Capri Motivation

Spring is here! I know it! I can feel it! No socks for me, no sirree! (Well, aside from when I wear my Doc Martens, duh!) It is supposed to be +8 today, so Sterling tells me. As an aside, G Man is barking ferociously at the back door as there is a squirrel sitting on the fence. It is going to be a long and noisy Summer. Ok, back to what I was saying, Spring looks like it might have sprung, and I am thrilled. It is my favorite season, and I am loving it and it's only been here since yesterday. lol.

I own two pairs of capris (well, I own more, but I love these two), and while at my size I'm never going to look good in them, I do want to be looking better. So what am I doing about it, you say?

Couple of things:

1. When I'm done eating, or know I'm snacking for no darn good reason, I brush my teeth with what is seriously the most awful toothpaste known to man. I have a toothbrush and the toothpaste that-shall-not-be- named, in my Algodonis bag, at the ready for a quick brush. That makes all food taste disgusting so it works. Plus I don't want to mess up my pearly whites.

2. Cooking more from scratch. I make all my own bread, buns, etc, slaving over my bread machine (thank you Jessica), and there are no preservatives. I am eating more fruit (ya, I know it should be veggies but give me a break), I'm putting spinach into our supper where possible - cooked it tastes fine, raw it tastes like dirt.

3. Drinking less water - what's that you say??? Yes, for me it is a case of cutting back on the water. As someone who drank about 15 liters a day (that is not a typo), I have tried to cut that in half - yes, still too much, I know but what's a water-lover to do?

4. Walking the pooch. He's hysterical to walk with and while it's not much exercise, it's fun.

5. Speaking of walking, I'm walking to the grocery store when I have only a bagful to get. I must admit, I drive if I have to buy milk and flour.

Lastly,
6. Today I am returning to the gym. I am taking an Aquafit class at 5:15. As you know, I left pudgy 3 blocks back, so I think it takes some real balls and a false sense that I have great legs, to get into a swimsuit. I don't even take a towel on deck, AND there are windows overlooking the pool from the gym. Bastards. Must go 3x week. Must go 3x week. Must go 3x week.  I wonder if I could be hypnotized into believing the gym is fun. hmmmm. no.

So, there you have it - Spring has Sprung, no more socks, hidden Spinach yum, and the gym sucks.

Happy Monday!

Happy Kind Of Life

Well, Happiness is the word of the day today. Yesterday I mentioned that I am starting my very own happiness project and I'd love it if you'd join in.

Today I am joining the '100 Happy Days' movement! You can read about it here !
I am totally in love with the idea of documenting one thing that makes you happy every day for 100 days. As I do not always post every day, I am going to upload images and list what makes me happy everyday for 100 days on Twitter.

You can join me on Twitter at @HappyKindOfLife. (great twitter name, eh?)

If you don't tweet or have never been on Twitter, you can go to twitter.com  on your computer or download the app on your smartphone.

Here's where you come in:
I would love it if you would join me by either posting on your own blog, twitter or instagram and let me know how to follow you OR text me/email me/bbm me at night and tell me one happy thing from your day. A picture is great too. Every Sunday I'll compile everything and post about some of your great moments.

So please take the challenge with me and go to 100happydays.com and read all about it. Let's have some fun!

I thought I'd start this off with what made me happy today. Kaedo was home sick and his buddy knew he needed company so he just laid with him all morning, keeping him safe. Happy Heart!

Happiness is....

I thought today I would post some of my favorite quotes. I found these on Pinterest, which is one of the most awesome, cool, fabulous, time-sucking sites on the internet. You should definitely check it out. lol.

I think sometimes that we have to consciously choose to be happy. We can be weighed down in the sadness, pity, listlessness and anger and often forget that CHOOSING to be happy is just that. A CHOICE.

You know my struggle with mental illness, and my long battle to find a sense of self, a happiness. Am I there yet? Some days. And you know what? It is much better to consciously choose to be happy, to find that one thing in your day you can smile about, rather than be unwilling to find even that one moment that makes you smile. I know it's hard, trust me, I know. I have spent a good deal of my life surviving not living. But I promise you - if you consciously think of one happy thing every day, maybe your morning Starbucks, your daily walk, a visit with a friend, a hug from a child, a kiss from a love - those moments of unhappiness will pale in comparison. The problem is that when recounting our day we can easily list all things that didn't go right. We usually think of the things that made us smile long after the retelling of the not-so-goods. It is so unfortunate that we think negative before positive. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying everyone does this, but don't you agree it is easy to think negative? For me it is.

So I am consciously choosing to think happy. Be happy. Won't you join me?

Check in tomorrow when I'm going to talk a little more about my 'happiness project'!

Fairy Garden

Fairy gardening, or miniature gardening has become the rage recently and I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to attend a Fairy Garden Workshop on Saturday. It was so much fun and I learned so much about fairies. For example - they like sparkly things, they like having heir own homes, they like to be hidden in the foliage, and they like water.

While my fairy garden wasn`t near as spectacular as some of the others, I was thrilled with how it turned out and definitely want to do some more miniature gardening.

The Weekly G

Took this picture of Grover yesterday.  Almost looks like he is smiling for it.  Given the amount of pictures we take of him he probably just said 'fuck it, might as well smile for one.'

College Life

How can I be old enough to have a son who is contemplating colleges? Yikes. Sad fact is, I am. But just barely! ha! While Sterling is only completing grade 10 this year, he is certain of his future endeavors and wants to get the jump on seeing what college will be the best fit for him. As colleges look at 11th and 12th grade marks, he wants to be certain he has the necessary prerequisites for his first choice school.

Aside from the fact that he needed a ride, I was thrilled that Sterling asked me to tour his first choice campus with him at their Spring Open House on Saturday. I thought I would be sad, and it would be scary but it was crazy good and awesome and all kinds of exciting. He had the opportunity to speak one on one with the faculty advisor in his chosen field of study (graphic design), meet a student from the program and see her work along with that of many other talented people. We also took a walking tour of the campus, spoke extensively with the admissions coordinator and met and spoke with the President of the college. We also toured the student's union, health complex and spoke with various other departments and current students.

We learned that there are 4 colleges and a university within 2 hours of us that have the program he is looking for, so we plan to tour those places as well. I must admit that this one ranks high on my list as it is only 15 minutes from home so he will live with us while completing his studies.

One of the last things we did was have these pictures done at the photo booth they provided.

Kaedo

Parent teacher night last night for Kaedo. Overall we were very pleased. Had a head to head with his math teacher and realized she has simply checked out, so there is no winning for anyone in that situation. Kaedo will have to work hard and just get through it. I will do my best to make sure he does not take another class with her.

His cooking teacher tells us he has some mad skillz and that he is very happy with him. His gym teacher tells us he is a born athlete and is doing amazing and his art teacher says he's a talented nice kid. You can't get too much better than that.

The above is a picture he painted in art class and I love it. I plan to hang it in the house when he brings it home. Very rad!

Happy Fragrance Day!

The G Man

He's like an elephant at the Circus! So cute!

Also, Happy International Day of Happiness!

Vanilla Pudding Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Friday in the mail I got my new issue of What's Cooking. As J would say - food porn. I love this magazine (delivered for free by Kraft.Canada) and must go through it at least 3 times before deciding on what to make first. What I love about it is the recipes are simple but good, don't require a trip to a specialty store and are usually always on the "Make Again List'. As I had already made the cake on the cover before I received the magazine, I asked Sterling what sounded good to him. He was quick to reply 'Vanilla Pudding Choc. Chunk Cookies'. So, at 8pm on Friday night I was madly chopping chocolate (as seen above) and trying out this new recipe.

They were a huge hit with the kids, although Craig still prefers my standard Chipits cookies. I really love to cook and bake and make 'virtually' everything from scratch. I will admit that I can't make a Chicken Pot Pie for the cost of those beauties at Costco, so I have been known to toss one of those into the line-up. I actually prefer Costco's CPP than my own. Minus the peas of course. yuck!

Monday night I was out at a meeting and made a slow-cooker lasagna. Can you say "easy peasy lemon squeezy?" And, according to the fam it is definitely a make again! Yay!

Alright, enough of this food talk! I'm getting hungry. Too bad all the cookies are gone!

*** if you'd like me to post any of my recipes, please let me know. I'd be more than happy to!

Hello Norman

Meet Norman. He is Kaedo's Venus Flytrap.  Kaedo has wanted one for as long as I can remember and when we came across them at our local garden centre he decided he just had to get one. We planted Norman in a mason jar and so far he is doing great. Kaedo mentioned this morning that one of Norman's mouths didn't have 'teeth' when he came home with us on Friday, but apparently they have now grown in. Thank god for that. I was so worried!

I've been advised that now we just need to let some flying bugs into the house so we can see this new pet in action. Gack! I don't think so. I think this will be one very bored Venus Flytrap.

The End is Here

Today is officially the last day of Spring Break, and holidays for Craig. So what are the men in my life doing? Sleeping in, of course.

We've had lots of fun this week. We've been to Niagara Falls, seen a couple of movies, did some baking, had a couple of movie nights,  shoveled a lot of snow, played with friends, had lunch with a friend, worked (me), bought a new tablet (sterling), been thrifting, gone to the gym, and had a wonderful time together.

This week was much needed for Craig, who works so very hard and such long hours. He hasn't had any holidays (just the four of us) since August, so I was so happy that he was able to take this time and relax.

The boys get lots of breaks, and after all, finish school at 2:20, but our time as a family is quickly coming to an end as they get older and rightfully choose to spend their free time with their friends and future 'loves of the moment'. I have to remember to be eternally grateful that my guys are one of the few who consciously choose to be with their parents instead of their friends. It makes my heart sing. Every morning when they get up and say "what are we doing today?', I am happy for another day with them.

On another note, Sterling and I will be heading to T.O. for a 'TEA-pperware' event tomorrow. We have two tables at a fundraising bazaar and will be selling both Tupperware and Steeped Tea. He's always a hoot to have along, so I am looking forward to his company and the laughs we will have.

What's In a Name?

We've been having a few laughs this week talking about names and I went to bed last night thinking about it. When I got up this morning it was still on my mind, so I did a little digging (and quiz taking) to find some new names for Craig and I.

Here's what I came up with:

Our Silent film Star Names:
Craig - Chester Clarence
Me - Fern Lillian

Our Steampunk Names:
Craig - Baron Bramwell Virgil Hawk
Me - Empress Lavinia Cleora Butcher

Our Elf Names:
Craig - Spicy Hot Chocolate
Me - Dixie Helper

Our International Spy Names:
Craig - Papa Steel (Code Name: Fingercuffs) lol
Me - Kitty Shriek (Code Name: The Undertaker)

Our Star Wars Names:
Craig - Crakl Heswi, the Nesora of Nonnahs
Me - Shala Ellet, the Engora of Giarc

Moral of this blog post? I definitely need a life! ha

If you could have any name what would it be?

Niagara Falls 2014

We took a road trip to Niagara Falls yesterday and had a great time. Here is only a sample of the great pics the boys took. The G Man loved the mud most of all. Yuck!

Happy belated birthday to my dad yesterday! We sang our hearts out to our own version of Happy Birthday as we were cruisin' down the road to the Falls. We hope you had a great day, dad!

Hip Hip Hooray...

... Craig is on HOLIDAYS!

To celebrate I thought I would do something fun:

And this is what happened!

Please note: I did not even have a slice! Everyone said it tasted great. I made the cake and icing and it was ready for eating in 30 minutes, including prep, cooking and cooling time, using Tupperware! The food coloring was a fun addition. I never use the stuff but thought this was a fun time to try.

Happy Saturday everyone!

Spring Break 2014

Spring Break started today and the boys are enjoying themselves already. We have a strict no TV policy here aside from a movie night on the weekend and an hour on Monday nights. Mean mom. ANYWAY, this morning Kaedo asked if they could watch a movie, "mom, it is the first day of Spring Break, after all", and because he is so damn cute I said yes. They are thrilled and are just finishing up watching.

Craig has the week off next week so around hair cuts, doctor and ortho appts, we will busy being together. There is a movie the three of them are going to (guys date) and of course a trip to Niagara.Falls I think is in order. We'll see what other trouble we can get into. I know Craig is going to make us clean the basement if we don't keep him busy so I am desperately wracking my brain for ideas. Lol.

That's about it from us for today. I'm heading out to spend the afternoon with my two best guys.

Have a great one!

Aha!

Kaedo had a minor meltdown after school yesterday due to some tough math, an intense dislike of the course and a lack of paying attention to the lesson. He had no idea what to do and was very upset and angry. Let me tell you I am completely math challenged. I cannot assist. At all. 

So Sterling stepped in. He sat down with Kaedo, calmed him down, walked him through the steps and stayed with him until all questions were done and he was satisfied Kaedo understood the lesson. It was an amazing thing to watch. And no - this is not a staged photo. My guys are so used to my camera that they never think twice about it.

When they were finished Kaedo pulled me aside and told me how amazing Sterling was and really had stars in his eyes. He was overwhelmed that his brother had done this when he had his own work to do. This is really a defining moment in their relationship and speaks to the respect they have for each other. 

When we consciously made the decision to have our children close together in age, this is what we had hoped for. It is with a happy heart that I am able to say I got my wish.

Another benefit of this was that it solidified for Sterling his want to eventually move into the classroom and teach. He will be a Graphic designer first, but would then like to teach at a college. I'm an extremely proud mom right now. Ah, what am I saying, I'm an extremely proud mom always.

The Weekly G

Having a puppy at home is very different the second time around.  Ketchup was born middle-aged and neither Craig or I remember him doing the things the G Man does.  

Please note the following examples:

He has a bowl full of different toys that I pick up at least 10 times a day. He then dumps out the bowl and scatters things all over including between the couch cushions.

He jumps up repeatedly so he can get enough of a mouthful of blanket to pull it off the couch and therefore lie on it for his afternoon nap.

While he is no longer teething, he loves to chew on things - though amazingly never anyone`s shoes. This is one of the caps that covers the bolts on the toilet. Other items that have been found in his mouth are the pads from the bottom of the dining room chairs, and any plug whether it is in the newel post or the patio door. They are now in a plastic bag until we have squirted him with enough water to stop him from doing it.

He is the opposite of a retriever. He likes to lose things and will bury any bone you may give him in the couch, under the pillows, in a rumpled tea towel.... you get the idea.

Speaking of tea towels - for him it is some kind of game - he is not satisfied until every hanging tea towel is safely on the ground. You can pick them up 20 times, and he will come right behind you and pull them off. Then look at you as if saying, "what?"

I must admit that he is such a super dog and these small things are like having a toddler in the house again. He brings light and fun and a lot of laughter into the house. So a few tea towels on the ground is a cheap price to pay!

When I see this picture I think....

.... my what a pointy chin I have!

Me and 2 of my 3 guys yesterday on the deck. First pic with them and my snappy new 'do! Next weekend I want to get one of the 4 of us together. Even when I am not satisfied with the way I look, for whatever the reason, I am beginning listen to my MIL's not so casual insistence that she see more pictures of me with my fam. Shirley, I'll get your gorgeous son in the next one - I promise!

Back to ABBA, work and singing so poorly the dog is hiding. "if I had a little money... it's the rich man's world"!

First One in the Bag

First Steeped Tea/Tupperware combined show today at our local Y. They were having a huge fundraiser and I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to meet tons of great people and see a lot of familiar faces. Best part of it was working with Sterling. That kid is amazing! He sold Tupperware, he sold Tea and he smiled and chatted and was just awesome. He packed stuff in, unloaded, re-packed, reloaded and even drove his tired old mom home. People loved that he was helping out and thought he was just the greatest thing ever. How lucky I am to have two incredible young men in my life - one that will work for driving opportunities and the other who works for candy (lol).

It was a good days work and a good opportunity to talk to people about my new Steeped Tea adventure. This was my first show as a Steeped Tea Consultant and it was lots of fun.

I've got two more shows booked in March, four in April and three in May. Yay!

So happy to have the opportunity to be home with my guys and do all the 'mom things' as well as get the opportunity to meet and talk to so many great people. Must keep reminding myself how very lucky I am to have the life I have.

Weekly date tomorrow morning with Craig and family afternoon.

Happy Saturday everyone!