Camouflage

We had a snowstorm on Thursday afternoon and when I came home I found this; my deer had been camouflaged. I love them so much. The momma and other baby are safely tucked up on the deck and didn't get snowed on, but these two brave souls, stood guard and took the storm like the men they are.

This family of deer is such a precious possession of mine. So much love, attention, nagging and pleading went into bringing them to life. Love them.

Now if only I could get this snow to go away. Stan has a snowblower, maybe he'd like it? Actually, shoveling it isn't too bad. We have teenagers, and that is definitely their job.

Desk Love

Almost 20 years after Craig gave me this fantastic gift as a wedding present, I am finally getting the opportunity to use it again. After finishing college in '97, I used it as a computer desk until Kaedo took it over. It has been buried in his room for the last five years under speakers, candy wrappers, his laptop and other detritus.

Now that I've gone back to college, I have asked for it back and Craig was kind enough to make it happen. He built Kaedo a table to put his stuff on and carried this beast downstairs so I could use it. So now I have it on the main floor and am loving that it is a cool focal point in our already quirky house. Another piece with a history. As it is an old school desk there are name carvings, and so and so loves so and so scratched into it in pen. LOVE IT!

As I write this, I come to the realization that Craig is to blame for my fascination with all things vintage. Had he not given me this desk all those years ago we might actually live in a normal looking house, not one that belongs to aging hippies. Ya, lets go with that.

Cocktail Anyone?

As a non-drinker, I seem to have a strange fascination with cocktail shakers and seem to have been collecting them over the last year or so. While most are simply on display, the smiley faces in the back, hold my loose leaf tea on the bar cart in my kitchen.

So I am sending out a call to anyone who may come across one at a flea market, antique show, swap meet, friend who has one you can steal, and help me build this collection. I have a really cool idea for displaying them but 6 won't cut it. I will pay the purchase price and shipping if you come across one of these beauties. They are all glass and vary in age with the speckled black and white being the oldest, somewhere around 60 years.

And if I was a drinker, my bar cart would hold the coolest selection of booze and shakers you ever did see. Now it holds Pyrex and tea. Boring but oh so pretty!

Thanks in advance for hookin' a girl up!

Him and Me

HIM - Fills my car with gas

ME - Refills the Q-tip container

HIM - Brushes the dog

ME - Sweeps the floor

HIM - Irons his own dress shirts

ME - Makes supper

HIM - Always willing to help

ME - Always moving things around

HIM - Covers Hog

ME - Not in bed long enough for it to matter

HIM - Never buys anything

ME - Never stops buying

HIM - Likes new movies

ME - Likes the old ones

HIM - Best smile EVER!

A bit of this, a bit of that

Thought I would post some randomness today as I have reviewed my Christmas pictures and they are all shit. So here goes:

Words to live by

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Better words to live by!

LOL

This is what you get when your itty bitty grandsons grow up

A face only every 15 year old girl could love (and his mother)

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Everyone needs new glasses for Christmas

Hmmmm

Exactly!

* sources unknown for photos not belonging to me. Whoever posted them to the internet, you rock - thanks!

Better Late than Never

Since the blog wasn't up and running when these pictures were taken, I thought I should post our tree decorating photos today. Just a note - Kaedo doesn't need to be lifted to add the angel AND that is Sterling lifting him. LOL.

We had a fun night. We invited an exchange student who is a friend of Sterlings and he came and partook in our tradition. He said it was very much like home for him (except we didn't dance around the tree) and it made him happy to be a part of our day.

Working where I work, I hear a lot of people talk about 'the perfect tree', the perfect colors, the perfect ornaments. That doesn't work for us. If that's the tree you want, I'm all for it - lots of people are, but not us. We have our perfect tree. The lights that are all screwed up, the 'charlie brownish' of it, the fact that I'm sure that some of it isn't as green as other parts. We love the ornaments from when I was a kid, from when the boys were little and we especially love our angel. Sterling made it in daycare and we will always use it. So cute!

So, here is this year. If I can find any pictures of Kaedo with a shirt on at Christmas, I will post those tomorrow.

My wish for next year is a silver tinsel tree. If you've got one, send it over!

Grover

I was showing Shannon some pictures on my phone the yesterday and she observed that I had an inordinate number of pictures of Grover on my phone.  Seeing as he is the most photogenic of the bunch of us it stands to reason... just kidding, I'm pretty photogenic as well ;)  This past year the kids and I have rediscovered an off-leash area in Oshawa that is also a conservation area.  It's a great time for Grover and fun to watch him explore without the confines of a leash.  There is one area which is a big open space where groups of dogs congregate and chase each other around.  The kids and I have a great time watching and laughing as Grover chases dogs 3 times his size and always wants to be in the mix.  I think he forgets that he is just a small dog as he plays like a big dog.  This past time I took some video to show Shannon (she is nervous of the off-leash thinking Grover may run away) so she could see how good he does there.  Maybe I'll be able to convince her to join me one of these times.  Here is the video I took of him.

Wreck Room - picture heavy post

For Christmas, Amma and Baba, Anti and the girlies and with the clean up and set up done by our clan, we were able to build the boys an amazing hang-out spot.

While the walls need to be painted, the boys were each having parties over the holidays so that was low on the priporities.

BEFORE:

It was actually worse than this, but I think it had been cleaned up a bit before we thought to take pictures

AFTER:

This is as soon as you come in the door at the bottom of the stairs. The TV is now on a wall mount. The cabinet holds a DVD player (which I didn't even know we owned), DVDs, a VCR and movies and all the video game stuff

This is the Ping Pong table/Pool Table. Craig made the topper in two pieces and the boys have a detachable net and the paddles and balls

Dartboard area - love those movie style lens flares. LOL

The Bar - complete with more pop than we thought could be drank (we were wrong), snacks when visitors are coming, a candy machine and bar fridge. Tons of great Coke memorabilia - man we have collected a lot

Bar stools for watching the games, a basketball net for bugging those playing the games and the sign on the wall is for their visitors to sign and draw on. They have quite a selection of names on it now

Another shot of the dartboard area. Craig painted it red and it looks great

So there you go! Thanks to everyone who contributed in making this such a great place for the kids to hang out in.

Random

Interestingly enough Craig found me mopping the floor directly under this sign. LOL

You know your kids are kick-ass awesome when they go to the drugstore to get maxi pads. And when they get to the till, they tell the clerk they have a coupon. LOL

My Arch Nemesis (and the polar opposite)

ARCH NEMESIS

While Christmas shopping with Craig I saw this adorable Storm Trooper Lego alarm clock (he's about 8' tall and sits and his arms move and everything) and casually mentioned that I certainly wouldn't mind one of these cuties as my morning alarm clock. Craig is deceiving in that you are never quite sure if he hears you, or is even listening, so things are always a surprise. On Christmas morning I was given this bundle of joy and promptly set him up next to my bed so that every morning I would wake to an alarm of ray guns or light sabers or some such uber cool Star Wars sound. Instead I am faced with an incessant beeping that would surely wake the rooster that lives behind our house (true story). And it doesn't stop until you smash him on the head 

(or I imagine throw him across the room).

My body has now programmed itself to wake shortly before the alarm just so I don't hear it it. Which I supposed means the damn thing is doing it's job. All I have to say about this is "curse you Darth Vader and all Storm Troopers that do your bidding".

Oh, and thanks Craig - I really do love him!

ANTI-ARCH NEMESIS

Now this guy is just so stinkin' gorgeous. And let me tell you - his looks have very little to do with that. He is kind, generous, sweet, loving and actually gorgeous as all get out. Girls are coming out of the woodwork and going to the mall with him is enough to make my head spin around. Do you know girls actually change direction and follow boys these days. Hell, we did it when I was young, but it seems much more blatant these days. As the mother of two drop dead gorgeous sons I am alarmed and dismayed by this turn of events. As a woman I am thrilled to see young women go for it. It's time we start doing the whistling. Well, not me - that would be gross. And I can't whistle. 

Here are some pictures of the fun and quirky things you can find at our place. I really am of the philosophy that your home should be a reflection of who you are, not who you feel you should present yourself to be. I guess it is easy to say that when the average visitor here is 15 years old and they don't give a damn what the house looks like, however I stand by the fact that our home is a fun and ever changing work of our own personal art. So, here goes:

This is an Alberta Dwarf Spruce and reminds me of our fam out West - love you guys

This is 54 rolls of Lifesavers, found in the Christmas packaging for a greatly reduced price. I know that by the time this is read, there will no longer be 54 rolls of Lifesavers sitting on a table in my front entry

Beautiful flowers - one of the perks of working in a flower shop

Paper lanterns - I love these and would hang more if I didn't think Craig would strangle me ;)

'iPod docking station and necessities' corner in kitchen. Made using an old pop bottle crate. I send a lot of mail, so having my thank you cards etc handy is AWESOME! The Precious Moments was a gift from my mom and dad when we moved East

My Vintage glassware collection. A lot of meals are served out of these 30-50 year old dishes. I love them. They make me smile - mostly because each piece that sits on this cabinet tells a story. Another person made food to serve in these dishes, another family poured juice from the carafe, drank from the glasses. The sense of history and family suppers and popcorn bowls makes my heart sing. The glow on top is the Christmas topper my mom and dad had all through my childhood. I turn it on at night 

A big glass bowl filled with Hot Wheels cars on our kitchen table. The boys pull out at least one at every meal and talk about it, whether it be the history of that particular toy or how much they like or dislike the real version. These cars are a big part of the lives of our boys so selling them has never been an option. We have always said we would keep them all for any grandchildren we may have. We probably have about 300

Cork that spans the length of one wall of the kitchen between the cabinets. It is being filled up quickly but I love it. Our beautiful nieces and nephews hold a special space on the wall

You can never have enough flowers!

Welcome to 2015!

After some contemplation, getting through the holidays, two bouts of the flu and realizing I miss this little old blog, I decided it was time to return. My goal is to publish 4 times a week, or every second day, but I cannot promise. Hoping to provide more pictures and some fun going-ons about us here.

I thought I would share 15 things for 2015 and we could go from there:

1. Put a cork wall in the kitchen and loving it! Love to find cool things to hang up. Pictures coming later this week.

2. House is filled with flowers! Yay! Love working at a flower shop with owners that give wholesale discount to tulip crazed madwomen like me!

3. Starting back to college on Wednesday. Excited. Beyond excited. Will be taking a Children's Mental Health Certification.

4. Will be teaching children's programming and Fairy Garden classes at the store this Spring. *beyond excited*

5. Drinking lots of tea and hot chocolate around here these days. Set up a station of all the goodness. Pictures to come.

6. Spent two hours rummaging through Wal-Mart last night for fun. Haven't been in a Wal-Mart in ages. I'm a Target girl. It was across the street from where we had taken Kaedo for supper so we thought we'd go check it out. Not sure if we even got what we had been looking for.

7. Speaking three times this month on Mental Health Issues and their effects on teenagers and their lives. Looking forward to it. Back at it on Wednesday.

8. Why is it that when your children have a major falling out with a long-time friend, you also feel the need to break up with the parents? Solidarity?

9. Kaedo refuses to wear a belt. Trust me - that skinny minnie needs one!

10. Sterling is slowly sticker-bombing the back of his car. It's looking quite cool. For a ford wagon. lol

11. I tried to make my own porridge yesterday. Lets just say it wasn't my mother's porridge. Yuck!

12. Grover is officially the cutest, most fun, lovely, charming, playful and extremely groovy dog on the planet.  I lurve him!

13. The kids are heading into Semester One exams in the next 10 days. Yikes. Half the year, gone!

14. Sterling is applying for and OYAP (Ontario Youth Apprenticeship Program) and we have our fingers crossed.  They only hand out a few in the entire province but it would allow him to finish grade 12 while going to college and apprenticing and the program and tuition etc will be paid for by the province. We are super excited for him and hope he gets it.

 We have high hopes for 2015 and hope you will join us in our adventure!

Welcome Back. I've missed you.