Hats

I am wearing too many hats these days... something's gotta give. Well, some things have gone already, but I want those things back. Which is why I need to get rid of some hats. But I'm not sure how, or when.

Obviously I have to keep the mom hat. It's attached to my head permanently with some crazy=glue... like toupee type glue. (Do people actually use glue on their scalps to keep those rugs on?? Mmmm... I'll have to google that sometime. Or ask a certain family member, after I've had too much wine.)

But I have all these other random hats which I keep wearing on occasion, but do I really like those hats anymore? Did my head outgrow them, did my style change or did the hat just become too big and bulky?

I've worn the Stampin' Up hat for 6 years now... happy anniversary to me! And I've had so much fun with it and met some awesome people through that little venture. But these days I don't seem to have much time to enjoy that hat... no motivation to scrapbook or "play" with my stuff. Should I let that hat go??

Then there's a relatively new hat which smells of Epicure spices. Mmmm... I love food. And I love this new venture! I went to an Epicure meeting a few weeks ago and was awarded with top sales for February and March in our Unit. Kind of comical really... doesn't say much for the other consultants! But who cares, I got a nifty pen and a certificate! :-)

My brand new hat is a working hat. I've been doing some work for Rodger for the past month, and it's been interesting so far. It's flexible, I can work for an hour here and there and mostly it's been working out okay. But it's difficult with Ruby around, so she ends up watching TV more than usual. Not tons, but more than normal. She doesn't mind, but I do. I like the prospect of making a bit of money for myself (well, it will actually go into the financial abyss of "the pot") but it's just another thing that's crowding up my brain these days. Another thing to think about. Augh.

And then there's the big, floppy, heavy Sunday School hat. This is the hat that I am hoping to toss away by the end of June. I've had this hat on 24/7 for 3 years and I've had enough. I'm so tired of my hat-head. But I can't just throw away the hat, I need to give it to someone... who will that be? Only God knows. And He better come through soon so I can stop stressing about it.

Of course there are other hats that I wear. And right now, it's too many. But I'm hoping that with some Spring cleaning of hats, I will have time to do the things that I've missed doing... I need therapy soon!!! And by therapy, I mean putting on a funky, creative hat and doing some serious scrapbooking... or quilting... or cardmaking... or even painting again. Sigh.. that sounds awesome!

That's so random!

When I was thinking of my "random thoughts" today, it reminded me of the other day when I was chatting with a teenager at church. I don't even recall what we were talking about but at one point he said (like many kids these days) "Dude, that's so random!!"

So anyway, where was I?? Oh yeah... random ramblings. In no particular order:

I have now eaten all of the junk food in the pantry... and we're talking 2 big family-sized bags of Cheetos and 1 Costco-sized bag of Veggie Straw thingys. I did share some of these treats, but mostly I just inhaled them myself over the span of 2 weeks. Now that they can no longer call to me in the middle of the night, I felt it was time to get out my healthy cookbooks and do some serious menu/snack planning.

I put in my first couple of hours as a newly hired employee of Enefen. Direct Supervisor: Rodger Talstra. Yup, can't believe it either. Rodger and Joseph needed some help with filing/organizing of projects as they are starting to come in more regularly. I don't know how many hours they need me for, but Rodger mentioned it may be about 10 hours per week to start. Not sure how I will manage with Ruby around but I'm going to give it a try and see how it goes! Day 1: success.

I made 3 loaves of bread today, and managed to keep my grubby paws off the warm, yummy bread.

Sorted through an Epicure orde4r that arrived today. Have I mentioned how much I love getting parcels?? So fun.

(written way too long ago to remember any more random thoughts... so I'll hit POST and forget about it!!)

What We've Been Eating

Yay, it's Spring Break!! And double YAY, my sister Shirl is here to visit!!

And where there's Auntie Shirley, there's sure to be Happy Hour and Cheetos! The weather wasn't super great over Spring Break but we managed to have a Happy Hour on the deck at our new table & chairs (handed down from Art & Michi). The kids got to have their very own small can of coke! A huge treat.

Isn't life good?? Love those sinful treats...and they're gluten-free. But not classified under "clean eating" or the "raw diet". Who cares.

So what have we been eating during these past few days?? Well, here's our menu for one day:

Breakfast: Homemade Gluten bread with half white flour (highly processed and containing no nutrients whatsoever)/half whole wheat flour (ditto), topped with a fried egg (with butter). The eggs were free range and very fresh... and for a real treat, we actually ate the yoke too! Our second piece of gluten bread consisted of more butter and some "super bad for you" cheddar cheese... what the heck, we're on holidays. And to wash it all down, we had 3 large mugs full of fairly traded coffee, lots of cream and "gonna kill ya" Splenda.

Lunch: More yummy gluten-esque bread loaded with more of that awful cheddar cheese and grossly processed deli meat (ham). I'm not sure, but I think the pig was not was not free to roam the farm in happiness, and did not lead a stress-free life. We also had some milk which we were not really created to consume, and a non-organic apple.

Dinner: Fish & Chips. Oh yeah!! What else can I say??

Evening: The leftover Cheetos and some really cheap, homemade red wine.

The next day we went to the mall because the weather was crappy. We ended up at the Zellars restaurant, which was so cool. What a time-warp! And those poor women have probably worked them for 25 years - or at least they looked like it. We all shared a big pile of fries and gravy, and I gave each kid a garbage-generating juice box.

for dinner I made full-on gluten pizza dough, and we loaded it with all sorts of yummy veggies which were not locally grown, chemical-laden deli meat and more cheese. It was heavenly.

After dinner Shirl and I went for a long power-walk in an attempt to reduce some of the damage done. But I don't really care. Most of the time, I truly do my best to provide healthy meals for myself and my family. I exercise quite regularly and drink lots of water. But I will never be a vegetarian, or eliminate whole food groups from my diet, because society tells me I should. I will cook my vegetables and still use a can opener. I will enjoy "may contain real meat" hotdogs on white buns with the kids. I will continue to use butter on my gluten bread. And if I want a big bowl of Cheetos after a 6 month break, I will. And I will not apologize for it, or feel the need to justify it to anyone. Damnit.

(How's that for a rant?? Ah... I feel better now.)

I cried my eyes out when I dropped Shirl off at the airport. As I always do. Life is short, we will all die of something eventually. So enjoy your life the way YOU want to enjoy it!

Spring Break on the Mainland

We spent 4 days on the mainland during Spring Break, and we had an awesome time. Well, except for the first day when Ruby was suffering from a 24 hour flu of some sort. Not fun!! Anyway, for the first time ever, we decided to stay at Don & Linda's place and we just had a great time there. Not to mention it was much more central for visiting friends.

So we were originally meant to be there for a going-away party for Art, Michi, Kai and Hina, who were supposed to be moving to Sendai, Japan on May 23rd. But since the earthquake/Tsunami happened, their plans were obviously delayed and the party was called off. What a tragic and stressful situation for them, as they had packed/sent a big container of their belongings to Japan and either sold/got rid of the rest of their stuff, in anticipation of their big move. The move will still happen, they just don't know when.

We had a family BBQ at Don & Linda's anyway, and had a great time with everyone. Kai and Hina stayed for 3 nights with us, so all the cousins were together for 3 days of non-stop fun. And it really was. It's awesome to see how well they all play together. They played endless games of street-hockey ("CAR!!"), went to the park, watched hours of TV, ate junk food, destroyed the basement and did a round of mini-golf. And basically just had fun hanging out with each other. These moments will be cherished and remembered for a long time. It will be hard to see them go to Japan, especially for the kids who will miss growing up with their cousins.


For me, I enjoyed taking the boys to Science World with Sylvia and her girls. And I had a great visit with Marguerite one evening, while picking through her lovely Pandora-esque beads. I went home be-jewelled and love my new bracelet. Mmm... I feel a new business venture coming on...

We picked Shirley up at the Vancouver airport on Wednesday afternoon and headed straight home, to begin the next phase of Spring Break! It was a full week. And I am so happy.

Public speaking

This week is just a strange one. The boys had a Pro-D on Monday, followed by 2 days of getting out of school early for student-led conferences. And now all of a sudden it's Thursday... how did that happen?

I had my first "real" Epicure party on Tuesday night - with an actual hostess and people I didn't know in attendance... Gulp! There were a few familiar faces so that was comforting, but otherwise I was forced to do some public speaking in front of strangers! Not my favourite thing to do but apparently I did pretty good, even though I have no idea what I said. Sales were good, and it was a fun evening. A party centred around food... how can that be anything but great??

So this reminds me of the time I was a Maid of Honor at a friend's wedding in my early 20's... I really didn't want that "honor" because there was no way I was going to give the toast to the bride in front of 250 strangers! My friend assured me that she wouldn't make me do that, because she knew I had a huge fear of public speaking. So I agreed to stand up for her and it was a lovely day. We drove to the reception in the back of a limo, drinking way too much champagne, and I arrived very... aheem... relaxed. We all sat down at the head table and I was in good spirits, anxious for the fun party to begin. Halfway through the meal my friend leaned over and said "by the way, you're doing the toast... just thought I would give you a bit of notice." That's when the panic attack started and I began to sweat buckets in my teal taffeta dress... lucky for me, the dress came with a horrendous bolero jacket with crazy pointed sleeves which could take out an eye if I wasn't careful. So my pit stains didn't show through at least... so anyway, to this day I have no idea what my speech was about (remember the champagne?) but apparently I did an amazing job... everyone said it was great and I was funny and charming. And the bolero jacket stayed on all night in spite of the intense heat and hours of crazy dancing. I think I threw out that hideous dress as soon as I walked in the house that night, because I haven't seen it since. Thank goodness.

So yeah, public speaking is not my gift. Unless there's champagne involved. Or food.

It's been awhile....

Wow, I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted anything. It's not like there's nothing going on around here, it's just that I haven't been in the mood for posting. Sometimes it's an effort.

So here's some random thoughts:

My Epicure venture is going very well so far - Dina and I hosted a Mexican Fiesta Night at the end of January, to celebrate our new business. There were 13 Deep Cove moms there and we had great fun... 2 blenders going full steam, serving up margaritas while we tasted yummy foods and chatted. It's in moments like these where I am just so grateful for our community - we have such an awesome school and I have met some wonderful friends through our kids. Anyway, Dina and I were happy with our sales so it was well worth it! Now the Spice Girls are the talk of the playground and word is getting out that we're "open for business"! We've met some new moms too, in the process.

This is a photo of some of the dip samples that Ruby and I mixed before the party.

I hosted my own party in my house at the beginning of February, and although the attendance was very poor, it gave me the opportunity to practice my little sales pitch (and I mean little... let's eat!) Professional salesperson I am not, but the product is so good that it really sells itself. Dina came over to help me sort the orders when they arrived.

Seeing a pile of boxes that high just makes me giddy!! It felt like Christmas.. and it wasn't even my stuff! :-)


But these are mine, and they also make me giddy. The most expensive pair of footwear I have ever purchased, and in the least amount of time. Wow, what an impulse. Aren't they gorgeous?? I had a lovely lunch out with my dear friends, Dina and Jan yesterday, and afterwards we strolled through some shops in Sidney. There are 2 shops that I have never been inside before... one was a gorgous shop called Atticus. They sell really funky European style clothes, for all ages... but not all budgets unfortunately. Really nice stuff but I didn't even tempt myself by trying something on. The other shop I've never been in before is Waterlily Shoes (but my nose & handprints are on the outside of their window quite regularly!). Anyway, these beautiful blue boots were calling to me and I made the mistake of trying them on... as soon as I put them on my heart started to flutter. Oh yeah, there was no going back. (I feebly protested with myself for a few brief minutes, but really, who was I kidding??) I thought I would be in the goathouse for sure, but Rodger was very gracious. Whew. (I should point out, they were 50% off and they were the only pair left.)

Not bad for a rainy Monday

My day started off pretty typical, except for the fact that I got out of bed 10 minutes earlier than usual... it's amazing how 10 minutes can make such a difference in how the morning routine goes! Maybe I'll try doing that again tomorrow... easier said than done of course! But one can try.

So I had a great day, even though it was a rainy Monday. After dropping the boys off at school, Ruby and I went straight home so I could do a 35 min. workout in the kitchen. She is a great little coach and is actually quite motivating to have around. She never lets me quit until the timer beeps, she runs around the house so I can chase her, and she periodically pipes up "good job mommy!" I love her. And she's WAAAAAY cheaper than a personal trainer. She is always rewarded by a few minutes of TV while I have a shower.

Than we went to Dina's house for tea and talked about our new venture... we've signed up to be an Epicure Consultant, along with Jan! If you don't know what that is, let me direct you to their website...

http://www.epicureselections.com/en/

I love, love, love their products for many reasons. The company is a local success story (I could walk to their head office/production facility in 8 min.), their products make cooking and entertaining a breeze, and almost everything I've tried has been so yummy! But I mostly love it because it really promotes healthy cooking, with no additives or preservatives. I could go on and on... and I probably will! So our first party is at the end of the month and we're going to invite all the Deep Cove moms to a Fiesta Night. It will be lots of fun! And if we sell anything, that will be a bonus. The three of us signed up to get a discount on the products, which is the main reason. But I'm sure we'll do a few parties if people ask!

From Dina's house, Ruby and headed to Brentwood Bay to get our hair cut. I was tired of fighting with Ruby's rat-nest hair and I was tired of my sad, overgrown do! Now we both look pretty!! And Ruby was rewarded with an orange lollipop for good behavour.

Since we had a few minutes before picking up the boys, we went to the Thrift Store in Brentwood. For $15 I walked away with a turquoise sweater, 2 pairs of jeans and a 2 piece linen-type jacket and pants. So happy with my purchases, although one pair of jeans are way too small... should've tried them on but for $2.50 I was too tired. Maybe I'll pass them on, or maybe they'll be incentive jeans?? I may keep them, because they are super cute and have bling down one side and on the back pockets.

And back to the Epicure stuff... I made the most yummy dinner! Yay me. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs with a BBQ rub, cauliflower pancakes served with applesauce, and leftover pasta with an alfredo/cheese sauce. All Epicure, and all super easy to prepare. Did I say Yay me??

Then the kids and I went into the hot tub before they went to bed. They were all sleeping peacefully by 7:45 and I have the house to myself until Rodger gets home from soccer at 9:30. Love, love having the evening to myself, because it's soooo rare!

And, after over a month of searching and searching, I think we've found a couple of really great spots for my family to have our Reunion this summer!! It has not been an easy task, but I've had help from Shirley, Rodger and brother Roger who gave us a good lead on a possibly location as well. Anyway, I'll be able to give mom and dad a few options for them to decide on, hopefully in the next day or so! So excited!! And once it's booked, it will be a huge weight off my shoulders.

Yup, it was a good day! A good day indeed.