Always Half Full

I don't know about you but I cannot stand it when the pessimists are right.  You know, the ones that tell you how something could not possibly work out or that the something you are excited about is lacking.  Today forces beyond my control conspired to turn best laid plans into a complete schmozzle.  The pessimist got the wish it spoke to the universe when it uttered the words, "are you sure this is going to work out? " and truthfully, I am rethinking quite a bit because of it.  Not in a lose-my-optimism kind of way.  More of a do-I-really-need-this-kind-of-thinking-in-my-life kind of way.  I choose no.  From this moment forward.  Take your half empty glass and hit the road.

Classical Comedy

Earlier this week, we headed off to the Kalahari in Sandusky Ohio for an overnight bit of fun.  On the journey there, we were exploring some of the new options on our new car, including satellite radio.  I swear I feel undereducated to operate this system.  And no longer does it come with a manual; there is a DVD to watch to learn all the ins and outs of things.  Who has time to sit on the couch and watch a dvd on your car?  Whatever happened to a good old manual that you could open anywhere and find out anything you needed to know about your car?  I realize I am old (from a technological standpoint my age is about 80) but I am all for advances that make things easier--this does not fall into that category.  No matter.  I have children and they are apparently born with an intuitive knowledge of these things.  DDs discovered all sorts of interesting things about the stereo/dvd system on the car, including that they could listen to satellite radio through their headphones and weren't obliged to indulge their parents' love of 80s on 8 and 90s on 9 (they didn't appreciate our heartfelt rendition of Take These Broken Wings, not one bit).  I must admit, it brought me great pleasure to watch them car dancing to One Direction in the back seat (especially since I didn't have to hear the music!) and seeing them enjoying being together.  At one point, they were laughing hysterically.  And I truly mean hysterically.  I thought they must have found a comedy channel.  DD1 exclaimed, "you have GOT to listen to this, it is SO FUNNY!" and so, taking the headphones from her, I braced for something that was in fact, funny.  In my ears exploded the William Tell Overture.  Seriously.  Not even some Warner Bros Bugs Bunny version--now that would at least warrant a laugh or two.  Nope.  Just the plain old orchestration.  I returned the headphones and the girls continued to laugh until they couldn't breathe.  For a brief moment, DH and I questioned whether we are somehow depriving our girls of a well-rounded music experience.  And then the Red Hot Chili Peppers took it away and the car karaoke was back on.

Reading is a Life Skill

Just returned from an amazing, relaxing, and rejuvenating weekend with friends.  That we were scrapbooking is arbitrary.  What was really needed was some breathing time away and I didn't realize just how much until one of my friends noted how relaxed I looked.  That is food for thought indeed.  Clearly I am not handling plan b as gracefully as I had dreamed but I guess that's part of the whole adventure now isn't it?  On the journey to our getaway, I had an interesting chat with my BFF about information that we take for granted that just might be new learning for others.  I was reliving a chat I'd had years ago with my children's babysitter when she was exclaiming how brilliant one of her friends was, telling me that she knew all sorts of amazing things like what a female bar mitzvah was called.  I remember thinking silently in my head (i know, one of those rare occurences where what i thought did not pop out of my mouth--i will pause while you absorb the rarity of that moment.......), "doesn't everyone know what a bat mitzvah is?".  And so continued our conversation where we came to some conclusion that people who read alot, even when it's campy fiction, tend to learn alot of things about alot of different things (but apparently do not learn how to write an interesting sentence or use words beside "alot").  That point was driven home during our weekend.  I have some difficulty with dairy foods and in the past, have requested accommodation for this on our weekend away.  As it didn't go so well last year, I decided to keep my mouth shut (i know, i know, twice in one post--maybe i am developing some sort of filter? one can dream) and just take some medication.  However, they still had the dairy free thing on file.  After trying to explain that just because they didn't dip my croissant french toast in milk doesn't mean it is dairy free ("is butter dairy?" i was asked) or that a butter-milk (words hyphenated for full effect) biscuit has dairy in it, I became a little forceful in requesting they disregard the dairy free.  When one has to explain that eggs are not dairy, it becomes apparent that some basic knowledge may be missing.
Make no mistake, it didn't compromise my happiness on the weekend one bit but it did give me some food for thought (no pun intended but feel free to groan if you must)---reading is the gateway to coping in the world.  So bring on the next Sookie Stackhouse novel....I got a few things to learn about viking vampires....

Beware of Inappropriate Language

This past week DH and I have been working on a little bathroom redecorating.  Fraught with drama and frustration, as all of our household projects are, we have persevered even when we didn't feel like being in the same room together.  Last night we (DH really) finished the last step--install of the new light fixture and mirror.  While usually a light fixture rests above (and not over top of) the mirror and usually a mirror will allow it's user to see the top of it's head, we are going our own way and embracing the clusterf**k (i know, i know, trucker language but if you could see it, you would realize this is the absolute only term to describe it).  So much so, in fact, that we laughed until we couldn't breathe and decided maybe we'd pitch a realistic home reno show.  We'd follow Mike Holmes and unlike Mike, whose motto is "I'll make it right", our motto will be, "we'll try not to turn it into a clusterf**k".  In the meantime, no comments on the hair, I don't have enough quad strength to squat while using the mirror.....

Easter Moments

Here are a few ways my family and I whiled away Easter weekend:

We gathered some Ridley fur (using the shedding rake--can you imagine raking a dog?  luckily we can as it does the trick to get rid of massive amounts of fur) and made our own dust bunny!

Caved in to the resident Candy Monkey and made this "delicious" cake for Easter dinner.  I was hoping for the lemon curd cake on the cover of Canadian Living last month however, the sugar bomb won out.

My mum gave the girls each a bunny that was made from a mink coat that was given to her by my dad when they were newly married.  Unbelievably soft and what a wonderful heirloom.  And so much better than more candy!

Hope you and yours had a restful and wonderful Easter Weekend too.

    

Grocery Zen

It's so quiet in my house this morning that I can hear the clock ticking on the wall across the room.  Dog is lazily sleeping at (or on really) my feet and everyone else is pleasantly tucked away.  It's too bad that I have to be awake at 6 AM to achieve this rare moment of complete peace but I'll take what I can get.  Crazily enough, I am about to head out to the grocery store in a few short minutes.  One of my many (and i do mean many) quirks is that I really can't stand to be in a crowded grocery store.  Not that I don't love the occasional cart pushed into my leg, the people shoving to get their choice of bananas (i know, sad but true), and long lost friends reuniting in the 2 foot wide aisle by the meat.  Don't get me wrong, I am not anti-people but seriously folks, grocery shopping is not a contact sport nor is it a social outing.  And don't get me started on the "charming" carts that look like race cars.  Really?  Why are we encouraging grocery shopping as a family event? Don't Even.
Hence the early morning.  Wish me luck, I'm going in and hopefully returning while the house is still silent.  I have a new Cathy Lamb book to crack open.

Cathy Lamb should be required reading

Cathy Lamb is one of my favourite authors these days.  Her characters are strong, quirky, and genuine.  Her stories are humourous suffused with a vulnerability that we can all relate to.  In short, they are the perfect escape.  Cathy Lamb is also a blogger and today's blog on Parenting a Writer was particularly insightful.  You need to check it out.  Really.
www.cathylamb.org

London 2012

DD1 had the opportunity this past weekend to go with her swim club to Montreal.  They spent three days cheering on their fellow teammates at the Olympic Trials and had some pretty exciting moments.  DD1 got to see Ryan Cochrane and Julia Wilkinson earn their spots on the Canadian Olympic team and while these two swimmers are not from her team, she did get to meet them last spring when they came to our pool to train.  Joe Bartoch and Richard Harkness from her team made the Olympic list, signed her shirt, and spent time with their "fans" in the stands.  Her swim coach from last year, Brayden, swam in several events and did well despite battling mono for the past three months.  It's not often you get to be a part of the making of heroes.
Here is my summary of the weekend, from DD1:  They ate cookies for breakfast on the bus, laughed until their sides hurt, cheered until they lost their voice, and had more fun than can ever be explained (or so I've heard).  What an amazing opportunity for DD1.  Now, if I could only scrape her out of bed to get to school....