Commercial

Marketing can make it or break it for a product.   If marketing works, even if I don't use a product, I'll certainly remember it.  So, here's a commercial that makes my "memorable" list. 





How cute and happy is that?  

Grey Hair

I love my kids.  But I also know that they are a real source of my grey hair!  My goodness! 

Today, I was in a meeting.  But when I got out, I noticed that my cell phone and work voicemail had messages on it.  Not a phone number I recognized.  But when I checked my voicemail, I could tell it was from the school.  The school principal called.  Honestly, I thought she was calling about my eldest as she was coughing last night.  Maybe she was coughing too much today? 

Nope.  All I heard was a really zen voice on the other end that my kid had bumped into another kid.  Ok, I could handle that.  Kudos for her calling.  Then I kept listening and I hear that my kid's one pupil isn't dilating the same way as her other one. Soon as I heard that, I was thinking full on concussion.  Bah.  I already had one kid that fractured her skull...now this?  It isn't a competition!!!

Called my hubby.  He got the call from the school and was on his way to the hospital as the Principal had taken our kid there.  The hospital?  Dang.  This is not good.   He told me to stay put because if she has to be transferred to the Children's Hospital, I would be close by and could meet us there.  

 Tell that to a mother who can't do anything but wait.  It's not fun.  But it's all I could do.  For those that I told, they were very sympathetic as they were all parents.   I tried to be calm but my eyes were welling up with tears.  I felt like I was pretty calm.  But the reaction of being scared for my kidlet made me tear up.  I don't need accidents to remind me of what is important in life.  But maybe the universe had something else in mind for me.  

Finally, a text from my husband saying what was happening.  Still had to wait for final instructions. When they finally came, he said he'd take the kid home and I could stay at work.  Really?  He thinks I can actually stay at work and concentrate?!  No way!  I wanted to see my baby and see for myself she was fine.  So I booted out of the office to head home.  

It's going to be a long night though.  Waking up every couple of hours to wake up my kid to ensure she is waking up appropriately and check on possible signs of a concussion.  Let's just hope it's a tiring night and nothing to do with a concussion.  I'll do it though.  Small price to pay to make sure that she is fine.  

So a couple of more grey hairs to add to my current collection.  It's all good.  

12

Twelve years.  I've been married for that long.  I guess in today's world, 12 is quite a long time.  

And this year, we decided that we just wanted something totally low key to celebrate.  Yeah, I'm sure others are thinking we're lame.  But it really was a chance to just wind down and be with each other and remember why we got married in the first place.  So we took a weekend to chill.  

Friday night, had dinner with family.  After that, the in-laws took my kids to their place.  Hubby and I went home.  It was weird not having the kids there.  It was so quiet.  

Saturday, we got to sleep in.  OMG.  Until 8:30am.  Do you know how late that it is for me?!  Wow.    It's extremely rare for me to get that sleep in time.  Hubby slept in too!  Just nice to wake up at a time that we wanted to wake up.   We took our time getting up and getting ready to head out.  

First stop, movie theatre to watch The Hunger Games.  I really enjoyed the movie.  But I really enjoyed the VIP experience!  Yeah!  Comfy chairs, swivel tables for your food, special slot for drinks and tons of leg room.   No kids/teenagers there as you had to be 19+ so really, there was only about 24 people there.  AWESOME.  The VIP lounge rocked too...individual bathrooms and a really swanky lounge.  Great start!

Next stop, tax drop off.  I know...so exciting right?!  But it was a day we didn't have the kids, there were no lessons...nothing.  So we could go to a boring place to get all our taxes in for the tax season.  

Some shopping and meandering through stores.  Nothing strenous...nothing crazy.  Then we thought we'd go watch another movie!  Why the heck not?  21 Jump Street was next on the list.  Because everybody was watching The Hunger Games, not too many people watching our movie. Good times.  Silly movie but some great nostalgia.  

Then off to home to just chill.  Apparently our chill day wasn't chill enough and we needed more down time.  I honestly think it's just our bodies saying, "ok, no kids today.  Relax and take the down time.  Your bodies are always amped up for work and kids.   Today...NOTHING."  

Sunday, some sleep in time again.  Wow.  A girl could get used to this.  But had to do some food shopping to get ready for work, kids and just reality.  Hubby did laundry.  Yes, I know...you're thinking you want to celebrate your anniversary this way too.  Anyways, after some chores, off to the Olive Garden for lunch.  Loved my dish and it was so nice not to cook!  

After that, off to pick up the kids who had a fabulous time with the grandparents.  Yay for grandparents.  

So after 12 years...what do I know about my marriage?  We've gone through a lot and each time we had to encounter something, we came through it together.  We're thankful for our kids as our lives would be very different without them.  They really do bring certain joys that we wouldn't have had otherwise.  We're good for each other.  Maybe we both could have found other partners and had a completely more exciting life.  But we ended up with each other for so many reasons. 

Who knows what the future will bring for us?  Not sure at all.  But if the first 12 years are any indication, I'm hoping that we can continue to grow together and have many more anniversaries to come.  

WWW

WWW...it was my annual Wild Women's Weekend!   YES.  It's a weekend that I definitely look forward to.  A weekend with a bunch of women just chilling, having a great time and I'm only responsible for 1 meal.  Did I say, 1 meal in 2.5 days?  That's blissful!!!

Sometimes we go to Loon Lake, or Whistler.  But this time, it was up in Harrison at my friend's parent's place.  It's the same place I went to during New Year's Eve and I love that place.  And this year was the first year where it was for women of my generation only.  So everyone there was in the same stage of life as me.  Very different as previous ones were from all generations.  This was also a much smaller gathering too as many people couldn't make it this time around.   This was really great as I had a chance to chat with everybody.   The first night was 10 women, the second night, 9 women.  

I took off Friday because I wanted to sleep in and do some chores before I headed out.  Slept in...a bit.  Chores...not really.  I was all gung ho over it, but then I realized it was my weekend and I really could just do nothing.  So I caught up on a number of shows, cleaned up a little, packed and then headed out at 2:30.  Wanted to beat the city traffic.  

I got to Harrison at about 4:30.  Did a little wandering through the stores...but it's a small place.  Went to the main tourist beach to sit and have a bite to eat.  There might have been about 20 people on the beach.  It was actually kind of neat.  Just sat in the sun, enjoyed the quiet and the cool air.  At about 5:15, I decided I would drive to my friend's place to see if she had arrived yet.  Nope. Nobody was home yet.  So I wandered off to the beach near her house...literally a 2 minute drive. 

When I got there, there was only 1 other car in the parking lot.  And it was a "scary" truck.  I thought for sure I was going to get murdered as it was just the two of us there.  I parked where I could see the truck and just sat in the car to read.  After a little while, the car drove away.  Ahhh...I thought.  I can now have the whole beach to myself, literally.  Then I thought, "no...I can't go out there all by myself.  What if I get hurt...nobody is going to know?"  Crazy how mind games can play out.  But it's weird to be THAT isolated.  I know I sound like a mad woman thoug.  

Anyway, my friends showed up.  We got settled in while we waited for others to show up.  I knew 5 of them women and met 4 new ones.  And what's great about these weekends is that I always get to catch up with old friends but make connections with new ones.  And this year, it was awesome like any other year.   

There was lots of chatting time.  Minimal cooking time.  Maximum eating time.  Mega leisure time.  MEGA loads of chatting and laughing.   Movies, hockey game, reading magazines, board games, walks...whatever we wanted.  I went to bed at midnight and slept in...both mornings.  Exactly what I needed and it came at such a good time.  

So another WWW done.  Until next year!  

Others Happiness

I love it when a friend tells me that things have worked out.  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE.  

I had a great conversation with a friend today.  This friend has been going through some tough times in terms of work, their current living situation and their family.  Those are big things to any person.  But to have so many issues at once to deal with...it's not for the weak.  

Over the last couple of months, we have chatted a lot about thoughts, feelings, next steps and listening to the universe.  Yeah, I know...listening to the universe.  It's crazy right?  Except I'm all over that kind of stuff.  Forget me and my Oprah craziness.  But when life is hitting you over the head with certain situations, it's telling you to listen.  Step back because this isn't entirely the right step for you.  And sometimes, it means surrendering to a certain situation and that's when the universe comes in to swoop and save you.   You've learned whatever lesson you were supposed to learn.  

Crazy right?!  But in this case, I'm going to say I'm right.  Hey, it's my blog, I can say that I'm right...all the time.   Hee hee!

Anyways, in this case, this person's situation finally worked out to what this person exactly needed.  This was the time and the right choice.  All the other stuff she endured was the universe hitting them over the head so that they'd pay attention to this other route they hadn't quite considered and now was the right time.  

So today, this person's tears were tears of happiness and joy.  I teared up too because it's pretty awesome to see someone so happy and for all the right reasons.  

Sunday

Today was productive and lazy at the same time.  I got up later than usual because of the spring forward time.  So I already felt behind today.  

But got some clean up done (still lots to do but some is better than none!).  I also got a bunch of stuff ready for a swap meet that I'll be selling stuff at.  I still want to bring lots more, but I only have so much room and only 1 table to sell at.  Maybe I'll have to get one more table.  Or maybe I'll just have to go another time too.   Of course, had to get meals, lunches and whatever else done just like a regular day.  

On the lazy side of things, I got to watch a bit of tv and take a nap.  Oh, that nap was one of the best ones I've taken in a long time.  I was so tired that I don't remember my head hitting the pillow. I did set the alarm so I didn't sleep too long.  I want to make sure I can sleep tonight too.  

I didn't feel guilty about the nap though.  I felt I was productive enough to not feel guilty about it.  

Back to the grind tomorrow!

Backstage Pass

I don't know what my problem is...but I'm always up to something.   Shennanigans I say!


So, the latest shennanigan I got myself into was winning myself the All Access Backstage Pass with the Kid Carson Show on The Beat 94.5!   Winning this contest meant I got to go to the studios, tour around, meet the folks on the show, see how things work, chat a little on air and get some free swag.  All around good time!


I took my friend Tammy.  She's interested in radio and seems to like these types of shennanigans so she was all in when I asked her to come with me.  What a good sport!  


So today was the day to go to the show.  I brought some cookies because sharing is caring.  =)  


Met with Ashley (promotions).  She was our tour guide!  She took us around the offices showing us the different departments and what they do.  


Then we ventured to studio 1 where Andrew the Intern was manning the booth!  (I love this kid and seriously, I can call him a kid)  There is a clear window from this booth so he can see what the other part of the crew is doing but he can chat and do whatever in his booth.   This is also where Andrew takes the calls, does some planning, gets the info to the rest of the crew, and is at the crew's becking call.  He was really great in explaining what happens, how the show runs, etc. I was quite amused by all the "wrong" telephone calls he gets...people calling the station for a contest on another radio station.  And of course, hearing stories about his mother.  Precious.  


Kid, Nira and Amy came in to say hello, grabbed some cookies before they headed back to the show.  It was fun to see and hear them banter on the other side.  


And before you know it, it was time for Tammy and I to head into Studio 2 where the show was happening.  There was only one mike so I did most of the talking.  Andrew had asked us some questions in Studio 1 so I figured the crew would ask about my kids, music I like, upcoming concerts I'm heading to...really generic stuff.  But that changed real quickly before we went on air.  I asked Nira if she loved Oprah as I was pretty sure she did.  Her eyes widened and she said yes!!!  


I quickly told her about the 2 shows I attended to see Oprah and how Oprah shook my hand.  Next thing I know, we're on air and Kid says something along the lines of "...guests that come in with interesting stories...tell me about Oprah."  Ok!  Let me tell you about Oprah.  My whole segment was about Oprah.  Dude.  Obviously you don't know me well enough.  I could go ON and ON about Oprah.  Go ahead, snicker away because I'm snickering myself.  


And before I knew it, show was over and off to get my swag and the remainder of the tour.  Ashley was so funny...she introduced us to some folks and then continued to say, "...and I have to tell them about your Oprah story!"  


Thanks Oprah.  See what doors you've opened for me?  


So giggles and good times all around.  My one friend asked me if I was stalking DJs as the last  radio contest was also hanging out with a DJ.  Maybe I should just ask to be on all the morning shows.   LOL!

Off to figure out my next shennanigan!

Stressful

I like arts and crafts.  I really do.  And whenever I'm asked to help with arts and crafts related activities for my kids and the groups that they are in, I'm there.  It's an opportunity to spend some extra time with my kids and see who some of their friends are. 

This week, I was asked to join my youngest daughter's Tuesday night group to do cross stitching. I made it clear to the leader that I've never cross stitched before.  Well, neither have these 12 young kids.  So how hard could it be?  

The leader had her own mom (cross-stitcher extraordinaire) do the lesson, the leader was there, and there was me and this other mom.  This other mom is one that I really like.  We seem to get along well and we laugh...a lot.  

Not this week though.  OMG.  This other mom had never tried this art form either and I'm telling you, neither one of us liked it.  It is a frustrating art form!  Hey good on those that are great at it and can do it.  I'll just chalk it up to I've tried it and I don't like it. 

But imagine helping kids who have less manual dexterity than me!  Recipe for disaster.    This mom and I were trying our best but it obviously wasn't good enough.  

But the beautiful part about young kidlets is that you can offer up a perspective and everything is ok.  This one kid I was helping...sweet as could be.  We were following this cross stitch pattern but she somehow goofed up.  I tried helping and then it REALLY got mucked up.  This little girl kept saying she didn't like it because it didn't look good.  Let's just say it wasn't even close to the pattern.  

So, I told her that it was a special flower that she made.  Nope, not good enough.  She must have thought I was on crack.  BUT, the minute I said it was special AND because it looked like a heart flower, well....I was considered awesome!  But of course it's a heart flower and all was good in the world of this little girl. 

Seriously.  That was one hour of my life that was more stressful than any work day I've ever had...ever.  

Change

Like death and taxes, change is a certainty.   Though, as humans, we don't always welcome change.  But change can be a good thing...or it can become a good thing based on perspective.  

I, like the rest of staff, were notified that our office was moving to Downtown Vancouver.   Let's just say, it was a good thing I wasn't in the office that day and was actually working at home.  Those that had to listen to my wrath, sorry.  But I was pretty upset because it was a big enough change that will adversely affect my work life balance and I wasn't happy about it.  Granted, this was my first world problem of the day.  

After I had my day of processing, ranting and raving and goodness knows what else, I settled down and came up with a plan for myself.  Yes, I could have continued to sulk and feel sorry for myself and just be plain miserable and be miserable to those around me....but no.  I refuse to live that way.  

The people I feel most sorry for are those that are lower paid in the organization who will really feel the brunt of having to pay for parking (if they choose that route), or those that have a more delicate work life balance than me, and those that have no other work arrangements that will work for them.   

Granted, I have my ideas in mind, but whether or not the ideas are accepted are a whole other ball game.  And at that time, whatever is decided, I can reassess once again.   But at least I can at least think that I have other options at this time.  

I know the changes will keep coming in work, family and life.  And that's just the way it is.  I have choices in every situation.  I can accept the change and continue to be mad and then bring that toxicity to those around me, or I can accept that the situation itself won't change, but I can make other choices which gives me control of the situation and helps me deal better with the change.  Don't get me wrong, I'll probably still yap about this until the move, but I know this isn't the worst that could ever happen to me.  

And ironically, I had to tell myself to be careful what you wish for.  The building and floor we are going to is a place I used to work at and I loved it!  But I was in a different situation and living much closer.  My position ended so I went to another office.  And I remember at that time saying to myself, "gosh, it would be nice to work at this office again."  Guess the universe was listening and I got my wish.  

Ok universe, listen to this...I really want to win the lotto...REALLY want to win it.  I'm ready for it.  =) 

Stroller

It's been a while since I've had to use a stroller for my kids.   It's a good thing.  But by the nature of me having kids, other moms gravitate towards you, especially for advice.  This is true for all parents.  And we LOVE giving advice!  LOL


So, last piece of advice someone asked me was about strollers.  I had two of them.  One for just one kid.  Then when I had 2...I needed a double one.  However, I couldn't remember the name brand so I had to put in a number of words into google.  Craziness.  Yes, something like, blue stroller with 4 large wheels.   But eventually, I did find the right stroller.


But before I did, I saw a "new" type of stroller called an origami stroller.  I'm a total origami buff so I had to check this out!   Well, I didn't check it out for too long because I remembered that I needed to provide info about my stroller to my friend.  But wow.  There are definitely options out there.  What a great time to be a baby!

Inspiration

I love the movie Soul Surfer.  I don't think it got huge ratings but it does have a huge following.  It's about Bethany Hamilton, a young up and coming surfer who went surfing one day, only to lose one of her arms to a shark.  From there, her struggle and triumph in competing in surfing once again. 

She lost her arm years ago and she just turned the young age of 22.   Watching the movie and keeping up with her in terms of her newsletters, etc., has been great and really inspiring!  I love it!!!  Someone who had lost so much and who could just go in a slump and be miserable didn't accept that as a possibility.  Instead, changed her life and found her purpose.  

I love it!  I can't help but be supportive of her!!!  Granted, I'm not a woman of faith and she is..though I listen to JC in the house which must mean something.   And I love that she didn't choose the path of misery.  It's too easy to blame your "crappy" situation on something and leave it that.  Yeah, I blame the shark and I can't even imagine having to go through what she went through.  But she really chose something positive to do with her life and deserves all the good things in her life. 

Gosh, we really need more people like this in the world.  Sure would make it a better place.  

Bands

I'm all for using resistance bands....in an exercise class setting.  I find resistance bands while working out at home boring.  And I tend to cheat.  Boo on me.  But they are excellent in terms of resistance training.


Though I have to be careful of who I buy them for.  One time, I bought a set for someone because I thought I overheard them wanting a set.  Only when I gave it to them, they thought I was trying to tell them they were fat.  


Another time, a person I gave it to seemed to like the idea, but they didn't really have the mobility to use them.  So they ended up getting frustrated.  


So note to self, no exercise equipment for gifts for friends.  

Retail

Retail sales and inventory has gotten so much more sophisticated since I was in that type of role.  The POS software has changed so much.  I'm not sure if I could keep up.  Mind you, it does look quite user friendly depending on which kind you choose.  


But boy, what a different world from when I used to do retail.  Yeah, I had those old credit card machines to work with and sometimes tills that had the calculator like portion for the numbers.  


Good times, good times.  

Parties

Parties come in all forms.  But bottom line, it's about getting together with some great friends and most likely having some good chow!!!  One type of party I like that I've only done once is the   tailgating kind.  YEAH.  Whole bunch of strangers joined in because they had their food there and we had our feed there...so we shared and had an even bigger party!   Yep, desserts, sandwiches, ribs, burgers...basically everything yummy. 

Pure craziness I say.  To be honest, I'm not entirely too clear on what the party was for.  But the party was definitely fun!

Now, if the weather was better and I had some team to cheer for, I'd be all over another tail gate party.