To Love, Honor and Vacuum

When Waffles and Spaghetti Sound Good Together

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila) — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:53:00 +0000

Every Friday my syndicated column appears in a variety of papers. For some strange reason, I forgot to post last week's, so here it is! Tomorrow I'll post this week's. Hope you like it! It ties in well with yesterday's Wifey Wednesday post. It is a commonly known fact in our family that Grandpa cries at everything. He cries at piano recitals. He cries at baptisms. He cries whenever the kids get an award, give a speech, or get super dressed up....

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Turning on the Taps

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:54:00 +0000

I just got dinner ready. Rinsed off the potatoes, peeled them, rinsed them off again. I washed the broccoli and carrots and filled the steamer to cook them. Added water to the potatoes and put them on the stove. Before dinner we played tennis. Came home, and four of us had showers. While we were there we were drinking bottled water. Just like any other day. We don't even think about water, do we? But what would we do if we couldn't turn on the...

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Really Cute Joke

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:43:00 +0000

Just got sent this in an email, and I had to share it. I hope I'm not infringing on someone's copyright! Two young boys walked into a pharmacy one day, picked out a box of tampons and proceeded to the checkout counter. The man at the counter asked the older boy, "Son, how old are you?" "Eight," the boy replied. The man continued, "do you know what these are used for?" The boy replied, "not exactly, but they aren't for me. They're for him....

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Wifey Wednesday: How He Brings Peace

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:36:00 +0000

Remember the book Men are Like Waffles, Women are Like Spaghetti? I wrote about that in my syndicated column last week, which I forgot to post (just realized that now, I'll put it up for tomorrow); but basically here's the issue: we women are multi-taskers. When we're doing the laundry, we're thinking about what we're making for dinner, we're talking on the phone, and we're trying to plan the route we'll take to drop kids off at various houses,...

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Quick Question: Does Your Husband Bring You Peace?

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 21:28:00 +0000

I'm thinking of turning this Tweet I read from @michaelannalea into a Wifey Wednesday. Here it is: Husbands, your wife needs you to be engaged, interested, and invested in establishing (or reestablishing) her peace Interesting thought: I do find I'm more peaceful when my husband helps me sort out priorities. My mind just goes in so many directions at once that I often need to talk things out and get his input. He really does help to ground...

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Random Summer Thoughts

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 11:51:00 +0000

I'm B-a-a-a-ck! You may not have realized I was away, because I had posts scheduled to appear at different times, but I've been away for a week and a half down in the Bay of Fundy, home of the world's largest tides, in New Brunswick camping. I don't like to announce too much before I leave that I'm gone, because it's like saying, "Hi everybody! My house is empty! Come and rob it!". But now that I'm home I'll let you know I was away. I'll post...

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Have You Kissed Your Husband Today?

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila) — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 00:14:00 +0000

I mean, REALLY kissed him? For more than 2 seconds? No? Then go do it! Why do we stop making out once we're married? Let's keep kissing! Sometimes we stop because we think he'll think that we're promising something. But if we don't kiss, we don't get our own libidos going. And kissing is fun. Go try it! var addthis_pub = "sheilagregoire";

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Really, Really Crappy Parenting Advice

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 12:00:00 +0000

There is a lot of garbage out there masquerading as parenting advice that sounds really profound but if you actually do it you will end up with Dennis the Menace. Here's one: "Kids naturally WANT to behave. Nurturing their goodness and guiding their behavior is the best way to help empower kids to make the right choices on their own." I got it from here. It's a parenting site delivering all kinds of "wisdom" on positive parenting techniques....

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Wifey Wednesday: Go 3 for 3

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila) — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 11:00:00 +0000

I was browsing around the internet lately and found the best synopsis of marriage advice I've seen in a long time. Readers to this blog won't find any of it surprising. I talk on these themes all the time. But it's so pithy and wise, I have to reproduce it just as she said it over at Garden of Holiness: 3 Things to Keep in Mind 1. You picked him. 2. You can't change him. 3. You didn't marry a girl. Aren't those brilliant? You can't change...

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Just to Stir the Pot Even More...

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila) — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 11:00:00 +0000

A while ago I wrote a column on "Teaching Disabilities", which got quite a few teachers mad at me. I commented on that phenomenon here. And now I've got further proof that my thesis is correct! Apparently in California, it is extremely rare for a teacher to be fired for classroom behaviour. It's other stuff. They can teach horribly, and they still get a pass. Here's an example of one guy who obviously needs to be fired: The eighth-grade boy...

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How Not to Be a Lazy Housewife

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:30:00 +0000

Get your day off right! It says here , in a post on "How Not to Be a Lazy Housewife", that the beginning of the day is the most important. She writes: Rise and shine: Seriously, when you first rise be sure to find a way to shine. Instead of getting on the computer in your bathrobe or sitting in front of the TV - take a shower and dress as though you are expecting guests. You don't need to dress to the nines, but at least be clean and...

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Happy 4th of July!

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila) — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 11:00:00 +0000

To all my American friends, Happy 4th of July! And thank you for the stance that your country took on freedom, now more than 230 years ago, that ushered in freedom for the rest of us. We appreciate your legacy, and may your continued "experiment", as Lincoln called it, never perish from this earth. var addthis_pub = "sheilagregoire";

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Who Will We Remember?

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:00:00 +0000

Every Friday my syndicated column goes out to over a million people. Here's this week's, about events of last week. Enjoy! When I was eight I wanted Farrah hair. I was forever leaning forward and then throwing my head back to achieve that wind-tossed look. It never worked. Michael Jackson, though, I never tried to emulate. I may have attempted the moonwalk a few times (though I didn’t grab my crotch), but that’s as far as it went. The two...

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Take Time This Summer to....

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:30:00 +0000

Do absolutely nothing. Read a novel from cover to cover. Watch children run naked around the backyard (as long as they're still toddlers)! Sit outdoors and just listen to the birds. Take walks with someone you love. Knit something. Take up a new hobby. Clean out one room completely. It'll feel great! Write a letter with actual pen and paper. Build a sandcastle. Consider the ants and be wise! But don't get busy like them until the...

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Wifey Wednesday: What Lens Do You See Your Husband Through?

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila) — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:41:00 +0000

Quite often we don't see people how they really are. We look at them with our own biases. For instance, before we get married we tend to see our husbands (then our fiances) through rose-coloured glasses. We may notice that they do annoying things, but we think of these as "cute quirks" that they will likely grow out of. Then, once we're married, those glasses often fall off and we start noticing all the things that are wrong with our...

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My "Craft Project" Guaranteed to Mortify any Teenager

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila) — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:30:00 +0000

Yesterday I had six women and five teenage girls over making the craft project to end all craft projects. I've posted before about the cloth sanitary pads that we make and send to Africa. A friend who runs Heart to Africa in Georgia emailed me and asked if I could send her a bunch to go to a women's prison in Kenya. Right now, when it's that time of the month, the girls just squat over a bucket for a week. They have absolutely nothing. Can you...

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Taking Time Together This Summer

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 12:05:00 +0000

I have a daughter who is very talented at figure skating. She pretty much taught herself, watching YouTube videos of famous skaters and then practising during our homeschool skate times. We've been trying to put her in lessons, but the clubs near us are always full. I'm going to make the effort next year, though, because she is very committed to it. When she was younger she had the opportunity to do competitive gymnastics. She's always been...

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I Finished Another Vest!

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila) — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 01:29:00 +0000

Gwen Mission Falls Front Originally uploaded by SheilaGregoireJust wanted to share with you another finished knitting project. I'm getting myself all ready to go away camping this week, and I'm packing up a vest to knit for my youngest daughter, and a shrug for my oldest. But I thought I'd better get the stuff I've got on the go done, so here's a vest! I feel just like a proud momma!

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When Are You a Grown Up?

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila) — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 11:00:00 +0000

It has taken me a long time to feel like I'm actually a grown up. I thought I'd feel like I was a grown up when I got married, but I didn't. I thought I'd feel it when I had kids, but I didn't. But sometime in the last decade I have crossed a line. I don't know where it was, but I am now a grown-up. And I'm trying to figure out how I define it. I might turn this into a column, but here are some of the things that make me feel grown up. I...

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For Budding Writers and Speakers

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:32:00 +0000

sheilaericWriteCanada Originally uploaded by SheilaGregoireSo last weekend I was at Write Canada, a writers' conference for Christian writers in the great white north. I did a lot of hard work, as you can see from this picture. It's funny, though, because God really changed my direction after I came home. I thougth I was going to the writer's conference to talk about one thing (mostly ebooks), and I came home totally excited about the book...

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Plastic or Canvas?

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila) — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:58:00 +0000

Every Friday my syndicated family column goes out to a million people in various newspapers. Here's this week's, about my dilemma with plastic bags! I suppose this is somewhat appropriate today, when the U.S. Congress is voting on Cap and Trade! Once upon a time, people would happily gather up their steak bones, used Kleenex, and slimy meat wrappers into plastic garbage bags the night before the garbage truck made its rounds. Then these happy...

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How Important are Friends?

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:48:00 +0000

They say that only 10% of men have a real friend--someone that they could actually bear their soul to. Many have lots of acquaintances, but the conversation never goes below the surface level. And we women pride ourselves because we have so many friends! But I got thinking lately, do I really? I have two women that I call on a fairly regular basis just to chat. One more than the other, perhaps. And I have a ton of women that I could call if I...

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Wifey Wednesday: When You Don't Speak Each Other's Language

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila) — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:44:00 +0000

Sometimes husbands and wives just don't see eye to eye. I'm a little distracted today, and so it's hard to write a Wifey Wednesday post. But let me try and let you in on what's going on in my head today. To make a long story short, a woman from our homeschooling group has just been diagnosed with a very rare terminal condition. She likely doesn't have long to live, and she has a 10-year-old daughter for whom she has always been the primary...

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What is Clean Enough?

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:21:00 +0000

I once read this quotation that said: "A clean house is the sign of a boring person." And I think that's true. For a home to be clean all the time requires two things: people who have few hobbies to mess it up, and someone else whose hobby is cleaning. Both of those things are signs that someone needs to get a life! At the same time, a certain level of cleanliness is necessary in all homes. No one wants to fear catching a communicable...

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Finding Your Passion

noreply@blogger.com (Sheila) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:29:00 +0000

I spoke at Write Canada, the Canadian Christian writers' conference, this weekend. Made some great connections, renewed old friendships, and had some time away from home just to dream and ask God about my direction. It was interesting, because I went to that conference thinking I should be going in a certain direction, and came away with a whole lot of other priorities. And I'm excited! As a member of the faculty at the conference, people had...

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