Little bird has left the nest.

One of my baby birds spread his wings yesterday and flew off to the wide open prairies of Manitoba....'Going to Winnipeg' as we now say.

He is going on a camping adventure with his Grandparents for a few days which suits his personality to a 'T'.

That boy likes his camping. He has spent many a nights with the tent pitched in the back yard, I think he would live out there permanently if we let him.

He has been enrolled in grade 7 outdoor ed for the past year with his grades reflecting his love of the outdoors, next year they are building winter survival shelters...interesting.

But for now he is in Winnipeg, his very first solo airplane ride now under his belt, he will be visiting some family and most importantly his Great Grandma while there before they head out for 4 nights of camping fun.

According to the photo I just received on my cell phone with a text message telling me he is spending his first morning hanging over the roof top of a ten story building, I think he's in good hands and I have nothing to worry about.....!!

Left eared???

Is it possible to be left or right eared?
You know, like left handed or right handed?

My right hand, foot & whole right side really is defiantly my dominant side, right up to my eye sight. My left contact is way stronger for my weak left eye.

Funny I play hockey/ringette left handed but baseball right.

What gives?

When on the phone the receiver will always be on my left ear.
Today at work I am so busy (you can tell by my blogging right?) that I was uber multitasking and I had to place the phone on my right ear, well.....that was awkward....as if it was burning me as I held it I was desperate to get it over to my left ear ASAP. It just fits better, feels better.

What odd creatures we are.

Maybe I had it all wrong.

We have had allot of appointments in our family over the last few weeks and I have been happily making it to most of them.
Which is good with about half of them being for myself.

Appointments are during work hours for the most part so all of these appointments require time away from the desk.
I usually try to book these appointments as early or as late in the day as possible to avoid excess driving back and forth.
I was starting to feel a bit (only a tiny bit) bad missing so much time from work, an hour here two hours there, so Terry said he wouldn't mind taking Tayler to her latest orthodontics appt yesterday. Being the amazing, sweet guy that he is he also suggested I go try to get some gym time in after work, which is rare for me with the busy lives of children, and that he would take care of getting everyone to where they needed to be.

I hesitated but gratefully gave in.

I was worried a bit that he would be overwhelmed with the after school/work activities as well as the responsibility of making dinner and such.
Terry is very capable and organised, handling anything thrown at him with ease, but I still felt a pang of guilt run through me leaving him with all the duties of taking care of everyone else while I traipse off to the gym.

I went to the gym and had a great work out, it felt so good going and taking care of me.
On my way back home I prepared my self to get dinner going or to start on the dishes only to walk through the door and find Terry and Nathan eating a very yummy smelling chicken stir fry and looking all relax happy to see me, dishes caught up, the other two children at their job and sport.
All I had to do was fill a plate, pour myself a drink and sit down and relax.
I flipped through the local paper, talked with the boys on their day before heading out side to mow the lawn and take in some warm evening weather.

I had it all wrong, I don't need to leave my job to stay home in hopes of making our lives less stressful and feel more calm, smooth and efficient. I don't need to be at home to take care of everyone in hopes of making their lives run more smoothly.
Terry does.

I tell you, I had one of the best after work nights I have had in quite sometime last night.
Peace, love and happiness....

Game of Life

The boys went in together and purchased themselves the Game of Life (Sponge Bob version) from a garage sale across the street this weekend.

They played that game over and over Saturday after buying it.

It may be a fleeting thing, the novelty of it may soon wear off but to see them so engrossed playing so well together as the clock strikes midnight and the fire still roars on, it does a mother's heart good and I will call that $8.00 well spent.

Happy Father's Day

I'm blank....

.....Not that I don't have anything going on, hahahaha, that would be silly. I just don't have the words for anything right now.

I would like to post these words though,I read it on a blog I follow,
Inspired Work of Self Indulgence . She is right, it's some gooood advise.

It's a bit long but for those of you who can make it through I feel its worth the read.
Enjoy.

Desiderata

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.Strive to be happy.

~ Max Ehrmann

Next.

Anyone else need a hair cut?

the end.

-Our house guests are leaving today and that makes me sad. Today the sun came out and will stay out for the next few days. Back porch kinda weather. And of course its the weekend. Those two things combined make for some good times. While our house guest were here we were pretty busy and they were busy so we didn't get to visit much. It was nice to see them, I would have like to have actually gone to see the show they came all this way to do but that didn't work out this time. I hope they come back for another...perhaps house concert?? hmmmm
-The other sad part about this, with the rain being gone and the promise of a weekend of sunshine ahead, is the kids are going back to their Father's for a week starting today.
Suddenly the house is empty.
-The NHL playoffs are done. While most don't care, for me it is a bit of a relief. For 8 and a half months I spend my 'spare time' trying to catch part of ~the game~. I get in quite a few actually much to the dismay of most of my family. I go to one when I can but usually just catching it at home satisfies me. The payoffs come and suddenly its warm outside, two really great things in my book that just don't fit together. I LOVE the action...the build up to the finally, but then its done...can I get a phew? Yeah, it is a relief to be done, trying to shut my mind off from "what time is the game on" is easy, like finally getting that nap I wanted. Glad its over ...Now I start the 3 and a half month count down until hockey starts again. yyyaaaaayyy
-The work week, just a couple more hours. The Monday to Friday. What can I say about that? OK, keeping positive here....yes, OK, I got it. ~~Thank you to my job for allowing me to spend my weekends with my friends and family. Thank you for the income you provide so we can eat well and enjoy the good things life has to offer. Thank you for the security of medical insurance and most of all I thank you fro my daily access to the Internet. ~~
(wow, I think these new little pills I am taking are working! j.k)
-While all of these things winding down and coming to a version of end I am excited in a mellow, laid back kind of way, about the quiet date night I get to enjoy with my husband at home. Through him I find my calm, my rest and a peace like nothing else can give me. Thank God for that and him. (and these wonderful little pills....again I kid)

I am Grateful

Team Up Thursday-Mirror

In following along again this week with the ladies over at Mental Inventory our theme was mirror.
I wandered around the house sneaking peaks and getting shots of my kids in their element and came upon my daughter on her bedroom floor managing to grab one of her cute smirks.
As Michel was out and about as always in our wonderful city of Edmonton she found some calm waters at our City Hall which I imagine is not easy to do.

you know things are a little hectic when.....

......your son, and we will call him Nathan, suddenly produces a letter from his backpack talking about the up and coming multicultural day at school.

Nathan had multicultural day at his school today.

Each kid had to go to school with a dish/snack representing their culture as well as tell a story or have info about their heritage,as you can well guess we had nothing…..we had no time to spend on our nothing as well so this is what Nathan looked like going to school this morning, I wish I took a picture, he had on white sweat bands~ head and wrist~ with the Canadian flag on them, he had an Oilers jersey, a Canadian flag nicely tie strapped to a mini Tim Horton's hockey stick (thanks to Terry) and a store bought bag of maple cookies made IN Canada with pure maple syrup directly from Quebec (which just so happens to be the largest producer of maple syrup in the whole world don’t you know)… :o) He was quite pleased with him self as we dropped him off at school yelling ‘I AM CANADIAN’ He was only missing the beer.

Enough to bring a tear to your eye isn't it?
*proud Mom moment*

Pecha Kucha #7

We had the pleasure of attending an event last night a group called Next Gen hosts a few time a year. Michel is a volunteer for Next Gen, she thought we would be interested in checking one out so we did, last night. This is their mission:

Mission-We are creating a city that attracts and give voice to the Next Generation in the life and growth of our community. The Committee acts as a hub for networking and learning events, fosters leadership opportunities and supports initiatives of interest to the Next Generation.

I will let their web site speak for them, I would hate to butcher the good they actually do in my attempts to describe it to you.

I took a few pictures last night while there with my little purse camera....we had a good time and were really taken with all the different styles of presenters and speakers sharing with us their own passions for our city and their communities....basically each presenter submits 20 images. These images are shown on a screen behind them for 20 seconds each, the speakers are in turn given 6 min 40 seconds to get their point out.

It is interesting watching this challenge unfold in front of us. Some people are obviously nervous where as some are pure naturals. Some trying to cram as much information as possible in their allotted time with out fail and some just needed to get out a few choice points letting the images do the talking.

I didn't take any pictures of my favorites, too busy listening, but I did get this shot.

You can't see it here but this man (the small glow) is tweeting..twitting?...anyway, it wasn't just him, it was most every one around us. We were actully encouraged to pull out our pocket sized computers to post comments on the speakers and the event as a whole as it rolled along. I was a bit taken by this having been raised in a society that was taught to stay in yours seats, do not speak giveing your full polite undivided attention to the speaker/show/presentation in front of you, to do so other wise is insanely rude and not tolerated behavior, ask any one who ever tries to stand up at a comedy club or forgets to turn off their phone....not me I tell you that!

This really is the next generation, a generation of open minded, looser thinking individuals trying to make their own way in this fast paced electronic world all the while taking with them our past stories and traditions. I think I will just sit back and watch them make a go of it, clap my hands and show my support. I am just not ready to leap into the tweetbookpodberry world around me.

Here is the drink table. This is where the crowd collected for the after party in the Citadel Theater's atriun

A local D.J. was there spinning out some tunes (Is that how the cool kids talk?)

Team Up Thursday: Signs

We're baaaaack.....and I couldn't be happier.

Seems as much, as we try, our lives are not allowing us to keep up with our team up picture on every Thursday.

We followed along again with the ladies over at Mental Inventory handing out the latest assignment of signs. I found my mind racing with this weeks challenge, I had so many ideas, after all there are signs everywhere.

Should I be metaphorical? Or try to do something a little wilder? In the end it seems Michel and I were on the same page, we both took shots of signs we see most everyday near our work place. Sharing with you this week a little piece of our everyday signage.

Mine is on top (those who know me, know me well) I see this leaving work every day. To resist is futile.

Michel walks past this greyhound station on her way from work everyday she was only implying with this day those skies were nothing but.

happy team up Thursday!!

It's about time....

....about time I get acquainted with my inner hippy that is.
I did it. After years and years of saying in my whinny inside my head voice "I wish I could go to Folk Festival one year, I would sure like to go, It looks so fun and relaxing and so many people I talk to go all the time.."wha wha wha. You know how those in your head conversations go, sometimes they just never shut up.
Well here I am silencing that whine (just that one mind you, I have others, no really it's true) Thanks to some encouraging words from a Folk Fest junkie and a push in the right direction I got myself a four day pass to this years Edmonton Folk Festival in August.....
......I am so excited.
On the agenda now, I am on the hunt for the perfect low to the ground festival chair. Also for some reason I have an urge to buy a big wide rimmed hat. That may be something entirely unrelated butI am willing to run with it.