Lazy pig in the afternoon sun :)

Five things I have to have every day :)

My Iphone  -  I HEART my iphone!!  Love love LOVE it!!!  Can't imagine not having it with me!  It's like my third arm now :)  I am the Queen of apps and have pages and

pages of them now :)  

Coffee first thing in the morning.  Lloyd leaves it by my bed before he goes to work.  Sometimes he leaves a little note on the top and I've kept all of these notes over the years and have them in a special jar.  I prefer the mornings when he goes in late though - and he has coffee with me before he goes!  On those mornings he spoils me though because he still makes me an extra coffee in a thermos and leaves it by my bed so I get two coffees on those days :)

My mac laptop.  Used for my coursework, for blogging, for editing pictures, for staying in touch with everyone.....for writing, journaling, Emailing, Facebooking....EVERYTHING!!!  My source for information, music, recipes....my go to for anything these days....

No day is complete without this guy......'nuff said ;)

Or this crazy bunch ;)

and the rest of the family (the furry/ hairier kind) - (the cats there are plenty of pics of lol):

So I guess thats more than 5 things but family kind of emcompasses more than one thing - 

so forgive me ;)

My day.....

Feeling like shit crappy!!

The Family Stone...

Last night my festive mood continued after spending all that time sorting through Christmas supplies ready for the Christmas Class I will be taking.  So Lloyd and I went to bed early and curled up to watch one of our favourites movies together - The Family Stone!!  If you haven't seen this movie then I totally recommend it!!  It IS our family!!!  Everett is Chris - oh sooooooo Chris!!!  Ben is Laurence.  Sam is Thad.  Amy is Abigail - and Susannah is......Susannah!!!  ;)  and they are sooooo much like their characters ;)   the only thing different is that Sam isn't deaf!  I am just like Cybil and Lloyd is very much like Kelly.....we ARE the Family Stone!!!!

A few of my favourite websites lately......

One of my favourite websites at the moment is  Sprinkles - one of Stacy Julians websites.  It's a 'random act of kindness' style website that is about bringing joy into your life and the lives of others.  Stacy posts a new idea every Monday on how you can bring a little sprinkle of happiness into your life or into someone elses life - some of the ideas are as simple as sharing a glass of chocolate milk with someone you love using two straws :)

One website that I read almost daily and am frequently sharing on facebook, is FreeRangeKids. This amazing website talks sooooo much sense to me!!  It's basic philosophy is that children should be allowed to be children - they should be allowed to ride their bikes and walk to school, play outside and trick or treat without parents hovering over them needlessly.  This website is definitely 'up there' in my favourites right now!!

This next blog is full of ENDLESS ideas and inspiration to keep craft-loving children busy!!  The Crafty Crow is a fabulous site with links every day to more and more crafty sites - you need never be stuck for seasonal and holiday arts and crafts or recipes for children again!!!  My children are constantly asking to make and do - and this website is perfect as a go-to resource!!!  Every Mom should have this website bookmarked (and a drawer or cupboard filled with craft supplies ready to go)!!

Writers Digest Promptly is a blog where writing prompts are posted three times a week....you can post your responses to the prompts directly in the comments section, or post a link to your response and post your response in your own blog....or don't post your response at all ;)  There are also articles on writing, on blogging etc etc...

One of my favourite recipe blogs is Eat Me Delicious.  I have made quite a few of the recipes from this blog now and have never been disappointed!  Totally yummy!!!  The pictures on here are always amazing too :)  Enjoy!!!

One last one - not a favourite website but an important one to us as a family - and this is one on Tourettes syndrome.    My 7 year old has Tourettes syndrome, and THIS website is designed for kids and has plenty of simple information about what tourettes is and why a child may have it - why they may or may not be able to control their tics etc etc.....My Daughters main tics are mouth opening and licking her lips but she also has some obsessions that go along with the tics....this is a great website that explains things to her and to any friends/ classmates etc....at their level!!!

Hump Day.....

Lloyd went in to work a little later today - so he stayed and had coffee with me.  This was nice as always except I couldn't drink much of my coffee this morning.  I didn't sleep well last night and was up much of the night feeling sick.  I took gravol for nausea and that has helped a little but hasn't got rid of it all.  Now I'm just left feeling tired on top of feeling sick.

I'm totally bummed because I was supposed to be having brunch with my friend Val this morning - she got back from Hawaii last week and I wanted to hear all about her trip and see her pictures...we've postponed until Friday.  I think we were both looking forward to getting together as it's been ages since we saw each other!  At least I HOPE Val was looking forward to seeing me ;)

Laurence went to work with Lloyd this morning.  Today is 'Take our kids to work day' - all grade 9 kids get to spend the day at work with a parent experiencing the work day with their parent.  I guess he COULD have spent the day at home with me and I could have got him to clean the toilets and kitchen floor and make Sam and Abigails lunch....but I think he'll find going downtown with Lloyd much more interesting ;)

When Chris went with Lloyd two years ago, they went out for lunch with IBM for a lunch meeting to a nice restaurant.  I told Lloyd to take Laurence to Lux as it was only fair - but Lloyd said no as there was no meeting and last time IBM was paying ;)  He said they could go to the food court in Telus Plaza lol!   So not fair - so I've been nagging him and saying he should take his Son out for lunch!!!  We'll see if he does or not!!!

So as for me - I am tempted to rip open one of the Christmas gifts I have already wrapped and let the kids watch a new dvd - keep them quiet for a little while - we can snuggle in bed and relax while I don't feel well.  I can do some of my coursework while they watch....I'll see how long I last before I resort to that!  It's early out today from school, so Susannah will be home nice and early which is good - hopefully I will feel better by then and we can at least go for a walk.

Have a great Wednesday everyone!

The happiest of times....in the happiest of places.....

This picture reminds me of one of the best days of my life...definitely one of the best birthdays of my life!  It was in January 2007.  Lloyd and I got married in Florida just the day before - 'honeymooning' in Asia and Africa c/o Animal Kingdom ;)

For my birthday though, I got to choose where I wanted to go - and I chose to go to Epcot!  It turned out to be my favourite of all the Disney Parks and will always have a special place in my heart because of that birthday!!

I remember going in to the Patisserie in France and we couldn't decide what to buy, so we basically said "we'll have one of everything"....and we all sat together at a table outside enjoying our Pain au chocolat's and chocolat chaud and other delicacies :)  It was a lovely little courtyard type alleyway and so easy to think you were far away from central Florida!!

In Japan Lloyd surprised me by giving me a ticket to pick my own oyster from the tank - I chose the fattest one I could see and they fished it out for me - inside was a lovely big beautiful pearl :)  My birthday pearl :)

This picture above shows the girl getting my pearl out of the shell for me :)  You can see the sizer next to the tray for sizing the pearl.  Picking the fattest oyster shell worked in my favour as I ended up with a larger than average pearl :)

The picture at the very top of this post shows Sam running away from Belle.  Susannah loved having her picture taken with all the Princesses, but Sam was not interested at all.  He was only 2 years old and there was NO WAY he was having his picture taken!!  Belle tried to catch him each time he ran by but he was too fast ;)  She was laughing at him :)

We really enjoyed our day at Epcot.  Laurence and Christopher went off on their own for a large part of the day as they wanted to enjoy the rides, while we took the younger children to meet the characters and we saw the different 'lands'....we enjoyed seeing 'Canada' and 'Great Britain'.  We had such fun on the Finding Nemo ride too and I strolled around some stores while Lloyd took the girls on some rides.

It was just a wonderful place and I loved it so much!!!

My birthday dinner was at the Rainforest Cafe at Downtown Disney.  We had never been to a Rainforest Cafe before but loved our experience.  I had the most amazing crab cakes there and then I shared a Volcano dessert with the children - a HUGE dessert with chocolate brownies and ice cream and sparklers coming out of it - they run through the restaurant carrying it and yelling VOLCANO with it all on aflame and it's wonderful :)  The kids loved it and even wit 5 of us sharing, we struggled to finish it!!

It was a birthday to remember...a day to remember....a holiday to remember!!!  A time I will never forget - no matter how many times we return to Florida and to Disney, I think that first time will always be the most special and hold special meaning to me.  

I had become Mrs Lloyd Thorpe, we had become a whole family....blended as one....and this holiday seemed to represent that.  The whole holiday had been about that, but this day was special to me, for me and about me because it was my choice for us all of where to go and what to do.  I hope I chose well that day - I think I did......the many pictures I have from that day seem to reflect that :)

(Florida trip Jan / Feb 07 if you'd like to see more)  

Inseparable..

Feeling festive....

Chat on the 'Journal Your Christmas' forums has already begun over at Shimelle.com and I'm really enjoying preparing for this next class.  It was suggested that to make the class much easier, that you prepare the base of the album NOW - and this starts with getting your supplies in order.

They suggested going through all of your supplies and putting all your Christmas supplies into one box so that you have everything together when you start the class.  This works well for me as this is exactly what I did when I took Kara's 'Fall in Love' class recently over at the Old Lady In a Teenager blog.  (Kara recently moved to a new blog which is equally as fabby by the way...you should check it out at:  My Blog).

Anyhoo.....this afternoon I started going through my supplies and found I do not have many Christmasy things at ALL......I have to sort my pictures from past Christmases yet, but really I don't have any embellishments or anything - so I see a shopping trip to the scrapbook store in my not too distant future ;)

I'm feeling all Festive...and then what should arrive in my mailbox, but my December issue of Creating Keepsakes magazine :)

Feel free to say hi....

If you're dropping by from Shimelle's class then please do stop in and say hi - leave a comment or two - I'd love to hear from you and know that you've visited!!!

Thanks
:)

Tuesday ramblings..

I have to work on my prompt for todays class...I'm mulling over my ideas for it...I've been working on my other class work for SAIT too...looking over modules 1 and 2 and my first assignment.  Dinner is in the crockpot - chicken Tikka Masala with Basmati rice and Naan breads...

More pumpkin pie for dessert - for some of us at least - there are about 5 slices left (unless I cave and have a piece with coffee this afternoon).

Abigail made a board game this morning where you had to move along the board collecting trophies and saying weird things on certain squares - or stopping for ice cream (whereby you missed a turn).  She's also worked on her book report for Where the Wild Things are, and pages on money in math.  She's good at money - her Dad says this is because of all the shopping practice with me ;)

Sam played with the shaving foam on the island again - and then painted an empty cereal box.

The weather here is gorgeous!  Way above average for here and long may it last!  Yesterday I sat outside on the back deck and had my lunch.  I was in a t-shirt.  A t-shirt outside for lunch in November!!!  I tidied up the wraparound porch  - emptied all the flower pots.  So glad I left a couple of cushions out there on the chairs so that I can relax in the sunshine on nice days.  I love having the covered porch.  It was so quiet out there.  I filled up the feeders for the birds and watched them come and go.  One of the Chickadees was sat on the back of a chair near me - he didn't mind me being there at all - or Kitty, who was sat on the windowsill in the kitchen ;)

Well, i'll be back later with my homework from todays class.

Consider joining me - Journal your Christmas!!!

I am taking Shimelle's online ' Journal Your Christmas'  class and would LOVE to have you join me!!!  (Click on the purple writing to learn more).

I have wanted to take this class for the last two years...and THIS is the year!!!! :) I am so excited :) Sooooo looking forward to it. I have heard such good things about it and have followed others online as they took it and blogged their progress and albums through the month of December.....

Such a wonderful way to 'take back the holidays'......

Consider joining me on this journey through the Christmas season.....and remember that once you join, you can take part every year at no extra cost :)

Privacy and safety...

Along with todays prompt for my Blogging for scrapbookers class, came a section on safety and privacy regarding blogs. This is something that concerns me because of how much content I put into my blog - the detail and information. I'd just like to mention that most of the time my blogs are private and locked. They are only open to friends and family who I allow access to.

I open them up only a few times each year when I take part in online classes where I would like to share the contents of my blog with members of my class and I find the easiest way to do this is via my blog being open.

I actually do not feel comfortable having my blog open to the public any more and prefer to know who is reading and when. When the current class is over, my blog will be private and locked again.

I AM well aware of all the safety issues around having my family's details online - I don't write blindly - I just believe that the benefits for me and my family FAR outweigh the risks.

SAIT student!!

Today I started my first class with SAIT online....I finally got to log in to my WebCT (web class tools for online learning) and have a look at my modules and assignments for the class over the next few months. We got to introduce ourselves via the discussion forums and generally get an idea of what will be expected of us during the course.

Home made pumpkin pie....

I had one pumpkin left from the weekend that hadn't been carved, so I decided to turn it into a pumpkin pie. This was the first time I had ever made a pumpkin pie from scratch!!! Turns out it is really simple!!! I made a round one and Susannah made a square one. We had some for dessert tonight with squeezy cream. Totally YUMMY and much more filling than bought pie or tinned filing - maybe because fresh pumpkin is unprocessed and so much more natural for you???

We are finding the same with Lloyds home made bread....I struggle to finish two slices of his bread as it is so filling - and it keeps me full for hours - yet processed wholewheat bread I can eat slices and slices of! It just isn't the same thing at all! Even Cobs bread isn't quite the same as Lloyds home made bread which just seems more REAL.....

Supper tonight was potato and bacon soup - a family favourite....smells so good in the slow cooker all day.....