The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

The good:

It's my birthday today!! Yay me!!  I've always been a birthday person and love to celebrate everyone's birthdays - I love baking and decorating specialty cakes especially for the kids!

And there was a Toy Story cake that I made for our daughter and I can't find the picture right now (it really was an awesome cake).

I'm no professional, but I love making special cakes!

The bad:

I didn't get a cake today.  And, if you know me, one of the best parts of birthdays to me is the cake.  Love me some cake.  Chocolate, vanilla, whatever - gotta have me some cake on a birthday.  I didn't get cake, but my sister did send me some mini easter cream eggs - that pretty much makes up for it (not totally, but pretty much).

The ugly:

It wasn't until my husband received an email from a friend of ours (who shares my birthday - we're, like, 2 hours apart) asking dear hubs to wish me a happy birthday from said friend, that he actually realized he forgot my birthday.  At 3 in the afternoon.  At that point, he frantically tried phoning me for an hour (I was out with the kiddos running errands).  He finally got ahold of me and proceeded to make excuses about how he was in a rush to get out of the house in the morning, how he's been busy all day, yadda, yadda, yadda. 

I informed him that he does this every year, and that I wasn't surprised (a little choked, yes, but surprised, no).  He didn't need to make excuses, as he was only digging himself in deeper. 
So, what did I get for a gift, you ask???

Part Four:

The Very Ugly:

Ingredients to make nachos.  Yep, you read right.  I am now the proud owner of a bag of tacos, a tub of sour cream, a jar of salsa, and an ittttttyyyyy biiiiiiittttttyyyyyy bag of pre-shredded cheese that cost him as much as the large block of cheese I buy every month does.  Ummmmm, is this supposed to make up for the cake????  We've been married almost 15 years.  Ya think he'd know? 

Yeah, this is the same guy who frantically bought me a pair of tennis rackets at 5:45 on Christmas Eve the year we got married.  I don't play tennis.  He thought it would be something fun we could do together.  They been used once.  The fun must have really overwhelmed us. Ha!!

Anyway, that's my birthday in a nutshell.  Oh, and I got a ton of awesome birthday wishes from all of my friends and family on facebook - I'm so lucky to have such an awesome posse!!

What is One Thing You Want To Do Today?

I want to take this nice day, grab my camera, and drive to some of the most beautiful places in the area to take some winter pictures.  Being that it's March, winter won't be here forever (that's what we keep telling ourselves anyway!), so I want to take some pics before all of the mud and dirt and ick of spring appears.  I really do love spring, but because of the make up of the ground where we live, it doesn't exactly soak up the water, so we have giant mud puddles until the sun dries everything up.  And that ain't very picture worthy (although the kids love it!).

I'll post pictures of my adventure!

The State of My World

The Good:

My new Arbonne venture is going great - I am still so excited about this!!  I love it when people love this stuff - it confirms to me why I love doing this!

My kids are hilarious!  I just love to laugh at them and the silly things they do - they crack me up and I'm so amazed to see they have the senses of humor that they do at this young age!

We are less than a month away from heading back down south to see the fam dam.  I'd better get a move on with all of the stuff I want to get done before we leave!

We have some exciting news  - I can't share yet, but hopefully soon - I am a horrible secret keeper!

I am 6 weeks and a day smoke free!  I'm doing awesome with my quit, but am a little nervous to go "home" and be quit.  I know I can do it, it's just that sometimes family gets my bp up, and my cravings kick in.

I'm getting more blogging in, which makes me happy, and I have a few new followers, which is awesome!  Love to see comments and love to check out everyone else's blogs as well!  Welcome!!

The bad:

My heart hurts for a few people tonight - not to get into specifics, but it's hard to see people hurting when you know you can't do anything for them. 

I need to organize my house AKA: dejunk!!  I am lacking a little motivation, hopefully that will come to me.

It's still bloody cold here.  -40 C (that's -40 F for my American friends as well!) is getting really old.  And when the weather does turn nicer, the wind picks up, jacking up the wind chill.  Yeesh - I wish spring would come already!!


That's about it for now, how has your week been?  Happy weekend everyone!

The ABCs of Me!

I borrow this one from one of my fellow bloggers, Sweet Pea.  Hop on over and give her a visit, but in the meantime, here are the ABCs of me!

A. Age: 37 (for now, I turn 38 on in 9 days!)

B. Bed size: Queen size
C. Chore you dislike: the endless mounds of laundry in this house!
D. Dogs: Not now, we had to put our beloved Harley down a couple of years ago.  We really miss her.

E. Essential start to your day: Don't even talk to me until I've had my coffee!
F. Favorite color: Green

G. Gold or silver: Gold.

H. Height: 5'4"

I. Instruments you play(ed): Piano, french horn, trumpet
J. Job title: Director of In-House Operations - HA!  Me too Sweet Pea!

K. Kids: 2 - Daughter - 4, Son - 3 next month.

L. Live: Northern Canada, less than 60 miles from the Arctic Circle
M. Mom’s name: Penny
N. Nicknames: Roo, Cliff, Clairebear
O. Overnight hospital stays: Tonsils at 7, children's birth X 2
P. Pet peeves: Crumbs on the floor

Q. Quote from a movie: "I tend to think of myself as a one-man wolf pack." Zach Galifianakis - The Hangover


R. Righty or lefty: Righty.

S. Siblings: Older sister, younger brother - that's right - I have middle child syndrome (whatever that is!).

T. Time you wake up: If the kids are nice, 8 am on a day with nothing scheduled, 7 am on playgroup days.
U. Underwear: Gosh, I hope so.
V. Vegetables you don’t like: Not crazy about lima beans, and I just made kale chips the other day - epic fail!
W.What makes you run late: My children and my husband - it's pretty much everyone else's fault!
X. X-rays you’ve had: Dental
Y. Yummy food you make: I love to cook and bake, and my sweet hubby says he loves everything I make. (hey that rhymed!)
Z. Zoo animal favorites: I love polar bears (I guess we live in the right place!), and the dolphins at sea world.
 
Who's next?  Please let me know if you've done this too, so I can read about you!!  (that rhymed, too! ha)

What Do You Remember?

I came across a post on facebook today that reminisced about things that remind you of childhood.  When was your childhood?  Mine was in the late 70's and 80's (from what I can remember, I was just a wee one in the early 70's).  As I read this post, I suddenly was hit with vivid memories - a couple of them brought tears to my eyes - I had such an awesome time being a kid!!  Here are some of my favorites from my younger years:

Running through the sprinklers on a HOT day.

Riding your bike as hard as you could until your legs burned.

A first kiss at the roller rink, and though it was supposed to be special, it was the most disgusting thing I'd experienced thus far in my life.

The first day of school.

The last day of school.

Christmas morning.

Going on a vacation - it was all fun - all of it.  There was no packing, no driving, no stress - kids don't have to worry about that stuff.

Cream of Wheat on the stove on a cold winter's morning.

Crawling into Mom and Dad's bed after a bad dream.

Four square, hopscotch, dodge ball, tetherball.

Game days, whether it was for ringette, volleyball or softball.

Having a true BFF.

Having a fight with my true BFF.

Making up with my true BFF.

Favorite teachers.

Watching lightening storms from our picture window.

Camping, and wandering through the forest for no reason other than to just be there.

Opening birthday presents first thing in the morning on Mom and Dad's bed.

Friday's pizza night.  Every Friday.

Saturday morning cartoons.  Accompanied by cold pizza.

The Flintstones.  Family Ties.  Cheers.  The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show.  The Waltons.

Olivia Newton John.  The Bee Gees.  David Cassidy.

Sleep overs.

Only having to dial the last four numbers when I phoned anyone.

Summertime freedom with cement so hot, you couldn't walk on it.

Wishing I could grow up.  Faster.

My New Favorite Things!

So, being a brand spankin' new Arbonne Independent Consultant, I have discovered that I have some new favorite things! (besides my hubs and kids!).  These new faves are things that smell yummy, things that are soothing, and things that make me smile!

Numero uno fave thing:

The FC5 line of shampoo, conditioner and body wash.  Mmmmmm......smells so good, and works even better.  We carry one type of hair care, because it will adjust to your hair type!  Awesome stuff!  And the Invigorating Body Cleanser (doesn't that sound like a spa in a bottle?!) is just as awesome!  Love this stuff!!

My second favorite thing these days is:

Now, this stuff is amazing!!!  Not only is it anti-aging, it is also reversal!  I have been using this product for a month - it consists of face wash, toner, renewal serum, day creme, eye creme and night creme - and I have seen an incredible difference in my *ahem* happy lines (as I like to tell my daughter they are called).  As I looked in the mirror last night, I couldn't believe how I couldn't see the lines on the outsides of my eyes anymore!  I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it.  And, all of the products smell amazing!!!

The last favorite thing I'll tell you about (because, really, I could go on and on, that's how great this product is) is a protein shake:

These are Arbonne's figure 8 protein shakes.  I have never met a protein shake that I have liked.  Seriously, I never saw the benefit in them, and why would I take something with no benefit if it tasted like chalk.  Seriously.   I got the vanilla flavor in on the advice of the sweet, patient and generous gal who has agreed to take me on as a new consultant (bless her heart!).  Well, lemme tell ya!  Not only is this shake (which comes in powder form) vegan, gluten free, chalk full of vitamins and minerals, etc. etc. etc., it is yummy with a capital yum!!  I add it to my smoothies - a little yogurt, banana, wheat germ, flax seed, milk and a scoop of shake mix - oh man, it's heaven in a glass!!  And when I don't have time to make this heavenly concoction, a scoop mixed with milk gives me my meal replacement (and a little sweet fix, too!).  I heart this product!  A lot.

There are some really awesome and amazing facts about our products:

All of our proprietary ingredients are:
*Botanically Based: A proprietary blending of science and nature based on herbal and botanical principles.

*pH Correct: Skin care pH of 5.5 ensures maximum benefit.

*Hypoallergenic: Voluntary human testing meets Hypoallergenic substantiation claim criteria.

*Dermatologist tested: Voluntary human tests done under the watchful eye of an independent dermatologist.

*No animal testing: We never have and never will!

*No animal products/by-products: Plants and herbs together with science and technology offer superior benefits.

*No mineral oil: Occlusive oil that can interfere with skin functions as well as advanced delivery systems.

*No chemical fragrance or dyes: Dyes and fragrances are known irritants and can cause allergic reactions.
 
Oh, I love this company!  And, to boot - I have this amazing opportunity to make a living for myself and my family, and have an absolute blast doing it!  I am so excited about having my own Arbonne business, and so happy that I can confidently show each and every product to people, knowing that they are true, quality products. 
 
If you would like to find out more about the products, would like to request samples, or are looking for your opportunity, please have a gander around my website or leave me a message here!
 
www.clairedonison.myarbonne.ca
 
 

Wordless Wednesday