Fully Alive…Ready to Smile

posted by erin on Apr 9

I just found this website (ArtsCow.com) for printing pictures and their sign up offer…1200 free prints!!!  Sounds too good to be true.  They ARE spread out over the space of a few months, but what a great deal.  You can get 100 free 4×6 and 50 free 5×7 per month.  Their pricing seems really good too…4×6 for $0.06 and 5×7 for $0.12.  Sounds pretty reasonable to me, even if it is in USD, since you can get so many free pictures each month.  I have yet to order from them so I don’t know what their quality or service is like, but for those prices I think I’m going to find out.  Let’s put it this way…if I was going to order 400 prints at $0.06/print plus shipping it would come out to $42.00 (before applicable taxes).  Not bad  :)  Thought I’d pass my seemingly awesome finding on to all my friends out there.    

posted by erin on Apr 8

Okay, okay, okay, I have a story.  If you don’t want to hear about my bathroom farting incident, move along.  Just saying.

What, you are all still here?  Well, I know everyone loves to laugh at someone else’s expense, so here we go.  We stop at Target to make a bathroom/Starbucks pitstop.  Nikki and Sarah go into the washroom first and I come in after they’ve finished up their bidness and are in the hand washing process.  I move along to the furthest stall cause I know it’s gonna be a gooder and somehow it just feels safer to go to the last stall even though the accoustics are such that it makes no difference whatsoever.  

So I’m in there, you know…sitting on the toilet, when suddenly I, um…toot.  Okay so I let ‘er rip.  I’m not embarrassed because, let’s face it people, we all fart.  And when you’ve been in a vehicle with other people for however long and have been holding it in, it makes no difference who hears it.  It’s just plain goodness.  

Now some people may have coughed or shuffled feet or banged the toilet paper dispenser at this point, in an effort to cover up the bum expletive, but not I.  The two morons at the sink started giggling and Nikki says, “Excuse you!!” (snicker, snicker).  I wasn’t paying attention as I was obviously busy, so I tentatively said, “What?” and she repeated, “Excuse YOU!”  Oh, me?  ”Oh yeah right, excuse me.” and the laughing continued.

As an aside…is it proper public bathroom ettiquette to excuse yourself after farting?  I always feel like I should, but you know, it’s kind of uncharted territory. 

They calmed down and all of a sudden they were having a fit of laughter again and I didn’t have a clue what that was all about.  They left and I came out of the bathroom and they were looking at me and still howling.  I asked if they were still laughing at my flatulence.  

APPARENTLY, after our little exchange, they noticed that there was someone else in the bathroom stalls and Nikki was freaking out because she was hoping it was me that had farted and not the other person.  Inside sources tell me that Nikki was reportedly praying “Please let that be Erin’s fart…”  

So then when I came upon them outside freaking out, they told me that the lady who came out of the bathroom was an older lady and she was kind of hobbling like she had just had the best poo of her life and they were still unsure whether or not it had actually been me or her.  Not to worry, I told them, it was me and they could continue laughing at my expense.  I wasn’t sorry in the least!  :D 

posted by erin on Apr 8

So I survived the death virus cold thing that tried to take me out.  THREE WEEKS!!!  That’s how long it had its stranglehold on me  Stupid cold.  After my trip to the hospital I did manage to take it easy, thanks to some awesome people who helped me out (shoutout goes to my mom, Jer’s mom and Andrea!  Thanks guys)!  I managed to not cook for a whole week and I have to admit I tried to feel a bit guilty as I sat and read while my mom cleaned bathrooms and did laundry and helped out with my kids.  The afternoon that Andrea so sweetly offered to have my girls over I enjoyed 4 hours of Twilight complete with Pepsi and ketchup chips.  PERFECT!  I’m sure that’s what started the journey to health

This past weekend I went on a roadtrip with 3 of my girls, Jen (“Holla, BEST playlist ever!!”), Sarah (“Hey Bud!”), and Nikki (“it’s Britney, B&#%@”) to see Britney Spears and do some shopping in Minneapolis.  We stopped in Albertville along the way to spend some time at the outlet mall and then continued on to Sarah’s mom’s house (we were blessed to be able to stay there for the weekend).  

Friday we did the MOA and the Britney concert (more on that in a bit).  Saturday was the awesomest ever…The Cheesecake Factory.  I will openly admit that their cheesecake is about the best thing since, well since anything, really.  If I could create cheesecake like they do, I would die a happy woman.  Happy and fat.  And likely I would die sooner from the vast quantities of cheesecake I would have consumed over my short and ecstatic existence. 

Speaking of happy, I got makeup!  After spending a couple days on the road with these girls, I realized that I am SADLY lacking in the makeup department.  Big time!!!  Let’s just say that Nikki’s makeup bag was almost as big as the bag I brought for all my stuff for the whole weekend!  HA!  So I followed Jen around and she gave me some good advice and suddenly I have more than tripled my eyeshadow, lip gloss and blush/bronzer supply.  I have the colors of the rainbow and I’m on my way to looking like Mimi on the Drew Carey Show.

 Okay, maybe not, but I AM getting really brave with my makeup.  Today I shocked myself with teal eyeshadow that matched my shirt and I kept getting a glimpse of myself in the mirror and thinking, “Whoa!!  ’She’s a hottie, she’s a hottie, and just a little bit naughty…’”

And naughty would be about the right word to sum up Britney.  Wowzers…hot stuff.  Her singing sounded perfect and exactly like her cd…wait…right…okay, nevermind  She puts on a fabulous show though, lipsyncing or not.  I have to admire her use of cages, poles, whips and furniture.  Fancy stuff.  I sighed heavily a couple of times and imagined the throngs of screaming fans chanting, “ER-IN, ER-IN, ER-IN.”  But alas, I realize I’m not meant to be a pop sensation because my fear of heights would hinder great acrobatic feats like sailing through the air on a giant umbrella.

**Sorry, I didn’t take this picture as I was not sitting on the stage or by the stage or in fact anywhere near enough to take such a pic.  Picture from Hollywood.tv** 

Honestly though, it was great!  Well worth my $50CDN/$800USD.  The Pussycat Dolls opened up for Lady Spears (I giggled when Perez Hilton called her that during the opening video) and they were FANTASTIC live.  They have moves that I couldn’t do in my dreams (or anyone elses for that matter) and they can belt out a tune.  We were sitting up in the nosebleed section and I do wish I had brought some binoculars.  

Binoculars probably wouldn’t have helped me see through the drunk skull of the dancing guy in front of me.  I’m pretty sure he wanted to be a Pussycat Doll.  He kept turning around waving his two drinks, cell phone and random piece of paper while wiggling his drunk a$$, all like “Hey look at me guys, I’m awesome, aren’t I?”  Um, nope, didn’t pay money to see you.  He did eventually stay down by the railing because I think he just got too drunk to walk up the nauseatingly steep stairs.  To give him credit I was super happy that he was in the row below us and not behind us because as he teetered to his seat trying to multitask all his drinks and paraphernalia he spilled beer on the girls in front of him.  That sucks…I know.  Been there, done that, had the wet shirt to prove it.

The trip was fun and the girls were funner.  I know funner’s not a word, but I wanted to say it.  Funner…funner.  Okay, you grammer geeks can stop cringing now.  I’m done.  And for some reason I never did well in English class…heh. 

Anyway, so now I’m home and back to our regularly scheduled programming which includes children begging for snacks, insisting they are starving, refusing to eat meals, crying because it’s bedtime and they are SO hungry and all that fun stuff.  Hopefully I’ll find my inner zen before tomorrow because I’m starting my reflexology course in the evening (insert nervous sweats, palpitating heart and excited exclamations).

Peace out, Peeps. 

posted by erin on Mar 26

I’ve been contemplating for some time starting a separate blog where I can flex my interior decorating “muscles,” toss around ideas and post things I’ve found that I love.  It’s nothing fancy and it may change over time and likely it will move to a new location once I have more time to focus on it.  I may only post there sporadically as I find something that excites me or something I want to jot down to remember.  I’m just dipping my toes in and seeing if it’s something that I really can and want to do.  I’m super nervous about exposing this side of myself, but it also gives me a renewed fervor to get creative and learn more.  So with all that said…a little of life’s Frosting for your enjoyment.  I hope  

posted by erin on Mar 23

***Looking for the UBP post?  Click here or scroll down*** 

I’ve been getting no sympathy at home with this dang cold-death-virus-thing because everyone within hearing range has also been sick.  I had to come up with something REALLY good to make my people realize that mommy’s need some TLC, too.  So today I just created a little drama of my own, landed myself in the ER and VIOLA!  Lots of sympathy.  And a whole staff of people to take care of me.  It was great!  And so easy.  I’ll have to remember this for future reference…as a mom it’s FAR better being sick in the hospital than at home!

I had been feeling completely awful all weekend and even coughed up streaks of blood a few times, so I decided this morning that I would go to the walk-in clinic just to make sure that I didn’t have anything serious like bronchitis or pneumonia or something else that I could possibly use to make people feel sorry for me  I was all set to go when suddenly I felt very wrong.  My lips got all numb and my arms and legs were heavy and weak and I felt a little out of body.  Pretty good drama, huh?  I thought so.

I called Jer and told him that I didn’t think it would be a great idea for me to drive myself and that it might be better if we just bypass the walk-in altogether and go straight to the ER.  On the way there I felt breathless and a little like I was floating.  It could possibly have been fun, if it didn’t scare the crap out of me!  Then I got all cold and shivery and by the time we got to the ER my legs could barely support me.  I leaned on the counter and almost fainted right there, but a nice paramedic took me to a bed and the fainting spell passed.  

After ALL that it ended up being a rather anti-climactic visit.  No hot doctors!  Tell me WHY are there no hot doctors??  Do they even really make hot doctors or is that just all tv propaganda?  I’d even take a hot intern or paramedic or cleaning personnel!   Gah!  There were no more out of body experiences and no good hospital drama with anyone else in the ER.  There were hours where I didn’t see or hear anyone.  I guess that’s what you get at a smalltown hospital.  And to make it even funnier, the doctor that I was waiting and waiting to see…”working in the walk-in clinic, she’ll be around to see you when she can.”  I would have seen her faster if I had gone with my original course of action and gone to the clinic.  Not to mention I could have made a scene in the waiting room when I fainted.  

The nurses took my vitals, drew some blood, did a couple x-rays, letting me rest over the course of the 4 hours that it took to do all that and I continued to wait for the doctor.  I guess I wasn’t really an emergency.  Heh.  Well it FELT like an emergency when I couldn’t feel my limbs!  Just saying…

Some more time passed and the doctor finally came in and said that all the tests came back clear and good.  (What?!?)  She said that it looked like nothing more than a bad cold and neglect. (NEGLECT!!!  Well I could have told you that!!)  I was too sick to take care of myself properly PLUS I was taking care of everyone else at home and not resting or eating enough.  She gave me a prescription for 6 pretty pink pills that cost me $5 a piece, told me to rest and drink plenty of fluids and sent me on my merry way.  Not even a fancy name for what I’m feeling so that I can fee less guilty for “taking it easy” as she prescribed.  

I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s some serious awesomeness that I’m not dying or have some crazy illness, but I WAS kind of wanting to yell at the doctor, “NOOO, stick an IV in me and keep me for a night…or 4, so that I don’t have to go home and TRY to rest with wee people running around!!”  Then someone else would take care of me and cook, even if it’s awful, and I could really get better, but nope.      

Ah well, at least I got to ride in a wheel chair and wear a hospital gown.  That made the trip worth it.  And to think I forgot my camera.  

posted by erin on Mar 19

***Okay after hitting publish and going back to read it, it’s REALLY long.  So sorry.*** 

So, after much hemming and hahhing (okay, there was perhaps only one hem and maybe a little ha slipped in there somewhere) I decided to do this Ultimate Blog Party business again.  I…it…um…(insert something really brilliant here since I seem to have momentarily forgotten what it was I was going to say…perhaps we’ll come back to it, shall we?  Then again, probably not).  I have to say this could be interesting because I’m rather on the sick side at the moment and a little drugged up with Nyquil (LOVE that stuff!!!).  

Perhaps you should disregard most everything I say here today because it may not be an accurate picture of me.  Or maybe it will be exactly right!!  I’ll be uninhibited and my tongue will be loose and, Ooh, look at all the pretty colors…

Um, what?  Right.  Hi.  I’m Erin.  I’m currently sitting in my bed wrapped in blankets, watching the minutes tick by, counting down until I can take a pretty green pill to make the owies go away and the sleep come.  I’m bemoaning the fact that I’m supposed to be hosting a party for you all, but can’t seem to stop coughing long enough to really get it together.  

I have to apologize up front, I did make a big batch of hummus for this party, but seem to have consumed a rather unhealthy amount of it by myself.  I started thinking about all the garlic in it and how garlic is supposed to be really good for colds and then I realized that this is perhaps the best batch of hummus I have made to date (pats herself awkwardly on the back) and continued to shovel chipfuls of it into my mouth.  So now I have drooly bits of hummus on my chin from coughing and I smell of garlic and Vicks VapoRub.  Lovely.  

Then I was going to serve you chocolate martinis, but after reading the Nyquil label a little closer, it said something about alcohol being a bad idea in conjunction with the drugs (Hey!!  I even used the word “conjunction” in the correct context…I just checked on dictionary.com).  Although my martinis are strong enough on their own that they’d probably have killed my cold on contact.  Perhaps I should have saved myself $12 and just shaken up a chocotini for myself.  They’re really pretty, too!  Don’t you just love drinking pretty drinks?  It’s so much more fun.  Happy sigh. 

You’ll also have to excuse my appearance.  I haven’t had the energy to get up and do my hair or put on anything decent for you and I’m highly embarrassed, since normally I wear high heels and pretty dresses around the house as I clean and cook up a storm, being the perfect mother and wife, with a house worthy of a magazine.  Martha Stewart would only dream of being me (cough, cough).  

…………chirp….chirp….chirp……………….. 

Heh, I must have missed those crickets during my last cleaning.  

Okay, so maybe all that was a slight exaggeration.  Alright, all my regular readers can stop laughing now, we all know it was a gross exaggeration!  :)  Except for the martinis…they really are good.  

And what was that I was spouting about “regular readers?”  Hi all 3 of you (waves).  It seems the rest of my “regular readers” got tired of checking back and seeing the same post hanging about for 2 or 3 weeks on end.  Fancy that.  Talk about pressure, wanting me to post more than bi-monthly.  Sheesh.  I remember the bygone era when I would have to stop myself from posting multiple times a day.  What happened?  Now I’ve succumbed to reading blogging self-help books such as “No One Cares What You Had For Lunch” just to try to dig myself out of the blogging slump.  

Okay, when did this post turn into a whine-fest?  Moving on…

to something completely different…

A little about me:

1. I have 2.5 children.  
2. I actually have 2 children.  Two daughters, but the younger one uses up the equivalent energy of 1.5, so we can just pretend I’m living the American dream with my 2.5 kids.
3. I’m Canadian, so I probably can’t live the “American” dream, right?  Whatever.
4. I am a mom by choice, an interior decorator by trade, a photographer by accident and will be a reflexologist sometime in the next year.  
5. I’m 28, I feel 16 and everyone thinks I’m 23.  Sounds good to me!
6. I think I’m really funny when I’m drugged up on cold medication
7. I love to travel and I’m currently collecting blogging friends in as many different regions of the world with the sole purpose of one day abusing the system and finaggling hospitality all because I’m your blogging buddy!  Currently accepting new friends from France, Spain, and Scotland.
8. I was totally kidding about #7, I really want to be your friend just for the sake of being your friend.  No strings attached.  Promise.  
9. I’m thinking I may regret my post in the morning when I’m coherent.  There may be a couple of forehead slapping “Ugh, did I really say that??” moments (see #7).
10. My husband thinks I’m funny when I’m drugged up.
11. Or perhaps that eye rolling, head shaking was just because he thinks I’m dumb.
12. Who cares.
13. Where was i?
14. I love long walks on the beach and dinners at sunset.
15. Well, I did a week ago when I was in warm, sunny Mexico and I was feeling robust and healthy.
16. I’m tanned.
17. I tan really easily.
18. By the time I kick this cold and come out of hibernation my tan will likely be gone and no one will know I was even gone on holidays.  And I haven’t seen ANYONE since I got back because I promptly got sick  What a waste of a good tan.
19. Why was I doing this again?
20. Do you feel like you know me at all yet?
21. Well, you’ll have to come back because I’m tired.  So tired.  And I need to pee.  And get more water.  And rewarm my neck warmer.  And put more lip stuff on my dry, cracked lips.
22. Oh.my.goodness, did I just tell you I have to…you know, release urinary fluid?  Gah!  I must feel really comfortable with you people already…or it’s DEFINITELY time to close my laptop and go to bed!!!  

Thanks for stopping in, leave me a comment so I can find my way to your place, and be sure to come back.  Although I probably won’t feel nearly as inspired the next time you’re here.  Perhaps I’ll do a daily “3:00 Happy Hour Post with Dayquil” or something.  This could be the breakthough I’ve been looking for in my blogging slump.  I’m pretty sure I didn’t read anything about drug induced blogging in the self-help book.  Hmmm.  Oh and um…remember kids, Say No to Drugs!  Yeah.  Okay.  Bye.

P.S. To see non-medicated introductions to UBP ’07 and ’08 go here and here

P.P.S.  My posts seem to be getting longer every year.

P.P.P.S.  Next year I’ll just save my breath and link to the last three and let you people get on with your blog hopping because I’ve wasted enough of your precious time.

P.P.P.P.S. (1,2,3,4…I needed 4 P’s, right?) Oh, #23 on my “A Little About Me” list would say “I like to talk.”  At least that’s what it would say IF I was still up and writing this post.  Which I’m not.  Clearly.

posted by erin on Mar 19

 I just read that the Ultimate Blog Party starts tomorrow!  It seems I’ve been so MIA that this fact has completely escaped me.  Why yes, it IS March!  

I’ve participated for the last two years and have made a lot of incredible friends through it, but I’m not sure if I should do it this year.  I haven’t been able to keep up with my blog lately and it feels like it might be overwhelming.  

On the other hand, it would give me something to do while I battle through this nasty cold bug I seem to have acquired.  Not to mention I really LOVE finding new blogs and meeting new people.  Sigh.  What a dilemma.

What about you?  Are you participating? 

posted by erin on Mar 18

Whine, whine, whine, blah, blah, blah… 

We are all sick.  Very, very sick.  Fevers, coughing, the aches, the chills, runny noses, coughing, stomach aches, more coughing…ick, ick, ick.  Not exactly how I imagined my homecoming.  Whining and green goo.  Lovely!

It’s bad enough when it’s just one child.  It’s really bad when it’s everyone all at the same time because who inevitably gets the short end of the stick?  You got it, Mommy.  She has to take care of everyone else.  :(  I had a little pity party and a bit of a meltdown this morning, “It’s not fair that you got to call in sick and stay in bed all day while I was just as sick and still had to take care of everyone!  I wanna call in sick…waaaaaa!!!”  But we all know how that goes.

 My mom was lovely and took the girls for a few hours this afternoon and I ended up going for a massage which gave me a couple precious hours to myself.  Although the wracking cough kind of undoes the relaxing the massage did.  Sigh.

For now I’ve handed the reigns to Jer and said, “Your turn!”  I’m going to have a hot bath (as per the massage therapists orders) and snuggle up under a blanket with some tea.

Hopefully I can kick this thing quickly so that I can take care of my little people tomorrow.  

posted by erin on Mar 14

What can I say about my vacation?  It was warm.  Nuf said!  

No?  That’s not enough?  Okay, where to begin…

I wish I had stories of grand adventures to tell you.  But I don’t.  Some peoples’ idea of a holiday is being busy all the time, sightseeing, cramming every minute full.  My idea of a holiday is 80% relaxation and doing as little as possible, 20% other.  I was perfectly happy to sit my butt down on a lounge chair by the pool and just enjoy the nothingness.  I haven’t had so little to think about in 6 years and it was refreshing to empty my mind of responsibility and just be.  I forgot what it was like to feel that relaxed.  It was what I needed and I came home with a new perspective and a clear head, ready to take on life again.  

Well, that was how I felt yesterday, anyhow.  Today I’d like to be back there.  I swear my tan is already falling off in this ridiculous dryness

I guess because I’ve been there so many times, I didn’t feel the NEED to do anything.  We did a lot of the so called “touristy” things the first couple times that I was there with my family and now it’s just a place that I feel at home and able to relax.  We ate so much good food.  We played cards in the evenings.  We laughed and had fun.  We walked on the beach and swam in the ocean.  Jer and Chad went boogie boarding and hunting for lobster (which they did find and we ate).        

I spent most days lying by the pool, soaking up the sun and admiring the pool boy reading my books.  I did, however, pull myself away from my perch a few times.  We did some shopping (although all I came home with was a bottle of vanilla and a gift for my girls…the stuff doesn’t change from one year to the next and I’ve been there, done that, got the t-shirt…literally!).  We went to the mercado (market) one morning and bought fresh seafood for dinner.  We went to the cathedral (which I had never seen in all my trips there) and looked around for a while.  I could have spent hours there taking pictures, but it felt really disrespectful of the people that were there to worship and pray.  We took a boat tour to one of the islands across from the mainland (Deer Island) and saw sealions and dolphins and spent the afternoon on the island snorkeling, having banana boat rides and relaxing.  On our last night we went to a Mexican fiesta.

I reached a milestone while out there.  I ate seafood.  Maybe not shocking to most people, but I have spent 28 years avoiding seafood like the plague.  I have always turned my nose up at it.  Farted in it’s general direction.  Well, Mazatlan is the shrimp capital and how can you stay for two weeks in a seafood capital and not eat seafood?  I’ve done it 5 times before (this was my 6th time in Mazatlan) and it was my goal to be brave and at least try it while there.  I think I did better than that.  I ate swordfish (amazing!!), salmon, octopus, squid, lobster and shrimp.  And I actually enjoyed it!

In fact, I enjoyed it so much that yesterday when I went grocery shopping I went into the seafood section for the very first time EVER and bought salmon and made it for my family.  Jer was shocked.  The girls loved it (who thinks hearing a 5 and 3 year old exclaim, “OOOOH, this salmon is delicious!!!” is weird?).

Another milestone for me…One tequila, two tequila, three tequila…why is the world spinning?  Just kidding…kind of…let’s just say the “All you can drink margaritas” shouldn’t be taken seriously.  :D  Moving on…  

Here is my holiday in a few words (with pictures for each, of course).  

Awesome friends.

Pool.  

Sun.  

Books.  

Tequila Go Team Mango!  

 No pictures for that one…ahem.

Pina Colada.  

Beach. 

And of course there are lots and lots more pictures, but I’m not going to post them individually.  I’ll try and put together a slide show soon.  There is also one for every day on my photo blog.

All in all it was an awesome time.  The people that we travelled with were fantastic and I think everyone got along superbly.  I won’t lie, it was really tough to come back to winter, but I did miss my girls and it’s great to be back with them.  And lucky for us, the weather is on the upward swing to spring now, so it’s easier to swallow the sight of snow.  :)

posted by erin on Mar 4

Hi from sunny Mexico!  I’m alive, I’m well, and I’m on vacation!!!  See you all when I get back in a little over a week.  I’m posting pictures on my photo blog when I have a moment in my busy schedule (suntanning, drinking pina coladas, swimming, massages, etc).  Don’t be hatin’ on me   

posted by erin on Feb 23

According to Blogthings, which we know is the very epitome of correctness when analyzing who you are based on a handful of generic questions, this is who I am! 

You Are Very Warm

You are kind, caring, and empathetic. A lot of warm energy radiates from you.And it’s not an act – you truly like people. You get a charge from people being around you. You are are easy going and very socially adaptable. You’re willing to overlook peoples’quirks.You enjoy meeting people from all walks of life and helping them if you can. Giving makes you feel good.

How Warm Are You?

Your Birthday Predicts You’re Sensitive

Ever since you were born, you’ve always been able to cooperate.You enjoy supporting and being inspired by others. You appreciate the dynamic of a group. Getting along with others is essential to you. You are both fair and well mannered.You are very intuitive and easily effected by other people. Sometimes you are too delicate.

What Does Your Birthday Predict About You?

You Crave a Blissful Life

Your dream is to live a light hearted, carefree life. You don’t want to be bogged down by stress.You’d like to recapture some of the playfulness and innocence you had as a child. You believe that life should be about celebrations and fun. The world needs more happiness.You want to focus on the positive and stay optimistic. It’s too easy to get depressed.

The Sunset Test

You Are an Endomorph

You have a rounder, softer body type. It’s difficult for you to lose weight.Endomorphs are known for being friendly, generous, and warm. It’s likely that you’re a relaxed person who enjoys good times, good people, and good food.You are warm and affectionate. You provide comfort to others and crave it for yourself.

What’s Your True Body Type?

posted by erin on Feb 18

Life has felt like a struggle lately.  Everything just seems to be in slow motion and like it isn’t coming easy.  I suppose there are seasons like that.  

My photo project is one of those struggles.  I’ve managed to keep up with it, but sometimes just under the wire (like when I’m processing pictures in the middle of the night).  I’m proud of myself for keeping up with it thus far and I don’t feel like I’ve had to lower my standards too much to get a photo a day.

Running has also been a bit tough lately.  I finally realized that this was because I needed new shoes and now that I have new shoes, it’s a struggle again because they must be broken in.  I forgot how tough it is to break in new shoes.  But it will all be worth it in the end.  Especially once the weather warms up and I can run without risk of breaking my neck or freezing my lungs!  :)

Blogging OBVIOUSLY has been a struggle.  I don’t know what to write without complaining and I’ve been in this rut with life lately and I just haven’t done anything worth blogging about.  Mostly it will sound whiney and mundane, so I stay silent.  I think it’s just winter getting to me.  Too many weeks of being cooped up in the house with children that are driving me a little battier every day.

So yes, we can gather from above whininess that parenting has also been rough recently.  I think the short loud ones are on a mission to make sure that I go on holidays and not miss them at all.  Because the past few days I’ve been ready to take off a week early.  It’s like I’m on a one way trip to insaneville!  Insert rocking and humming here.

Yet through it all I hold on to this…I’m leaving in 7 days, 10 hours and 24 minutes.  

• I will have no shortage of things to take pictures of.  
• I will have 14 days in a row of weather nice enough to run in, should I so desire.  
• I will likely have things to blog about.   
• I will drink pina coladas for breakfast if I want.  
• I will sleep till whenever I decide to get out of bed.  
• I will swim without having to worry about offspring needing swimmers, lifejackets, naps, food or potty breaks.  
• I will bring more books than I can possibly read in 2 weeks.  
• I will bring more bathing suits than necessary and enjoy not having to ever put on a cold, wet one in the morning.  
• I will have nothing to do and all day to do it in.  

And that, people, is a promise!  Heavenly.

So here’s to hoping that Mexico has some rejuvination in store for me.  I hear there’s a spa in our hotel.  I may take advantage of that, too

posted by erin on Feb 9

I’m in the other room when the incident happens and I hear a lot of laughter and then Ella yelling, “MOM!!!  Aidan peed on me!”  Gah!  

Aidan peed on the chair in the kitchen, which then dripped down onto the floor and all over Ella who was sitting under her chair (shudders).  

I go in there with a towel, rip-snorting mad and pull Aidan off her chair onto the towel, sternly telling her not to move.a.muscle!!  I’m mad.  I’m shaking my head and muttering, “This is DISGUSTING!  No, it’s BEYOND disgusting!”

From beneath the chair Ella quietly interjects, “That means it’s REALLY disgusting!”

And I laughed.  Tension gone and crisis averted.  

posted by erin on Feb 9

I have a thing about smells.  Sometimes it’s good, other times…not so much.  I have to know what things smell like.  When I pick up a shirt off the floor…sniff.  Can I wear it again?  Is it ready for the laundry?  When someone walks by…sniff.  Are they wearing perfume or cologne?  Does it suit them?  Do they need some deoderant?  (this is when the “not so much” comes into play)  :)  

My favorite is when I walk into my bedroom.  I *HEART* the smell of my bedroom.  It’s the smell of sleep mingled with my vanilla airfreshner from Bath & Body Works in the bathroom and the lingering scent of the body wash I use when I shower.  It feels like a cocoon wrapping itself around me everytime I walk in, probably because it’s the most personal scent.  (The reason I started this post in the first place is because I’m snuggled up in my bed with my laptop.) 

As a child I refused to let my mom wash my blanky.  I would go to great lengths to hide it from her.  Who knows what kind of cooties were growing in that thing, but heaven forbid she alter the smell of it.  My pillow case, too.  But that wasn’t as important as the blanky.  I still bury my nose in my blankets when I get into bed each night and take a deep sniff.  Mmmm.  It relaxes me.  It seems my children have inherited this trait.  One likes the smell of her blanky, the other smells her pillow.

When I hug my daughters, I bury my nose in their hair and inhale deeply.  I used to do that a LOT when they were babies.  I would hold their tiny, round, fuzzy heads up by my face and just breathe in their baby goodness, especially after a bath.  I actually kept a bottle of the Johnson’s baby wash (before they altered the scent and pissed me off completely) and from time to time I’ll open it and I get all teary-eyed with the nostalgia and I miss my babies. 

The smell of paint or stain are pretty high on my list of faves.  I adore the smell of fresh paint when I walk into a new house.  When I open a can of paint, inevitably I’ll lean in closer and take a good whiff.  As a kid I used to hang out in my Dad and Grandpa’s woodworking shop because the smell of stain, glue and sawdust had such a warm, wonderful smell.  It’s one thing I love about building houses and moving so often.  When the new house smells disappear I get a bit sad.  I think I might have to invent a “new house scent in a can” that I can spray and it might save us some money and moving!  

And the smell of books.  Old ones, new ones…sigh.  The first thing I do when I walk into any bookstore is enjoy the smells.  It’s gotta be one of the most comforting smells out there.  I love the smell of new paper and bindings, but there is something about the mustiness of old, used books, too.  Of course, when there is a coffee shop in the bookstore, the pleasure increases tenfold, as there is something timeless about the smell of books mixed with the aroma of coffee and pastries.

Ah, yes, coffee.  I don’t drink the stuff, but the smell is wonderful, don’t you think?  It reminds me of mornings when I lived at home and I would wake up to the aroma of coffee brewing downstairs and it was the sign that my mom was awake.  It reminds me of my wonderful friends, since pretty much all my friends drink coffee.  It reminds me of sitting in Tim Horton’s having lingering conversation over a steaming cup (well, the other person has a steaming cup, I have a latte or hot chocolate).

When I think about our upcoming trip to Mexico, I’m instantly transported back in my mind and one of the things I recall most vividly is the smells.  The salty air, the wafting scent of all the restaurants as we wander down the street, the wet sand. 

Don’t you think it’s incredible how that just one of the five senses can invoke so much memory with such intensity?   

What scents are the most nostalgic or pleasing to you?  Or which of the 5 senses is the strongest for you?

posted by erin on Feb 5

And I am a PRO!!!  Blue ribbon winner.  Numero Uno!  

I decided to be awesome and take out a roast last night to put in the slow cooker this morning, you know, try to be a good wife and actually have supper ready when Jer got home from work.  It’s pretty normal for him to come home and I’m like “Um, what do you want for supper?”  It’s not like supper doesn’t happen EVERY.DAY!  It’s not like I haven’t had 8 hours to ponder this subject EVERY.DAY!!  So you can imagine how proud I was of my forethought and I proceeded to give myself a hefty pat on the back.  

A little prematurely, it appears.  It’s now 4:15 p.m. and the roast is still in my fridge, mostly frozen.  Way to be on top of things, Erin!  Looks like we should be eating supper at approximately 10:30.  Just kidding.  I guess it’s mac and cheese.  

Perhaps I’ll start some laundry and forget about it, too.  Oh…wait…I did.  Seriously.  Still in the washer since this morning.  Sigh.

Perhaps I should spend less time playing with candy and more time doing, um, important stuff like feeding my family and keeping our clothing clean.  So overrated.  

posted by erin on Feb 3

I know I’ve been a bit MIA in the last month, both with blogging and reading blogs.  The truth is my wrist has been bugging me and it’s just painful to type and click away with the mouse.  I woke up on Sunday morning feeling like my wrist was broken after weeks of a slight, nagging pain (this occured after a shoveling incident).  One of my tendons had apparently decided to go and get all inflamed at night.  Now I’m wearing a wrist tensor and feeling a little incapacitated when it comes to doing pretty much everything since it’s my right hand.  I’m likely going to be MIA from any serious blogging for a few more weeks, since I’m starting my reflexology in 2 months and I want a nice strong wrist for that.  It seems I may lose most of my readers, but I suppose that’s the price I must pay to let my wrist heal.  

In the meantime I’ve decided to really work on my distance when running.  Two years ago I learned how to jog.  I reached my goal and since then I haven’t really pushed myself.  I’ve decided to set a goal for myself this year rather than just running aimlessly for months on end with no destination in mind.  My parents live 6 1/2 miles from us and I think it would be great to be able to run all the way there!  I’m at 2 1/2 miles already, so that’s only 4 more.  :D  ONLY 4 more.  Which is further than I’ve EVER run.  Ha.  But I think if I train properly, I can do it.

For starters, the past two years I’ve only started jogging in April.  This year…January!!  AND I’ve never jogged in subzero temps until this year.  So that will help my lung capacity in the warmer weather.  I think.  Sounds like a good theory anyway.  :)  I’m hoping to increase my distance by 1/2 a mile every 2 weeks.  We’ll see how it goes.

And just to prove my point about why I’m not doing much blogging, this post took me 5 hours to write  One sentence at a time.  I have managed to keep up with my 365 project.  So if you want to see something from me every day, go there.  I’ll be here as much as I can.  Bear with me.

posted by erin on Jan 30

I’m afraid to sneeze.  I’m afraid my nose will start running and I’ll be forced to sit there with a q-tip and a kleenex digging around trying to make myself comfortable.  I kind of, sort of, pierced my nose.  Well, not me myself, but a dude with lots of metal in his face.  It actually made me feel better seeing all those rings, tubes, bars and bulbs sticking out of his face.  At least I knew he knew what he was doing.  It took like 20 seconds and didn’t hurt at all.  There was a moment of increduality when he pushed the needle through.  What a weird feeling!!  So now I’ve done the thing I wanted to do when I was 16, but never did.  Twelve years too late to be considered rebellious and about 5 years too early to be a mid-life crisis.  I’m not sure what it is, but it’s great.  I love!! 

posted by erin on Jan 29

I decided to tan my pasty body before our holidays.  I’ve come to realize over the years that having some color on your skin has a number of valuable perks.  1) it makes the fleshiness appear less fleshy!  2) You don’t burn to a crisp the first 24 seconds that you lie baking in the hot, tropical sun.  3) Your white bathing suit doesn’t make you look sickly.

As I’m basking in the tube of sunniness I wonder to myself what on earth I’m doing lying on a whole lot of hot, hot light bulbs!  I mean, seriously, what do we think when creating this stuff?  Convenient, yes!  Stupid, perhaps a bit.  

I have to admit to getting a little cocky about the whole business.  You see, I’m not fair skinned by any means.  I walk out into the sunshine and VIOLA, I’m tanned.  It’s like insta-tanning for me.  Usually.  Apparently I’ve become a tad on the white side this winter.  I’m pretty sure -50 degree weather just sucks the color right out of your skin.  But I don’t think about this, I just go on past experiences and I’ve never had a problem with tanning beds.  I usually start at 8-10 minutes right off the hop and I have no issues with burning.  Not so this time.  I started at 6 minutes.  Got home, looked in the mirror and scoffed at the tanning bed gods.  There wasn’t even a hint of color.  What kind of joke was this?!  I decided I would go with my original thought and hit it up for 10 minutes the second time around.

Yeah, yeah…I know.  Increase by a minute or 2 not 4.  I paid the price.  The aforementioned fleshy parts of my back pasted against the hot light bulbs was not a good combo.  Four hours later I found 2 red racing stripes down my back.  

But, lucky for me, my skin doesn’t stay burnt long and by this morning, no burn.  Just a little bit of color where there was none before.  I still don’t think I’ll be jumping the gun like that again.  I think we’ll just stick with 10 minutes for another session and see how it goes.

And no worries I’ll be wearing a lot of sunscreen on our trip.  I don’t need to come home looking like a piece of bacon.  :D 

posted by erin on Jan 26

I found this on Lindsay’s blog and didn’t have anything better to post today.  Read this post, and then comment and tell me what you learned about me through taking a peek at my playlist. Then do the same thing – for yourself – on your blog or Facebook page. Turn on your iPod (or whatever you have) and hit shuffle.  Write down the first 40 songs that come up.  Then answer the 10 questions about them.  Here’s what mine came up with… 

1. Hide and Seek – Imogen Heap
2. I Hope You Dance – Lee Ann Womack
3. Voulez Vous – Mama Mia Soundtrack
4. Magic – Colbie Caillat
5. The Way I Are – Timbaland
6. No Air – Jordin Sparks with Chris Brown
7. Lovestoned/I Think She Knows – Justin Timberlake
8. Crush – David Archuleta
9. I Kissed a Girl – Katy Perry
10. See You Again – Miley Cyrus
11. You Don’t Know Me – Michael Buble
12. Beautiful U R – Deborah Cox
13. All Around Me – Flyleaf
14. I Caught Myself – Paramore (Twilight Soundtrack)
15. Just Dance – Lady Gaga
16. February Song – Josh Groban
17. Break Me Down – Red
18. Always On My Mind – Michael Buble
19. All I Ever Wanted – Basshunter
20. Mercy – Duffy
21. Out From Under – Britney Spears
22. Unusual You – Britney Spears
23. Leave Out All The Rest – Linkin Park
24. Private Dancer – Danny Fernandes
25. Better in Time – Leona Lewis
26. Angel – Natasha Bedingfield
27. The Reason – Hoobastank
28. The One – Sharam (Daniel Bedingfield)
29. Falling Inside The Black – Skillet
30. I Hate This Part – The Pussycat Dolls
31. Lost – Michael Buble
32. Drive My Soul – LIGHTS
33. Heartless – Kanye West
34. Disturbia – Rihanna
35. She’s a Hottie – Toby Keith
36. Stolen – Dashboard Confessional
37. Say (All I Need) – One Republic
38. Killing Me Softly – The Fugees
39. Low – Flo Rida
40. Even the Devil Wouldn’t Recognize You – Madonna

Which song on this list…

Makes you think of a friend? “Voulez Vous” makes me think of Elin and when we watched Mamma Mia. 

Makes you think of more than a friend? “No Air” by Jordin Sparks

Makes you dance? #’s 5, 7 12, 15, 19, 20, 24, 28, 34, 35, 39, 40

Makes you sing in the car? All of them!!Makes you remember something great? “Always on My Mind” by Michael Buble and “She’s a Hottie” by Toby Keith

Makes you laugh? “She’s a Hottie”

Surprised you? None of them, they are on my playlist cause I put them there!  :D

Embarrassed you? This is a toss up between “I Kissed a Girl” and “See You Again”.  I swear the Miley Cyrus one is on there because my girls love it!  Seriously!  And perhaps I’m just a rebel and put “I Kissed a Girl” on there because it made me feel naughty.  I really think it’s super catchy, but I never play it when my girls are in the room…they hear the first few notes and yell “BAD SONG, Mommy, turn it!!!”  (grins sheepishly)

Any overall observations?  My taste in music is rather eclectic an if you get me to make this playlist in a month it will be totally different.  My music changes with my mood and what’s happening in my life.    

Anything you want to say in your defense? Nope.  I don’t defend my music.  

posted by erin on Jan 23

I’m so nervous.  My hands are sweating.  I did it.  I registered.  I’m officially enrolled in the reflexology certification course.  AHHHHHH!!!!  I found out yesterday that my reflexology workshop that I had enrolled in close to home has been cancelled due to lack of interest.  So I pondered it, talked it over with Jer and decided that since it’s something I’m really interested in, I should just do it for real.  My first day of classes is April 9.  I can’t describe exaclty how I’m feeling right now.  Definitely excited.  I can’t believe that I did it.  Now to just pass the course.  Gah!