(What's this all about?  Read here.)

With the coughfest that was April, I didn't make much progress on my 101 Things I'm afraid.  But sometimes other things are just going to have to take priority, things like taking people to the hospital and doling out various antibiotics and trying to become well enough to perhaps cook a proper meal or maybe clean the bathroom.  So it is what it is.

I did manage a few things.  I have made some progress toward Thing 47: Finish organizing and decorating my office.  You wouldn't know there has been progress made, to look at it, but it is now a more organized chaos.  I'm going to have some time to myself tomorrow afternoon, thanks to the help of my in-laws-of-awesomeness, so I'm hoping to tackle the office project some more and get a few more things off to charity.

I've also made a very very little bit of progress on Thing 21: Finish Evy's name drawings.  I thought I would show you what I'm talking about.  These are the drawings I made for Isla.  I've drawn each letter of her name in the shape of something that begins with that letter ("I" is an inchworm, before you ask):

So I'm doing the same for Miss Ev.  I'm struggling a bit for what to do with V because it's not that easy to make a vulture or a viper look cute.  Any suggestions are most welcome.

I finally gave a good listen to one of the albums recommended by a friend (Thing 9), Constantines' Tournament of Hearts recommended by Dan.  I'll write something up about it soon.

When the weather was warmer at the start of the month, the girls and I managed to try out a few more new playgrounds nearby (Thing 65 Try out every playground in the city).  I'm hoping we can make a fairly good run at this one this year before the cold weather is upon us again.

I got together with a friend (Thing 53) to see a movie.  We saw The Five Year Engagement which had funny moments but could have been improved by editing for length by at least half an hour.  But still, it was an evening out and a chance to catch up with a friend so I can't really complain.

We were finally well enough by Sunday to actually get out of the house, so we went for a walk around the conservation area (Thing 59 Family outing).  No date night in April, unfortunately, but we have one planned for tomorrow night.

I was despairing about losing track of all the new recipes I've been trying, but I realized the other day that because I have a journal where I write down everything I eat, I have a record of all my new recipes right there.  So I just need to backtrack to figure out where I am towards my goal of 101 (Thing 43).

And I bought these cheerful flowers for $5 at Walmart, which included the lovely polkadot pot they came in.  Sold!

Apparently making plans for Things (capitalized or otherwise) which I wish to accomplish in a month is a guaranteed way to cause misery and misfortune to rain down upon us, so I'm just going to take it as it comes with May and do my best to keep calm and carry on.  Frankly if we can make it to the end of the month without needing to see any medical professionals I'll count it as a win.

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Well it's a symphony of coughs around here these days, with the entire family sick with a pack of viruses clearly sent by Kleenex to boost this quarter's profits.  I honestly don't know what we've done to the universe but April has continued 2012's trend towards becoming The Year of Shit To Deal With.  Blurgh.  I am putting my order in for a May of Health and Happy Happenings.  We are owed a good month.

So while the kids are basking in copious amounts of TV, I thought I'd reluctantly pull myself away from Pinterest for a few minutes to maybe write something here?  What an idea.  Before I get to writing about anything else, though, I really need to write a few book responses, because I am behind and starting to forget things, a sentence which applies to my life as a whole.  I have decided though that if Colleen can get away with a book review this brief (love it), then I can cut myself a bit of slack and practice some brevity.  

Here we go...three book responses coming at you at lightning speed!

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman, which was recommended to me by my friend Shaggy, is the first book in the author's His Dark Materials trilogy.  It is a fantasy novel about a young English orphan named Lyra who discovers that children are being kidnapped for use in experiments, and joins an expedition to rescue them, unaware of a prophecy linking her own destiny to a coming war. 

There were three things that frustrated me about this book.

With new revelations like "Oh, of course, witches can do this" and "As everyone knows, bears never do this" I felt like the game kept changing.  A sense of wonder and discovery when reading a book is generally a good thing, but I find that when I can't get a handle on how the world works it keeps me on the outside looking in.  But I have very little experience with fantasy fiction, so maybe that's part of the problem. 

I was also frustrated that so much of the action was stuff happening to Lyra rather than action she was taking herself.  The parts I liked best were the times when she made a move to change something or take control.  Now, I suspect that this is just a part of what the story's about, that Lyra goes from inconsequential street urchin to become a powerful force in shaping her world's future, so I'm a little more patient with this one.  I think I would probably enjoy the next two parts of the trilogy much more (and do plan to read them some time).

I felt, too, like there were BIG THEMES and COMMENTS ON OUR OWN WORLD that I was totally not getting.  I'm sure that there were things being said about religion and science and politics but I have neither the energy nor the brain cells to work hard when I read, at least not anymore.  Most of the time I can just focus on the story and not get so worried about it, but the book seemed pretty theme-heavy and that too kept me outside of it.  

Big illusory themes were not a problem with my next book, I'll Walk Alone by Mary Higgins Clark.  I picked out this book specifically because I wanted something easy on my brain to take on a weekend getaway, and just about nothing is easier than a Mary Higgins Clark mystery.  Her books are certainly formulaic (pretty young urban professional woman, love interest, character set up to look like the obvious suspect, not-so-surprise twist), but I like them just the same.  The mysteries are pretty well constructed and I'm always amazed at how many characters and storylines she manages to weave together and keep clear.

What I have found funny when I've read the last few of her novels, though, is her idea of who a young urban woman is.  The protagonist in this one, a New York City interior designer, wears slacks and sweaters with fur-trimmed collars and pearl earrings and I wish I had the book in front of me to remind me of some of the more behavioural characteristics.  I don't know if the author is accurately portraying some upper-class young women, or if she just thinks that this is what young women are like, but as a reader who, granted, is decidedly not upper-class or urban or even all that young anymore, I found it a little hard to relate to the protagonist.  But this book was chosen to be a light, easy read and it was, so I can't complain too much.  

I spotted The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna on the library shelf and was like "Hey!  A Finnish author!  I'll get in touch with my heritage!"  I was also intrigued by the premise: a man leaves behind his job and marriage to wander in the wilderness, an injured hare his only companion.  

The novel wasn't really what I expected.   I thought it would be more about the relationship between the protagonist, Vatanen, and the hare, and their struggles to survive in the wilderness, but instead the plot follows the pair through a series of seemingly incongruous experiences, including encounters with bears, bureaucrats, and border officials (oh my!) which kept them still very much connected with the society Vatanen had proposed to abandon.  I had trouble connecting with the main character, and I could tell that there was a lot about Finnish politics and culture that was flying right over my head.  It may be that something was simply lost in translation as well.  Again, there were big themes at play that, to my exhausted brain trying to manage a few paragraphs before falling asleep, were just too much to be dealt with.  All in all, disappointing, but I would be keen to try another of his books some time when I have the energy and time to read more than a few pages at a time.  Oh, so that will be never, ever again.

BAM!  Done!  And if you actually read all of that you win a prize.  Hmmm, let's see what I've got around here...how about my eternal affection?  Sound good?  

Provided there are no swarms of locusts or plagues or anything, I'll try to write again this week, hopefully with much more interesting fare.

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Life has been getting in the way of my life, if you know what I mean.  An impossibly long to-do list coupled with unexpected Shit To Deal With has meant that these 101 Things have spent a lot of time on the bench of late much like, oh I don't know, a baseball team's "second catcher" (oh did you not know that I once held the illustrious and not at all made up position of "second catcher" on a baseball team?  TRIVIA!  Three cheers for inclusive ribbons-for-all public school team sports!).

All this to say, I have fallen behind on this here project.  I didn't get a lot accomplished in March.  And by "n't...a lot" I mean pretty much nothing.

BUT YOU KNOW WHAT?  I'm not going to beat myself up about it.  Not going to happen.  When it comes to beating up on oneself, I could easily go pro if I didn't have to maintain my amateur status so that I can compete in the Self-Loathing Olympics.  But I'm trying to go easier on myself these days and I did not set up this project in order to have yet another 101 things to feel guilty about.  I'm trying to accept that c'est la vie and sometimes la vie est merde.  Zut alors!  Pamplemousse!  

I have just under two years left until the end date for this project (March 23rd 2014) and I certainly need to hustle a bit to keep on track, but the whole point of this project is to make room in my life for things/experiences/relationships that are important to me but too easily put on the back burner.  And while I'm not checking off many of the boxes, I am still steadily making progress and some of my Things are fast becoming habits and automatic entries on my to-do list (sending handwritten letters, making more time for friends, date nights etc.).  Which is a big step forward from where I was a year ago.

So yeah, effective immediately, all negative thoughts and naysayers can get benched.  

On a positive note, here's some of what I did manage:

• Handwritten letters (Thing 52).  Checkity check.
• Date night (51)?  How about date WEEKEND!  Bonus points!  We took off for a whole two nights to an inn in nearby Picton and it went by ridiculously quickly but was nice all the same.  I had a nap one day and we also played the world's longest game of Scrabble.  That sentence right there is how I know I'm getting old.
• Talk to my sister on the phone twice (60)?  How about spend a whole week with her!  Level up!  This one wasn't really by my instigation, admittedly, but my sister Leah came to visit for a whole week and I spoke to her at least twice during that time (I think our conversation went something like "Stop touching my stuff!" "You're a poopyhead!" "Yeah well you're a geekburger...with cheese!"  "Mom!")
• Get together with a friend (53)?  Okay this is getting old.  But not only did I have my friend Anita over for a movie night, but I also got together with my bitches for a weekend in P'borough.
• We went on an outing as a family of four (59), along with other extended family, to Maple Madness at the conservation area.  I'm also counting this as one of my two winter public community events (83), and our trip to the city greenhouse was the second (just in the nick of time, granted, but it was still technically winter).
• Speaking of coming in under the wire, I bought these pretty flowers (98) on the last day of March.  Isla insisted on purple.  Who was I to argue?

Hey look at that list!  Not too shabby!  I also made a little bit of progress on organizing my office (47), and with some unseasonably warm weather the girls and I have gotten a jump on trying out more city parks (65).

There are a few of my 101 Things which I would like to tackle in April but I think I'm going to aim low and make it my goal to check off one Thing by the end of the month.  Surely I can do that.

Cue the locusts.

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The City of Kingston opened its greenhouse to the public this past Sunday and, not needing any excuse to bask in spring and photograph pretty flowers, we said "Yes please!"  I thought I'd share with you some of the loveliness.  With thanks to my mom and sister for watching the kids when I abandoned them for tulips.

(P.S.  I've been struggling with some fatigue which has been stealing my already precious free time and making it rather difficult to accomplish much of anything, including updating this site, as you may have noticed.  But I'm hoping to get back into the swing of things soon so please keep checking back.  At the very least, I bring you flowers, so while I may be a bad blogger, I'm pretty sure I'd be considered an excellent boyfriend.)  

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Well this will be quick.  I have been sick for the entire month of February so I let myself off the hook on all of my 101 Things monthly commitments.  Any free time I have had this past month has been spent sneezing and coughing and wishing for death.  It's possible that it hasn't been quite that dramatic, but I certainly haven't had the energy for anything more than accomplishing the bare minimum around here, which I define as keeping the children fed, clothed, and at least clean enough to be recognizable.  

All that said, I managed a few things.  We went on an outing as a family of four (Thing 59), snotty noses and all, to go for brunch.  I finished one more of my recommended books (Thing 8), The Golden Compass, which I will write a book response about very soon, bringing my total to 6 of 12.  I sent two birthday packages with brief handwritten notes, I grant you, but I'm counting them as handwritten letters nonetheless (Thing 2).  I also somehow gathered up the energy to buy these flowers (Thing 98).  They have been a pretty oasis in a desert of discarded kleenex.  

I'm hoping to feel better soon.  It would be nice to not collapse into a heap of exhaustion every evening, and I really need to get a move on with this 101 Things project.  I would like to get back to having the time and energy to work on some things for myself that have nothing to do with the house and kids.  I think that my diminishing mental health sorely needs it.  

In the mean time, enjoy more pictures of these pretty flowers, why don't you?  

 

 

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So, what is this all about?  Well, David Allen has his Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity.  It's alright, I suppose. (Jokes!  It's awesome!)  I've read it in part, and there's great stuff in there, but I haven't found the time to finish it and put his ideas into practice because I have too many things to do.  A little too ironic (oh yeah I really do think).  What I need, and what I'm hoping to share here, are shortcut ideas and ways of thinking to become more productive now and make tackling the daily task list marginally more fun.  

Some of these tips might be tongue in cheek.  Some will involve silliness.  All of them are guaranteed to make you 400% more productive.  Some will be LIES!  And I'll try to make these quick and snappy so you can get back to what you're doing.  

First of all, the very idea that I'm giving advice about productivity is hilarious.  There are so many areas of my house that are off-limits to visitors because of the half-finished projects, piles of receipts to file, and copious amounts of shame hidden there.  We have lived here nearly 11 years and there are still walls without pictures and rooms that need paint touch-ups and we absolutely have clothes in the closet that have danced to Right Said Fred.  These principles are not necessarily about all those big organizational projects that need doing.  I don't know how to make time for those and I have pretty well resolved myself to having an unorganized home until I'm retired, although at that point I'm sure I'll be too tired and arthritic to do anything about it.  

This pep talk has taken a turn, I fear.

What I am talking about here is how to get a handle on your day-to-day to-do list (hyphen-tastic!) which for me, as a stay-at-home mom (!), is primarily centered on housework and childcare and trying not to lose my mind.  The fact that I'm writing this should in NO WAY indicate that I actually have this all figured out.  On the contrary.  This is very much a work in progress; I just thought I would share with you some of the things I'm finding helpful along the way.  

This leads me to my first principle...

GIVE YOURSELF CREDIT

I've always been an all or nothing kind of person.  The thinking that goes along with this as pertaining to housework is that if I don't have four hours to completely clean and reorganize the bedroom, then I can't do it.  It cannot be done!  Well, having kids has made that sort of thing impossible.  Housework must now be accomplished in 5 minute chunks of time while simultaneously scrambling eggs, performing an all-dinosaur comedy revue, and wiping at least one nose.  So I've learned that I need to feel good about any small thing that is accomplished and see it as a tiny step forward.

This is easier said than done, but I read something awhile back that has stayed with me.  It was in this thread on AskMetafilter, about things you tell yourself during moments of self-pity to steer yourself “back into awesomeness”.  It's a great thread (and AskMetafilter itself is a fascinating site) but what stuck out for me most, and made me laugh out loud, was this comment:

I start going down a list of my accomplishments. If my mood is particularly crappy, I'll do a lot of "oh, well, that doesn't really count," but I can eventually wear myself down by sheer volume, even if it means counting "remembered to buy cat food" and "emptied the dishwasher" as accomplishments.

'Cause you know what? I emptied the fuck out of that dishwasher. 

So now when, at day's end, I start to think that I didn't manage to accomplish much, I find myself thinking “Yeah so there are still stacks of dishes to do and I haven't touched the vacuum in weeks and the children are filthy but you know what?  I folded the fuck out of that laundry!”  

TAKE HOME POINT: Small things accomplished are still things accomplished.  And enthusiastic swearing helps one feel better.

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It seems that it has been over two weeks since I last posted.  Sorry about that.  I've been sick, so you haven't missed much.  Any posts I might have written would have come out as COUGH SNOT BLURGH so I think we can all agree that the hiatus was for the best.

But I'm trying to get back into the swing of things here, and first things first, I need to write about Bit of a Blur by Alex James, because I read it back in January and frankly my memories of it are true to the title.

What I can say is, it's a great read!  For those who may not be familiar with Alex James, he is the bassist for the band Blur, and this memoir recounts the band's rise to fame in the 90s.  My husband asked for the book for Christmas and after he flew through it in record time and spoke its praises, he recommended it to me.

Before reading the book, I didn't know very much about Blur.  I know their big hits - Country House and Park Life and the like - and I enjoy them.  I have seen Alex James on a few British panel shows and thought him to be quite smart and funny and, let's just say it, rather cute.  Well, smart, funny, cute, British and guitarist happen to be the five top things I look for in a man, so the book was not a hard sell.

It turns out, he can write too (here be swooning).  Bit of a Blur is a really excellent read, a very interesting and intimate telling of the story of Blur and specifically James' experience with creating music and enjoying the celebrity lifestyle the band's success afforded him.  I love trivia and learning "little known" facts, particularly about pop culture, and the book offered a lot of interesting tidbits, such as this:

"Our most popular song was written in fifteen minutes while we were waiting for a piece of gear to turn up.  We just thrashed it out.  I hadn't been to bed.  None of us took it very seriously; it wasn't long enough to be a single and the only words you could hear were 'Woo-hoo'."

I love learning stuff like that.  But you do not have to know anything about Blur or Britpop to enjoy the book.  While James' humour and insights, and his no-holds-barred approach, make his personal story fascinating, what is on offer in the larger picture is a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the world of popular music and what it is like to be a rock star.  I think everyone has wondered what that would be like.  And his personal striving to learn and better himself is, I think, something we can all relate to as well. 

Beyond that, Alex James is simply a great writer.  There's no in-depth literary analysis needed here:  he's just funny and insightful and curious, and he comes across as being a really nice guy who is at once both proud and humble, self-aware enough to see the absurdity in celebrity while at the same time making no apologies for enjoying it.  He seems like someone who it would be great to have a conversation with in a pub.  On a date perhaps.  In my next life perhaps.

A most excellent and highly recommended read!

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Bonus tulips!

Oh poor neglected website.  I think often of things I would like to write about, but the time to do so never seems to materialize.  January was sort of a weird month.  I'm not exactly sure what was keeping me so busy but I felt like I didn't have any free time.  I'm hoping to get back on track, and I have some thoughts about making some changes to get writing more regularly.  Promises, promises.

In any case...January.  Not a stellar month for my 101 Things project but I managed to accomplish a few things:

• My most impressive progress was towards Thing 43, Try 101 New Recipes, as I tried 13 new recipes in January, bringing my current total to 50 of 101.  Not too shabby.  Yummy:  The carrot cupcakes and cream cheese frosting recipes from Hello Cupcake.  Disastrous:  A promising recipe for Cumin-scented Cornbread (from this beautiful cookbook I received as a Christmas gift) which did not at any time become "dough" that I could "pour" into the pan, and became rather a crumble of sorts.

• D and I went out on a date night!  Nice!  We went out for sushi and then wandered around Chapters, and I believe we were home by 10.  But still!  We were out!

• I believe I met all of my other monthly commitments (getting together with a friend, calling my sister twice, sending a handwritten letter etc.) except for taking a morning or afternoon for a photo shoot.  Boo.  

Yeah, it seems that's about it really.  I'll have to do better.  I've been looking up times for CPR courses and meditation classes and blood donation appointments so hopefully I can check a few of those things off soon. 

I'm finding myself a bit bogged down in the daily grind - cleaning and cooking and laundry and caring for small humans and repeat.  Coincidentally, sort of a Groundhog Day situation (the movie, I mean...there aren't people watching to see if I see my shadow so they can make some inane weather prediction...or are there?).  My own stuff is getting pushed further and further down the list of priorities.  But I'll keep on keeping on and see what I can do to crowbar some me time back into the schedule.

And so it's at this time, when I already feel completely overwhelmed with the stuff on my to do list, that I've decided to join Twitter.  It's the thing to do, I suppose, and I figure it's one more way to get writing and to connect to other grown ups in the outside world.  So follow me, why don't you.  I promise you it will either be entertaining or a terrible waste of all of our time.  It could go either way.

All right, let's do this thing February! 

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(more than five words tomorrow)

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After finally finishing Lamb, I dove head first into something completely different, a historical novel called Bride of New France by Suzanne Desrochers, which had been recommended to me by my equally bibliophilic friend Jen.  Set in the late 17th century, it tells the story of Laure Beausejour, a fille du roi sent from France to Canada to become a soldier's wife and help populate New France.

I enjoy historical fiction so this was right up my alley.  Although I'm familiar with the filles du roi, I didn't really know very much about that period in history and the experience of those girls, so the subject was very interesting.  The main character, Laure, is a fiesty young woman who, torn from her family as an infant, has grown up inside the walls of the Salpêtrière Hospital, which at that time was used as a prison for prostitutes, the mentally ill, orphans, the poor and any other of French society's undesireables.  From one prison she is sent to another of sorts: by royal decree, young women are rounded up and sent overseas to New France, Laure among them. 

The story is very well written and the plot develops at a steady pace.  The characters are well drawn and interesting.  In particular, I found the description of her life at the Salpêtrière, and her relationships with two of the other orphaned girls, compelling and carefully nurtured.  Laure was instantly likeable and engaging and I became invested in her very quickly.  I think that the creation of such a character is no small feat for an author, and I wish I had the book in front of me to have a closer look at how it was accomplished.  In any case, I was pulled into the story and wanted to see what would happen next for Laure.

For me, though, things started to break down around the time that Laure learns that she is being exported, as it were.  I couldn't believe that she would go to Canada so willingly, given that she had a pretty good understanding of the life that awaited her.  I thought she would put up more of a fight.  I don't have half the confidence of the character of Laure, but even I would have had a few unpleasant words to say about the matter.  I expected there to be more of a struggle, an attempt to run away, more bargaining and pleading, the seeking out of other options as futile as it may have been.  She was upset, sure, and expressed her distress about the decision, but her overall complacency did not feel to me to be in line with the character. 

Or perhaps the fatalistic nature of such a decision wasn't made clear.  Perhaps there was just no escape and that was a well known fact and coming to terms with it was all there was to be done.  I don't know.  I would think that even still, in the face of a harrowing journey across the ocean, never to see your homeland again, to go marry some brute you've never met and live in an untamed land, I would think one might consider running away to Spain or something.  It's right there.  (Disclaimer: I know nothing about late 17th century Spain...perhaps it was not the awesome vacation destination I am imagining).

Once Laure reached Canada, the plot seemed to speed up, with jumps in time that took the story to its end much too quickly.  Having invested in the character of Laure, I wanted to know more about her life in the woods, how she coped with learning all she needed to know to survive, and her feelings about the whole thing.  These seemed to be brushed over rather quickly.  She develops a relationship with a native man, a promising plot development with an unsatisfying end.  I've read other reviews that say that this relationship plays out realistically, and that may be the case, but this is historical fiction for a reason.  Fiction requires drama and tension and the genre of historical fiction is so great because it allows for playing within the history.  I wasn't looking for a happy ending by any means, but when the sexual and dramatic tension is building for pages and then fizzles in a paragraph or two, that's disappointing, at least to this reader. 

What would redeem the ending is a sequel.  It's screaming for a sequel as there are a lot of loose ends which need picking up, and in addition to continuing Laure's story, there is an obvious choice for a second protagonist.  I just had a look online to see if there's any word about a sequel and all I can find are other people saying that they too would like to see one.

Faults aside (and what do I know really?), Bride of New France was a good read and I would recommend it.  And if you do read it, I'd love to know what you think, and if you agree with my criticisms or if you think I'm crazy (the two are not mutually exclusive I suppose).  And please keep the recommendations coming!

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When I put out the call for book recommendations, my friend Colleen suggested I read Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore.  I got it from the library back in September and started reading, but then someone put it on reserve so I had to return it before I finished.  I didn't get it back until November, so my reading was a bit broken up, and it's been awhile since I've finished it, but let's see what I can remember.

Lamb is a highly, highly fictionalized account of Jesus' life from his childhood to his crucifixion, told from the point of view of his best friend Biff.  Jesus is trying to understand exactly what he's meant to do as the Messiah and so he sets out, with his friend in tow, to find the three wise men. 

The story is funny and quite blasphemous.  The Jesus in this telling swears and drinks, and while he doesn't fornicate he's pretty curious about what he's missing; his best friend Biff, without the burden of being the Son of God, is happy to experiment on his (His?) behalf. 

Not being Christian, none of this really bothered me.  In fact, if anything, I thought the story made Jesus very likeable, in no small part because it humanized him; in the story he is special, yes, chosen but he also has human worries and curiosities and doubts.  I rather like that in a religious figure.  I suspect that, not having read the Bible, I also missed out on a lot of in-the-know Christianity references (although I did catch the joke in a quick passage about some guys from Turin with a cloth).  But the funny thing is, I found that this satirical imagining of Jesus' life made me kind of interested in learning more about his real one, not so much from a religious point of view as an historical one.

I'd be curious to know what Christian readers think of this book.  Of course, opinions would differ amongst members of the Christian community, I'm sure, but I'd be particularly interested to know, setting aside the plot, if Christopher Moore's characterization of Jesus is that far removed from the popular view (if there is one particular popular view) of Christ, who he was as a man and, I guess, what it would have been like to hang out with him, other than awesome of course.

In terms of learning something from this book to take into my own writing, Christopher Moore is daring, not only in his choice of subject, which is gutsy to say the least, but also in the approach he takes to his characters and plotlines.  In reading Lamb, I got the feeling that the author just let the story take him wherever it wanted to go without second guessing it.  "How about Jesus meets a yeti?  Fuck yeah!"  I imagine him thinking.  It was probably more thought out and structured than that, but the writing is just so playful and witty and creative that it comes across as easy.  And honestly, after reading Lamb, I feel empowered to just write the story as it comes, the dialogue as I hear it in my head, and let go and trust my own voice.  Because if Mr. Christopher Moore can write a bestseller with a drunken, swearing Jesus as a main character and get away with it, then what's holding me back?

All in all, a very entertaining read and I'm glad that Colleen recommended it because I'm not sure if I would have chosen it off the shelf otherwise, which is what these recommendations are all about!  I have two more recommended books to write up, both completely different than Lamb and each other, which is awesome.  And I'm looking forward to diving into a new book tonight.  So stay tuned, book lovers.  As for you book haters, I'll return to writing about other topics soon.  In the mean time, please return to your internets and TVs and...sudoku?  Dragonboat racing?  What do you do?  How do you not like books?!

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It's only nearly half way through the month.  Better late than pregnant, I always say.

Some Things I made progress on in December:

• I finished two books recommended by friends (Thing 8): Lamb by Christopher Moore, recommended by my friend Colleen, and Bride of New France by Suzanne Desrochers, recommended by my friend Jen.  They are both excellent reads.  I had been toying with the idea of doing away with Thing 5 "Write a book response on my blog for every book I read" and replacing it with something else, because they're annoying to write and boring to read.  But I think I'll keep with it and see them as opportunities to practice the art of brevity in writing.  So two quick and dirty book responses coming your way soon (well, not too dirty...although perhaps if I made them dirty they'd be more exciting to read).
  

• I tried at least five new recipes in December (Thing 43).  I say "at least" because I'm pretty sure there were more than five, but I only seem to have written five down.  Ah well.  The best one was this recipe for Cranberry Apple Jam.  It made the perfect amount for three little jars for gifts, and a little left over for me to try.  Yummy!  So I have now tried 37 new recipes of 101.

• Instead of buying flowers for myself this month (Thing 98) I decided that the money would be much better spent, and result in even more joy, if I used it to accomplish Thing 82: Send Anonymous Flowers.  I had been struggling with this one, wondering how creepy it would be to receive flowers anonymously.  I myself would be kind of weirded out.  But I think I figured out a way to do it that wasn't creepy:  the week before Christmas, Isla and I bought some gorgeous roses and brought them to the seniors home near us, and asked the people at the front desk if they could please pass them on to a resident who could use a pick me up this holiday season.  We left the flowers with them to deliver, so it was kept anonymous, and I felt such happiness imagining someone receiving those beautiful roses out of the blue (didn't get a photo of them to share though, unfortunately).  Isla had been really reluctant to give up the flowers, but I explained to her what we were doing, the importance of giving to others and so forth, and I think she understood.  I think I'd like to make this a tradition, although maybe next year we'll see if we can deliver them ourselves, so that Isla can see the impact of the gift.  In any case, another Thing completed!

Things I will admit I didn't do:

• Go out on a photo shoot (Thing 14).  Folks, it's too damn cold, and when I'm inside I'm too busy taking care of kids or cleaning up after kids or preparing food for kids to take any photos.  I'll see if I can carve out some time to do some photography indoors, but I might have to rethink this Thing for the winter months.

• No date night (Thing 51), but we did go out for dinner with some friends so that accomplishes Thing 53, Get Together with a Friend.  I'll see what I can do to arrange a date night this month.

• I don't think I managed any chunk of time to myself (Thing 92).  Must do better at that (I accomplished January's today thanks to the babysitting services of my mom.  Thanks Mom!)

I have to get a move on with these 101 Things.  The Things I'm setting my sights on over the next few months are:

• Writing.  There are two writing contests coming up that I would like to submit to, if I can make the time to write.  I also want to finish the first draft of the children's story I'm meant to be working on with my sister and her boyfriend.

• Reading more books and listening to more albums recommended by friends.  Morning dance party to Alice in Chains?  Why not, I say.

• I am going to finish (and start!) Evy's name drawings before I do anything else.  It must be done.  The mom guilt is too much.

• I'm working on establishing a regular exercise routine but it may be awhile before I can consider this one complete.

• My mother-in-law may have already perfected allergen-free bread for me, but I have yet to attempt her recipe myself.  But I will do it and hopefully it will fit the bill because I miss bread like the deserts miss the rain.

• I'd like to get my office and the bedrooms organized and decorated soonish.  A little less chaos, a few more pictures on walls.

• I'm trying to find a time when I can donate blood but Canadian Blood Services seems to only have availability at the worst possible times for my schedule.  But I'll keep checking back with them.

• As for my Joy/Well-being Things, I think I'll be going to a concert in March, and I would like to get out to a play soon (perhaps for a date night or an outing with a friend).  I'm still on the hunt for the most wonderful pyjamas, and I hope to try a meditation class sometime soon.

• And I would dearly love to travel somewhere warm with my husband right about now but I don't see that happening any time soon.  Perhaps next winter. 

So that's the low down.  Exciting stuff, no?  I'd also really like to become interesting, if possible.  I'm sure that reading about my self-improvement projects isn't the most fascinating part of your day, so I'll try to do more interesting things and write about them, or become insightful or funny or something.  But I make no promises.

Now I'm pretty sure one of my 101 Things is Eat Tortilla Chips and watch Parenthood.  If not, it should be. 

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So yes.  2012.  Nice to see you.

December came and went quickly, much like the whole of 2011 itself.  We had a nice holiday with family although some audacious kindergarten punk had the nerve to give Isla a cold right before Christmas, so we passed that gift around.  The littlest one, Ev, not only had a cold but was also teething, which resulted in a few not so silent nights.  But halls were decked and we were, for the most part, merry and bright.  I even survived my first Christmas without stuffing.  That's some willpower, right there.  My mother-in-law made me some allergen-free bread, BREAD I COULD EAT, which was possibly the best gift of all, so that softened the blow.  

I'm still working on getting back into the swing of things around here.  There are new toys that need homes and laundry that needs doing but all I really feel like doing is eating chips and watching TV and sleeping.  Is that so wrong?  I may possibly be in a bit of a post-holiday slump.  It doesn't help that it is winter and I cannot get warm and wrangling children into an ungodly amount of snow gear is enough to make anyone want to kick themselves in the face. 

So this seems like a good time to focus on some happy things, yes?  I have plenty to be thankful for and overall 2011 was a pretty terrific year.  In no particular order, these are my top 11 HappyMakers for 2011:

1) My Children
An easy one.  I may gripe about the day to day frustrations of life as a mom but my kids are two seriously amazing tiny people and the frustrations are far, far outweighed by all the joy they have brought into my life. Every measure of time that passes with them sees some pretty wonderful moments and milestones, but 2011 was particularly eventful.  Our four year old, Isla, started school and is learning new things at lightning speed.  This was the year her imagination really took flight and the most incredible ideas and insights and hilarious songs come out of her mouth.  And as for our Miss Ev, well, there's a pretty huge leap between 6 months and 18 months old, which she'll be next week.  From barely sitting up to climbing and dancing, from the odd "dada!" to a constant stream of "thank you! again! open! up! dance! fuffin!" (that last being "muffin") and her current favourite "a nose!".  Seeing her personality reveal itself has been amazing and watching the love develop between the two girls has been very happymaking indeed.

2) Other People's Children
Several friends welcomed new tiny people into their lives this year, all baby girls as it happens.  There seems to be a baby girl trend, at least with the people in my life (amongst my closest friends, we have one boy and six girls).  But babies of any sort are most lovely and I'm so thrilled about the safe and healthy arrivals of these little ones.

Mirror Lake, Lake Placid NY, April 2011

3) My Husband
"Get a room!" I hear you shout.  I know.  At the risk of being all sentimental and embarrassing, I have to admit publicly that I do actually like my husband.  You might not know it, given that I don't mention him all that often, but I am in fact rather fond of him.  We celebrated 15 years of couplehood back in November and, while I dearly miss his adorable accent, I still think he's as awesome and funny and cute as I did back when I was 18.  He works damn hard for our family and he comes home every day and looks at his daughters like they're the centre of his universe, which they are.  And that's all I can really ask for.  I'll even forgive him for teaching our daughter the phrase "fish toots", although he's going to have to deal with any phone calls home from her teacher. 

4) Other People's Husbands
Jokes!  Aside from anything else, when would I have the time?

Forest Walk, Charleston Lake Provincial Park, May 2011

4) Family, near and far
I have a pretty fantastic family and they don't hear it enough.  Especially those who never contact me (burn!).  The ones who do though, and especially the ones who visit, are very appreciated.  We had several visits this past year from relatives from afar, some of whom we hadn't seen in 10 years, and I hope to have the opportunity to reconnect with others this year.  As for family closer to home, I'm incredibly grateful for my amazing in-laws and my mom and her partner for all of their love and support and tremendous kindness.  Oh, and the free babysitting.  Many, many thanks for that (and thank you in advance for your continuing support). 

5) The Adirondacks
Last spring, D and I took a trip to Lake Placid, New York with some friends for a few days and had a great time.  We did a little bit of hiking, a fair bit of drinking, and a whole lot of eating.  It was pretty awesome.  It was nice to have some adult time and to see a new place and to sleep in a little.  Oh my goodness the sleeping in.  Glorious.

The River at Marcy Dam, near Lake Placid NY, April 2011

6) Camping
A few weeks before Ev arrived in the summer of 2010, my husband announced that he had bought a camping trailer and he hoped I liked it.  There had been no time to consult with me on the purchase, you see, as it had just been posted on Kijiji for an insanely low price and he had to pull the trigger.  Lucky for him, I approved.  It's an awesome little trailer, just the right size for our family, although I will admit moments of frustration when I've been overwhelmed trying to do everything I do at home but in a significantly smaller and colder space.  For the most part though it has brought us much joy and we managed to get out camping four times last year.  A lot of amazing memories were made and in particular I will never forget my daughter Isla singing The Saw Doctors' Only One Girl by the campfire.  Amazing.

7) Halifax
I've written endlessly about the trip to Halifax my daughter Isla and I took in October, so I won't say much more.  But, setting aside the distinct lack of whales, the trip really was a highlight for 2011, most importantly because of the one on one time Isla and I got to spend together.  Hopefully someday we'll get back out that way as a family of four.

Closeup of Water, Charleston Lake, May 2011

8) Good Health
For all my complaining about having to breakup with dairy and eggs and sugar, I'm thankful that I became aware of my food allergies because it provided me with something positive and proactive I could do to take control of my health and reduce the frequency of my arthritis flareups.  Which I believe it has.  My RA flare-ups were always kind of intermittent anyways, so it's hard to know for sure if my diet changes are keeping the pain at bay, but I do know that when I have a flare-up it is pretty uncannily connected to my "cheating" and eating something I'm allergic to.  So I think I'm on a good path.  I began medication for the RA this year too, which I wasn't too thrilled about, but I think it was another good decision.  Although I definitely need to get exercising more, overall I'm feeling pretty good.  I'm grateful too for the good health of my loved ones and I hope that 2012 will only see more of the same.

9) Writing
I am so, so pleased that I started writing again this past year.  It has been a terrific outlet and so fantastic to feel creative again, and to give myself time for something that is only for me (although the positive feedback has been nice too, and I appreciate you all for reading).  I am feeling excited about some ideas I have for things to write this year and I don't think I would be writing at all, let alone feeling confident and happy about it, if I hadn't had pushed myself to start this blog and to submit something to a contest and just take the time to do it.  So now I just have to carve out some more time for it and keep the momentum going.

Killbear Provincial Park, June 2011

10) Morning Dance Party
For my last HappyMaker, something that has truly brought nothing but pure joy.  This year our family began the tradition of what we call "Morning Dance Party", taking some time most mornings to put on some good tunes and dance our butts off in the living room.  Both girls love to dance and their eyes light up and their feet get moving as soon as any bit of music comes on.  Such a fun way to start the day (and the cardio doesn't hurt either).With Isla in school, and our trip and then the holidays, Morning Dance Party kind of got put on the back burner for awhile but I plan to reinstate the tradition beginning tomorrow morning.  MmmBop?  Yes, I think so.

11) My Old (Golden) Girls
Ha.  I posted this entry and then realized that there were only 10 things in my "Top 11".  And its a good thing I have one left over because I neglected something pretty darn important: my pretty terrific friends.  I'm lucky to have a great group of girlfriends who have known and loved me (ha) for a very long time (hidden in between the scathing insults there is genuine affection, I'm sure of it).  I consider them my family and can't imagine my life without them.  For one thing, I don't know if anyone else would power secondhand shop with me with quite as much glee.  They are truly the Dorothy, Blanche and Sophia to my Rose (I'm pretty sure I'm Rose guys).

2011 was a pretty great year but onwards to 2012 I say.  So far so good and I'm looking forward to the rest.  Particularly the warm weather part.  That will be nice.

I will update again soon with my 101 Things recap for December and my plans for the project in 2012.  And other thoughts and musings and insights and brilliance.  Or, you know, haikus.  Perhaps some haikus. 

Footprints (Mama and Isla), Killbear Provincial Park, June 2011

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The happiest of new years to you and yours.

There are fabulous words fashioning themselves into thrilling and thought-provoking blog entries in my head, but my brain is too rattled by post-holiday exhaustion and dealing with a sick, teething, possibly demonic toddler to get any of them out with any coherence this evening, so I ask you to bear with me as I get off on the right foot with 2012 by yet again procrastinating and apologizing. 

Please stay tuned.  And in the mean time...snowman!

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(Parts One, Two, Three, Four, and Five)

Considering it has been two months since this trip, I think I should probably wrap this thing up, so here's the final installment of our Halifax trip photos.

Where were we?  Lighthouses, scarecrows, "whalewatching", beaches, scary animals...ah yes.  Well, after a few days outside the city, we decided to spend our last two days exploring Halifax itself.  Our first stop was the Public Gardens.  My camera and I were very happy there:

In the middle of the pond is a replica of the Titanic:

Loveliness all around.  I could have spent the entire day there, I think, and I hope to get back to Halifax some day to do just that.  It was really beautiful and, considering it's right in the heart of the city, remarkably peaceful.

We then went to the Discovery Centre, which is like a science centre-type place.  We had a lot of fun, but I have no decent photos to share.  We returned to the waterfront and made our way down toward Pier 21.

You may be familiar with Pier 21.  It is where many immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th century arrived and first set foot on Canadian soil.  My maternal great grandmother Henna arrived here from Finland in 1927, with a four year old and a sick 4 month old in tow.  At times when I find myself complaining about the struggle to get my children out the door or another of a million frustrations, I think about Henna.  And then I whisper a thank you and shut my trap.  My paternal grandfather also immigrated to Halifax from Finland, in 1928 I believe, so the place holds a lot of significance for me.

I had hoped to be able to stand out on the pier, where my ancestors once stood, but because it is still an active pier and there were cruise ships docked, this was not permitted.  Curse you cruise ship!

I was pretty crushed, I must admit.  Almost as disappointing was discovering Pier 21 shot glasses in the gift shop, amongst other random paraphenalia completely removed from the history of the place.  But it does have to be said that the folks at the museum itself seem to be doing an excellent job of keeping the site's history alive and working to maintain and improve the records of those who arrived at the Pier.

We took some photos outside and, despite the tourists and the tacky gift shop offerings and the modern buildings encroaching on the pier, it felt good to be there and I felt like my ancestors would have been happy that we made the trip.  I'd like to take both my girls there again some day, when they're old enough to understand what the place is all about.

Wednesday October 12th was our last full day.  We spent the morning at an awesome park near the Museum of Natural History, and then had a wander through the Museum itself.  I have no interesting photos to share of either, but here's a pretty cool mural nearby:

We then headed back downtown.  We passed by St. Paul's Anglican Church where, the story goes, "as a result of the intense light and heat generated by the Halifax Explosion in 1917, the profile of one of the church's deacons was etched into one of the windows on the second storey."  Judge for yourself, why don't you:

An interesting story, in any case.  Next, we caught a ferry over to Dartmouth which afforded some nice views of Halifax from the water.  Unfortunately my camera did not do them justice.

Back in Halifax we went out for a last night dinner at a place called The Wooden Monkey.  Most enjoyable.  And then the morning of the 13th we had a quick trip to Point Pleasant Park before grabbing lunch and heading to the airport. 

It was an amazing trip.  It was fantastic to see my sister Leah and her boyfriend Chris, to spend so much one-on-one time with my sweet Isla who is growing up way too fast, and to see a beautiful part of the country.  And we had amazing weather to boot, with not one drop of rain until we were heading to the airport to go home.

We're hoping to get back some day, with the whole family in tow, so we'll have to start saving our pennies.  And next time, NEXT TIME, I will preorder my whales in advance. 

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This is going to be quick because (a) I already had to return the book to the library so I don't have it in front of me for reference and (b) I'm tired and sleep is awesome.

So, The Midwife of Venice by Roberta Rich was recommended to me by my friend Jen Malarkey.*  It is about, as the title suggests, a midwife in Venice.  Wait, I remember more!  It's set in the 16th century and the midwife, Hannah, lives in the Jewish ghetto.  Her husband Isaac has been captured at sea and is enslaved in Malta.  One night, she is summoned to the home of a wealthy Christian family to aid in a difficult birth, an act which is criminal and punishable by death, as Jews are not permitted to provide medical treatment to Christians.  She attends the birth out of duty and the promise of enough money for her to sail to Malta and buy her husband's freedom.  DRAMA ENSUES.

I enjoyed this book immensely.  I really like historical fiction and I thought that the author did a good job of quickly setting the scene and drawing me in.  How she did that, I don't know.  I should probably have paid more attention, but I was too busy enjoying the story.  The main characters of Hannah and Isaac were very likeable and relatable - good hearted, strong willed people who I wanted to see succeed and be together.  The plot kept a good pace and there were enough twists to keep me interested.

If I had one complaint it would be that at times, it seemed a bit too easy.  There were times when the drama was built up, with the suggestion being that something bad might happen, and then it just didn't and it was like "Oh, what was she so worried about then?"  Likewise the ending wrapped up a bit too tidily for my liking.  However, I think this could be redeemed by a sequel.  There is certainly the potential for one (the author's website doesn't suggest there will be one though).

All in all, I definitely recommend this book.  And I'll leave it at that.  Bedtime!

*Name changed for the purpose of my enjoyment

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Wow, really?  Eleven days since my last post?  I guess so.  Well I'm sorry for my lack of posting but it has been a helluva few weeks around here.  All fine and good, just busy and stressful and requiring the bulk of my already limited attention.  

So November.  I'm happy to see the end of you.  That said, although I didn't meet the goals I had set for myself, some small amounts of progress were made toward my 101 Things:

• I submitted a piece of writing to the Writers' Union of Canada's Short Prose Competition at the beginning of the month (Thing 1).  I can't believe I completed something in time, let alone something I'm actually kind of happy with.  I'm hoping to do some more writing this month.

• My husband and I went out on a date (Thing 51)!  Due to circumstances beyond our control, we had been unable to go out at all in September or October so it was nice to get this Thing back on track and spend some time together.

• I tried seven new recipes, bringing my total up to 32, so I'm nearly a third of the way to my goal of 101 (Thing 43).  The best find was this recipe for allergen-free pancakes.  Mine did not turn out quite as fluffy as those in her photo, but they were still pretty damn good and easy to make.  It's nice to have something to eat for breakfast other than rice cereal, because I'm not an infant.

• I managed an afternoon to myself (Thing 92), before meeting up with some friends (Thing 53) in Toronto for a super fun girls weekend. 
  

• I also wrote three handwritten letters.
  

• And my daughter Evy decided she was tired of waiting for me to get around to it, so she literally took it into her own hands to "Gleefully take down the wallpaper in the kitchen" (Thing 49).  My attempts to stop her were only half-hearted. 

So, some progress, but I have a few incompletes this month.  I didn't manage to get out to take any photos (Thing 14).  I also don't believe we went out on an outing as a family of four (Thing 59) and I'm not sure I spoke to my sister on the phone twice (Thing 60).  Not good. 

I'd like to say that I'll do better in December but I don't think the busyness and stress are going anywhere any time soon.  But I'm going to try, because I set these Things as priorities for a reason.  It is much too easy to get lost in the tasks and to-dos and problems of life, and far too tempting to put myself and my own personal goals last on the list.  I don't want to do that anymore.  I'm a much healthier, happier person (and correspondingly more productive) when I can make time for myself, and I don't think it's any surprise that, with the lack of attention paid to myself in November, I experienced a downswing in mood and energy.  It's probably no accident that I also had more RA flareups.  So, I'm going to try to get back on track.

And given all this stress, I'm thinking it might be the ideal time to Try a Meditation Class (Thing 99).  Or perhaps Become an Expert in a Specialist Subject (Thing 27) wherein that subject is wine.

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(Parts One, Two, Three and Four)

The computer is being fairly cooperative with me at the moment so I have managed to sort some more Nova Scotia photos.  Let's continue, shall we?  This one will be two, two, two days in one!

Following our less than inspiring wildlife excursion "whalewatching" in Lunenberg, the following day (the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend) we decided to take Isla out to the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park, about 40 minutes outside of Halifax.  Animals in cages couldn't possibly elude us!  Before we headed out of town, we had a wee wander around the Hydrostone District of Halifax, a lovely neighbourhood of homes and shops built in 1920 following the Halifax Explosion in 1917.

And then it was animal time.

(Please excuse the brief break in proceedings, as Isla discovers that when she presses the letters on my computer they appear on the screen:)

AAAABBBCDYYYP578lVVUSSW321MBGHYU76TRFDCXS W32QSAXZCVVVNGGGGGG/////? HYRDXXCBHUI   N  ZFCCCC,KUTGBVFDEXSZ ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ    

(It really is rather amazing).

So, as I was saying, we then headed up to Shubenacadie.  The wildlife park was pretty awesome.  Just the right size to explore with a preschooler in a couple of hours. 

There were lots of deer which came right up to the fence to be pet and fed:

I'm not sure how this buck got so lucky, but he was the only one with about 8 or 9 doe, in a lovely large enclosure protected from predators and hunters, where people feed him.  Doesn't he look pleased with himself:

We had a really nice wander around and I took loads of pictures, most of which didn't turn out too well because animals don't pose on command (super annoying, animals!), but here are a few of the better shots. 

Now I've mentionned before in previous blogs that lynx freak me the hell out.  They look like magical creatures to me, like they should not exist in the real world.  It messes with my mind.  But this one, I'll admit, looks downright cuddly:

Okay, no, still freaky.  Gah, nightmares.  Somewhat less freaky was this owl.  Only somewhat.

Hmmm...it does sort of look like it's plotting your demise, doesn't it?  Okay, something cute!

Oh man, that fox totally wants a hug!  All better now.

A fun afternoon.  HOWEVER...I had been most interested in seeing Sable Island horses, as the Shubenacadie Wildlife Park is apparently the only place in the world you can see them other than Sable Island itself, and guess what?  They were not there!  I don't recall what the deal was, but I'm betting they were in cahoots with the whales.  Ah well, who needs 'em?  Stupid horses!

Isla's favourite part, of course, was feeding the ducks and geese.  You know, the part we could have done without paying admission.  Sigh. 

The next morning, Thanksgiving Monday, we headed out for Crystal Crescent Beach to meet up with my friend Heather and her son Garcin.  They used to live in Kingston and Garcin is the exact same age as Isla - they were born on the exact same day in the same hospital, only a few hours apart, although we didn't meet until the kids were about 10 or 11 months old.  A few years ago they moved to Halifax and we've managed to stay in touch.

The kids didn't really remember each other but that didn't stop them from having a blast playing together.  It was pretty neat to see these two kids who used to crawl around on a blanket at the park now jumping in and out of the water and scrambling up sandbanks, giggling all the while.  And they held hands walking along the boardwalk.  So cute.  Again, no pictures of the kidlets for you, but here are some pretty beach pics:

A beautiful place.

Leah also took a picture of Isla and I waving at the ocean.  This is part one of a two part project:  I'm hoping that when we go to the west coast of Ireland, hopefully next summer or the one after, I can get a companion picture of Isla and I waving the other way.  I think it would be really funny to put the two photos side by side, as if we're waving at ourselves across the ocean and across time.  Funny, right?  Not geeky?  That's what I thought.

The afternoon was spent preparing our Thanksgiving feast.  Leah and Chris are vegetarians so we made this amazing lentil nut loaf.  So, so good - I did not miss the turkey one bit!  And there was much thanks given for the chance to spend Thanksgiving together.

Next time:  Flowers yay!  Cruise ships boo!

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Today D and I are celebrating fifteen years of being together.  Craziness.  We've gone from being two giddy teenagers living in university residence without a care in the world to two grownups with a home and children and RRSPs, and so much more happiness than I think either of us expected.  I won't embarrass him by saying much more, but I will do this:

Ha!  Do do do DO Do do!  (I can't decide if I should rock the denim jacket, skirt and leggings look when we go out tonight, or the off-the-shoulder top with the hoop earrings and the big ass hairband...but D, if you could wear a baseball cap and Everlast shirt, it would make my night.) 

Love you D.  Here's to the next fifteen (oh Lord, we'll have teenagers).

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I've been dealing with a pretty bad RA flareup over the last few days - lots of achiness and fatigue - but my fingers aren't too bad tonight and I think it would do me good to focus on some of the things that have brought me joy this week.  So without further ado, here are my Top Ten HappyMakers of the Week (in no particular order):

My Friends

Okay, well, this is in no particular order but it's no mistake that this is first on my list.  Last weekend I hightailed it out of Kingston, Pickering-bound, to visit with my three closest friends, Jacquie, Erika and Kristen (I have listed them in no particular order also...or have I?).  Erika and I have been friends for 25 years and the four of us bonded in high school.  We all have spouses and children and very busy lives, and we live in different towns, but we make a point to get together once every two to three months, after weeks of planning and copious emails.  I consider these girls my family and feel very fortunate to have them as a part of my life.  (I had planned to get a photo of us over the weekend but apparently we were too busy gabbing).

Secondhand Shopping

When the ladies and I get together, our main activity is hardcore bargain shopping.  We are pros at it.  If there is a deal to be found, we will find it.  We leave no Value Village unturned.  Last weekend we filled up Jacquie's van with our purchases and, as Jac pointed out, it would be interesting to figure out the total retail price of what we bought versus what we paid for it.  I'm sure it would have been vast. 

I seriously do not understand why people pay full price for things in regular stores.  I don't get it.  Because there is such great stuff to be found secondhand, at ludicrously awesome prices. Nowadays I buy almost everything secondhand - probably about 98% of the girls' clothes and most of mine as well, plus almost all toys and books - so much in fact that I can no longer stomach paying regular price for anything.  $20 for a shirt sounds preposterous to me, because it is.  I can find that same shirt for $4, I guarantee you.

My best find this past weekend was this Melissa and Doug puppet (I mention the brand because parents will know it's a good one...really good quality and not cheap!):

I bought it for $3 and I saw it brand new at a toy store the other day for $33.  What a deal!

P.S. Please don't mention this puppet to my daughters as Santa will be bringing it to them for Christmas.

Pretty Rainbow Bowls 

It seems I might have a thing with bowls, given that bowls were on my last HappyMakers list too.  Jacquie had just bought these awesome multi-coloured mixing bowls which come with lids and I coveted them.  Fortunately they still had some at Kitchen Stuff Plus, still on sale for $15, when I stopped in on my way out of town.  Happiness!  Seriously, aren't these fun?

I enjoyed some popcorn in the green bowl last night and I'm pretty sure it made the popcorn taste better (it must have, because I ate the whole damn bowlful).  Exciting times, around here.

Handwritten Letters

One of the greatest sources of joy for me this past week was the arrival of a handwritten letter from my friend Jen!  Such a fun surprise and it really did make my day.  It didn't hurt that the letter included fun colour photocopies with annotations.  I'm rarely this enthusiastic about an email so it has hit home that handwritten letters really do mean something and can brighten someone's day substantially.  Thanks Jen (keep an eye on your mailbox)!

Smartwool Hiking Socks

When we were heading to the Adirondacks to do some hiking last spring, I picked up some Smartwool hiking socks.  As soon as I got them on my feet I'm pretty sure I swooned.  So freaking comfortable (this should be their slogan).  After we got back from our trip, I washed them and tucked them into my sock drawer and it was only this week that it occurred to me that I don't have to be hiking to wear them!  What a revolutionary idea!  So I pulled those puppies out and joy joy joy. 

Marcel the Shell

Okay, anyone on Facebook has already seen this I'm sure, but I have to say it made me smile (I also just found out I can embed a YouTube link here....fun!):

Kindergarten

My feelings about kindergarten have done a complete 180 from how they were at the start of September, when the thought of my little girl being away from me for hours was heartbreaking.  Okay, it's still heartbreaking, but every day I'm seeing how amazing kindergarten is for her.  She's clapping out syllables, and singing O Canada, and practicing phonics.  She loves her teacher (as do I) and she is so excited to see her friends in the kindergarten yard every morning and to tell me all about what they did at recess, which apparently this week involved making salad out of stones and leaves. 

I had the opportunity on Wednesday to join her class for a short classroom visit at the start of the day, and it was awesome to see them all put their lunchbags in their cubbies, count how many girls and boys were there that day (they were all met: 16 boys and 4 girls), be letter detectives and look for particular letters in the Morning Message their teacher had written out, and to sing their letter songs.  And then it was time to practice writing their letters and quick like bunnies they all went to their particular tables (Isla is in the red group) and started writing and colouring away and there she is writing K like it ain't no thing.

Isla complains sometimes that the days are long, which I totally understand, but it's rare that she complains about going to school, which makes it easier on me.  I am still going to completely lose it when it's time for her to go full-time but for now, it's all really good.

Memory Foam

Whoever invented memory foam needs a medal, perhaps a Nobel Peace Prize.  We have a memory foam mattress topper, which makes our already extra deep mattress ridiculously tall, and it is the most comfortable thing ever.  My weary joints have been very grateful this week.

Mandarin Oranges

How delicious are these things?  And seedless and convenient and in a paper box instead of the wooden crates that clementines come in which pile up in our garage because what do you do with them?  The girls are equally excited about them and look how pretty:

A Warm Home

I was out and about with the little one yesterday, in and out of stores as we ran errands, and damn it was cold out.  It wasn't even less than 0 celsius but it felt bitterly cold.  And it occurred to me rather quickly, as I was feeling a little sorry for myself shivering during the minute and a half it took me to get from my car to the door, that I have a lot to be thankful for.  I have warm clothes on my back, and a car with heating (and heated seats for goodness' sake!) to get me where I need to go.  And I have a lovely warm home, filled with everything I could ever want or need.  Including a pretty great family.

So while it's good to find joy in the small things, I'm also trying to keep in mind the big things to be grateful for.  My HappyMakers list doesn't include "finding half a sandwich" or "panhandling enough money for a coffee" or "getting a place to sleep out of the wind for a few hours", as it may for others.  I have much to be thankful for.

Including you, dear readers.  I don't say it enough, or ever, that I appreciate that you read my insane ramblings.  It's no quick read, that's for sure, but I hope you find some joy in it.  And if not, get some bowls and socks.  Seems to do the trick for me.

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