Monday, February 28, 2011

"Sending it to the Universe" List

  1. Full work weeks for Jer....I know that this is something that should resume as of this week but the holidays and January (and most of Feb) were brutal...no more illnesses or recovery periods for him...or any of us really!
  2. More Epicure shows for me, I already have 4 booked for March, a couple more would be great!
  3. A bit of savings...we're living pay cheque to pay cheque since Christmas...I just want to be able to get through the week without having to wait for Thursdays.
  4. SPRING!!  Please?  Can it be right now?  I walked Jonah to the bus today and had puddles in my boots just halfway down the street...this wouldn't be so bad if the puddles were slush!!
  5. Again, spring, so we can start going on our Sunday drives to get fresh local fruit and veg.  I soooo miss that!!!
  6. A good plan at the Dr. for James tomorrow.  It's been going on forever and I know we'd all feel better if we had some resolution, even if it's bandaid for now.
  7. And, just puttin' it out there, the lottery would be friggin' sweet.  I have a lot of people I wish I could help right now, including my good friend Sarah who is putting her house up for sale today...if we won, I'd pay her mortgage off so she didn't have to move...and that's not all...
What do you wish for these days??

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Lists

I'm good at them...I like to make them.  This is my list of current things I want.  In no particular order.

  • I want to return to a time or place when I wasn't even thought of yet (think 17th/18th century Ireland and 19th century North America).  Lately I can't help but think about the past and our history and wonder how on earth we got to the "place" we're at now on this earth.  My fascination with history grows everyday...I long for simpler times and basic household living.  Don't get me wrong, I love my computer, but baking a simple loaf of bread gives me more pleasure than buying a new purse or pair of shoes or video game.  I want to can jam and pickles and make apple butter.  I want to make clothing (even though I don't even know where to begin)...I hope to one day be a "1950's housewife" yet still maintain my own identity and not "obey" my husband but work beside him to run a happy household.
  • I want, and need, to visit Ireland.  In the last 5ish years I've been trying to piece together my family tree.  I'm at a road block right now but for as far as I did get, I'm a whole lotta Irish.  Throw in some Acadian and French Canadian and Native in there....and I'm pretty sure some Scottish as well....but all in all, mostly Irish.  I have found a certain "village" in Ireland where my mother's family originates from and I have a very strong urge to visit there...particularly the graveyards.
  • I want to learn.  There are so many things that I am interested in doing and learning about...the list is virtually endless.  Before I'm 50 I hope to take a number of courses at the local college.
  • I want more time to bake.  I love baking.  I love seeing the joy and satisfaction on people's faces when they're eating my baked goods.  I want to learn more about it (see above) and hope to take the baker's certification course in the future.  I don't plan to have it as a career because I don't want to HAVE to do it...it is a hobby and I fear my love of baking would diminish if I were forced to do so everyday.
  • I want to learn to sew (see the first "I want").  I want to make my children's Halloween costumes and sew my own clothing/costumes.
  • I want to join a "living historical group" such as the Lincoln Militia.  This ties in with my growing love and fascination with history of course.  This also ties in with learning to sew.
  • I want to sharpen my tarot skills.  I know how to read them as a basic, I would like to be able to rely on them when I have a difficult decision or be able to help my friends in the same situation.
  • I want my good friend Sarah's son to get better.  If you're new here, you can read about him in previous entries but as a quick recap, he's suffering from AML.  He's 9 years old.  He just had a bone marrow transplant with the marrow being donated by his little sister.  He is currently dealing with Liver Failure.  He has been through a ridiculous amount of crap in his short life and I just want things to go back to normal for him and his family so that he can enjoy life again.  He is constantly on my mind and I am praying that he recovers quickly from this setback.

I'll be back with more lists in the near future.  I find it's a simpler way for me to get my feelings out of my head.  I like it :)

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Update on random things happening currently (and some recent past things)

So, the fundraiser didn't go as I'd hoped.  There weren't many people there and for the amount of people that RSVP'd that they were coming, I was disappointed. We did manage to raise close to $800 for Sarah and Lyric and their family though and I know that there were several people who were going to donate through her bank account so I'm not sure what the final total was.  I'd hoped for double that but Sarah was very grateful and appreciative of what was raised (of course, she's so awesome!).  So, who knows what my fundraising future holds but I hope to plan/participate in other fundraising efforts in the future.

In other news, we're done having babies now.  My husband went and got the big snip last week.  We have a lot of friends and family who are either trying or will be in the near future and we figure, rather than have more of our own, we'll borrow theirs for our baby fixes!  That being said, I feel old.  My reproductive days are over.  I am no longer in need of my uterus.  Next comes menopause!  Though if my aunt is right I have another 15 or so years before that happens but still...no longer needing my fertility has made me feel the age factor.  It's "the end of an era"!  I've been having babies for 14 years!  So yeah, bittersweet but I feel we made the right decision (and there was a LOT of contemplating).

As for the kids, they're all good.  James is super active in sports at school, first was soccer, now it's basketball and then the spring will bring volleyball, badminton, ect.  He's graduating grade 8 this year as well.  I can't believe it!  He's grown up so fast (in more ways than one) and next year he'll be venturing into high school and foot ball and advanced classes (that he chose...I know he can do it as long as he does his homework which is an uphill battle with him).  On top of that he bowls every weekend and has made it into a number of tournaments...he needs his ball fixed and once that happens he has the potential to be an EXCELLENT bowler...he's already great at it!

Jonah is doing well, though struggling with some of his french work.  He's not reading yet (though we're working hard on that with him) and he needs "considerable help" to complete tasks...in french that is.  Jer and I are...I don't want to say arguing because that's not the right word...differing?...about whether or not we should wait this year out and then send him to english school.  He's a smart kid, picks things up quickly, but he's struggling with the french language.  I know being bilingual (which he will still be, just not AS bilingual as if he were to complete grade school at a french school) is important but is it as important as excelling in an language that you do know??  So, we'll see what the summer brings and if he's still not reading I think he'll be changing schools, a prospect he's certainly on board with.  Other than that and being sick for the majority of the winter, he's enjoying Beaver's now and of course he's still bowling every Saturday...he loves to participate and this Friday he'll be racing his "Beaver Buggie" at the mall, he's sooooo excited!

Marryn is starting to enter her terrible two stage already and is adorable as ever.  Her newest word is "Dude!" which is so cute you just want to drop dead right there on the spot!!!  We're thinking we're going to put her into daycare one day a week starting in the late spring.  She doesn't get to be with kids other than her brother's much and I know she would really enjoy it.  We'll put her into a french daycare to get her ready for kindergarten.  She'll be 2 in June already...these two years have flown by!  Probably more so because I know this is the last toddler for us.  I'm going to try to start potty training in the summer too.  Surprisingly enough she's still in her crib and hasn't yet tried to climb out (KNOCK ON WOOD!!).  We have her toddler bed already set up and in her room though so when she does, she'll be familiar with it.

Jer and I are doing wonderful as well...we've been married for almost 4 months and it is bliss :)  We're planning a trip to Salem, MA for our 1st anniversary weekend.  I'm very excited!  We had originally hoped to stop there on our way to Virginia for our honeymoon but it seemed far out of the way and we wouldn't have had time to really enjoy it so we decided to bypass it.  This year though we'll leave early Friday morning and come home on the Monday (Halloween day) so that we're home to take the kids trick or treating.  I think it will be a fantastic weekend :)

Well, that's about it for now...I'm sure there is more but I've been writing this for about an hour between getting Marryn a snack and changing the laundry and what not...I'll be back again soon!