One Part Inspiration...

I have been keeping track of something and have been waiting to announce my next celebration. I was going to wait, but it's a little like trying to wait until Christmas to open my gifts. I've waited a long time and I almost can't wait anymore. Can you guess what I am celebrating? I will peel back the first little bit of tape for you. It has to do with a milestone. I love milestones don't you? There's something about being able to look at that accomplishment and say "Good for me". I believe in saying "Good for me" whenever I can. Good self talk is good for the soul. I am not saying that good self talk is easy. I find it much easier to spend self-comments by saying "Marni, I can't believe you did that. What were you thinking??? Don't you know better?" And I struggle even more with making sure I say celebratory comments to my kids. I just had a conversation with a friend about this. We were talking about how as parents it is ver...

Speaking of amusing yourself....When I was young[er] I used to amuse myself by creating companies and sending letters to my friends and family with company letterhead about the products they could buy from me or the philosophy I was trying to sell. The most fun was thinking of the mottoes for the companies/organizations. One motto I came up with was "IF OUR NAME ISN'T ON IT, WE DIDN'T MAKE IT ". I don't know if anyone else thought it was funny, but I sure had a good time with it. I think I get this trait from my Dad. He has a lot of fun at other people's expense. I don't mean that in a nasty way. It's just that my Dad will make jokes about things and most times, people don't get them. However it doesn't stop him from enjoying the joke anyway. I still remember the puzzled look on my husband's face when my Dad told him "I cut that board three times and it's STILL too short". My husband didn't know that my Dad was making a j...

I found the picture on the computer - amongst my daughter's wish list for her prom dress. I am actually quite amazed at the likeness between the picture and what I really look like! :) I will amuse myself highly for a while on that one.

The other day, my mother-in-law and I went into town to watch the Santa Claus Parade. What would possess us to join 300 000 other people to watch a parade on a sunny, but cold (by West Coast standards) day with three children in tow? Well, for me, it was a great opportunity to cheer on my #1 son as he marched by me playing in the school marching band. By the time the parade had started, everyone around me knew that the star attraction was not Santa, but my son! So we watched for him. Toes getting colder by the minute. No that's not him. No that's not him either. No, those guys are a little too old. Fortunately, we were standing beside a very tall man who was kind enough to look down the road and give us a head's up about who was coming down the road. Oh??? What's that???? Yep, that's them. WHOO HOO !! GO SCREAMIN " EAGLES~! Now, we can go home happy.

Are you the type of person who has a bunch of stuff, but doesn't want to go through the hassle of setting up a garage sale? Well, I have found a solution for you. It is fun for under a buck. Say you are cleaning up your storage area and find something that you don't really want anymore. What are your options? You could put it up on Ebay. You could take a trip into the local thrift shop. But you don't really have much to take and you don't want to wait until the box is full. After all, it's the time of year to be going through stuff and getting rid of things rather than hanging onto them until the spring. You could just throw it out, but there's still some usefulness in it. Here's my suggestion. Take it into work. Announce to everyone : "I'm having a raffle today. It is for [name of the item].. there's no charge, but you can't win if you don't put your name in." Put the item(s) in the staff room [I'm assuming here that it won...

I woke up at 6 this morning. I heard my #1 son in the office. Thinking it was too early for him and his friend to be up, I went downstairs to tell him to go back to bed. He was talking on the phone - calling 911- now that's something that makes a mom feel really good! A fight outside had woken him up. We're still not sure what all went on, but we watched for a while as the police stopped a car and then shone their headlights at the neighbour's house and then went up the road and stopped in at another neighbour's. After all that excitement, we went back to sleep. I didn't get up until 11. So if you are wondering why my housework isn't done..."that's my story, and I'm ...stickkin' toit."

The hardest part of raising a child is teaching them to ride bicycles. A shaky child on a bicycle for the first time needs both support and freedom. The realization that this is what the child will always need can hit hard. -Sloan Wilson-

Although this is not a picture of him, mmmmm nummmm nummm nummm is the sound my #1 son used to make whenever you fed him as a baby. Every single mouthful was a new experience of joy as he got to eat that mashed up food, pablum, applesauce, or whatever the day's menu held. That's also the sound I made in my head when I looked out this morning at the sunrise. Mmmm nummm nummm nummm . How pretty it is! The pink sky, the frosted grass and trees, the snow capped mountain. I would take a picture, but it really doesn't even do it justice. Here are some other " mmmmmm nummmm nummm's " I can think of. A great conversation with my sister or my brother or my Dad. (That's a hint, in case you are reading this...sister, brother...Dad.....) A spontaneous coffee outing with a friend I haven't connected with in a while. A crackling fire early this morning. I even got it started and I didn't have to use up the whole newspaper. GOOD for me! Finding a new...

O.k. !!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope you are sitting down!!!!! I have to tell you about the most coolest ever thing I found the other day while looking at a local store's Christmas displays! It was serendipitous (a good Scrabble word, as well as a description of looking for what's great in life and soaking it all in). I know that some of you who are reading are wondering why I am talking about Christmas stuff in the middle of November. But I am going on record to say that I just love, love, love Christmas at this time of the year. I don't have to cook. I haven't bought many presents. I haven't spent hours baking. (ok who am I kidding? I don't really bake anyway..) I am in the middle of reading articles about decorating and "perfect parties" and dreaming of to make home and office festive. All the plans are on the calendar and I don't have to show up for the scheduled events yet. So I like to look at Christmas stuff this time of year. I like to have the li...

Yesterday, we accompanied our daughter and her team to Nanaimo, to watch her play in what was to be her last round robin of high school volleyball. The team was playing for a wild card spot in the BC Provincials being held next week. If as a parent, my yelling and cheering, my wishing, and hoping for a win could have paid off, they would have won. In the end it was not to be. Our team won the first game and lost the second. Another team is now headed to the Provincials instead. It was heartbreaking . Yesterday I reconnected with a life lesson. So many of our interactions with each other have to do with sitting on the sidelines, cheering for each other, and not being able to do anything about the outcome of the situation we are watching. Perhaps, this is what Paul was talking about in Galatians 6: [Verse 2] Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Chris t. [and in 5] For each one should carry his own load. If I could have, I would have stepped onto the...

What a weekend! We discovered that the kittens like to sit on Kola's back. Sometimes they stay there while she walks about. It is terribly cute. And she seems to enjoy it. Maybe its a blanket for her and a foot warmer for them. One day, I'll get a picture of it and post it. It should be a poster!!!! We had a litter of 12 rabbits this morning. The largest yet. That mom is going to get the "bunny of the week" award. And my dear sweet loving husband who is so accommodating to his wife (who gets so excited about getting the lights up), put up the lights and even indulged me in adding a few extras. It looks so festive. I LOVE IT! - can you tell he is sitting beside me?- Somehow, the snowmen found their way out of the boxes and arranged themselves ever so nicely around the house and on the welcoming stoop at the front door. I must remember to write them a lovely thank you note for showing up and saving me the work at the beginning of December! My daughter's volleyba...

There's a blog dedicated to lists. http://www.todolistblog.com/ Hmm!!!! Makes me want to make my own list. Top Ten Things I Loved About Today : It's Thursday. Teaching lessons Feeling connected to the school community I loved not having to get up at the crack of stupidly early. Making music with the classes. It was not a windy day. The sound is working on the computer!! Can't tell you how great that is to have back. Lunch with my son Supper with my other son. It's the 15th of November. Time to bring out some decorations! P.S. A random fact. Did you know that if you press control "U", the writing will be underlined for you? How fun is that for a shortcut!

"Well, it's been quite a week. " Actually, I just said that because it sounds so much more interesting than "well, I really have nothing to say, but I am going to blog anyway." Are you still reading? Still interested in my "quite a week?" First of all, I got some gardening chores wrapped up for the fall. I am just amazed because I replanted a "mum" almost three years ago when it was done in the pot. For two consecutive years, it came back with no flowers. Then this year, a day before the first frost, I look at it and what to my wondering eyes should appear, but hundreds of flowers just waiting to bloom. (Well, shake my head and stamp my feet). I am leaving it in there just to see how much more lucky it feels. Secondly, the power went out. I personally hate it when the power goes out. Now this is the rant of my blog today. Skip ahead if you are feeling particularly jolly and don't want to be brought down. Why in the world, does BC Hydro ha...

The other day, my husband encouraged me with this comment "You still have it. Whatever it was, you still have it.". In that moment, I was reassured that I had married the right person. Who needs mushy when you have a reality check right by your side!

I am going to admit something today. I have an addiction. I don't even know what it is called, but I will explain it and then maybe one of you cyber -readers may have the answer. I love to peel wall paper. And use the leaf blower. And peel paint. There, I've let the cat out of the bag. There's something so fun about seeing strips of something being lifted from a surface. It becomes a bit of a game. "Let's see how much will come off this time! " Before you know it, the whole room is bare. Or the lawn is cleaned up. Then comes the next part. Hmmm ...guess I am going to have to paint in here. Hmm ...guess I'll have to pile the leaves into the wheelbarrow. I suppose, among addictions, it isn't the worst thing. Although as long as we are talking addictions, I will admit one more which isn't as compulsive. When I am in a store, I often tidy up piles of clothes which have been thrown every where. Or if I am walking by a display, and there is a box that is...

Just for fun I am adding my signature!

Up the street from us, we have a neighbour who has a "Christmas cottage". She opens it up on the 1st of November. This year, as never before, the sign announcing her opening heralded the beginning of the season for me. Yesterday, the question of the day in the men's group was"What do you consider the appropriate time to put up Christmas decorations?" Their answers were quite revealing. A couple of them said the beginning of December or end of November. One or two said they let their wives take care of the decorations and they supervise. (I kind of liked that one..delegate and supervise) The best answer though was "Put them up in July and leave them up for the rest of the year." I have to admit, that I am getting excited to see the lights go up. Especially since the days are so much shorter now that the time change has happened. One year, I bought snowmen which had lights in them. They lined the front of the verandah and looked so happy. They even lo...

Ever notice how some families have little 'in jokes' or sayings that take a lot of time to explain to others? In our family, we quote heavily from "The Princess Bride". If you haven't seen it, then you won't know what we are referring to when we say the lettuce in the fridge is "only mostly dead" or "Good night Wesley, have a good sleep, I'll most likely kill you in the morning". We also use words that the kids used when they were little. "I have a hegg ache" or "you talka mea choclit bah". All these things work themselves into the fabric of famly life and are understood because of the common experience. I thought of this last night again when I was making Rice Krispy Squares. I had bought the materials and thought I would quick whip up a batch while I waited for dinner to cook. As I was doing it, I thought "Boy, this is so easy. Why don't I do this more often?" And then I thought of that commercial whe...

You know, sometimes I am so busy 'doing' life, that I forget, or can even slightly resent my blessings. What I mean here, is that although I make a conscious effort to be thankful for the small and big things, there's times when I am guilty of giving a "heavy sigh" when it comes to managing the blessings. Perhaps, this is what the lesson was for Martha. If anyone was a human "little red hen", it was Martha. She was a 'get it done' kind of gal. Jesus was coming to her house and I am sure that she had a majorly heavy-duty list of all that she had to accomplish in order to "do a visit with Jesus". There was the meal to prepare and the house to clean, and the tablecloths to order. If only she had realized that Jesus didn't care about the four-course meal. That really, He was coming to hang out with her. If only she could have taken the same amount of time to figure out how to curb her desire to 'just clean this one more corner',...

"Mom, can I have a kitten" she said. "Yes" I said. I admit, it was a moment of weakness. We don't need any more cats. We have two. We used to have four. At one point there were five. Cats, as you may know, are the expendable crewmen on a farm. Don't bother to get the cat neutered. As soon as you do, it goes out in the road and gets run over. And as my husband would say - "that's a mighty expensive pond-liner you got there ma'am." But, the time is drawing near, when I won't be hearing the desperate plea from my brown-eyed girl that we need kittens. So I gave in. We have picked up kittens in the most bizarre ways. Cats who have been abandoned by their mothers. Cats who were on their way to cat heaven if we didn't adopt them. Cats who were advertised by signs on the side of the road in a shady neighbourhood. This probably explains the bizarre cats we have had. One, climbed up a tree and stayed there for 12 days meowing for us to come...