Monday blahs desguised as Tuesday

Sneaky.

How do you shake no-good-reason yucky feelings?

I am in here. I see the sunshine and feel the love.

Go ~code invisible~
It's my only hope before a false self destruction.

Going into ~Operation Recon*~ for the rest of the day. I may be unreachable.

Where are those grey rainy clouds when you need an excuse?

I'll be back.

A trip back

"It was 1989 my thoughts were short my hair was long"

A line from Kid Rock's song All Summer Long.

That's me with my friend Hayley and my brother just before we left to the Bon Jovi concert in 1989...oh my but we worked hard for weeks to make our jeans look like that..bleach bleach and more bleach. They didn't last long.

I remember thinking at that concert, while singing at the top of my lungs, that this was the best time ever and I never wanted it to end.

Fast forward to 2010 and I find my self purchasing tickets to go see Bon Jovi with special appearance by Kid Rock

I wasn't going to go initially, even though deep down I wanted too....I didn't want to spend the money needlessly and I really didn't listen to Bon Jovi at all any more, just what came on the radio.I do have a Kid Rock CD in my truck that frequents the player especially on long road trips. My guilty pleasure, Terry has come to like it too.

Then, days before my b-day, Terry sends me an email he got from a travel company for 55% off tickets, I purchased two with out hesitation...Terry came to the concert with me, what a trooper, although the parade of cougars was quite entertaining.

We had a good time. I was worried I wouldn't because that excitement for a concert from deep down wasn't clicking in. With the threat of a severe thunder storm looming over I just wanted to stay home warm and dry.

When the show started and I had a couple of watered down stadium beers in me, we realized the storm was passing us by (outdoor concert at the football stadium) then suddenly we just moved the the music and took it all in.

My favorite part was people watching. There was a wide age group there but for the most part it was our peeps all grown up...and boy were they.I so enjoyed seeing them dance and high

five-ing every one and according to the outfits most had on, they were living for a moment back in 1989 and there was nothing wrong with that at all....

Team-Up Thursday: Where We Live

Busy Busy Busy.

It's been quite sometime since Michel and I joined in with the ladies over at Mental Inventory to do a Thursday diptych.

I have been focused so much on my Picture Summer project put on by Big Picture Scrapbooking, I get a daily email Prompt from them for the them of the day,we then set out to find our best shot to fit that theme and post them. Fun and challenging, seems I lack editing skills at this point. I am really enjoying it allot.

So, the theme of the week for Team up Thursday was 'where we live'....simple enough. Many ways to look at it.

I chose to take a shot of our every loving red/pink door that we have sworn for years is mere moments from a make over, I am peeking at it through our weeping willow that I hope stays forever.

Michel went with her clothes line. New with the recent move into their house she finds plenty of use for it right now since they are deep into the dusty realm of renovation. Her shot is so comforting I think.

You should grab a pal near or far and play along....get your creative juices flowing. If you do try, let me know, I would love to see your shots.

The 37th year *update*

Today is my birthday!
Yay me.
I turn 37 today.

Not only is it my birthday, today also marks the 10th anniversary of coming to Edmonton.

Ten years ago today we drove through Pine Lake just before a horrific tornado tore through the camp site making us wonder just what we were getting into coming here.

So much has happened in the last 10 years. Its kind of interesting to have such a significant couple of events to mark a time line. I am usually so very forgetful when it comes to remembering dates and how old I was when something happened...what was that year again? Not with this date, too many things happened then.

My 27th birthday didn't seem that significant at the time but throw in a nasty tornado, rolling into an city unknown to us with no home yet to call our own and the whole new millennium thing to boot, that year stands out to me quite well.

In the past 10 years I had another baby to add to my little clan to make three. Surprise!

I had fallen so far down deep into a hole of sorrow and self pity I could barely see the light. I surrendered to that life in the black only to somehow instantly start turning it around finding some strength inside to push through...forced my self to trade school, asking others for help, torturing my kids with what was found to be less than adequate child care, (fyi-never put your kids in a discount day home) talking my way into a ground level job in the giant world of the industrial oil field industry.
I put away stock, swept floors, picked parts...shipped/recieved then went back to school again to get the hell out of what felt like another abusive world full of really mean people.

I found my way into an office position doing things I didn't understand. I left the fork lift for another piece of machinery I had yet to learn to drive, the computer.(but I got so good at driving the fork lift)...from here things went uphill with minor pot holes...I found me. I took the leap of faith and moved out of my home and filed for divorced, leaving sorrow and sadness behind.

I found my own place, found the generosity of others. I found self esteem and independence that I had no idea even existed in me....I found a wonderful man who I am now proud to call my husband.

My kids get to have two good homes with parents who can communicate maturely. (mostly)

I still have a really great job (although some days I wonder).

I get to travel places and buy groceries any time I want too. (something I forever wished for)

I get to laugh and play.

I am fit and healthy.

I am happy.

Today as I turn 37 I reflect back on the last 10 years and give my self a pat on the back.

17-27---full of bad decisions-(or not, seeing is how they all got me here)
27-37---time to wake up and see the light
37-47---a future full of possibilities.

I look forward to the next ten with eyes and heart wide open living for the day.
I have no expectations, no big must do's or must have's.

I am going to like being 37.

An interesting start to the day today, I was 5 minutes late for work today, and seriously Michel, I didn't freak out or anything. ( I have some anxieties about things)

When I heard one of my favorite songs come on the radio in the truck this morning it made me feel so good...Wheat Kings-The Tragically Hip....there is just something about that song. One line goes--'You can't be fond of living in the past because if you do then theres no way that your gonna last.'

Have a great day every one....no expectations.

Donna
a.k.a. The birthday girl





*update*


what a day it has been...I will be enjoying a couple of relaxing hours at the spa on Friday afternoon thanks to my Terry, I recieved some pretty pretty flowers delivered to me at work in the morning..thank you M&M, I then got the call there was yet another delivery waiting for me at reception, a large bouquet of purple baloons from Winnipeg...thank you Dad and Suz. My kids all called me from their vacation with their Dad in B.C. so awesome...i loved hearing from them.

Forever Young

With the kids away in B.C. with their Dad on vacation Terry and I get to live like D.I.N.Ks for just over a week...no one else to be responsible for but ourselves.
Since getting a new bike for my b-day last year, the first one since I was a little girl, we have been slowly discovering how much we love bike rides...we seem to need some where to go though, a destination.
We went to the gym together this weekend on our bikes...oh what fun! We had such a good time and being at the gym on the weekend is wonderful, everyone else it out living life and enjoying the sunshine. It is our bliss.
In the parking lot of the gym we are members at is a skate park where kids can do tricks with their skate boards and bmx bikes. No one was around when we were passing by Saturday morning so my always-a-kid-at-heart husband thought he would take a lap or two......

We quickly discovered that Terry's 15 year old, no suspension, bike was not quite cut out for this type of activity so we bailed before any road rash incidents.

He's so cute with his pants tucked into his sock....I wonder if that's what the kids who frequent this park are doing nowa days....?

natures little helpers

Something wonderful happened on our bike ride home from the gym this morning.
We came across a Mommy duck trying ever so patiently to get her babies across the road to the safety of the pond near by.

This trusting mom let us help her. I am blown away by the trust she put in us to help her get her family safely across this busy road...how did she know that we stopped these big metal monsters for her? How did she know they wouldn't move an inch until she was across?

We feel so honored to have been given the opportunity to lend a helping hand.

picture blog

I have been temporarily distracted away from my blog. I love posting here but lately I have found another interest.

For my b-day coming up this month my good friend Michel (michelfeist.com) bought me an on line summer photo work shop that lasts the whole month of July. I will try to post some of those pictures in another blog...if I get brave enough. I am still learning so I am pretty shy on sharing right now.

We were away for a relaxing weekend in Saskatchewan for the first couple of days.

It was such a huge cabin we shared with three other couples, 11 people total, with room to spare.

That's Matt in front of the cabin getting his rope ready to go on his wake board. The wind wasn't very co-operative though.

We played some crochet.

Sat on the dock watching the boats and lake creatures.

Another dock shot

The boat of the weekend (Michel's photo )

We are hoping we can go back again next year, if they let us tag along again...hhhmmmm..I think we are in! :o) Now that we're in we can let our belt out and show our true colors..LOL

Just kidding.

Thank you so much for inviting us along on your family weekend. We had a great time.