Tanjourine

I'm sorry, Roger who?

2008-09-17T20:06:00.004-07:00

So, like ya. I am now a total City-ot....rhymes with idiot....

I have moved my family, with my family, for my family, however you want to say it... to the city. Yay. Life is good. We are on a constant adventure. Everyday there is a new park to explore, new animals to see, and life to be lived. It is amazing. Really fun. It has also been hot hot hot and sunny so we will see how chipper I am after 9 months of rain...

The good news is there is a Costco right around the corner... therefor I am able to buy monster sized everything.... This is a good thing. I now have mustard to last the entire year. Honestly. I can eat popcorn everyday, and never run out. The thing about Costco that gets me is that everytime I go there, I end up spending at LEAST $300 and when I come out, I have to head to the grocery store to buy something for dinner... and it costs money to shop there... it costs money to shop everywhere, I mean a membership is required....$100! So, I have made a promise to myself to eat $100 worth of samples from Costco, thereby getting a full refund on my membership fee... HA! That will show them! Everytime I go to spend my $300 I will eat AT LEAST $1 worth of samples... Gotcha by the balls now, don't I Mr BigMustardSeller?
I thought I would mention that while I typed that last paragraph, I ate about 1/100th of a bag of trail mix.... no biggie right? WRONG! It's from costco. I basically ate enough peanuts to make peanut butter for an entire kindergarden class, ya know, if nuts were allowed.... Maybe those schools should just put a sign on the door that says "female food only, no nuts allowed"... ya know? .... nevermind....

So tonight, my daughter is off to sleep.. and says to me
"mummy, can you please tell me a story about a baby?'"
"of course sweetie..." we do this everynight.... "what should the baby's name be?"
"ummm... Hookah and Puke-ah"
me... "Ummm, those are interesting names.. Where did you learn those?"
Her "from Roger"
inside my head "WHO THE F IS ROGER???" because by the way, we don't know anyone named Roger. Well, I do, kind of, but not well. My daughter definitly does not know anyone named Roger, and as common of a name as it is, I should mention that it is very uncommon these days...
It was wierd.
So, Rog, Roger, Rogerello... If you read this, can you please stop teaching my daughter words like "hookah" and "Puke-a" because I really don't like bedtime stories about pipes and vomit...
Goodnight.
PS I have not blogged for over 2 months now... I just might get back into it. Except I will not call it blogging.

What leads you?

2008-07-12T08:19:00.001-07:00

I woke up this morning really early.

Wait, let’s start again.

I was woken up this morning really early. Like 630 am early. For those of you that are like, so very smart, and read my last post where I said I was going to bed, you may have noticed it was at 1030pm and so you are thinking I had a nice 8 hours sleep and therefore I should be well rested. You are wrong. In fact, if you think that going to bed for 8 hours means I actually get even more than 7 hours sleep, you obviously don’t have children, so please keep that opinion to yourself because the mix of fatigue, caffeine and a little rage can be dangerous. Watch out.

Ok. Sorry about that. I am not actually mad at you, I just started typing and my fingers got out of control. They have issues. That was not my brain and heart speaking, it was only my fingers. Sometimes my fingers wake up and they almost hurt because I forgot to take care of them, put lotion on etc, then I fuel up on caffeine so they start to shake…and on top of that, I took my lovely diamond rings off last night, so my poor fingers feel like they have been robbed, and they are not feeling very pretty this morning. Like I said, my fingers have issues.

Alright, I walked away…put on my sparkling rings and rubbed in some Bath and Body Works Fresh Pineapple Antibacterial Moisturizing hand lotion…love that stuff… anyways, my fingers are a lot happier now so maybe they can let me write about what I want to write about, you know, if my fingers can like let go for a minute and do what they are meant to do, type what I tell them, not what they feel like….. here we go…

Well, way to go fingers, now that you have spent so much freaking time in charge here my heart has lost the fire for what it wanted to write about...{camping}..And now my brain is on a different thought path about control.

I was just typing about how my fingers are in control, etc, I don’t need to tell you, you read it, and then I stopped and thought to myself {bear with me here, it is still early for my brain} what other body parts can we let lead?

There are all sorts of talk about “follow your heart” etc but what about the other parts? What if we went on a mission and decided to let our body lead, or more specifically, one part of our body, at a time, to see where it led us.

If you were to focus on something specific, where would it lead you?

Ok. If you are a man, and reading this, I think we all know what part you are thinking of, and where it would lead you…. However let’s try and think outside the box…yes, I know how funny that last sentence can be.

If you were to let your legs lead, for example, where would they take you…keeping in mind that you have to ignore your lungs, and everything else…would they run? Hike? Swim? Or just lay down flat exhausted from being walked around everywhere? I think mine would probably go for a walk, treat themselves to a massage, then ask to be shaved before they got lotioned up and threw themselves into a nice pair of pants, or cute skirt…then realistically my legs would want to go out dancing, jumping on tables, and doing the shuffle. They are crazy like that.

What about your stomach? Where would that take you? Would it really want to be stuffed to the brim with food, or would that be more of your tongue leading and not really thinking of the consequences your poor stomach would have to endure. My stomach would not go for coffee, I can tell you that much for sure. When I drink coffee it is a selfish act on behalf of my brain, and my brain does not care much for my stomach. No, my stomach would probably eat a nice lunch, a salad, some bread, and some pasta, but not too much; just enough to be full, and then it would want to hang out. Literally. It would want to get whatever fabric that was covering it off and go lay in the sun…and no one would touch it… {See my post “can I touch your belly”}

Eyes: where would they take you? What would your eyes really want to see, and feel? People? Nature? TV? Sports? Mine would totally people watch, watch a sunset, watch my children explore, and then go for a facial…. With eye treatment of course. Oh ya, and they would watch reality TV.

Hmm... Weird stuff to think about.

Let your body lead you, I am curious to know where it takes you. Send me a message and let me know what happens…I am interested to know what parts rule you.

Now I have to go. My arms are leading, and they are aching to hug my little girl.

ZZZZZZ

2008-07-11T22:34:00.002-07:00

I am so tired. Sooooo tired. So tired that I can't sit up straight. I am practically leaning on the keyboard...
But why am I up?
Because everyone else is asleep. So now, for 5 minutes, I can listen to the sounds of silence....nice.
I love love love my family, but it must be a mummy thing I guess...the need to stay up past the point of exhaustion, just to prove that yes, I can still get time alone.
OK. I can not even think.
Gouda Nighta buddy....
*E
PS Softball rules

letter to the paper

2008-07-08T12:50:00.001-07:00

So the paper didn't print my letter....lame.... here it is in case you are interested.... and yes...I went back and dismantled the fire pit and cleaned up the garbage.

To the ignorant people{person} that think they own this world.

Congratulations! You can pee in a bush!
Way to go! You can build a fire!

Hurray! You figured out how to crush a can!

The next time you decide to showcase your amazing talents, please do so in your own home. The big chairs that the municipality put on the west side of Alta Lake are there for everyone to enjoy. I don’t want to explain to my 2 year old daughter why there are burnt sticks lying around, why someone left beer cans all over the sand, and most importantly why there are piles of toilet paper strewn through the bushes. Your mother would be ashamed. How did these things get there? I am assuming that you carried them with you to this {once} beautiful spot. The next time you decide to pack in cans of beer, and a roll of toilet paper, pack them out. Guess what? EMPTY CANS WEIGH LESS!!! And maybe you could bring along a plastic bag to carry out your soiled toilet paper. A doggie poop bag perhaps? Yes I know, you are not a dog, a dog wouldn’t leave behind the remnants of a fire or empty beer cans. A dog wouldn’t use toilet paper. You are most definitely not a dog, but you are certainly a pig.

Chocolate and wine, and catching up with Tanjourine...

2008-07-06T20:36:00.004-07:00

Ahhhhhh….peace…..

It has been a long long day. A lovely day, but a long day. I am now sitting with a dark glass of red wine and a really really big bag of small chocolate bars…ahhh…peace.

Today started at 7am and well, it still technically has another 4 or so hours to go, but in my time, Liz time, today is over and tonight has begun. That’s where the red wine and chocolate come in. No, I am not pms-ing, I didn’t have a fight with anyone, nothing bad has happened, but I just really felt like some red wine and chocolate…and they were here, so who am I to defy the powers that be, the same powers that happened to leave red wine and chocolate in my house…the powers that feel I need a treat, or 15, in the form of very miniscule chocolate bars and sweet red wine.

I am currently listening to Jack Johnson, Ben Harper, and drinking wine and eating chocolate, actually I am drinking wine while eating chocolate…that’s right, I am letting the chocolate be melted by the warmth of the wine…really. Life could not be better at this exact moment unless I was asleep while listening, drinking, and eating, because then I would be resting too…but instead I am blogging.

My poor, poor, random neglected blog…I have not been absent dear outlet of thoughts, I have been so very very busy with my other children, and life. I have missed you… yes readers, I am talking to my blog…something is flowing through my veins that has inspired me to blog again… No Captain Obvious, it’s not alcohol and sugar, it’s inspiration. I have not blogged in so long that my thoughts, feelings, and rants are about to explode like a sensitive stomached at a Mexican picnic. Ok, that was the alcohol and sugar talking, but the rest is me, I swear.

I don’t even know where to begin.

I have been reading “Eat Pray Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert. It inspires me. I received it in the mail for my birthday from my most favourite mentor/teacher/friend ever and it came with a sweet card that I use as a bookmark so I can read it every time I pick up the book. What I really love about the book is the main character’s name is Elizabeth and she talks to herself through her book! MY NAME IS ELIZABETH TOO!!! AND I EAT, PRAY, AND LOVE ALL THE TIME! Seriously. This book talks to me. Every time that Elizabeth Gilbert tells herself something, I can not help but feel the message was meant for me. Take this part for example {no spoilers here I promise}

Both the five-year-olds looked at me with bewilderment and a bit of fearful uncertainty. I had a sudden horrifying image of the woman I might become if I am not careful: Crazy Aunt Liz…in the muumuu with the orange dyed hair who doesn’t eat dairy but smokes menthols…and says things like “Bring Aunty Liz another wine cooler, baby, and I’ll let you wear my mood ring…”

{the dot dot dots in that paragraph represent words that were skipped that don’t apply to me, like divorcee, alas the quote is not exact…take it or leave it} You get the picture, I assume. There are actually better parts that are more applicable but this was pretty funny I thought.

Sometimes I really feel that crazy. I kind of just let it all hang out. I think very quickly. I mean that my thoughts come quickly, not one after another, but ten on top of another, and 15 in response to what I see, hear, and feel, all at once. Some may call it a “quick wit”. The problem is that I also speak quickly. Combined I think and speak quickly, and so I do think before I speak but it happens so fast that sometimes the reaction is a little bit like baking soda on vinegar: Two wonderfully useful and clean ingredients that joined together create something explosive and messy. Sometimes my words come out before my thoughts have had a chance to fully form themselves and people really don’t know what happened.

Take my little buddy Harrison for example. {The son of my wonderful friend who also has a blog found on my links page}This guy is the adventure king. He is a self-certified rescue hero. He is 4 ½ and he is the adventure king. I love him. I would squish him into a bottle and carry him in my purse if I thought he wouldn’t mind. That way I could always have him with me, you know, in case of emergency. Well, sometimes he invites me to take part in his adventures and rescue missions, and sometimes I feel like I get so into them that he looks at me a little bit like “crazy Aunt Liz”. Or my other friend Jansen {the son of my favourite mentor/teacher/friend} who used to look at me when he was 3 and say “I don’t know Biz, I don’t think this is a good idea.” If I can’t convince a three-year-old, it must be crazy.

But no, that’s not all I have been doing. I simply haven’t had time to write about anything else.

I watched the Bachelorette last Monday and really was truly shocked. Well, not really shocked, but for sure surprised. I still think Deanna is going to choose Jason, the single dad from Seattle, and this will work well because I only live a few hours away, so we can totally hang out. We will even have kids the same age. Yup. It’s happening.

What else, let’s see now. Hmmm…

Played a whole lotta softball. Ok, not tons, but one practice on Tuesday and two games on Wednesday.. What’s that? How’d we do? Oh, we kicked ass. HA! Not that it’s about winning or something, but it is really really fun. For me, it is honestly fun to play, win or lose, but obviously more fun to win. I love it. Loooooooove it. Oh ya, it is co-ed, beer league and we are in E {as in A,B,C,D,E} division. BUT IT”S STILL HARD! And soooo fun. I can’t get enough. I honestly feel like a little kid. I go outside just to throw the ball up in the air by myself. I love it love it love it. And the best part is, I play on such a wonderful wonderful sweet team. Everyone is really truly lovely. We encourage each other, we are good sports, and we really have fun. That being said, if you live in the Whis, and need a girl, I will happily play on your team when you need a spare and I can bring other ladies too. We are definitely decent for girls, I’m not bragging, I just mean we don’t suck, and we are fun.

Ok. One of my favourite people is coming over to drink wine with me. This is cool. Thank you Kelly for coming over, and I hope you don’t mind the random mention on my blog……so I might cut this short….like any minute now…..as soon as she gets here….until then I will keep blogging…..

Thursday, I stayed up until 3am with my lovely lovely friend who is honest to goodness a Godsend. She has been such a wonderful friend to me, and my family, that I wonder where she was my whole life. Well, I know where she was, because I asked, but I wish she was a part of my life. This woman is 100% Caring without the G. ha ha ha. That is just a joke for me, if you want to know, just email me and ask why it’s so funny to me…no it’s not the wine and sugar, although that may be slowing down my typing a bit…anyhoo…we stayed up really really late at my house while my family slept, and her 6-weeks-younger-than-my-youngest, baby Maverick slept like an angel. {This woman is also Harrison’s Mama as mentioned earlier} We had a lot of wine, and some pina coladas, but most importantly a very special night. We laughed, cried, and caught up. We don’t get to do this anymore. We are both married with two adorable children each, so when we do get together it is basically a juggling act of children that leaves us pulled in different directions. So yes, it was well deserved, well into the night, and well into the bottle, before we went to bed, me in my bed, and her on my couch. Thank you Ronald McD for breakfast in the AM.

Uhh…by the way, I don’t drink as much as it sounds like…I just happen to be drinking while I type this, and I am talking about drinking so it seems like lot… ok.

I’m back from Egypt. {Da Nile….Denial … get it? Duh}

Oh. I just heard Kelly’s car. I am done for now. I will post this and write more later.

Ya. I am back. 1.7 glasses of wine and 16.3 great conversations later. Thank you Kelly Kapowski, I love you, and yes, this will be a wonderful summer.

Here’s the thing, people. The thing is… I really love friends…in the term “friends” I include my rocking family. My sister, brother, really cool aunt, and parents . I know that is soooo freaking apparent, and maybe you, Captain Obvious, are thinking “Ya. No duh, dumbass, of course you love friends. That’s why they are friends, otherwise you’d call them “enemies” but I really really love my friends. Not just because they laugh at my jokes, but because I have the best freaking friends in the whole freaking world. Yes. You. You are my friend. The people that I don’t get enough time with, or talk to enough, or really stay in contact with at all…please know that I love you. Really really really really love you. I do. Ok. There is definitely wine and now about 6 layers of 7-layer dip circulating, but all that has done is loosen the tongue, as in my fingers, while I type, and allow me the freedom to share with you how much I love you. Thank you for reading this blog. Thank you for caring what I have to say. Thank you for being a friend. Wanna have coffee?? Soooo…..that was kinda awkward…..

Dooooo you like stuff????

How is your Mum?

These are 2 questions that 3 of my best-girls and I {my dux} realized one night are the perfect question-solution to any lull in conversation. Go ahead. Use them. They work.

Anyways. I just realized how long this one single post is. Really really looong. Probably because I use terms like “really really” or add extra vowels to emphasize the word. That’s how I roll. Ha ha. I just wanted to say that. But for real now, I am out. I am listening to these artists: Jack Johnson, Ben Harper, Garth Brooks, Queen, Pat Benatar, Bob Seger, Tracy Chapman, Van Morrison, The Grateful Dead, The Doors, CCR, The Beatles, Lobo, and The Eagles. I have always had what my friends call a “bad” taste in music. These are a few of my faves that I have compiled to listen to while I blog. Good Times. Inspiring. Whatever my taste of music may be, I am one hundred percent certain that I have the best taste in friends. Thanks for reading.

*Liz

Litterbugs deserve an ass kicking

2008-06-30T14:03:00.004-07:00

As you may well know, I lack what some people call a filter. I say what I think, with no regard to the consequences. This has often landed me in trouble, whether a jail cell, marital spat, or the principal’s office…no fun…Sometimes it works for the better. I have been voted valedictorian because I was the classmate that spoke up, I have no fear of asking for what I want, and I will eagerly come to the defense of my friends and family if I feel they are under attack.

Well, now I have spoken up publicly. I wrote a letter to the paper. I am not sure if it will get printed or not, but I ranted and emailed and sent it off with no regard as to whether or not I would still want this letter printed a week later. We will see. The paper comes out Wednesday so two days to go.

What was the rant about you ask? Well, about the dumb people of the world that litter. I don't mean litter in the "oops, a kleenex blew out of my purse and I chased it across the park but can't quite catch it" kind of way. I mean litter in the "yes. I am going to take a beer can, and throw it on the ground, then wipe my ass with toilet paper and throw that on the ground too. I am going to do this in a place that should be enjoyed by many. I want to mark it with my garbage because I think I am cool" kind of littering.

I took my daughter for a walk to what should be one of the most beautiful places in town, and I found it covered with beer cans, garbage, and toilet paper. I know, lame. I have been that kid that parties outside. I was pretty much raised on drinking in the park, like my friends will know. We used to spend a lot of time laughing, drinking, and dancing outside. Yet there is something that really gets under my skin about people leaving their empties behind and used toilet paper too! GROSS! Amongst all this nastiest, I managed to still find some pretty spots and take some cute shots of my oh-so-cute daughter. If the letter is not printed, which I actually doubt it will be, I will post it here in a few days. Seriously though, I know it is summer. I know drinking outside is fun, but don’t leave your empties behind! It’s actually an amazing fact that empty cans weigh less than full ones. This should technically make them easier to carry on the way out. Hurray for science!

Mojitos uncovered!

2008-06-25T13:36:00.003-07:00

Here is the blog I originally wrote Saturday morning and I guess forgot to post...fair enough... I was foggy.

Good times, great friends!

So Friday night came and I was home alone with the two babies, my husband was off for some much deserved golf/therapy time. I was looking forward to a quiet night in. Then I got a phone call from my friend’s husband, inviting me to come over for a BBQ with her and her two children, because he was also heading out. My friend was having a nap so this would be a surprise to her, and he even offered to pick me up! Wow. I thought that was so cool; He wanted to surprise his wife when he brought home a friend and an insta-party, and he took care of me too so I wasn’t home alone with the kiddies.

We had a lovely barbeque while sipping on delicious mojitos that her husband made and then we decided to kick it up a notch.

My friend and I came back to my house, with the mojitos in a bag. We put the children to bed and got to talking!

It was so awesome to finally get the time to sit with this amazing friend and converse with her without four children, two mine and two hers, climbing all over us. Although we did at one point have to stop when Ella woke up and called me into her room because she had a booger on her finger and needed a Kleenex…fair enough…

We drank a lot of mojitos, had a lot of heart to hearts, and tons of laughs. Here is the recipe for some delicious mojitos….

ok. I lost the recipe. It is something like this:
muddle together 12 fresh mint leaves and half a lime
Fill glass with ice
Add 4tsp sugar
1.5 ounces rum
top with tonic
garnish with mint and lime

Actually, I think that is exactly the recipe. I guess we made enough that it's embedded in my brain!

Another one I know is blend ice with limeade concentrate, lots of fresh mint, fresh lime, grand marnier and rum...yum!

One of the things I love most about this woman is her amazing parenting. Check out her blog http://motherofboys.typepad.com for a recent post on positive parenting.

And try a mojito too.

Update

2008-06-25T13:06:00.004-07:00

I’m alive!

Thank you to those that have expressed concern towards my weeklong absence. I am here, alive and happy, just busy busy with two kidlets.

I did not know I would be so missed, or I would have blogged everyday.

Quick updates:

Friday had fabulous mojitos with my good good friend…. wait, I did write about that! What happened? I will search it out and re post.

Hung around home all weekend, skipped my 10 year and happy to because apparently no one showed! YAY! I didn’t miss a thing! {Except a good good friends wedding shower…sorry! I will make it up to you! I have the honor of being her Master of Ceremonies…or so I thought, she just told me I am the Mistress of Ceremonies. Nice. At 28, married with two kids I am now a mistress!}

Monday: The Bachelorette….TOTAL SHOCKER! WOW I DID NOT see that coming! I can’t believe she sent Graham home! The first thought that popped into my head was “what a stupid move” she admitted that she sent home the only one she was falling in love with! WHY? Maybe too much conflict? Maybe she thought he wasn’t feeling the same….but then the letter came and he said “this isn’t for any show, or any one else, it’s only for you!” wow. What does that letter say? I have a feeling she is going to regret that. Will they end up dating after the show? Will she do exactly what she didn’t want Brad to do? Lead the men on then choose no one? Hmm…. I don’t know now. I can’t wait until Monday for “The men tell all” and the “overnight dates” episode. Anyone want to join me?

Tuesday: Final golf lesson. We golfed 6 holes. I actually suck at golf but it is more and more fun each time. And guess what? My teacher said I can hit it as far as the women on tour! WOW! Ok, if I seriously think about that it is most likely impossible, however when he said that my imagination went into overload. I saw visions of myself on tour. I could be sponsored by Nike or some really cool golf company {like, whoever they are} and I will make millions, and wear really cool clothes, and my children will cheer me on from the sidelines. Even though the guys will hold up the sign saying “silent” I will still hear my babies, because they are the exception to the rule…and the hair…I will get my hair done all the time, highlights, cuts, styled, and I will have manicures because I need nice nails to represent the golf brand that sponsors me, and I will need a personal trainer so I can stay in shape, and a car! Someone will give me a new car, that is stylish enough for the next big thing {me} but still fits car seats and golf clubs and Tiger and I will laugh together about golf jokes, and I will wear that plaid jacket that has been retailored to fit me nicely and I will be given a golden bear and have lots of trophies and start a children’s golf charity and use my celebrity status to help save the world one golf stroke at a time and…..ok. That is how my mind works. One compliment, whether serious or not, and I am gone.

And today: I am at home with the family. We are working and having a lovely time. No baseball tonight so maybe just a quiet night in. My daughter now has the coolest bed in the whole world. She has to climb a ladder and cross a bridge to get into her bed! Her Dad, my husband {who I don’t talk about} is the coolest.

An old man arrived, when I say old I mean in his nineties, and he used to live here. It was a man I met years ago when I was a little girl. He was a good friend of my late Grandparents and he came for a trip down memory lane {or south lake lane so to speak}. It was really really lovely to see him. It brought tears to my eyes listening to the stories he told, and memories he shared about my grandparents whom I miss dearly. Lovely.

Now I am off to jump on the trampoline with my princess, who loves to play in the dirt, and adventure around, because we are truly blessed and really do live in the best place on earth.

*Liz

U R A W H A T?

2008-06-18T23:36:00.001-07:00

WARNING female stuff discussed...nothing bad, but you have been warned.

As I sat drinking my wine and shaving my legs, somewhat in preparation for my Ob-Gyn appointment for tomorrow, a few thoughts kept circulating in my head.

1} Why do women’s razors suck so much? Two legs are a lot more skin than one chin, so why are our razors so inferior to the men’s?

2} Why do we “prepare” for these appointments like this? My Ob-Gyn is a man. Is that why? I don’t think so, when I see my family Dr up here who happens to be female, I take the same care. Is it so they think we are meticulous about personal hygiene? A common courtesy? A safety precaution? I am not sure. I do know though that for some reason, I make sure that my legs are always clean shaven. I remember a friend {and loyal Tanjourine reader} telling me one time that she went in for a pap soon after a bikini wax, and the Dr said “Oh my, aren’t we nice and clean down here.” Hmm…. That would embarrass me….a lot…any comment is a comment too many…. I would worry that the Doc thought I was taking a bit too much care…you know, one of those women who has two kids and, ok…. I can’t finish this thought….

I guess it is somewhat like cleaning the house before the maid arrives, or brushing your teeth before the dentist. Are these the only situations where we take these precautions? We don’t eat before we go to a restaurant, God forbid the waiter think we are hungry! Do we remove all stains and wash our clothes before we drop them off at the drycleaner? Cut the grass before the gardener arrives? {No, the metaphor of this one is not lost on me..} Or maybe it’s not really like that at all, since the Ob-Gyn is not there to look at the legs, but happens to pass by them on the way. Hmmm….

3} Third and final question going around is why why why do we pronounce Ob-Gyn “O-B-G-Y-N”? It drives me crazy. SERIOUSLY CRAZY. It always has. I appreciate that my Dr is an intelligent, hardworking human. However, what has my O-B-G-Y-N done to deserve the spell-out? It is almost like a secret code. Did is start in the dark ages before men knew anything about women? Was it so we could spell it out without letting on that we were going to see that hush hush ladies Dr? Perhaps it is to command more respect. Maybe spelling it out like that automatically elevates the importance of the career in the ear of the beholder. I think that is it. If you spell it, people think “wow, you must be really important…” From now on, when people ask what I do, I will simply reply “I’m an M-U-M.” Even better is that I spell it M-U-M when most people spell it M-O-M so I will really throw them off if I say it quickly enough. “Wow” they will think, “I wonder how long she went to school for that?” Be warned friends, only life can give you the training required for this position.

So those are the questions in my head. Until I get some cement answers, from you, or someone else, I know a few things for sure:

1} I will continue to “borrow” my husband’s razor

2} I will continue to shave my legs before these appointments

3} I will continue to pronounce O-B-G-Y-N as “Baby Doctor”

4} I will from this moment forward, proudly list my career as an M-U-M

Feedback 2

2008-06-17T23:22:00.004-07:00

Here is a letter I recently received...

Dear Tanjourine

my thoughts exactly on the high school reunion thing.
if I didn't like you then, i prolly won't like you now.
just sayin it as it is.
also, one peeve.......facebook friend requests from people you don't ever really talk to, or even know for that matter.
is it okay to ignore them? is it okay to do some light housekeeping everynow and then and clean up your friends list?
i don't think it's being mean, i think it's just simply being practical.... no?
Dark Angel

Dear Dark Angel;

In a simple answer, yes. It is ok to say NO to Facebook friend requests. My simple theory is, if I wouldn't have coffee with you, why would we be Facebook friends, allowing you a look at all my pictures and personal information without any of the face to face conversation. Maybe it should be called "No-Facetimebook"?

It is better to deny the friend than it is to ignore. I have put this theory to the test. No one will know you said no, they just think you haven't replied yet..They will not receive a message saying "you are a loser, and I will not be your friend". I know, because I have requested people and asked them to deny me so I can see what happens. Nothing happens. That being said, I am still waiting for a few replies myself.....hmmm.... I am a loser! If you simply ignore it, you have it staring you in the face every time you log in. This guilt will haunt you while you should be mindlessly surfing.

As for the housekeeping as you call it: yes. It is ok to delete people once you have added them. It is also a nice way to show them you are friends, by accepting their request and then deleting them later. It's kind of like showing up at someone's party and then sneaking out when no one is looking. However be warned, having these friends may be of use to you at some point so maybe keep them around. I accepted someone as a friend, deleted them later, and then re-added them so I could look at their pictures! HA! I hope they don't read that...oops.... lol. {can't believe I typed lol, I HATE when people type lol...ha ha ha is so much better} so anyways, maybe set your privacy settings for that one person to really strong so that they can't see your stuff, but you can see theirs. Kind of like a two-way mirror {or is it called one way mirror?}

It does bug me when someone requests my friendship on Facebook and I think they could care less what I am up to, they just want their numbers to go up. You know those people that have 607 friends? The one who you met randomly at a party 6 years ago and they sit on FB all day trying to figure out who they can add because the more people they have as Facebook friends they cooler they are? It doesn’t work that way people. Go outside. Meet a human, have a conversation. That being said, I do love Facebook. I think it’s fun and a great waste of time. It helps me stay in touch with the people that I would love to have coffee with but don’t have the chance.

Thank you for your letter Dark Angel. Keep the feedback coming.

*Tanjourine.

The Bachelorette part 2

2008-06-17T10:32:00.003-07:00

It is Tuesday morning kids, and you know what that means? It’s the day after the Bachelorette. I had the pleasure of watching this episode with two wonderful ladies, and it was great to have someone else’s opinion on the men. Don’t get me wrong, Isaac is good company but at 5 months he still doesn’t really get it. These girls came down to cheer on Deanna with me and it was not only great to have the company but truly wonderful to connect with these women with whom I don’t get enough time…

So it’s down to the final four, the good guys. It’s time for the hometown dates.. “Mum, this is Deanna, she’s a wholesome southern girl and she’s currently dating three other guys.”

I don’t mean to brag, but I did call these monkeys as the final four a week ago. Jeremy, Graham, Jason, and Jesse.

I was happy to see Sean the martial arts master go. He was a little too sweaty for me. And seriously, any guy that has his own tanning bed, smurf sized sauna, and obsesses about his looks that much {even though he doesn’t look that good} has got to go.

Twilley also got axed, no surprise…She was only keeping him around for comic relief and it just wasn’t funny anymore. Who’s going to hide in the bushes now?

Let’s review..

Jesse: Snowboarder, about to take Deanna home to Colorado. DUDE YOU HAVE TO KISS HER! She has that kind of “he’s cute and I want to be his friend” crush on him, but I have a feeling his heart will be broken. A woman needs a man that will grab her and kiss her, regardless of circumstance…He’s cute, and sweet, but he’s the next to go. Deanna just doesn’t want to hurt him, because she really likes him

Jeremy; The one time front runner…SEE YA! He works until 10pm at night, not the family man she is looking for. I can appreciate that he thinks she’s the one etc, very “you woman. Me man.” Of him, but I just don’t see it working out.

Graham: Oh Graham…the pro basketball player who’s never been with a woman for more than 4 weeks…They have soooo much sexual tension you could cut it with a knife… She wants to kiss him, he won’t kiss her..It’s driving her crazy…but I think it will fizzle. He’s too young to marry, and she wants to settle down, yesterday.

Jason; yay Jason! My favourite. The homegrown Seattle boy. Way to stick it out with your son Ty after the mother took off. A good boy, a nice boy, a bit of a boring boy, but a safe and lovely boy. I am pulling for Jason. Deanna has committed to meeting the 3 year old son, she has got to be into him. If she’s not then she is a loser for bringing the boy into it…but she’s not a loser. She’s adorable and sweet. She’s in good enough shape to be a hottie and soft enough to not make the women hate her. Yay Deanna. I want Jason to win. They will be so cute.

I only hope that they sell out their privacy for an ABC wedding like Trista and Ryan did so we can all watch.

Who do you want to win? Send me a letter and I will publish it as a post!

Your votes count!

2008-06-16T09:27:00.001-07:00

Hey Tanj-readers... thanks for reading...
Don't forget to vote on the polls down the right side...

"Would you go to your highschool reunion?"

and "Who do you think will win the Bachelorette?"

Also feel free to send in an email of what you like, don't like, or what you'd like to see!
Thanks!
*Liz

To the Dad...

2008-06-15T21:06:00.002-07:00

To the Dad of my children, the Dad who is always there, the Dad who talked to them in my belly, and was there when they were born, the Dad who will always play, who reads them stories, the Dad who throws them so high in the air, the Dad that tells them “you’re so awesome! I love you!”, the Dad that changes diapers, and cuddles, and wipes away tears, and laughs, and makes laugh, and loves…you’re so great. I love you. Thank you for being the incredible father you are.

Happy Father’s Day

The good old days, old good days, or just old days?

2008-06-14T21:00:00.015-07:00

So the year is 2008. Ten years since I graduated from New Westminster Secondary School, NWSS, N-Dub. Good Times!

My ten year reunion is just around the corner, as in next Saturday night. I’m not going.

Why you ask? Let me break it down...The reasons for not going outweigh the reasons for going. I don’t think I am alone in this either. I checked out the Facebook page for the reunion and it kind of seems like most people are in the same boat as me…not going. Out of the 300 and something people that grad’d with me 10 years ago, 20 haven’t replied to the invite, 36 declined, 32 maybe, and only 53 confirmed, leaving a whole bunch that weren’t even invited!

53 confirmed? Wow. Out of those 53, there is only a handful, small, small size of a child handful, of people that I would have a remote interest in seeing. Don’t get me wrong, they are all nice people I am sure, but realistically we didn’t really hang out in high school, we haven’t hung out since, what’s the point of hanging out now? To trade our vague memories?

“Remember when we skipped class and…..”

“Remember when we got so drunk we…..”

“Remember that weird teacher that….”

The people that I would be happy to run into have either declined, not replied, or were not invited. I feel like I stayed in touch with the classmates I wanted to.

I am still friends with my favourite teacher of all time, and I know we will always be friends. She was, is, and always will be my mentor, my Morrie of “Tuesdays with Morrie”, my Amiga, the coolest lady I know.

I apologise {there I go again!} to anyone that may read this and feel like they wanted to see me. Or to people that are genuinely interested in what I have been doing for ten years. If you are one of those people, look me up, I’m on Facebook, let’s have coffee.

Or if you were simply interested in what I have been doing, so that you can feel in the loop, but you don’t really want to see me, then here you go:

The highlights of the past ten years….

1998 Graduated from High school.

1999 Attended Vancouver Film School on an acting scholarship

2000 Moved out of my parents house, moved in with a wonderful friend to our first apartment “The Lily Pad” and partied like it was 1999.

2001 My friend and I moved out of the “Lily Pad” into a big house with two other girlfriends, started a “sorority”, and named the house the “Duck Pond”. Great memories, odd jobs, some awesome times.

2002 Met the love of my life, moved to Whistler.

2003 Started career as restaurant and bar manager in Whistler, began Festival and Even Coordination program at Capilano College.

2004 Pregnant with first child, ended career.

2005 Valedictorian for Cap College’s Festival and Event Coordination program after attending for two years. My first child was born: Ella Grace.

2006 Married the love of my life.

2007 Pregnant with, and delivered my second child: Isaac Shawn Thomas

2008 Full time Mum of two perfect babies, living in Whistler, I love it in the summer, and but don’t really enjoy the snow in the winter. And I started this blog.

Other random highlights: Circular road trip to Las Vegas and Back, retiring to Florida, raising two incredible children with an amazing man, joining Church on The Mountain, getting arrested, singing at the Plaza of Nations, dancing, street vending, lots of laughs, love, love, and more love.

There you have it. There has obviously been a lot more in my life than that over the past ten years, but if I was at the reunion repeating the same lines over and over again, I am sure they would start to come out in one word sum-ups.

I think I might take my old yearbooks out, call the girls up, grab some wine…lots of wine…and go reminisce on our terms…and catch up on us, because the ones that I have stayed in touch with are the ones that matter.

If we didn’t go to high school together, and we are friends now, let’s have our own reunion! We can celebrate anything, anytime, I’d love to see you, let’s not wait until 10 years go by.

*Liz

My Granny

2008-06-14T20:15:00.002-07:00

Lately I have been having a bit of a pity party, with only one special guest, me. Life has been tough. I have two children, two and a half years and 5 months. Apparently life will never be as tough for me as it is now. I am home full time with the two of them, and I feel like I have been run off my feet, every day for almost three years. I have wonderful wonderful sweet children. They are good. They listen, they are absolute perfection in two small bodies, yet I have still been able to find things to complain about...no help, too much stress, yadda yadda yadda....bitch and moan.

It takes a lot of energy to be a full time mother.

Today is my Granny's birthday. If she was alive she would have been 93 years old! WOW! She passed away just over 6 years ago and her funeral was 6 years ago today. I miss her every single day.

I'm sitting here listening to the sounds of my washing machine, dryer, dishwasher, CD player, and computer.

I look around and I see a television, microwave, electric stove, vacuum, refrigerator and freezer!

Because it is my Granny’s birthday, I am reflecting on what life would have been like for her, here on Alta Lake when she had children as young as mine are now.

For one, she didn’t have any of the luxuries I listed above. No fridge, no washer/dryer, certainly no microwave, not even running water, and the stove required wood, which required chopping.

I complain because I am alone for 6-8 hours without help. My granny was alone for 4 years while my grandfather fought in the war.

Has the world become such an easy place that we are just looking for things to complain about? Or are my feelings of hopelessness, and desire for more, justifiable?

I don’t know. I have it pretty easy I guess. I know one thing for sure though; I would give up every single luxury I have ever known, everything, fridge and all, if it meant I could have my Granny here for one more day.

She was so awesome. Smart, funny, and tough as nails. A true Whistler pioneer. A force to be reckoned with. A wonderful woman.

If you want to learn more about my Granny, and her days in Whistler, check out the Whistler Museum. There you will find info on Margaret J Clarke, known to most as Betty, and to 7 lucky children she was known as Granny.

This is a picture of my Granny, Grandfather, and their 4 children, taken in the sixties.

This is a picture of my Great-Grandmother, Grace Woollard, who used to take the steam ship from Vancouver to Squamish, and then spend 2 days traveling from Squamish to Whistler by horse!

www.whistlermuseum.org

Oops!

2008-06-14T14:36:00.001-07:00

So it has recently been brought to my attention that I apologise for everything, and I need to stop.
Sorry about that!

Happy Days!

2008-06-13T08:59:00.004-07:00

The sun is shining.The music’s playing.We are dancing!I’m drinking coffee.The house is clean.We're going to a barbeque tonight at a wonderful friend’s house.Life is grand.

Meeeoooow!

2008-06-12T20:56:00.004-07:00

I played a double header in softball yesterday; we won both games, by a lot, very exciting…. And then…..

I coug’d it up. As in acted like the cougar I am.

I went to Buffalo Bills!

Three lovely ladies and I got dolled up and headed out on the town. My cousin, aka DJ Kenya was the special guest DJ so I got to tell the bouncer “I’M WITH THE DJ!” Total VIP treatment…Skipped the line, no cover etc. Wonderful.

I got inside, I got a corona {my first beer in a looooong time, like since before I was pregnant with Isaac, so probably last May!} I had one sip, looked around, and was ready to go… the party girl in me was ready to go off! There was a time in my life when I would have easily put 6 or 7 of those watery beers back, and come back for more. I could have lined up shots and danced all night…but then it hit me…I am a cougar! WOW! I have two children and a husband. I am 28 years old which makes me NINE YEARS OLDER than the majority of people there! YIKES! I had a quick dance then had to sit down. My feet were killing me… Besides it was more fun to watch the live sex show, also known as “Dancing” from a sitting position where I wouldn’t have someone else’s sweat and ass rubbing up on me. Wow. I was sooo out of my element. Who knew that one piece jumpsuits were fashionable?

The highlight of the night for me was definitely watching DJ Kenya spin. That man has talent. No wonder he is so highly sought after in Canada and the USA. If you want to check him out, he is the resident DJ at Republic in Vancouver every Wednesday night. Or look around for his other monthly shows. I may be out of the loop these days, but there was a big line to get in the club, the dance floor was packed, and everyone seemed to be having a great time.

If you live in the Whistles, you may have seen him this winter at Tommy’s where he had a regular Friday night show. Or perhaps you’ve seen him in Toronto, Montreal, Las Vegas, or Florida?

So yes, by about 12:15 I was ready to go home. Looooooooser I know! But to be fair to me, I have a baby who needs food, from me, and I would have to wake up at about 2am to feed him. Excuses excuses I know.

Next time DJ Kenya is in town I am definitely packing some bottles for my son and leaving him at home so I can have the dance and drink night I deserve. Rumor has is he is back for a repeat performance July 16. Any takers?

As for this morning, I felt pretty good. I only had about 6 hours sleep not bad. Since I only had one drink my head was clear, but come to think of it, my feet were a little hung-over.

*Liz

PS If you are interested in learning more about DJ Kenya check these out….

http://www.myspace.com/kenyakenyakenya

Facebook Groups:

BLEND WEDNESDAYS @ REPUBLIC

DJ KENYA ONLINE: Free music downloads and no cover guestlist "As a member of this group your entitled to no cover guestlist to any and all of the below club dates as well as access to all my mixes and mashups. This group has been created as a thank you to all people who have supported me and helped me get to where i am now. I hope you enjoy its contents. :)"

What defines richness?

2008-06-12T16:38:00.003-07:00

What defines richness?

According to Stats Can my family is in the top 1% of the world. Wow. We are not wealthy, yet we are the richest in the world! It really makes me stop and think about how truly blessed I am. I have food. I have a roof. I have clothes. I have all sorts of possessions, some paid for and some I will be paying for over the next few years. Is it stuff that makes us rich, or cash in the bank?

I think neither. I truly believe that it is the family and friends we surround ourselves with that make us rich.

To be loved, and have someone to love in return makes us rich.

{photo by Carin Smolinski}

Don’t get me wrong, stuff and money are both nice, but what is the point if you can not share it with someone you love?

I think that it is easy to lose sight of how rich we are when we become adults and stuff takes too much importance in our life.

If I stop and think about all the people I know, under the age of 6, coming from all different backgrounds, they are the richest in the world.

Children: They love life for all it is worth. They are happy to play with cardboard boxes, rocks, water in a cup, anything at all. They do not need the newest TV, car, stereo equipment. They don’t need to golf on expensive courses, or wear fancy clothes. Children are happy playing outside, in nature, wearing whatever they have on or nothing at all!

{Photo by Anastasia Chomlack www.anastasiachomlack.ca }

Why do we feed into it? Why has the world become a place where not only do we need the best toys and clothes for ourselves, but we are literally forcing it onto our children as well? Why teach our children that style and how they look is important? Why do we tell our children that they are “cute” instead of “nice, intelligent, caring, and thoughtful”? Why do we take the things that are most important in the world, disregard them, and replace them with adorably expensive outfits, and material objects? WHY?

By doing this with our children are we creating a world that is image based, or simply preparing our children for the reality of the future?

So many questions in my head about this… What is the best way to prepare our children for the world ahead?

Here are the lyrics to one of my favourite songs…It has a great tune, and the lyrics always make me feel so blessed with what I have. They really bring me down to earth and remind me how amazing this life truly is.

……………………………………………………………………………………….

All I Really Need

All I really need is a song in my heart

Food in my belly and love in my family

All I really need is a song in my heart

And love in my family

And I need the rain to fall

And I need the sun to shine

To give life to the seeds we sow

To give the food we need to grow

All I really need is a song in my heart

And love in my family

And I need some clean water for drinking;

And I need some clean air for breathing;

So that I can grow up strong

And take my place where I belong

All I really need is a song in my heart

And love in my family

Lyrics by Raffi, 1980

So I googled “all I really need” to try and find these lyrics, and this also popped up.

….……………………………………………………………………………………….

http://www.peace.ca/kindergarten.htm it’s the link to “All I really need to know I learned in Kindergarden”. Check it out. It’s pretty cool…

Ok. I feel better now.

For the next week, I am going to focus on “keeping it real”. Remembering how amazing my family and friends are, and how much I have.

I have food in my belly and love in my family…what else could I possibly need?

Memories re-hatched

2008-06-11T10:51:00.004-07:00

As I just wrote about, I recently discovered a whole whack of old pictures.
Here are a couple of my favourite.
One of Ella's first canoe rides
and one of her first camping trip. She was 11 months old, we had just been married, {legally, not in spirit} and she has that same look that I have seen on many of my friends before.

You know the one, you wake up in a tent, it's hot and there's no air, last nights events are kind of a blur, you scramble to open the tent door just to allow some fresh oxygen in, but it's bright; oh so bright.....good times...

June-uary?

2008-06-11T10:28:00.005-07:00

I recently dropped off and picked up 15 rolls of film…fifteen… lots. Ok, about 12 of them were from our wedding tables, some pretty funny pics there, but some of them were treasured baby pictures from Ella’s first days. Lovely, lovely memories in print! I had lost a lot of these same pics from our digital files on the pc so it is so wonderful to have them back. And some of the pictures are of an ice storm we had here in February a couple of years ago. Do you remember? It was as if the whole world had been dipped in water and flash frozen. It was gorgeous. It really looked like everything was under water. This is one of my favourite pictures of that time. It is a blueberry bush, but to me it looked like coral. The quality is not that great, because it was cheap development and I am not a pro, but I wanted to share this memory with you…

And remember, it may be June-uary weather out there, but at least the world’s not covered in ice.

The Bachelorette

2008-06-10T10:44:00.004-07:00

Ok. I forgot that Monday nights are another favourite because I get to watch two full hours of the ultimate trash TV...The Bachelorette.

Let's review:

Thank God she got rid of the sweaty faced chef. He was a little too full of himself with the whole "the first kiss determines the passion for the whole relationship" thing. Um, ya bud...did you not see it coming when she wouldn't let you kiss her? It's kind of obvious from there that you're on the next train to Loserville...and seriously, crying in the limo? Good job securing no dates in the future...Now he won't even be able to play the "I'm a minor celebrity cause I was on the Bachelorette" card. DO NOT CRY IN THE LIMO!!!! Soooo lame.... And did you notice how the tear was rolling down his cheek, and then he turned his face to camera so we could all see he was crying? No sympathy votes here! I wouldn't even eat in that chef's restaurant.... too cheesy.

Poor poor Fred. The New Yorker that didn't stand a chance. Yes, he was sweet, but seriously? The guy didn't have a hope. He was kind of the nerdy good friend that she might call if her boyfriend stood her up and all her girls were busy. A little too bumbly for me.

Sean: The martial arts master…Even with the new haircut you are weird. Go home please. I’ve never liked you. I don’t think I ever will.

Jeremy, Jeremy, Jeremy, settle down! I love that he is soo sure of himself, and doesn't care what the other guys think. The whole "I want to marry this girl so I'm not going to stand back and let other guys have a chance" thing is cool, however...it is a game! No need to get so freaking worked up over not winning the stock car races! Deanna kicked all your butts anyways! A man that shows that much frustration over a little race might take life a bit too seriously.... and the freckles have to go.

Snowboarder dude {jesse} ... Watch out. Your heart will be broken. Deanna loves you, but will never love you in that way. She will string you along and then break your heart when she trades you in for a taller, preppier, more mainstream kind of man.

Twilley; Where did you come from? Too many bad jokes and too many nose jobs. This is not working. You are only still here because she has to give out those roses. Stand up tall and concede a loss. It is sooo not going to happen.

Sweet sweet single Dad guy... What's his name again? Jason I think…My favourite for sure. He's a little dorky, but I kind of like that. Nice move being there to comfort her when the other nerds got sent home.. smooth. And Deanna just might go for the Daddy family man.. She did have a star named after his son Ty, didn't she?

And to the basketball guy. [Is it Graham?] Be patient, keep your shirt off, she will come to you. She is going to kiss other dudes cause that why she's there. Good job on opening up though, we appreciate it. And the whole "I don't want to be one of many" that she kisses thing...nice... However, you just embarrassed her on TV. Play hard to get, but not too hard...It's working for you.

I am going to call it right now:

Top four: Snowboarder, Jeremy Frecklesnout, Daddy Big Ears, and Mr The Balls in MY court.

Top Three: See you later Snowboarder, it's a long cold run to the bottom. Maybe you will get some sponsors out of this?

Top Two: I think Freckleface is next to go... A bit too intense.. This will leave Daddy and Mr Hold my balls or no balls {as in basketballs you sickos}

And the winner is.....

I'm not sure yet... I am going to flip flop on this one. Not sure if she's ready to be an instant mama but don't see her moving away from her family to support the basketball dream either...

Stay tuned for more opinions on the Bachelorette...and let me know what you think.

Monday nights are great!

*Liz

http://abc.go.com/primetime/bachelorette/index?pn=index

TUESDAYS ARE MY FAVOURITE!!!

2008-06-10T10:38:00.003-07:00

YAY YAY YAY!!!

It's tuesday, and do you know what that means?

I get to golf and play softball!
YAY!!!

Golf lesson at 530 and bball practice right after....yay
Maybe the sun will come out too? Doubt it...
I don't care cause it's shining inside my heart! ha ha ha.... I had to put something cheezy today!

My daughter is at school, the laundry is done, I won't look at the kitchen {which counts as being clean if I don't look} I am drinking coffee and.... YAY!! I got presents yesterday!! Paint and canvases, and lovely great stuff!!! I'm so lucky.

Happy Tuesday!

Comments! FOR RIZZLE THIS TIZZIME!

2008-06-09T23:42:00.004-07:00

oK OK.
I know I keep saying that you can leave comments. I just received this email from my good friend and WONDERFUL LADY who I will write about soon....

still can't leave comments.

not sure how.

and i love that ella wants to put your belly in the oven.
is it like a dough?
maybe it's cause people came up to you and said,
"so, how's the bun in the oven?"
whilst isaac was cookin in there and she has somehow
related this to baking the belly.


and as for the ps i love you post.
i thought omg lizmo, fromage...
then i paused and said wait! 
i feel those exact things about my
boyf.....and hopefully one day, hubby.

DA
xoxoxo



So I have fixed it and I am 100% sure that you can leave comments now without needing an account.
SO LEAVE THEM! Just click on "comments" and choose "anonymous"
*T

If tomorrow never comes

2008-06-09T23:18:00.006-07:00

Photo By Carin Smolinski

Everyday I am with my children. And every day at some point or another, I feel like all patience is gone. The laundry pile is growing, the dishes are always dirty, the toys are never put away, and I am always tired.

Then I read a story about a friend of a friend's baby with a brain tumour. Or receive an email from a friend of mine who lost a baby of her own.

These are the moments that cause me to slow down, to a near stop and breathe.

I am so blessed to be in the presence of my children every day. They are incredible people and I get to be a part of their journey as they grow.

I hope they will always want me around.

I sit here and I am thinking to myself "my children are alive and healthy" and that simple thought, that is so easy to take for granted, makes me cry with joy.

These are the lyrics to a song that always makes me smile, and think of how much I love my little girl

It is meant as a love song, but really, is there any love stronger than the love a mother has for her children?

……………………………………………………………………………

IF TOMORROW NEVER COMES

Garth Brooks

Sometimes late at night
I lie awake and watch her sleeping
She's lost in peaceful dreams
So I turn out the lights and lay there in the dark
And the thought crosses my mind
If I never wake up in the morning
Would she ever doubt the way I feel
About her in my heart

If tomorrow never comes
Will she know how much I loved her
Did I try in every way to show her every day
That she's my only one
And if my time on earth were through
And she must face the world without me
Is the love I gave her in the past
Gonna be enough to last
If tomorrow never comes

'Cause I've lost loved ones in my life
Who never knew how much I loved them
Now I live with the regret
That my true feelings for them never were revealed
So I made a promise to myself
To say each day how much she means to me
And avoid that circumstance
Where there's no second chance to tell her how I feel

If tomorrow never comes
Will she know how much I loved her
Did I try in every way to show her every day
That she's my only one
And if my time on earth were through
And she must face the world without me
Is the love I gave her in the past
Gonna be enough to last
If tomorrow never comes

So tell that someone that you love
Just what you're thinking of
If tomorrow never comes

……………………………………………………………………….

I love that song.

If there’s one part that I hope will stick with you it is this:

'Cause I've lost loved ones in my life
Who never knew how much I loved them
Now I live with the regret
That my true feelings for them never were revealed
So I made a promise to myself
To say each day how much she means to me
And avoid that circumstance
Where there's no second chance to tell her how I feel

I have never been one that is good at communicating my feelings, ok let me change that. I have never been good at communicating positive feelings. I don’t have a problem telling people I am upset. There is something so intimate and scary about opening up and telling someone you love them. I don’t mean the obvious ones like my husband, but the ones that are more awkward to admit.

You know, the friends that you love and mean a lot to you? It creates an uncomfortable social moment sometimes and as humans we don’t like to feel awkward do we?

To all my friends who are reading this blog:

I love you. Thank you for your support. Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for laughing at my jokes. Thank you for hopefully continuing to read in the future when I promise to get less sappy, I know it has been sappy for a couple days.

Thank you for being in my life.

*Liz

Hmmmm

2008-06-08T23:19:00.000-07:00

So that last post was a little bit sap-tastic.

That’s what I was feeling, so I wrote it down.

I can’t be all fun and games, ok?

I will not apologize for making you gag from how sweet I am.

My man, who I lasted exactly thirty seconds not talking about, is that fabulous.

Ok. From now on, I really won’t talk about him.

{Unless it’s really important.}

*Liz

PS I love you

2008-06-08T22:53:00.003-07:00

Just finished watching “PS I love you”

Wow.

I know I said I wouldn’t talk about him, my husband, my love, but I have to break that promise now, just once more, to say this:

He is the most wonderful man in the world.

Anyone that has met him has been blessed.

He is a gift to this world.

The one I want to tell everything to, always, every time, even if he was there.

I love him more than I ever thought possible.

I am excited for every second we have together, and regret every second that hasn’t been perfect.

He is my rock. He inspires me. He is proud of me. He supports me.

He makes me laugh in a way no one else can.

I am lucky to have him and he says he is lucky to have me.

My love for him is forever.

I will try not to talk about him anymore, just because he doesn’t want to be talked about, but I just had to say that.

He is amazing.

*Liz

PS I love you

Comments!

2008-06-08T12:34:00.000-07:00

yay! I figured it out. Now you are able to leave anonymous comments, without needing a google account....Please leave some feedback!

*Liz

Dear Tanjourine...

2008-06-08T11:53:00.001-07:00

To my lovely readers;

I have decided that this Tanjourine blog needs something more, so I have decided to become an agony aunt. Write me some letters to the email attached and I will post your letter, without your name, and respond here on the blog.

Here is the first letter I have received….

DEAR TANJOURINE: My mother is very strict about the use of obscenities, so I don't use them at home. However, I have become close friends with "Mallory," and cuss words are part of her normal speech.

I have been to Mallory's house where swear words are normal among her parents and siblings. (Her parents are worse than she is in this regard.) I know it's not right, but it's the way she has been brought up.

Recently, Mallory spent the night here, and my mother heard her cuss. My younger sister was in the room. After Mallory left, my mother said she will not tolerate such "filth" and said Mallory is no longer welcome in our home, especially because she thought nothing of exposing my sister to such language.

TANJOURINE, Mallory is a loyal, caring friend. Her behavior is the result of her upbringing. I don't think it's fair to ban her from our house. I would ask her not to talk this way in our home, but I think she might slip up and sometimes forget. Have you any suggestions? -- TARZANA, CALIF., TEEN

DEAR TARZANA;

First of all let’s get rid of the word “Cuss”. It is no longer acceptable in today’s common language. I prefer the term “swearing” or “dropping the f-bomb” if you will.

Secondly, tell your friend “Mallory” to read a book. An Archie Comic will do. This will enable her to learn a new form of language, and realize there are better words out there than she is using if she will only let her mind grow. From our friends Jughead and Big Moose she could borrow; “Aw Shucks” , “Drat”, or “Guffaw” if she is really stuck.

Just because her parents swear does not make it ok for her to continue this behavior. If her parents were hitting each other would it be ok for her to hit you? I doubt it.

And finally, tell your Mother to lighten up. Having children myself, I recognize that she doesn’t want verbal diarrhea coming from the mouths of her babes, but seriously lady, lead by example. Try explaining to your children why it is not appropriate instead of creating a bubble shaped prison and keeping them hostage. Does your mother really believe that you and your sister will never hear anyone swear? Or see them spit? Or speed? Honestly, sheltered children are the ones that end up socially behind the rest of us. Your Mother needs to learn to take it in, fix it up, and throw it right back out there.

Good luck with this one, and watch your language.

my readers...

I will cut to the chase, so send me your letters {real or fake} and I will respond in the style I know best; brutal honesty.

Have a great day!

*Liz

"I love your belly"

2008-06-07T08:52:00.000-07:00

picture by anastasia chomlack
http://www.anastasiachomlack.ca/

“Let me put my hand on your belly!”

“Umm….please don’t.”

I don’t know what it is. I hate my belly. Ella loves my belly.

I have two children. It is not the belly it once was. Yes, all you motivational speakers out there, I know it should be a point of pride. It is. I am so proud and amazed at what my pregnant body can do. While pregnant I had people ask me if I was pregnant with “Twins? Triplets? Due any day?”

“No, just one baby this time, and not due for another 4 months, I’m actually right on track, I have a small frame, I’m all belly, if this baby was on you it would look a lot smaller, according to my Dr I am perfect, do you have children, ARE YOU A DR???”

In reality though, I grow a pretty big belly when I am pregnant and I love it. What I don’t love is the aftermath. The whole deflated balloon, I’m only 28 {24 at heart} and will never wear a bikini again syndrome thing I’ve got going on.

Ella apparently feels differently. She loves my belly….LOVES my belly. Wants to cuddle it, rub it, kiss it, talk to it, and look at it, in private and in public. I don’t know why. Maybe she developed this love when she knew I was pregnant with Isaac, I can’t remember, or maybe she recognizes it as her home planet, I am not sure. Point is, she freaking loves to touch it and I can’t even stand to remember that this stretched out ponch is part of my body. I know, rant much? Love yourself; looks don’t matter, blah blah blah.

Ok…I’m back. You wouldn’t know I’d left, but I did and now my opinion has changed too.

Ella called me into her room for a picnic of chocolate cake and soup. She had it all laid out, forks, and spoons, and juice {plastic bowling pins} and plates and everything. We wore bibs. It was awesome. We dined with Sunshine Bear, my favourite ever gift from my maternal Grandfather, who died when I was 6. It was perfect. I can’t believe that this little girl came from my belly.

I LOVE my belly. I am so proud of what it can do. I have successfully created, grown and delivered two healthy beautiful children. I have delivered “naturally” and via c-section. I am a freaking superstar.

Maybe this is the summer I will wear a bikini proudly, and let it all sag out. I will make those sour faced 108 pound Lululemon Blondies cringe, with their “OMG!s” and I will strut my stuff proudly…. People will flock to me and say “What a gorgeous belly! Are you a model? You must be so proud!” I will be asked to pose for Vanity Fair and host my own talk show….

Ok. Probably not. But I might wear a shorter than normal tankini….and I will smile, and love my body, as long as it is partially hidden, and seriously, I can not even wait to have another baby.

PS This is the conversation Ella and I just had....

“Why do you like my belly?”

“Because I love it.”

”Why do you love it?”

“Because I want it.”

”Why do you want it?”

“Because I have to want it and love it.

“Why do you have to want it and love it”

“Because I want to put it in the oven.

Ok. So that should clear things up…

*Liz

Hola Diego!

2008-06-02T13:22:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning to the sound of a deep voice coming from Ella's bedroom.

"Ok Mr. Fitzpatrick, Ella can't talk to you right now! She will have to call you back." And the phone slammed...

I looked at the clock. It was 7am.

My brother has arrived from Las Vegas.

He checked in to his Whistler hotel last night at midnight. He went to get coffee this morning, and Starbucks was still closed, so he ran all the way to our house to wake up Ella.

This was a dream come true for her to wake up to Uncle Doug! WOW! I listened to them play for about ten minutes, I debated going back to sleep myself, and then I heard him say

"Do you want to go in Mummy's car to get your Aunt Ginger?"
And Ella said "Yes, let's go."

I had to get up at this point...I was so excited to see my brother that I could not wait any longer. I was also wondering if they really were about to take off and not let us know, I didn't really want to wait around to find out!

For those of you that know my brother, or had the pleasure of watching him MC my wedding, you know he is big and loud. His energy surrounds him and anyone that comes within 50 feet of him. He exudes happiness...he rocks.

What you may not know is his quiet side. {As in spirit, not voice, he's never quiet in voice} Ella is drawn to him. He is the greatest uncle she could dream of. She adores him. She will do anything he asks and will follow him wherever he goes. He is her hero.

She also just learned that Doug is Diego in Spanish...this is very exciting for Ella because Dora's cousin is Diego too!

I am so happy that I have the pleasure of sharing this week with my brother and his wife. I love them both so much and I am so happy they are here.

Bzzzzz SPLAT

2008-05-31T22:37:00.000-07:00

Arrrgggh!!! MOSQUITOS!!!!

THEY MAKE ME WANT TO SCREAM! Seriously. I know this is crazy, but I really really don’t like mosquitoes. Some people don’t like spiders, some bees, for me it is mosquitoes.

I can not effing stand them!

I was standing in the doorway talking to my deck-building, hard working, husband {WIDTA} and all of a sudden, I had that feeling. That hot, itchy, tingly, want to scratch a hole through my skin feeling. No ladies, I was not hot for my sweet man, I had been bitten by a mosquito.

Just writing this is making it itch even more. I was bitten right between the shoulder blades, the one place on my body I can not reach, and I am not impressed. I saw the mosquito fly away too, and it was smiling. Ok, maybe not smiling, but buzzing happily to itself for the split second before I smashed it into the glass and watched it fall lifeless to the floor, wings and stinging itch-causing needle of hate still in tact.

OK. Now I feel bad.

I just totally let my rage and anger totally consume me. I killed something. I should have gently waved the mosquito into a paper bag, or held up my honey covered arm to let him land, and then returned it to the forest where he belongs. I am in his territory right? I am the one that put my house in the area where thousands of mosquito generations have lived, long before I was ever around.

Who am I kidding? That mosquito attacked, and what I did was pure self defense. For all I know, he was trying to kill me, by allergic reaction or pure out mental distress…ok, on a side note, if someone or something did try and kill me by pure out mental distress, it probably wouldn’t be too hard….my point is, although I had a split second where I regretted killing one of God’s creatures, I cannot help but feel that if God did not want me to kill these awful bugs, he would have not made my palms so flat. I will most likely stand by my decision at three o clock in the morning, when I am awake to feed Isaac, and I still have a very itchy back.

So, my wonderful man {WIDTA} just saw me doing my tribal “I’ve been bitten in the middle of my back and I can’t quite reach it so I will hop around on one foot screaming while I try to reach it anyways” dance, and so sweetly gave me his Steve Yzerman Detroit Red Wings jersey. This is a big deal.

He’s working really hard outside, in the dark, alone except for the bugs that surround him, and told me “here, if you want to keep the bugs away, just wear this.” So I feel better already. Kind of like a high school girl who was just given the coolest guy in schools shirt to wear….thump thump thump goes the heart….

I suppose I should mention that he had previously covered the jersey in all natural citronella bug repellant. That is why it keeps the bugs away. It’s not that the jersey has magical powers…or maybe it does….while I am sitting here in the jersey, practically itch free, listening to my children sleep, and watching my husband build me a sun deck, I am starting to get another feeling…only this time, there are no mosquitoes involved…

*Liz

PS So I googled "mosquito" to find a picture to attach, and it bottles my mind what I found...Mosquito clubs, mosquito wall paper, mosquito photo contests...SERIOUSLY PEOPLE, MOSQUITOS ARE NOT COOL!!!

PPS I have heard from a friend, and also just read online that dryer sheets in pockets keep mosquitos away. If this is true, I am going to make a coat of of dryer sheets. I will buy some as soon as I can, and I challenge you to try too! Let me know how it goes, and I will let you know what I discover too. :)

Feedback

2008-05-30T21:23:00.000-07:00

i would like to thank everyone for your feedback so far. Keep it coming!
I am new at this, so I don't really have any format...obviously.
It has been brought to my attention that you can't leave comments on the blog site without an account. Sorry about that. I did not design it like that, blame google...{am I going to get kicked off now?} If you want to send me a comment please send them to my attached email address or facebook if we are friends..... I love hearing what you think so please please keep telling me what you think!

Now it is time to get to know me...I think there are only a few of you out there that read this blog, hopefully one day that number will grow. If you have any questions for me, at all, please email them to me. I will post the question as a new post and then post the response. Feel free to ask anything, real or random, or if there is something you want me to write about, or want my opinion on, please let me know.

Yay, loyal readers. You are sooooo great!

Umm, by the way. I didn't have coffee today. Ok, I poured a small cup, drank half and dumped it. I was thinking about it yesterday, the coffee, the sugar, the shakes, uuughhh. Too much. Anyways, please be proud of me! I have been grumpy and tired all day.
My poor children and husband {WIDTA...who I don't talk about} have suffered through a day of grumpy old , not that old, me.

Tomorrow is a big day. We are building a deck. I will be drinking lots of coffee.
*Liz

Fat-Free = Sugar-Full?

2008-05-29T16:58:00.000-07:00

What a great day….

Ella had school from 9-11. I had coffee in bed, and my husband {who I don’t talk about on my blog} took her to school...bliss.

I picked her up at 11 and went to the park with a fabulous group of women for a picnic in the sunshine…bliss

I did wonder at what point my legs had gone from white to translucent…I could actually see through them to the other side…

Then we came home and ate peanut butter sandwiches…these are a treat for my family, kind of a hidden treat, since peanut butter has become somewhat like smoking and it is only allowed at home, and very frowned upon in public.

And now, Isaac is swinging away in his sleep, Ella is learning Spanish and I am drinking coffee {again}. It is so chalk full of International Delight Fat Free Hazelnut that it tastes like hot candy in a cup…..one last time I will use this word…bliss.

Ok, so I just went and looked at the IDFFH cream, and maybe not so blissful after all…There are 5 grams of sugar per tablespoon! I have about 4 tablespoons per CUP! And, I have about 2 or 3, ok 4, cups a day! WOW! Do the math…wait for it…80 grams of sugar, in my coffee, a day? Is that bad? Probably not, right? Because even if I shake and can not really form a complete sentence or thought, at least I’ll be fat free…right? Is that the “reality” I am supposed to buy into when I buy fat-free-sugar-cream? Yikes…I think I will be switching to regular cream and sugar. There’s gotta be less sugar in regular sugar than in fat-free-sugar-cream right? Someone, anyone, please email me on this one and let me know!

Ok wait…I also just looked at my fat free good and healthy skim milk, and there are 13 g of sugar per cup (250 ml) I drink A LOT of milk too..I have to; I am a new Mum, for the second time…Hey, maybe that’s why my KIDS ARE SO SWEET!! You are what you eat and my babies start life eating sugar milk! WOW! Ok, now you think I am mental….As long as I can justify it to myself, it is all good.

So ya, today has been great. I am full of sugar, the sun is shining, and I love my sweet sweet family. Yay sugar.

Ha!

*Liz

YAY GOLF!!!

2008-05-27T21:37:00.000-07:00

Ok….Golf ROCKS! I loved it. The weather was perfect too, sunny, not too hot, just right. And it was hard! Wow…I didn’t realize how hard... but when I hit it right, it was awesome! What a rush! I can’t wait until next Tuesday for lesson number 2.

After my beautiful hour long lesson, where I attempted to golf the balls onto the green, and then whacked the heck out of them at the driving range, I got to have a ladies dinner out…This was a total treat. Just women, no children as distractions, I almost forgot how to socialize..almost...

I had a two hour dinner where I ate my whole meal, did not get up from the table once, and had a totally adult conversation! The only bad part was the whole time I was missing my husband {who I am not talking about on my blog} and children, and thinking that dinner would be better if they were there too…. Oh, and I should mention that there are some seriously cute golf clothes for women. Check out www.ladygolf.com if you don’t believe me.

Yesterday I did a painting that I love. Tomorrow is softball. The year of creating continues…

*Liz

LOGF

2008-05-27T13:25:00.000-07:00

And that stands for Ladies Only, Gentlemen Forbidden.

Today is the day! My first LOGF {golf} lesson! YAY! Thank you to my kiddies and husband {who I am not talking about on my blog} for the generous gift of LOGF lessons. I can't wait. 530 can not come quickly enough...until then, it is free play time....off for an adventure....and maybe a mini LOGF clothing fashion show.
*Liz

Steven From Bell Mobility

2008-05-27T13:20:00.000-07:00

Within the last minute…sixty seconds…Isaac threw up on me, I spilled tuna salad on my lap, and Ella coloured her hands and arms magenta. I now need a coffee. I have no cream. Tea will have to do.

Prior to that I was listening to Steven from Bell Mobility explain to me how I can upload pictures from my new phone to send a picture message.

WHY IS THERE A PASSWORD REQUIRED!!!?????!!!

As if life is not complicated enough, now they go and add a password to my phone so I can send picture messages. My old phone did not require a password. This concept is lost on me. Why is it required? Is it for my benefit? To protect me? Maybe they are looking out for me. Maybe if my phone is stolen and the thief wants to send picture messages he {or she} won’t be able to because they don’t have the password.

Honestly, I don’t care. If someone steals my phone and wants to send picture messages,

all the power to them. Maybe that would help me catch the thief that stole my phone. I would see their forearm and their blurred face in front of whatever landmark they had to see while they travel the world with the extra cash they are not spending on a phone bill, because they stole my phone. That is, if they sent the picture to me, or you, or someone I know who happened to see that they had received a picture message of the thief with my phone. That would make it easy to catch them. So, thieves be warned; if you plan on stealing my phone, do not send me a picture message or I will catch you.

Anyways, the point of that fake story is that I asked for it. I asked for the puke, the tuna salad on my lap, and for Ella to be caught red {ok magenta} handed. I was doing too many things and one of them was bound to give. I was feeding Isaac, eating lunch, and trying to talk on the phone to Steven from Bell Mobility, while Ella played oh-so-sweetly {or so I thought} in her room unattended. {I already know she should not have been unattended, no need to remind me!} Point being, Steven from Bell Mobility was literally mid-sentence when I decided to just close my phone. I hung up on him. It was rude. I know. I can not stand when I am hung up on and I just did it to a stranger. I can only hope that since he works for Bell and knows what crap phones they are, he chalks it up to another phone losing service. I just couldn’t listen anymore. My hands were full, and so was my head, and he was talking, and it had to stop.

Steven from Bell Mobility; if you ever read this….I sincerely apologise for hanging up on you. You were doing your job. I am sorry.

So, now Ella is clean, Isaac is asleep, I have my tea, and Dora is babysitting. I am going to refuel and get ready for our next adventure while Ella finishes up her Spanish lesson for today. That will give me precisely 12 minutes to copy and paste this file on my blog, and it will take precisely that long because I have dial-up internet….don’t even get me started.

*Liz

GOLF

2008-05-25T08:58:00.000-07:00

Gentlemen Only, Ladies Forbidden

Seriously? Does it really stand for that? What is it about golf that is so, so, echhhhh….GOLF!

I don’t understand it. I have talked to other wives, and they feel the same way. It is for some reason, an allowance for the men to be absent. Why?

Has it always been like this or I am just a new “golf wife” so I am still learning the ropes.

Don’t get me wrong, I love love love and adore my husband. I think exercise is great. I love that he is spending time outdoors, with his friends, blowing off steam all the time while whacking away at tiny balls…but I don’t get the allowance that GOLF creates.

I am having writers block, and I think it’s because I told my husband I wouldn’t talk about him in my blog. God is freezing my hands until I change the subject….For the record; this is not about my adoring and doting husband, this is about the golf monster that lives inside of him and all other men I know.

I just don’t get what it is about Golf that carries the weight and the association of “ok honey, you can go play with your friends for the day, and have lunch/dinner/drinks with them after.” And I allow it. I don’t care if my husband plays golf, I am the one that encouraged him to get a pass long ago. In fact, I want him to golf because I think he deserves it. He works really hard all week. He is a sweet and caring father and husband. He needs wants and deserves the time to play, and the male bonding thing is important too. I guess I just don’t see the same association with any one word for females. Even GOLF doesn’t carry the same. If it did, I think that a lot more women would play. Why not? Imagine getting up Sunday morning kissing and your sweet man good bye, knowing that he will take great care of your lovely children while you’re away, and heading off to hang out with 3 close friends outside, get a tan, and then sip margaritas after! HEL-LOOOO Sounds good to me.

Maybe we need our own word ladies, maybe the word “spa”. Maybe it just needs to stand for something the way GOLF does. …Like what?….Special Princess Association… Wow, that would be fun. Every Saturday to head off to the spa for 6 hours and it’s totally accepted and loved by your family! Imagine coming home and talking about your day! “Hey Honey, had a great one today. I decided to go with a different nail colour today…Ya…it’s called “I’m not really a waitress. I just feel like the “keys to my karma” wasn’t cutting it. So I feel like I am really perfecting the hot stone massage. I managed to really let my mind go this time while I lay there. Ya, no more worrying about how I just left for 6 hours, or what you are all doing. I know you’re having fun. Also, I really got my form straightened out in hot yoga. My butt was really up there…So, the funniest thing happened while I was getting a facial….” Wow. SPA. Imagine.. I just don’t see it happening though. For some reason GOLF just carries more with it, I don’t get it.

Come to think of it, I will be golfing soon. My sweet sweet children, all 37 months combined of them, gave me a fabulous golf package for Mother’s Day! It is 5 lessons and 2 green fees. I also received from my man some really cute golf shirts, and from a great girlfriend a hat, glove and another shirt! I have not golfed before and maybe it is time the love affair began.

*Liz

God took my pants.

2008-05-23T13:33:00.000-07:00

I love to watch my children. I love to play with them too, but some really cool stuff happens when I take a step back to observe. Ella has recently started dressing herself. This is great. She is feeling independent and saving me five minutes in the morning. I am so proud of her for taking this on without being asked. She comes out with some pretty funny outfits and I let her wear whatever she wants so she does not get discouraged. This morning I witnessed something pretty cute that I thought I would share. She went and put on her Dora underwear, and Las Vegas Tshirt and then started looking for pants. I could hear her muttering under her breath to herself about finding her “library pants”. I don’t know what these are but she was not happy that she couldn’t find them. After about three minutes of looking through her drawer she came into the living room in her underwear and shirt and tilted her head back to the ceiling…..this is the conversation we just had.

Ella; {looking at sky} God! Jesus! Come on God! JEEEESUS!!!

Me; Ella, why are you calling God and Jesus?

Ella; Because they took my pants.

Me; How do you know God and Jesus took your pants?

Ella; Because they are lost.

{Picks up phone and dials}

Ella; Hello God? Hi.

Jesus? Hi.

I need my pants.

Do you have them?

Because I need them.

God? Oh ok.

Ok Jesus.

{hangs up}

Me; Did you just phone God?

Ella; Yes. He has my pants and he said he won’t give them back.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could just pick up the phone and call God?

Maybe we can….I guess I will have to ask Ella for the number.

There’s something about a child’s innocence that is just so pure. I am trying to live more through the eyes of my children. I am focusing on putting down the laundry basket and looking at the world the way they see it. Today I lied on the floor with Isaac and watched the ceiling fan going around, it looked like the roof was trying to move itself. Yesterday I spent an hour with Ella trying to escape from the crocodile that was hiding under our coffee table. It was trying to eat our toes.

This is my daily challenge for myself; to take the time to allow the world to stop and to look at things with the mind of a child.

Imagine.

I had an on-purpose

2008-05-22T22:15:00.001-07:00

Ella; Mummy, I peed in my pants.

Me; Why did you do that?

Ella; Because I wanted to do something wrong……Can I have a bath now? I peed in my pants because I want to have a bath. {big smile}

Ok, so do I only bathe my children when they pee themselves? No, but it sure seems as if Ella has figured out that the two go hand in hand, or bum in bath, so to speak.

Maybe when things like this happen it can’t really be called an “accident” but more of an “on-purpose”. My 2 ½ year old daughter seems to be having a lot of on-purposes lately.

Welcome to my blog. It is my random first attempt at it, so please don’t laugh in a mean way. Apparently this is the new thing to do. That’s cool. I am trendy, not. See? Who says “not” anyways….I do. And I love it. So welcome to my random first attempt at my un-trendy blog. Only the non-cool kids are reading it.

I have recently turned 28. The big 2-8. Getting older. From the perspective of an 18 year old I am ancient.

Every year since I was about 16 my birthday has been a big deal to me. I mean huge. As in celebrating May 19 for the 31 days of May. The world has known about it, and I have celebrated it in a loud way.

This year, not so much. I now have a 2 ½ year old girl, Ella, and a nearly 5 month old boy, Isaac, so partying was not on the agenda. They are two of the three loves of my life and two of the three people I wanted to see on my birthday.

One thing did stay the same though, and that is a cheesy rhyme that I come up with to give a theme, or flavour if you will to the year ahead. I try and focus on this chosen sentence for the year and live my life somewhat around these few words for at least one year. In the past I have celebrated “21 the fun’s just begun” “22 so much to do”, “23 it’s all about me”, “24 time to earn more”. “25 try and stay alive”, “26 throw a family in the mix”, and “27 find a way to Heaven”.

This year I celebrated, and will continue to celebrate “28 time to create”. I am dedicating this year to painting, writing, drawing, singing, dancing, clay making, acting, playing music and sports, and carpentry. I want to create everything I can create, except another baby. If there is a creative thing that you like to do, let me know what it is. I would like to try it.

I should maybe mention that of the 11 things I mentioned there, I am actually only ok to mediocre at about 1.5 of them. But that’s cool. That is what this year is about. About creating. And loving it. Hence this blog.This will be messy and stinky and hopefully leave me with a warm “ahhh” feeling when I get whatever is inside me out. So, although this will maybe not be the best thing for you, it is what I want to do.

Welcome to my On-purpose.
*Liz