Sayings

I honestly cannot believe it's December.  I think when you have kids and they're finally in the school system, your life really does flash before you.  Blink...it's a year later.  

And sometimes, some days are harder than others.  There are days where running into a wall is just so much less painless than with all the frustrations and challenges of having kids and a family.  

But then, it takes one comment and everything is ok.  Just one. 

And this week, I got lots of comments that just make me happy.

"Mom, I'm working on a 'I Am' poem for school...and my first sentence is that 'I am an incredibly happy child."  

"Mom, I really, really, really, really love you."

"Momma, you know that when you get older that I'm going to take care of you right?"

"Momma...I missed you all day." 

"Mooommmmmm.  Extra hug and kiss!!!"

And maybe these aren't incredibly "deep" comments from kids, but they are an expression of how they feel.  Believe me when I say my kids don't sugarcoat things.  They say it like it is.  So I'm grateful and thankful that my kids love me because let's just say, I'm not always pleasant!  

So for all those moments/days where I feel like I'm hitting a low or having my first world problem kind of day, comments like those above just make it all ok.  

New Office

I've been at the new office for a couple of weeks now.  It's been a real change for me.  I used to work downtown, but I used to also live a lot closer than I do now.    

Let me start with the bad:

• I'm up at 4:45am...the sad part is, some folks have to wake up even earlier than me to start work early.
• I'm commuting by 5:40am
• I usually get to work by 6:35 (when I carpool) but my contract says I can't start until 7
• Bussing it in the morning also sucks because I have my laptop on my back
• Commuting home...well, that's just long.  Leave at 3:30pm and don't get home until 4:50pm only to then drop off my stuff at home, take the car and go pick up the kids.  
• Of course, commuting longer means less time for all the other things I have to do

Am I complaining?  Probably a bit here.  Having that much time taken away from me just for commuting just bites.  

But, there are some upsides to moving:

• My new view is actually my old view when I used to work on the same floor - and it sure beats seeing homeless people urinate in the alley
• I get to work at home which means that I'm not doing that terrible schedule everyday
• I'm close by my bank!!!  Yeah, not huge for others, but that's huge for me!
• Close by Canada Post!  Again, big for me as I'm always buying stamps and mailing stuff.
• Meeting up with some friends I haven't seen for ages.  I've forgotten how many people I used to work with that still work downtown.

So the "bad" probably still outweigh the "pros."  But it is what it is.  I'm thankful I'm working and didn't get chopped during the big lay-offs.   

Like everything else...I'll figure it out and make it work for me.  

Chapters Event

I entered a contest last week (surprise, surprise) for a Chapters Members event. Basically, if you were a Chapters member...even if it's just their free Plums club, you could enter. So I did.

I was so thrilled that I won an invitation to this private event!  I love this store!!!  I felt bad though that I couldn't bring my hubby but he was on pager. Nothing I can do about that. So I brought my friend who happens to be a co-worker with me. Seemed like a great idea...get off work, grab something to eat, 2 friends hanging out, a night away from our kids and chilling. 

When we got to the store, there was a section cornered off for this event. The purpose of the event was for Chapters to showcase their newest products. There were munchies out that showcased their newest chocolates, cookies and brownies and other goodies.  Yep. I tried a bit of everything. 

We were early but we still decided to go into the cornered off section because we saw a whole bunch of people in there.    I didn't realize until we got in that media was there and they were finishing up a media event. Oops! But extra time for us to shop around. 

Once we started looking around at the people at the event, we noticed that Chef Rob Feenie was there. Score. There were also some authors. And then my girlfriend's jaw just dropped when she saw this person.  She asked me if it was Mijune. Yeah, I know...you're thinking who?!! She's a food blogger.   Obviously my friend follows her...a lot.  OMG.  Her eyes were as big as the dinner platters she has at home.  But then she suddenly got shy and was afraid to ask. 

 "What if it's not her?"
 "So, she tells you." 
"I don't know..." "When have you ever gotten shy...go ask!" 

And she did.   It ended up being the food blogger she follows. And though I haven't kept up with my food blogs, I joined in the conversation. This blogger wasn't pretentious at all. Completely sweet, passionate about food, I enjoyed listening to her adventures.  

I bought a present for someone's Christmas gift and got it signed by one of the authors that was there.  Bought a bunch of presents for other people.  And then also won a door prize!  

All in all, a fun night of shopping, meeting new people that I would never thought of meeting and crossing people off my Christmas list at my favourite store.  Love, love, love.  

Music Maker

I dabble into everything.  But I can't say I'm particularly good at any one thing.  And that's ok.  I find that I flit and fleet with activities.  I just like trying everything.  

One of the things I like doing is playing music.  I can't say I'm even decent.   I tend to be more strings based.  Horn instruments I suck at.  I might have better luck blowing into balloons.  

With all the fancy, schmancy equipment out there now, I do want to try music mixing.  EONS ago, I did try a midi music class.  And it really was neat to mix music, try different layers, make different sounds with the one piece of equipment. Then I see this...the great psr s910 from guitar center. Wowsers. I could make my mediocre music sound good.   But I would have to clean my house in order to have one more thing in here. It'll just have to wait.

Photos

I have a camera that I really love.  I haven't even tapped it's full potential.  But it's great to be able to capture moments that actually look half decent.  

My point and shoot was great but the shots were always meh to say the least.  And there is nothing wrong with point and shoots.  But they are not giving me the quickness or options as my current camera.  

I have lots to learn still.  But I recently entered a photo contest.  Ha ha...I know, me entering a contest seems like a foreign idea!  But I did because I wanted to push myself.  I didn't think I would win and no, I did not win.  I really wanted to see what I was up against and hopefully push myself into learning to use the camera better.  

It's my first photo contest and I was proud of my submissions.  Compared to the winners, I had no chance.  I was impressed that the judges actually gave me feedback on my photos.  I was really happy to see what they had to say as I figure it can only push me in the right direction.

Who knows?  Maybe one day, I can add that I'm a photography website creator.  Weirder things have happened.  

Equipment

If you're talking to me about things I know, I'm comfortable in putting in my 2 cents about what I think about something.  

Put me in an environment where I have no clue what you're talking about...well then, you're going to get a big blank stare.  Most car related things...I have no clue whatsoever  

Rack and pinion steering?  Sure...I can tell you that Leonardo Da Vinci actually created that.  Nuts and bolts?  They go somewhere and tighten.  

How about shaft collars?  I'm going to assume it's for a car but I have no idea.  I actually tried to look it up.  Can you still see my blank face?

Hopefully when I chat with people, I actually am not lost too often.  It's not very becoming.  

Wizard of Oz

I have a girlfriend that has watched a gazillion movies.  And she's constantly amazed that I haven't watched certain movies.  Apparently they are rights of passage. 

But, my parents were immigrants and they weren't up on the latest and must see movies for kids.  So I'm finally making my way through some of these childhood movies that I have yet to see.

This weekend, finally watched the Wizard of Oz.   I think there is a certain charm to this movie, especially if you watch it from a child's perspective.  

But my life and adult perspective probably ruined this movie for me.  I still enjoyed it and glad I finally watched it.  But the take on this movie was not about innocence and Dorothy getting home.  

This movie had a real religious tone and religious perspective.  I thought I was kind of going nuts.  So I did a little research.  And sure enough, this was the author's perspective on what he thought of religion.  The symbolism and the what the characters were saying proved the point.   I was glad to actually see some papers out there about this.  

But of course, this is my perspective and what some other folks are thinking.  Whether or not it is a religious movie, I can say I finally watched it.  Tick off my movie bucket list.  

Lazy Weekend

Yep.  Completely lazy as it was a long weekend.  I get an extra day off so it's a 4 day weekend for me.  I might actually do something tomorrow.  

Not to say I was totally inactive.  I did my workouts, made meals for the family, did a bit of clean up.  But in my regular schedule, that is LAZY.  Watched movies and caught up on some shows.  

My kids?  Well, they had no lessons this week.  Thank goodness.  That meant they got to laze around too.  

Hubby was on pager so it's not like he could go anywhere.  So he stuck around home and lazed with us.  

Do I feel guilty?  Maybe.  Do I feel rested.  Much.  And sometimes, that's exactly what is needed.  Taking care of one's health and sanity.  Just chilling out because we could. 

We were all happier because of it.  

Time Change

I love getting to turn the clocks back during fall.  It's an hour to stay up or to sleep in!  An hour to get something else done.  An hour for something for what I want to do. 

But this year, not so much.  The kids were up "earlier" than usual and making noises louder than usual.  Ok.  Not such a great start.  But I figured that I would still go to bed early and it's like the hour wasn't wasted. 

Fast forward to Monday morning.  OMG.  I set every clock in the house except for own alarm clock.  Yep. I wake up at 3:50am.  Since I was carpooling that morning, I didn't want to go back to bed and miss my alarm and be late!  Let's just say Monday was a very long day and coffee was my best friend.

And it looks like this Tuesday morning will also be another long day where I get to hang out with coffee again.  Without the alarm, I just woke up at 3:00am.  I haven't been able to sleep.  Not sure what is going on but I need to get some shut eye.  

I guess maybe it's a good thing that I'm commuting by bus these days when heading home rather than driving.  I'd be a wreck on the roads.  

Ok.  Hoping that tonight is the night I get some good shut eye!