4/365 random thoughts Tuesday

Some rules are important. Some are not. You get to choose. Be careful though, as you are accountable for your decision(s).

The picture today is not technically sound. It is very overexposed. My dirty little secret? I did it on purpose and I love it.

My house is ridiculously cold right now and I can't feel my toes.

There are an unbelievable amount of organizations in our communities, our cities, our country, our world that are doing amazing, inspiring things to help others. Not only help, but facilitate opportunities so individuals can be self sufficient and that is awesome. I will do a post with link of a few that I have found. Our world is doing amazing things, what part are we going to have in it?

Today is day one of Operation Healthy Family - Take Two and I ate 3 chocolate kisses and tons of healthy stuff so I am going to give the win to healthy today.

My one little word has been chosen. it is unique and not on the current Ali Edwards list but it's me and it is going to guide me this year. I think it deserves a post of its own so stay tuned.

The people in San Antonio, El Salvador are in my thoughts, everyday. I often wonder are they ok, what do they need, are they healthy, do they have food? When can I go back? My soul needs a service led by Pastor Jorge (in Spanish).

I miss team red and the other individuals from our trip. For a short time we had our own travelling Texaco loving community and I liked being part of it.

My lack of punctuation and capital letters is horrid tonight and I apologize. I really should go back and fix it but I think my tiredness will win over my OCD tendencies.

I will just start now with English skills my teacher sister will be proud of.

My eyes are stinging and I stink. The ultra strength non scented tiger balm is a FAIL. My arm is still killing me and no one will come sit by me because of the tear inducing smell.

I have decided what I want to be when I grow up. It also deserves it own post. I'll get on that.

James Blunt has a new cd out and I had no idea. If it was not for the NBC commercials where he is playing "Stay the Night" I would have never known, can't believe I have banned tv during the day and only for an hour or so at night. It is a fountain of information for me.

I had to go play it on i-tunes while typing this. It is a very catchy with aww shucks romantic lyrics.

I also downloaded Paul McCartney's Dance Tonight, an extremely uplifting song, I suggest it next time you need a little pick me up. Don't worry, feel free to crank it up in the car and sing/dance along because you will be giving someone else a giggle to brighten their day. You can trust me on that, I have a little experience with it.

I think I just knocked Scott unconscious with the smell of my tiger balmed arm.

In case you were wondering, and I know you are, Taylor Swift's Love Story is now playing and yes I am singing along off key, maybe it wasn't the smell but my singing that knocked him out.

The OCD won and I have gone back and fixed my Capital Letter and spelling issues I had going on.

I could probably come up with random top of my head thoughts all night but I have probably lost 90% of you guys by this point already so I am closing shop and heading to bed.

Good night,

Dee

hello.

how are you?

I have missed you.

Life has been very busy here,
travelling, temper tantrums, decisions
to name just a few items on my plate.

Operation Simplify is anything but,
these days,
Operation Complex would be a more suitable title.

in the last 2 weeks I have...

• travelled in 3 different time zones
• slept in my bed twice
• wondered what the heck I was doing
• cried
• explained to 911 that there was no emergency,that my son was just trying to unlock my phone
• dealt with my laptop having a fatal interaction with water, realizing that it meant I may have lost the last 2 weeks of work that I did while travelling.
• tried to figure out where we are going to live
• wrestled with what the right option is for Kaeden for school
• wondered what I should be when I grow up
• laughed
• ate badly

you may be wondering at this point where are the pictures,
why am I rambling and not catching up project 365?

well, that would be the whole computer/water issue
as apparently when large amounts of water and electricity are mixed
nothing good is going to come of it.

even though I luckily did not lose my data
my computer is done, kaput, finished, dead
and it will be a bit until I get up and running again
as I need to buy a new laptop and my computer guru
is out of town.

it looks like my photos for the last few days
are ok so I will continue taking pictures
and will do yet another massive update once I can.

we interrupt our regularly scheduled program due to...

~ a trip to Montana

~ last week of summer vacation (kids are back in school the week we get back)

~ attending a family wedding 

~ staying in the musical bears room at an Inn in Montana

~ an outing to Target in Idaho ( no you the ho)

tee hee, that joke never gets old for me

~ a week at the beach

~ finishing 5 books

~ a trip to Target in Kalispell

~ a week of family time

~ going into technology detox, no wireless, no cell, no phone for most of the week

~ the little Inn in Montana may have wi-fi so perhaps a wedding update but that will be about it

~ going on a dam field trip (visiting the Libby Dam), I am sure the dam jokes won't get old, well at least for a couple of hours

~ creating some fine family memories

 

No need to worry I will keep up with my daily pictures and will have tons to post when I get back!

a bit of a strange day

today started out like any other Monday

me, sleeping in and in turn running very late

Kaeden, refusing to further his educational career

& the gong show that always ensues

but as always he eventually gets dropped off 

& I have 2 hours 40 minutes too myself to get errands done.

today, I needed to head downtown to find a tiny little camera store 

to get my camera's internal sensor cleaned as I picked up a

speck of dirt last weekend at Fish Creek Park  

& it is the only place in Calgary that will do it 

and that is where we start a strange day of kindness

9:25am - after driving up & down 10th Ave (once or twice), find small camera store (in a rather dodgy part of town)

9:27am - finally find a (relatively safe) parking spot

9:28am - step out of car, hear very strange sounds, look around, see the front passenger tire go flat in front of our eyes

9:29am - call Scott, leave panicked message

9:30am - take camera into store to get fixed, sign says min charge $21 (ok, better than the $50 I thought it would be) will be 5 min, can we wait? yes, I tell him, I have a flat tire, not going anywhere fast

9:31am - go back outside, stare at tire, cry or call Scott again?

9:32am - pull myself together and decide not to be "that" girl and tell Shelby we are going to change it ourselves, we are women, hear us roar

9:34am - all supplies assembled on the sidewalk 

9:35am - I valiantly try to remove the first lug nut, I end up standing on the metal rod type thing and jumping up and down, won't budge

9:36am - very nice older gentleman gets out of mini-van in front of us "looks like you girls could use a little help"

9:38am - 3 construction guys walk by, look over, whistle and they say "looks like a flat tire", gee really, no sh%$ sherlock

9:50am - nice gentleman is done putting the tiny little donut tire on

9:51am - very good looking construction man comes by and tells us the "donut" tire should have been put on the back and full tire put on front

9:52am - it's decided we are safe to drive to Chinook Centre to tire fix it place and Shelby and I decide nice old gentleman was very kind, but good looking construction man would have been nicer to watch change the tire

9:54am - go back to pick up camera

9:55am - all done, how much I ask?, no charge, you have good day he tells me

Shelby and I wonder if we have walked into some weird alter-universe where everyone is being super nice, Shelby decides we look hot today, maybe that is helping.

We safely get to tire fix it place. Will be 2-3 hours. luckily we are beside the mall.

fast forward. Scott has dropped Kaeden off (he was luckily able to pick him up from school for me), we went and had lunch & wandered around the mall. Tire place calls. Ian tells me, no charge for the 2 nail whole repairs, will only charge me for resetting the car sensor. Receipt says customer must pay for tire repair, putting the tire back on and sensor - Ian only charges me $10.45.

I think my quest for good Karma is finally paying off, Scott says "yeah for boobies" as he apparently thinks our good fortune was due to the hotness level, which is flattering, but I still like to think  it was due to past random acts of kindness on my end. 

The nice older gentleman that changed our tire asked me to make sure I "pay the kindness forward" which I totally agree with, so Shelby and I took Kaeden to the Hannah Montana movie and I think that has got to get us more "Karma" points, seriously though we will continue to pay the kindness forward that we received today. 

A strange day but still heartwarming that there is kindness out there. 

just in case...

I am absent for the next 3 days

there is no need to worry

I am going on a little girls trip

(my friend Charmaine, her daughter , me and Shelby)

to Kalispell

and more importantly for me ...TARGET.

I will take a picture a day 

and will post if I can but

definitely when I get back on Sunday

I will get all caught up.

Day 299/365+1

everywhere I looked today I saw a  

multi tasking mom

and it made me think how cool it is that

we (moms) have the ability

to make dinner while helping with  homework

brush teeth while finding missing sleep buddies

sew buttons while listening to stories

seems we moms are always on the go

combining the never ending tasks 

and I am not sure dads have the same skills

so a big shout out today to all moms that can seem 

to balance work, play and family

and even though we may not feel 

that we have everything under control

every day 

we still have an extraordinary skill

Picture # 299, only fitting that it is a multi tasking mom

Tara with Sophie today at our craft class

POST # 500

what....

is it possible?

that is a whole lot of ME and 

the daily happenings of

this thing I call 

my  life.

I average 50 readers today and 

other than my mom

and husband

I really wasn't sure anyone

was going to read this

never mind come back for more

I am flattered and honoured

so a big double WOOT and

THANK you

Out of my 50 readers I can name about 10

including my fair weather blog brother

who refuses to read my 

What's for Dinner Blogs

as it is too healthy 

but I am not sure who you other 40 are...

ok well 10 hits a day could be Cheryl

so that leaves 30 unknown fans

It would be great if you would leave a comment

so I knew who you are and I 

could read your blog (if you have one)

BUT

I will admit I am a blog lurker

usually for no other reason 

than I don't usually have

anything to say (I know shocking for me)

so I will totally understand if you

choose to remain the 

strong silent type.

Day 234/365+1

2 LONG weeks are done

one m&m and 1/4 cup of ginger ale

pretty much the sum of my refined sugars

until....

my reward

one very large boat load

of refined sugary yumminess

I have decided to go back on the wagon tomorrow for another 10 days (next Friday, last day of boot camp and our usual crave cupcake reward for surviving) I felt better, lost weight and came to realize I ate/drank a scary amount of refined sugars(and carbs for that matter). I am not sure how long it will last after this next stint, I like to think that I can have refined sugars in moderation but so far I seem to be wired "go big or go home" and there is no middle ground. 

Today: so enjoying the sugar (even though I now feel crappy, but SO GOOD at the time). Going to go for a walk (guilt induced) watch MORE Olympics and hopefully to bed by 9 or 10 or more realistically 11pm. 

Tomorrow: no Olympics for me while getting ready in the morning - this is how I ended up running 45 minutes late on Tuesday. 2nd last week of daycare before Kaeden is off to "community college" I am going to MISS  our commutes in the morning/after work.  I will attempt to find the top of my desk tomorrow - I am fairly confident my papers/files are fooling around at night and are reproducing like rabbits

off to conquer...refined sugar free  

I am outta here...

we are off to camping at Baynes Lake and TARGET in Kalispell, MT.... will update daily pictures when I get back Sunday or Monday!

have a great LONG WEEKEND!!!!

Public Service Announcement

I don't like to get preachy or negative but something happened last night that I wanted to share as a few people who I told today, thought there was some great reminders:

this is the scoop:

lately we have seen two little boys (about 6-8 years of age) dressed in army fatigue/ masks etc... carrying toys guns/rifles on the main (and I do mean a main/major)  road on our nightly Starbucks walk. There is a construction area on the other side of the street that these boys will cross the busy road to go play in the ditch and "shoot" the people and cars as they pass...now that is all very  disturbing in its own right on many MANY levels for me but perhaps most upsetting was on Wednesday night.

Shelby, Kaeden and I were heading home and we saw these boys again - Shelby and I were discussing how upsetting the whole gun and shooting things was when the boys (who were on the other side of the street, in the ditch) got up and ran across the first two lanes of traffic (and not anywhere near a crosswalk) to the middle grassy area...this is when it all becomes a  bit of a blur as it happened so fast...

when the boys came running onto the grass area, a white truck in the lane closest to the middle slams on their brakes (most likely concerned that the boys were going to run in front of him) and the one boy continues across the road in front of the truck without looking  - and meanwhile a large cruising motorcycle (with two people) are coming up the lane closest to me and not slowing down (probably going about 50 Km's) and according to Shelby (as I don't really remember how it all went down) I ran towards the road, screaming STOP and waving my hands like a mad women, I remember I was yelling at the motorcycle but it was actually the little boy that stopped at the very edge of the white truck as the motorcycle went whizzing by. 

when he came across the road (safely) I was pretty upset and was using my "mom" voice that they can not be crossing the road like that and that he almost got hit by a motorcycle and his response to me:

" its not a big deal, we didn't get hit"

and just as I was about to continue on with my lecture as my heart and knees were still shaking...one of the boys mom came up to me and I sort of apologized for yelling and I am not sure if she was in shock or wasn't as concerned as I was or what the deal was, but she saw the whole thing going down (she was about a 2 blocks away walking her dogs) and didn't really react but did start lecturing the kids about using the crosswalk etc...at that point we took off.

the lessons in this:

I reminded Kaeden (whose eyes were huge as he took this all in) the importance of not crossing the road without a parent and that he HAS to go to a crosswalk

I told Shelby the importance of NEVER EVER going/driving by a car that is stopped in a lane beside you for no apparent reason without slowing down to make sure no one is crossing

That when you are crossing a road (crosswalk or not) that you are always checking that the cars in all lanes are stopping.

and the most important lesson I took away from this (other than keeping a very close eye on that my child is doing at all times) was that I would have stopped just like the white truck but by doing so he actually set up this whole recipe for disaster as the boy was so short that he couldn't see over the truck to see anyone coming, and of course the motorcycle could not see him until it would have been too late - so even though it seemed like the correct thing to do to allow them to cross the rest of the road it actually was very dangerous.

I apologise this was so long winded but I thought it was an important message to share - I said to Shelby when we got back from the walk that you really never realize how close things are at the time but that little boy was about 2 seconds away from a very serious, perhaps fatal accident or even how quickly something can happen that could have impacted so many lives.

almost all caught up...

thought I would get the "year of pictures" current tonight but

1) can 't seem to find the USB cord I need - we are almost unpacked and organized so I am sure it will be in the last thing I unpack

2) it is midnight and I start bootcamp again at 6:30am tomorrow so it will be hard enough after being off for a month (and really 2 since I was injured for most of the last session) without having to deal with only 4 hours of sleep

I still took a picture today so its just the matter of posting...hopefully tomorrow!

Happy MONDAY

I am not loving...

that this picture was taken at 12:23am....he is WIDE awake
I have tried EVERYTHING
being nice
being stern
being cranky
being patient

NOTHING...just wide AWAKE

at least all this insanity gave me this cute soundbite:

Kaeden: Mom, I am pretty much all grown up now
Me: really....
Kaeden: I take hot showers and read the newspaper (actually a toys R us flyer)

but apparently sleeping is no longer part of the program

I am loving...

I survived a Japanese Gameshow .

not a big surprise I am liking a game show BUT this one looked silly
I had NO intention of watching
but I caught an advertisement last week that piqued my interest enough
that while flipping channels tonight I stopped and watched the first episode
it was HILARIOUS

the Japanese game show host was so funny with his over the top facial expressions and LOUD hollering

so far my favourite contestant is Mary

unfortunately we are going to be on vacation and I may miss a few episodes but if you have a chance, take a look - I guarantee you will laugh at the absurdity of it all.

Today I...

1) woke up late
2) forgot to leave my mom Kaeden's car seat
3) waited in line for 20 minutes for a Starbucks that I really needed
4) went into work for a meeting that was confusing and frustrating to me
5) was in an elevator with a friend/co-worker going from ground to 8th floor and somewhere in there she discovered a bee/wasp flying around...that went into my hair...I don't think I have to explain how it went from there, needless to say it involved me going into a complete state of panic and hitting every button possible to make the doors open and then falling out onto gosh knows what floor - spilling my Tim's tea, dropping my soup and really just looking like a total idiot - my co-worker actually wasn't doing much better than me and afterwards I found out she had no idea the sort of fear(aka full out panic) I have about bees/wasps etc... - it took us a few minutes to get back on the elevator to go up as 1) I kept hitting the down button and 2)my legs were shaking so bad I couldn't move and 3) there was no way in heck we were going into the same elevator so had to wait until a different one came

ok, at this point I think we can agree not a great day, the bee thing was really the end of it for me (I really do hate how panicked I get) until ...

I was running out late to pick up Kaeden from my mom's who I am very thankful for as she bought Kaeden a new car seat so they could do their running around, treat him to the arcade and take Shelby for her test at 1pm and then kept him longer than I thought (on her day off as I usually stay at home with him on Mondays) as I got caught up at work and then...

6) I receive a panic call from Shelby who mixed up her exam time and instead of 1pm like she thought, her test was at 10am...totally missed her last test of the year. she did a great job doing damage control and ended up writing the test and an apology letter to the teacher - we don't know at this point if her social teacher will accept it (as they couldn't find her this afternoon) but regardless I am proud of how she handled it.

7) lost my parking pass...seriously frustrating for a couple of reasons. The biggest being that I HAD IT IN MY HANDS as I was leaving. I just can't figure out where it could be... looked for over an hour and finally ended up having to deal with the parking people (which has Advil written all over it) now he must have known that there was a chance I was going to go postal because on a scale of 1-10 in frustration he was a solid 6 (usually they are about an 11) - so $50 later I was on my way

8)smack dab into the middle of rush hour

a ride home with the sunroof open, music blasting, a visit with my parents and a Mocha Mint Frappuchino Light (with whip...re-read 1-8 to justify this) and a husband who started dinner ...the night luckily went better.

and now I am heading to bed as I think this day and I have had just about enough of each other.

you know you are getting old...

when this is no longer a scene from a late Saturday night after the bar but results from ... a Tupperware Party.

I had a few friends over for Tupperware party which was fun and not something I ever do - it was pretty tame, flip through some catalogues buy MORE Tupperware, eat some good food, have a glass of wine. catch up with friends blah,blah, blah but then...Starr and I finished a couple bottles of wine and started onto my favourite, Amaretto and coke - we then convinced Scott and Shelby to take the new car out and get us late night junk food - the fact I can even write this post is pretty impressive. (**hopefully it all makes sense)

I am loving the name of this new wine that Casi and Shaun brought for dinner last week - "Mommy's Time Out". Starr and I definitely took the name to heart. **I know a few of my faithful readers are not fans of a long winded post so there is no need for them to read any further but for those of you who have a few minutes or enjoy the in depth ramblings...

this post and my tipsiness in typing it out and thinking that I sound oh so brilliant totally reminded me of a very old episode of "Facts of Life" when Natalie tried drugs(it was pot I believe) and then wrote her school book report on Moby Dick. She thought it was the absolute best book report she had ever written and was so eager to have the teacher read it...well, in her "altered state" of mind she wrote:

Page 1 MOBY

Page 2 DICK

Page 3 WAS

Page 4 A

Page 5 VERY

Page 6 BIG

Page 7 FISH

hopefully I was able to be a tad more eloquent than that

giggle for the night

flipping through the tv channels and heard this on Beauty and the Geek...

host to a beauty: what is your IQ?

Beauty: just a bit over not too dumb

I could not stop laughing at that.

kids these days

the scenario:
Kaeden and I are upstairs staring out the window impatiently waiting for Shelby to come home (as I told him we wouldn't go get the fart ball set until she came home so Kaeden was counting down the minutes) and we saw her walking down the path and pass a boy that looked about her age, walking a dog.

a while later in the van:

Me: hey, was that boy you passed on the path your age?

Shel: yeah I think so

Me: did you know him

S: Nope

M: did you say Hi

S: (said in an exasperated tone with what I imagine is a huge roll of the eyes)
uh mom, no one rolls old school anymore you know

M: what? saying hi to someone is "old school"

S: uh...yeah, no one says hi to someone they don't know

M: I do, your dad does

S: what..you would just smile at someone you didn't know

M: exactly...that's how we roll old school. You should try it next time.

"Made my Day" conversation

Conversation at a restaraunt tonight...

The scene:
2 Ladies (around my age) and a young baby sitting behind Shelby and Kaeden
They are getting ready to go and one of the ladies bumps into Shelby's chair as she is grabbing the baby seat carrier
We all make small talk as the baby is quite taken with Kaeden

Lady 1 to Kaeden: wow you have big brown eyes
Lady 1 looks intently at me and Shelby and states:
"is this your son"
Me: yes (even though there have been points throught out the day that I may not have admitted this)
Lady 1: oh, I can tell...you have the same big eyes (and looks at Shelby) and you I guess you are too young to be his mom, I couldn;t really tell as you had your back to us.
Me: that's our daughter

wait for it, this is the best part of the story........

Lady 1 (very incredulous) WHAT..no way you don't look old enough
Lady 2: oh I would have said 110% you were SISTERS
Lady 1: oh yes I never thought anything different, there was no way I would have thought you were here mother
Lady 2: definitely sisters, I just can't believe that
(they went on a bit more, but I think you get the point)

YEP, I will take that. Whooo Hoooo to that!

SIDE STORY:

very neat conversation today with a lady I went to high school with who knows Starr through Stampin-up - Nicole mentioned she liked looking at my blog/pictures but didn't realize we had gone to school together until she saw a picture of Shelby.

She said she knew right away that it was me as that is what she remembered me looking like when we were in high school - now I never thought I was as cute as Shelby is but never the less I thought it was very cool that: 1)the world is so small that I met up with Nicole again and 2) she recognized me through my daughter and 3) that she has a son Kaeden's age and they had a great time playing together this afternoon and I hoping we can get together for a playdate one day.

a little chuckle

I received an email from a good friend/co-worker who is in Miami (and then a Caribbean cruise) with a very entertaining description of her trip so far and she included this little gem...


Why are boats called Yachts?
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
because they cost yachts and yachts of money

yep there is a chance she has been enjoying a little too much tequila but it made me giggle!

fact of the day...

brought to you by Kaeden(5 years old).

out of the blue at dinner tonight.

K: Mom, seahorses are the only animal where the daddy has the baby.

M: really, I didn't know that.

Shelby: me neither

Scott looks at us incredulously...apparently he knew that one.