Honoring Heroes

Today is a day that many people around the world remember with deep sadness. They remember where they were when they heard the news. They remember what they saw on TV for weeks afterwards. They remember the shock and the anger. Everyone has a memory of that day.

In the aftermath people rallied, reached out to the ones that they loved in their lives, supported America and clung a little harder to the important stuff in life. Years have passed, is it just another day to most or will it be one that forever changes us? Will our children remember this day?

9-11 touched our family in a very deep way, not because we personally knew anyone who lost their life but because we are part of the brotherhood and lost 343 members of our extended family that day. It still brings forth deep emotion in our family and is still cause for our hero to choke up, which in itself is a very rare event. That event stirred something deep within my hero and I believe that stirring is part of the reason he struck out on a new career path which lead him to what he does today. He has always had that fire within him, but something about the loss of so many kindred spirits really struck a chord. He is passionate about the safety of those that serve in the fire service and is blessed to be able to channel that passion into a job. Our family is always aware of the sacrifice these heroes make every day, not just on days such as 9-11.

Many heroes were born and lost as a result of the events of 9-11. Take a moment to reflect upon the kind of sacrifice it takes to be a hero. What are you willing to give? How can you honor the unsung heroes in your life, your neighborhood and your country?

*** This was originally posted 9-11-08

The Naked Egg

We started this cool experiment on Friday. Iceman loves science experiments and he is quite thrilled with the whole thing. Next step will be to try and shrink the egg. It is very fascinating and easy to do so I thought I'd share it with you.

UPDATE: The shrinking egg is disgusting. It's not finished but it is not a pretty picture in the meantime.

Laryngitis??

Do you ever feel like you've lost your voice? Not in the my throat is sore kind of way but in the I can't make myself heard, no one cares what I have to say kind of way?

Struggling through this thing called fibromyalgia has not been an easy road for me. With it comes feelings of failure, guilt and often hopelessness. I can't seem to resign myself to this new path of being nearly crippled, often of less than sound mind with a head full of muddled thoughts, lapses in memory, fighting through a cloud of nonsense, frustration with wanting to do things but knowing that the cost is often to high to push through and get it done. I'm a doer, a servant by heart and when I'm unable to do for others I feel utterly useless. I feel like most people just think I'm lazy or a hypochondriac or someone who is not worth the effort of knowing. I've let relationships fall aside because I feel like I have nothing to offer, that these people are better off without this version of me or I simply can no longer handle the drama or stress that can come from trying to maintain certain relationships. Drama gives me stress, stress makes me physically sick which makes me useless to my family which then fills me with despair about my inability to overcome this thing.

Being incapable of doing all that I used to do for people makes me less relevant in their lives. I don't know how to define myself without being able to be the encourager, the helper, the intercessor, the one who holds others up. I've never been one who is good at putting themselves first. I'm a great martyr and have spent my life sacrificing many of my dreams, wants and needs for the good of others. Now if I don't focus on what my body needs first than I have even less to give to my family. If I don't take "me" into consideration than I have nothing for them. There is no amount of pushing myself that can get it done.

I really don't know where to find my voice again. How to be me without the doing?

Ker - works = no value

I am sure of a few things - my salvation, the love of my husband and most of the time the love of my children. That should be enough but it isn't. I miss being heard, I miss being valued and needed, I miss feeling like I was making a difference in my world. I wish I knew how to find my new voice.

No need to comment. I can't figure out how to close the comments on this post or I would do that.

Monsters vs. Aliens

We took the crew to see this in Real 3D last night. It was a funny movie and everyone enjoyed it from the biggest kid to the smallest (6 to almost 14). It has been a long while since I've been to a 3D movie and they certainly have come a long way. I was sitting next to Turtle and loved listening to him giggle... you know those unexpected squeals of delight that you hear often as a toddler but not so much once they get school age. It made the movie for me listening to him and seeing the sheer joy on his face. Each of the kids had a favorite character. Ice and Turtle have been reenacting bits of the movie all morning and trying the crazy 3D glasses on (made of plastic not cardboard and resembling the glasses worn by the President in the movie). We kept the glasses in hopes that the DVD has some 3D capabilities. The crew said this is one they would definitely want to add to our collection.

Are Americans really this stupid?

What an offensive piece of "news". I imagine they would be the first to come running to Canada for sanctuary if they were ever required to serve in their military. I can't believe that with all they have to worry about in the US right now that they find it newsworthy to mock the honorable men and women that serve in Canada's military and RCMP. I'm proud to be Canadian and thankful for the huge sacrifices that our troops have made.

UPDATE: The host has apologized. Doug Benson appearance at a comedy club in Edmonton, home to one of our Canadian Forces bases, has been canceled by the club. Guess it's not so hilarious now.

Clear Skin

Kodiak and La Diva really don't have a fighting chance in the hereditary department when it comes to clear skin. Their parents have battled awful acne in their teen years to the point that I was on Accutane for a brief time (ugh, what a mistake but I was heading to college and desperate) and the Hero has some scars to show for his awful skin. Seeing as kids are just downright vicious these days I've been trying to do whatever I can to help them through this process. La Diva is really just starting the zits and she has mostly a blackhead problem with the odd awful under skin eruptor that leaves an oozing mess on her sweet face. Kodiak is blessed with the T zone nightmare which was starting to look like a permanent affliction of red dots.

They use a skin care line from Melaleuca which work well enough. We decided to try an additional route with Kodiak which was to add the multi plus daily glow vitamin and take him off milk for a 2 week period. I have heard rumblings that dairy is a major culprit with acne issues but the larger reason we cut out the milk was because he seems to have a *warning disgusting* build up of mucous which caused his ears to feel plugged and an urge to hork constantly. When he was a small boy and required a 2nd round of ear tubes we researched other options and decided on chiropractic care. The Chiropractor suggested that we switch him to goat's milk for a time because it has less mucous than cow's milk and could help his ears to drain, along with the chiro adjustments. It worked wonders and he never needed tubes. So when he was saying it felt like his ears were plugged alot this came back to mind. We had decided we would do this milk free trial and then schedule a hearing test if necessary. While the milk free trial worked on all counts- his hearing has improved, he isn't constantly horking and his skin is really clearing up. We also discovered that he was drinking upwards of 4 litres (a gallon) of milk every day. He is a cheese lover and would rather cut out all that milk and still have his cheese. He has tried soy, goats milk and rice milk during the experiment and finds goats milk to be the closet to cows. So for his cereal we will have goats milk on hand. He is drinking more water which is good for him. All the way around it has been a win-win situation for him.

As far as La Diva goes we have issues with her ability to swallow pills so this vitamin will be near impossible for her to take. She is so slim that I really don't want to take the diary away from her at the moment. So we will just keep going with the skin care routine and play it by ear.

We're under attack!!!!

Freedom is running back and forth from the patio window to the front door, her ears permanently perked up and her tail going. She just tried to nudge my hand off the keyboard and is now running back and forth from me to the door. This would normally mean I have to peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee but that is not the case. The yard, the trees, the roof are covered with swarms of cedar waxwings. Their noise is sending her off the deep end. She loves to play with the birds. If I open the door she will go bounding out in the middle of them and send them flying in all directions, she will race to the back yard and do the same thing protecting her territory. They will fly off at first but if we let her do this often enough they will just perch in the tree and mock her from out of reach. She has never attacked them and whenever the Hero says "Where's the birds?" it sends her in a frenzy of playfulness. The weather has been warmer the past few days and with that comes the birds to feed on the berries from the mountain ash, as well as, the crabapples and plums left on the neighbors trees.

We are blessed with many birds thanks to the huge trees in our yard. It's not uncommon to see blue jays, chickadees, sparrows, waxwings, robins and even the odd woodpecker. We put out seed and suet in the winter. We hung up several birdhouses this fall as well. This past spring we had a nest of blue jays in our front yard.

Gotta love Google

Thanks to Google I get a lot of traffic from places around the globe. When people search for a review on an IKEA mattress they end up on my site. LOL My Top 10 list for 2008 talks about our Sultan Flokenes mattress. I wonder if I've generated any new sales for IKEA. It would be cool if you could track that and then maybe they'd show me their appreciation. You know how I love me some IKEA.

Where did the week go?

It ran away from me.... again.... this seems to happen a lot! The Hero was really busy this week with some major meetings which turned out to be awesome! I'm so proud of him! He works so hard and deserves every bit of recognition, success and respect that he is getting from his industry.

La Diva is trying out for air band again so she and her girls were practicing. Turtle was home yesterday with a slight fever and an awful cough. He's still hacking but feels great so I sent him to school. He's good about coughing into his elbow and if my healthy kid got sick it's likely because his whole class has been passing it around anyway. I had my nail appointment this week which is always a fun visit with my hard working friend. Add in normal chores, feeling a bit sluggish, school meetings and PTA responsibilities and the week is gone.

I'm taking the weekend off and will try to come up with some more interesting blog posts for next week. Have a great weekend everyone!

A New Day........

The news is filled with words about hope and renewal with the upcoming great moment in history. It's exciting to witness what many merely dreamed would come to pass. I don't want to take away from what this means but it gives me pause when I see how much is being laid upon the shoulders of this man. It is impossible for him to live up to the hopes and expectations that so many have placed on him in these turbulent times. It's just too much and he will surely disappoint many that are believing that he will be 'the one' who makes all the difference. There is already "One" in whom we should put our hope and our expectations. While he is not my President, I'm not an American, I will be praying for him, his family and for all those that have so much expectation and hope resting on the shoulders of a man.

For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord,

'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future,'

Jeremiah 29:11 NIV


Behold, I will do a new thing.

Isaiah 43:19 NKJV


'The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.'

Psalm 126:3 NIV


'May the God of hope fill you will all joy and peace....'

Romans 15:13 NIV


'...I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.'

John 10:10


'...Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man,

the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.'

I Corinthians 2:9 KJV


'...The Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.'

Isaiah 60:19 NIV


'Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?

I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.'

Isaiah 43:19 KJV


'Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ:

In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope...'

I Peter 1:3 NIV


'I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you...'

Ezekiel 36:26 NIV


'The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy.'

Psalm 126:3 NIV


'The Lord will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory.'

Isaiah 60:`4 NIV


'Sing to the LORD a NEW song; sing to the LORD, all the earth,'

Psalm 96:1-2 NIV


'Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above...'

James 1:17 KJV


'Seek the Lord and His strength.

Seek His face continually.'

I Chronicles 16:11 KJV

Know it all "fans" ??

We went to the Oiler's game last night. The Hero was given tickets as a thank you for a job well done from one of his colleagues. We took La Diva and Iceman as neither of them have been to a game this season. Iceman is a die hard Flames fan and was set to deck out in Flames gear, however they were playing the Predators not the Flames. We convinced him to borrow one of Kodiak's old jerseys, he then chose to go all out with a hat and tatooed his face with Oilers logos. He looked the part of a die hard fan. He was excited to be going and said he'd do his best to cheer on our favorite team. (by the end of the night he decided that Oilers were his second favorite team in the league... his BFF Jarome Iginala ;) will be crushed)

We dropped Turtle off for his sleepover, went to Red Robin for dinner and then headed to the game. We found close parking which was a bonus because I hate that usual 100 mile trek across the tundra to get to Rexall. Iceman was totally enthralled with the pre-game action. He thought it was especially cool that he could see the players that autographed Turtle's hat and one for his Auntie on the ice. He really got caught up in the whole night and it was awesome to see his face and watch him jump up with fists in air when they scored. The only damper on the evening were the 6 people sitting behind us. They obviously were season ticket holders and had gotten to know each other over the season or seasons. They were probably about 10+ years older than us (old enough to know better imho) and spent the entire game (non-stop yapping, even through the national anthem which had me ready to pop them in the nose from the get go) criticizing the Oilers from the coach down to every player that stepped on the ice. The bagged on them constantly and didn't stop even when a player they had been trashing scored mere seconds after the words came out of their mouths. The Oilers broke their losing streak against the Predators and I thought it was a good game, shots on goal were fairly even throughout, not a ton of power plays, even penalties for fighting for the most part, etc. These people were relentless and when they ran out of fodder for their own team they started in on young Tootoo from the Predators, the first ever kid from the NWT (aboriginal too) to ever make it to the NHL. He's a fiesty little guy and obviously fought hard just to play hockey as long as he did, let alone make it to and stay in the NHL without falling into the trap of too much money leading to a reckless lifestyle. The youth of the NWT have lower education levels and employment levels up into the early 20s are also very low. It's a challenge to stay on the straight and narrow and not fall into the trap of substance abuse and despair for many of his peers. When they commented that his playing skills must be due to all the caribou he ate I nearly came completely unglued. Next to me was a good looking young aboriginal man and his girlfriend and I was amazed and saddened when he didn't even flinch at the deragatory comments. I held my tongue because the tickets belonged to a colleague of T's and I had no idea what his relationship with those people may or may not be. Later T said I should have went for it because his friend and his wife are aboriginal as well.

I do not understand why you would chose to have season tickets to watch a team that you have not a single decent thing to say about. Why waste your money if it is so painful to watch them play? Why ruin the experience for those around you? Iceman even said afterwards that the game was awesome except he wanted to pop those people in the nose for being so rude during the whole game. What kind of life must they have when their whole source of entertainment is to ridicule and make fun of these atheletes? Sure they are overpaid for their skills and the whole professional sports industry is way out of control but you have a choice as to how much you chose to participate in furthering that industry. I wonder if they bag on the waitress or the grocery store clerk or anyone else they encounter the same way. I pray that they have never been involved in minor sports or other activities involving children. I cannot imagine the pressure people like that put on kids.

It was a great game and nice to spend some time with half the crew. We are relieved that those are not our season's tickets as I doubt that any of us could tolerate another evening with the jerk squad sitting behind us.

Spoiled Rotten

We've been busy taking it easy since Christmas. We had an awesome Christmas Eve and an enjoyable day with our extended family. The crew have been enjoying their new Wii games and we've been watching some of the family movies they got. The Hero and Kodiak ventured out on boxing day as bigfoot aka Kodiak needed new bindings for his snowboard. They ended up coming home with bindings and a new board because they got a killer deal. I had predicted that they wouldn't stop at bindings. lol The Hero is taking up boarding this year so he will use the board when he's taking his lessons during the week. Then they will have to wrestle for it when they all go boarding. heh!

After weeks of feeling awesome I've had a few days of weariness. I guess all the stress and busyness caught up to me. Oh well, I'm thankful for those good days and am no where near where I once was. I'm hoping I can hold it together until Dr. X gets back from Chicago in the new year.

I was royally spoiled by the Hero for Christmas. I'm still reeling at all the surprises that he was able to pull off. We had agreed that this year we would keep things simple and while I upheld my end of the bargain he went over the top. I feel like a Queen with all my lovely new things- from beautiful bling to my very own Macbook!!!! The Hero and I are going to take in some classes at Apple university so that I can learn all the tricks of my new toy.

We are so greatful for the many blessings that we have been given this year. The Hero's hard work and our sacrifice of his time these past few months paid off in early December with a big promotion and all that comes with it. We are not taking that blessing for granted considering the state of the economy. We are very thankful and were excited to be an even greater blessing to those who have less than we do this Christmas season. This year more than many before we were able to communicate the reason for the season to all of our children. It was awesome to watch them be more concerned about giving than getting. I hope that we can carry this spirit over through the new year with the crew and get involved in some projects throughout the year.

I'm not sure what our plans are for New Years. I think that we might fondue. We will likely stick close to home and keep it low key. We surely cherish our time together and are grateful that the Hero is essentially off work until the New Year.

Fostering a sense of community....

This year our children's school has taken a different look at the holidays in their group activities. The concentration has been on having an old fashioned Christmas and focusing on the simpler things. One of the key lessons has been giving over receiving and that gifts can be as simple as a smile, a hug or doing something kind for your classmate. Instead of sending gifts for the teachers they had asked that the students make a donation to one of 2 projects- backpacks for the homeless or shoe boxes filled with stocking stuffers for someone within our own community. There was not a big concert production this year but a carol sing where families were invited to join with the students to sing carols, share memories of a favorite Christmas and have a time of fellowship with hot chocolate and cookies that had been baked by the teachers. The teachers felt that it was necessary to take the focus off of finding a fancy outfit to wear, knowing full well how much of a hardship that is for some of the families and just showing their students and our community what fun can be had by just being together. I've been involved in some fundraising activities this week that had me at the school more often than usual and around some of the parents. I overheard some complaining to a dear teacher that they were hugely disappointed that there would be no stage at this event, no opportunity to videotape their child, no reason to attend the event. *sigh* The teacher tried to explain that they were trying something new and that for some families this would be one of the few moments where they could be together doing something like this. This person went on and on about how she wouldn't waste her time and how could she expect her parents to travel from another town for this. The point of the evening was completely lost on her. It made me so sad that all she cared about was a production to tape her child at. She was well dressed, as were her children and the prospect of not having an event to shop for was probably causing her much grief as well. We attended the event and while it wasn't a packed house like it is when they have to hold 2 seperate concerts for the school it was a decent turn out. The kids were well behaved (except a few who ironically belong to people who consider themselves to be "all that") and they were really into the night. It went a little long but most things run late around here and they had some sound and video challenges. I don't know that it fostered a huge sense of community because this is a place where people stick to who they know. As members of parent council and PTA, Troy and I did our best to talk to people who seemed left out of the group. Our kids preferred it over the normal school productions. They will have assemblies this coming week with a couple of classes at a time performing for the rest of the school. I wonder how many of the video tapers will show up for that.

Today was the day they handed off their shoe boxes and backpacks to the people from Christmas Elves. I think they were proud of what they had accomplished and I hope that some of the more fortunate children learned a little bit about giving and how blessed they are. Maybe they can pass that knowledge onto their spoiled parents who want what they want.

This week also marked the kick off of the breakfast program for the school. This is a project that is near and dear to the Hero and I. We, along with some dear people, worked hard and pushed through a great deal of ridicule and adversity to pull this off. Today was the day when all that drama paid off in a huge way. Since Tuesday each of the children in the school have received some breakfast on their assigned assembly days. Today the entire school was given some healthy muffins baked especially for them by our local bakery and a milk. They learned how this program came to be and that thanks to the generosity of a local business they will continue to receive funds through the coming year to keep this program going for some time. They wanted to have breakfast for everyone at the beginning so that the stigma of it being just for those that were lacking was removed. The kids now know that if they are hungry they need to only ask their teacher and food will be provided for them. The Hero was choked up talking about the project and many of the teachers had tears freely flowing. It is a really great thing what our dear friends have pulled together and the need is only going to become greater as times get tougher for many in our community. It was a good end to a project that came with a great fight. I'm so glad that we all pushed through and saw it come to pass.

A week in review....

Things have certainly run away from me lately. We've done some exciting things recently (well exciting for me anyway ;)) and I'd like to document them so bear with me while I ramble about our week.

Last weekend a colleague of the Hero's was in town for some meetings and brought his lovely wife along. The Hero has known him for many years but this is the first chance that I have had to meet his sweet wife. It was great to have some intelligent conversation and great company. We went out to dinner Friday night and then on Saturday attended an event with them.

Saturday night brought one of those moments that confirms many things that you know in your heart but are not sure if you are seeing things from out of your own love and appreciation for someone you love or out of something more unbiased. My heart was full of pride as I watched my Hero in his element. He has the respect of many in his industry and Saturday night made it so evident to me just how high they hold him in esteem. I'm so very proud of him and all that he has accomplished. He was asked to meet with the minister in charge of fire services for our province and make a presentation to other ministers. It was a wonderful social event and for those of us in Hazzard who aren't used to seeing firefighters shown gratitude and appreciation it was heart warming to know that it exists out there somewhere. Speaking of Hazzard, it was interesting to have confirmed, straight from the horses mouth so to speak, all we already knew about the situation with Cruella and her minions and their razing of our department. It brought me great joy to hear directly from the minister in charge of our heroes the direction that the fire service needs to be taking. It was not the least bit surprising to us to hear that everything that Cruella had pulled and claimed was true went completely against the direction our province is taking in regards to this area of service. I have to admit that after all our family has been through that it brought about some personal satisfaction but it also makes me even more fearful for those that we still care about that are on the department (they may be busy maligning the Hero and others like him but we still pray for their safety).

I can't remember if I told you all but I'm now on the executive for both the PTA and the Parent Council of our Elementary school. This past week was my first official meeting as such and with that came doing cookie dough orders and setting up another fundraising initiative for the school. It was good to feel useful and be around other people who genuinely care about the direction of our school. I'm looking forward to working with these women and the Hero (who is still Chair of PC). It looks like I will be administrating this new fundraising initiative for now and I hope that my body holds out for me and I have good days on those days that I need to work through all the paperwork. I'm also thankful for a sensible person to work alongside. We've lived in Hazzard for about the same amount of time and we've made about the same amount of friends here. LOL It's good to know it's the way of Hazzard rather than just me. She is a non-gossipy type person and a straight shooter so I think we will enjoy working together.

This weekend we got together with what is left of our fire department family. It was really great to see everyone again. I love that we still have such respect and warm hugs for each other. We had a fabulous dinner at a great restaurant and it was good to be in the company of dear ones again. We look forward to our next get together in the new year.

Today we are going to get the house set up for Christmas. We put the tree up yesterday to make sure all the lights worked and will get it decorated today. It's hard to get into the Christmas spirit as the weather has been unseasonably warm and we've yet to have snow that sticks. The crew is very excited about decking the halls and it should be a great family time together. The Hero jets off to the wet coast for a few days this week so it will be good to spend this day enjoying each other.

If you are still reading you are likely procrastinating something, are suffering from insomnia or are jacked up on caffiene. ;) I appreciate your visit to our life and hope that you take some time today to show those around you that they are appreciated. Do something that will bring you and those you love some JOY!!

Where I disappeared to...

How good is your word?

Living with integrity means: 

Not settling for less than what you know you deserve in your relationships. 
Asking for what you want and need from others. 
Speaking your truth, even though it might create conflict or tension. 
Behaving in ways that are in harmony with your personal values. 
Making choices based on what you believe, and not what others believe.

~Barbara de Angelis

Do you live a life of integrity?  Do you mean what you say and stand behind those things? Do you compromise yourself? Do you take a stand but then turn around and accept circumstances that are less than you deserve or go against what you have said you'd never do? Do you stand passionately and say things that start with the phrase "I will never" but then turn around and do the very thing you said you'd never do?  

I've recently discovered that there are very few people who mean what they say. When the chips are down many people really don't have the strength to stand by their convictions.  It's no wonder that so few people trust others when so many go back on their word.  Does anyone really respect someone who doesn't stand by their word and follow their convictions?  It really makes me sad that people are willing to compromise who they are. I wonder if they will ever truly have satisfaction or happiness as a result of their inability to stand up for what they believe in and be who they really are.

Catch up

I'm in an upswing healthwise and with that comes playing catch up with my neglected house and jumping back into my family's busy life.  This past weekend we rearranged our living room, which involved shopping, building furniture (same piece twice- don't ask ;)), moving furniture, repurposing old furniture and making space for that repurpose required more cleaning.  Throw in a 4 day weekend, homework, cooking for Thanksgiving and you have a busy family.  We are pleased with our new set up and enjoyed our time together despite the busyness.

My RMT is still out and I've been seeing someone else in the wellness centre- it's a bit of a co-op situation with all of them having different takes on the way they offer healing to you.  I find myself doing spiritual battle with the lady I'm seeing now and I'm not finding the same level of healing through her hands. I look forward to having my therapist with her healing touch back soon.  I've been given a referral for a naturopathic doctor who has had some success with fibro.  As soon as I can figure out the Hero's schedule I will set up an appointment.

Iceman is having some challenges at school.  I met with his teachers last week.  I am pleased that they are on top of things early on and I hope that we can find a way to make this year a successful one for him.  He has some concentration issues, gets frustrated because everything is "so hard" and well... he is Iceman.    I'm proud of myself.  While I went right to beating myself up when I first got the meeting request I didn't let that consume me and am moving forward to do what I can to help Iceman succeed in school.

Kodiak and I are heading to Europe in 2010.  He is very excited about it and I figure it will be a great opportunity for both of us. I hope he's as enthusiastic about having his Mom tag along in 2 years.  He is already asking what kind of food they have in each country, what languages he should study, where can we find info about where we are going etc.  We will be visiting London, Paris and Barcelona.

La Diva has been having some girl drama in her life.  It really frustrates me and I hate to see her have to deal with this crap already.  She is a really compassionate child (and I'm not just saying that because she is my daughter) and hates to see people treating others badly.  Unfortunately that has made her a target and it is even coming from one she had considered her BFF.  I've done what I can and even had a meeting with the mom of her BFF.  Unfortunately it did little to ease my mind but gave me insight into this girls true character.  I don't have a problem with the family at all, in fact one of Kodiak's best buds is cousin and lives with them, however, our views on rearing children differ.  She thinks they need to learn that you won't be friend with people forever and I think that they are still children and need guidance in how to treat people you call BFF.  She basically said that if BFF can't see that La Diva is a good friend than maybe she needs to let her be on her own or with others so she can realize just how good she had it with La Diva.   I just hate seeing La Diva hurt and be a doormat for this kind of junk.  I'm trying to teach her that it's ok to be upset and to tell her friends when they hurt her, that she doesn't have to hold it all in and that she can, in a respectful way, express her feelings about how she is being treated.  She is used to everyone loving her and keeping the peace with all the drama queens.  *sigh*  We aren't even in Jr. High yet.  My heart hurts that she is enduring this already.

Turtle is loving school so much.  He is beyond thrilled that a classmate moved next door.  It's been such fun to watch him blossom from this shy little barnacle to a charasmatic leader.  He loves his teacher and is learning so much.

The Hero is in full swing of his super busy season.  Next week we lose him for the majority of the week to trips.  He is doing amazing and is finally getting some recognition from his company... looks like he'll be moving up the ladder again.  I'm so very proud of him.  He's becoming a bit of a "celebrity" in the industry as well. lol

The Hero's cousin was the first guy to be eliminated from SYTYCD-Canada last week.  I felt so badly for him, he was visibly shocked. I thought he did an amazing solo.  I did have a sinking feeling he might be ousted by default because I figured they'd keep the ballroom guy and knew Blake loved Dario. I am sure that Kevin will be richer for the experience and I am confident that he has great things in his future.  You can check out his journey here.

Almost Famous

The Hero's cousin made it into the top 20 for So You Think You Can Dance Canada. We haven't had much contact with him now that he is all grown up. His family was the first part of the Hero's family that I met when we started dating. Kevin was quite the little dancer back then. I know how big dancing was in his life as a child and remember him putting on a show at our wedding reception much to the delight of the little girls in attendance. I also remember watching him in competitions in Cowtown when we lived there. He has certainly come a long way and we wish him much success as he takes on this new challenge. You can check him out at SYTYCD-Canada



Hey he didn't get his cousin's gift of gab but the Hero didn't inherit any of those moves either. heh

Fall is in the air.

The last flowery faces of summer around here are my Rudbeckia's.  With their arrival also comes the sign that summer is drawing to a close.  The weather has been cool and crisp in the evenings for a few weeks and while we have managed to avoid a frosty night I fear it is not far off.  This weekend will be the start of my preparation for winter outdoors.  There are many plants that need to be pulled, pots to clean and other plants to transplant and move indoors.  The apple tree is so full that I really must get serious about making crabapple jelly before the whole tree of apples are lying on the ground. Iceman, Turtle and Kodiak have been raking up a pile almost daily. I've baked crisps galore and Turtle took a bucket of apples to his teacher.

Anyone need some crabapples? Have any recipes to share?

Last weekend of summer

It's the last weekend of summer around here. The crew head back to school on the 2nd. We will keep this weekend busy as usual. Tonight and Sunday night the Hero and I are heading to the World Championship of Chuckwågons. Saturday we are taking the crew to the Fort if the weather holds out. Monday we will take it easy and make sure everyone is organized for school the next day.

Have a great long weekend!

*Photo by Kodiak July 2008