Lent

Yesterday, we were challenged at church to give up something for Lent... not a new concept of course, but something I've never really done. We were to write it down on a little piece of paper, to be stuck to a tree/branch at the front of the church. So, not wanting to feel left out of the process, I marched up to the front and wrote one simple word on my little piece of paper... Facebook. It was the first thing I thought of. How hard could it be, after all?? It's not like I wrote down "coffee"... or "wine" for that matter.

It's been less than 24 hours and I am in the sweats/shakes stage of withdrawal. (And I blame Pastor David :-)) Ah.... maybe just a little tiny peak to see what's going on, see what my friends are doing over Spring Break.... it's killing me. People rely on me being there, always available to post something or respond. What if I miss out on a fun Spring Break daytrip invitation or something?? My poor kids! Everyone will think I'm ignoring them... or maybe something tragic has happened to me if I don't update my status!!


So what's the point of this anyway?? Here's the point... Lent is a time when many Christians prepare for Easter by observing a period of fasting, repentance, moderation and spiritual discipline. The purpose is to set aside time for reflection on Jesus Christ - his suffering and his sacrifice, his life, death, burial and resurrection.

And I guess it's working. I've thought about Jesus and what he's done for me, several times over this 24 hour period. way more than I would normally, I confess. I've also worked on my quilt, cleaned my kitchen, made a double batch of muffins... blogged!

I think the discomfort of feeling like I'm disconnected from my Facebook world is a good thing. I still have email, a PHONE!! So if you're reading this and wonder where I am... I am here doing more productive things with my time. I'm off to Parksville with the kids for a few days with our friends. I'm looking forward to it so much! Time to enjoy the simple pleasures in life... great friends, the gorgeous beach, sunshine, games, books, food. And no Facebook.  I'll keep you posted on my withdrawal symptoms.

Creative Juices

I have a new obsession... wait for it.... I'm addicted to Paint by Numbers!! I know it sounds a bit crazy (and juvenile perhaps?) but I am seriously in love with my new hobby. Over Christmas, Ruby and I decided to buy PBN from Michaels, and since then we've spent hours and hours happily painting. It made all that Olympic-watching more guilt-free because we were actually "doing something" while glued to the TV. I finished my first one and Ruby is almost done hers... she's been commissioned by her Auntie Shirley so Ruby's expecting to get big bucks for her artistic talents! (I think the last time they negotiated, Ruby went from $5 to "40 Bucks"!! It sounds funny when a 6 year old says "bucks"... I don't know why)

And once I got addicted... well, it was important to get some friends involved!! I now have 2 buddies that are into it as well, and we get together after we drop the kids off from school and drink coffee, gab and paint!! What a great way to waste a morning!

The second one I chose is significantly harder but I am loving it so far! (I noticed after I took the photo that the remote control was sitting right next to me - not staged! :) You will also usually find a coffee cup or wine glass next to me as well, depending on the time of day!


I'm also happy to report that I am getting closer to finishing Simon's quilt. Thanks to Shirl's moral support and motivation, she helped me finish the blocks while she was visiting a couple of weeks ago. Here's the top, all done and waiting to be "sandwiched". I'm seriously afraid of the sandwiching process so I've been avoiding it. I've also never machine-quilted a project this large so I am worried about how that's going to play out. The backing fabric is currently in the dryer, pre-shrinking. I need my sister to come back so she can motivate me to continue!! We've actually talked about meeting up at Harrison Hot Springs with our sewing machines and having our own quilting retreat sometime. But in the meantime, I have to be a big girl and do this myself!! Woot woot... go me!

(P.S. Just realized that the girl from Fabric-crappy-Land didn't cut me enough fabric for the backing..... ARGH!! I am so very unhappy right now. Why do people who don't know what they are doing, work there?? Next time I will have to figure out the math and not assume they know what they are talking about. Blah. Now I have to figure out a creative solution for the back (aka: wing it and scrap something together. Shirl, are you there?? Save me.)

Yo Yo!!

Yes, it's true. I'm a giant Yoyo....

Here's my confession: I have gained 30 pounds in one year. Last year at this time, I was just getting home from a beach vacation and looking and feeling great. But then I got off the plane and immediately the dreaded gloom of January smacked me in the face. Hard. Really hard.

So I basically ate my way through the worst month of the year (in my opinion), and perhaps had too many glasses of vino while sitting on my couch, by the fire, eating chips. Perhaps! :-) Anyway, the crappy eating/no exercise spilled into February, then March, then the world got brighter and I celebrated by eating! And then my favourite time arrived... Summer!! Sunny skies, warmth, vacations, camping, road trips... happy hour! Anyway, you get the point.

And now I am walking around in stretchy pants and long tunic tops every day because my clothes don't fit. And I mean, REALLY don't fit. So once again I am trying to lose the weight again so I can fit into my clothes. Again. (I think I'm using that word too much, but AGAIN!! seems to be the theme here.)

I dusted off my Jillian Michaels "90 Day Body Revolution" DVD program, which I know w gets good results because I've done it before. The great thing about this program is that it's only 30 minutes of exercise every day for 6 days... 30 minutes of really intense "you may cry occasionally and get sweat dripping into your eyes" kind of workout. And I love it!! I love it even more that my buddy Stacey, has decided to join me most mornings. And that has been super helpful and motivating for me. We are almost done week #2 and feeling great! YAY TEAM B.S.!!! (I also have an annual pass to the Rec. Centre which I am using fairly regularly, to go on the treadmill and read my book.)

Okay, so now I have my exercise routine back on track and I'm actually enjoying it most days. But for me, the hardest part is getting my eating under control. I am a grazer who, unfortunately, has access to a fully stocked fridge and pantry all day. Not good. But I'm working on it with the help of MyfitnessPal.com. It's a free online program where you can track your food and exercise so you can keep track of what you are stuffing into your face. So for the last 10 days I've been logging everything and it's been pretty helpful.

So... have I lost any weight?? Nope. I think I've actually gained 2 pounds. Seriously! But I will not be discouraged. I will keep plugging away!! This weight thing has been a constant battle for as long as I can remember. I go up. I go down. I go up again. My goal is to find out why I am a big Yo Yo and to find a way to get back on the wagon before I turn into a stuffed sausage who can't do up her coat!!

And before I get on my workout gear and get sweaty this morning, I feel the need to say this.... and it's important to remind myself of this: It doesn't matter what size I am. I don't need to be a single-digit girl. If I stayed a size 16 for the rest of my life - and actually maintained that - and I was eating healthy, exercising and felt good about myself... so be it! That's okay. But this up/down thing is ridiculous and not healthy. I am not healthy. I am not happy about it.

Okay, I am done with this rambling post. Gotta go, I have a date with Stacey and "Jillian"!

My List!!

Wow, it's been a long time since I've blogged! This is going to be a quick, random kind of post, with the intention to write down my "To Do" list for 2014.

I'm not really into making new year's resolutions but it is good to think about what I want to accomplish this year... and put it down on "paper" so I don't forget! :-) So, in no particular order, here is my list (and it's definitely a work in progress... I'm sure I'll forget many things!!)

1. Make a Photo Book of our trip to Hawaii
2. Make a Photo Book of our Road Trip (Summer 2013)
3. Organize School Photos into albums for each child. Just stick them in a book!
4. Finish Simon's quilt
5. Scrapbook more!
6. Lose 25 pounds!! Again.(Seriously, why must it be "again"?? You big Yo Yo!)
7. Organize my side of the walk-in closet
8. Research renovations for upstairs playroom... come up with a plan for the boys.
9.
10.
11.
12.

As you can see, it's a work in progress. I'm sure I will add a few more things to the list as I go along, or as I think of them. I am trying to put a list together that is achievable....

Right now I am currently working on #1, #4 and #6. Not bad for a dreary January!!

Anyway, just posting this to remind myself what I want to accomplish this year. Hit "POST"!! Done.

Cameron's Pirate-y Adventure!

Since we're going to be starting our roadtrip on Cameron's 9th Birthday, I decided we needed to do something extra-special for his early birthday. This was a surprise, but I told him he could invite 2 buddies to join us on an "adventure". This is what we did....

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Growing pains

I should be doing something else.... cleaning the disaster of a house we live in, finishing the curtains for the motorhome, packing for camping, doing laundry, writing thank you notes for the teachers, making muffins! But I can't concentrate, there's too much going on in my brain to do any of those things. It has been an emotional week, as the school year winds down for the Summer. I'm so done with this school year. But I also don't want it to end.

Simon's leaving elementary school. He's growing up, and going to middle school in the Fall. He enters Deep Cove Elementary's doors for the last time as a student tomorrow. Oh. My. Word. How did that happen so fast?? I'm not ready. And it really, really doesn't help my emotions when Simon does the "countdown to the end of elementary school" thing every day. And when Ruby says "Mom, I'm never, EVER going to be in the same school as Simon EVER again." Enough already, I get it. Wah.


I remember Simon's first day of Kindergarten like it was yesterday. He was so excited to go to school that I could barely take a photo of him... he was dancing around the kitchen and couldn't stand still. I was sad to see my baby leave, but I also had a 3 year old and newborn baby to keep me company, so I was happy for him. He was so ready to go to school.

And I also remember all the strangers I encountered before he went into Kindergarten, who (annoyingly) felt the need to share their feelings on preschool... they were like "if you don't put him in preschool, he'll have such a hard time adjusting to school. He needs to go!" Um, thanks for your opinions??! Simon never did go to preschool and didn't know a soul on the first day of school. But when that door opened and his new teacher appeared, he never looked back. He was the first one in the school and had his backpack hung up before all the others. Hard time adjusting? I think not.

6 years later, he still hasn't looked back. And that's a good thing. A really good thing. It's amazing how confident he is, how eager he is to experience new things and meet new teachers and friends. Among other things, he's developed a passion for dancing over the past few months and it's been so fun to see him try new dance moves, push the envelope on music choices/genres with his parents, and has taken charge at times in choreographing dances with his friends. At the grade 5 talent show, I was a bundle of nerves and emotions, as I prepared to watch Simon do a solo dance performance. And even before it was his turn, I was ready to burst into tears. I was so proud of his friends as they sang, danced, did magic tricks, played the piano, etc. in front of their peers. I had seen those beautiful faces since their first day of Kindergarten too, and remembered how timid and shy some of them were. Man, I was a proud Deep Cove mama! And then it was Simon's turn. Oh Lord, may he do well. He did. He was awesome.

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As he leaves the safety of Elementary School, I pray that he never loses his confidence and big smile. That he retains his good friends and meets new ones who will encourage him, inspire him to be all that he can be, and will be a good influence on him in this crazy world. And I may end up being that wacky mom who takes a little drive by Bayside School at lunchtime to make sure he's not getting beat up on the school grounds by bullies, or alone in a corner crying for his mommy. Yeah right. It's not going to happen. But I'll check anyway, just to be sure.

He's so ready for middle school. Me? Not so much. But it's not about me... it never is. He can't stay young forever.

It's like that, and that's the way it is! (line from a dance club song, that is forever in my head, whether I like it or not.)

I'm so proud of you Simon!

Hawaii Photos... lots of them!