Feeling crafty again :)

I've been ina really 'crafty' mood the last few days and have been finishing a few projects I wanted to get to! I've been a little obsessed with felt and buttons lately and have been making endless tree ornaments like these stars :) I love these little things as they are just soooooo easy and so quick to make :)

One more thing....

...before I go to bed!

Lloyd and I were in the kitchen just now looking at the fish tank...Goldie miraculously survived today....spent much of the afternoon floating upside down but tonight is swimming normally again and doing great...I mentioned to Lloyd that he's an amazing fish - because he seems to come close to death again and again and then recovers! I said wow its like he has nine lives!

And Lloyd says quickly....hey maybe he's a catfish!


Grooooooaaaaaaan!!!! hehehehehehehe :)


Sadly Jaws died :(

Tara....

To register for one of my classes, your friend would have to go to the Click it website:

click-it.strathcona.ab.ca/Start/Start.asp?SCheck=32693238&SDT=39058.6050533565


and then choose the class they want to take which is either:

Little Learners(3Y-4Y)
A terrific setting for children ages 3&4 that will provide quality time, indoors and out. Kids will participate in a well-structured program with arts, crafts, songs, stories, discovery centres, games and circle time that will encourage movement, imagination, creativity and good times. A chance to explore the outdoors and the playground is provided each day.

or

Preschool Delight(4Y-5Y)
Educational learning meets outdoor rural life in this unique program that brings this preschool program to the country. A healthy dose of exploring the outdoors are included in every class. Arts, crafts, songs, stories, circle time, discovery centres and games all focus on preparing your child for kindergarten.

And then register online.....

HTH!!!

a little more...

I was thinking again about that weekend four years ago. On the Saturday - around the time of the accident, Lloyd and I had run out to Home Depot - we only lived around the corner and it wasn't really snowing when we left home. It started to snow as Lloyd walked into Home Depot - I stayed in the car with the children. By the time Lloyd came back to the car - just a few minutes later, the snow was coming down big time....you couldn't see very far in front of you. Thankfully we didn't have far to go.

The next afternoon, my friend Kerri phoned me and told me about Mandy's accident. I was so stunned I laughed. It just didn't seem possible. Not long after, Michele phoned me and I talked to her for a while about it....I think she was in shock too because she had been very close to the children but was talking as if it had happened to someone she hardly knew...I think it just seemed unreal to all of us.

I tried and tried to phone a friend of ours Anna, to let her know......I left emails for her too.....I finally get through to her and as she said hello it clicked why I was calling. I remember her saying 'OMG the accident on the news. That was Mandy wasn't it?'

The next day, Kerri came over and a friend of ours from Calgary, Dana, drove up to my house. WE all drove into Edmonton to the hospital to visit Mandy. What do you say to someone who just lost everything...their entire world??? WE stayed there for.....actually I've no idea how long we were there. We all hugged Mandy and her partners Mom was also there. I remember I had to act as witness for a few insurance forms they were filling in for the accident. I was fine in the room with Mandy, talking and discussing all the matter of fact things.......the room was busy...people in and out all the time. Mandy was talking about going to see the children - that the doctors wanted her to see them to make it more real. In the end she did and I know this really helped her.

After we walked out of the room to go home I completely lost it and broke down in floods of tears...I remember standing by the elevators in the U of A bawling into Kerri's shoulders.

I don't have a clue what happened after that....I don't even remember getting home.

The night of the memorial service was equally distressing. Mandy asked all her friends to join her at the front of the hall as she read Robert Munsch's book 'I'll Love You Forever'....Cameron and Ashleys favourite bed time story. That wa s avery difficult night for us all but nothing compared to what Mandy must have been going through.

As the days passed, I would go and visit Mandy over at her parents home.....and then as she got brave enough to drive again she would come over to our home to visit.

I'm not sure why I am typing all of this out....I guess every year its a way of going over it again, trying to get it all straight in my mind, trying to get over it all....come to terms with it all.

It was a difficult time for everyone and I think it helps to talk about it...even here on my blog :(

Four years.....

Four years ago today my friend Mandy, was in a very bad car accident. Tragically, her partner and both her children were killed.

This accident took place in a very bad snow storm on a very nasty bend on a highway I drive on most days.

In that one instant she lost her husband, her children, her life role, her job, her home, the future she had planned for herself

I got to know Mandy so well during the months that followed the accident, but sadly (although understandably) she felt the need to withdraw from her friends after that...to find new friends that weren't created around the children.

I don't hear from or see Mandy any more, but I do hear of her - I often find out how she is doing and I think of her often.

I can't imagine what she has gone through over these last four years....she had everything going for her at the time it happened - a new exciting home life ahead of her and then tragedy struck.

I hope she's doing ok. REALLY ok. I know she isn't living the future she had planned, but I hope she feels able to make the most of life....to move forward - not forgetting of course, but moving in a new direction.

www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=19272180025

Mail time...

A parcel arrived from my Mom and Dad today.....theres a gift for me wrapped up with a label that says 'enjoy the memories'....I can feel its a book lol so now I have to wait several weeks to find out what its about!!!! Sorry Mom but I HAVE to feel all my gifts to guess what they are...it HAS to be done.....which is why Lloyd hides all of mine until lunchtime on Christmas Day :) last year I only had to lift up one of mine to KNOW that he'd got me my dreamy kitchen aid mixer :) so funny - I had tried to lift one up in the store a few weeks before so I knew how heavy they were ;)

Yep I'm no better than one of the kids lol!

The parcel also had some comics for Abigail and Sam which I plan to read to them in the morning......some tights for Abigail which are gorgeous and stripy, a newspaper article on the Amish, a cd of Christmas stories from one of the British newspapers too.....

I also got a Christmas card from my sister and her family.

Laurence came home form school with a present for me too - a bottle of Avon's Haiku perfume that he'd bought for me at the schools Christmas sale :) sweetheart!!! And he came in from school and made me a cup of tea....

So all in all my day has improved.....although I think I'm going to be sick by the end of the night....I feel a bit sick......wonderful!

But yes.....my bad day has improved :)

Feeling left out....

I forgot to add a piccy of my soap dispenser the other week! This is the cute little guy that now resides on my bathroom counter......isn't he cute? God I love Homesense! I think he was $9!!!! :)

Moose picture....

When Abby showed me the moose she had drawn I was really impressed! I actually asked lloyd if he had drawn it! But no, Abby drew it all by herself :)

My hero...

Lloyd is coming home to rescue me from my bad BAD day lol! I am so glad! He finished work at 2:30pm to come home early for me :) Yay!

As you can see, Sam is sick. He's doing better this afternoon but was throwing up all morning. We got to the restaurant for breakfast and he threw up in the car before I even got him out of his seat. I knew something was wrong as he had been so quiet and sleepy all morning, but figured it was from his cold. I guess not! I ran in and apologized to Lucy and then came home again! Lucy was fab about it and I promised that breakfast is on me next Thursday :)

Came home and got Sam out of the car and he threw up all over me (how lovely) and then I got him settled on my bed with Treehouse tv and had him ona blanket to protect the bedding...well he pushed the blanket away and threw up all over the bed! What a darling!

So I have done the laundry and changed clothes several times and this afternoon he is doing better - having kept some goldfish and dry cheerios down.

What else happened today? Well I ahd a rude awakening (second time this week!) as I woke up to a silent house. 7:50pm and the house was silent! Kids had overslept again! So I run around like banshee screaming at the kids to get up and dressed and out! And they were at the end of the driveway by 8am for the bus :) lol poor kids! But I had to drive them on Monday too and there was no way I was going to wake up Abby and Sam and throw them into the car that fast! And I couldn't be late for breakfast (or so I thought lol)....anyway they made it to school on time :)

Oh and the fish are dying....and we have no idea why.....I give up! Lloyd can see to them when he gets back!

What else? Oh, registration for my preschool classes was today and only ONE child registered! Normally classes fill on the first day or at least are half full on the first day - so it looks like I won't be teaching in January. Mind you, they still can't find an assistant for me anyway. You'd think plenty of Moms would want a job thats only 2 days a week and where you can take a younger child with you......but I guess not!

I'm not too worried about the job - I wasn't looking for work anyway - but I'm really sad that there won't be a preschool in this area.......

All in all its been a crappy day! Lloyd suggested we run into town later for a coffee and a break for me, but knowing how badly the day is going I think it would be safer for me to soak in the bath with Eat Pray Love and Canadian Scrapbooker magazine instead! And maybe the rest of the Purdys chocolate tree decorations I've been getting through today :)

In the pic above Sam has flopped off of the bed onto the floor where he lay for a while looking extremely sorry for himself!

Regular view from my kitchen window....

these are our regular visitors to our feeders....I can't seem to get a picture of the Blue Jay...I'll keep trying!

Could I be Your Girl?

I'm loving this right now.....

Appreciate what you have......

YOU're VERY lucky! YOU have a LOT to be grateful for today!

A little girl!

Nathalie and Mark welcomed a little girl into the world (On Monday I think!)

Little Lucy Katie Maisie!!!! Lucy's Daddy sent me a slide show of pictures and I have to say that little Lucy is one of the most beautiful little babies I have ever seen.....oh Nathalie she is PERFECT!!!! Just absolutely gorgeous. And Nathalie looks amazing too - and both Mommy and Daddy look just so very VERY happy with their precious little Daughter :)


www.kodakgallery.co.uk/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=uwkvcs5.2esl109dp&Uy=94u7r8&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0


let me know if this works or not please....

Cold and chilly Wednesday....

....but the highways were lovely and clear :) I love living in a Country that knows how to deal with snow :)

It was -17 today and the wind was nasty for getting the kids in and out of the truck.....the only place that was nice was by the Pharmacy....(I love my pharmacy by the way - the guy there is just so nice and friendly and always uses my name when he greets me)! Anyway, the building sheltered the car there and it was nice :)

We went to Parentlink this morning......I wasn't really in the mood and neither were the kids, I finally got Abigail to go off and do something on her own and then Sam hit a little boy with one of those boomwacker things or whatever they are called lol...those plastic tubes you hit together to make noise......it could have gone either way as they were chasing each other with them at the time lol and luckily his mom totally understood :)

Spent the morning chatting with Samantha and Sandy and the other Moms, drinking coffee and doing crafts etc with the kids....one of the Moms was telling me about the chocolates she eats every night that have your daily recommended calcium in them....so she's bringing us one each next week :)

I got my Avon from Samantha and she also gave me a big box of books and items for preschool that she doesn't need any more! She introduced me to Sherry too - another preschool teacher.

After parentlink we went to the mall and had lunch and then I ran to the pharmacy to get a new supply of my meds......then home and we drove around the countryside for a while filling in time before the kids bus arrived - they are always so happy to have a ride home in bad weather :)

Came home and had coffee and watched Oprahs show which had Mitch Albom on it....he is one of my favourite all time authors! They were discussing For One More Day.

If you could spend one more day with someone from your past who has died, who would you spend it with and what would you do?

Then she had on the widow of the author of the Don't Sweat the Small Stuff books...I won quite a few of those books.....It was heartbreaking to listen to this wife who misses her husband sooooo much and to listen to the letter he wrote to her a few years before his death. It was a very emotional show and I spent much of it crying!

I bought the winter issue of Canadian Scrapbooker today and my Scrappers Haven friend Glenda has several layouts in it - it was so fun flicking through to find her layouts in the magazine. Her style and her writing is so unique and I find her pages and ideas so inspiring!

Lloyd will be late home this afternoon (well, late for him - 6pm) as he has a meeting with Andy, our builder. I could have been there but didn't see the point....Lloyd just had a few questions and wants to get him in touch with the guy from the sound system place as he wants the speakers and sound system for the theatre room put into the walls.....its all beyond me so I will leave it to the guys ;)

Tonight I have a letter to write to the little girl we sponsor in Peru....then I want to start reading Eat, Pray, Love :) I didn't get to read it last night as I wrote 4 letters in bed instead! We are delaying date night because Lloyd has a cold and I think he could do with an early night and staying home in the warm instead of going out into a -26 windchill!

Tomorrow - breakfast with friends :)

Resolutions for 2008....

I've been thinking about these today.....I don't take new years resolutions too seriously but I do love the fresh start that a new year brings...I just wish it was in April or so when the weather was a little more supportive of activities! ;)

What are your plans for 2008? Your hopes? Your resolutions?

I want to become more involved in our little community here...I love the village atmosphere here which is very similar to the village I grew up in. We have the one village store, the village hair salon, the garage and the little cafe/ pizza restaurant...

The hall is the centre of the village social scene and so many things take place there...dances, brunch's, playgroups, dance classes, karate, yoga, movie nights....there is a senior centre next to the hall..we have Trail days in summer......

This year I volunteered in preschool, we attended the movie nights, and I helped to run the Christmas party......I've also been in touch with the community league and offered help with anything that needs to be done - they asked if I would be interested in helping with the community communication....so whether that will be helping with the newsletter or putting up posters or sending emails or whatever.....they said they would love the help and will get back to me after Christmas!

I would also like to volunteer at the senior centre....but I am not sure in what capacity...so I need to find out more about that.

Jilles told me on Sunday that the lady who organizes the collective kitchen has retired from the job and so the collective kitchen will no longer run....so maybe I should find out more about that.....

There are so few communities like this left - where everyone knows everyone else.....where things are so simple and so relaxed and friendly...I love that I'm know at the hall now...I have my own keys, I can go in at any time...that they know me in the store.....at movie nights etc etc and I want to get more involved in this way.....

So thats my plan for 08 :)

southcookinglake.com/