Do you ever get the feeling someone is watching over you? I'm not referring to a creepy feeling you get when you realize someone has been watching you. I mean the appreciative feeling, the feeling of awe.
I know I have someone watching over me. I sense it throughout my day when something amazing happens, a narrowly missed accident, green lights all the way to where I'm headed, a kind word from a stranger, an uplifting conversation, the right song playing on the radio.
I am a spiritual person, who notices and feels the energy of those around me. I know there is a higher power or universal energy. It's not something I can prove to you, but I could share many stories to raise the hair on your arms.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
one moment at a time
Sometimes I have taken life for granted, but not since last week. In a tragic accident, a friend of ours lost her life. One minute she was in her element, cycling down a hill taking in the view that stretched on before her, the next minute she was unconscious, fighting for her life.
She was a woman of substance who gave more to others in the past year than some people give in a lifetime. A woman who touched the lives of many with her golden smile, her infectious laugh and her encouragement. An angel on earth, now an angel in heaven.
Even in her death she has inspired others to start giving, sign their donor cards, live in the moment and find the passion missing from their daily existence. She did not merely exist day to day, she relished every moment and encouraged others to do the same.
I am one of those who has been inspired. I want to live a Phat life!
She was a woman of substance who gave more to others in the past year than some people give in a lifetime. A woman who touched the lives of many with her golden smile, her infectious laugh and her encouragement. An angel on earth, now an angel in heaven.
Even in her death she has inspired others to start giving, sign their donor cards, live in the moment and find the passion missing from their daily existence. She did not merely exist day to day, she relished every moment and encouraged others to do the same.
I am one of those who has been inspired. I want to live a Phat life!
Monday, March 8, 2010
creating a photo blog
I love to take pictures of people, places, animals, nature, anything that catches my eye. I like to see if I can capture in a photograph exactly the way I view something. My favourite pictures are the ones that I can look at years from when I took them and feel the same emotion stir as I felt when I initially experienced that moment in time.
I have thousands of pictures saved in albums and on an external hard drive. Last week I decided it was time to create a photo blog so I can share my pictures with fellow bloggers who'd like to see them! So...now I am doing a little research on the best way to create a photo blog!
If anyone out there in blogger land can give me some insight as to the best photo blog website, I'm all ears and eyes!
I have thousands of pictures saved in albums and on an external hard drive. Last week I decided it was time to create a photo blog so I can share my pictures with fellow bloggers who'd like to see them! So...now I am doing a little research on the best way to create a photo blog!
If anyone out there in blogger land can give me some insight as to the best photo blog website, I'm all ears and eyes!
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
look to the bright side
This past weekend was one of the best we've had since the holiday season. It was a weekend spent with good friends, enjoying good food and having quality family time.
Friday was a PA day and so one of my daughters invited one friend over during the day and another friend for a sleepover. What I love about these two friends in particular, neither one minds playing with all three of my children though she came for a play date with my daughter. They laughed and giggled all day and evening playing with the guinea pigs and their American Girls. When I went to bed Friday night I found my camera laying on the bed. On the camera I watched a guinea pig training video the four of them made while sitting on the bathroom floor playing with the guinea pigs. Imagine trying to train a guinea pig the way you would train your dog and you get the picture! It was hilarious to watch them in their seriousness creating the video.
Saturday for the first time in at least two years, my husband and I went out on a double date with good friends for Thai dinner and a movie! My husband and I have had lunch dates and even dinner dates, but not an evening out with friends. I thoroughly enjoyed our leisurely dinner and conversation before the movie. We had not expected "Up In the Air" to be as busy, but the theatre was packed. There were only single seats left until two couples moved over to create two sets of two seats for us.
Have you seen Up In The Air? It was different than what I expected but I think I'd enjoy almost any movie George Clooney was in. I have been a fan of his since his stint on Sisters and then ER. His character, though emotionally detached, was still endearing.
Valentine's day began with a special breakfast! I made chocolate brownie waffles and they were delectable!! The waffles were so decadent the kids only ate two each. I have a freezer bag full of waffles for another day. Our Valentine's day was full of chocolate: Purdy's chocolate, chocolate waffles, chocolate hearts, chocolate chip cookies and a rich chocolate torte. I never thought it possible, but by the end of the day I had my fill of chocolate.
Family day was spent visiting my parents, delivering my now famous fudge, skating at the local rink and gearing up for back to school on Tuesday.
I loved the whole weekend!
Friday was a PA day and so one of my daughters invited one friend over during the day and another friend for a sleepover. What I love about these two friends in particular, neither one minds playing with all three of my children though she came for a play date with my daughter. They laughed and giggled all day and evening playing with the guinea pigs and their American Girls. When I went to bed Friday night I found my camera laying on the bed. On the camera I watched a guinea pig training video the four of them made while sitting on the bathroom floor playing with the guinea pigs. Imagine trying to train a guinea pig the way you would train your dog and you get the picture! It was hilarious to watch them in their seriousness creating the video.
Saturday for the first time in at least two years, my husband and I went out on a double date with good friends for Thai dinner and a movie! My husband and I have had lunch dates and even dinner dates, but not an evening out with friends. I thoroughly enjoyed our leisurely dinner and conversation before the movie. We had not expected "Up In the Air" to be as busy, but the theatre was packed. There were only single seats left until two couples moved over to create two sets of two seats for us.
Have you seen Up In The Air? It was different than what I expected but I think I'd enjoy almost any movie George Clooney was in. I have been a fan of his since his stint on Sisters and then ER. His character, though emotionally detached, was still endearing.
Valentine's day began with a special breakfast! I made chocolate brownie waffles and they were delectable!! The waffles were so decadent the kids only ate two each. I have a freezer bag full of waffles for another day. Our Valentine's day was full of chocolate: Purdy's chocolate, chocolate waffles, chocolate hearts, chocolate chip cookies and a rich chocolate torte. I never thought it possible, but by the end of the day I had my fill of chocolate.
Family day was spent visiting my parents, delivering my now famous fudge, skating at the local rink and gearing up for back to school on Tuesday.
I loved the whole weekend!
Thursday, January 14, 2010
party planner
How many of you like to plan birthday parties for your child? Hands up? I must admit, though I feel a little stressed about it at times, I love to plan my children's parties!
The most recent party was for my daughter who turned 9 on New Year's Eve. We decided upon an American Girl themed party because several of Avery's friends received American Girl dolls for Christmas! Where to look for ideas....American Girl website. I found two items on sale and they were perfect loot bag items: small doll bag with stickers and charms, and American Girl trading cards! In one fairly inexpensive order, the loot bags were almost done.
Next, to plan activities. What can you have 13 girls do? I bought memory wire and beads for the girls to make a bracelet for themselves and a matching necklace for their doll! I found the wire and beads on sale and know that all leftover craft items will be used by my two daughters after the party. I still wanted another craft item: foam craft, picture frames, ceramics, painting, hmm. There is a star on the American Girl logo and in the craft store I found paper mache star shaped boxes! You can buy acrylic paint at the Dollar store if it's not on sale at your local craft store. My daughter picked out the colours: pink, purple, gold, red and yellow.
I had the craft items planned, but needed an activity for the girls to do while they waited for the other party guests to arrive. My daughters have two beautiful holiday dresses with matching dresses for their dolls. We decided to let the girls choose a dress, change and pose for a photo dressed like their doll in front of the Christmas tree! The girls, even those who seemed hesitant at first, were quite happy once changed into the dress and to be dressed like their doll.
We had two games planned, but only time to play one. The girls were broken into two teams and they raced to see which team could dress their doll in pj's and tuck them to bed the quickest. The girls cheered each other on as they took turns undressing, then dressing their doll in pj's, tucking them into the American Girl beds (which my daughters had received from Santa), and then undressing the doll so the next person on their team could do the same. As my son did not want to join the race, my husband dressed Caden's boy AG doll for bed. The girls all thought it was hilarious to watch Trevor dressing the doll. He's all about getting a laugh so he was great at playing it up once the girls started to laugh. :-)
While some were done beading and others still carefully creating, we played the American Girl hair DVD showing 50 ways to style your dolls hair. We weren't sure how the girls would feel about this activity, but they were all excited to watch the DVD, then put their doll in the American Girl Salon chair (my daughter had received from Santa) to style her hair.
The cake was star shaped to match the AG logo. My daughter wanted carrot cake and I simply rented the cake pan, $1.99 per day at Bulk Barn, and it turned out great!!
We found gold starry loot bags at the Party Giant and added a fruit leather and two mini chocolate bars to the AG products before tying them closed.
The party was awesome! It was probably the most relaxing birthday party we've held in our home. The girls loved every activity right down to posing with their dolls for a group photo!
The most recent party was for my daughter who turned 9 on New Year's Eve. We decided upon an American Girl themed party because several of Avery's friends received American Girl dolls for Christmas! Where to look for ideas....American Girl website. I found two items on sale and they were perfect loot bag items: small doll bag with stickers and charms, and American Girl trading cards! In one fairly inexpensive order, the loot bags were almost done.
Next, to plan activities. What can you have 13 girls do? I bought memory wire and beads for the girls to make a bracelet for themselves and a matching necklace for their doll! I found the wire and beads on sale and know that all leftover craft items will be used by my two daughters after the party. I still wanted another craft item: foam craft, picture frames, ceramics, painting, hmm. There is a star on the American Girl logo and in the craft store I found paper mache star shaped boxes! You can buy acrylic paint at the Dollar store if it's not on sale at your local craft store. My daughter picked out the colours: pink, purple, gold, red and yellow.
I had the craft items planned, but needed an activity for the girls to do while they waited for the other party guests to arrive. My daughters have two beautiful holiday dresses with matching dresses for their dolls. We decided to let the girls choose a dress, change and pose for a photo dressed like their doll in front of the Christmas tree! The girls, even those who seemed hesitant at first, were quite happy once changed into the dress and to be dressed like their doll.
We had two games planned, but only time to play one. The girls were broken into two teams and they raced to see which team could dress their doll in pj's and tuck them to bed the quickest. The girls cheered each other on as they took turns undressing, then dressing their doll in pj's, tucking them into the American Girl beds (which my daughters had received from Santa), and then undressing the doll so the next person on their team could do the same. As my son did not want to join the race, my husband dressed Caden's boy AG doll for bed. The girls all thought it was hilarious to watch Trevor dressing the doll. He's all about getting a laugh so he was great at playing it up once the girls started to laugh. :-)
While some were done beading and others still carefully creating, we played the American Girl hair DVD showing 50 ways to style your dolls hair. We weren't sure how the girls would feel about this activity, but they were all excited to watch the DVD, then put their doll in the American Girl Salon chair (my daughter had received from Santa) to style her hair.
The cake was star shaped to match the AG logo. My daughter wanted carrot cake and I simply rented the cake pan, $1.99 per day at Bulk Barn, and it turned out great!!
We found gold starry loot bags at the Party Giant and added a fruit leather and two mini chocolate bars to the AG products before tying them closed.
The party was awesome! It was probably the most relaxing birthday party we've held in our home. The girls loved every activity right down to posing with their dolls for a group photo!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
nothing like a great new book
For Christmas this year I received three new books all from my favourite authors. I couldn't wait to dive in and my first choice was "Knit the Season" by Kate Jacobs. I read her first two books, "Friday Night Knitting Club" and "Knit 2" and fell in love with the group of women characters in the novels.
The books pull the reader in to feel like one of the club, learning about the women's' lives, their personal secrets, hopes and dreams as well as their deepest fears. When I opened the newest novel on Christmas morning I screamed with delight! I wasn't disappointed when I read the first few pages and when I finished the book I was ready to find out when to expect another in the series.
This is the type of book I can easily see being made into a movie! Of course it would be a chick flick, and one that would appeal to all ages as the character's span from teens to the golden years. Lots of laughs and tears.
If you are looking for a good book and haven't read the first two, you can pick up the newest, but I recommend reading them in order to understand the characters and how the group was formed.
What a great way to start 2010 by already finishing a great read! My next book is "Traveling with Pomegranates" by Sue Monk Kidd and her daughter!
Stay tuned.....
The books pull the reader in to feel like one of the club, learning about the women's' lives, their personal secrets, hopes and dreams as well as their deepest fears. When I opened the newest novel on Christmas morning I screamed with delight! I wasn't disappointed when I read the first few pages and when I finished the book I was ready to find out when to expect another in the series.
This is the type of book I can easily see being made into a movie! Of course it would be a chick flick, and one that would appeal to all ages as the character's span from teens to the golden years. Lots of laughs and tears.
If you are looking for a good book and haven't read the first two, you can pick up the newest, but I recommend reading them in order to understand the characters and how the group was formed.
What a great way to start 2010 by already finishing a great read! My next book is "Traveling with Pomegranates" by Sue Monk Kidd and her daughter!
Stay tuned.....
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