One Page At A Time

I only blog in months starting with the letter A

No posts since April?  Is anyone out there wondering what's up?  I've been microblogging... and feeling like there isn't much going on in my world worth blogging about.  And yet, here I am again.  So we'll see how things turn out this go-round... will the blog survive until April?  Tune in to find out!

This weekend my mom and I are hosting a baby shower for my sister - who had a sweet baby boy at the end of June.  Menu, games, decorations are all planned... and I hope to take some photos of the event and post them here. 

Over the summer we've definitely had a lot of fun.  Though the weather has been less than cooperative and unseasonably cold at times, my two weeks of vacation were perfect and much needed.  The best and most important events:  an amazing family reunion, a baby blessing, and my brother and his family visiting from BC.  Again, all events for another post ... and lots of pictures to accompany.  I'm working on my laptop right now (and an aside here... does anyone else hate laptop keyboards?  I keep hitting the caps lock instead of the shift key.  and it's annoying) so all of my pictures are on my desktop.  But stay tuned!  Posts to come!

To leave you with a little bit of happiness...  The brave and amazing Stephanie just celebrated a milestone.  I've blogged about Stephanie and her family before, but if you haven't checked her blog out, please do.  She is truly inspiring. 

(oh, and if you want more happiness, tune in... because So You Think You Can Dance Canada is in full swing.. season 2... and it's shaping up to be awesome!)

Peace (and my apologies for the randomness and rambling),

J

Hi! Wanna see some photos?

I had quite a long post ready to go the other day and I lost it... first time that's happened, and it's not funny!  I spent quite a bit of time today re-doing my blog design and layout, making a new banner, etc. and when I was finished?  Didn't feel like blogging.  But now I'm back...  This will be relatively short - I figured I'd do a series of short posts rather than one big long catch up post that I could potentially lose. 

So today, I'll share some pictures.  But first, could someone please tell Mother Nature that it's SPRING?  As in, no more snow, please?  Thanks.

The following are a few photos from the last couple of months... a cold trip to Waterton, a birthday party, a little photo taking field trip, a couple of favourites edited, and a couple from last spring (because I'm longing to see blossoms again):

1. Apple Blossoms, 2. Seriously, 3. The snow was THIS high, 4. Megs, 5. hey there, 6. hello horsey, 7. bright eyes, 8. if they can, they'll climb it, 9. Rosie, 10. Birthday Girl, surprised, 11. Dueling cameras, 12. Yellow Flower, 13. Breakin', 14. Birthday Girl, 15. Spring Lilacs, 16. Waterton Lake, frozen

Peace,

J.

Be It Ever So Humble

I drove by Grandma and Grandpa's house the other day. When in Cardston, even though the lodge is just down the street, I try to avoid seeing the house. Too hard or new or strange... I can't describe it but I feel bereft every time I see it. I grieve for the loss of a familiar place that was always "home". No matter how much time you spent, whether it was living there or visiting, this was a place of respite and love and fun and really, really great memories.

So I drove by, actually Mom was in the driver's seat and I didn't have much choice. The house looks good... cared for, well kept. There's a new fence (chain link with some white plastic stuff in between... yuck...). That didn't bother me as much as seeing the cars in front and in the driveway with families spilling out, children excited to see their grandparents, running down the sloped driveway to the side door. Inhabiting OUR space. I know I should have been happy that another family is breathing new life into that house... filling it with love, and happiness, and good memories, once again. But all I felt was ... replaced. Left out. Upset that someone had usurped our position. Someone had taken over before I was ready to let them.

So I made a bit of noise, grumping and fist shaking, much like poppa bear finding that someone has been sitting in his chair. Of course this was done in the privacy of the car, for mom and dad's benefit only. And if I wasn't certain I would have been arrested if I had tried to physically haul those strangers out of our sacred place, I would have tried.

Then again, maybe I'm just being silly. Maybe it's time to move on. Maybe.

100

I thought I'd do a little something for my 100th post.  Like post a slideshow!

They truly are the sunshine of my life.

Peace

J

Family Day

In Canada, specifically Alberta, we have a Family Day holiday - the third Monday in February.   And in honour of this day, I spent it at home, alone, cleaning.

Sounds sad, doesn't it? 

Actually, having an extra day off work, that is NOT a sick day, where no family activities are planned, has been incredibly nice.  The fruits of my labors?  Laundry - done.  Floor - clean and mopped.  Bed - made.  Workspace (including desk) - CLEAN (this is a big one).  I love being in a clean space.  Of course, in the midst of all this I found about ten things that need to be organized and tidied as well, but that's for another day. 

I did connect with family yesterday - my Grandma, aunt, cousin, and her baby came to visit, along with Trish and Chris and their families.  Went to church, and when we got home we sat around the kitchen table and read/listened to/looked at a book my aunt compiled of memories and photos of their childhood home.  It was really awesome.  She's awesome.  I'm totally amazed at her dedication and passion to preserving our family's history.  Of course, I mentioned that what she was doing was scrapbooking - my mom said that no, she was archiving family history.  Um yeah.  Scrapbooking.  Stories and photos.  In page protectors in a binder.  Scrapbooking. :)

I have to share a of picture from yesterday.  (Sarah - if you're reading - I'll email you some photos once I get the post processing done).  Her little boy is ADORABLE.  A seriously gorgeous little guy.  (of course, I think my nieces and nephews are the cutest kids in the world, but I think I'll add my little first-cousin-once-removed to that category, too).

Just to prove it:

Five really great things about this weekend:

1.  Great photo opportunites (cute subjects!) See above. :0)

2.  Layered food - for some reason Lasagna and Death by Chocolate (a chocolate trifle) were on the menu for dinner yesterday.  Both were really good (and even better with leftovers for dinner today).

3.  Getting things clean and tidy and organized.  The goal is to get the scrap/media/computer room organized to the point where I can photograph it.  And work in it.  Currently there are a lot of CDs in stacks on my table and shelves, as I'm trying to put them all on my computer.  A few at a time.  I've only got a couple hundred more to go.  Yikes!

4.  TV - Amazing Race last night.  Heroes tonight.  And only three more days to Grey's Anatomy!

5.  Spending time with loved ones.  There is nothing better.

Hope you had a good holiday weekend, too!

Peace,

J.

   

Almost-Weekend Update

What a week it has been!  I can't believe how fast the days are flying by... full of Christmassy goodness, along with little doses of Charlie Brown-ness, too.

Before I wax poetic, I should mention that I watched the Christmas episode of "The Office" tonight.  Ahhh.. so, so funny.  And knowing that I have an office Christmas party that will only be half as cool (yet, fortunately, not nearly as painful) tomorrow, made it even better. 

So, here goes.  I pretty much finished my Christmas shopping in ONE afternoon.  I'm talking three hours.  I had a plan.  The plan was executed.  It was flawless.  There was even time to get a Blizzard at DQ.  Mmmmm.  I took a bit of time off work Friday afternoon and it made all the difference.  With the exception of ONE gift, I'm finished.  Ah, the relief.

I still have a pile of Christmas cards on my desk.  And yet I take the time to blog.  This weekend - those puppies are going out! 

Our house has smelled like cookies for the last two days.  MMMM.  My mom made Spicy Drop cookies, something she did all the time when we were kids (and hasn't done since!)  Must post that recipe.  So GOOD!

I went visiting teaching tonight, at about 7:30 and it was snowing!  By the time I was finished at 8:00, it had stopped - and because it is so warm outside, it smelled like a Spring rain.  On December 14!  Gotta love Southern Alberta weather!

The house is looking pretty spiffy.  My Dad (see below) had a heck of a time putting the star on the tree.  Being the guy he is, of course he prevailed.  Mom did veto the big black clamp that he was going to use, though.  :)  And yes, he is wearing measuring tape suspenders.  Man, do I ever love my Dad! 

It may have been easier to put the star on first, but of course, you can't put it on first.  If you've ever watched Garfield's Christmas, you'll know why.  "It's just not Christmas if you put the star on first, honey"...

There have been a few moments of inspiration this week... this entry by Sophia just blew me away (i.e. me sitting at my desk, tearing up, because I genetically CAN'T help it).  It made me want to put this holiday season on pause... start again in slow motion... just take the time to enjoy, to show and share love, to really feel and understand and rejoice in what Christmas is all about.  It made me think of the gifts I want to give those I love.  A kinder, softer answer.  More help in daily tasks.  Instant forgiveness.  Friendship.  Time.  In the chaos of having my nieces and nephew stay over last night, and being a bit brusque with one of them (because I was tired, they were loud, and I was not handling it well), this entry came to mind.  It brought me up short.  I changed my attitude.  I took the extra time to tuck them into bed.  To assure them there were no spiders in the room (and really hoping there weren't!).  To get them extra pillows.  To hug them and tell them I love them.  Kids are just so great, little sponges soaking up everything, especially all the positive reinforcement and love you can give them. 

I'm profoundly grateful for the lesson, and that moment of grace in my day. 

On a lighter note, it was really funny to hear my almost-five-year-old nephew telling his seven year old sister, "The Grinch isn't real.  He only lives on TV".  He couldn't convince her.  LOL.  Apparently she has been emailing Santa (whatever happened to the paper and crayons?), and he "told" her that the Grinch might try to steal some toys but he'd put a stop to it.  And, as she informed me quite matter-of-factly "Santa doesn't lie".  Ok then.

And you know what?  Christmas really is so much better when you've got little children around you.  Seriously.  They are just SO excited about the whole thing - kind of makes me feel a bit giddy myself! ;o) 

I love Christmas.  I want every day, every feeling, every moment of my life to feel like Christmas.  I want the world to be peaceful, to meet in brotherhood and love EVERY day.  I pray for it with all my heart.

And if you're reading... Merry Christmas.  Hope your holidays are wonderful and filled with love.

Peace,

J.

Tonight I'm Runnin' Wild...

Well, not really.  But I'm listening to David Grey sing the lyric and it sounds SO good.  Love me some David Grey.  Just heard of him a few years ago (thanks to a wonderful, like minded, enabling co-worker), and can't get enough.  Something about his voice.  Gives me the shivers.  Took me a while to pick up his latest album (I honestly don't know why!)... so glad I did because I think it's his best. 

So while I'm not exactly running wild tonight... I'm relatively free.  Free from my Thursday night captor, TV.  Reruns tonight.  Don't get me wrong, I was pretty b u m m e d about Grey's repeats.  Survivor recap show isn't my cup o' tea. I will watch the new Ugly Betty, though.  But that's all.  So I'm mostly free. 

Of course this slavery to TV is purely self imposed.

Gotta have a couple vices ;o)

So in my freedom tonight, I've been reading.  And listening to David.  Checking out blogs, and emails (Ben's pictures are amazing!).  Downloading some plug-ins from jinky.  Getting some ideas down for Nancy's baby shower this weekend.  And, of course, lurking around 2Peas.  There is also a large pile of scrapbooking product on my desk - it's taunting me.  But I know once I start, it will be a late night for me.  And I have to work early.  So no scrapbooky for me.  I do want to finish my trip album (from May) so I can start on Christmas cards.  Yay for Christmas!  Can't wait!

Thought I'd post a couple of pictures from Thanksgiving.  Was that already two weeks ago? 

   

cute, cute, cute

my brother and one of his little guys

That said, it's time for Ugly Betty.  And then bed.

Will post more after the shower on Saturday.

Peace!

J

Grateful

Short post tonight.  Thinking about the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday.  Feeling grateful for the blessings in my life that counter all the stress of late. 

Have a listen to this, while you read on.  I've been in an Eva Cassidy mood lately, especially for this song:  Download eva_cassidy_fields_of_gold.mp3  So gentle and calm - absolutely love this arrangement... and her voice.  Wish they carried her music on itunes.  Her version of Over the Rainbow gives me goosebumps.   

I am grateful for my parents and my siblings, my nieces and nephews.  They make my life wonderful.  One sibling in particular, today.  For listening to me and not caring that I had a mini-breakdown/blubberfest at her desk today.  Love you T!

I am grateful for my job.  Guess what.  I complain about my job from time to time.  Who doesn't?  But I am so grateful for gainful employment, for a job that I really do love, and co-workers that (for the most part) I love even more.  Can't say enough about these passionate, hard working people.

I am grateful for the love of God that I feel in my life every day.

I am grateful for my small, safe town, a comfortable home, good neighbours... all that is good and happy in my life. 

So, what are you grateful for today?

J

One Year + Deep Thoughts

We celebrated Kieran's first birthday on Saturday.  Can't believe it's been a year since this little one came into our lives! Happy Birthday Sweetie!

More photos here. 

Love spending time with my family.  We certainly have our ups and downs, but I wouldn't trade them.  That said, I did get my feelings hurt yesterday.  I don't often experience confrontation - I shy from it, actually.  I said something that precipitated a nasty exchange with someone I love yesterday - my first reaction was anger, then hurt.  I mean, it really hurt.  Partly because what the person said had some truth to it... I felt like I had to justify, cover up, talk out, lash out to the other members of my family because it was a way to cover what had been said.  And what was said was meant to hurt, to sting.  It did.

I know I should be more thick skinned.  But it's hard.  Lately, over at 2peas (and elsewhere) there's been a lot of negativity about scrap celebrities, one in particular.  After reading a bit of her blog and a bit of the threads, AND after what I experienced yesterday, I empathize.  True, I don't receive comments about my life and work and family from total strangers.  But it hurts.  Criticism, though constructive, if not solicited, can kind of be a punch in the gut.  So you work through it, toughen up, learn, get better, and move on.  When it gets personal - that's a whole other story.  And the thing that REALLY bugs me about it is this.  I didn't post any comments on the other site, but if I had, I would not have done so anonymously.  The thing I hate the most about the internet is anonymity.  People will say and do things - awful things - that they are too afraid to put their name to.  I would think that people would conduct themselves on the internet the same way they do in their lives.  But it's not so.  I'm not that naiive to think it could be any different.  But I still wish it.  I say this all the time.  The world is losing civility.  I see it every day, even in my sleepy little town.  Gossip.  Backstabbing.  Cattiness.  Even road rage.  The way we speak to each other in general.  For example, my mom made a minor error while driving.  Came around a corner with a median sticking out that she didn't see.  She had to back up to make a wider turn.  Instead of being patient, two girls drove out around her, called her a stupid idiot, and made her feel awful.  She parked the car three cars back from these girls, got out and went into a store, as did these girls (a different store).  I was in the car when they came out - fortunately Mom wasn't - because they then proceeded to be rude, even so much as the passenger leaned out the car window to make a rude gesture at me as they drove away. 

The whole exchange just left me completely shocked and baffled.  What was the cause for the rudeness?  Seriously?  What was the reason? 

Why do we treat each other this way?

I can't be left blameless.  I know, in my worst moments, things I've said and can't take back.  I know how it feels to make someone laugh at someone else.  That shames me more than you can imagine. 

I can do better.

After all, as my mom (and everyone else's mom) always says: If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. 

Stepping off the soapbox now.

Peace.

J