Days 12 and 13

Okay, I'm slipping a little and need to include 2 days into one.  At least I haven't given up completely!!

Day 12 is something I'm OCD about.  Anyone who knows me, knows I am OCD about more than a few things, but I'll just pick one for today.  I'm totally OCD about not having crumbs on my floor.  This is something that is drives me, especially having a 2 and a 4 year old around.  I am constantly (okay, like, 4 or 5 times a day) sweeping my floors.  We live in housing provided by my hubby's work, and let's just say it's a far cry from the brand new home we owned just over a year ago.  I miiiiissssss my central vac.  I could just plug it in, zip around, and - voila!  Crumbs be gone!  I've had to retrain in using a dust pan over the last year which sucks, but at least it keeps the crumbs at bay!

Day 13 is a favorite fiction book.  I've always been a fan of John Grisham, and have loved most of his books, but the one I keep going back to is one of his first one.  A Time To Kill is a great book (he wrote this book first, had it rejected by many publishers, and then after The Firm, The Pelican Brief and The Client became best sellers, it was reprinted and became a best seller in it's own right).  The premise is a black father kills the two white men that raped and left his daughter for dead.  It covers the court battle and the inside goings on of racially charged Mississippi during the trial.  If you've seen the movie, read the book - it's so much better (aren't they always?)!

That's about it!  Cheers!

Day 11 - Me Now!

Day 11 calls for a current picture of me.  Seeing as how I hate having my picture taken (I think that stems from hubby needing to learn how his new camera works, and his constant surprise picture taking of me.  I have never in my life seen so many ugly candid shots of anyone. UGH.), I don't have a lot to choose from.   Anyway, here is a (fairly, like, within 4 months) current pic of me...

It's a picture of me holding the birthday cake I made for our son.  Dontchya love the beer beside me on the counter?  Oh, and don't overlook the bottle of wine in a brown paper bag behind it!  Yep, we're a little redneck.

Cheers!

Day 10

So, this is the post where I post a picture of myself from 10 years ago.  That's pretty funny.  I don't have a picture older than 2 years old of me, I don't have digital pics of me from that far back, and I don't even have any old pictures to scan, as when we moved up north, we put 80% of our stuff in storage, including all of my photo albums.  (It really makes you think about how much you can actually live without!)

So, I went to facebook.  I went to the pictures that my friends from high school have mercilessly posted.  Here is my picture from approximately 10 years ago....

I know it's a small picture, I swear I didn't do that on purpose, but when I try and enlarge it, it's pretty fuzzy.  I am the second from the left standing in the gold dress.  I know.  You wish you had this dress, too.  Let me tell you the opportunities I've had to wear it again....

*enter chirping cricket....



Anyway, that is my lovely mug from 10 years ago, hope you enjoyed this little trip into the late 90's.


Cheers!

Day 9 of the 30 day challenge...

Well, I'm still here doing the 30 day challenge - I'm really liking it, but seeing what I have to post tomorrow has me stumped - but I'll worry about that later!  Anyway, today's challenge is to post a       picture that I took.  That's easy enough, but what picture to choose

I took these pictures on a little road in our town.  I know I'm only supposed to post one picture, what can I say, I'm an overachiever!  Anyhow, earlier in the summer, the bears were coming into town, so there was a humane bear trap set up.  When I saw this I was so excited (I love watching wildlife, and just loved the thought of seeing a bear in town). 

Anyway, they set this trap up and the kids and I kind of stalked it.  We would go for a drive a few times a day to see if there was anything in the trap.  The pictures don't show it, but there is a big bag of bait hanging inside of the trap, so I figured if the bears are coming into town, it means they're hungry.  This bag of food would attract them for sure! 

Well, this trap caught no bear.  Pretty soon they removed it, and I never did see a bear in town.  We did, however see a lot of bears out at the dump, and would go bear watch almost every night.  What can I say, there's not much to do in this town!  I later found out that another town had tried to use these bear traps and they never worked, so they sold them to our town.  Apparently the record stands - still no bear.

There is so much about living in the north that I love, and most people up here would probably roll their eyes at me, but coming from the prairies, I have never lived around the mountains and wildlife they have up here.  I can see why they say once you live up here, you won't want to move back home.

On that note, hubby gets home today from being south for a week and a half, and as excited as I am to see him, I'm even more excited to see the brand new camera he bought me! 

Cheers!

Day 8!

Day 8 of the challenge calls for a picture that makes you angry or sad.  Kind of a downer, dontchya think?  Oh well, I guess it's reality, so here goes.  I didn't have a picture that came to mind immediately, so I had to go looking for one that correlated to something that makes me mad.

What makes me angry is this:

I just can't get over how bad the economy is, and how many people are losing their homes.  People who had good jobs, people who have children, people who thought that their lives would never turn into this.  The actions of a few are affecting millions of people who don't deserve to lose the rewards of years of hard work.

We haven't been affected like others have, thankfully, and I can't imagine our life savings, the kids' university funds, everything - wiped out in an instant.  It makes me so angry when I hear the government say that things are on the upswing, and that everything is great - ask the people who are a month away from being kicked out of their home, or the people that have been on 50 job interviews with out a hope of getting a job.

I can only hope that very soon, things start to happen for these people, I could handle losing my home, but it would kill me to have my kids lose a stable place to call home.

Day 7!

Well, on to day 7, where I am to post a photo that makes me happy.  Rather than spend 3 hours going through all of my pictures of my kids and hubby, I'll post a picture of where I live (perhaps with the kids in it!)

This is a pic of my kids out at a place called Jackfish Lake, a small campground and picnic spot up in the mountains, about 20 minutes from where we live.  It was taken a few weeks after we moved 2000 km from home, and that night was when I knew we made the right decision to move, knowing that the kids would be just fine no matter where we lived. 

I love that they are muddy, they ran and ran up and down this road.  It looks like my son was going to bite the big one, but he managed to keep it together (pretty good for a kid who was only 16 months old!)  They were having so much fun that night, and we capped it off with a bonfire and yummy warm drinks with the new friends we had made.

Day 6 - A Toughie!

Day 6 asks for 20 of your favorite things. I'm not going to go with the obvious "my kids, my husband, etc..." because I think that those are kind of a given. Instead I'm going to go with obscure things that you wouldn't think of, but make like just a little sweeter. I recently read an article about a guy who has a gratitude blog. Every day, he posts about one thing he is grateful for. These things can be big or small, but they are a little piece of what makes life great. So, I guess that's my inspiration for these choices:



1. My Emu Slippers I got for Christmas last year.

2. My dishwasher. I spent 2 months without it, and I could hug it every day.

3. Spin Brush toothbrushes. They just clean so much better than manual.

4. The northern lights. They are amazing where I live.

5. An email from a friend.

6. A really good hair conditioner.

7. Looking at pictures of when my kids were babies to now.

8. A good movie, a tasty snack and a cozy blankie.

9. Chocolate bars.

10. Going to Las Vegas with my husband for vacation.

11. Laughing until it hurts.

12. The sound of my kids singing, especially when the words are wrong.

13. Popcorn and m&m's - seriously, if you haven't tried this together, you really need to!

14. Season premiers of my favorite shows!

15. A cool fall day with the sun shining enough to keep you warm.

16. Waking up feeling refreshed (hasn't happened in a while, but I remember the feeling).

17. Not only going on a trip, but all of the planning involved (Internet research, buying the ticket, checking and rechecking for lower prices - I'm a little anal that way!).

18. The noise in my house during the day, and the quiet in my house in the evening.

19. Reading a really inspirational story.

20. Deciding to dedicate more time to my blogs, and meeting my goals.

So, there are some of my favorite things, I probably could go on and on, but if you've made it this far in my post, kudos to you!

Cheers!

Day 5

Favorite Quote....

Well, I've always been a fan of "what goes around, comes around" and "karma is a bitch" (not sure if that's a bonifide quote, but I use it).

I found this quote one day, and felt that it fit my life thus far to a tee:

"It's true that we don't know what we've got until we lose it, but it's also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives".

Cheers!

Day 4 WOO HOO!

Yeah! I made it 4 whole days in a row! Go me!!
Ahem. Anyhow, today's topic is favorite book.


I love reading (when I get time) and usually only read at night before bed, which more often than not, leads to a very late bedtime. I think the kids know when I've been up reading late, the next day tends to be very early. So, needless to say, I don't get as much reading in as I used to.


Having said that, I just finished a book (for the second time) called Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer.





It is the first hand account of the 1996 Mount Everest Disaster, where on one day (the day he made summit on the mountain) eight climbers were killed and others injured when a storm suddenly came in.

For some reason, I've always been kind of enamoured with Mt. Everest, and find this story so interesting. It covers the whole climb, from his arrival in Tibet, to base camp to the top and all of the intricacies involved in a climb. This is such an amazing, exciting and tragic story all at the same time.

I have always been a huge fan of non-fiction, I find autobiographies intriguing and love true stories of tragedy and triumph. This story is riveting to me, and I highly recommend it to anyone. Like I said, I finished it for the second time (I read books like I watch movies, apparently!) and I will probably read it again in a year or so.

What is your favorite book?

Cheers!

Day 3 Fav TV Program

Let's just say that living in the extreme north presents plenty of opportunity to watch television. How the heck did I ever live without DVR? Seriously, besides having my kids in the last few years, it's my DVR that has boosted my happiness level by a bajillion percent. That may be a little bit of an exaggeration, but not by much. Anyway, needless to say I have a few favorite shows. I am going to categorize them by old shows and new shows.

Here goes:

(Oh, and by the way, in case you haven't noticed, I have a problem limiting my favorites to just one, so please bear with me!)

Old Shows:

Friends

Roseanne

Cheers

All in The Family

Seinfeld

New Shows:

Chopped

Hell's Kitchen

Survivor

The Apprentice

Dexter

Glee

Arrested Development (kinda new, although it's now off the air)

Of course, this is just to name a few. I generally love a good series, and am interested in getting into a couple of new shows (namely How I Met Your Mother, and Modern Family). It's interesting to me to see more reality shows on the new list than non-reality.

But....if I had to pick just one show to watch, it would be this one...

The Shield. It's now over, and can only be seen in reruns, but what a great show! Michael Chiklis is awesome in this show, the story was riveting every week. If you like a good cop/action/drama, this is the one for you.

So, what's your favorite show?

Cheers!

Day 2 - Fav Movie

I have a love of movies, as well as music. I love to watch a good movie over and over again. This is something my husband won't do, and shakes his head at me when I'm in the middle of, say, "28 Days" for the 43rd time. (And for the record, I love Sandra Bullock, and loved her before it was hip to do so. Damn that Jesse James - what a dillhole...) Ahem.

Anyway, I will admit that I love cheesy chick-flicky movies, some of which I won't even admit to, seeing as how I'm not a 14 year old girl who will turn to Bring It On when she sees it playing on the movie channel. Okay, it's only because Kirsten Dunst is such a stellar actress. Right. I'm not much for action movies, although I'd never get to watch a movie with the hubs if I didn't ever watch one.

So, back to my favorite movie....

There are a few movies that really affected me, and the more I watch them, the more I love them. Here is a little list:

"Schindler's List" - just amazing.

"Forrest Gump" - another great movie, every time I watch it, it amazes me how they worked history into this movie so cleverly.

"Good Will Hunting" - I love the story of this movie, and love the story behind how the movie was written.

And one of my all time favorites.....

To me, this is a completely brilliant movie - Quentin Tarantino is so brilliant and twisted, I love it! This is probably my favorite of all of his movies, but many of his others are close seconds!

What's your favorite movie?

Cheers!

My 30 Day Challenge

I stole (okay, borrowed - stole is kind of harsh!) from a blog I have been reading for quite some time. She is a really great read, seems like a really great gal, and has gone through fertility issues as well, so I feel kind of connected to her in some way. She started this blog topic list at the beginning of September, and it seemed like a really interesting way to get to know someone. Here goes my crack at it, and knowing me, I'll get to day 2 and not post again for a month, but I'm really going to give this a good effort!!



Here is the list of topics, and below it, I will tackle day #1...

Day 1 - your favorite song
Day 2 - your favorite movie
Day 3 - your favorite television program
Day 4 - your favorite book
Day 5 - your favorite quote
Day 6 - 20 of your favorite things
Day 7 - a photo that makes you happy
Day 8 - a photo that makes you angry/sad
Day 9 - a photo you took
Day 10 - a photo taken over 10 years ago of you
Day 11 - a photo of you recently
Day 12 - something you are OCD about
Day 13 - a fictional book
Day 14 - a non-fictional book
Day 15 - your dream house
Day 16 - a song that makes you cry (or nearly)
Day 17 - an art piece (drawing, sculpture, painting, etc)
Day 18 - my weddingfuture weddingpast wedding
Day 19 - a talent of yours
Day 20 - a hobby of yours
Day 21 - a recipe
Day 22 - a website
Day 23 - a youtube video
Day 24 - where you live
Day 25 - your day, in great detail
Day 26 - your week, in great detail
Day 27 - your worst habit
Day 28 - what's in your handbag/purse
Day 29 - hopes, dreams, and plans for the next 365 days
Day 30 - a dream for the future



Day 1



Favorite Song

I have a lot of favorite songs. It really depends on the mood I'm in... I'm the kind of person who would say "oh, this is my favorite song" and then I'd hear another song and say "oh, wait this is my favorite song"... Most of the songs I love have a great memory attached, or some sort of sentimental meaning for me.

Here are a few of my favorites:

"American Pie" by Don McLean - it's just such a poetic song to me about such a sad tragedy. I love anything with a story.

"My Little Girl" by Time McGraw - This song came out in 2006, the same year our daughter (whom we waited almost 10 years for) came along. Just play this video for me and you'll have me in tears.

Pretty much anything by Garth Brooks. Yep, the man is that good. And, better in concert!

I'm not a huge fan of U2, but the song "With or Without You" is such a gut wrenching, all or nothing song, I just love the passion it has.

I could go on and on, but I'll leave you with another one of my very favorite songs:

(I promise, I'm not a 16 year old girl, but you know, because my daughter loves Jacob from Hedley, I kinda have to watch the videos....)

Hedley - Perfect

Cheers!

Wishing...

Wishing we didn't have to remember this day.

Wishing the family members of those lost didn't have to feel the pain they feel today and everyday for the rest of their lives.

Wishing the people who made it necessary to remember this day for the rest of history were never born. (it's much nicer than wishing they burn in hell)

Wishing that 9 years ago, our day wasn't spent in front of televisions, no matter where we were, open mouths, tears rolling and hearts hurting.

Wishing that everyday further we are from this horrific mark in history, the world can get it's shit together and find a way to live in some semblance of peace.

Wishing that the wishes that really matter really did come true.....