Andie's Ramblings

2009-11-02T13:38:00.000-08:00

I've become a bit addicted to Facebook lately. It's at the point where I watch TV with Andrew's laptop on my lap so I can play Tetris or Scramble while we watch TV. Ridiculous, I know.

Then, this weekend I finally read my newest edition of TWU Magazine. This article prompted me to do what I've been wanting to do for a while. Disable my FB account. I'm not sure yet how long I've deactivated it for. The plan is to get back on there eventually. I might last a week, I might last a month. But I'm hoping that when I do go back online, I'll have cracked the addiction.

So, if you're looking for me, I'm not there. But I am here. And on email. And hopefully, outside with the kids. Or with my nose buried in a book. So long as I'm not on Facebook...

Things I love, Christmas 'O9 version 2.

2009-10-15T12:08:00.000-07:00

This is not so much things I want for Christmas, but things I love this Christmas season.

Do you read Secret Agent Josephine's blog? It's one of those ones that I like to keep tabs on, because aside from having a seriously awesome life (she's the mom I want to be like, hello...beach in cali?) she also has awesome craft ideas. And it was on her site a few weeks ago that I discovered another of my favorite blogs, Green Wedding Shoes.

And this is my favorite posting so far on this site.

2009-10-12T22:46:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine posted the following quote on his facebook profile this evening, "We read to know we are not alone." I really liked the sound of that quote so I googled it and came up with this page of C.S Lewis (to whom that quote is attributed) quotes. Some real gems in fact!

Like this one: One day you will be old enough to read fairy tales again.

Or what about this one? Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, 'What, you too? I thought I was the only one.'

Love this one: We are all fallen creatures and all very hard to live with.

Hmn, and here's another good one: God who foresaw your tribulation, has specially armed you to go through it. Not without pain, but without stain.

I could type out quotes all night, but I think what I really need to do is hunt down some C.S. Lewis to read.

Chez Chadya & Scott...

2009-10-11T22:21:00.003-07:00

Last weekend I used a West Jet credit and flew to Edmonton to visit Chadya. Chad was my maid of Honour and she kept me sane through all of 2000/01. Long story. Anyway, she's an awesome friend! And after 3 months of travelling or having house guests, I was starting to feel a little insane again! Edmonton was a welcome rest!

Andrew worked from home on the Friday so he could drive me out to Abbotsford at lunch time. The kids came along too and did their level best to make me freak out and stay home. See this one? Pants on inside out and backwards, Non-matching shirt and shoes that are WAY too big...hair not brushed...and she wouldn't even say goodbye because she was so anxious to get rid of me (yes, you read that correctly. She said, "I'll go to the store with you mamma, but I'm staying here with daddy." And then she played Game Cube all weekend and didn't even miss me!)

This one wasn't much better. They seriously couldn't wait to get home and get out the Game Cube!

But, as soon as I got on the plane my troubles melted away...

...actually that's not true. I was weirdly nervous about flying (that never happens, I'm an old pro at flying. But this trip my stomach was weird, I didn't eat all day, security was insane at the Abby airport...) and the flight was choppy. So I was really glad to get back on solid ground again. Then it was off to West Ed to do a very quick shopping trip. We got accosted by really hostile vendors though so we made a quick escape and went home.

Where we had some really delicious Indian food for dinner.

And watched two of my favorite actors in one movie (also, I now have a third favorite actor - the guy on the right, he has the most amazing eyes. Swoon!)

Scott and Chadya have the most amazing cherry tree in their front yard. Here's a branch. Isn't it gorgeous?

We had planned a day full of used book shopping and high tea-ing. We started off by heading to Stony Plain and Heaven Bound Books. They had 50% off all their used books. I know! I found a copy of Madeleine L'engle's A Circle of Quiet here as well as a couple of Christian mystery type books.

Next we went to this tiny little antique mall that was HUGE inside. I swear it was magic! And, every single thing in there was awesome! This was no Fort Langley junk store! I could have spent the whole day in that one store!!
This is me infront of it...wishing I could go back and buy that gorgeous hat I tried on. Or the cute little birdies. Or some hot chocolate...

Then I dragged Chadya into this consignment store. They had awesome clothes...if I was shopping for a baby. Hmn...

Nope, no babies, so we hopped back in the car (it was freezing out anyway!) and headed towards Edmonton. Check out this mural. Stony Plain is full of them. I can't wait to come back and wander through the whole town some day. Preferably in the summer since it was so cold the day I was there.

And this in the background is Rutherford House. We had planned to do a little photoshoot as we have very few pictures of us together. But you know what? Five minutes outside and I was shaking so bad I couldn't even take pictures anymore. So we ran inside for our tea!

See...even the flowers were freezing. COLD!!

Once inside, we deliberated over the tea selections. We finally decided on Mrs. Rutherford's Afternoon Tea with Assam. Oh my, was it ever good!!

The tea has arrived. I love the mismatched china teacups.

After a feast that would have fed four people (or more!) we wandered to the basement (and gift shop!) Then waited in the lobby for Scott (our chauffer) to pick us up. We peeked in some of the rooms, and the house was gorgeous. Again, I have to come back and spend a day here!

oh, and here's the hat I bought for my trip. Not quite the cloche I had envisioned, but it kept me warmish.

Next stop was the Belgravia Books and Treasures. It was part high end used books (they had first edition signed copies of books, and folio society books...) and part antique store. SO cool. I found two more mystery books here for $1 each! and promptly devoured them.
We stopped at one more book store where I found the entire Brian Jacques Redwall series for $4/book, but refrained from buying them. Then it was on to a teashop to find some looseleaf for my brother (and I got some delicious smelling jasmine for myself!)

On Sunday I flew back home. The flights were pretty uneventful and it was absolutely marvellous to be back with my fambly! See how much happier the kids look to see me?! Yay!!

It was a wonderful, relaxing trip away and I'm so grateful to Scott and Chadya for being such gracious and fun hosts! Every mom should be able to do something like this once in a while!!

In defense of the introvert

2009-10-05T20:47:00.000-07:00

This is a topic I've wanted to blog about for a while, but it felt too much like a rant.

I am an introvert. Unabashed, unashamed, unapologetic.

Most people seem to think that this is a character flaw, or something we introverts should 'get over'. In popular media introverts are always the nerds. In fact, most TV serial killers and sociopaths are portrayed as being introverts. Okay, that's the extreme. But in my circles, I have a lot of extroverted friends. Extroverted friends who at one time must have been attracted to my personality because these particular friends all pursued me as a friend. And then proceeded to try and change me.

One friend continuously chastises me because I need to get out more. I need to network. I'm damaging my kids and making them as socially awkward as I am by not forcing them to be more social.

These people tend to be very bossy. Maybe it's because I'm quiet and shy (I'm not shy!) so they think I can't possibly make decisions for myself?

Let me explain to you what an introvert is. An introvert is someone who is energized by spending time alone. This means that we need, yes need quiet alone time in which to recharge. This does not make us shy. Many of us do very well in social settings whether we enjoy them or not. Many of us are good listeners (possibly what extroverts love about us is that we will sit and listen to them drone on about themselves and their opinions?)

This desire to be alone does not mean we're depressed either. Spending time with people, even people we know and love, is draining. And it prevents us from the introspection that we need.

Because we're usually thinkers, we can tend not to be good at small talk. Or, like me, we can forget about it because we get right to business.

None of these things are character flaws. This world needs all kinds of people. I have some very extroverted friends and they're all really great, intelligent, fun people to be around. I'm just tired of being told that I need to change when this is an intrinsic part of who I am, and it's a good thing.

2009-09-19T18:33:00.001-07:00

2009-09-07T15:01:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again; the Sears Christmas Wishbook arrived and my kids are furiously circling everything they like in the book. I'm afraid the feeling is contagious...they've got me making lists and dreaming of all the things I'd like to see under the Christmas tree. But once you outgrow toys and cheap jewelry, the Sears Wishbook doesn't hold much appeal. So I thought maybe I'd throw together another one of my "things I love" lists...Christmas Wishbook style :)

Category One: China

What Wishbook would be complete without china? While the Sears book features classic (old fashioned?) china patterns and the ever cheesy Christmas sets, I myself prefer something very simple. When I bought my dishes a few years ago, I copied the look of Pottery Barn's Great White Dinnerware collection.

A friend of mine, recently married, registered for this line and so I had the opportunity to purchase several items for her. I was amazed at how affordable the pieces are and also at the variety of pieces available. I fell even deeper in love.

And I also love the Emma line...just check out this fruit bowl, isn't it pretty?

I didn't write this, but it's too funny not to pass on! :)

2009-08-26T18:15:00.000-07:00

1-I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

2-More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.

3-Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

4-Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

5-That's enough, Nickelback.

6-I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

7-Is it just me, or are 80% of the people in the "people you may know" feature on Facebook people that I do know, but I deliberately choose not to be friends with?

8-There is a great need for sarcasm font.

9-I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.

10-How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

11-The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.

12- LOL has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".

13- I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

14- Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".

15- How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

16- I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent someone from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

17- Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"

18-What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

19- While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

20- MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighbourhood.

21- I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.

22-Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

23-I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

24- Bad decisions make good stories

25-Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!

26-If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.

27-Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....

28-You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

29-Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.

30-There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

31-I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

32- "Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.

33-I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'

34-I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Darn it!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

35- I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

36-When I meet someone new, I'm terrified of mentioning something they hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.

36-I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

38-Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

39-Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.

40-My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the heck do I respond to that?

41-It really makes me angry when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.

42-I wonder if cops ever angry at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

43-I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

44-The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimated that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself.

2009-08-06T00:19:00.000-07:00

So, uh this might be harder than I thought it would be.

I just installed the program and imported all the pictures from my computer into Photoshop. You wanna guess how many there were? Go on, it'll be fun. Take a wild guess.

....I bet you weren't even close. I wasn't. And I know how many pictures I take.

68822. Yeah. That many. And I still have to import the pictures from Whistler that didn't make it onto here. Wow. I might have to be a wee bit selective about which ones I get developed...

2009-08-05T23:44:00.000-07:00

I've been neglecting this blog shamefully. In part it's because I haven't felt like I have anything worth sharing on here. Anything about our family goes on projectdavid. I have a new blog in which I talk about trying to get healthy. And I'm really trying hard to keep that one up - it helps me stay accountable and motivated to be healthier. And then of course there's facebook. If I update my status on there, why do I need to say anything on here?!

But tonight I can't get on to my facebook account (though Andrew's works just fine. What's up with that!?) So I'm going to ramble here. It's about time. I guess.

In January I bought myself a little Christmas present. Adobe Photoshop Elements 7. Jane held several workshops on using it at her house, and I never made a single one of them, but since she talks about editing her pictures, I thought maybe it was about time I started editing mine.

But since we weren't actually backing my pictures up anywhere, I didn't want to install new software. I was worried that anything new might upset the precarious balance in my humble desktop. Then, when Andrew did buy an external harddrive, I never had the time to install and learn how to use my new software.

But I've been feeling the itch to start cleaning up my photographs lately. Maybe because my camera is dying a slow death and I know that I'm not going to waste $400 on another Canon that doesn't even last me 2 years. I'm going to save up and have this one repaired, but my next big camera purchase is going to be for a DSLR. And if I'm going to have that kind of power behind my photography, I'd darn well better be doing it right. Which means getting pictures developed. Something I never do right now. My photo albums barely make it to David's first birthday. That's almost 4 years of photographs (thousands of 'em) undeveloped.

Which means my next big project is going to be cleaning up my photo files and getting pictures developed.

I have a hard time seeing this as a legitimate project. Probably because it involves me spending long hours on the computer. But seriously? What is the point of having all these awesome family pictures if we never see them? So. For the very best pictures I will try to use my editing software. For the rest, I'll focus on actually getting them printed. And I'm going to try my darndest to actually finish this project for once!!

Want to avoid wrinkles and skin cancer? Eat more pizza

2009-07-21T19:23:00.000-07:00

This weekend we spent the day at the lake. By about one in the afternoon I could tell that my shoulders were burning despite having applied sun screen several times. I tried putting on my hoodie, but it was too hot so I ended up having the kids spray me again and told Andrew we'd have to leave soon.

It was too late. I had The Worst Burn of my life.

Reaching for anything had me crying. I can't lean against anything either. Seriously, a thousand million times worse than child birth.

I spent today whining on Facebook and a friend of mine recommended Tomatoes. Slice them and put them on the burn and it will magically turn to a tan. I was dubious but desperate. Unfortunately we only had one small tomato so Andrew chose the worst spots and put the tomato slices there.

PURE HEAVEN.

Even if they only offered temporary relief, it was worth it.

I decided (after the fact) to google "Sunburn and Tomatoes" just to see if I'd been had. Wow. Eating tomato paste (cooked tomatoes have more lycosummat than raw ones) can prevent skin cancer and wrinkles! Like the kind on pizza! And apparently sliced tomato placed on a burn will change it to a modest tan. Who knew?!

We don't often have tomatoes in our house since I'm the only one who eats them. But since I've found all this useful information, I think I'm going to add them to my daily diet!!

2009-07-12T22:31:00.000-07:00

Lately it seems like everyone and their dog is starting up their own photography business. And really, that's great. In fact, I'm a little jealous. But it's great too, because it means that there are so many photographers to choose from to document our family.

But, as I was looking at some of the online galleries for a few photographers I admire, I got to thinking about the professional photographers I got to work with years and years ago. For instance, when I was in grade 9 or so, our youth group got a picture of all of us taken to give our youth pastor (Nelly) for Christmas or retirement or something. And one of the big Chilliwack photographers came and did the session. He was awesome. He paid attention to every single detail...even gathering leaves from around the park where we were shooting so he could strategically scatter them to make the picture better.

And that's my beef with a lot of these new photographers. They just don't have the same eye for detail. They don't watch to make sure their subject's hair isn't flying away all weird on one side. They'll have her lie on the grass, but they miss the big patch of ground where the local kids were playing ball and chewed up the lawn. You know what I mean.

And don't even get me started about the stay-at-home-moms who splurge for a fancy camera and suddenly think they're talented. I've gotten so many invites from women like this who want to take pictures of my kids. I look at their websites and think my kids take better pictures! (and if you fall into this category, but you read my blog, chances are I'm not talking about you. These are mere distant acquaintances who've friended me on Facebook purely to try and drum up business. No chance.)

And I guess you get what you pay for. These photographers are mostly cheap, so I guess I shouldn't expect Don Young quality in a portrait. But it would be nice.

2009-07-09T17:53:00.000-07:00

Now that my garden is actually growing and we're even harvesting food from it (!) I'm already thinking about next year.

For instance, I always wondered why school sports teams sell horse manure. Why oh why would you want any? Did you know that it is one of the best fertilizers? All that nice manure mixed with all the organic matter that horses eat and the straw from their stalls? BEAUTIFUL stuff I'm telling you! I'm keeping an eye out for the sales to start.

And I was worried that my garden this year was far too big. And now that I've separated my beets and the leeks are looking like they need more room I'm eyeing up my mum's yard for more gardening room. Andrew's been ordered to build me several raised beds for more gardening.

And I've been looking at online seed catalogs.

Tonight we're eating new potatoes fresh from the garden with broccoli, peas and strawberries. All picked 20 minutes ago from OUR garden! wow. Next year I want the lettuce and radishes to be ours too. I want beans. And more varieties of squash. More strawberries. And my own raspberries and blue berries. Oh, and three broccoli plants were no where near enough. I only bought them to please Tink, but oh goodness fresh broccoli is delightful!

2009-07-06T14:06:00.001-07:00

I've been given the opportunity to telecommute. We haven't hammered out all the details yet, but it sounds like my supers are going to try to make this work. Awesome! But it means I need a better work space so I can really focus on working (right now my computer is in the guest room and there's really no room for anything there.)

I think this means I'm going to convert our den (which luckily is empty right now) into my office. And, because I am me, this means I'm going to personalize the space. I work better in a pretty space, don't you?

Yay, something fun to research. Tonight I'll be doing lots of research online for good workspaces and pretty ones. All done on a shoestring. But it's amazing what a coat of paint will do!

And in other news, Pierce Brosnan is in town (mission) filming. Coincidentally (honest!) I'm heading that way tomorrow. You know I'm praying for a chance meeting!!

2009-06-30T22:29:00.000-07:00

Why I love Pierce Brosnan....

A couple of weeks ago, Andrew and I were looking for something to watch and for some reason I decided to ask my sister if I could browse through their DVD collection...and found Mama Mia. A movie that had never held any appeal for me, but for some reason that night I decided to watch it.

And I remembered just how much I love Pierce Brosnan. The man is SO handsome. He's arrogant, but not too arrogant. He's smooth. Have you seen Laws of Attraction? I loved him in that too.

I had to read his bio online. Have you read it? He's Irish. So am I (on my mum's side). Raised by his grandparents, then shunted around after they died. So he has the tragic thing down. Then he was reunited with his mom and her new husband but in England so he was a bit of an outcast. I can relate to that. On a whim he joined the circus. Seriously! And then he married his first wife. Adopted her children. When she died of cancer, he was devastated and swore he'd never love again. Until he found his present wife. Who is gorgeous and intelligent and passionate and not a size 2. Which shouldn't matter except she's married to Pierce Brosnan so for some reason it does. And now I've decided I love her as much as I love him.

2009-06-20T22:32:00.000-07:00

I think I might be in love with Pierce Brosnan. *sigh*

2009-05-14T18:59:00.001-07:00

Being a mom has not felt easy these last few days. I'm sick, and the worst symptom right now is sheer exhaustion. It does not make me a patient or tolerant person.

Also, the weather has been less than perfect. It's rained a lot lately which means we're spending a lot of time in doors, or running errands.

My kids are bored. Understandably. They're not getting to run off their energy either. Which means they're not going to bed very well at night either.

This is not a good mix.

Right now Andrew has taken them for ice cream so I could have half an hour to myself in quiet. I spent the last few minutes on this website.

I've heard of Rachel before. One of the blogs I stalk is written by a friend of hers who mentions her quite frequently. I'd never visited her website before. This letter from Rachel stopped my pity party pretty darn effectively. For those of you who haven't heard of her, Rachel Barkey is a young wife and mother who happens to have been battling cancer for the past four years. This winter she found out that the cancer had returned and in incurable. I haven't listened to her video yet (I'm waiting for 55 minutes without children so I can!) but I've heard it's very inspiring.

2009-05-14T14:52:00.001-07:00

So, isn't there supposed to be a recession on? Aren't people who work in trades (like the construction business) desperately looking for work? It must have skipped Langley. We're trying to get a fence put up on our property. First we called Surrey Cedar. They have great prices on their cedar play houses and they're local. We had two appointments for them to come and measure our place up for fencing and no one ever showed. They didn't even bother letting us know they weren't coming (which, if you know trades people, means I spent two days sitting around my house when I could have been doing things. GRRRR).

Now we're on to our second fence company. They did come and measure our place, but we haven't heard from them since.

And back in December, like two days after we moved in here, a Telus truck backed into our house. Telus was awesome about it. But it took almost 3 months for the insurance companies to decide who was going to fix our house. Then it took several weeks before they actually came and looked at our house. Now we're getting close to a month of waiting for the restoration company to let us know when they're going to start the repairs.

I wish I was handier. I'd just do all this myself :P

2009-05-12T08:15:00.000-07:00

I have a confession to make: I have always been terrified of Jesus coming back. Because to me, that signals the beginning of the anti Christ's reign and no one has ever been able to tell me that me that I won't be here for that.

I have no idea why I'm this way. I don't think it's a denominational thing; I don't know of anyone else who thinks this way.

All I know is, every time I watch a war movie, every time I read a book on war, or End Times, every time I think of the military, that's exactly where my mind goes.

For those of you who weren't raised on End Time culture, you probably think I'm crazy (and maybe even a lot of you who do know about it too!) Yeah. Me too.

This irrational fear also translates into a sort of fear of war in general. Especially now that I'm a mother. I remember watching Children of Men. Through the whole movie I just kept thinking, "Why on earth did I have children? Why didn't I ever think about what it would be like to be a mother in the midst of war?"

So last night at my Book Club's inaugural meeting, while the other members were talking about how certain books make them alternately feel sad or incredibly blessed to have been born here and now, my mind was going in a completely different direction.

When I stop and think about it, my first emotion usually is sadness, or maybe grief. I don't understand how people can turn a blind eye to human suffering. But then as I think about it more, I realise I do. It's like the old analogy of the frog in the pot of water. Turn the heat up slowly and he won't even realise you're boiling him alive until it's too late. That must have been what it was like in Nazi Germany. And Sudan. And Afghanistan. Surely.

And I realise that we are unique in all of history. We are wealthy. Oh I know we worry from time to time about little things, but we have Employment Insurance, we have lines of credit. Very few of us actually have to choose which family member gets to eat today. If you're reading this, chances are you have a roof over your head and clothes to wear. Access to medicine and clean water.

Very few of us, unless we consider a career in the military or a gang, ever have to think about war. We don't have to plan safe routes to the grocery store or wonder if our children will be bombed on their way to and from school.

We are blessed beyond measure.

And when I read books about war I wonder how we dare assume that life will always be like this. Even if it's not the epic battle at the end of time, the odds are not good that Canada will always be at peace.

I'm reading a book right now, The Cellist of Sarajevo. In it, two of the characters are discussing their situation. Dragan says,

"All his life he has lived under the rule of the law. If you broke the law, the police would arrest you. There was order, and it was unquestioned. Then, in the blink of an eye, it all fell apart. Like many others, Dragan waited far longer for order to be restored than was logical. He tried to go about his life as though things were still normal, as though someone was in charge. The men on the hills were a minor inconvenience that would be resolved at any moment. Sanity would prevail. But then, one day, he could no longer fool himself. This wasn't a temporary situation, a momentary glitch in the system, and no one was going to fix it."

I guess as I've gotten older, my fears have refined themselves slightly. I know that while my religious fears of battles between the Anti Christ and believers are silly (why worry about tomorrow, tomorrow will worry about itself. After all, there's enough to concern you with just today!) But I do feel as though every day that we get to live this life we've been given is a gift. An undeserved and precious gift that I wish every person on earth would get to share in.

2009-05-05T19:01:00.000-07:00

Wow, I wonder if anyone ever checks this site anymore. It's been rather forsaken of late. I think it's been a case of not having much to talk about which lead into a patch of beautiful weather (and therefore not enough time to say anything).

I've discovered something about myself recently. I love yard work. Really, really love it.

Andrew and I have always enjoyed playing in yards. Our very first house was a teeny, tiny 550 square foot cottage. But we had a lovely little yard with fruit trees and room for containers. I never got more ambitious than trying to plant bulbs (which never materialized - I think the wild life got them!) and geraniums in planters. But we loved pretending we were keeping that yard.

Later, we lived in my mum's basement and took care of her .8 acres of yard. Again, it wasn't really ours so we didn't do much more than a few flowers, lawn mowing (which took up enough time!) and trimming trees and shrubs.

Other than that we've lived in townhouses and our yard work has been done for us. This suited me fine as it meant we could spend every single spare moment at the beach. But I think I'm ready to move on from that stage of my life (that could have less to do with growing up and more to coming to a certain realization, but that's a whole different blog posting!)

So as we've had several weeks of unexpected and very welcome sunshine, Andrew, the kids, and I have been spending every single spare moment in the yard. Digging. Moving dirt. Building retaining walls. Piling rocks. Planting. Being allergic to things.

(oh yes. I'm allergic to grass. I've known this for most of my life. I get a rash if I lie on it for long, but it's never stopped me before. Once, in England, I was playing in very long grass and got welts over my entire body. Itchy and painful, but gone in no time. Well, I must be allergic to something else because my legs and arms have had a rash for more than a week now and I don't like it. But it's not keeping me from the garden!)

And my new addiction to yard work has so many added benefits. For instance, our house looks so much nicer from the road. Curb appeal. I love it. Long way to go, but progress is good. Also, I'm getting a lot of exercise. All that digging and wheel barrowing and lifting is WORK, people! And it feels good. Plus, I'm too distracted to eat. This is also good. I haven't seen any benefits from the lack of eating, but oh well. Can't have everything.

2009-04-04T21:53:00.000-07:00

At work last week, my boss and I had a conversation about Twitter. Apparently, email is now basically obsolete. Students entering university now don't bother with email anymore - Twitter is the new thing. So our office opened a Twitter account and will now Tweet (am I using the words correctly?) important information to our students.

As if emailing and then text messaging hadn't done enough damage to the general population's command of the English language!

...can you tell I hate change?

In a burst of defiance I bought a new pack of notecards and will now only be communicating via good, fashioned snail mail.

2009-03-30T21:51:00.001-07:00

I haven't said anything interesting on here in a long time. Truth is, I haven't had much to say. Still, I hate to let my blogs stagnate so I thought I'd try for an update of some sort.

The house is about as complete as it's going to get for a while. Now that Spring is coming (here?) we're going to turn our attentions to the outside of our house. Just over six months ago we bought a play set for our backyard. One of the professors at TWU was selling it for $70 if we would go and dismantle it ourselves. It took us the better part of a day, in the pouring rain, but we got it apart and to mum's house. We piled all the pieces along the side of my mum's house while we waited for our house to be completed. And then it was always too cold to assemble it. Last weekend we finally had a chance to pressure wash all the green slime off the wood and this weekend we finally had a chance to assemble it!

Rough stuff, I also took a slide on our hill (in the back yard) while it was all wet and cold. And I think it was the falling that sprained my back. Not sure though, as my lower back had been giving me trouble off and on for a few months (too much moving boxes, carrying sick kids, shovelling driveways...) but since my fall it's been agony. You know what that means, right (apart from a great sampling of drugs that make me sleep like a rock...) no yard work for a while. Ugh!

But I'm working on my gardening plans. The whole bottom of our yard was left alone for several years and is FULL of blackberries. Like it's overwhelming there's so many. But still, there's no law says we have to have it cleared by a certain date. It would be easier if we could get them all out before they start growing, but we can also plug away all summer and try to have them out by next winter, right? So long as I don't fall down that stupid, steep, slippery hill every time we go out there to work!!

I also tried to do some sewing this spring. My Mother in Law gave me a really nice sewing machine in 2006 and I've been itching to try some projects ever since. I decided to start with curtains for David's room and if they worked out okay, I'd hem our living room curtains. The problem is, there's no instruction manual for this machine. And I can't get the tension figured out. So every time I start to sew, the thread breaks. I'm about ready to give up, and yet being able to sew would be awesome. I have tons of ideas for Tink's closet, decor projects, fun toys...

I have to figure this machine out.

I know what my mum's getting for Mother's Day...

2009-03-25T13:51:00.000-07:00

...and dad too!

I first heard of these delightful little wind up toys from Paper Moon (the cutest little paper and trinket shop in Fort Langley). Racing Grannies come in a pack of two.

But why stop there? Why not go for race track grannies!? I know my kids would think this was a hoot!
And for my dad this year, there's speeding granddads...
Or, depending on his mood (hey, he's been in Mexico all winter, he might be grumpy having to come back to the cold weather up north!) there's also fighting granddads.

Genius.

OWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

2009-03-09T18:53:00.000-07:00

The most annoying noise ever. My ears still hurt. The website says it's similar to the sound of a buzzing mosquito. Maybe if the mosquitos are carrying little knives and plunging them into your eardrums. OUCH!

Created by Train Horns

Spring Cleaning a la Andie...

2009-02-27T14:01:00.000-08:00

I'm feeling a bit under the weather, but I'm not the type of person who can just lie around on the couch sipping tea and watching soaps (Matlock might be another story, but he's not on for another hour!) So I'm doing some long over due spring cleaning. Yes, that's right, I'm cleaning up my desktop.

Every picture I've ever taken (and there are billions, have you ever read my other blog?!) is on this computer. And no where else. I know. I'm tempting fate.

Before Andrew left on his last trip, he bought me a lovely removeable harddrive and a big pack of disks. And so today I am making sure that all of my photos are backed up twice. And maybe, I might even get to printing some of them. I did fairly well with David. Most of his first 18 months are scrapbooked. I have pictures up until his first birthday in an album. Some of them. Since then I have not printed pictures, except for one scrapbooking party (I had a few printed for that) and last spring I got a few printed for the next 18 months to try to put in another album. Only they're in random order and I have to organize them into date before they can go in the album. Do you see what a monumentous task this is? Do you understand why I've been putting it off for so long? Have you remembered that I'm a nut job who will take 150 adorable pictures of a trip to the mailbox and even though the event was dumb every single picture is cute and therefore I can not decide which pictures to have printed??

Oy. That's why I'm on here procrastinating.

That and I just emptied the trash bin on this computer. And it was such a scary experience (Do you wish to permanently delete all items in your recycling bin?) that I had to have you all hold my hand through it.

thank you. back to the cleaning now...