on with life.

6 months later, I go for the results of the ultrasound and received confirmation that yes, there is a growth. Tears form in my eyes at this point.

He went on to tell me that it's very small, 1 cm (or maybe he just told me it was 1cm and I inferred small?!) and that the chance of, gulp, cancer, is only 5%. At that point, there would be no biopsy and we would do another ultrasound in 6 months. If it grew, it was biopsy city.

I went out to our brand new Pilot (we had only had it for about a month at that point) called Jay to tell him the news. I thought I was okay. I still swear I was fine.

It's called denial or shock, people, trust me you don't even know you are doing it.
I guess denial is the right word then....

I hung up with Jay and backed up to head home. And backed into a parking divider that was about 3 ft high. Shit.

Good thing the Pilot is equipped with a back up camera, no? Apparently it only works if you actually look at the display screen. Who knew?

I didn't even stop to assess the damage, I drove home cursing in my head the whole way at already wrecking the new vehicle.

I got home and checked. I only broke the plastic cover over the hitch. WHEW.

I was upset for a day or two and then just sort of put it out of my mind. Again, denial. From the outside, you are all thinking, how? Why? What is wrong with you?

Trust me, I would think the same thing. Turns out when it's you, you deal with things in strange, not necessarily rational, ways.

I told only a few people, maybe 3, and then never talked about it again. This is weird for Kami who has taken over sharing to new levels in various other aspects of her life.

And now she's talking in the third person. God help her now!

Fast forward to last week and I had the second ultrasound follow up appointment. The day before I read this post by Angella about her friend recently diagnosed with, you guessed it, thyroid cancer.

No, I didn't freak out at all. (bold faced lie)

The week before, during the ultrasound, I had a bad feeling. Then this post was like a sign. I arranged for Jay to meet me at the appointment. You know for the safety of the Pilot and everyone in a 50 feet radius of me behind the wheel.

The first thing the doctor checked was the results of the blood work and he remarkeds that my thyroid function is completely back to normal (it had been mildly low previously) and that I didn't need him anymore (Endocrinologist).

Say what?

"WHAT ABOUT THE LUMP?" I asked politely.

Did you have an ultrasound he asks?

(And doctors wonder why we question their abilities. Seriously, do you not have my file right there? Do you not review said file before you come in to talk to me?)

"YES." I reply politely. Last week.

(Do people with cancer or those who might potentially have cancer still have to be polite? What? It's a valid question, isn't it?)

"Oh, yes, and they, and I, recommend a biopsy."

SAY WHAT?

"Oh, did it grow?" I ask.

"No, but they, and I recommend a biopsy."

By they, I assume he means the radiologist that would have reviewed the ultrasound. And I kind of love how he had to add his own little shout out there each time too.

(he's fine, I am just being snarky)

This is where shock sets in. I had no reaction other than confusion that we now had to have a biopsy even though there was no growth in the growth (say that five times fast).

(is it really evident that I use humour to deal?)

We leave, Jay ensures I don't run over anything on the way out of the parking lot after hugging me and just being overall awesome as usual and I head home.

I try to work.

Text my mom. Text Jay ongoing as he keeps me from losing my shit all over the place.

I won't lie. I had a couple of really really rough days. Tears were common place. The whole feeling of I can't believe this is happening to me alternating between relax, this is a minor thing, it's treatable and you don't even know if you have it yet.

It was exhausting.

I found it hard to break the news and actually still have only told a handful of people, and those that I told, I did over text.

It was easier. We all deal in different ways and I am taking the approach that this is what works for me.

I wanted to blog about it Friday but I think it's good that I waited. I was too raw, too emotional then.

I have come a long way since then thanks to the amazing people in my life. I have to admit that being the one receiving the words of encouragement was hard for me. It's much easier being on the other end.

Thank you, I love each and every one of you and am so thankful you are in my life.

By Saturday morning I was feeling much better. As I ran up the hill during boot camp, I came to the conclusion that my body is strong and it can do this. If I have to fight cancer, I'll take this kind and I'll fight with all I have.

Now I coast waiting to hear when the biopsy will be. In the meantime, I will be living life, working out and eating clean (ish) and loving on all the amazing people in my life.

Ciao.

14 Years!!!

2013-05-08T08:56:00.001-06:00

Fourteen short years ago today, I finally got to walk up the aisle and make it official with this guy.

I love the pure joy on my face. No cold feet here! And also it may have felt like a short fourteen years but damn if we don' look like young 'uns here. Not that we look old now, just older, more refined, like fine wine. Or something.

Jay, the time has flown by and I couldn't ask for a better best friend, husband and father to our boys. You exceed my expectations daily. I have to constantly check myself so that I don't take you for granted. I know how lucky I am, truly.

If I am half of what you are to me, to you, I call that success.

I wish for another 50 years just like the last fourteen. With you by my side, life is not just good, it's amazing.

Kamden and the cheesy smile, oh how I love it. And I should really dust off the real camera because these phone pictures are sub par at best and yet, still better than no pictures at all.

Happy Anniversary my love, you are truly my one and only forever and ever amen.

Do Bullies Know They Are Bullies?

2013-04-09T13:46:00.002-06:00

Wednesday April 10th is Anti-Bullying Day or some such thing. The intent, I think, is to raise awareness of an issue that is as old as humans. Because humans can be real jerks, you know?

The kids were talking about it at breakfast today since Jack's class is participating in a flash mob this afternoon. I am also currently reading, for the second time, "Nineteen Minutes" by Jodi Picoult and said out loud,

"I wonder if bullies know that they are bullies?"

Both boys looked at me like deer in the headlights. Oh dear, here she goes on another one of her rants....

In the book, a 17 year old boy, does the unthinkable and goes on a shooting rampage in his school. He was also the object of much torment on a daily basis (from his older brother among many others). I don't condone what he did but I do think a lot about what nobody else did before this happened.

No one stopped or even tried to stop the humiliation that went on daily for this poor kid.

This is a fictional book, but let's be honest, we all know of or were someone who was treated the same way. In grade 11, I moved to a small town and saw this first hand. And saw teachers who either didn't see it, ignored it, or basically participated in it.

It made me sick, and still does. But I did what every coward does, I ignored it. I hope I never laughed, I certainly never found it funny. I wish I would have had the courage to stand up and say what I really thought. I can say it now, but it is way too little, way too late.

"Stop, you jerk. You are not funny and it's actually quite sad how little you think of yourself. Only people who have no self esteem themselves need to belittle others to make themselves feel better."

I am also very certain that I exhibited some pretty mean behaviour over the years and pretty sure that at the time, I didn't much care if I was being mean or not. Hopefully I learned from my mistakes but I am still in the learning process so....

My point, and I do have one, I think, is that Anti-Bullying day is great and wonderful but does it serve any purpose? Do kids or adults who exhibit bully-like behaviour recognize that about themselves? Do they know they are a bully?

I sincerely doubt it. And if they do, do they really care? I think by definition, a bully is someone who lacks compassion for others or they wouldn't be a bully in the first place, would they?

I wonder if wearing pink. making posters and dancing in a flash mob with your class will really has any impact at all on reducing this kind of behaviour.

My theory is that the fault lies in what we are teaching our children. Justifying their behaviour with comments like, "Oh he's just being a boy" or "They are just having a little fun" are likely the real problem.

I am big believer in ensuring our boys see the consequences to their actions. Hurting someone else is never okay especially where that was the intention.

The story, "Nineteen Minutes", is told from the perspective of the kids and parents of those who were shot as well as the boy who did the shooting and his parents.

I don't want to be the parent of either of those kids because both are equally heartbreaking.

During the trial, the boy who did the shooting makes an astute observation after hearing one of the boys who tormented him for years claim under oath, after being shot and seeing his friends die, that he was just having fun when he did all those horrid things to the shooter.

He observed how little things had changed despite how much things had changed.

How poignant. And I think it proves my point. Yes, I know the book is fiction but I happen to think it's pretty dead on reality. If getting shot isn't enough to make a bully recognize he's a bully, then a little pink and some posters sure as hell ain't gonna.

Don't get me wrong, awareness is a good thing, I just don't think it's enough.

The one where Kamden threw snow at me....

2013-03-25T22:40:00.000-06:00

Yes, another post on skiing. It's exciting for this family, what can I say. We have been slowly accumulating our own equipment on sale. A sporting store was closing out and we scored all of the below at 70% off. A steal of a deal.

Jay and I still need skis and a local ski shop was going to be at a hill in MB with their demo skis this past weekend so we took a trip.

It's a three hour drive so we drove up the night before and stayed in the adorably adorned hotel that screams Prairie alpine village. What? I'll let you figure that out.

We swam and slided and then had treats before bed. It was a fun night.

In the morning we headed to the hill. A hill with more than three runs we could do! We were excited.

We did a few runs and then headed to grab some skis to demo. We strapped them on and headed to the chair.

That's where things went a bit awry. It's a quad chair so all four of us were able to ride together. This was not the first kick at the can as we had done a few runs already but something didn't go as planned and just after our skis left the ground I realized Kamden was not sitting on the chair but rather being pushed by it. I grabbed his coat with one hand and decided there was no way I could pull him up.

Rather than hanging on to him longer and potentially meaning he would fall further, I let go. Don't ask why I didn't try to, you know, use two hands. I can't even remember my thought process beyond this.

The lift operators took him into the little hut and let us know they would keep him there till we returned. So we rode up and skied our butts down as fast as we could. I am sure it was an eternity for him.

I knew he would be upset. I had a similar incident as a kid only my dad fell off too. On top of me. Apparently I was less that pleased by this and naturally blamed it all on my dad.

I expected no less from Kamden.

First he hugged me and cried. Then he fell onto the snow and ....

Threw snow at me.

Yes, he threw snow at me. I think he beat my reaction.. Pretty sure I just yelled or gave the look 'o death.

I can't stop laughing about it. I totally get why he was so upset. And I couldn't be prouder that he got back on that lift and skied the rest of the day with a smile on his face.

Of course I was holding onto him with a vice grip the next eight times we loaded onto the chair, just in case.

And then, just because that wasn't enough fun, I accidentally took Jack on a black diamond run. In my defense, it was not that difficult and in my opinion more of a blue run. Jack hated it. It was like he knew it wasn't the blue run I thought it was. Later we figured out we turned left one run too soon. Oops. I guess he can cross that off his bucket list, you know, the one he wouldn't make in a million years because he's not the adventurous type.

Amazing family memories that have to be documented for future laughs.

It's Official, Skiing is our Sport

2013-03-05T11:10:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that we took the boys for their first downhill skiing experience.

It was all in preparation for a school trip Jack was making. He was anxious about it and in usual fashion for a kid who is not keen to try new things, he didn't even want to go.

In an attempt to forgo the lifelong commitment to this adage (because are you kidding me? Life is too short not to try new things!), we were making him go. To ease his fears, we took both boys a couple weeks before the school trip so he would have some experience under his belt. We had a semi-private lesson for an hour and within that hour, both boys were turning nicely. We skied the rest of the afternoon in the bitter cold and called it a success.

A few weeks later, Jack wanted to go again so we loaded up and headed out. This time we brought one of Jack's friends too. He had tried snowboarding on the first school trip and wanted to try skiing. We had about a half hour before the lesson so I took him through the basics and by the time the instructor arrived, all three boys were ready to head up the chair for more of a challenge.

Jack and his friend were good to go, no issues. Kamden gets very nervous when we add a bit of a steeper incline. He was not impressed with the whole situation. I believe the words, "I HATE this" were uttered on more than one occasion. A sport he doesn't like, who knew?

So we sent Jack and his friend for one more run with the instructor and Kamden went in for a break. Then we tried again and it was no better. And finally he had had enough and Jay took him back to the bunny hill while I skied with the older boys off the chair. We even did a blue run and they both rocked it.

I am not worried. He'll get there. I was the same when I started. Ornery and mouthy and angry. I was also five and missing my two front teeth. My parents laugh about it now (and probably then too - picture a toothless five year old yelling!) but I guess I'll add that to the tab of a million things I owe them for.

You know that Joe Pesci Snickers commercial? That pretty much sums it up, just replace hungry with skiing.

On Wednesday he went skiing again with the school and came home asking when he could go again.

On Saturday we checked out our local ski shop and scored helmets at a steal of a deal. Jack (and maybe me too) were so excited about the new helmets, we had to head out to the hill Sunday to try them out. Kamden had soccer and was more than relieved he didn't have to go. Jack and I headed out for the day.

We had a great day together. He tried to pull his stuck in a rut routine (he is by nature, extremly habitual) by doing the one and only green run (it's a small resort) over and over but I wasn't having any of that. And after one mild protest, he agreed that we would mix it up with a blue run every now and then. It helped that it was easier to get to the lodge from the blue run than the green run.

He had a smile on the whole day. My heart was nearly bursting.

A sport he likes? That he is already talking about doing again this weekend?

We hit the jack pot (pun not originally intended but ha....).

I am equally excited. I am not sure if it's because I have always loved skiing (true story) or because he is so excited about it. I think it's a combination of the two.

I was teasing him by asking if I looked like some of the pros we would see from the lift and he was polite but firm, "Mom, you are good, but not that good."

Naturally I made him video me so I could see for myself. He's right. I am not bad but I am no professional. And my stop made me laugh out loud. Videos of both myself and Jack are here if you are so inclined.

We are scoping out equipment and have booked a hotel near Panorama, BC over New Year's next year. Grams and Pop may even come, it's been years since they skied and it's about time.

We are going to be a skiing family! Kamden is overjoyed.

My Valentines

2013-02-14T10:40:00.001-06:00

I have three very important men in my life. This post is for them because I don't think it's possible to tell those that you love how important they are to you often enough.

My oldest son, the one who first made me a mother.

He's now 11 years old. Technically 11 and half. His teachers have always raved about his behaviour at school. He has been awarded student of the month every year since Kindergarten. This couldn't make his Dad and I more proud.

He is smart. He can do math in his head at a rate that surpasses my ability by about 100 times. He can also remember just about everything he has read and is full of interesting facts. He amazes me daily with this ability.

He is also very responsible and ensures he gets his school work done at school on time. Almost always. When he forgot last week, we couldn't even be upset. It was literally the first time ever. At home, he gets his chores done, almost always without complaining (he's not perfect after all) and helps out where he can.

He loves his brother fiercely. So fiercely that we have to sometimes remind him that Kamden is his own person and doesn't want to spend 24-7 with him. Their interests are diverging more and more as they grow and it's been hard to watch that struggle. They want to spend time together but agreeing on what they will do is not always easy.

I tell him I love him more than once a day and he always responds, "I love you too." I will never, ever, get tired of hearing that.

He is growing up pretty damn nicely despite my feelings of inadequacy as a mother. I am so lucky he is my son. He has taught me a lot and I have grown as a person because of him.

and then he went and did this on Valentine's Day:

This was after our family dinner out and the cards Jay pickted out for each of them. He disappeared downstairs to my office and made this on the computer.

I cried. Clearly we are doing something right. Or despite what we are not doing right, he's turning out right. Either way? Score.

And then there is this guy. Who came along and showed us just how different two boys that come from the same gene pool could be.

He is easy going, silly, and loud. Case in point, the following video.

He specifically asked me to video him doing this and to post in on Facebook. How could I not?

He is all about soccer, football and mini sticks and would play any combination of them all day, everyday, if his brother had any interest in playing with him.

His antics have us laughing daily. It's really hard not to love this kid.

He is also doing very well in school. Math is his thing, he loves it and is very good at it. He has also been awarded student of the month each year since Kindergarten. Again, how could we be more proud? It's one thing to have kids who do well in school. It's quite another to have them recognized for their behaviour. Now if they could save some of that behaviour for home, we'd be golden.

I tell this guy I love him just as often as Jack but he only responds when he is very tired and forgets that the mushy stuff just isn't for him. It's okay dude, I know you do.

And then there is Jay. The one who walks beside me in this life. This wonderful life we have the privilege of having together.

This summer, it will 20 years since we first met and became inseparable. A little over half my life. Thank you isn't adequate.

He is my strength, my balance and ever present support. I can only hope I am the same for him.

To borrow from one of our wedding songs (and his email to me this morning):

I couldn't find another man

Who loves me like you do

I couldn't hold another hand

Who holds me quite like you do

Such a  love was heaven-blessed

Couldn't find another man

Every day, I love him just a little bit more and cannot fathom how I got so damn lucky.

Happy Valentine's Day! May each of you have love, hugs and a little chocolate today and every day of the year.

Taking Winter by Storm

2013-01-23T22:30:00.001-06:00

We've been busy. Kamden developed a new dance, patent is pending.

And don't worry, neither the floor nor Kamden were injured in the making of this video. Also, this kid, I just can't imagine our family without him.

My parents (and their dog, Mika) joined us a couple weekends ago to watch Kamden play in a soccer tournament. They met the same team in the final as the last tournament but this time, Kamden's team won. It was, to say the least, very exciting. The parents were, ahem, a little bit excited during all of the games. The boys played so well and it was a proud moment when they won.

And life around here is pretty entertaining on a daily basis (related: I love that I get to work from home and be here for these moments). This is a snap of the boys antics as they head off to school after lunch one day.

Pretty much a normal day around here. Again, I assure you, no one was injured (this time) in the making of the above photos.

This past weekend was very exciting for me. I have hoped for a long time that I could get the boys to strap on the boards and careen down a hill. Wait, that didn't come out right. Let me start again. My parents made me strap them on when I was the ripe old age of 5.

Ahem. That was no better was it?

Anyway. I skied all through my childhood, starting when I was 5. Living on the Prairies, we had to travel to the Rockies to ski but we did, annually. I loved it.

I have put it off because Jack, well, let's just say trying new things is not an exciting experience. But he has to go with school in a couple of weeks so... this past weekend, we braved the minus 35 degree Celsius (that is not a typo) temperatures and headed to a hill about 45 min away. It's no mountain but about perfect for beginners.

I had arranged for the boys to take a lesson as soon as we arrived. I might know how to ski but I was five when I started, I don't remember much about how I learned to ski. I do remember skiing between my dad's legs and him drawing S's in the snow in the futile effort to get me to turn rather than going straight down (now you see why my dad caged me in!).

They both caught on very quickly in and in about 5 runs down the bunny hill had mastered the snow plow and were sort of turning.

And can I just say, T-bars, thank be to heavens they are obsolete. This magic carpet system is the cats ass. I cannot tell you how many times I fell off the T-bar making my brother have to also get off because he couldn't leave me behind. I still owe him for that and about 10,000 other things.

And Jack, the one who was a bit frighted to try skiing took to it like a fish to water. He loved it! Being the good mom that I am, I reminded him that I was right about that. I am mature like that.

Kamden liked it too but the poor kid takes after me and was frozen within a half hour. We took lots and lots of warm up breaks and after I put those Hot Shot thingys in his ski boots to keep his toes from becoming ice cubes, he was having a blast too.

We even went up the chair once but um, that didn't go too well so we stuck to the bunny hill for the rest of the afternoon.

I was soooo proud of both of them for trying so hard and braving the ridiculous cold.

I can't wait to go again and maybe old man winter's fury will be a bit less next time.

Change Takes Commitment

2013-01-07T19:17:00.000-06:00

2013 had a bit of a rough start for me in my second gig as a personal trainer. I don't want to talk about the situation in detail because that's not cool. And those of you whom are my confidantes are likely sick to death of hearing about it already. I have to give a shout out to you all though, you all know how to do the support and advice part of friendship right. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

My first client broke up with me. Before I started this new adventure, I thought I would feel like a total failure if that ever happened. It turns out I was wrong. The break up was mutual. I let the client make the first move though because I am, after all, the "professional". The jury is still out on that, hence the quotes.

I don't feel like a failure because this actually isn't really about me at all. Okay a little bit, but I will get to that later.

My experience is fairly limited in that from the perspective of someone starting on a journey to getting fitter and healthier, I have only my own to draw from.

By the time I started working with a trainer, I had made the commitment to make it happen. It being the journey to fit. It's not a destination, it's a journey that I began five years ago and continues to this day.

So when I came to my workouts, I was ready, willing and going to do whatever was asked of me. Except when the nausea set in because, of course, that was my body saying "that's my limit" thankyouverymuch.

I wanted to be pushed past what I thought was possible for me. And I was almost every time. I kept getting stronger and it would take more to challenge me and I loved every minute of it.

Okay, maybe I am weird but I also happen to know a lot of other people who feel the same way.

To this day I love the strength and endurance my body can handle. I would say with ease but that would be a bold faced lie. But the key is that what it can handle now with a bit of duress is about 100 times more than it could way back then. I think I did a total of three push-ups during my first fitness assessment, and I am probably inventing two of the three. The other day, I did 30 consecutively.

In the meantime, I have become a runner, completing two half marathons, about five 10 km races and at least as many relay races. Five and half years ago, I would have laughed like a hyena if you told me that I would do that. Hysterically.

My point, right, I should get back to that. My point is that if you want to make a change, whatever it might be, lose weight, get fitter, make a pinata, or remove the possibility of being on an episode of Hoarders, you have do the work. With a smile. And the smile comes with the fact that you know, despite how hard it is, that this pain will get you closer to that goal.

And tasting that goal is a reward so sweet you will have a bounce in your step and grin on your face for a month.

I know from experience. So trust me a little, okay? Just a little. But more importantly believe. Believe in yourself. Believe that the work will get you there. Not today, not tomorrow but slowly and surely and safely.

And when you are working out, building a pinata, or cleaning out the pile of stuff that is beginning to resemble an application to be on Hoarders, give it your best effort. No excuses. Excuses are just you standing in your own way.

And if someone is helping you out, your trainer, your glue maker, or your daughter who can no longer come visit because the couch has disappeared, make sure that your personalities gel. If they annoy the snot out of you from day one, they are probably not going to be able to motivate you. Oh and this can be measured in direct proportion to the number of eye rolls and critical comments you direct at them, just in case you were wondering.

That's where this whole break up was about me. Personalities are personalities and if they do not work together, they just do not work. It's not you, it's me....or actually it's both of us. So there is no feeling of failure because that is out of my hands just like the level of commitment and self-belief of the client.

It's part of the gig. I was a bit naive going in but this was a great learning experience. And I will appreciate my other clients (Hi C & RL, you rock!) and my trainer even more (she kicked my butt today and I loved it from the bottom of my heart).

Amended to add this very fitting quote:

"What if I told you that ten years from now, you life would be EXACTLY the same? I doubt you would be happy. So why are you so afraid of change?" - Karen Salmansohn

Merry Christmas 2012

2012-12-28T14:35:00.001-06:00

Christmas day we awoke to mountains of hoar frost and bitterly cold temperatures.

Cold but stunning.

After we did some sledding or as us Saskatchewanites call it, toboganning, I took my camera out to the back 40 of my parent's acreage.

It was worth it. I hope that this finds you well after enjoying a wonderful Christmas full of love, laughs and good food (the trifecta of a good holiday IMHO).

All the best from my family to yours for 2013

xoxoxoxox

What Not to Do

2012-11-13T15:51:00.000-06:00

I did something quite dumb just the other day. I am still mortified that I, of all people, did this but here it is. Mostly because maybe if I air it on the Internet I will stop replaying the 1,000 things I will do differently every single time I fly from now on. The perfect time to do this appears to be as I am trying to fall asleep. Related: I am very tired.

I have to start out by saying that I am the one at the gate a half hour before the boarding pass even suggests boarding will begin. Always. Me and my husband agree on this.

On Sunday, however, after a work trip to Kelowna and spending the weekend with my aunts, mom and cousins visiting in Vernon, I did not do this. In fact, I did what I mock other people for doing.

We arrived at the airport and I was checked in and ready to go through security in plenty of time for boarding. Then I looked at the departure screen and noticed a delay.

So instead of going through security, I stayed out and had tea with the aunts and my Mom.

About a half hour before the scheduled departure of the delayed flight I went through security found a bathroom and sat down to wait for boarding. I even noticed that the sign at the gate still had the original departure time but didn't even think anything of it.

*smacks forehead*

Moments after I sat down, a co-worker came up and told me that they had been calling me - she had stayed in town for the weekend too and happened to be there too. Isn't that awesome?

At this point I started to think that was weird. I approached the gate but no one was there so I waited. Then the agent came back from the plane.

Yes, the one I was supposed to be on that was now taxing away from the bloody gate.

The point at which I knew I had screwed up royally was when he said, "You have missed your flight."

He then kindly (and I am not being sarcastic) showed me that the flight that was delayed was a different airline that was going to the same place and the original departure time was only 5 min different. My flight was right above it. For some reason I didn't notice this - these were the first two lines on the monitor, maybe that is why.

HOWEVER.

Check the airline and flight number much, Kami?

*smacks forehead again, harder this time*

For the record, the delayed flight only started boarding when I was finding all this out so I was perfectly on time for that one. Hey, I feel like an idiot, I had to point that out, just for the record.

I was mortified, embarrassed and at this guy's mercy. I apologized, called myself a moron several times and asked why they don't call people on speakers outside of security. I asked nicely, not in an accusatory tone because I was curious mostly. It was my responsibility to get myself to the gate on time not theirs. The airport doesn't allow it was what he told me. Fair enough.

Here's the part that steams me - as in I am mad at myself for.

I WAS BLOODY AT THE AIRPORT.

I can see missing a flight because you get delayed in traffic or encounter an accident or...about a thousand other legitimate reasons. But sitting in the Whitespot having tea with your mom and aunts? That has to be a new brand of stupid.

Anyway, the WestJet agent (totally plugging the airline) was beyond fabulous. He was very nice and treated me with respect and really went above and beyond to help me.

He quickly checked my options and found that he might not be able to get me all the way home that day on Westjest due to full flights. He even ran over the other airline to check if he could get me on that delayed flight (yeah the one I thought I was on). They wouldn't do it since it was so close to departing. I couldn't fault them for that and for him to do that? Seriously. I can guarantee that airline wouldn't do the same.

I was so thankful that I was flying WestJet.

Basically, to get home that day, I had to hope a seat would open up on the next flight out. He gave me a 10 -20% chance of that so I didn't get excited. This happened to be the same flight my mom was leaving on.

Somewhere in here I called Jay to tell him what happened. I have to give him credit here too. He could have berated me for my stupidity but Jay is Jay and he wouldn't even think to do that. He was calm even though I know he was upset. We all missed each other. I had been gone 5 days by this point and I had to tell him I might not make it home until the next day. If things had been reversed I am not sure I would have been as forgiving. Thank you honey. It means a lot.

The agent took my credit card (there is, understandably, a fee for this kind of stupidity that is very small in comparison) so that he could scoop up the seat as soon as it opened up. He assured me he would keep checking to see.

I sat down to wait, called Jay again and told him the status and almost started crying as I hung up with him. I didn't though and I was proud of myself.

Then my mom walked up and I lost it. I started sobbing like an infant. Thank goodness my co-worker was gone and did not witness this. It's bad enough that there were strangers there. Awkward.

There is just something about your Mom, you know? Even at 38, I can't help but unleash my inner distress in the middle of an airport waiting room the second I see her. Isn't she lucky?

So we waited and I did not get my hopes up. I was prepared to overnight in Calgary and take the first flight to Regina in the morning. Or alternatively try and make it to Saskatoon so Jay could meet me and my parents half way in the morning.

About 15 min before the flight I was hoping to get on boarded, I checked in with, by now, my favourite airline agent ever and his exact words were, "It's your lucky day! A seat has opened up!"

My response was, "I could hug you, but that would be inappropriate!"

What he relayed to me as he printed my boarding passes was that he not only waited for seat to open up, he actively found ways to open a seat up - he had three people flying through Calgary re-routed onto a direct flight to their destination and he was also prepared to ask a WestJet employee to switch flights if he had to. In the meantime, a seat just randomly opened up anyway.

If that isn't going above and beyond, I don't know what is.

He even thanked me for being so understanding. Um. I guess that goes to show you some people can't admit they are idiots. Me? I have no problem with that.

I have already commended him through the feedback option on the airline website because how could I not?

So. The lesson learned is that I will always go directly to the gate no matter what. Oh and maybe check the airline and flight number.

*alternate title "WestJet is Awesome"

Seriously? And Halloween Pictures

2012-11-01T15:36:00.000-06:00

I have a rant. A serious one that started building years ago. There is this teacher at the boys' school that makes me crazy. She isn't a classroom teacher but teaches a couple of subjects to give the classroom teacher prep time. Jack had her in grade 3 and low and behold, here she is again now that Kamden is in grade 3.

I was utterly elated when Kamden came home in September with the news.

And last week, he brought home is first grade from her. Smoke may have come out of my ears as I saw the same ridiculous grading she used 3 years ago with Jack.

The subject is health, more specifically the four food groups. To demonstrate their knowledge of the unit, they had to prepare a poster and draw meals for each of breakfast, lunch and supper.

Kamden's comment and I quote word for word was: "She gave me a horrible mark!"

The first two categories are Graphics and Use of Time in Class.

Let me go though each in detail because are you kidding me?

"Graphics are in focus and easily viewed from 6ft away" is worth 4 out of 16 of the available marks. That's 25%.

Let's ponder this for a second considering two things. This is health. HEALTH. Not art, not media relations, not graphic design but health.

And they are in grade 3.

In no way does this evaluate their knowledge of the topic at hand.

And the second one, use of class time. This is important but is part of an area in each report card where the student is assessed on the term as a whole, not on one specific project.

I don't think I need to say it but how in the name of Pete does this evaluate the students knowledge of this particular topic?

Right, it doesn't.

By my estimation, the first 50% of the grade is completely irrelevant to the purpose of the project.

Excellent.

Let's move on to the other 50% of the grade, shall we?

"Required Elements" is up next. This one might actually be a fair assessment but let's not hold our breath. The poster needs to include required elements. Not that she indicates what those are. For all we know, one of them was to draw a broccoli floret like Picasso.

I am going to assume that was the one element Kamden missed and call it a day.

Next up is "Attractiveness". This one doesn't have a hope in being relevant for a health project. So Kamden lost 2 marks because the poster was, in her opinion, "a bit messy". At least it was still attractive, I mean thank goodness for that.

I don't want to sound like a broken record but THAT DOESN'T EVALUATE THEIR KNOWLEDGE.

To summarize, at best 4 of the 16 marks were relevant.

This is exactly the same crap we saw with each project Jack brought home from this teacher. I never bothered to discuss the issues with her for two reasons. One, it's health. In the grand scheme of things, it's not a critical subject. And two, I have a feeling it would be futile. I leave the above discussion as Exhibit A.

Now that I got that off my chest, here are the obligatory Halloween snaps for the Grandparents.

Mario with his two pumpkins. He designed and drew them, I carved. I love love love.

And Captain Rex of The Clone Wars fame with his two. The one on the left is his trademark face - going on 3 years I think. The other is MineCraft themed. Love love love. This is the first year Jack both drew and carved his own. He's growing up.

Marioooooo!

Hope you had a happy Halloween free from teachers who clearly wish they taught at a post secondary art school.

What We've Been Up To

2012-10-25T14:01:00.000-06:00

Tap, tap, tap...blows off dust. So, a month has gone by again. Remember when I used to blog every day? Yeah me too. *shudders involuntarily*

We've been busy here at the Lahti house.

My camera has been in overdrive with some fall photo shoots. I even forced my own two men to pose.

Mostly they were happy to. You will see what I mean later.

Jack is having a good year in grade 6. He's also continuing in piano and enjoying private lessons much more than the class he attended up until last year. Who doesn't love one on one instruction?

However, the one downside is that we discovered there is a situation that has been ongoing since sometime last year at school. It's helped us to understand where his behaviour at home has been coming from. Naturally I feel like an arse because our approach was so, so wrong. I am so glad it's come out and we can deal with it in a more appropriate manner.

I love this kid more than words can say. He has so many many amazing qualities and I think one of his classmates put it best in their nomination of Jack to win the award for Respect this month at school:

"I nominate Jack because he never makes fun of other people."

Hmmm. So what you are confirming is that other kids in the class do. Duly noted. And to all you kids who make fun of other kids, just wait until you are an adult and your peers finally figure out that the reason you did that was because you didn't like yourself all that much and it was the only way to make yourself feel better. Uh huh. See how far that gets you in the real world.

Meanwhile Jack will be travelling through time in the machine he invented because he spent his time learning in school instead of being a complete butt head.

Then there is Kamden. I love this photo because is shows his crazy, fun, make us laugh regularly side. This year he is continuing his love of all things sports. He played touch football earlier in the fall and is now fully entrenched in the indoor soccer season.

He moved up an age category this fall and had to go through assessments for the first time, though we were told that all kids in their first year would be in Division 2. We took him to the assessments anyway because he will never pass up the opportunity to play. Turns out he was selected for Division 1. Talk about a moment of pride. Long story short, his coach and the parents of the other boys selected for Division 1 decided to hold them back into Division 2 so the team could stay together with the coach. This coach is half the reason Kamden is so good so it was an easy decision.

Kamden is also doing well in school. And another moment of pride. One of Kamden's soccer buddies is also in the other grade 3 class at school. His mother informed me Monday that this child is being bullied by another child. Hence where the "situation" came out with Jack. Another reason I do not believe in avoiding the discussion of difficult situations in front of the kids. You just never know when something will spark a conversation that is important. Anyway, I asked Kamden to seek out his buddy at recess and invite him and the bully to join him. The bully "plays" with the buddy and tries to keep everyone away. It seems to be working. Crossing fingers. This little guy is a bully for a reason and I just hope the school can work with the family to get to the root of the problem. His behaviour makes me (an accountant!) think he is screaming out for help.

Long winded today, aren't I?

Okay, less yammering on about my wonderful kids (sorry but they are, can I help it?) and more pictures. I told you my camera was busy. This family is on their third year with me and I couldn't be happier to do photos for them. Kamden is very successful in making this adorable guy laugh which is so helpful.

And guess what? He is also very effective at getting Pop to smile too! Score. Now if we could just figure out how to have him in the same picture as Pop and also be behind the camera making Pop smile.

Can't have everything, now can we? At least all 11 of us are in the picture and looking at the camera. About all we can ask for I think. And it only took 120 shots to get this one good one. I wish I were kidding. A professional I am not.

My niece, Anna, was up for posing for many a shot and this is by far my favourite. I told her to sit in the grass and instead she did this. I think she may take over the family photographer gig in the very near future and in the meantime she can be my assistant.

The next day, we tried for a shot of the four of us. This one was one of the test shots I took before I forced the boys out to join us. It's not bad.

Minus the wind blown look I am sporting, I like this one too. It will have to do as there is no way we'll get another session out of those two.

Christmas card photo done and calendar is nearly complete. Two things off the list.

This past weekend, I did some maternity shots of my massage therapist/yoga instructor. Personally, I think she is the hottest pregnant lady in the history of all pregnant ladies. 37.5 weeks and she looks that good? If I had looked half as good at 5 months. By this point, I looked like I might explode if you poked my belly button.

I was encouraging her to get professional photos done but she wasn't sure. I offered because this had to be captured permanently. I would have forced her if I had to.

I love my hobby.

*end monthly long winded blog post about nothing in particular*

PS I can point out 100 things wrong with each of my photos, so whatever you are thinking about them, yes, I know. I am not a professional nor do I profess to be.

High Note

2012-09-29T22:44:00.002-06:00

Every summer, I sign myself up for a few races because if I don't, I do not run. I do not love running, or really even like it. What I do like is that it a challenge and allows me to set goals to strive for. I find this very motivating and when I meet the goal, I am pretty damn happy.

Since I started running in 2008, I have steadily improved and this year was kind of break through year for me.

Somewhere in April I discovered that if I warmed up before heading out on a run, I could run so much faster and it was easier. As in I didn't feel like dying after 2 km. Any fitness expert is saying well duh, but me, well I was of the idea that the warm up was wasting valuable energy that I could have been using for running.

For me, that is not true. When my heart has time to get used to the increased oxygen requirements, it adapts and keeps up with much less pain and agony. I can run faster and feel good, instead of like I am having a coronary? Sign me up.

In April, a team of three of us ran the Regina Police Service Half marathon in relay style. I had a really great run coming in at 36:36 for my 6.4km leg. I was pumped and ready for my next race, The Royal Road Race 10k on Mother's weekend in May.

I set the goal of running it in less than 60 min which would be about the same pace as the previous race but a longer distance. That wouldn't be a personal best (in May 2011 I did a 10k in 58:37 and just about lost my lunch and another 10k last fall in 59:47) but it was early in the season so I wanted an attainable goal

The day dawned sunny and hotter than it yet had been in Saskatchewan in early May. I started out without really warming up because I was a bit late. I also started at a pace much faster than my goal pace.

And by 3km the f word was frequently running through my head. As in, why the beep beep beep do you think signing up for these beep beep beep races is a good idea? The heat is my cryptonite and I was sloooooow. I felt like I was dying a slow, painful death. When I met Terry-Lyn as she passed me on her way back around, I may or may not have assaulted her with curses. That's what friends are for right?

I finished in 1:01:42 and was angry even though I knew I could not have done better that day. That was my best that day.

But it solidified that I need to train for these races if I want to attain my goals. So all summer I ran a 10k a week not really worrying about my pace. Just running how I felt that day and doing a proper warm up before each and every run. Some days were fabulous and some were horrid. A 10k in well over an hour one Sunday morning on a grid road out and back from my parent's acreage comes to mind.

But I pushed and trained and when the Queen City Marathon rolled around early this month, I was ready for my 10.5k leg. I wore shorts and a tank despite the cool fall morning and that was a good choice because I was perfectly comfortable. I checked my pace frequently and when I was slower than my goal, I had the energy to speed up.
I finished in 1:01:43, coincidentally the same time as the previous 10k and I ran further - yay me). And I felt great, the entire time.

Also, in 2009, I ran the exact same leg in 1:05:23. That's progress I would say.

THAT is why I sign up for these races. That right there, is really rewarding and worth every drop of sweat.

As a team, we had a personal best time, thanks to the rabbits who let me, the hare, join them.

So as I prepared for today's Flatlander's 10k, I was pessimistically optimistic (ha!). I was thinking there wasn't too much of a chance that I could do it again because having two amazing back to back races is rare, I am after all not a machine but a human. I was still kind of hoping so though you know. If I could, I would meet my 10k personal best time of 58:37 of over a year and half ago. But this time, without the losing lunch part.

I warmed up good and the day was looking warmish for this time of year so I dressed in my skimpiest tank and shorts. The more skin exposed, the more heat can escape and keep me from overheating. Ever had goose bumps when you are hot? It happens to me a lot when I am running in the heat and it's not a good thing.

The race started slow with a narrow path and too many racers so when I had the chance to pick it up, I did. I was feeling great. Every time I checked my pace I was well below my goal pace.

And then I hit about the 7 km mark and then I was way over my goal pace. Laying down in the middle of the path and resting was really appealing. But this is where I pulled up my panties and dug deep. I pep talked myself through and reminded myself that I was almost done and the pain of another 12 min or so was worth it for the feeling of accomplishment of meeting my goal. I wasn't going to lose all that time I had made up in the first part of the race. I was being stubborn.

As I ran through the last water station, I grabbed a cup of water without slowing (sorry to the volunteer that probably got wet!) and chugged and poured it over myself and kept going.

And I was able to finish in 58:44. Can I get a hell ya? Only 7 seconds off my best time and no hurling or walk breaks. I call that a win!

(Me, with Terry-Lyn and her friend Joline, who naturally both finished before me, but because I like to justify it, I am probably at least 5 years older than both of them. We will not speak of the grey haired lady that passed me mid-way, she is not relevant here.)

So next year, when I am cursing myself for signing up for yet another hour of torture, I will remember the satisfaction that I feel right now.

After the race. During the race, cursing (aka pep talks) is fair game.

It's Almost September, WHAT?

2012-08-31T21:52:00.001-06:00

I started this post two days ago but I guess I better finish it today or the title won't really make sense.

August brought a lovely car accident after which our van looked like this.

Thank goodness the van took the worst of it. All four of us were in the van when it happened and it was at 50 km/hr that we crunched into a truck whose driver thought the stop sign meant slow down slightly and pray. Well that prayer was not answered unless he wanted to have us hit him and push him head on into another stopped vehicle. Thank goodness no one was hurt. A hard lesson for him to learn - he was quite young.

This occurred two days before our planned departure to Jan Lake to spend a few days at my parent's cabin. The Civic, which is our second car, was not going to cut it. We do not travel light. So we rented the only thing we could find. Apparently a lot of people rent cars in Regina on an August summer weekend. Who knew.

The Ford Flex is awesome on the inside. The outside just doesn't do it for me. It's part station wagon, part box. I liked to call it the Cragon. You know those car/trucks from the 70's that were called Crucks. Yeah, like that only it's car and wagon and yeah, it makes no sense to anyone except to me.

It had satellite radio which is awesome because we lose radio about half way - Jan Lake is north. Like far north. Like no cell service or radio north. But satellite is everywhere, you know on account of them being in space and all. Lucky me because Jay found an 80's station that played Debbie Gibson.

I survived. Barely.

Views like these are worth even suffering through Debbie Gibson. Or what might be worse, Jay singing along to DB. I kid, I kid.

Kind of.

And this view makes me laugh, Kamden of the refusing to ever be without a funny face in a picture. I need lots of pictures to remember this stage by.

I love relaxing in the boat and throwing a line out. If I catch something, great, if not, whatevs. The scenery and peace more than makes up for the lack of fish.

We made supper on an island over the camp fire, an annual tradition. I love that my dad is in the background. Photobomb!

After a morning of tubing, we got back to the cabin only to realize I left my camera in the boat. Jay went back to get it. On his way back to the cabin after retrieving the camera, he ran into this dude. Yes, that is a bear. Did I mention we had all walked from the boat to the cabin and Jay was still on foot. The reason the bear is so small is because Jay backed the hell up from that bad boy. I had forgotten the telephoto lens too. If he had that lens, man would he have gotten a nice shot.

Have I mentioned that I have a phobia of bears. And spiders but that's not important right now.

Needless to say, I am super glad I wasn't with him. Oh and the kids too. The drama, I can only imagine. Jack takes after me with bears and spiders.

But that was the only "excitement" and we even managed to see that bear's footprints in the sand on the beach the next day. Pretty neat.

From a distance and days after the fact says Kami.

We spent as much time as the gas tank on the boat would allow pulling the kids in the tube. I am official boat driver and enjoy watching the big smiles and hearing the screams of glee.

However, I did almost drown my sister in law. Somehow one of the bumps launched her out of the tube. Her life jacket was too big and all I could see for what seemed like an eternity was the life jacket. No Nicole. Then her head popped up and we breathed a sigh of relief. We, um, I, slowed down and took some smaller bumps after that.

Here we are going much slower and over much smaller bumps. That is the only reason we have three on a two man tube. We do think about safety. Sort of.

And these two loved it fast and as bumpy as possible. Within reason, flipping the boat to get them massive air is NOT an option.

My mom even wanted to try. She did not witness the Nicole almost drowning incident which is pretty obvious given the fact that she wanted to give it a go now, 3 years after we started the tubing with the kids.

The best part was when we got out there and I asked if she still wanted to do it, she asked her grand kids if she should and they all yelled "YES!". Kind of forced her into it, didn't they?

We went nice and slow even hitting a few bumps. We got some smiles all around. And I didn't almost drown her. Oh no, I save that for the in laws. *smacks forehead*

It has been a fabulous summer of great weather and fun times. We are blessed indeed.

And today, after much research and discussion, we picked up this baby.

A brand new shiny Honda Pilot. The van was due to be replaced any way so the accident just did us a nice favour since the damage was more than the value of it. I try not to think of what we paid for it a mere 7 years ago because well I have a small pain tolerance. This time we went Honda because they seem to hold their value much better. We now own two Honda's so hopefully that continues to be true.

If you need me, I'll be out shining our new truck.

And if you know me well, you just snorted coffee through your nose because hell will likely freeze over before that happens. Cleaning and washing vehicles is a twice a year kind of thing, whether it needs it or not around here.

I will admire it through the window though so there's that.

San Diego - the Colossal Photo Post

2012-07-20T19:26:00.000-06:00

We just got home from 6 days in San Diego, California. What follows is a whole lotta photos from the trip. Believe it or not, there are more on Flickr. You have to be a Flickr friend to see them so if you are not, just let me know.

Somewhere between Regina and Denver we had a beautiful view up above the clouds.

We arrived late Thursday night so in the morning we scouted out a place for breakfast and found some cool photo ops around the resort. We stayed at The Lawrence Welk Resort in a beautiful condo (bigger and nicer than our house, I never wanted to leave).

There are these rocky hills on all sides. They make for stunning views and backdrops for photos of brothers who like to annoy the snot out of each other. As you can see, Kamden is not amused.

A note fountain. Ha. Neat and good for tourists to take photos of.

Day 1 we took in Lego Land and true to form, these guys did not go on one single ride. They do not take after me.

They did enjoy the Star Wars exhibit however.

Over 10,000 pieces went into this Millennium Falcon. It was about 3 feet long. That's a lot of Lego. And also, how do I get a job playing with Lego?

Captain Rex is a favourite of these two. They are Star Wars fans but they really love Star Wars The Clone Wars best. What the difference? I haven't a clue but they sure seem to know.

There was a mini San Fransisco and I enjoyed Lombard St without having to actually walk it. Boot camp on the hill anyone?

We got a kick out of the nerd glasses. Or 3D glasses whatever. Also note Kamden. Always with the poses, that one. You will see a theme.

For Granddaddy. He's even doing the hand thingy.

Day 2 we hung out at the resort because um, they had this, beside a beautiful pool surrounded by hills and it was a beautiful day. Oh yes. It was lovely. The boys loved the spray apparatus above. It had 6 pails up in the air that would fill with water and randomly dump it over their heads. Personally, that sounds like hell but what do I know?

9am. We had the place to ourselves so I relaxed on a lounge chair whilst they frolicked in the pool. (I may be channeling my inner British side)

They only got out to eat. And when their eyes were bloodshot. Even the salt water pools irritate the eyes. And it dries the tar out of our skin. We have to shower and slather on the moisturizer. Is it just us? I thought these salt water pools were supposed to be so much better.

Later that night, we took a drive to the coast to see the ocean. It was not swimming weather, rather what I would call chilly. I see why people wear wet suits to surf in California. We kept chuckling that it was hotter back home in Canada than in California.

I love how sometimes pictures do not tell the real story. We probably only spent 15 min at the beach and I have the most pictures from there. It's was cold so we went off in search of ice cream and for me? Fish tacos. Oh yes. I am currently obsessed with fish tacos and where better to get them than a California beach town. They were good and I even shared them with Jay.

Apparently waves are exciting. If that doesn't make you laugh, I don't know what will.

It wasn't much of a beach, more of a jetty. High tide I think?

Can you guess who was less than thrilled about posing for a family photo? So using this one on his wedding day.

Day 3 we had to bid our glorious condo goodbye. The conference I was attending was downtown, more than an hour's drive away so we moved to that hotel. It cost the same and we had one room, two queen beds vs. two bedrooms, two bathrooms, living room and kitchen. I guess you pay for location?

The zoo happened to be on the way so we spent the day touring around and saw about 1/3 of it. It's huge!

Our favourites were the elephants and the giraffes. So neat to see them up close and personal like that.

I was in awe of the plants or in this case the cactus. That is the size of a tree. Honest to goodness a first for me. The ones that grow on my parents land are the size of a small ball. I love experiencing the differences in landscape when we travel. California is really beautiful in so many ways.

These were in the lot as we waked to the car at the zoo. The flowers look like daisies but the plant is not like the daisies we have. So pretty regardless.

This was on a tree and the bloom is the size of my hand. So neat.

A view of our hotel downtown. It was located adjacent to the San Diego Convention Center which was hosting Comicon. We saw some, um, interesting people that night.

And about 5 Batmobiles. There was one for each Batman movie ever made. I think they were the real thing, but really who cares, so neat to see. I couldn't care less about Batman movies but even I thought this was cool.

I swear that guy is the Penguin. Jay didn't think so but now that I see the picture, I think it even more.

Snapped this one on my phone while lounging in my hoodie by the pool. Too cold to swim for me! The breeze off the water was chilly.

The boys however, had no trouble swimming at any time.

This is already Day 6. I was in the conference on Day 4 and 5 and apparently I am the only one who takes pictures. The boys hit SeaWorld, the Science Center and the Museum of Space and Aviation without me.

The last night we headed over to Petco Park to watch some MLB - the boys first game ever.

The Padres won and it was a pretty exciting game. We all enjoyed it.

It was our first time in California and we enjoyed it. I have to say that travelling is so much fun with these three.

June, the Rest of the Story and Well July too

2012-07-09T22:15:00.001-06:00

Another month gone, another birthday celebrated. Kamden turned 8 and we celebrated in between his end of the season flag football and soccer tournaments. He slept really good that weekend as you can imagine.

We almost had a tornado too. Nothing touched down but we had these really neat clouds (Mammatus clouds) which only appear after a tornado type storm.

Pretty neat and much less frightening than the cloud I was driving towards that looked like it was forming a very large funnel. It didn't, thank goodnesss.

I also prepared for and passed the practical portion of my personal training certification. It's all done, I am certified and on ward ho. It was stressful but so worth it. I am looking forward to this new addition to my life.

I also bit the bullet and traded in my Blackberry for an iPhone. I was skeptical but I am a full convert. I just couldn't believe how much better it could be but it really is. Email and internet are 100 times better and makes my work use of the phone so much easier.

And the camera kicks my Blackberry camera's butt to Portugal.

I got all dudded up to go out and celebrate my birthday with a good friend. Also a busy friend. It took us two months to find a day that worked for both of us. Life is full and busy and good.

And we laughed till we cried. Twice.

There ain't nothing better.

And that brings us to July. The weather has been unbelievable and on the weekend we hit the beach to enjoy it. We ran into Jack's good buddy from school and the boys got a tube ride out of the deal. Living less than an hour from about a dozen beaches is something for sure.

It's been a great summer so far, here's to the rest of summer.

Learning New, Unexpected Things

2012-06-25T22:45:00.000-06:00

This past weekend was a learning experience for me and not really in the way that I expected. Fourteen days ago, I decided to challenge an exam in order to obtain my Personal Training Certification.

(Pictures completely unrelated to post - but he such a sports nut and I love it!)

Fourteen days to learn a thirteen chapter textbook. Did I mention that by trade, I am an accountant? This is an exam that someone with a Kinesiology background would have no trouble acing with that little time to study.

Why the rush? The next exam isn't being held until October.

The time pressure stems from the fact that I was asked to begin teaching one of the classes that I attend weekly starting at the beginning of August.

I am pretty passionate about fitness and would love to help others on their journey so I thought, why not? What have I got to lose?

So I dusted off the study techniques that helped me graduate with great distinction from University and I set out to do it.

And I lost about 5 lbs solely due to stress and anxiety. This is humorous to me. By the way, the funny bone is called that because the upper arm bone is the humerus. I actually didn't know this (perhaps I shouldn't admit that.) so I did learn something.

The reason the level of anxiety is funny is because after university, I obtained my professional accounting designation (Chartered Accountant). To do this, I wrote a 4 day exam. Yes, four days for a total of sixteen hours.

This exam was 3 hours and half of it was multiple choice. Which if you don't know the material are no easier than any other type of question but you do have a slightly better chance of guessing than a short answer.

So basically I should be able to write an exam like this in my sleep and maybe I could, if it was about accounting.

I made it though the material and reviewed, reviewed and then reviewed some more. I even learned to spell gastrocnemus and vastus medialis and a bunch of other fun medical terms. And I am a terrible speller.

I also learned about how your body creates the energy to move and it was really interesting. I still don't know why I can't run faster but maybe I'll figure that out someday too.

The other half of the exam was a series of short answer questions that created a fitness program for a fictitious client. This is the part I was worried about. I could only guess what type of things they would ask and I was a bit off. I am not sure the person who marks my paper will be able to read it on account of the shaking my hand was doing. Some stuff I thought I knew, didn't seem to make sense for the client I picked so I modified as best I could. It remains to be seen how hard the trainer who grades it will laugh when she reads it.

When I was done, I was tempted to walk out and just be done. But I thought, you got this far, check it over, you might be able to add something. So I did. And I didn't add a thing. I did change a multiple choice answer but knowing me, I had it right the first time.

So now I wait. We are supposed to know pretty quickly so every time I get a personal email, my heart goes in my throat.

What I learned over the weekend though has very little to do with anything I studied. Rather, the whole experience reminded me that I have a pretty amazing life. I love my day job, and that's the kicker, I have a great job, I don't need this. I have a great family and I spent the weekend watching my younger son play football and soccer. Life is good.

So if this doesn't pan out and I *gasp* fail, well, I tried, and I am going with the idea that it isn't meant to be.

And I keep dancing around the house singing, "I don't have to study, I don't have to study" because in case you don't remember, that's a pretty stellar feeling.

UPDATED: I PASSED!!!!!!!!

June So Far

2012-06-13T09:14:00.002-06:00

June, it's here and almost half over already. We've been busy. Kamden is playing both soccer and flag football. Here he is lining on the defensive line. I don't actually know what I am talking about but I fooled you there, didn't I?

The day I brought my camera he got a tackle (ie ripped a flag off the ball carrier) in the first few minutes of the game. He was also about 5 feet from me and my zoom lens. When you look at the picture below, envision his arm extending above the top of the photo holding the yellow flag. Then look at his face. He was proud.

He also went to a birthday party and got his face painted. Adorable, no?

Then we had a birthday. Jack's 11th to be exact

This card had Phineus telling us what I breath smelled like.

I love the look on Kamden's face!

I found this book while browsing in the books with Jack. Kamden and I managed a covert operation to get it to Dad at the till without Jack's knowledge. Mom's got some stealth.

Jack, being my son in every way, only wanted to invite three friends to his party plus his little bro. They battled with Nerf guns for three hours in between pizza and cake. Good choice Jack, good choice. Next up, Kamden's birthday.

May Roundup In Photos

2012-05-29T16:25:00.001-06:00

Can anyone explain where May went? I think I blinked and now it's May 28th. What? We started out the month celebrating.

I am now 38 years young. And two years closer to a big trip planned for the year I turn the big 4-0. It will be somewhere hot, sunny and involve beaches (Caribbean) and umbrella drinks. February or March 2014. Who's in?

Jay and I also celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary. Jay is not much for material things so instead of buying him clothes like I usually do, I made his favourite meal, meatloaf. I am not even kidding. He loves the meatloaf at Montana's and it's so good even I like it. So I did a quick search and found a recipe for Braised Mushroom Meatloaf and I coupled it with this meatloaf recipe, minus the carrot - too lazy to shred it.

And oh my word, you guys, it was amazing. And it was meatloaf. I swear.

And I don't even like mushrooms. Cooked button mushrooms make me want to hurl. So I used fancy mushrooms. Not the ones the recipe called for but something kind whose name totally escapes me now. They were good though.

I talk about food a lot, don't I? I kind of like it.

Then there was Mother's day weekend. I ran a 10k race that weekend and was slower than I liked and much slower than last year but I didn't almost lose my lunch at the finish line. It was a very warm day and sunshine is my cryptonite so I finished in 1:01:45. Not my best time but it was a good run and I never walked once. And my lightening fast friend, Terry-Lyn walked back after she finished to run me in. I gots me some awesome friends.

And no pictures because our hubby's were both at flag football with our 7 yo sons.

We opted to see our mom's for Mother's day the next weekend. In between Kamden's football game and practice. Did I also mention he is playing soccer? Dude is all about the sports. Also, we have two calendars to try and keep track of everything.

After brunch with my mom and brother's family (Pop was out at the farm seeding), we took some snaps.

Oh Kamden, seriously, you of the funny poses.

Me, my mom and my big bro - he is older anyway, taller, well, we's short in this famdamily.

And here it is, the elusive shot of me and my mom. I am not sure if there are any others to be had out there. (my hair is rather red, and clashes horribly with train car behind us but ah well)

I got my mom some flowers, because she loves them and I love Blossoms. They did my wedding flowers and quite honestly, I have never seen another wedding bouquet that I loved as much as mine.

And that brings us to this past weekend. I took a quick solo trip back up to Saskatoon to run in the 10 k SK Marathon race with Jen.

I picked up my race pack and was really excited to see that our numbers had our names on them. Just like the big league races! It's the little things that make me happy.

Jen ran such an amazing race. She paced herself perfectly because someone, not mentioning any names, KAMI, didn't properly set her Garmin to display our pace.

Her goal time was around 1:10 and we finished strong in a time of 1:09:45.

She sprinted into the finish and as I ran with her, I was so proud of her that I got a bit teary.

Congratulations Jen, you did it! I knew you could, never a doubt in my mind. I enjoyed it and can't wait to do it with you again next year.

Here we are post race, avoiding the pizza that was provided to racers once they finished. Pizza? At 9am? No thank you. (if you know me, pizza at anytime is a big no no, unless you like your eyes watering a half hour later)

And that is May. Bring it June! We have two birthdays and a whole lot of soccer and flag football to keep us occupied.

Emotional Purge

2012-05-11T16:27:00.000-06:00

A number of years back, there was an incident that still to this day make me ill to my stomach when I think back on it. I have never written about it because it was too raw, there were too many other people involved. It's now been 6 years and I need to write about it. This may change your opinion of me but it's part of me so out it goes.

It's the only time in my life that I have ever been looked at with such hate and vehemence. I won't forget that. EVER.

I'll start at the beginning.

About 6 years ago, I met a girl, about my age at a mutual friend's birthday party. She lived in the same city as us, had a child close to Kamden's age (at the time - babies they were!) and didn't know a lot of people as they were new to the city.

We hit it off and I invited her to be part of a splurge group I was part of. We were just finishing a round and had open spots.

It seemed perfect. A new friend, very exciting. I am not a very outgoing person and don't meet and hit it off with people that easily.

She brought another friend into the splurge and it all seemed to be going reasonably well. Though there were observances of eye rolling and such when some of us talked about our older children. I chalked it up to the fact that preschoolers just give more fodder than toddlers and thought, whatever, they'll understand later.

It was the first time in my life that I was part of a large group and felt comfortable. The ladies were all wonderful, we had fun, we ate good food.

A well known fact about me, for those who know me, is that I am not a bubbly outgoing social butterfly. Nope. More of a wall flower, much more at ease in one on one or two on one situations. Always have been like this and my children are every ounce the same.

After a while the fact that either of them could never bother to RSVP to a gathering was getting to many of us. It was always requested. Never once did it happen. Personally, I find such things rather rude and down right uncourteous.

People are busy yes, but too busy to write a one line email, c'mon.

I was quite subtle (oozing sarcasm) when they showed up at the gathering I hosted having to frantically find chairs for them, I believe I even said, "oh I wasn't sure you would be coming as I never heard from you." Oh yes, that subtle.

It was either too subtle or as became apparent later, they just thought the whole idea of RSVPing was so not 2006.

Then came the kicker. The event that triggered a fall out that even the most pessimistic Kami could not have predicted.

A good friend was organizing a team for the an all night relay event for charity. Naturally she invited the group to join. Via email.

Most of us responded. Via email. A foreign concept for 2006? I don't think so.

Long after the team was established, said girl asked if she could still be part of it. The first question from the organizer was, didn't you get my emails? She let her know that she wasn't sure at that point if we could add another but she would do her best.

I have no idea if this played a role in the fallout or not. I had nothing to do with this part so probably not.

Later, when it came to collecting the money, again, no response from this same, now infamous girl.

By this point I had it. I mean REALLY? Is common courtesy gone by the wayside?

The funny thing is that in person, she oozed friendliness and courtesy.

*Cough* "Act* *Cough* *FAKE* *Cough*

Sorry, there I go again. I guess I still haven't learned my lesson.

I made a comment in an email to the team thanking the friend who had done all the work to organize us and collect the money to deliver. It takes work to do this even when everyone is on their game and when they are not, well, it's more work topped with frustration.

The comment I made was something to the effect of thanks, who knew it would be this much work to organize a bunch of adults.

Was it the truth? Damn straight.

Was it okay to say? Probably not. And I was told as much by one person.

All in all, it wasn't the best way to handle an already bad situation.

During the charity event I sensed serious animosity from said girl. I wasn't surprised, I knew she wouldn't have liked my comment. Of course, THAT email she read. Murphy!
The kicker though was at the end of the very long night (it was an all night event. ) I chased after her to give her something she had forgotten.

She looked at me with such hatred and venom that it still makes me ill to think about it.

I simply turned on my heel and walked away. I wasn't going to deal with at that point. No sleep. Not going to happen.

So I didn't deal with it. The next group gathering was at her place the week following. I wasn't going. I mean, why would I? It was clear she loathed my guts. I wasn't putting myself through that. Also I have zero ability to be fake and act like nothing is wrong.

Selfish. Yes, because when I wasn't there, she attacked my good friend who had organized the whole thing. In front of the entire group.

That's right folks. I still cannot believe that happened.

And this friend is one of the nicest, most loyal people I know. She did not deserve one word of the hate hurled at her.

I wasn't there so I only heard about it second hand. But from people I love and trust. It got ugly. Like into the nitty gritty about about why she felt there was no reason to RSVP to the gatherings - she didn't care how many people would come so why is it necessary. Etc. Etc. Etc.

I have not seen this girl since she looked at me with hate. And if I never see her again, it will be too soon. The whole situation is not something I can ever forget. Forgive sure, but forget, never.

She never turned up at another gathering, and if I recall right, her gathering was the end of a round. I stayed in the group one more year but the whole thing left such a bad taste in my mouth and I was no longer comfortable with the whole group setting. I loved each and every one in the group, I just preferred to see them individually or in smaller groups.

After writing all this, I am not sure what my point even is. Just that it stays with me. I think I understand why it all happened but I am just making assumptions about her that are either true or false but it helps me forgive her and myself.

It's over.

And I hope I have learned that stating the blunt truth is not the best option.

Peace out.

Bathroom 2

2012-04-30T22:51:00.000-06:00

The second bathroom finally is "finished". The work has been done for months, but my part, hanging the pictures and such took this long.

Here is the bathroom before. This picture makes it look way better, trust me.

Target was my saviour. This shower curtain is exactly what I was looking for and hunted high and low both locally and online to no avail. When I was in Bismarck I found it.

And angels sang.

Well not really, it is just a shower curtain but I was pretty happy. As happy as you can be after your 12th straight hour of shopping anyway.

The one thing our house lacks is storage so every reno involves maximizing our

storage. This tall cabinet is very roomy.

And as always, I enlarge my own amateur photos to decorate. It's cheap and it makes me feel like my hobby is worth something.

These are from twilight at the lake.

And sunset at the lake - those colours are not photoshopped. I wouldn't even know how, I promise you.

And now I will multi task - two posts in one. Aren't you lucky? Don't answer that.

Jack also had his piano recital this weekend. I know I am bias but he sure is handsome.

and that dimple....

Fair is Fair

2012-04-20T21:26:00.000-06:00

While I was trying on clothes while shopping in Bismark, ND with a friend this past weekend (such a fun weekend with an amazing friend) a comment was made by one of the store clerks. I was showing my friend a top and the lady commented that it looked nice. Then she went on to clarify that it looked really good on me and something to the effect that it wasn't fair. Let's just say the lady was no size 10 and leave it at that, shall we?

I actually didn't think to much about it at the time but at 5 am this morning when I awoke for no good reason (other than....you know) I remembered the comment and lo and behold the elusive blog post was born.

*insert trumpets here*

Incidentally enough, when I logged in today, I noticed two things. Blogger looks completely different and my last post was almost a month ago...but I digress.
It got me thinking about how much luck was involved in this whole scenario.

(And then I went looking for a photo of me from a few years ago and got sidetracked looking at the photos from my half marathon in Sept. Mental note: those shorts are not the most flattering and two words: "sports bra".)

Here's me in 2004. Yes, Kamden was about 3 months old, but truthfully, I did not shed the double chin I am sporting here until he was 3 years old.

How much of that process was luck, really?

Was it luck that made me make a change because I was unhappy?

Was it luck that made me change what and how much I ate?

Was it luck that started pushing me physically harder than I have ever pushed myself in my life?

News flash: Changing habits is hard and it was no easier for me than anyone else. I chose to make the changes and because I worked hard, I reaped the rewards.

I used to look at fit people and be green with envy. Then I got serious about my own habits and health and now I look at people both fit and on their journey to fit and am incredibly inspired.

It's a choice. The only luck involved is that I was and continue to be able and healthy enough to do so.

Because I Doubt the Grandparents Check FB

2012-03-24T12:16:00.005-06:00

As always, on my last post I received sweet, supportive comments. Thank you, you are a big part of why I will continue to use this space. It is nice to know that no matter how little I put into this, there will still be people interested in reading.

Now on to my much neglected camera. I haven't been spending much time with it lately and I have missed it. I did take some pictures of my neice doing gymnastics. But, for obvious reasons, those will not show up online on my watch. She was so fun to work with - holding your entire body weight up on your hands is hard work while waiting for Kami to get organized...

So yesterday I invaded the boys space while they played their DS's or as I like to refer to them, the crack cocaine for the under 14 crowd. We limit their time on there because seriously, there is so much more to life that Super Mario Brothers and Pokemon. Though if you talked them you might wonder if they know that.

My biggest pet peeve is how much kids today seem to spend on electronics. I judge. I shouldn't but I do. I get judged too so it's all fair, right?

I am going to sound so old now but when we were kids, we were outside. You remember that? Like the opposite of inside. Where there grass and trees and FRESH air are? Yeah. My kids, it's like pulling teeth to make them go outside. Actually, to be more specific, it's one of my boys that refuses to play outside.

"There's nothing to do."

Uh huh.

I show you what you can do, little darling. (That right there, one of my applications for Mother of the Year. I have many.)

So I limit their screen time. And the rest of the time, they play with their action figures in the living room. I love this but be darned if they aren't re-enacting the very video games they are not allowed to play to their heart's content.

You win some, you lose some.

It's Not You, It's Me

2012-03-16T19:33:00.005-06:00

It's been six years to the month since I started this here blog. Just a minute as I process that because where did the time go, exactly?

My boys were aged 5 and 2 years old respectively. Back then, I was doing some contract work from home very part time and spending my days doing preschool drop off, Kindermusik and gymnastics.

Much of that was discussed here in great detail. I love to read the posts about the kids because the stories you think you will remember, you so do not remember. We pick up the books I had made of the posts and we laugh, and laugh and laugh. Those were the days to use an overused because it's so true cliche.

I do not love to read the myopic posts (over share much?). I physically cringe because the stark raving need for attention is quite embarrassing. Though the self-depreciating humour does still crack me up from time to time.

Life has changed dramatically in those 6 years. The boys are school age and independent. They are off learning and building relationships with their peers at school. This does not make me sad in the least because....it is exactly how it is supposed to be.

Not surprisingly enough,I have also changed. I now have a job that is extremely rewarding and challenging that keeps me busy during school hours (let's hear for part time). It is fulfilling in a way that I actually never believed could be possible from a job. Of course, it is not all roses, I deal with people after all, but 90% of the time I really do enjoy what I do. Six years ago, I would have laughed at you if you told me I would one day have a job I loved.

Three years ago, I couldn't have fathomed not posting on here less than once a week. I craved the interaction. And to be quite honest, my ego quite liked the 20 plus comments I used to average on a post in the height of my blogging career (ha! I couldn't even type that without audibly snorting).

Lately I have been wondering why I no longer have the urge to spew drivel on here. I think this had a very integral part in my growth as a person. I have learned so much from expressing myself here and from reading so many different perspectives on the blogs of people who I consider friends.

For whatever reason, I just don't seem to be motivated any longer. I don't feel any guilt or pressure, this is my place and I have always felt it is for me to do with what I will.

It's not that I am quitting or shutting this down or even considering that. Mostly I am putting my thoughts down just like I always have.

I don't really know where this blog will go, if anywhere. I know that there are still friends who blog that I will continue to read because I would miss them otherwise. I also know that the stories that I wrote about the kids will be priceless to me always. I am also keenly aware that there is a point where it becomes a breach of my children's privacy to write about their lives here. We have reached that point for both boys for certain.

So here I am, enjoying life and continuing on the path that I believe I am supposed to be on. Stay tuned.

Pretty in Pink

2012-01-29T16:27:00.009-06:00

We have been talking about redoing our bathrooms for years and we finally bit the bullet hiring a contractor to do the work.

Here is the half bath before:

Nothing terrible but if you notice on the top right of the vanity, there is a gaping hole. The face plate broke off years ago.

And we had ripped up the flooring (peel and stick squares - never use these, FYI) about two years ago because the toilet leaked.

You kind of get used to the ugly backing of the lino that was probably laid in 1984, you know?

But it sure does make me appreciate the loveliness that is now my little slice of girlyville.

I went pink with the theme. It's my bathroom primarily, so the boys in the house didn't get a say (not that they care one way or the other anyway).

I picked the paint colour then found the antique looking frames at Winners, then found the cute little bejeweled vase and fake hydrangea another day at Winners all under $10 each.

I love me some Winner's Homesense.

And the storage I have has tripled. I have three drawers which are so much more functional that the under the cabinet thing. Little things like this, put a spring in my step (sad, I know).

And the medicine chest? I found a much more practical use for it since the three types of medicine I keep all fit in the over the toilet cupboard.

Yes, I enjoy purchasing accessories. Yes, I work at home in Lulu, what's your point?

The main bath is nearing completion too but I am having no luck finding a shower curtain to inspire the decor. The boys, again, couldn't care less about the colour scheme. Life with three boys, it has many perks. For the parents, who might actually care, pictures to come when it all comes together.

If you can't find me, I might be sitting in my little slice of pink, enjoying the view of new baseboards and fresh paint.