A Blissful Life...

The end is nigh!

2011-08-23T15:18:00.001-06:00

The end of summer, that is. Why does it always go by so fast??? I finally gave in and got the school supplies yesterday. Fortunately, my sixth grader loves school and shopping, so she's been hounding me for weeks. I'm pretty sure I'd be doing it all last minute if it weren't for her. :o) I hate it; it's like saying goodbye to fun (and, um, sleeping in).

We've had a fun summer, spending it mostly at my parents' place a) because it's fun and b) to save me from having to clean the house for showings. I'm so thankful for my mom and that she (mostly??) likes having us around! Unfortunately, our house STILL hasn't sold, so the kids and I are stuck here for a while longer while hubby slaves away in our future home city (7 hours from here). I'm also thankful for my sister, without whom we wouldn't even have entertained the thought of taking this fantastic job opportunity. My husband has a place to stay, and we don't have to pay rent on top of our mortgage. What would we do without such a great family??? I don't even want to think about it.

So, instead of planning a move at the moment, we're gearing up for another school year. Fortunately, the kids' schools are super excited about us staying (phew!). We decided to home school the 2 high schoolers; my oldest is going into grade 11 and rather than lose a semester's worth of credits by moving mid-semester, she's going to take online courses (again). My #2 is going into grade 9, which is high school in my little city, but he has cerebral palsy (albeit a rather mild case compared to many) so with the big adjustments, I thought it'd be best to just keep him home rather than make him transition twice in (hopefully) a few months time. Besides that, when we do move, he'll be back in Jr. High, so it'll be a little less stressful to become the top dog at a new school. He's pretty excited to stay home for a bit because we'll be working on American History (not really something that's covered in the Canadian curriculum...). We'll also be focussing a lot on Math so he doesn't get behind. He's less excited about that, though. ;-)

One good thing about school starting (and the inevitable routine), is that I look forward to finally catching up on some blogs to see what everyone has been up to this summer!

Besos!

I turn my back for one second...

2011-07-10T20:29:00.000-06:00

And a whole month disappears! Has anyone else had this problem? I'm still around. Summer holidays have finally officially begun as of June 30th, so we're taking it easy around here visiting with Grandma and Grandpa, aunties and cousins. We'll be doing a little house hunting as well (and hopefully some house selling to facilitate the hunting part...)

I love the lack of structure that summer brings, and let's face it - not waking up to rush the family out the door in the morning is definitely a bonus! Because my husband is working 7 hours away, we don't have any major summer plans (aside from moving in August), but at least the spray parks are open and the kids can have some fun in the nicer weather (when it's not raining, that is).

How about you? Have you got big plans this summer?

Besos!

Lessons in Gardening

2011-06-06T13:16:00.000-06:00

I'm not much for gardening. I take that back - what I really don't like are the bugs. Digging around in dirt is actually quite fun; it's just too bad there are so many pesky little critters that bite. (Non-biters are fine so long as they don't touch me.)

Anyhoo, I was out planting some flowers the other day because I thought it might be nice for the people who may decide to buy our house. Then I moved on to our garden. Now, usually we get our gardens in on our May long weekend (3rd Monday is a holiday in Canada), but we've had so much rain and general blah kind of thing going on, that hardly anyone has managed to plant yet. On top of that, I'm not the one who usually does the planting around here - my hubby grew up on an acreage and knows what he's doing. (As an added bonus, when he cracks the proverbial whip, the kids get to work out there.)

Well, hubby has a new job in another city, so (much to the dismay of my children) I decided to plant a garden. It wouldn't be so bad if I had a rototiller, but as it is, I had to turn over the dirt of the entire garden by hand (okay, I had a shovel, but still - it's hard work!). Lest you think I'm crazy (you can't prove it anyway), it was either that or spend two more weeks weeding the darn thing...

So anyway, I'm out there turning the dirt while the kids are getting the bigger weeds, and I'm thinking I'm never going to finish this thing and it's taking me forever and a day (even though it's only taken three, it feels like waaaay longer).

And that's when it hits me.

You see, I've been working on a writing project that's been driving me bonkers because it seems to be taking forever and a day, and I honestly thought about shelving it. But then I realized that if I just keep at it - even if it's a little bit at a time - that I'll end up with something (hopefully) great. Obviously I don't know for sure if it'll be a masterpiece or anything, but just like you never know how good your garden will be (because it depends on a lot of factors that are out of your control), you just have to try your best and have faith in the outcome. I don't think I've ever been too disappointed with a planted garden, and I know that if I ditch this project, I'll always wonder if I could've made it through this "weedy" patch.

So that's what I've learned this past week. Just when you think you have it all figured out*, haha. What do you do when you hit a rough patch?

Besos!
*Let's pretend that's even possible. I pretend it all the time, and usually my kids even believe me...If they only knew...

S-L-O-W-M-O-T-I-O-N and making the most of being a (temporarily) single parent

2011-05-19T23:28:00.000-06:00

Hmm, it's looking like I'm slowing down for the summer already around here! School doesn't end until June 28th, so there are still lots of big projects and field trips to get through, but thankfully, the kids have just finished piano and basketball, so there's a lot less running around to do. And still, the blogging has suffered. Ah, well. Blogging is not one of my strengths, but I do try. But I digress...

Things were pretty crazy for a while what with my hubby starting a new job 7 hours away, getting him all ready to go, band trips, house-hunting trips, putting the house on the market, installing new carpet, etc. I'm going to be honest, at the end of all of the stress that was March/April, getting rid of my husband has actually simplified my life a great deal. Not the least of which is that I get to miss all of the new-job stress. (You can bet I've done a happy dance or two over that one...oh wait, here comes another one. And...I'm done.)

Don't get me wrong - my hubby is a totally awesome guy and all that, but some things are just easier when he's not around. Like the laundry. I have waaay less laundry now that he's gone. Isn't that weird? He's not even that big of a guy, so you wouldn't think it would make that big of a difference. Who knew?

Also easier? Meals. If we want to have less than manly meals for dinner like grilled cheese sandwiches, we can! My kids can be full if that's all I feed them, and it's completely awesome. Or how about cereal for dinner? Sure! The kids love it.

The best thing though, is not having to keep the house as tidy All. The. Time. (Er, not that I do, it's just that now the pressure is off...) Let's just say that my husband and I have different levels of tidiness that we're each comfortable with. (He thinks we should live in a showhome, and I think we have busy lives with FIVE KIDS.) I mean, I've still got to maintain a certain level of cleanliness because we're ~~not animals~~ still showing the house, but I've already de-junked in anticipation of the move, so I've always got tons of time to get things ready for a showing.

There are plenty of things we miss about having daddy around, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to appreciate the good things that come from it. Now I only have to keep the house in totally awesome shape when he comes home every once in a while for a weekend. AND I LOVE IT.

Is that so wrong?

Besos!

Alive and kicking (metaphorically speaking...)

2011-05-06T01:15:00.003-06:00

I say metaphorically because I totally broke my butt yesterday, so I can't lift my legs high enough to kick. Sorry, I'm not trying to be rude or anything, but I did about a gazillion squats (okay, so it might've been like 50...) and now I can barely move. It's just as well that I can't move, because I'm completely exhausted from the last couple of weeks.

I managed to survive the band trip. The kids were actually pretty great, but one of my fellow chaperone roomies snored, so I got next to no sleep. Apparently I'm too old to pull several all-nighters in a row because I felt like I was going to DIE by the time the 7 hour bus trip home was over and done. I didn't die, however, but I got the nastiest cold/bronchitis ever but I had no time to relax because we had to move furniture and rip out the upstairs carpet before packing up the family for our week-long spring/Easter break/house-hunting/van-buying trip.

As if that wasn't enough, while we were gone, we had carpet installed so as soon as we got back we had to move the furniture and baseboards back into place because we were having an open house AND we had to pack up my husband so he could start his new job. I'm hyperventilating just thinking about it all!

*Deep breath*

But that's all done, and now things can return to normal. I'm looking forward to lounging around (healing my broken backside) and catching up on my blog reading. Thankfully, the kids have a long weekend (courtesy of an impending teacher strike, but whatever - I'll take it). At least if our realtor calls to show the house they can help tidy up...because I don't think I can pick anything up off the floor. Or get down the stairs. Or into the van.

Sometimes it really pays to have 5 kids. Just sayin'.

Besos!

Back to school

2011-04-17T16:56:00.000-06:00

Well, sort of. I'm chaperoning a big old band trip for #1 daughter for the next 3 days. In store for me over the next 72 hours? A lengthy bus ride and a gruelling schedule with 120 teenagers. I'll let you know how it turns out...pray for me. (Kidding. Sort of.)

Besos!

Sanity for sale (also, may I have some cheese with my whine?)

2011-04-11T19:30:00.000-06:00

I had forgotten just how much I hate trying to sell a house. I don't hate a lot of things in this world (after all, hate is one of those bad, forbidden words in our house), but this definitely ranks right up there with...well, I can't think of anything else I dislike quite as much (other than our lame school division, but I've whined enough about that in the past. So much so that I'm not going to link to any of those posts.)

And so, here I sit, unable to control many of the elements that might lead to the sale of our home. Sure, it's only been a week, but our last house sold in ONE DAY. Which is totally unreal, yet it happened anyway. Is it too much to expect that to happen again? Apparently. The trouble is, that has spoiled me for future house selling for the rest of my life! I am stuck with unrealistic expectations, and anything less than that one day sale will feel like FOR.EV.ER.

Which is where I'm at right now. And, if I'm going to be honest, I'm a little crabby about it. Which is goes against everything I stand for - I know, right? I'm such the hypocrite! You'd think that I'd be used to the waiting, what with the querying process and everything. But, alas, I am as impatient as ever, and for some odd reason, I take people's rejection of my house much more seriously than a rejection of my manuscript. Which I shouldn't, because it really is just a matter of personal taste in both departments.

Le Sigh. It's hard to be patient sometimes, isn't it?

What's got you waiting these days? (Please let me not be the only one waiting on something...) And how are you coping? I could use some tips right about now!

Besos!

A TV show worth watching

2011-04-04T22:39:00.000-06:00

Maybe you've seen this already, but I read this on someone's blog a while ago and had a good laugh. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

THE NEXT SURVIVOR SERIES: 6 married men will be dropped on an island with one car and 2 kids each for 6 weeks. Each kid will play 2 sports and take either music or dance classes. There is no fast food. Each man must take care of his 2 kids, keep his assigned house clean, correct all homework, complete school projects, cook, do laundry, and pay a list of "pretend" bills. In addition, each man will have to budget enough groceries for each week and purchase said groceries - looking for deals, sales, and coupons in an effort to be as thrifty as possible. Each man must remember the birthdays of all friends and relatives and send cards out or make a phone call on time - no emailing! Each man must also take each child to a doctor's appointment, a dentist appointment and a hair cut appointment. He must make 1 unscheduled and inconvenient visit per child to the emergency room. He must also make cookies or cupcakes for a school function.

Each man will be responsible for decorating his own assigned house, planting flowers outside, and keeping it presentable at all times.

The men will only have access to television when the kids are asleep and all the chores are done.

The men must shave their legs, wear makeup daily, adorn themselves with jewelry, wear uncomfortable yet stylish shoes, keep fingernails polished and eyebrows groomed during 1 of the 6 weeks.

The men will have to endure severe abdominal cramps, backaches, headaches, have extreme, unexplained mood swings, but never once complain or slow down from other duties.

They must attend weekly school meetings, and find time at least once to spend the afternoon at the park or a similar setting.

They will need to read a book to the kids each night and in the morning feed them, dress them, brush their teeth and comb their hair by 8:30.

A test will be given at the end of the 6 weeks where each father will be required to know each child's:

birthday,
height and weight,
shoe size and clothing size,
doctor's name,
child's weight and length at birth,
time of birth and length of labor,
favorite color,
middle name,
favorite snack,
favorite song,
favorite drink,
favorite toy,
biggest fear,
and what they want to be when they grow up.

The kids vote the men off the island based on performance.

The last man wins ONLY IF....

he still has enough energy to be intimate with his wife at a moment's notice.

If the man does win, he can play the game over and over and over again for the next 18 to 25 years, eventually earning the right to be called "mom."

It never ends

2011-03-28T23:41:00.001-06:00

Let's face it: life is crazy. I mean, I know that sometimes my schedule is hectic (and that some of it is self-inflicted cough*renos*cough) but throw a move into the mix, and my brain goes haywire. That's right - my hubby got a new (and exciting!) job and we're moving! I've worked so hard on our house and now we get to sell it and move far, far away. Well, only 7 hours away (and not anywhere warmer...whose idea was that?)

Also, in a fit of temporary insanity, I've decided that now is a good time to also query agents. I know, you're probably thinking "what's wrong with her" or something along those lines. Or maybe you're not thinking anything. I guess I don't really know. Do I need to mention that I'm not a mind reader? Because I'm not, in case you were all "Get out of my head!!" and wondering if I was...

Ahem. The point is (sort of), that I do much better under pressure. I'm like a piston that ignites at the height of the cycle and fires on a spark. Or something like that. (Hey, it's been a long time since grade 10 motor mechanics...). It's late and I'm a wee bit over-tired, so just think of something that does better under pressure and pretend that's me.

So, anyway - that's why I decided that now is as good a time as any. Because I've come to the conclusion that in all my crazy-busy life, it's never a really good time. You just have to take the bull by the horns and, well, I don't know what, but sometimes you need to go for it because otherwise there is never a good time to do it. Plus, I just plain do better when I have more to do. And I like it. At times I wish I could be more steady, but I have a theory that I'm just super competitive with myself and so I let things pile up because I like to see how much I can get done at once. (Okay, so I didn't say it was a good theory...)

All right, I'm pretty much just rambling incoherently, so that's my cue to get to bed., but I just want to encourage you to take that leap with whatever you're doing. There's no time like the present. Who's with me?

Besos!

Introverts 'r' Us

2011-03-21T15:17:00.000-06:00

I don't know about you, but I'm a major introvert. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy going out and having a good time, but I'm very comfortable in my own skin and I have no problems being alone for extended periods of time. (Which, um, is not easy to do when you've got 5 kids, but that's another post for another time.)

Anywho...I read a great article over at Shrinking Violets today that really resonated with me. I'm just going to list their 10 points, but you should head over there and check it out if you know any introverts. I think we're often misunderstood, and this explains "our people" perfectly! :-)

(Italics indicate my additional thoughts, but you really should check out the original article. It's excellent!)

We are not all shy. (Except for talking on the phone. I'm so bad at that.)
We are not anti-social. (hahahahahaha)
Introversion is not a mental health issue. (What the??? People actually think that?)
We don't not like people. (Also, we are not snobs. Just sayin'.)
We do contribute to society. (I should hope so!)
Introversion is not a weakness that needs to be overcome. (Where do people get these ideas from?)
We do not have intimacy issues. (Did I mention that I have FIVE kids??)
We are not broken extroverts. (This one makes me smile.)
Introversion is not the same as social anxiety. (Amen to that.)
Introverts are not self-absorbed. (Unless I have my nose in a book. Then I don't want to talk to you.)

Hopefully this clears up a few misconceptions about us broken extroverts, haha. Normally, I would counsel you to go out and hug an introvert today, but let's face it - we don't really want that kind of attention. :o)

Besos!

16 years

2011-03-14T13:51:00.000-06:00

Can we really have gotten engaged that long ago? It hardly seems possible and it always amazes me how quickly the time passes. Our oldest will be getting a learner's permit in just a few months! How can this be??? I honestly don't feel much differently than I did when we got engaged. Sure, I'm a little older and (hopefully) wiser, but still! Where in the world does the time go?

I thought it might be fun to list some of the things we've experienced in the last 16 years. In that length of time, we have:

been pregnant a lot (5 living children, one stillborn and 3 miscarriages)
laughed, loved, cried together far more often than I thought possible (much of which is not completely unrelated to being pregnant a lot, haha)
completed 3 degrees (his, but mine by proxy)
had 4 different hair colours (me, not him: blonde, black, red, brown)
lost lots of hair (him, not me thankfully)
lived in 4 cities
lived in 7 houses (including the 5 months at my parents' while job hunting after grad school)
had 2 cats
been through 6 vehicles and 2 car accidents
lived in Texas
survived two cross-border moves (to and from TX) - barely...oh the stress!!!
gone to Disneyland (with kids)
gone to Mexico (without kids)
bought 2 sets of wedding rings

After my last post, I thought you might like to see pics of the new rings we picked out. :o) Happy Monday, everyone!

Besos!

The new rings....hers....

....and his!

When you least expect it

2011-03-04T00:01:00.000-06:00

Remember how I said Valentine's day wasn't a big deal around here? Well, it still isn't, but my husband and I are coming up on the 16th anniversary of our engagement this month. Normally, we completely forget until about a week after and then reminisce about how excited we were to get engaged all that many years ago.

My husband had taken his mom to shop for a ring (isn't that cute?) on a Tuesday afternoon (the 14th), and then he couldn't wait to propose. He showed up just after dinner that night to pick me up with a single rose and a huge grin. I gave him a hug to thank him for the beautiful flower and he said, "That's not all, I've got something to ask you."

Before I could even react, he pulled a box out of his pants pocket and told me to open it. I was completely shocked to find a ring! I mean, who expects a proposal on a Tuesday?? He explained that he was way too excited once he had the ring in his hand, and while he thought about planning something special, he figured I'd catch on so he thought he'd just go for it.

He was right, of course. I couldn't have been more pleased to get a surprise like that - completely out of the blue. I didn't know it at the time, but this was so typical of him. He gets a bee in his bonnet about something, and dives right in.

Which brings me to the whole point of this post: he did it to me again. He was home for lunch a few days ago, and just before heading back to work he took me by both hands and said, "I was thinking that I'd like to get you some new wedding rings for our engagement anniversary. Let's go shopping after work."

So that's what we did! It was almost closing time by the time we got there, so I didn't have much time to look. When he took our daughter across the way to get a new backpack, the woman behind the counter came back with a beautiful ring. I tried it on, then tried on a few others, but still wasn't sure and it was closing time. She gave me a brochure with the rings I'd tried on so I could think about it, but when I got home, the pretty little ring she'd brought out wasn't in there. It was all I could think about, so the next day - a Tuesday - we went back and got it (along with a thin, beautiful band). I'm so excited, but now I have to wait until the 11th to get it back from sizing (darn puny fingers).

The funny thing is, I had noticed that my husband's ring was getting a little worn, so just a couple of weeks ago I had been shopping around for him. (Great minds think alike...) We bought him a new one to go with mine. :o)

I would just like to say that around here? Valentine's Day ain't got nothin' on Tuesdays.

Besos!

Unromantic Valentine

2011-02-14T22:51:00.001-06:00

My husband is the sweet, romantic, emotional one out of the two of us, and is consistently baffled by my lack of desire to receive chocolate and flowers, especially on Valentine's Day. And it's not so much that I'm not romantic, but that I get so much more out of the practical aspect of how he shows his love for me.

While I love going out for our weekly dates, and enjoy when we can get away together for a little vacation, it's all the little things that truly make me swoon. He is thoughtful and attentive, helps around the house, takes the kids where they need to go, and works hard to provide for us. He is a wonderful husband and a great dad, and I love him more every day because of the day-to-day displays of love and affection. In my eyes, this is true romance.

So, if you see my husband picking up a jug of milk without a side of flowers on Valentine's Day, just know that he's doing exactly what I would want my man to do...and that I'm the luckiest woman in the world because of it.

Besos!

P.S. Happy Valentine's Day! May you all get the kind of love you desire...even if it's in the form of a jug of milk. :o)

Story under construction

2011-02-04T09:09:00.000-06:00

I'm a little late in my regular Monday posting, but we've been doing some renos around here, and it's been a bit of a time/energy suck. Right now I'm staring at my disaster of a kitchen/dining room. We're doing the countertops, so I've got stuff all over the place. Fortunately, we've got twelve kitchen chairs - many of which are now lining the walls as a makeshift countertop to house the microwave, toaster, knife blocks, etc.

After slogging through an exhaustive amount of work in the kitchen yesterday, I woke up this morning and noticed that part of the island wasn't doing what it was supposed to. It looked great when we finished it (late) last night, but now there's a problem. It's fixable, thank goodness, but it's going to delay things by a good day. When I'm already looking at a week without counter space, an extra day can seem like an eternity. In the grand scheme of things, however, it's not. It's only one more day, and I'm sure we'll manage just fine.

Writing is just like that, isn't it? You'll write something brilliant one day, and when you go back the next, you see all of the flaws and how it just didn't quite work out the way you thought. Also, the story always seems to get worse before it gets better. You sometimes have to set things aside while you fix it up, and then when you finally replace everything it looks marvellous.

It can be a little frustrating when your story is a bit of a mess, but you really just have to have faith in the finished product. This often requires every last ounce of optimism that we can scrape together. Last night, I was looking around the kitchen and commenting on how nice it was going to look once everything was finished. My husband, ever the "half glass empty" kind of fellow, said "I sure hope so" in a tone that implied he was unsure it would be worth it. I think this is part of the reason why he doesn't enjoy renos as much as I do. He's just never sure the effort is going to pay off, whereas thanks to my ~~delusion~~ ability to visualize, I love the process almost as much as the result .

As writers, we need to have the ability to see the end from the beginning (at least a little bit) or else writing can become very unpleasant. It sort of defeats the whole purpose of creating something. I don't begin something in the hopes that I'm going to fail! In this vein, I don't look at the messy middle and think it's not going to be worth it. On the contrary, I dig in and use that vision of the end product to propel me forward until I've fixed what needs to be fixed and made it as beautiful as I possibly can.

And that is what keeps me ~~renovating~~ ~~writing~~ writovating.

Besos!

Shovelling: object lesson

2011-01-24T18:52:00.001-06:00

We've had a ton of snow, so there are 5-7 foot tall piles (I kid you not!) lining either side of the driveway from all of the shovelling we've had to do. These massive piles, combined with the wind almost always blowing from one direction, makes conditions optimal for the hugest snow drifts that go all the way across our driveway. After I got home from church yesterday (and almost getting stuck with the minivan), I tackled one such snow drift so that my husband's car could get through (I honestly don't know how he even got out in the first place).

It had rained a little bit, so the snow was even heavier than usual, and it was hard on the top from the wind blowing so hard. It took me 5 or six passes over the same area to even make a dent in the drift. Since I had nothing better to do (other than cursing the darn snow) I got to thinking about how much better my husband would be at shovelling this nasty snow. He's a lot stronger, and can push it further and faster. He could also chuck the snow over the mountains that lined the driveway rather going all the way around like I had to (my height threshold is about 4 feet).

I thought of how that's just like writing. There is always someone who can write better and faster, but it really doesn't do any good to compare ourselves to someone else. We just need to persevere until we've done everything that's necessary to be successful. It may not happen as quickly as we like, but if we keep at it, we'll get there.

Anyone else been inundated with the white stuff this year??

Besos!

Memory Monday

2011-01-18T00:01:00.000-06:00

Okay, so it's probably Tuesday by the time I post this, but hey, I do what I can around here! I really dislike the kids heading back to school after a long holiday (like Christmas) because they always end up coming home with nasty illnesses that seem to last forever. Last week, I had 3 kids at home. The weekend was great, and then this morning, my #4 had a sick-fest. Not a good time.

Anywho, that's not exactly the kind of memory I want to share with you. I want to talk about family culture. Er, not snooty we-go-to-5-museums-a-week kind of thing (not that there's, um, anything wrong with that), but the kinds of things that make a family unique. One of those things for us is singing silly songs. My dad still sings goofy little songs that make us laugh, and I find myself doing the exact same thing. Turns out, I'm quite good at making up spur of the moment lyrics that make sense and even rhyme (hey, we're all born with special talents, right?).

One of my favourites from my dad, is the chorus of The Monkees song I'm a Believer (my mom probably has her hand to her mouth giggling in embarrassment right about now. *waves* Hi mom!). I thought I'd share it with you.

Then I saw her face
And it looked like a beaver
Two buck teeth
And a big floppy tail.

So there you have it. An in-depth look at a piece of our family culture. Don't judge me. (unless it's in a good way.) :o) What kinds of things are unique to your family?

Besos!
*I seemed to have gotten my mom's sensibility and my dad's sense of humour. Not that my mother is a stick in the mud - that couldn't be further from the truth (yeah she was a giggle queen back in the day...still is, so don't get us started when we're together 'cause the tears will roll).

Inspiration

2011-01-10T22:57:00.001-06:00

I generally can't listen to music while I'm writing because it distracts me, so I save cranking the tunes for when I'm cleaning or just plain feel like dancing around the house. Sometimes, though, I need a little something extra to get me into the proper frame of mind for working on my novel so I'll put something on before I write. It's not necessarily mood music; rather, it's a reminder of beauty that can be created. It makes me feel like I have what it takes to create something meaningful and good. That hope often gets me through a difficult part of a story.

I think we all need those reminders at various times in our lives. Everyone gets a case of the blahs (aka the I'm-not-good-enough-to-get-the-job-done blues), and music is a powerful tool that can take us out of those dark places. Here's what I'm listening to today: Flows Like Water from The Last Airbender soundtrack. Honestly, I loved the movie, but the music definitely added a lot to it. The graphics are non-existent in this youtube video, but I hope you'll love the music as much as I do.

Besos!

It's a new dawn, it's a new day (it's a new year)

2011-01-02T21:12:00.000-06:00

And I'm feeling good! Ah, how I love me a brand spanking new year. (And let's face it, it might be the only good thing about January...er, unless you were born in January in which case HAPPY BIRTHDAY!)Seriously though (I'm putting on my serious face - can you tell, lol), January is full of promises. You can turn your calendar and VOILA! A brand new year of possibilities lies before you.

I have big plans for this year. Okay, so I only have one plan for this year, but still...it involves writing. I'm long overdue for some me time, and I'm itching to get back at it. As sad as I am that school starts up tomorrow (lunches are the devil), with the kidlets back in school tomorrow, my plan springs into action. I'm so excited!

I can't really control whether or not I get an agent or a book deal*, but this year I'm going to write something great. Since this is hugely subjective, I'm going to go out on a limb to quantify it and say that at least 5 people will think it's great also. AND, I'll only include one person I'm related to in that number. Two, max. ;o)

So there you have it, my one earth-shattering resolution for 2011. What have y'all got up your sleeves for the new year?

Besos!
*If you know how to control this, send me an email ASAP

Merry Christmas!

2010-12-21T00:56:00.002-06:00

Only a few days left before the big day. I thought I would share one of my favourite Nativity videos. It's set to Amy Grant's Breath of Heaven, which is an incredibly moving song. I can't ever watch this without tears, so be forewarned. I hope you love it as much as I do. Merry Christmas everyone!

The countdown is on!

2010-12-13T22:12:00.000-06:00

Is anyone else's December flying by like mine is??? I can't believe the kids only have a few more days of school left, but I'm looking forward to it! No homework, no soccer, no piano lessons...and no dragging my butt out of bed to make lunches. They are the bane of my existence! (Honestly though, I am so lucky that all five kids get up and go without a fuss every day. I don't know what I would do if they were stinkers to get out the door to the school bus!)

As much as I love having a low-key Christmas, I'm really looking forward to visiting with family over the holidays. We'll get to see people from both sides, so it'll be a good time. Another thing I'm looking forward to? Eating treats. Lots and lots of treats. Is there anything better than Christmas baking? I think not. (Oh great, I think I just put on a few pounds thinking about all that good food.)

So, do y'all have any special plans for Christmas vacation?

Happiness is...

2010-12-06T21:05:00.000-06:00

My husband being done coaching volleyball! I know it's not a very long season, but the fall is one of his busiest times for work/travel, and with the kids' activities starting up, well, it makes my life really crazy. I'm so relieved to have him to help run the kids around, especially with icy winter roads.

Something else that makes me happy is our Christmas tree. The lights are so pretty, and it makes the long, dark mornings so bright and cheery. It even seems to make getting up to make kids' lunches more fun. Is that weird? We also have a cute fiberoptic pointsettia tree that I adore. My younger self is totally rolling her eyes for saying this, but I love the sparkle that comes with the season!

One last thing that makes me happy: sleep. Oh, how I love sleep! Mostly because it eludes me. First, it takes forever to get there, and then when I finally pass out, I'm a lousy sleeper. It's pretty annoying. The past couple of nights, though, I've had some great sleep and it's been AMAZING. Maybe it's because I'm finally getting over this nasty cold which has made sleeping even worse than usual for the last week, but who cares? I don't get this kind of rest, so I'll take it! Also, I don't want to be greedy, but I NEED MORE. I could sure get a lot done if I could get more quality sleep!

On that note...now that I've enjoyed some quiet time by the light of the tree, I'm off to chase after some of those ever-elusive quality zzzzzs.

Besos!

Traditions

2010-11-29T15:29:00.001-06:00

***Thanks so much to all who have donated to my Secret Santa Project! I'm so grateful for your generosity - every little bit helps! I'm keeping it up for another week-ish, so please feel free to help out in any way you can. When lots of people give even a few dollars, it adds up!***

My husband's family has a wonderful Christmas tradition that his dad brought over from Germany, and we love doing it with our kids. The four Sundays before Christmas we celebrate advent where we get together with friends, light a candle on the advent wreath, sing songs and have a bunch of treats. Yesterday was first advent so we set up our tree and decorated our home. I love how festive it is in here! There's nothing better than cold winter nights lit up by the Christmas tree.

We didn't have anyone over because we're a bit sickly in our house, but we still had lots of fun singing songs, banging on bowls (for Little Drummer Boy, of course!), and jingling some bell ornaments. It's something our entire family looks forward to. Let's face it, I've got 2 teenagers already, with 3 more coming in the next few years, so anything that can get the family together - happily - is something that should be encouraged, right? ;o)

How about you - got any holiday traditions that you love?

Besos!

Secret Santa

2010-11-22T10:22:00.002-06:00

Twelve years ago, at the start of December, we were poor students with a one and two year old, and a third baby on the way. It had already been a rough year, what with the loss of our stillborn son, and we were doing our best to make it through; all the while looking forward to the Christmas season and ringing in a new year with hopes of a better twelve months to come.

We went away for 4 days to attend my brother-in-law's wedding, and came back to find our back door kicked in. Our house had been ransacked and burglarized. We didn't have a lot, but they took what little we had of value. It was a sickening feeling, to have our modest home violated like that. I cried when the police told us that often it's much worse because the thieves will vandalize as well (think knives tearing apart furniture, excrement on the walls kind of thing...). They warned us to expect it to happen again in a few months (when things had been replaced through insurance).

For the longest time afterward my heart was in my throat every time we pulled up to our house after an outing. Every conversation before getting out of the car was the identical. Were those new footprints in the snow? Does the back gate look like it's been opened? Can you go first in case someone is in the house? Not a good time, let me tell you.

Our home was no longer a safe place, and to top it off, the insurance adjuster treated me like a criminal when I was trying to get them to fix our door and settle our claim. It took me losing it on the phone with him one day (and a threat to speak with his supervisor) to get him to treat me with a little compassion. I shouldn't have had to remind him that I was the victim in this whole thing, but I was extremely grateful he did a complete 180 after our little chat.

A little worse for wear, we tried our best to get ready for Christmas, but we just couldn't shake that defeated feeling. Then about a week before Christmas, we got an anonymous phone call late at night telling us to look in our mailbox. We did, and found an envelope with money in it. I don't even remember how much it was (somewhere around $100), but it was enough to make us cry and did a lot to help restore our beat-up faith in human kindness.

Money doesn't bring happiness in and of itself, but let's face it, its absence can make life extremely difficult. Knowing that somebody was thinking about us - that we were worth someone's time, energy and hard-earned money - made us more mindful of others who might be suffering. As a result, every year that we've been in a position to do so (so basically, the eight years we haven't been in school), we've tried to ease someone else's burden at Christmas time.

This year there is a family who is facing a rather hefty medical bill due to bureaucratic issues beyond their control. It's obviously far more than we can afford to take care of for them, but we are stretching ourselves a little this year to give as much as we possibly can. I'm not trying to brag or anything, but only mentioning this because I have ulterior motives. In order to do as much as I can for this family, I'm putting up a Donate button for the next couple of weeks. I know that many people play Secret Santa over the holidays, so if you feel moved to give even $5 toward this family, that would be wonderful. (A lot of you don't know me from Eve, but I'm hoping that my good karma from donating to other bloggers' causes will come around!)

I want to "make the drop" by mid-December, and will keep you posted on the status of donations. I'm aiming to raise $500 (on top of what my family is contributing), but obviously the the more I can get for them, the better off they'll be. If you feel like spreading the word, please do so!

Besos

Revelation and randomness

2010-11-15T21:34:00.000-06:00

Don't worry, it's not the biblical kind of revelation. Or maybe you were looking for an amazing doctrinal revelation and you found my blog post instead. Sorry about that. (So as not to disappoint, I will say that I believe in personal revelation. I know God is real (no matter what you call him) and I've had answers to many prayers. Not just the ethereal-maybe-my-stomach-growled-and-that-means-something life-changing sort of thing, but concrete I-know-the-answer-to-something-I-didn't-know-before kind of thing. But I digress...)

I was just excited to realize that I've found my groove as a once a week blogger! I know what you're thinking...I'm so ambitious to blog a whole once a week. ;-) What can I say? I do what I can, hehe. Actually, I just have so much going on, and if I spend too much time on here I tend to lose hours at a time. The downside of the weekly blogging is that I miss out on a lot of what's going on with my bloggy friends because I'm not checking my google reader very often. I sure try to get around to everybody, but I will admit that I find it difficult. Many times, I'll give a quick read without commenting (which I hate to do, because I know how fun it is to get comments).

How do you other bloggers find the balance? Any suggestions?

On a completely unrelated note...it was my birthday last week, and I got a Kindle!!!! It was an awesome birthday surprise from my hubby and my folks (well, my mom likely told dad about it...). I cried when I got it, because ~~I was overtired~~ I'm a sucky-boo and that's how I roll.

In other news, I read my first (paid-for) book on my Kindle last night, and I was disappointed with the book but grateful I only spent $2.50 to download it (ebooks on sale RULE!). I had considered ordering the actual book because the cover is gorgeous (anyone else a sucker for a pretty cover?) and the story had an interesting premise, but it was really slow to start and it ended up being only meh.

Also, did you know that I can get the complete works of William Shakespeare for less than three bucks?? My husband asked why I would want it, but I love some of his plays and sonnets. And hello. Three. Dollars. Need I say more? I'm a sucker for a good deal.

Of course, there are a ton of out of copyright books that you can download for free as well. Which I've done. Hurray for free Jane Austen! I also got this cool book of Scottish Proverbs. You never know when that might come in handy. Like when I'm writing a novel with Scottish stuff in it. Which I will. One of these days. But not until I'm well-established so I can write off a trip to Scotland as research. *gleefully rubs hands together* My plan is all coming together, thanks to the Kindle...

Besos!

Cryin'

2010-11-08T15:15:00.001-06:00

Do you ever get teary-eyed for no real reason? Well, for a reason, but sort of out of the blue? I have a few things that trigger the tear ducts, and in honour of Remembrance Day (or Veteran's Day in the U.S.) I thought I'd share one of them with you. I promise that it'll make more sense if you keep reading.

As a young'un, I was in love with The Diary of Anne Frank. Actually, I've been pretty much obsessed with the World Wars and the Holocost for as far back as I can remember. The biggest thing for me as a child (and really, even now), was that I could never understand the level of inhumanity and unfairness that went on, and I just couldn't wrap my head around why people committed the atrociously evil things that they did. In an attempt to understand, I've watched more documentaries than I can shake a stick at, and you can bet that if there's one on, I'll be plugged into the T.V. until it's done.

Obviously, war is a terrible thing, and watching and reading about it can make a person emotional. However, more often than not, my tears come at bizarre times. I'm not an overly emotional person, but it's generally when I'm thinking about the circumstances later on that the floods begin. I'm a reasonably mature woman, but the injustice makes my heart sick and I just can't keep my eyes dry!

In relation to that, I also get the same way when I think about the people who serve in the Armed Forces who truly believe in the cause of freedom, and desire to make the world a better place. I'm not going near the politics that are involved - I don't necessarily agree with certain decisions that are made in that regard - but what it comes down to, is that there are men and women who put their lives in danger for others, at tremendous personal sacrifice. Not to mention the physical and emotional sacrifices their families make as well.

I am so thankful to live in a land of freedom and prosperity (Canada), but I know that it was bought and paid for by people who weren't looking to be heroes. I love having this time of year to reflect upon their sacrifice and to mourn the loss of the many people who haven't been able to enjoy the same measure of peace that I've been afforded - and I salute the men and women who continue to put their lives on the line. Thank you.

Besos.