Things I like...

(Taken from Jennifers blog):

I love love LOVE The Twilight books.....in fact I love Twilight ANYTHING....but then you already knew that RIGHT?????? lol. 4 days until I see the movie :) In fact in 4 days I will have seen the movie now :) OMG I'm like sooo excited I could scream like a 12 year old :) I'm pathetic, what can I say......

Right now I'm loving the song that I added a couple of posts down and that they use on the TLC channel to advertise 'Jon and Kate Plus 8' and 'Little People Big World'.

I love nibbling Sun Rypes Fruit Source Mini Bites....they're like little wine gums but they're all fruit and veg so they're actually GOOD FOR YOU!!! You can eat 23 of them for 130 calories!!!!! OMG!!! And they're so juicy and yummy!!! And yet they count towards your portions of fruit and veg!!!

Avenue magazine...Edmontons wonderful lifestyle magazine. It's free and can be found in grocery stores and at the mall etc but its full of great articles and reviews about our city :)

Martha Stewart writing pens - Jessica Sprague who is teaching my writing course recommended these pens and I have to agree - they are wonderful - they come in lovely colours and are just really great to write with!

My mail box - because its full of such fun mail since I joined Swapbot and Facebooks group: 'Addicted to Atc's'.....

Waking up in mid November on mornings when it is above freezing and where there is NO snow :)

What things do YOU like at the moment?

Home reno blog...

...got updated yesterday and today.....

It's a Beautiful Life

I love this song from the commercial for the Monday Family Night on TLC.....

Cairo and Grayson...

On their blanket in the mudroom....like two old grumpy men sat there together.....

Random questions....

What are the last 5 stores you shopped at and what for? 

Safeway for a pizza and salad and Oprah magazine yesterday. On Saturday at Home Depot for a new door for the mudroom. Michaels for a crocheting kit and ribbon. Please Mum for pants for Sam. People magazine in Safeway (I wanted to read about the Obamas since winning the Presidency but the whole issue is excellent by the way!!!) and a few groceries on Saturday.




What is changing in your life right now? 

My home is changing as we are having major renovations done. I am changing as I have lost 50lbs this year and have had my hair go from long to VERY short. My friendships have changed greatly in the last year or so and I have had some new and wonderful friendships start in recent months and have grown closer to friends that were already in my life. I have also come to realise that effort that I was putting in to some friendships was not being returned in a way that I needed. As hard as this was to face I needed to face this. I also finally saw someone for who they really were and removed them from my life. I feel better for having their games out of my life.

My interests have changed. Our plans for the future change with the volatile economy and remain flexible. Our family will change in the new year when our Nephew joins us. Abigail started school in the Fall and was diagnosed with OCD and tourettes. Sam is now in Pre-K two afternoons a week and I have a lot more time to myself.

My life is changing as my children are getting older as I develop new interests and as Lloyd and I get much more time for ourselves. I'm still not sure what I want to DO yet...I know I want to do more voluntary work....but I'm not sure where or how or when...although I think I have an idea.....Maybe after Christmas when Sam is back in Pre-K I could spend those afternoons volunteering.....




What is your usual order at Tim Hortons and at McDonalds?

At Timmys my order is either a mediium double double and a twelve grain bagel double toasted with butter (of which I will eat only the top half) OR I will order a croissant and jam with a double double but I can only drink half a double double. If I'm in there for dinner then I will order a soup like a hearty vegetable or chicken and rice or whatever!.....Thats my order.....

At McDonalds I always order the same thing. A happy meal with a hamburger. I give half my fries to Lloyd because i don't like the fries much and I have a diet coke. I get the toy which I give to whichever child behaves best! If I deserve a treat I will get a fruit pie!!! YUM!!!! :)





Name five things that are in your refrigerator right now?

strawberries, orange juice, pilsbury fudge brownie dough, defrosting skinless chicken breasts for tomorrow, lean ground beef for tonights cottage pie.



What was the best trip you ever took? Why do you consider it the best? 

Although our Disney holidays were fantastic, when I think of wonderful holidays, I still think of Canmore this Summer. The sad thing is, that Susannah and Laurence weren't there, but apart from that, that week away was just so perfect. It was what a 'holiday' should be! It was a just so completely relaxing! We did nothing but relax. We swam in the pool, relaxed by the lake, fished, ate out, watched movies in the condo and just rested. It was only a few hours from home, nestled in the beautiful Rocky Mountains and was just heavenly. I have such wonderful memories of stress free days - Abigail feeding the gophers, Sams face catching that first fish! swimming in the dark! And Sam asked for so long after if we could pac up our things and move to 'the house with the sliding door and the pool and the hot tub'........





List 10 experiences in your life that you’re thankful for? 

In no particular order:

1. Living in Scotland for a while and getting to see that beautiful country and learning about it's history and meeting some of it's people! Loch Ness, Edinburgh Castle, George Street, Browns, Stirling, and all of the other places we toured and visited.

2. Living with/Being married to someone from a totally different background and culture for 12 years and being able to experience New York City, Brooklyn, Calypso, Caribbean music and foods and having my 3 oldest children because of that.

3. My training as a psychiatric nurse and my training as a counselor..my time in the womens centre in Blackburn, counseling and ANY work I've done counseling whether with friends or voluntarily since. I may not have worked in a VERY long time but I don't think ANY of my training was wasted. It seems not a month goes by without me needing to utilise my skills in one way or another and so I am very grateful that I have that training. Even my time in the Methadone clinic and addictions unit - the heroin centre - as much as I did NOT enjoy my time there and still do not think that that program worked, I do think I gained a lot form going there. Even if it was only to know that I CAN be brave enough to walk through the door!

4. Going to Herblay, France when it was twinned with our home town. I went with a group of teens from my home town, including Louise (my school friend who sometimes reads my blog and who is on Facebook with me) and with a couple of adults. we went in a minibus on the ferry across the English channel and drove down to Herblay which is a town in the suburbs of Paris. I stayed with a French family there who were very welcoming - the Meron family. They had two daughters Laurence and Sandrine. I didn't speak very good French but that didn't stop me having SUCH a great time! To be honest our teachers didn't keep a very good eye on us and we were left to our own devices a lot of the time and we had a great time - we were left to roam Paris and Herblay on OUR OWN!!! I remember having hot chocolate and croissants in an outdoor cafe on top of this glamorous department store....overlooking the Eiffel Tower...and buying a scarf from a street seller...and then ending up in a seedy area and having these old seedy looking guys looking at us....Oh and then on the way home the boys we were with had bought fireworks and stuffed them into the seats of the minibus but they got caught!!!! and all got in trouble on the ferry! I've been to France twice and the two trips are a little muddled in my head....on one trip I stayed with a family who lived above a horse meat shop that they owned. I went to school with one family as it was part of the French Exchange programme at school. We visited the Bayeux Tapestry and the Palace of Versaille as well as the sites of Paris....I didn't eat horse meat though - they gave me artichoke hearts instead ;) I'm a little more adventurous in my eating habits these days :)

5. Keeping bees. I don't know if my bees will make it through the Winter. If they don't make it through the winter I don't know if we will order new packages next year - we WILL get new packages once we are SURE we know where will be staying long term, but maybe not NEXT year...but I do know that we LOVED having them THIS year and all that we learned from them...just spending time with them and around them...learning from these amazing insects- how they live as a community together, working together for the better of the hive and their Queen. Seeing babies being born...watching Sam delving in for the honey. Seeing children come here who are scared of bees and yet seeing them get closer and closer to the hive and then putting their hands in and sticking their fingers amongst the bees to taste honey and then going back for more no longer afraid! Rescuing the sticky drunk bees with Lloyd.....rescuing the bees from the workshop...the excitement of catching my first swarm!!! All in all it was a wonderful experience that I will never forget and would never have wanted to miss and even if I don't do it again this coming year I WILL do it again - I soooo hope the bees make it through!

6. Taking the gamble to leave my Ex and go and stay with Lloyd almost 8 years ago. Anything could have happened. But I think I just KNEW it was the right thing to do. It just felt RIGHT. And I've never regretted it. NEVER. Never EVER. When you can say that so completely sincerely then no one can argue with you. I love Lloyd so very much and just can't imagine being with anyone else ever - I can't imagine growing old with anyone else. I never grow tired of being around him. He can take weeks off of work and I still don't want him to go back to work. Yes of course he drives me nuts at times - we're human!!! But we make up as quickly as we fall out....and it tends to be over silly things (like not buying sugar - lol Stacey!!!) I miss Lloyd all day when he's at work and love that he phones me and emails me frequently through the day....and yes I can picture my Mother rolling her eyes at this now ;)

7. Giving birth 5 times. Each birth was so very different. I also feel quite lucky to have had children with two different men. Only because its so special to see that 'first baby' moment and I got to see that TWICE!!! My first labour lasted 34 hours and was an epidural birth - the epidural slowed things down and in the end was a forceps delivery. It wasn't the best delivery and I ended up having stitches. The nurses afterwards were patronising and unfriendly and as he was my first baby I felt like I didn't know what I was doing. Laurence was my second and it was a 9 hour labour and the end went so fast that there was no time for the epidural - I panicked when they told me that but it was actually a GOOD thing and I am so glad that I couldn't have an epidural. I would never have another one now! Susannahs birth was the best one DESPITE everything that went wrong! We both almost died....which makes it sound crazy that it was my best! But I had wanted a natural home birth. All four of my first pregnancies were Midwife managed and delivered in the UK. I was going to have a home a home birth with Susie but she ended up going so far over her due date (19 days) and was so big that my Midwife induced her the day before she was going on holiday - just so I would have my own midwife with me. A choice we made together. My labour and delivery last two hours. Susie then got stuck coming out and had the cord around her neck. My Midwife managed to turn me onto my side quickly and get Susie out finally and then I started to haemorrhage badly. I remember sitting up seeing this lake of blood coming out of me - it was amazing to see all that blood just pour out of me. They rushed Susie off because she was in shock and Nigel was standing there looking panicked not knowing whether to run to me or to Susie...and then I passed out and they gave me oxygen and started squeezing on my tummy.

Susie ended up in special care and they eventually took me down to see her. She looked wrong being in there next to all the premature babies because she was HUGE - she filled the incubator. She was all bruised. Her eyes were all filled with blood from the pressure of the birth and her first pictures had to be taken while she was asleep.

Abigails birth was induced two weeks early because she was getting big already and they didn't want a repeat of Susannahs birth. Not a bad thing as for the third time I had symphisis pubis dysfunction so was happy for the pain to be over. During Abigails birth the cord prolapsed and came out of the cervix before the head...its the strangest feeling - you can feel the pulse of the cord hanging down into the uterus......of course its very dangerous for the baby - if the head pushes down on it, it cuts off oxygen to the baby and the baby can die - so the midwife put her hand up inside and pushed Abigails head back up while Lloyd hit the emergency button and called for the crash team and the midwife tried to push the cord back up over Abigails head! This she managed to do! Amazing! After the birth which lasted about 13 hours, I had a shower and ended up passing out. Lloyd had gone to get me some fresh clothes and a few things and came back to find me slumped in a wheel chair looking very pale!

Sams birth was here in Canada and was VERY different to my other births - it was very medical - we weren't used to doctors being involved but luckily my doctor was quite late to the birth so Sam was delivered by a British Midwife :) JUST!!!! Woohoo! :) 5 out of 5 :)

Five fairly eventful births but all of them amazing experiences with five very healthy outcomes ,that I would never have wanted to miss out on. I was lucky enough to be able to breastfeed all my children - I breastfed mainly out of sheer laziness which is really why I do anything! I jsut couldn't be bothered with all that bottle fuss...breastfeeding is just so quick and easy and hassle free for me - you can just roll over and its there....when you're out it's there....you don't have to wash anything or fetch anything or do anything....or clean anything. I am not a breastfeeding activitist - I don't mind what everyone else does. Each to their own, but I'm happy I breastfed mine.

8. Ice skating on Clarkdale Pond about four years ago with my friend Linda. Having been raised in England and told NEVER to stand on icy ponds...in fact STAY AWAY from icy ponds and rivers, I have always had a fear of going near ice on ponds and rivers - even here in Canada. I love skating on ice rinks, but had never been brave enough to skate on a pond. Then one day my friend Linda suggested I go with her, for some exercise and some fresh air one afternoon. I took her up on her offer and one sunny January afternoon found myself lacing up my skates by the side of Clarkdale pond. Alberta's endless blue skies and sunshine were above me as I took my first step onto the ice and heard it crack below me. Linda reassured me that those cracks are normal and even seeing the water moving about a little below is normal too...the air bubbles are fine.....all was well....the ice is checked regularly and it's safe! The fears you get from growing up somewhere where it just doesn't get cold enough to go near ice!!! Soon I was skating on the icy pond and forgetting my fears and I was LOVING it!!! It was at THAT moment when I truly felt I was in Canada. THIS was Canada!!! This was what being Canadian and what living in Canada was all about! Skating on a frozen pond at -20 on a bright sunny day in January :) I couldn't stop smiling!

9. While I was nursing, one of my clients was extremely ill with anorexia nervosa. She became so ill that doctors gave her just hours to live. I was given the honour of spending the last few hours of her life with her....I spent those hours making her comfortable, washing her hair, bathing her, feeding her...talking with her, writing for her.....supporting her...just being with her. Something happened that day and amazingly she didn't die.....she pulled through....she stayed alive! I managed to persuade her to go to a special eating disorder unit in another city where she got the help she REALLY needed. She's not 100% cured even today but 17 years later she's STILL ALIVE and we're still in touch - still friends - still write to one another and send Christmas cards etc :) I'll never forget that day though when she was so close to death that the doctors almost gave up on her and I was basically saying goodbye to her.....I was 19 years old and I think that experience had a huge effect on me.

10. Our trip to Whistler last year was amazing...it was all expenses paid, for our whole family, Lloyd and I had a Lincoln Navigator while we were there but the children travelled with the rest of our group in chauffeur driven limousines. We spent a few days in suites at The Fairmont Chateau Whistler and ordered room service and had the most amazing meals in the restaurants as well enjoyed the heated outdoor pool with a bear walking just outside the fence....the pool was beside the snow capped mountains....we attended a wonderful champagne reception with 'the Queen' (lol) and a wonderful dinner....and were completely spoiled rotten. Then we spent a few days at a different hotel near Vancouver where we had tickets to see a comedian, went to the casino, visited Stanley Park and the Aquarium...before being chauffeur driven back to the airport. It was incredible....I don't know if we will ever experience life like that ever again - it was amazing to see my children being driven around in such luxury - seeing the chauffeur rush to get an umbrella for Susannah as she stepped from the car just to go to McDonalds!!! Then when she forgot her purse he rushed back with her with the umbrella! The sad thing is that I felt sooooo at home at Chateau Whistler - having the next days weather forecast left on my pillow - having my bed turned down for me at night.....room service......valet parking so we never got wet when it was raining as the car was brought to the door for us.....and the wonderful heated pool by the mountain......I want to go back - and the waffles!!!!!! MMmmmmmmm

I want to be THAT rich ;) lol!!!




If you read this YOU'RE TAGGED!!! ;)