All posts in Bits Of My Personality

Snowed In! FINALLY!

by admin on January 24, 2010 in Bits Of My Personality, Life Keeps Changing with 1 Comment
(Our house looked so romantic tonight!)

Winter is here… again! This time with LOTSA snow! The kids and I are thrilled! It meant we couldn’t go out today but I think it will be worth it! We will get exercise pushing the walk tomorrow and the sled hill might finally be good and covered in snow!

Here is the view out our front window! Not only did the snow plaster itself all over the siding of the house but the windows where covered with sticky snow too!

Can you believe this odd mound on our front step railing? I had to take a picture! It is so funny how it would build up in the corner of the railing!
The kids couldn’t stop ooohing and aaaahing! Here are the youngest trying to find Daddy out there in the snow!

(Same picture as above but with the flash on, can’t decide which I like best!)
(Our snow-y front step, so pretty!)

TTFN

Switchfoot and Paper Tongues

by admin on January 19, 2010 in Bits Of My Personality, Life Keeps Changing, Music Flavor, My Romance with 3 Comments
(Garnet and I out for supper with friends before the SWITCHFOOT concert.)

Garnet and I have been on two dates within one week! This was a very good thing for us. In a way we kind of needed two dates close together to get back into spending time together away from the kids. We don’t date a lot… haven’t dated a lot. It isn’t that we don’t value it, we understand it is very important, it just wasn’t an option as much in the past. Well things have changed. We have pals we can babysit for and in turn they will do the same, free, for us and it works out lovely. The first date night was big emotionally. I felt a lot of pressure because I figured it would be so long till the next. I wanted to look my best and have a good time… in the end we took the pressure off, went out and just visited. With a note pad and pen in hand we sat down and talked about our coming year… things we would like to do and what we hope for. It was refreshing and easy to do cuz I am so comfortable with my man!
The second date I was more comfortable and we just had a blast! I was so excited, it is the first time in I don’t know how long that we have gone out as a couple with friends! We met my older brother and his wife and some long time friends of ours at a restaurant and then walked across campus to the concert.
Paper Tongues is a new band to me, they opened and where so charismatic and fun! I have been listening to their ep stuff all day and can hardly wait to get their first album.

Switchfoot is emotional rock. I have been a long time fan and was thrilled to hear their high quality new stuff and the old stuff that I can sing along to. It was cool to hear them talk about real issues in the world, like what is going on in Haiti. I used to be more cynical about when bands would try to get deep, but why can’t they? Most artists are far beyond us regular folk in there ability to see the world in a deep and truthful way so they are just the people to use the attention we give them for worthy causes. Let people share what they need to say! We all have times when we would appreciate just that, to be respectfully heard by others.

(Us ladies, enjoying the show!)

There was one particular song that got me teared up, it had a message on how what you are feeling isn’t love unless its breaking you… The last few days I have been really tuning in to words and thoughts on love. We are hoping to have a re-dedication ceremony this coming spring, for our tenth wedding anniversary. We plan to share some new vows with one another and writing our own has me nervous. We didn’t write anything the first time and this time we know one another so well that I feel like I need to really do my man justice…

Garnet gave me a pep talk about it and when I realise he’s on board with me I felt like perhaps I could give this whole writing some words about our love thing a go…, even though he isn’t a big romantic he is willing to do this…’romantic notions are more your gift my dear’ he shared…

Most of our marriage, to date, has been so tied up in KIDS that I often feel like love is very very ordinary and practical and simply as romantic as is possible to get in the tiny moments in between changing diapers and cleaning up the house AGAIN. BUT I have hope as this new stage of life begins… hope that in spite of all the wonderful things about the baby years I will morn, Garnet and I will see clearly again all the beautiful and romantic things about our love… good by sleep deprived chapter of life… hello HUSBAND!

(Switchfoot says goodnight!)

TTFN

On The Ice With My Gentleman

by admin on January 12, 2010 in Bits Of My Personality, Do I Call It Parenting Advice?, Four Little Eggs In My Nest, Mama Heart Mushings with 2 Comments

It was lovely to spend a day on the ice! My boy was invited to a buddy’s birthday and he was more then willing to have me along! We enjoyed the party and running into many friends but for me it was all about Big Boy. I was so thrilled to have a whole day to spend with just him! He has always been the sweetest gentleman when we are alone!

The hardest part of my day was refraining from too much fussing when he would fall and from squeezing him every time I felt an urge to do so (it was a constant urge). He was just so sweet and well behaved, so determined to master skating in spite of all his spills, so handsome and so adorable! Phew, I am letting my mama mush gush now cuz I was trying not to drown him with it that day. He pulls at my heart so much! I love stealing hugs from him when he play fights with me. He thinks I am just doing a lock hold but really I am getting my hug quota! Lacing up our skates and hitting the ice together will be something I will crave to do with my guy for years and years to come! There is such an art to raising boys! Perhaps more difficult for the mother to master but SO WORTH IT!
Where did we skate?…A beautiful outdoor rink that graces our city’s river side. There is a view of the river and its bridges on one side, the Bez hotel towering like a castle on one end and city scape all around the west side. It was romantic and breathtaking! This was my first skate, but not my last, on this rink!

(There’s Big Boy! Only his third time on the ice and he was able to skate two hours with me!)

There is nothing like it! Skating outdoors is so revitalizing! I couldn’t believe it was January! Our -30 and -40 where gone! It was barely below zero and the perfect weather for a long skate. Here’s hoping we have many more sunny skating days!


TTFN

Another Year Of Ladies Card Nights

by admin on January 12, 2010 in Bits Of My Personality, People In My Heart with No comments

I don’t know how many years we have been doing this but it has been years. A lot of ladies have come and gone and it is just a great way to get to know women. For a while now we have focused more on the eating and talking in our group but lately we have actually started playing poker again and it has been fun.

The group of us that originally started this did it to keep in touch. It was around the time that ‘texas hold em’ became a big fad so we thought it would be cute to start a poker group when usually it is guys that have the poker nights. The men, our men, where at first intrigued but when they found out how nice and overly cautious we where about risking our chips (even though we don’t even involve money) it became a humorous thing…Kicked off the new year with our first match at my place. I was particularly excited about the alcohol free white grape sparklers I got from Super Store and the stemless wine glasses I bought to serve them! It was a fancy treat for all of us MOMS! I am always impressed with the nice food everyone contributes, we always eat well! We take turns hosting so I hadn’t for a while and I really enjoyed hosting such a stellar group of women!I can’t help taking pictures of our gatherings because so often there are new girls or friends able to come who have been gone for ages… those of us who are long time attenders keep changing so it is just as interesting to see us over the years meeting once a month to just enjoy one anothers company!I left my Christmas stuff up for this one last event and finally took it down today, I am actually sad about taking it down this year… usually I can hardly wait for everything to look less cluttered again but I decorated so much later then normal so I hadn’t reached that feeling yet. Perhaps I was just more in the holiday spirit this year!

Here is to another year of the ladies poker nights!

TTFN

I Had A Christmas

by admin on January 8, 2010 in Bits Of My Personality, Contest, Holiday Messages with 1 Comment

So yes, I had a Christmas but we all got pretty sick at the end of the holidays so I haven’t been really up to doing a post about the holidays…

I was very enthusiastic when the kids got off for the holidays. We spent much time on the hill and worked hard at getting set up with skates so we could enjoy the neighborhood rink. These two things where probably my favorite parts of the holidays!

I can’t get too spiritual about it all right now… it had what is expected, family drama and family memories, food and gifts, stress and relaxation, sleeping in and up later then normal… Most of all it had plenty of memorable moments for my family!

I still haven’t taken down the decorations… they are so pretty and I still feel cheery when I look at them… might have to stay till the days get longer again.

ON WITH THE WINNER! Put the names in a hat and drew out our winner! I will deliver you the gift a.s.a.p.!

THE WINNER IS

KRISTEN!

So unless you are coming out here some time soon I suppose I am mailing it to you Kristen! Congrats and thanks to all who commented for making my 100th post a little more special!

TTFN

Just How I Feel Today

by admin on January 5, 2010 in Bits Of My Personality, People In My Heart with No comments
Or, perhaps, how I am hoping to feel…

I love the wild whole hearted look my oldest two ooze as they run madly for the water in this picture from the summer past! FUN is a childs heart cry; innocent, pure, content FUN!

Ignite invincible summer!! IGNITE!

That’s all I’ve got today, oh, that and a smiley face to wrap it all up:)

TTFN

Brothers, Sick Days and Dishes

by admin on January 4, 2010 in Bits Of My Personality, People In My Heart with 7 Comments
(My brother’s daughter and I snuggling to keep warm at the rink!)

So I accomplished a goal of mine and got myself and the older kids out skating! I realised right away it has been a long time and I am really rusty at it! I also had a great deal of fun with my kids and my brother’s family. Jesse is my youngest brother, a great guy. I know this might sound silly but I really really love my brothers! The picture below will probably be a favorite of mine for life! I don’t have a lot of pictures of my brothers and I as adults together… we don’t spend a lot of time together… I know I am largely at fault for that since I am so easily overwhelmed by life I tend to miss out on chances to be with them.

A couple days feelings of disconnect had settled heavily over my heart… disconnect from people and specifically fellowship… I know I do it to myself… My first reaction to any stress is to bury myself away… anyhow for some reason my brothers came into my head and I remembered my mom talking me to me years ago about what a connection you have to your brothers no matter what… you are SO connected… I get it… It made me happy to think about them… They are both very different men with different families of their own but they are both so worthy of respect and they make me proud.

I am feeling really ill today and hope it will not last long… I hate being sick, things get so out of sorts in a home when the wife is sick…

Little Woman was trying to cheer me up about being under the weather and she said ‘When you are all better you can do dishes with me!’ To her dishes are a time to visit with Mommy, one on one, and to feel like a big girl… to me… well I looked over at the mountain of dirty dishes and just felt impending doom… Dishes just don’t cheer up this sick mommy like they do my Little Woman.

My chicken noodle soup is almost ready, I skipped supper but I am trying to not go to bed without protein. Is there protein in chicken noodle soup? Ahhhh well, I am going to bed early and will dream about dish washing machines again…

TTFN

The New Year, Fatigue, & A Plan!

by admin on January 1, 2010 in Bits Of My Personality, Life Keeps Changing with 1 Comment

It continues to be a battle… unlike before, when it was a constant every day drag on kinda battle, the fatigue is now springing surprise attacks on me… With Baby Boy on solids alone now(insert a sad sigh here) things have gotten a lot better. I am able to do so much more in a day. Being able to do a few jobs each day and run errands on my own again has made me very thankful but I don’t like the surprise days where the couch is my confidant once again…

I see two contributes, ok maybe three and I want to list them and take aim one at a time. You could say this is a resolution post but I am not the competitive type and I am more likely to not do something if there is a hint of competition involved so lets not go there…

  1. FORGOTTEN MEALS, when I deviate from my high protein diet, as recommended by my doctor, I crash the next day
  2. STRESS, creates a bad cycle… when I deviate from my high protein diet I get stressed easier and then I eat less due to stress and then I… well I think you can see the picture…
  3. WIMP, this girl is not in shape, for so long I was told to not do to much (including exercise) because of weight lose issues when pregnant and nursing and now I think it might be time to turn my head around and start working out so that I feel stronger again…

If I can just come up with an inspiring way to get fit again and continue to eat high protein while at it I just might win. Doctor warned though that I must raise my protein intake even more if I start working out… This seems like some kind of twisted game but I am starting to figure out how to play ball.

The holidays are always kinda bad for me. Without meaning to I skip meals and get stressed and then get sick, stuck on the couch, warn out every couple days…

January, in the past, has meant seasonal depression till the thaw…

Looking back I see a lot of that was having to be stuck in doors so much and I think things can be different this year. I have always enjoyed the outdoors year round and now that I am getting set up for winter again I think things will be better.

I finally have skates again, I found some trails so my cross country skis can be waxed and used again and with proper winter wear I am enjoying the local toboggan hill with the kids already! When we first moved to the city I tried the gym, even swimming and I just kinda felt like a hamster on a wheel but being outdoors is sounding more and more inspiring!

Here is to a new year and here’s to hopes of a great winter!!

TTFN

Capelets!

by admin on December 30, 2009 in Bits Of My Personality, Little Things with 2 Comments

Last year about this time I posted about the pleasure I find in certain accessories and leg warmers had a very romantic tug at my heart last Christmas. I found two adorable pairs for ONLY a dollar each on an out of season sale,late spring and finally got to use them this year. This year capelets have caught my eye! I have been an obvious lover of sweaters, wraps and mini jackets for a long time now but when I started to see handmade capelets on etsy I fell head over heals for them! They have such a romantically old fashioned appeal that draws me like a magnet to a fridge! I love the classic looking ones, adore the pretty hand knit ones with BIG flowers attached and can’t keep my eyes off the more modern ones with color and character! Oh I hope I will find some eventually as I did the leg warmers!

TTFN

The Little Moments, My Freedom and Being Eccentric!

by admin on December 28, 2009 in Bits Of My Personality with 1 Comment
(Little Woman wanted to see if our stockings would make good hats…)

‘Little Woman’ insisted on staying up way to late tonight… and Garnet and I let her because we where feeling relaxed and just wanted to snuggle up with a good movie… we knew she, of all our children, is the only one who could possess the ability to be quiet and still. So she got the big couch while we had our snuggle and our good movie on the love seat… when the movie ended (most of it having gone over her head) she informed me ‘Mama, I am now going to my room and my bed.’ I smiled and said ‘Alright, give a kiss chick-y.’ She giggled and we bent toward one another and my kiss caught her on the nose instead of the mouth. She gave me a funny look and laughed at me ‘You missed.’ I replied ‘Silly silly!’ and off she ran to bed.

Just looking for moments…

I adore it when I find enough self control to really notice the now and the moment… I believe it has become a passion of mine. When my will power is strong enough to really grab hold of it I truly feel like I am living and not just sleep walking.

Once I grab hold I feel my emotions so intensely it is almost over powering… so I write about it and once the words have settled down upon the page, the over powering emotions become just right and they settle down again into my heart, forever remembered.

It is in those nows that I find my freedom… the random moments when I could respond as I always do or embrace my limitless opportunity. When my child asks for a hug I could tell her I am too busy, I could quickly hug her or I could surprise her with bear hug, direct eye contact and a dance around the living room!

Eccentric…deviating from the recognized or customary character, practice.

As a child I told everyone when I grew up I wanted to be eccentric and all I really meant was aware of my freedom from the silly social expectations, thus happy! As a teen I refused to respect the rules and social customs of my peers because they didn’t respect me and so why would I respect their cruel rules? As an adult I don’t really dream about big places or fancy things… I find my adventure in the next ordinary opportunity…

Some how this passion for life makes me feel light as a feather and full to bursting all at the same time!

TTFN

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