introspective

It's been a very introspective summer and that is a good thing.  It has also involved lots of crafting too ~ another good thing!

Currently I've been participating in Big Picture's Big Idea Festival which provides a daily one-word prompt for 12 days!  It has sent me scrambling for photos as well as for supplies but it has been a lot of fun!  I love Big Picture classes and this one is free so that's great as well!

I bought the class' products which included this great 6x5.5 inches (chipboard) mini-album.  I've never worked on an album and my scrapbook pages are always 12X12.  It's been an interesting challenge trying to squeeze my response to every prompt onto a 6x5.5 page or two!  On this particular layout, I used scrap Moda fabric and the scraps were from the first aprons I ever made.  I even sewed the fabric onto the chipboard, something I have never done before, but I used a "jean" needle on the machine so it didn't even squawk!  Today's word is "nesting" so I'm busy planning my next layout in my head.

In this class, I "met" Karla who is test-trying a new product, My Memories, made by Polaroid.  She's made some wonderful layouts which she has posted on her blog using this product.

I am interested in this product because of my experience with test-trying Photoshop Elements 9 on my iMac in June.  I was curious about Elements because I wanted to do hybrid scrapbooking or, if I really liked it, full digital scrapbooking.  Needless to say, many hours later, I gave up on trying to teach myself Elements on a Mac (as the product is obviously geared towards PC users).  Karla's blog is featuring a My Memories give-away in case you are interested in learning about this program and/or, if the winner, testing it out yourself!  Good luck!

which elderly person would you want to be?

This evening was 10% Tuesday which occurs on the first Tuesday of each calendar month.  My dh considers 10% Tuesday as almost a religious experience.

This evening my dh raced off with the cellphone and the school supply list to Walmart to purchase the majority of the girls' school supplies.  He phoned me to consult regarding the supplies.  Frequently.  After an hour of regular phone calls, the phone rang again.  Presuming it was my dh who had just phoned minutes earlier, I answered the phone in a serious tone without the typical "hello" greeting:

"If you phone again, I'm going to contact the police and tell them that you are harassing me".

The other end of the line was silent.  I then heard my dh's elderly mother (in her 80s) hesitantly reply, "Uh, Maureen?  Are you still bringing the girls over tomorrow"?

.....

My strapping late 40s year old dh returned home from shopping at Walmart & Safeway.  He had placed a 10 kg bag of flour on the bottom of the cart to wheel it to the cashier.  When he arrived at the cashier, he mentioned that he had the flour in the bottom of the cart and expected that she'd have some sort of wireless scanner to scan the price in or that she'd just code it to determine the price owed.  Instead, the 20-something (female) cashier walked around the counter to the cart, removed the flour and placed it on the counter to scan it.  My dh embarrassedly said to the effect, "if I had known that you needed it on the cashier stand, I would have picked it up for you!" to which she replied, "It's okay.  It wasn't heavy".

Spring has somewhat cooperated with my photography prompts.  Although I was supposed to take a photograph of something just starting to grow this season, I didn't want to take photos of the minuscule buds on the trees!  Instead, I captured N as she made her first big steps towards learning to skip.  I knew she could do it!

I've also captured some pastel indoor shots of our Easter decor:

With spring emerging, we get ready for a new season of cooking!  N's daycare has inspired her to learn to cook and she is quite the kitchen helper!  I expect we'll be test-trying new ice cream recipes this summer!

I can hardly wait!

spring-time?

We had spring for a couple days last week.  Excited by the prospect of winter disappearing for a few months, I ventured outside to get some spring-time shots.  Of course the girls were only too happy to oblige demonstrating how deep the puddles were:

I've been spending lots of time indoors doing the case-law digests.  Many hours are spent reading case-law on the couch with a cup of tea on the windowsill.  I should become a shareholder of David's Tea considering how much tea I drink, especially the Cinnamon Chai!  (I tend to drink mostly Rooibus teas because I've heard that South African doctors recommend them due to the high quantities of antioxidants within them but I also drink many of their herbal teas too!)  I've also become a collector of loose tea accessories including the travel mug (which is like a travel version of the Bodum coffeepot).

I've been mostly focussing on catching up on Big Picture Classes that I've missed hence why I'm not sharing any photos!  As spring is coming, I'm getting crafting fever and hope to make some end-of-year gifts for teachers!  K has started to use the sewing machine (with my direct supervision) so she may help make a fabric bag for her teacher?  We'll see!

moving along

It has been a very unexpected month.  We said good-bye to my 1993 Corolla that I purchased in 1994.  Although the Corolla was a dream for parking and zipping around city streets, we had outgrown it literally as N's legs were stuck behind the driver's seat.  Instead?  We bought one of these:

Yes, I know it is quite a step up from the 1993 Corolla (which I had intended on getting rid of in the early 2000s but then...) but, in addition to providing the girls with extra leg room, it is one of the few vehicles available on the market that has the same lumbar support for the driver's side as for the passenger's side.  Ahhhh.  My dh loves to drive, I love to be a passenger so we are both happy now!  I no longer have to do the majority of the long-distance driving!  Hurrah!  We got a good deal on it as well as it was a model used by the dealership so technically it was used.

En route home from a drive, my dh complained about how the new vehicle's passenger's seat seat-warmer.   His exact words were, "What a piece of junk!  When you pay this much money for a new vehicle, you would think the car seat-warmer would work" and asked me to add this concern to the list of concerns to be addressed by the dealership.  As he complained, I noticed him sitting with his mittened hands between his bottom and the seat to cushion his buttocks from the cold seat.

The next day as I was dropping the girls off at school and daycare, I decided I had better check out his complaint. Looking closer, I discovered that the seat controls ranged from red 3 to 0 (presumably "off") to blue 3.  The passenger carseat was set at blue 3.  Hmmm.

I saved myself the time and embarrassment of phoning to raise this complaint to the attention of the dealership: my dh had set the passenger carseat to the coldest level feasible!

shifting

As I mentioned in January that 2011 is a year of changes.  Indeed it is.

I left my job last Monday.  It is time to move on and restore balance in my life.  Although it may seem abrupt to you, it is something I've been contemplating for months.

The expression "where one door shuts, a window is opened elsewhere" also comes to mind: before the end of last week, I was offered an ongoing contract to create caselaw digests.  The contract is for less than part-time work but it is nice to have some steady income coming in while I sort out what I want to do; plus I already know I enjoy working for the Law Society Library.

Although I had imagined that I would have had eons of time, I've been running like crazy doing household related matters!  I would hardly notice that I'm not at work as I'm still not at home.  I have already volunteered yesterday to make pancakes for N's class ~ I haven't volunteered at the school since I started working 2/3 time (at least 30 hours per week) in September 2009!  It will be nice to take some time off and have the flexibility of working from home for a bit!

Valentine's Eve

Apparently, there is such a thing asValentine's Eve.  Celebrating Valentine's Day in our home has expanded into a month-long decorative frenzy of windows, doors and chintzy jewelry; let's not forget the tights and socks with hearts.  The weekend has been spent preparing Valentines for classmates, daycare-mates and teachers.  This morning, K and N ate heart-shaped pancakes ( ~ note to myself to butter the heart-shaped cookie cutters next year before pouring the batter into the frying pan); I prepared Rice Krispie cake with Valentine sprinkles for K's class this afternoon.  (Apparently the class is celebrating Valentine's Day and the 100th day of school tomorrow ~ who knew!?!)

After K and N put on their Valentine's tattoos this evening, K inquired: "Have you made our Valentines yet?"  Gulp.

Can you guess what I'm doing this evening?

cruise post #3

With the exception of Grand Cayman, the weather was quite poor (ie: jackets and/or sweaters needed with capris) but we were still entertained!  (We watched the new movie, Tangled, in 3-D!)

My non-swimming girls and my dh braved the chilly water in Cozumel to pet the dolphins.  K is now determined to be a veterinarian of all sorts of animals, including marine animals.

I didn't contemplate all the wardrobe needed for a Disney ship.  I had only packed daytime and evening wear.  I neglected to pack princess and pirate costumes!  We had to rush back after our port stop at Cozumel to assist the crew in stopping the pirates from attacking our ship! We still dressed up for "Pirates Night" ~ and yes, even my dh donned an eye-patch, skull-cap and fake scars!

Disney was wonderfully organized and attentive to detail from the beginning to the end.  From the bus windows being ship portals to the goodbye flags at the end, it was so appreciated!  What a relaxing and magical trip for all!

news on the street: the Toothfairy is passe

We are so proud of how K is reading in English (as well as in French)!  As a result, she is starting to enjoy reading my blog!  Writing posts can become a little cryptic!

K lost a tooth en route to Orlando for the cruise.  My family had a debate over whether the Toothfairy delivers American or Canadian money in the USA.  I puzzled whether the Toothfairy or Tinkerbell would visit to collect K's tooth on a cruise ship.  K decided she would reserve placing her tooth in a glass of water for the Toothfairy until we were on the ship.

Orlando is a phenomenal airport with hotel accommodations attached.  It has a number of Disney stores and/or stores with Disney memorabilia.

Once upon the Magic cruise ship, we settled into our accommodations and then ventured around the ship.  We took K & N to the Oceaneer Club & Lab (aka childcare) to register them as guests in the event they wanted to hang out with the kids and do things like crafts. *

That evening, K dutifully placed her tooth in the glass of water.  At home, we would wait to see what colour the fairy's wings were but we weren't sure what would happen on a cruise ship.  The next morning, we woke to discover this:

It appears that Tinkerbell substitutes for the Toothfairy on cruiseships!  (Maybe the Toothfairy is land-based only?)  We know it was Tinkerbell who visited our room as it was her ring that held the American dollar!  It appears that her wings left a glittery residue of mostly silver with a tinge of green in the water!  K wanted to somehow salvage some of Tinkerbell's glitter but, like all magical things, it disappeared!

We went to every evening theatre performance on the ship!  Each time there was the sound of Tinkerbell's wings and/or lights that lit to demonstrate Tinkerbell's presence, K's eyes lit to attention!  (Both girls also received stick-on Disney earrings from Tinkerbell).

N is now requesting that I make arrangements for a cruise when she gets a loose tooth.  Apparently the Toothfairy is passe.  Ah, the power of faith!

* N learned how to do the Do-Si-Do in the Club & the children were later joined by Snow White so they could Do-Si-Do together!  Sweet!

just guess where I have been

I'll give you some hints:

Hmmm.... This ketchup shape looks familiar but for those uncertain, this one is more apparent:

Yes, we took K & N with us (and the Mickey waffles and ketchup were for them although I'll admit to tasting both the ketchup and waffles in this format).

I suspect you have now confirmed the company, but did you guess the mode?

Still stumped?  Try this one...

If you haven't guessed it by now, we took a 7 day cruise on the Western Caribbean on the Disney Magic.  Despite the weather, we had a fabulous time!  The photo above is from our first stop at Key West, Florida before we ventured onto Grand Cayman (where it was hot and humid), Cozumel (Mexico), and, our favorite port, Castaway Cay.  The weather was windy and chilly in Cozumel and Castaway Cay although K & N braved the wind and chills to play in the sand at Castaway Cay anyway.  Suffice it to say,

• N is lamenting having to leave the cruise (& was already requesting to go on another cruise during our transport home by aircraft),
• K is pretending she's a room hostess and has been placing her blankets & stuffies on the master bed for the last 2 evenings (as she apparently can't create the towel animals)
• I am lamenting not having a room host/hostess to clean up after us
• N and I are lamenting not having servers and
• I am lamenting not having a chef to prepare our meals as I now have to ponder how to coordinate meals, a task I can apparently lose capacity to do within 1 week of leaving home.

There's so much to share so I'll post again soon!

living in interesting times

There's purportedly a Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times".  Indeed I am.

My workplace has undergone a merger.  I think I knocked them over backwards when I announced in December that I was not interested in promoting family law but seek to develop a practice in a completely opposite direction, a direction unforeseeable by the others until I announced it.  For a multitude of reasons, family law didn't seem the right path to follow.  The consequence is that I have a lot of work to do in marketing in a new area which could span multiple provinces.  If it pans out, I see significantly more business travel for me.  And longer non-billable hours that often will occur outside of office hours.  And yet for the majority of my work-place peers, there's been no significant change at all.

And as one who seems to stir the pot wherever she goes, I've also been attempting change at home as well which has caused a mini-revolt over dietary matters.  You see, I've been using different flours in meal preparation.  I've discovered that K & N will complain and turn up their noses to foods with spelt flour (or other non-white flours) when it is visible to them, even when I substitute 1/2 or less of the alternative flour in proportion to the white flour in the recipe.  They are obviously eating with their eyes.

There wasn't an ounce of complaint when I made pumpkin muffins with spelt flour:

I guess I just have to hide it better.  On a positive note, K & N have given the thumbs up to 2 quinoa recipes ~ a chocolate cake & Moroccan chicken.  It's taken some time, but they are getting used to quinoa.

a miracle at our house

Christmas is over.  The tree that almost wasn't is put away.  What????  The tree that almost wasn't?  The tree that I meticulously (yet crappily) photographed in my Picture the Holidays class?

In early December, we my dh set up the (artificial) Christmas tree.  He confirmed that the muted coloured lights were working before handing me the plug to our muted coloured lights so I started hanging the lights from the top of the tree.  After we got the lights up, my dh exclaimed that the lights were on backwards (so the plug wasn't at the right end of the tree).  We removed the lights and re-did them.  After a little spat because I didn't like how the lights were hung on the tree, I was delighted when he exclaimed that the lights were again on backwards and we needed to remove them. We re-did the muted coloured lights a third time only to discover at the end of the process that 2/3 of the tree wasn't lit with the muted coloured lights (although the tree was almost lit by the heated exchanges being used in the midst of the tree).  We couldn't figure out why the muted coloured lights weren't working.

Out came my mini-white lights that I have kept stashed ever since my dh and I came to an armistice by adopting the muted coloured lights instead of alternating between the white mini-lights (my choice) and my dh's god-awful bright coloured lights.  My dh objected to the mini-white lights but reluctantly agreed to them as a means of finishing the bloody tree.

The mini-white lights worked when they were tested and we mounted two strands on the tree.  Upon testing the lights, the 2nd strand did not work.  We were at the point of ripping the lights off the tree and having either a light-free tree or no tree at all when a miracle occurred and, for some unknown reason/intervention, the 2nd strand worked.  We all cheered.

PS: Happy new year!