Love Thursday

This is a picture of he last day of our last camping trip. Our family went to Waterton to camp. Unfortunately it was full so we camped 3 Km (2 miles) away at another campground. So far that was the best trip we have had as a family. Actually it was the only summer trip we had, because this summer was ridiculously busy. I'm so happy we made time for our family because it easily could have not happened.

In the picture Tweedle D and Tweedle E are enjoying our dessert (mini oreos). If you will look closely at Tweedle D's teeth you will notice one is slightly askew. He lost that one shortly after the trip.



Finally, because I couldn't choose, I decided to add this picture of Mr. Wonderful. Its his birthday today. Unfortunately he is working and won't be home until late, but we will celebrate another day. I love you and am looking forward to kissing my first 32 year old. I so love robbing the cradle.

Shhh, Don't Tell Anyone.

I have a secret. I have been released as the Home Family and Personal Enrichment Leader and have been given what may be the best calling ever. This particular calling is one most complain about or say that they would never want it. I am going to be a CUB LEADER! Aren't you all envious of me? You think you aren't but wait until I tell you about my adventures I'm going to have. You will so want to be a Cub Leader and you won't be able too because I will be the Cub Leader and I won't want to give it up. Guess it sucks to be you.

I just got oriented and I'm so excited. Stay tuned.

Pump Up The Volume

So my workout partner Jenthemom has posted a plea for help in our workout music department. I thought I would extend the plea to you. Please give us actual songs if possible instead of genre. Thank you so much for your input.

Being John Mal, Harry Potter

So this is the time of year where I begin planning what is going to happen for Halloween. I try to come up with a theme that will work for both the boys. The years that I have been busy, I just bought the costumes and ignored the themes, but this year I would like something cool. I usually try to choose something that isn't too scary and quite clever. In the past Tweedle D was Steve from Blues clues and Tweedle E was Blue. Then there was one year Tweedle E wanted to be Robin Hood so Tweedle D was Little John and I was Maid Marian. This year my boys want Quidditch Robes but they both want to be Harry Potter. This doesn't work for me. I've tried to convince them to be from different houses with little progress and they argue because there aren't two Harry Potters, there can only be one. So if you have any ideas on how to reason with my children or other themes that would be great. Thanks

Friday Free-For-All

Today I was listening to CHQR 770 and in the afternoon they have a feature called the Friday Free-For-All. They give you a chance to talk about anything you want at the same time presenting topics in which you might want to share your opinion. So in the spirit of plagiarism I am using the same format and ask you, interneters, to feel free to comment on anything that gets you blood boiling, makes you happy, or gossip that you heard at the water cooler. Now for my part. Here are some of the things that I heard on the news, radio or casual conversation. Feel free to comment on these topics too.


ESCALATION



US bans Canadian Beef due to Mad Cow

Canada Bans American Spinach due to E. coli outbreak.

Interesting, I smell a conspiracy.

*******************

TOMKAT


Today on the entertainment segment featuring Jimmy Hollywood, they said look to hear an announcement of a wedding in the next 6 weeks. Rumor is that Tom's sexuality has come into question and he needs to get married.

Could there be a more stupid reason to get married? I'm struggling to find one. The person I feel sorry for is Kate. You are in a whirlwind romance (Yay), you get pregnant and come under catholic scrutiny (shrug), you have a baby and people start questioning if that was true (insulted). They say your psycho enough to pretend to be prego and give birth. Then you fiance, due to some poor handling by his people, end up loosing one of the biggest contracts of his life, and now people are saying he is gay and you need to marry him to save his image (sad). Poor girl, If she doesn't have post partem depression, she will soon. Keep your chin up girl.

*******************

TAXES

In Alberta a potion of your property tax is earmarked for education. This money doesn't necessarily go into a special education fund but if I understand correctly its used in formulas to calculate money for education. Today an older gentleman was upset to find out that a portion of his property tax goes to education. "I don't have any kids." he exclaimed I shouldn't have to pay. I don't know if he really wants to play that game but if he does...

Dude, I'm not retired yet. It's not like the money I'm contributing to the CPP (Candain Pension Plan) will ever make it into my pocket, it going into yours. Do you think I should have to pay?

I only go to the doctor once a year for a check up (which reminds me I need to make an appointment) it would be cheaper for me to pay the doc the $26 for the visit then pay the premiums that I contribute to even out your visits.

What you sir have forgotten is that we all contribute to make life easier for all. Eventually it all comes back to you and to make the system a user pay system is slippery slope I don't think you want to fall down.

*******************

MODELING

This is the only reason I'm not modeling in Spain. But seriously good on them.

********************

Now its your turn.

A Little Left Of Reality

This is not a post about this althought I do like his work. I'm posting about my guilty pleasure, reality shows. Not all reality shows because frankly some are really stupid. Ok most are really stupid.

*************

Big Brother

I watched the first season and thought it was awesome. I watched the second season, missed a few shows but became a fan of chilltown (Will). They lost me in season 3, 4, 5 and 6. I started watching it all those times but quickly lost interest. Big Brother 7 "allstars" came and Will was back. Although he is one of the most decitful players, but you have to admire his ability to read people and play them. His only mistake this time is he forgot (or didn't know) girls talk.

**************

Survivor

This show came out the same time as Big Brother. I didn't watch the first season because I was too busy being a voyeur with Big Brother. I watched the second season and was lost again in season 3. I think I watched season two because of Colby and his progression to supreme ruggedness

Well Survivor has begun its 13th and most controversial season due to the race factor. I'm sure everyone has their own opinions and predictions (please ignore the pictures in the link). After listening to Rick Forchuck an entertainment reporter talk about the bios I have only one question, ok maybe two. How come the "white team" is the only team that has a Rock star/ wrestler and a Roller derby girl? All of the other teams have people with real professions. What is survivor trying to prove?

Although most people (media) are disgusted by this seasons plan to spice things up, I think most are going to tune in. You know you will. It's my train wreck theory. You just want to see how bad it gets.

****************

The Mole

One of the best reality shows ever made but dropped 3 episodes into season two due to the changes. Sadly the network spiced up the show too much but season one was awesome. Imagine my surprise when I saw Anderson Cooper on CNN a few years later.

*****************

The Amazing Race

This has got to be the best reality show ever. I admit I haven't seen every season. If there was one reality show I would apply to be on, it would be this one (because the Mole was dropped). Unlike most I enjoyed the family edition. All the Driving reminded me of my own family vacations. We drove everywhere, the family was too big to afford to fly.

I think my favorite contestants were Rob and Amber. Mostly I liked them because everyone else didn't like them and they didn't seam to care. I think that was Will's appeal too.

*******************

Rock Star INXS/ Supernova

Yes American Idol gets the viewers but if you want real talent (performance, songwriting and drunken debauchery) this is the show for you and Canada is 2 and 0 for the two seasons. What is it about Canadian Rockers? JD Fortune and Lukas Rossi now front two very big bands.

********************

Finally honorable mentions go to:

So You Think You Can Dance

Dancing With The Stars

Celebrity Duets

*******************

I think I watch Too much TV.

I Did It, I Did It.

It took me 4 months but I finally got over myself and bought my first stocks. Here is hoping for financial security. Yay Me!

Love Thursday

I Love this picture because these boys are my second loves, my first being my husband. This is also one of the times they aren't bickering, so this is a picture of brotherly love. I also like how they are two toned, as two toned as white kids can be and each preferring how they look to how the other does. Tweedle E doesn't have blonde hair he has golden hair and thinks mommy should get golden hair. Tweedle D loves his olive skin and his dark hair that he has inherited from Mr.Wonderful. He so wants to be just like his Dad. I've got to say it I havet cute boys.

Hey Calgary Get Your FOOD ON!

On Saturday September 16th there will be a door to door, city wide ,food drive for the Calgary Interfaith Food Bank. How do I know? I know because my family is one of the collector groups that will be going door to door between 9:00am and 12:00pm. Last year we, my family, collected and out of 85 residences we got 5 bags (one of which was full of old Halloween candy, nice!). This year we have the same route. Thanks to the Great Calgarian House Swap we have new residences in our area. I hope the results are better, I know last time the boys were so disappointed.

This week you will receive, if you haven't already, a bag with a piece of paper taped to it about the food drive. Please put at least 1 can of tuna in it, and hang it on your mail box, door knob, or put it on the porch. What will it cost you? $1.00? Or how about ravioli? $0.80? If you can't spare that you suck. That's right I said it you suck. Sorry! I know I can catch more flies with honey than vinegar. Maybe some of you don't know what its like to go hungry. Anyhoo, please open your pantry and support the food bank. And Get Your FOOD ON!

Bilingualism

This morning I only have time for a short post. I have too much to do.

Mr. Wonderful was reading the back of a Club House Smoothie drink mix. He said "I'm glad I'm not making this in French." I responded with a puzzled look. Seeing my questioning eye he said "It says here I would have to use a grosse banana."

Cheers and Vive Le Franglais.

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

THE GOOD:

Today I worked out for 38 minutes and burned 208 cal

THE BAD:

I opened a bag of chips and snacked a bit. Ok about two servings.

THE UGLY:

My butt shakes when I run. I just hope it doesn't look as bad as it feels.

First Day Jitters

Before I delve into the story of my kids first day of school, I am letting you know that From now on the wonderlings will be referred too as Tweedle-D (My oldest) and Tweedle-E (My youngest). Take note that there isn't a tweedle dum because my kids aren't dumb they can speak just fine.

You know that feeling you get when something you have looked forward too is about to happen? Tweedle-E was in knots for the past two nights he couldn't sleep. He has been asking me for almost a year now, "When do I get to go to school?", "When is September coming?", "Will my cousin Thumbelina get to sit next to me?". Tweedle-D however wasn't so excited he was more concerned about what was on T.V. when it came to bedtime. Either way I didn't get much sleep the couple of nights before school.

Morning came and both boys were ready to go , thanks to my excellent organization the night before. So we were sitting out side of the school wondering when the bell was going to ring and when we would get to meet the new teachers. I don't know what I was thinking (listening for the bell) because that would only make sense. By 8:45am, 5 minutes late for the second bell, we decided to squeeze our way through the teenagers and make our way to the kindergarten room. Wouldn't you know it, but on the door was a note that said Kindergarten to meet in their classroom, grades 1-4 meet on the tarmac next to the playground, and grades 5 and 6 meet in the gym. Now I 'm not going to go into great detail about the chaos that ensued in the playground meeting place, you can visit jenthemom and read all about it, but lets just say at least one child got lost and there were some tears.
So that was the first day of school and despite getting lost (Tweedle-D) and having classmates get mad at you (Tweedle-E) Everything went OK, OK enough that they both decided they wanted to go to school the next morning.

It's In The Bag

So last week Very Mom asked us what was in our make up bag. I'm a little late but here it goes.



So here is a picture of my make up bag. Its nothing special. I got it at least 5 years ago. It may look small but you would be surprised at how much it holds. I do however have a much bigger case that holds this bag and some more stuff like cleansers and such.



As you can see this bag holds a lot.



I tried to group these in some sort of logical order. The white and blue tube is my zit zapper. I paid a lot for it and it works ok, but not as good as the sales lady said.

The larger tube is my foundation (Loreal). I use this type because I have some acne scaring and other imperfections I would like to cover. It supposed to dry to a smooth powdery finish and because of its medium coverage I continue to use it, however if I don't blend it perfectly in the beginning, I am left with a streaky finish that lasts at least 12 hours.

The stick next to my foundation is my cover stick (Cover Girl). I don't think I need to say more.

Then there is my bronzer (Marcelle). I brush this on my forehead, cheeks, nose, and chin as well as on my chest depending on the shirt I have on. After all I hate two tone skin.

My brushes I can't live without. The small one is for blush, the large one for powder or bronzer and the skinny one is for eye shadow. Everything goes on smoother with a brush.



This next grouping is my eyes. The feature I choose to enhance the most on my face is my eyes. I like my eyes. I wish they were bigger and my lashes longer and the colour to be blue, but other than that they are perfect. Actually I've grown to like them more and more.

On the left are the liners. I have more in my bigger bag, but these are the ones I use the most. Until last thursday I liked my liquid eyeliner the best, but I recently purchase the long thin black one and love it much more. It is line stylist by Maybelline New York.

In the middle is my shadow set I use most often.

On the right are the mascaras that I carry around. The gold one is Loreal volume enhancing mascara. It used to be my fave, but it started to clump. I didn't like my boy telling my constantly that I had eye boogies on my lashes so I decided to buy something else. I probably should throw it out. My next purchase in the quest for long beautiful lashes was Maybelline's XXL. Got to say one of the worst mascaras ever made. Don't waste your time. My new love in mascara is lash stylist by Maybelline. It has a comb instead of a brush. Thanks to my sister Kim for introducing this one to me. I am very satisfied with my new mascara.

Finally one must not forget the tweezers. When I pluck my brows its like I have an instant eye lift. Perhaps I should be doing that more often.



This last photo is of my lips and the clip I use to hold my hair back while applying my make up. The silve tube is a "collagen enhancing" clear lip treatment. I use this every time I apply my makeup (which can be quite rare). The long skinny tube is my Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen lip duo. I liked it at first but then started thinking this was not appropriate make up for my age so I don't ware this very often any more. Perhaps I should throw that one out too. I do have other lip liners and pencils but I rarely use them since Mr. Wonderful doesn't like kissing lips that have "stuff" on them and I like kissing so I sacrafice.

So that's what is in my bag. What's in yours? And Pass it on.

Love Friday

Looks like I misses it again. This is my hot husband sporting my sun glasses. I sacrificed my eyes so he could get us home safely. Actually I closed my eyes and slept. He looks better in them than I do.



My husband and I have been together for 9 years now. We met at a time in our lives when we weren't looking. He wasn't satisfied with the women he was dating and was going to move away. I had given up on the dating scene and decided I wasn't going to date for a while if ever again. But then cosmos aligned and we decided we should date. I wish it was that easy.

What we do have going for us is we have similar goals. Mr. Wonderful and I have the same faith, we put our family first, and we respect each other. I'm sure there is more that we have in common but when your makin' a list its hard to think of those things off the top of your head. He is also the Yin to my yang. He is calm when I am frustrated, he strong when I am week, but he can be strict when I am layed back. Sometimes these polar opposites can cause problems but most of the time its useful to get 'one's self out of one's tree." when one is totally being irrational. Can you guess who the one is most of the time?

We have invested much time and have reaped two beautiful children. Yah boys can be beautiful. We have worked hard together to reach our goals and we have learned a lot from one another. He is my best friend. Sorry spot shot, but ours was a relationship based on what you could do for me. So that is why I chose my husband to represent love.

iPod, uPod, We All Pod

Yes boys and girls I have joined the iPod universe. Mr. Wonderful and I went on a bit of a shopping spree. I'm still feeling a bit irresponsible especially because I have never spent this kind of money just on a whim. Thank you Visions for having this nice sale and a very eager sales man cutting us some extra deals due to our multiple purchases. Did I mention that we were a bit irresponsible? Just so you know we have a plan. Isn't that something someone says when they are trying to rationalize their behavior? Oh well I'm 33 and I deserve a little indulgence now and then. So here I sit typing whilst listening to "The Old Apartment" by Barenaked Ladies on my new iPod nano. I'm not feeling much regret right now lets see how I feel in the morning, that's in about 5 min.

Nope don't feel any regret now either. Guess I have to sleep on it.

Lucy, You Got Some Splaining To Do.

My oldest was fortunate enough to have the most wonderful teacher for kindergarten. His experience was the best way to introduce a child to their academic career. She was well organized, beautiful, and most important she loved the children. I would brag to all my sisters that I had undoubtedly had the best kindergarten teacher in the world. I must admit that when D went to grade one I really missed her. I secretly wished she would just follow my kid up through the grades and be his teacher forever, but I know that's not right. I needed to share her with others and at least E would have her in two years.

Today we got the news, she is traveling for a year and will not be back till next year. I was at Jenthemom's house when the call came it went something like this.

Miss New Teacher: "Hello Jennifer."

Jenthemom: "Hello"

Miss New Teacher: "I am Jocelyn's new kindergarten teacher."

jenthemom: "What happened to Miss Smith?"

Alyson: Gasp and grab chest, cause all I heard was "What happened to Miss Smith?"

Miss New Teacher: "I've been getting that a lot."

Then she proceeded to tell Jenthemom when we could meet her and when Miss Smith would be coming back. I know the kids will be fine, its the parents who will have a harder time getting over this. In fact I have contemplated getting a plane ticket to her place of refuge and collecting her myself, but between you and me I don't have the money to do it. Just know that's the only thing holding me back from making a spectacle in warmer then here land.

Shortly after, my husband took the phone call at our place of residence and chatted reasonably with her. He doesn't seem to think its that big a deal, and he is right (as always, I'm really getting tired of that). Anyway it turns out she was on mat leave a while ago and has come back this year to cover for Lucy. At least she has experience, because if she like graduated like last spring and is like totally excited to like be a teacher, my kid will walk all over her and then turn around and walk all over her again. He may look like an angel, but he knows he is cute and can be quite a devil.

One Last thing, I hope she is a blonde, because E is kinda partial to "Golden Hair" also then we wouldn't have to tell him and he wouldn't be the wiser.

Out Dang Spot!

By a show of hands, how many of you out there have a leopard carpet? Yah me neither. Unfortunately, at first glance you wouldn't know that it was a nice grey/ blue. Instead it looks like Tarzan killed Sabor skinned him and laid him on my floor. My poor abused carpet has been bombarded by ketchup, chocolate, juice box juice, markers and mud, to name a few.

So I was vacuuming the living room, and seeing not much improvement, I pulled out the spot shot. Now in the past spot shot has worked but not on everything. The youngest wonderling puked every time he ate until the age of 11 months (thanks to acid reflux) so I've put it through rigorous testing. I think I got the spots out about 80% of the time. Well this new spot shot was a fresh new bottle in new packaging. What I'm saying is it was new. I wasn't expecting much, these spots have been there for a while.

As I was saying, I pulled out the bottle, got on my hands and knees and did my best impression of Lady Macbeth. I was able to get out everything I have tried so far except the high lighter.

I still have a lot more carpet to go, but right now Spot Shot, you are my best friend.

Geeky Entertainment

How brilliant is this? Ok maybe its just me, but Woohoo!

Love, Uncertainty and Misunderstanding

I missed love Thursday last week and was going to post one this week but again I missed it. So here is my representation of love on Sunday.



This is a picture of my sister and her son. It took 5 years for her to get him. She is a great mother, a really good example to me.

**********

This week (month) has been a time of ups and downs. Friends have lost babies and job offers have removed then given then removed again. We are at a stage of life where the future is uncertain. I know that we will have a home, and food to eat, but when you have made plans for the last 9 years working towards a goal and now find it unattainable its hard. Its hard to be back at square one not knowing what we will be doing, and not being able to get ahead.

**********

I still haven't really decided what I am going to do while the wonderlings are in school. I would love to pursue my me time and such but we are still waiting for word on some jobs Mr. Wonderful has applied for. Thank you to all for the "Two Cents".

**********

On a Lighter note:

D: "You can't have that E, you stink."

Cue whining

Dad: "E come here, tell D he has Halitosis."

E: "D you can't have Halitosis, Dad Said."

D: "that's not fair."

As we all know its more about the telling, and the possessing something that someone else doesn't have, then about truly being insulted.

***********

Kidco

My little entrepreneurs have moved on to a much bigger task. Remember how they worked collecting bottles for over a year to get two discounted (second hand) gameboys totaling ~ $120. They have now decided they will collect bottles for a Disneyland trip totaling $2300. Judging by the rate we went last year we should be in Disneyland in the year 2026. Do you want to make plans to meet us there?

Crossroads

Its that time of the year again. School is fast approaching and I will have two wonderlings enrolled in and institution of learning. For two to three hours a day I will have time to myself. I am wondering what to do with that time. The choices are many:

1. I could use that time to clean my house and catch of on my morning talk shows.
2. I could go to the gym and obtain the hard body that I have always dreamed of.
3. I could get a job and help raise our standard of living and eventually get us in a house.
4. I could get pregnant and use that time to sleep and puke in private.
5. Start my own business
6. Go back to school

Each decision has its ups and down (like most). I would like to volunteer at my kids school as much as possible, but if I take on a job that may not be possible. My husband is having a hard time finding a job that will pay well enough to get us ahead so that we can save for retirement, home etc. (do you like how I put retirement and home together?) This factor also affects whether or not I will afford the gym pass and the hard body that I want. Then the kid thing. I am really looking forward to having time to myself to do as I please. I'm not sure what I please is gestating and eventually giving up that time for another 5 years making it that much harder to enter the work force, but I'm getting older and I'm not entirely sure that my family is complete. Going back to school and starting a business scares me because of the debt it might incur and for the past few years we have been almost crippled by debt. We are out of it for now, but I am really hesitant on going back there. Some of these decisions could be done concurrently says the optimist in me , but the realist says not likely.

So as you can see I am at a quandary and am seeking the advice of interneters everywhere. What would you do with a situation similar to this, or have you been in a similar situation? Do you have any ideas for making money (jobs etc.) If you have gone back to school what did you take and how long was your program?

Introducing Mr. And Mrs. MH1

On Friday my youngest sister got married. She is the last one. My parents are finished. The sister closest in age to me and I were discussing how chic this wedding was and how "homemade" ours were. W realized tat in order for her to have the beautiful wedding complete with photographer extrodinaire, we had to have the ones with all of the mistakes in them. I hope she appreciates our sacrifice.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE LOVELY COUPLE





Have a great honeymoon, and be safe whilst moving to the ends of the earth.

Proof

Just to prove that I take really bad pictures, look here. I would like to thank jenthemom for making this possible by posting the picture on her site.

Don't You Wish Your Mommy Was Hot Like Me?

As you can tell I'm suffering from a little bit of insomnia due to my 2.5 hour nap I took at 5:00pm. So here I sit putting mindless posts together. I don't post pictures of myself, due to the lack of good picture and privacy, but earlier today my hair was working and my face looked slimmer so I decided to make an exception. Now after seeing the picture I think it looks like I was trying out for America's (Canada's) Next Overly Ripe Washed Up Model. I was also taking it in the mirror because alas my husband wasn't around to take the picture and he would ask why are you doing that with your face?

SSSSTHINK OR SSSTHWIM

This was a long time coming. After going through Kindergarten and grade one (first grade for those who don't speak Canadian) and seeing all his friends and their money from the Tooth Fairy, I'm surprised he didn't grab Mr. Wonderful's pliers and rip out his first tooth. What a trooper and now he has a shiney Loonie to show for it.

**********
In Other News...

My boys have finished their swimming lessons and they both passed. Yay!

A Camping We Had Went

So many things have been happening this week that I haven't had time to post about our camping trip. Basically I'm still trying to recover from said camping trip. I have yet to catch up with my laundry, and since this is our last one for the year, I have to rearrange the storage room, a project that is taking longer than I thought. A women's work is never done. But enough complaining.

Our story begins with a family setting out on an adventure to go a camping in Waterton Lakes National Park. Mr W got off work at 1:30pm and was home by 2:00pm. I had already started the packing the van process in an attempt to get us off earlier. You see the campsites at Waterton and surrounding area are a first come first serve, so we had to be stealth and we had to be fast. Unfortunately upon arrival the campgrounds were full. Oh the lament of our children. If this were biblical times, they would have rent their clothes and been covered in sack cloth and ashes for sure. They couldn't get over it.

"What do you mean they are full?"

"Can't we just stay over there?", they would ask pointing to a grassy spot right next to the highway. We tried to explain the random camping was not aloud. We told them that we would try to get a campsite close to Waterton. The reasoning wasn't helping relieve their fear of a cancelled trip all together.

Our first attempt at a campsite proved less than fruitful. All they had left was their green space, normally set aside for running children, on which they were letting people randomly place their tents their for $10 a night. That would just not do.

Fortunately for us the next campground was much more pleasing. By the time we got their they only had four tenting spots left. Mr. W in his wisdom picked site with trees to shelter us from the all to common southern Alberta wind which inevitably comes. Thanks Mr. Wonderful.

Upon completion of setting up camp we proceeded to make our dinner. Top Dogs Hot dogs. D ate one and complained of a tummy ache. He said he wasn't going to throw up, but alas that was not the case. As I was off to fill a pot with wash water, I hastened back to the site by a concerned and reluctant husband. Reluctant to deal with the puke that is. A risky choice on his part seeing as I am normally a sympathy puker and the mess could have potentially multiplied 3 fold. His gamble paid off. Lucky man. The mess wasn't that bad and we were able to continue camping.

Here are some of the memories made.

peddle boating on Cameron Lake

The wonderlings learning to stier a peddle boat

Playing in the park

Throwing rocks in Waterton Lake

Ice Cream at Ye Old Lick & Nibble

Playing hatching dragon and erupting volcanoes at a park (poor villagers they didn't see it coming)

souvenir shopping (nothing bought)

Hiking at red rock canyon

Throwing rocks in Waterton Lake

Minnow hunting in the creek beside our campsite

Dipping D and E in Waterton Lake

Playing with Carly at the park. She had the best sand toys

And now for the rest of the story...

Our last night their I needed a nap so Mr. Wonderful took the boys to our favorite minnow hunting spot in the creek near by. They came back soaking wet. It seem they discovered that Waterton Riverside Campground was actually riverside. They were following some fish and hiked about 3 minutes from the spot were observing the minnows. They rounded a corner and discovered this huge river. Yay! After dinner we decided to beat the heat and float down the river. Due to the glacial temperatures we had warm chocolate and then went to bed. The temperature changes must have done something to E because he wet the bed.

All in all I would say it was a success. I shall post pictures later. I need to get back to my laundry.

Over Exposed

A slight problem has developed over the past week. One I did not fore see. My youngest wonderling has decided that no underwear is best. It started 5 days ago when he forgot to put underwear in the backpack for swimming. As it turned out he went until Sunday without underwear before I noticed or remembered. When Mr. Wonderful asked me how long he had been going "commando", E heard the word and thought it was awesome.

Now he wants to be “commando” all of the time. Last night he slept "commando" and this morning he wants to eat "commando". I have no idea where he gets that from.

HMMMM

We are back and tired and stinky. I will post more about our camping trip later. I am going to sleep in my bed. Right now I love my bed because it isn't an air mattress. Nothing like camping and freezing to make your 11 year old secondhand bed look really good.

Just one thing before I sign off. I was watching some celeb stuff and saw that Zach Braff is coming out with a "new" movie (the American version of an Italian movie). Anyway I saw some beautiful girls in there and thought to myself "Self, why does he get such hot women to act in his movies?" I know he is really funny in SCRUBS and I hear he was brilliant in Garden State (another movie with another beautiful girl) but I don't know, him and the hotties, is that believable? Am I the only one that wonders about this?

I tired. I go bed. I edit tomorrow

6 Down 365,456,297 To Go

This summer I have been so busy. Busy with my calling, my job, birthdays, family time and my sister's wedding. Tonight I just finished throwing my sister a wedding shower. Tomorrow we are leaving for camping. When we get back a full week of swimming lessons and getting things together for her wedding. E has a birthday three days after the wedding and then I have to coordinate enrichment flower arranging course and the potluck the following week. 4 days later is Tims's Elders quorum BBQ (the same night as my sister's second reception. Somewhere in there I am supposed to get my visiting teaching done and get the kids ready for school and plan the quarterly enrichment night that will be happening on the 12 of September. I don't see it letting up even if I get more help. AHHHHHHHH

I wish I could run away to a quiet place and not have to deal with this stuff anymore, but I'm too responsible. What happened to the days of sitting by the pool? I thought I was supposed to be simplifying my life. E is suffering. He still thinks in some twisted way that violence makes friends. Its not as bad as it sounds (E I mean) but I feel if I don't nip this now we could be in for some trouble. I need to simplify. I'm going to have to start saying no to things. People just don't take hints. Maybe its because hints aren't obvious, but I think its because they don't want to take the hint.

So until people understand what I'm saying and give me what I'm asking, you can find me plugging away doing substandard work because I'm spreading myself too thin or I will be saying No to everything. Neither way looks good.

Self Discovery

I've been off of some medication for almost a year. One of the reasons I went off of it was because there was this she devil that would bring all the powers of hell to my home once a month. Now that I have been off of "it", I find out that the she devil was really me and now I am a she devil with crappy skin. Just my luck.

Therapy +

There are things I wish I could post about, but I cannot. Don't worry its nothing bad, its just that nothing is definite and I am superstitious. If I tell you, then everything will automatically go up in smoke, so I can't tell you no matter how much I want too. Maybe I need therapy. Posting about it would be therapeutic but then what if it doesn't happen and then the smoke and possibilities of secondhand smoke. Ok now I'm just talkin' crazy.

Hey Look! Something shiny.

In other news my husband and I went on a double date with some friends of ours. They introduced us to a nice restaurant with good food. I liked what I was having and was very pleased with my choice until I tasted Mr. Wonderful's chicken. "Oh My Goodness" It was so good. I'm not just saying that because I normally suffer from Entree Envy (I always want what he ordered), I'm saying it because it was really good. It was all I could do to keep myself from ripping off my mannerly facade and steal the carcass from his plate. Good thing he didn't go to the bathroom cause I would have.

Later we introduced them to pool at Mr. Wonderful's workplace. We had so much fun and now my girlfriend has a stalker. Ok maybe not a stalker, but every time she was trying to subtly nurse her wee babe, this man in a yellow shirt kept coming by and staring. Neither of us girls were aware of it, but the men were. Maybe it was a testosterone, male territory kind of thing, but I had no idea and upon being made aware of what was going on I stupidly said "Awwe, how come I never get the stalkers?" To which my friend-in-law (her husband) replied "Don't worry, [so and so] said.' take confidence in knowing at least twice a day somebody has looked at you and said yah I'd do that." I wonder how scientific the study was? Despite the peeping we had a great time.

Oh did I mention I borrowed their babysitter too. I'm getting good at that. To be fair it was the babysitter's idea and she made a pretty penny too. So it looks like it was a great night for all and Mr. Wonderful and I went home to play our own game of stalker. Isn't he sweet?

I Want To Ride My Bicycle

At least I thought they did, but as you can see they mostly pushed their bikes around. Maybe I should have bought a stroller or a wheel chair, than at least they could be pushing me around.

Its Time For A Change

I have been unhappy with the appearance of my blog. I found out on most computers that my banner looks weird and since I don't know HTML code so I don't know how to fix it. Unfortunately I don't really care fore the skins that are available to me at the moment so I chose this minimalist template to try to exude a personality of organization and peace. Is it working?

So Its ON!

After Saturday with the girls I have new resolve to continue with my 14 in 14 but its more like 5 in 14 because I took a break. I could give you many reasons why I stopped but lets just sum it up to stress and my gym pass expiring. Anyway thanks to beautyshopmomma and jenthemom, I am at least going to try again for the next week. I have already lost a day of exercise because I was cleaning all morning and running around all afternoon and into the early evening, but today is a new day and I'm going to try really hard. I have already made a bunch of snacks that will help me keep within my targets.

Speaking of the girls we went out on Saturday night. It was a much needed vacation from the stressful week I had been having (being trapped in Cardston and all) Mr. Wonderful wasn't home to watch the wonderlings, so I mooched on jenthemom's babysitter and brought my kids over. Can I tell you that was just a recipe for disaster, but Bryant was such a trooper.

We went to the Olive Garden, why you ask? (So did my husband) The salad and bread sticks , but mostly the salad. Back off I'm cheap. Did I mention I mooched on the babysitter (don't worry I paid him). I learned somethings, the waitress is weird yet knows her stuff and I have the potential to be the family alcholic. In the time it took for the other ladies to finish one drink I had downed 3 diet cokes. I guess when it comes to liquids I don't hold back and funny thing neither does my bladder. I had to pee every 30 minutes. I also learned about something called skinny cows (light ice cream snadwhiches I think) but I have yet to see them so they may be a myth and finally I learned that three mommies hocked up on caffien and light headed from salad find pretty much anything funny.

Oh and congratulations to beautyshopmomma for getting skinny enough to fit in the carseat. Enough said!

The Rumble

Do you ever wonder if you are raising a serial killer? Yah um me neither. Just thought I'd ask. But lets just say that I know this mom who has this kid who gets really, really excited and happy to the point of ecstasy ad in a split second goes off the deep end kicking wailing and nashing his teeth over something as little as an exhale. At one time said child beat up a kid at the local BK playpark and his older brother had to get his mom before the choking caused any real damage. The reason for the choking, the chokee was going into the ball pit first and the choker didn't want him to be first. Since this is purely hypothetical lets just leave it at that. I wouldn't want any rumors to start.

Powered by Castpost

The Great Cardston Adventure (part 3)

Who knew my adventure would be a trilogy? Definitely not I, but I guess I have so much to say and maybe I'll bring balance to the force. (Its late give me a break).

Anyway, It was Monday and we had had enough, we wanted to get home, and get in our own beds and have our own space and eat our own food, and get naked in our own shower. I have a hard time doing that in other peoples houses even though it is a necessity, house guest fish thing and all. I think my dad was the most anxious. He made that trip between the house and the dealership 3 or 4 times still wearing the same suit he wore Saturday. I felt bad for my parents they only had the clothes they came in so I went to the Bargain Shop and purchased them some shirts. Don't worry they didn't sleep in their clothes, they borrowed pjs so all was not lost.

Finally it got so bad, I mean my dad's impatience that he was ready to tow the car to Calgary and get it fixed there. We were to follow in a rental car. Lucky for us Cardston doesn't rent cars cause he would've done it. He even checked the yellow pages to see if the greyhound bus stopped there or if he could take a taxi, that's how desperate he was. I myself felt some of the same desire. I was not looking forward to another night of being kicked by my kids in bed and being woken by my mom's snoring (she'd kill me if she knew I'd let that out). It not her fault she has a deviated septum I think. But lets be pratical that's way too expensive.

So we went to the park and then we went to Dairy Queen to cool off. While we were there I decided I was going to make the best of this. I was going to visit some of the touristy things that we never get to visit. We were planning on going to the Card Home and the miniature museum. I was even going to get my boys hair cut after all I had the time, or so I thought. While were throwing our garbage away the phone rang "Your Car is ready". A sudden wave of sadness swept over me, I had plans. Then just like that it was gone, I was going to see my husband Yay!. Apparently We were not moving fast enough, because my father, who usually move at a glacial pace, said, "I'll come pick you up."

We were back at the house and packed in less than half an hour. We were grateful for the place to stay, but were more grateful to go home. "Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home."

The Great Cardston Adventure (Part2)

It has been said (I don't know where) that house guests are like fish, after 3 days they begin to smell. Well in our case it wasn't any different (especially because we didn't have supplies). Lucky for us Sunday church was early and we had some dress clothes to wear (after all we were at he temple the day before), so the smell wasn't that bad. Thanks to Alden and Heide's 3 full baths we obtained showers to fend off the stench.

At church things were normal. Just like any normal ward we had visited on vacation except it was full of relatives we didn't know very well. You wouldn't know it from my married name but I come from a long line of a very common southern Alberta family. In fact this long line stretches all the way down into Utah of all places. Along with this long line of family comes an awesome responsibility that my husband thought he had saved me from when he married me. You must know your family tree. So when it came time to introduce the visitors, my mother-in-law saved some time. She said "this is my daughter in law and her two parent Brad and Joyce *****. They are here because their youngest daughter was going throughout the temple yesterday. You may know Brad's Father Dean. They are having car trouble and will be with us for a while." After church was over my parents were swarmed by many to find out how things were and to confirm relations. CRAZY!

We went home and watched "The Borrowers" about 12 times. There wasn't much to do because the computer room was occupied and the TV was occupied so after dinner we went for a walk. Although every need seemed to be taken care of and everyone was quite polite its hard to be in someone else's house especially when you didn't plan for it.

The Great Cardston Adventure (part 1)

My family went down to cardston on Friday. Our purpose was two fold, visit Mr. Wonderful's sister and family up from Orem, and be there for my sister's first time through the temple. We had a plan that would get us through the week so we would be able to meet everyone's needs including ours.

Friday:

Visit with Mr. W's Family, eat smores and camp at Lee Creek Campground

Saturday:

Visit more with his family, have a birthday luncheon for my son, then go to the temple and book it home so my husband could work.

The problem with a plan is when you deviate from the plan.

Everything was followed right down to the letter until after the temple session when my family decided they wanted to see the boys, but they also wanted to eat. This seemed harmless, yet impossible until someone suggested that my husband go home (because he had too) and the boys and I should ride home with mom and dad.

Cue: Warning music "DUM, DUM, DUM"

Mr. Wonderful went home and made good time too. I guess traveling is smoother when your not pulling over ever 5 min because the youngest wonderling has to go pee really bad, but won't pee standing up or without a toilet.

My sisters got there wish, they got to eat and got to see the boys. It had been an hour and a half since Mr. W left and we were eager to go so we loaded up the station wagon, my father handed me the keys and said "You Drive". I turned the ignition, nothing. I tried again, nothing. We checked the battery, it was fine. After 2 hours of tinkering they called a tow truck.

So there we were, late Saturday, in Cardston with hardly anything cramming into my inlaws house. We had no hope of leaving before Monday.

Yo!

I like to take this time and welcome Yo to the blogworld. If you are interested in pop culture then check her out at my mystery blog of the week.

I'm A Nerd and I Don't Care Who Knows

I love chemistry. I know, how could anyone love chemistry? I don't know why but I do. I get excited and happy every time I see an element or balance an equation. I love teaching it to people. Why didn't I finish and be a Chem teacher? I was young and stupid. Maybe I should pursue it again, or be a tutor or something. I should share the love and perhaps my love will grow on others and they will love Chemistry too. That's all Mendeleev and Arrhenius wanted, to share the love.

I heard this song while I was working out. Just thought I would share


Powered by Castpost

Happy Stampeding

It's that time of year again. Let the Ho Down begin.

How Bazaar, How Bazaar.

I can't believe I'm posting about this. Ok I can. I admit I'm interested in pop culture and at times I like to know what the celebs are doing, but this certainly not what I wanted this blog to be about, and yet here I am. As many of you know Mrs. Federline has posed nude for the August issue of Harpers Bazzar. The photo is reminisant of the Demi Moore pregnancy photo that had many up in arms almost 15 years ago. I am not going to get into should Britney (we're on a first name basis) have posed or not. The point of this post was brought about by a number of seemingly unconnected moments.

First my mother and my sister were in line at Walmart to buy a juicer. Two men were in front of them discussing the tabloids. They were comparing which actress was hotter and why. Durring the course of their conversation Angelina Jolie came up and not for the reason you might think. One said to the other, (and I'm paraphrasing)"You know who is hot? Angelina Jolie." The other man agreed but in response said "Yah, but now that she has had a baby everything has gone kaputs."

This was a story that I didn't need to hear, lately with my focus on my body and my quest for a healthier looking body, I have noticed my marks of beeing a mother. I have noticed the saggy streatched skin mainly around my middle and how my boobs are no longer standing at attention. Gone are the days of the demi cup or T shirt bra. I'm a full support girl now. I do morn the loss of my former body, my flat tummy and smaller size. At times I think I would like to go under the knife, but practicallity, reality and my fear of pain set in. Then I start to get mad at myself and "society"(mostly society) for not celebrating the marks of motherhood, for not finding the beauty in a softer deflated body. How come my husband can and I can't? And if Motherhood is a such a noble job why does society put so much pressure on us to remove all evidence physically that we are mothers?

Fianlly on "The View" they were talking about the changes a body goes through with pregnancy, the before and the after. They talked about Britney and Demi posing nude and then they posed a very interesting question which I am posing now. Putting the fact that you mostlikely wouldn't have nude pictures taken of yourself aside. Would you more likely have nude pictures taken of yourself when you weren't pregnant or when you were?

I know this is a strange question considering my readership. I also know that if someone asked me that question I would normally tell them neither, but if I had to choose my answer would be...

Randomness In All Its Glory

I have a confession to make. I haven't been that diligent in my 14 in 14 goal. I do have about 6 weeks left and if I could just focus I could still achieve my goal. I have dropped some weight and size (size being the more important number) but I'm not their yet. I'm hovering at about 156 lbs and I would like to be 150lbs. I have however brought more activity into my days.
+++++++++++++++

Friday Mr. Wonderful and I took the wonderlings to play Frisbee in a park. When we got out we aere assaulted by hundreds of mosquitoes. I immediately ran back to the car and only sustained a few bites. Mr. Wonderful and the oldest wonderling did the same, but the youngest in all excitement to play ran in the opposite direction. He wasn't so lucky. Not only did he receive multiple bites but they puffed up to the size of silver dollars. Poor Kid

Still wanting to have fun we drove around and found a mini golf course. D got two holes in one and I got one. E kicked our butts on one hole and I got hit in the right boob by every water prank on the course. Mr. Wonderful did great too but he spent more time laughing at the fact that I looked like I was lactating from one breast, then he did on his play. At the very last hole my kids were frightened to take their balls out of the cups (because of the pranks). I volunteered and was surprised to see that I wasn't being nailed in the chest, but was brought right back to reality with a shot in the head by a stray stream of water. I won the wet T shirt contest.
+++++++++++++++

On "O Canada Day" we want to Heritage Park We have a seasons pass with rides. We had breakfast, went on the rides, took a boat ride and had Canada birthday cake. We would have liked to have stuck around for more of the festivities but it was smoking hot and we needed to get the children out of the sun. We went seeking refreshment from Burger king only to discover that they didn't have milk shakes. What kind of place doesn't serve milk shakes on a hot day? I find that the McLeod trail BK is frequently out of product.
+++++++++++++++

This just in.... The Calgary Flames have traded Shean Donovan. I remarked to Mr. Wonderful that he must be disappointed to see him go. He said to me that he thought that he was my favorite player. I'll admit he was, but I liked him for his nice brown eyes. To that Mr. Wonderful said "Yeah those brown eyes can sure skate." that's just like a man isn't it?
+++++++++++++++

Halifax Nova Scotia still has no shopping on Sundays. Interesting
+++++++++++++++

Today we plan to get rid of my dilapidated sofa and are replacing it with another less dilapidated couch. I am grateful that someone wants to help us out by giving us their couch, but what is it about us that says"please give us your cast offs?"
+++++++++++++++

Funny Song: Swing by Trace Atkins. I you like country check it out.
+++++++++++++++

Well I guess that is all for now and I hope I made Sariah proud on my randomness.

I'm Hot Sticky Sweet, From My Head To My Feet.

We have been having a bit of a heat wave. At least for us its been a heat wave. I kind of like it though. Sometimes I like to have a glow about me. I just don't want to be dripping.

Speaking of dripping, yesterday I took my new runners and my lumpy self and went for a run. I hate running with every fiber of my being. About 2 minutes into my run my side started to protest and then my hip. Its probably because I'm doing it wrong, but I still went anyway. Why? Because at the end of 1.5km (0.9 miles) is a tanning salon and I was going to reward myself with a healthy glow each time I run. I'm only doing this twice a week (if that, lets be real) just to build a base. You see I'm a little inept in the application of sunless tanner, and I can't reach my back. I just don't want to be the girl with the farmer tan in her swimsuit. Call me vain. I dare you. Its just I've been that girl for the last 8 years.

As I was running, pain aside, I was comfortable. I was thinking its not that hot out, I'm not even sweating. Then I walked into the salon. The water works began, the pen kept slipping from my hand and my form was wrinkled with moisture. Sick. Laying in a hot bed half naked didn't help either. With the lotion and the sweating I'm surprised I didn't fall out of the bed, but I did leave a milky white residue. I went to wipe it off with the complimentary towel but It was already dry. Double sick. I sure hope they clean between sessions. *shudder*

Needless to say I walked back.

Write Off

Today is sports day at school. Yesterday was year end class party. Tomorrow will be an organizational day. Thursday will be a half day and report cards. Other than the fun, what's really the point? This week (or practically the whole month of June) is a write off. In Canada we stay in for a whole month doing what? A whole lot of nothing. Sure there are a few things that need to be finished in some subjects and granted when my children are in the higher grades they will probably need the extra time to study and such, but until those higher grades are reached, I think the month of June is just around for Teachers to get their hours in. I have nothing against teachers (except the bad ones you can't fire) so please don't get me wrong. I just think that June should be a write off. Besides my son's class stopped listening 4 weeks ago.

Happy Birthday

I just realized today is exactly one year since I started my blog.

All For One Or A Free For All

I admit it. I have crossed over. I have crossed over to a side I said I would never be on. I remember when I was younger and people who were older would complain about how disrespectful and ignorant young people were. I remember thinking to myself "Self, when you get older, try very hard to remember what it was like when you were younger and cut the young ones some slack." I used to think that the problem was, that through the process of aging, people forget the trials and tribulations of youth. They look to the past through pink glass in all filtered and glowy.

But now being somewhat on the "other side" I see things a bit differently (a pyridine that is sure to evolve as time goes by). Yes I remember the less desirable happenings of my past. I remember some of the dilemmas and temptations and granted, youth do have it harder. Morals and ideals that were once valued and held in high esteem are now thought to be extreme and intolerant. But this is not what I am getting at or is it?

In my aged mind I remember be taught to wait my turn, to walk on the Right side of the hallway so that traffic may flow freely. I remember losing privileges for poor behavior. Now I'm sure you wondering what brought this on? Who peed in her cornflakes? (a term not looked upon with fondness by the generations preceding mine.)

At my son's school children shove and push like salmon swimming upstream, but the problem is it doesn't matter which direction you are going, some one is bound to be trampled. Unlucky for us it has happened to both my kids. Does the injury and crying change anything. No!

At Heritage Park, today was railway days. There is a popular ride called the puffer belly. Its a smaller version of a train that is driven a short ways around the park. We got our tickets and waited in line while other children climbed and shoved to get on. Of course my children were worried that they would miss their chance to ride. They still made it on. Do you think my audible comments about waiting our turn will change things? No!

As I look at these behaviors with disdain, my gut reaction is to say "kids these days are rotten." Sometimes I catch myself thinking it. But why are these young "wipper snappers" so bass? Well I have to say its because of us. My generation. At my sons school they aren't taught to walk on the right side of the hallway and at Heritage park I found it was the parents saying "get on quickly be for you miss you chance." and "I think its a first come first serve" or "you should just let them on." Way to undermine me in front of my children.

All I can say is I'm sad at the behavioral decay. Man am I getting old.

Kenyon's Confessional

Please welcome Kenyon to our happy blogging world. I have finally updated my side bar and he is now the mystery blog of the week. Should you have a particular song that you like let him know. He might take requests, after all it couldn't hurt to ask.

Will Ally Get Her Groove Back?

I was going to post last Friday but I was occupied and then I was going to do it Saturday but then my modem fried and we just got a new one hence the week without posting. Now everything I wanted to write seems pointless, irrelevant, and old. Now posting seems like a chore. I personally don't like chores, but I do them none the less. So here are some of the things that happened in the last week.

*************
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME, I"M THIRTY THREE. I must say this was a harder bday for me then my 30th. Its like I'm officially in my mid thirties and I'm nowhere closer to being where I thought I was going to be when I was thirty. I threw myself a mini pity party and then put on a happy face because its my mom bday too.

*************
E was saying family prayer and was going through his list of people to bless

E: "...Please bless S because he is my friend, Please bless D, and please bless me...Um Dad what do I say next?"
Mr. W: " Please bless me that I will get over my cold.

E: "please bless Dad that he will..."

Mr. W: "No buddy please bless you that you will get over your cold."

E: "OK, please bless me that...humph...what was it again?"

Mr.W: "That you will feel better."

E: "Please bless me that I will feel better, please bless dad and please bless mom...What's next dad?"

Mr. W: "What ever you want.."

E: "Ok , please bless mom if you want, in the name of Jesus Christ Amen."

I'm hoping God wants to bless me.

*************
On Thursrday we were watching a tape of Billy Joel giving a symposium at a university. One of the questions the audience asked was "what was your inspiration for Miami 2017?" He was giving his answer and sitting down to play the song (aka the night the lights went out on Broadway) and as he was singing "the night the lights went out..." Our power went out. We thought that was pretty funny until we found out the reason the power went out.

Two people were leaving work and as they were going to their cars a freak accident (power lines dropping for no apparent reason) happened. The man covered his co-worker with his body. They both amazingly are going to live. But what are the odds?

It turns out the rain we had been having had seeped in to the transformer and caused the accident.

************
Why is it when you are to the breaking point and you finally humble yourself and in fitful sobs ask for help, when the help comes you feel like you don't really need it any more?

***********
For Fathers' Day Mr. Wonderful got the flu, on Monday he gave it back.

************
Well that is all I have time to post stay tuned for my next installment.

The Stork Cometh

Thank goodness Jenthemom posted about having her baby. It was so hard to keep the news in. I wanted to tell, but it wasn't my news to share. There is nothing worse than having a really good story to tell and while telling it you find out everyone else has already heard it. Ok almost nothing worse. Anyway congratulations to Jenthemom and baby David (oh yah and Chuck too, kidding, like I'd forget him)

ABCs and 123s

About three years ago E got a plastic container full of foamy letters for the bathtub. My kids loved them and used to put them everywhere, a characteristic I found aggravating at first but be came useful. Mr. Wonderful and I would leave messages to one another in the shower. Sometimes the messages were a little racy, but it was just for us, our kids couldn't read. Well fast forward to today.

My husband left me a message in the shower yesterday. It was one of the mildly racy ones heehee. I didn't take it down because the thought never occurred to me to do so. Well just about 5 minutes ago D came running into the living room horrified. He was upset that someone would put the word "sexy" on the shower wall. He couldn't even say the word out loud. He had to mouth it. I'm sure he was picturing some random person or even a so called friend coming in and putting graffiti our wall. I explained to him that it was Daddy leaving me a message. He was not impressed and took it down himself because he felt "uncomfortable".

So kudos to the school for teaching him to read, but shame on us for not realizing it sooner. In my defense I wasn't the one who left the original message.

All The Pleasure Without the Guilt

This is one of the snacks that I enjoy most. Please note that this makes 7 servings each serving being 3/4 cup. The nutrition Breakdown is 148cals, carbs 14 g, protien 14 g, fat 3.3 g. It may seem like a lot of ingredients but its really simple and It tastes good. Thats what important about diet food. I got this from a Kinetix cookbook I bought.

Chocolate Mousse

1 1/2 cups 1% cottage cheese
1 cup dry curd cottage cheese
1/2 cup 1% milk
1/4 cup light cream cheese
2 tbsp light sour cream
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup cocoa
1/4 cup splenda
1 package of fat free instant chocolate pudding
1 cup ultra low fat whipped topping

Instructions

In a blender mix all ingredients except the pudding and whipped cream. Blend for about 4 minutes

Pour the mixture into a bowl and add the pudding and whipped cream. Mix with a wisk

Chill in fridge for 2 hours

JOKE OF THE DAY

Teacher: "So Tommy, if you have seven candies, and I ask you for four, how many will you have left?"

Tommy: "Seven"

The Fitful Sleep Of The Dammed

I'm not gong to hell. The dammed that I speak of is like a block, a barrier or a stop of progression if you will. As I have said in a previous post, my husband and I, and subsequently our children, are in a bit of limbo with the progression of school. You see it has been the dream of my husband to be a teacher since his days in primary school. He would make a great teacher. What he lacks in academics he makes up for in partical ability and experience but Universities don't look at that. Don't get me wrong, he has passed his courses and has earned himself a degree in English, but he is not at the top of his class. How could he be? He is not a twenty year old with little responsibility. He is a father working two jobs, and still below the poverty line, to support his family so his wife can stay home with their two young boys. This year he applied under an alternate application process, that was developed to give those with "special circumstances" and "other qualifications" a chance, but Monday we received notice that he wasn't accepted for his first choice. He is presently being considered for his second and we will know soon if he will be accepted. We have yet to hear from the other institution of higher learning. This has caused me to loose a lot of sleep.

I have been escaping in television at night and this morning I woke up at THREE FREAKING THIRTY! As stressful as this circumstance is, it's not the only thing contributing to my insomnia. As some of you know I am the Enrichment Leader for our ward. It is my responsibility to plan events for our women's group where they can socialize and learn while enjoying the company of people of the same faith. This coming Tuesday is one of our quarterly activities. We are having a "trade show" of sorts to show how one can be active in the community and in our congregation. I was ok yesterday but as I went to sleep I started worrying about it again. Plus my house is a disaster and my weight loss plan has all but left the building so I feel guilt. What I want for my upcoming birthday is a good nights sleep and my husband to get into school. If he doesn't get in I don't know what I will do. This is his "last kick at the cat". His words not mine. It a figure of speech, at least I hope it is, otherwise we will be going to hell.

We Interupt This Regular Blogging To Bring You This.

My house is in need of serious dejunking, so while I do that I hope you will be satisfied with a few links. This one made my day about a week ago and I have been meaning to post it for sometime now.

Pajama Party, Marathons, and Toenails

Every so often my husband works on a Saturday evening leaving me all alone with my kids. Tonight is one of those nights. I don't usually get sad, but tonight I am a little. So to get my mind off of the fact my husband is not with me, my boys and I are going to have a PJ party. Actually we have already started. We've been in our Pjs since 5:30pm. We are going to have a Harry Potter Marathon and do our toenails. Ok maybe just E and I will do our nails, D has out grown that a bit. Who needs girls when I got my boys. Here is hoping I stay distracted.

Left Behind

Did the Rapture happen or do I just have bad timing? Why is every person I have called not home?

I Can't Keep Her Together Captain

I don't know about you but from the blogs I have read lately there seems to be a majority feeling a bit out of control. Its like the God of Chaos seems to have a death grip on a lot of people. I'm not all about the doom and gloom, please don't get me wrong.It is just something I have observed. There seems to be an energy out there that has a hold on some people. Sleep patterns are changing, things are not getting done, others are avoiding problems hoping that they will go away, and the list goes on.

When you feel like things are beyond your control, what do you do? I personally tend to pull in ranks. I stop going out as much, or try too some things can't be avoided. I try to go to bed early or I stay up late getting lost in a TV show we all know which is better for me and which one add to the chaos. I stop trying to do everything. I let somethings slide. I admit it. I'm not as productive, but really who is?

I've been waking up at around 4:00 am for the last couple of days, and to get back to sleep I have been listening to what I lovingly call the crazies on Coast to Coast with George Noory. A half an hour of that and I'm ready to go back to sleep. Two nights (mornings) ago he had an astrologer on who said that the planets are aligning like they did 5 years ago and with that some of the same energies are coming. Now I don't believe a big hunk of rock floating around in a specific orbit is going to affect my mood or how things happen for me, but I do believe that through our own actions or inactions things keep coming back to us that we haven't learned from. I also believe that others actions or inactions have a cycle that can affect us as well.

So thinking about that I looked at where I was 5 years ago. The only thing that is the same is that we are still in Limbo with Mr. Wonderful's schooling. Maybe a lesson is to be learned here. It will take some evaluating. I may or maynot do that, but what I will do is the things I can control. I will go do a load of laundry, I will shower and I will take my library books back because they are overdue. I am not going to worry about mercury being in retrograde, or if Jupiter and Saturn are in opposition. I will try not to worry about Mr. Wonderful getting into school or if my Enrichment Night will actually be successful. That is easier said than done and hopefully like a rerun of Star Trek I won't get caught in the gravitational pull of one of those planets with "bad energy" and I will keep her together after all.

E's First Day Of School

Today was E's unofficial first day of school. I know some of you are thinking, "Now how is that possible? It is the end of the year and E isn't old enough to be in real school." I volunteered in D's class to day and Ms. K said that E could come. So I prepared a home and school journal for E and got him a really cool pencil. As luck would have it there was an extra desk in the classroom. He sat with the Grade two's so he was in a group older than D. He worked in his book and when they were discussing animals in science Ms. K had an animal sheet for him to colour. Then he played at recess and sat at story time. We left at the beginning of lunch. And he was very sad to go. So sad that I had to bribe him with food and a movie, which he is watching right now.

During morning meeting Ms. K introduced E and told the group to welcome him and show him around. He got to buddy read with Claire and David. She also told the class that he was coming to school in September and that they should treat him nice when he comes. That made him feel so great. He wants to go tomorrow but of course he cannot. I just think there are not enough French fries in the world that will make things better when I tell him he can't . Its a good thing disappointment fades with time. I would run out of money.

I'm just glad that it went so well. This experience has increased his desire to attend school at least 10 fold and that's a good thing. I don't know what I would do if it was the other way around.

Week 4 day 1

I will be copying this post into my 14 in 14 blog. I have not done so well this last week. I keep trying to do what I need to and then my blender breaks or I go camping or I need to grocery shop. Enough with the excuses. The point is I've fallen off the wagon and I need to get back on. I really don't want to work out today and its going to take all that is in me to get me to the gym.

Breakfast 7:52

4 Yves breakfast patties = 180cals
1 safeway select waffle = 80 cals
3/4 cup fruit= 70cals
1 cup of milk = 110 cals

Total = 440 cals

Maybe if I stay home from the gym and do my pilates today and clean my disaster of a house. If my place is organized maybe I will feel better. I am Chaos personified right now. Too much going on and something is going to give. I'll see how I feel at lunch.

Lunch 12:30

Crispy Bacon Ranch Salad =360cals
Tablespoon of Ranch dressing= 45 cals

Total = 405 cals


Snack 4:00 pm

A granola bar = 150 cals

I still haven't worked out but my bed is made and I have my grocery shopping done and I bought a blender (man they are expensive) I'm feeling less chaotic but still not under control. I just haven't caught up from camping and I'm tired.

Bang?

Here I sit in my living room, wide awake at 5:55am. I was sleeping peacefully, having an adventurous dream, when I got to a scary spot and opened my eyes. I would have gone back to sleep except there is this extremely loud noise. At first I thought it was the crack of dawn, but much to my dismay it was moaning and not the painful kind. I've tried covering my head with pillows, but that was too warm. Just when I thought they were done it all started up again. I so want my own house. I believe the only persons who should be "moaning" in my house are my husband and me. I guess this is what I get for wasting away all my money when I was young. I could have had my own house by now, but noooo, I get to rent and right below the lair.

I Need A Case of Biore Pore Perfect Strips STAT

As some of you know we went camping this past long weekend. A long deserved trip. My husband and I have not been anywhere longer than 2 days and 2 nights that didn't involve a family reunion and 16+ hours of driving, but after 8 years of marriage our family is turning a new leaf. We are going to camp as much as possible this summer. Woo hoo.

We camped at Waterton/ Glacier International Peace Park (on the waterton side). I've been there plenty of times. I really like it there. I like it more than Jasper or Banff because it is less commercial, but some of my bias might be attributed to the fact that I rarely went to Jasper or Banff and I like what I know.

Anyway we camped at Crandall Campsite, a more woodsy sight for the more serious camper. It has flush toilets and glacier cold running water in the bathroom. No showers. That's ok some of snuck into the townsite campsite to take one. I admit I was one of them, but despite my bathing, I was still extremely dirty. As we were coming home, I was scratching the back of my neck. When I was done and my fingers had retreated I noticed a filthy scum of dirt and dead skin underneath my finger nails. Gross. Mr. Wonderful told me to relax and that's just a part of camping. I KNOW, I was just excited about how dirty I got. Don't even get me started about the kids, they didn't have a bath/ shower. But let me just say there is nothing like camping to build up the immunity. But enough about getting dirty, Here are some of the things I remember about the trip.

-Smores with nutella
-Smores with nutella
-hiking with my boys
-seeing a baby bear (my first one, I was in a car, it was in a tree)
- Ice cream in town
- Campfire (D and I made one, one morning)
-Darcy Farting (he is quite talented and musical)
-Racing or friends around town in the peddle bikes
-Throwing rocks into the lake
-playing at the park
-finally getting D to Pee by a tree (my boys don't stand up to pee weird I know)
-Using our new griddle and it working
- Forgetting almost everything useful. I normally remember everything and this time I forgot everything including a pump for our air mattress. I almost cried.
- having to clean the bath tub after everyone got clean.
-Jiffy pop
-E falling onto the fire pit and not getting severely burned. He didn't fall in the fire but tripprd and put his hand on the metal grill. He had ice on his hand all night and in the morning no pain or blistering. It was a miracle.
-Getting home and sleeping in my own bed where it was warm (I forgot my own jacket and long sleeve shirts for mountain nights, I remembered everyone else's)
-The smell of rain (only one night)
-Being sad that we had to come home.

I'll post pictures later

West Alberta, Mountain Momma.

Okay bad adaptation to John Denver's Country Road, but thats where I am headed. We are going camping in the rockies. We leave tomorow so forgive me if I don't post or read for a while. Hopefully I won't be eaten by a bear (my husband is too big , my children are too small, I think I'm just right.) I hope the weather is nice too. This is where we hope to go. Its first come first serve so wish me luck.

Stampeder's Fan Fest

The Pictures are in no particular order.



They had inflatable obstacle courses too.





It was sign your kid day





Ralph the Dog is a personal friend of my ours. His dad said that Ralph might be able to show up at D's bday party

Dear Lucy

That is always the name I imagined the toothfairy to have. My son is coming up on 7 years and has been very disappointed that he hasn't lost a tooth. WELL THIS JUST IN...Today he was eating an apple and felt some pain. He asked me to wiggle his tooth. Yup its loose. He is excited yet a little apprehensive, understandably. He is afraid of feeling more pain. The tooth right next to it is wiggly too so I wouldn't be surprised if my son was sing all I want for my Birthday is some new front teeth.

Way To Grow D

I'm Sad

Most of the time I post about meaningless fluff and superficialness but today I feel I need to vent if you will about something that I find so frustrating.

I am lucky to be living in the area that I do. I live within the boundaries of a school that serves more of the affluent members of our fine city. Although this school is older and smaller than the ones I grew up in, it is clean, we have wonderful teachers and great opportunities for the kids to spread their wings. This last winter, they intaduced a new ski / snowboarding program for Grades 1 and 2 (Grades 3 through 6 have been doing it for a while). Although I was a little scared of sending my baby down a hill with nothing but a helmet and wrist guards, I thought it was a great opportunity. I paid the $129 and sent my young one of on a bus to experience gravity at its finest. If we couldn't afford it the school would pay for it.

A few months later I was at a baby shower where they were discussing the state of some of the schools in our city. Some of the ladies were student teachers and were telling us what it was like on the inside. This one girl was talking about a school in the NE (I don't know which) were they don't even have enough funding to supply themselves with paper or pencils for all of the kids. Luckily this year a company that she was working for to put herself through school, sponsored the school she was student teaching at. The company bought them all of the paper they needed and other school supplies. She said she was concerned about what the school would do next year when her company chooses another school to sponsor (spread the wealth I guess) its not the like the parents in that community can do it.

Fast forwars to 3 weeks ago. My school (the one my son goes too) was having a milestone birthday party. Because of the party, they suddenly received thousands of dollars in extra funding to give the grounds and insides a bit of a face lift. Yes the new awards shelf looks lovely (much better than the old yet satisfactory one) and the grounds are better for maitennace (less watering, and mud tracking due to mulching and rock beds) but I can't help but wonder if that money could have been better spent. My son gets to go snow boarding for a week while others kids, not too far away are lucky if the have a pencil and a piece of paper to practice their printing and spelling.

Now I wouldn't be so upset if my school was a private school with private funding, but it is not. As I understood it the school gets a certain amount of money for each child they have on record by the end of September (an idea that I don't fully agree with) so why does my school get all of this "extra funding"? Of course I am assuming enrollments are about the same, but I think they are higher in the poorer school. I also understand that parents in our community can afford to buy their children the supplies they need, were that isn't the case for the other school. Yet how can their be such a difference.

When my son was younger the philosophy was to shop around for the school you wanted your child to go to, but throught school closers and consolidating enrolments are high for the capacity of the school. D's teacher said they won't be able to take any children out of the school boundaries for next year. She even said that included the children already attending who live out of bounds. There are at least 3 or 4 kids in D's class that this will affect. That sucks!

I wish there was something I could do. Some way to give more balance. This is our kids' futures I am talking about. Its really important, yet I don't know what to do or where to start. I wish I had more ideas. I wish I knew influential people who wouldn't mind parting with some money for the sake of our children's and countries future. But who am I? A stay at home mom who knows no one and although is extremely frustrated, is still grateful she lives where she does, because if it was somewhere else I think I would be more frustrated.

Banana From Heaven?

Today Dakota went out side and found a banana, still in the peel, right by our front door (actually our only door). The funny thing is I needed a banana for a shake I wanted to make. I'm scared to eat it though, I don't know how it got there or who it is from. Wired.

14 In 14

A week ago in Palmyra NY, my sister and her boyfriend got engaged. They had been talking about it for a while and even booked facilities but made it official with a ring last week. The thing is they are getting married in 14 weeks. In 14 weeks! Now I know the day is not about me, but to know that my ever widening but is going to be immortalized in photographs has me on edge.

I know I am not obese, but I know that I'm not happy with how I look. So I decided to do something. Yes I've been going to the gym for a year but lets be honest. I average about twice a week and I recently found out that I wasn't working myself hard enough during those work outs, plus I don't eat right. I had decided to join a weight loss group, but found that I can't afford it. Before all you interneters start writing me about how can I not afford it, I'll give you the math. We have two children (4 people) living in Calgary on about $2000/ month and I'm not exaggerating. We make it by with some creativity. Anyway how can I justify spending the kind of money to join a group when I can't feed my kids (and my kids don't have an over weight problem, actually its quite the opposite)? So this is my plan and my request. I want to loose 14 lbs in 14 weeks. I'm telling everybody and I want them to hold me accountable, please don't sabotage me (you know who you are). If you are eating a treat don't offer me some. If you see me going for a treat stop me!

I have chosen a low fat / low calorie eating plan and I will be exercising at least 5 days a week (cardio and strenthening) I will be posting my daily food and exercise journals on a new blog along with some recipes. I want encouragement and positive affirmations. I believe that is important. If I fall, pick me up. I've done well for the last day and a half but I have 96.5 days to go.

Thank you

I'm Late! I'm Late!

Today as my family was getting ready to go home from church, a lovely girl who has three weeks left in her pregnancy asked me if there was anything she could do to help labour along. I laughed and then told her that of all people to ask I was the wrong person. I went 11 days late with my oldest and 9 days late with the other. Both times I didn't "start" on my own and had to have a proceedure to bring about labour. What can I say, my kids are a little attached to me. I hope I don't have this problem when they are older and it is time to move out, but I digress. She proceeded to ask another couple and was met with somewhat the same response. To my delight I found another person who goes over her due date, but maybe its genetic because she is a second cousin.

So what I was wondering was how common is it to go over your due date? How many of you have? Was there something that you tried to do to enduce labour? And how successful was it (the thing you tried)?

Thanks

May The Fourth Be With You.

Did you get it? Aren't I punny? I was going to say "May The Fourth Be With Me." but then it looses it's affect when the phrase isn't said properly. As we all know I'm all about properness. Then again I just gave you all a "religious" blessing and since non of you are practicing Jedi, you are probably all offended. I guess my properness flew out the window, where my two boys are about to be chucked out of. Before you get your ceremonial robes in a knot, I live in a basement suite, so really I'm just rolling them on the ground.

May be its all the extra sun we are experiencing but they cannot stop picking at each other and it's driving me crazy. I'm not going to say I never did this as a child, I'm sure I did, but at least my parents had a house with a basement(to muffle sounds of our beatings) and a back yard for us to get our wiggles out. Since a house is not an option, especially in this market, I am calling on all supreme beings and midichlorans to help me keep my sanity, That is why I was going to call this "May The Fourth Be With Me."

Never Let Me Go

As you may have noticed, on the side of my blog, I have a section called "From The Wonderland Library". Its been up for a while. Anyway I just finished this book called Never Let Me Go. I was reading it for a book discussion our women's group was having, but unfortunately it had to be cancelled. I decided to finish it anyway. Now that I am done I wanted to discuss it, but as I said before the discussion group was cancelled for this particular book. So I have decided to write somewhat of my thoughts about the book. Unfortunately, most of you, if not all of you, have not read the book so I cannot give too much away.

The author is Kazuo Ishiguro, better known for his Book Remains Of The Day. I didn't have any definite expectations going into this book so I don't know why I am surprised at all by how it turned out. Although I haven't read the Remains Of The Day, I saw the movie and this book left me with the same sort of feelings I had at the end of the movie. Mr. Ishiguro write in a conversational way that, to me, seemed pleasant yet at times I found very slow. Kathy H., the main character, is sharing with us her memories of growing up and experiences that happened after she left school. Because there is a lot of "jumping" with her memories, I found it hard at times to keep things straight, but isn't it that way when anyone shares memories with us. All in all, I did enjoy the book. It wasn't one of my favorites and it did leave me wanting for a different ending. Although I would like all things to be neatly tied up like a Jane Austin novel, this book wasn't that way. The ending that the author chose was probably the correct one for the story. I guess this is something I will have to get used to as I mature in my literary reading. I give this book 3/5.

May Day! May Day!

Someone stole our flames car flag. My youngest sprayed deep woods off in his eye and fell down the stairs. He is having a rough day. My oldest was very sad about the car flag and started to cry saying "This is my life." Its enough to break your heart.