Almost a year.

It has been almost a year since my last post. I was going to post exactly a year to the date and now, because I got tagged, I have to post early. :) My brother John tagged me.

So here goes.
1) I am mostly a country girl, but I do like living in town. Here's why I am both. Living in town, I can send the kids to the store if I need something quick. The kids can walk to and from school so I don't have to worry about them missing the bus and having to drive them. OK. That's the only reasons I can come up with.
Living in the country. If I sit in my back yard I can hear the water running in the creek in my backyard instead of the steady stream of traffic revving their engines to make it up the hill beside my house. I can also sleep with my window opened, and again, hear the creek, birds, the breeze in the trees, and, you guessed it, no traffic.

2) I am over weight. I have struggled with my weight since having a hysterectomy in 1989. It is the one thing I struggle with on a continual basis. When I was a smoker (back in the 70's) I smoked almost 2 packs a day. I also drank about 30 cups of coffee in a day. Talk about addicted. Then one day God sent me a vision and I made a decision to quit. It was so hard. Mom took Tye over to spend the weekend with them and I curled up in my apartment and was sick for 3 days. But I quit. Losing weight is so much more difficult. When I quit smoking, I got rid of my leftover cigarettes and just didn't have any in my house. I could quit. I can't do that with food, though. I have to buy food. I have to prepare it for my children. I have to eat it. The trick is to stop eating before you get full and to eat the right foods. It would be so much easier if I could just quit buying, preparing and eating. One day, when I get to Heaven, I will weigh my ideal 135 lbs and I will look so good. :) In the meantime, I will work and struggle with my weight.

3) When I grow up, I want to be a missionary. I watched a show the other day and I saw older, single women, living in villages in all different parts of the world, being house mothers for up to 15 children in a house. They had two daytime helpers, but the "mothers" lived in the house and took care of the children. At one of the homes the oldest children were around 10 and the youngest were toddlers. That's my home.
However, the fact that this is an almost unreachable dream, is something I have almost come to terms with...almost. My life choices when I was young made this unattainable at the time, as have my life choices now that I am almost old. Don't get me wrong. I love what I do. I am a mother to 5 children, 2 grown up boys I gave birth to and 3 girls I adopted. I love my family. I have a job I wouldn't want to give up for any other. But I believe that God implants in each of us desires and a purpose for our life. He tells us in His word that He will give us the desires of our heart, (Ps 37:4) which tells me that we have desires. I believe these are also given to us by God. My desire has always been to be a missionary, working with children. So I have made some adjustments. I do it in my own country and I have been a missionary to more than 50 children. So, in a way, I have attained my dream and maybe even grown up a bit.

4) I drive old cars. I haven't had a new car, or even newer, since I became a mother. I am currently driving a "92 Oldsmobile Cutlass Cruiser, that my kids call the "loser cruiser". I totally believe they love the car and that this is an affectionate nickname for our beloved, wood paneled, brown station wagon with a "turn around" seat in the back. When I drive up at their school to pick them up, everyone looks and points at me and I know they are talking about what a cute car I drive. My children are so humble, though. They quietly walk up to the car with their heads bowed and get in, sitting quietly while we drive away. I am so proud of them. They could be strutting up to the car, bragging and gloating in front of the whole school, but they don't. I was going to get a new car, but I know that my children would be sad to see our "loser cruiser" laid to rest so I think I will keep it until I know longer get to pick them up at school.

5) I am loud. I don't like it, but I do recognize that it is a fact. I think it is partly a family trait, but I wish I had inherited a different one. I am working on not being loud, but it's hard changing something that has been a part of you for so many years. When I was a child, I was so shy that I wouldn't talk to anyone outside of family. Starting school was so traumatic. I remember peeing my pants when I was asked to share with the class for show and tell. Even as a teenager, I was shy. I talked to my siblings and I'm sure that on occasions, I was loud then, but it didn't seem to become a part of my character until I was about 18. I was working at a sewing factory (GWG) and had no friends. I was shy, awkward and not very cute. I had a broken tooth and bad skin. One day I was riding Rusty (my amazing little horse) out in the field and pretending I was popular and pretty. I knew this was really not "normal" to be pretending in my head, but it seemed the only place I was what I wanted to be. I made a decision that day. I was either going to change or I was going to run away forever. I talked it over with Rusty and decided that living without my family would be too difficult so I decided to change. It wasn't easy. I started approaching people and starting conversations with them. I liked how it felt and I think I learned to cover up my shyness that way. I am still shy and have to urge myself to talk when I am around new people. The problem with this is that I have created a monster. I can't stop it and I have become a loud, shy person, which is an oxymoron, I know, but still a fact.

So, there you have it. I am going to do what John did and tag a few people.

Sue
Chris
Carrie

Gimme a Break.

I have had such a busy Spring Break that I am thinking, I need a break. Yes, I need a break from Spring Break. Don't get me wrong. I have had a great time. I'm just tired from all the fun. I'm sick, too, but I refuse to acknowledge it. I don't have time to wipe my nose or cough so I just don't have a runny nose and I don't cough. Talk about self control. Yeah, right. I should be so lucky. The part about not having time to be sick is true. The rest? All I can say is "cough cough" "sniff sniff" "I wanna go to bed". That last past is said with a nasal whine. Did you hear that?

My Spring Break started out with 3 day, 2 nights in Vancouver at the Teacher's Convention. We stayed at a 5 star hotel overlooking the Water, downtown and Stanley Park. The beds were amazing, the service was perfection, and hanging out with friends during and between workshops was pretty cool, too. We went to "The Old Spaghetti Factory" in Gastown for lunch one day. We walked along the sea wall during the one hour that we didn't have rain. It was quite relaxing. Then I went home.

First thing to do was a thorough house cleaning. After all, Tye was here and "in charge" while I was gone for 3 days and he is a guy, after all. So Monday I cleaned the house, Tuesday I did all my shopping, Wednesday' Thursday and Friday I tried to have some time with my kids and my Mom. Then on Saturday I went to the airport in Comox to pick up Brent and Rhea and their twins at the airport. About 10 kms before the exit into Courtney I noticed that my car was no longer heating. I checked my engine heat gauge and it showed just below 100* which is where it is supposed to be. Then I slowed down to take the exit and the needle suddenly jumped to the red line. I pulled over and I could hear the fluid bubbling. Now I was still about 20 minutes from the airport and my car broke down. The first thing I did was call Tye in Nanaimo, who dropped everything and came flying, and I mean flying, to my rescue. I tried to call the airport to see if I could get a message to Rhea, but all I got was voice messages. Then I called Carolyn for some numbers for tow trucks and arranged to have my car towed. Just at that time, a good Samaritan pulled up and drove me to the airport. Tye got there about 15 minutes after me. We had a few days with Brent and Rhea, but couldn't take them anywhere because my car was parked in Comox and the van doesn't seat 10 people. So we went to a few places close by and the rest of the time we stayed around town or at the beach. On Monday I took them to the train station and then had the rest of the day and the next day to spend with Mom and my kids. Then on Wednesday I picked up my friend Marge Giesbrecht, at the Nanaimo airport. She is going home tomorrow around noon and then I get to spend a few days with my kids and see my Mom again for a few days before I start back to school.

So, I need a break from my break.

On another note, which you Saskatchewanians are going to enjoy and you BCers aren't going to believe. Yesterday, I was going to take my friend Marge to the Cathedral Grove and got just past the gas bar at Whiskey Creek. It started to snow! I'm not talking about a few flakes that were rain and then turned a little flaky. I'm talking big, white, heavy snowflakes, and lots of them. I stopped my car and decided that I didn't want to get caught in a white out. I took some pictures with my phone, which didn't do it justice, and turned around to go home. As I turned around and started to drive the snow disappeared. I looked back at a wall of white. Again, I took a picture with my phone, but you can't tell what it was supposed to be. I am so ticked! Snow in March! Lots of snow, not just a few flakes. It stuck to my windshield and to the grass at the side of the road. To top it all off, as i am sitting here writing this I looked out the window and, you guessed it, SNOW! What in the world is happening? I feel like I am back in Saskatchewan! I think they should change the name of this province to British Saskatchewan. B.S. Yeah. That's it. "Where do you live?" "I live in Qualicum Beach, B.S." That's all I've got to say.

Gimme A Break!

Chris sent me this a couple of weeks ago and I haven't had time to do it until now. So, now that I'm on my 2 week Spring Break, I thought it would be a good time to do it.

01. Bought everyone in the bar a drink
02. Swam with dolphins
03. Climbed a mountain.
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid
06. Held a tarantula
07. Taken a candlelit bath with someone
08. Said “I love you” and meant it
09. Hugged a tree
10. Bungee jumped
11. Visited Paris
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea
13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise
14. Seen the Northern Lights
15. Gone to a huge sports game (Watched the Calgary Flames beat some American team. I forget who)
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables
18. Touched an iceberg
19. Slept under the stars
20. Changed a baby’s diaper
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon
22. Watched a meteor shower
23. Gotten drunk on champagne
24. Given more than you can afford to charity
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment
27. Had a food fight
28. Bet on a winning horse (I didn't win, but I bet on a horse that belonged to Mr. Zaretski, a teacher at Valley Manor Elementary)
29. Asked out a stranger
30. Had a snowball fight
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can (Had a contest with Jack. I lost.)
32. Held a lamb
33. Seen a total eclipse
34. Ridden a roller coaster
35. Hit a home run
36. Danced like a fool and didn’t care who was looking
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment
39. Had two hard drives for your computer
40. Visited all 50 states
41. Taken care of someone who was drunk
42. Had amazing friends
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country
44. Watched whales
45. Stolen a sign
46. Backpacked in Europe
47. Taken a road-trip
48. Gone rock climbing
49. Taken a midnight walk on the beach
50. Gone sky diving
51. Visited Ireland
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love - with that person!
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them
54. Visited Japan
55. Milked a cow
56. Alphabetized your CDs
57. Pretended to be a superhero
58. Sung karaoke ( I bought Allysysn a karaoke machine for Christmas and we had a singing night.
59. Lounged around in bed all day
60. Played touch football
61. Gone scuba diving
62. Kissed in the rain
63. Played in the mud
64. Played in the rain
65. Gone to a drive-in theatre
66. Visited the Great Wall of China
67. Started a business
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken
69. Toured ancient sites
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight
72. Gotten married
73. Been in a movie
74. Crashed a party (Chris, Glenda, Sue and I crashed Becky's bacheloret party dressed up to the nines)
75. Gotten divorced
76. Gone without food for 5 days (It was for a week. I was fasting. i drank loads of water and Chicken broth)
77. Made cookies from scratch
78. Won first prize in a costume contest
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice
80. Gotten a tattoo
81. Rafted the Snake River
82. Been on a television news program as an “expert”
83. Gotten flowers for no reason
84. Performed on stage
85. Been to Las Vegas
86. Recorded music
87. Eaten shark
88. Kissed on the first date
89. Gone to Thailand
90. Bought a house
91. Been in a combat zone
92. Buried one/both of your parents
93. Been on a cruise ship
94. Spoken more than one language fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror
96. Raised children
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour
98. Passed out cold
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over (I've actually done that a few times. Now I think I'll stay put since i can't think of any place better to live)
101. Walked the Golden Gate Bridge
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking
103. Had plastic surgery
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived (It wasn't car accident, but when a 100 pound horse falls and rolls over you, I think it counts)
105. Wrote articles for a large publication
106. Lost over 100 pounds (Sadly, I've gained back about 45 lbs)
107. Held someone while they were having a flashback
108. Piloted an airplane
109. Touched a stingray
110. Broken someone’s heart ( this was a long, long time ago)
111. Helped an animal give birth (I grew up on a farm. I had to help a mare while working at the Horses For the Handicapped)
112. Won money on a TV game show
113. Broken a bone (Had a horse roll over me. That would break one or two bones)
114. Gone on an African photo safari
115. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears
116. Fired a rifle, shotgun or pistol
117. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild
118. Ridden a horse
119. Had major surgery
120. Had a snake as a pet
121. Hiked to the bottom of the Grand Canyon
122. Slept for 30 hours in a 48 hour period
123. Visited more foreign countries than U.S. States
124. Visited all 7 continents
125. Taken a canoe trip that lasted more than 2 days
126. Eaten kangaroo meat
127. Eaten sushi
128. Had your picture in the newspaper
129. Changed someone’s mind about something you care deeply about
130. Gone back to school (Dropped out halfway through 9th grade and went back to adult education when I was 36. Took 3 years of school, grade 12 and 2 years of Rehab Work at SIAST Kelsey Campus)
l131. Para sailed
132. Touched a cockroach
133. Eaten fried green tomatoes
134. Read The Iliad and The Odyssey
135. Selected one “important” author who you missed in school, and read
136. Killed and prepared an animal for eating (Well maybe I didn't actually do the killing part myself but I was there and helped with the butchering)
137. Skipped all your school reunions (I wouldn't attend anything at WW Brown School. I hated that place. hence dropping out half-way through grade 9)
138. Communicated with someone without sharing a common spoken language (The other person only used ASL - American Sign Language)
139. Been elected to public office
140. Written your own computer language
141. Thought to yourself that you’re living your dream
142. Had to put someone you love into hospice care
143. Built your own PC from parts (My son, Tye did this many times before)
144. Sold your own artwork to someone who didn’t know you
146. Dyed your hair
147. Been a DJ
148. Shaved your head
149. Caused a car accident
150. Saved someone’s life (Did CPR until the paramedics got there. I found out later that the person survived.)

Westin Bayshore, Here I Come!

I am looking forward to this weekend. You may ask why, so I will tell you. I am going to Vancouver for a Special Ed Teachers Convention. We stay at the Westin Bayshore Inn. You should look it up online. It is a very nice Hotel right on the water, overlooking Stanley Park. They serve amazing food, they have amazing rooms with amazing beds, and best of all, I don't have to take care of any children. Not one. Only me. We get a wine and cheese social on Thursday evening with loads of appetizers and one free glass of wine. you can stay inside or go to the huge terrace and sit around while the waiters come around with trays of food. You can buy more wine or other drinks after your first glass or you can have amazing fruit drinks. And did I mention there won't be any children? Last year we went out for dinner on Friday night and had such a good time. This year there are more of us going, which will only make the time away from the convention more fun. I am praying for good weather for those three days. The weather network is saying it is going to rain, but they have been known to be wrong on the odd occasion, as we all know. I am praying for good weather, anyway. Even if it rains the whole time, it will still be a magnificent three days. No kids! Yay!! I will take some pictures of the room and surroundings and put them on Facebook. I might even shock all of you who read this and post them on here. Or I might just come home feeling so rested that I will blog about something totally unrelated.
Anyway, I am really looking forward to going to Vancouver. Jack told me that I have been sad and angry and stressed for a long time so I am hoping this will help me to feel a little less stressed. So, that's all for today.

Tagged: again.

I have been tagged by Sue. So here are the rules.

1. Pick up the nearest book ( of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people. & post a comment here once you post it to your blog, so I can come see.

"No, I read about her arrest in the morning paper, and volunteered my services."
"Why on earth would you do that?"
"I don't know. I guess I just felt a sense of obligation."

This is from a book I borrowed from Mitz about a year ago called. "Puppet" by Joy Fielding.
I haven't read it yet, but I read a different one by Joy Fielding called "Run Jane Run." which is very good.

So now I will tag Jude, Carrie, and Brittany. i think all my other blogging family and friends have been tagged already, at least once.

My Amazing Mother

This picture was taken last year in March. When we all heard that my brother John had cancer, we went to Saskatchewan to visit him. I stayed with Mom and Dad and one day we went to Jake and Colleen's to visit them. Jake and Dad were sitting in the living room and Jake was playing a bunch of old songs. Mom and Dad were talking about how this was the kind of song they used to dance to. Then Dad got up and asked Mom to dance with him.



I'm not sure what event this was taken at, but it just seems like they are thinking their thoughts to each other. Such a deep connection.



I have listened so often to Becky's song "My heart Knows" and every time I hear it I think of Mom at the River at Dad's memorial. Becky, I think this song speaks so deeply of your Grandma's heart and I am sitting here crying for her as I listen to your song, again. You have blessed me beyond anything I can put into words. Thank you for sharing the gift of music that God has given you. You should go share it with your Grandma.

Please, family, don't forget to pray for Mom. She is so lonely for Dad at times and I think her heart must be breaking.

Sorry this is such a weepy post, but I just wanted to say how much I love my Mom and wish I could take some of her pain for her. I just pray that God will lift her head.

Chris made me do it.

I am not the best blogger. This is evidenced by the time laps between my posts. I like doing it, but just can't seem to find the time. I have time for reading other blogs, but with blogger, Facebook and email, I just don't seem to have a lot of time for posting. But, Chris tagged me and that means I have to do this, so...here goes.

Famous Singer - Micheal Jackson. Not much of a start to this list, but there are 19 more to go so I'm not going to hurt my brain this early in the show.

Four Letter Word - Mine. I hear this word quite a lot in my house. "Hey! that's mine! Give it to me." OK. I know this one is kinda lame, but you come up with something better.

Street - Memorial Ave. This is the street that runs right by my house on the way to the most amazing spot in all of Canada; the Beach Hut, which I hope opens in early March. I can't wait to sit on the deck with a coffee and a smokie smothered in sauteed onions and cheese. Their poutine are also totally amazing. Then there's the Screamers. A cold drink made of 1/4 slurpy and the rest is ice cream. They have over 30 flavors to chose from and my favorites are Black cherry and orange creamsicle. Oh man. I wish it was open right now. I would take a warm blanket and go there even if it's freezing outside.

Color - Magenta. All I can say is . . . phewey.

Gift/Present - Mini-van. Tye drives it because I like my Oldsmobile better. It was given to me by one of the teachers at my school. Donna Beauvette is the Special Ed teacher and she got a new van and heard that Tye needed a vehicle so she gave - yes, you heard right, gave - me her '91 Chrysler mini-van. It runs great and was well maintained.

Vehicle - See above. LOL Just kidding. Mercedes. I drive an Oldsmobile, but I dream it is a Mercedes. Then, when my car starts to go in the ditch I open my eyes and realize, it was only a dream.

Things In A Souvenir Shop - Marbles. I know you probably think this is lame, but I found a bag of marbles with a Canadian flag inside of them at a little shop here in Qualicum Beach. They were actually quite pretty.

Boy's Name - Micheal. I have always loved that name. Even if you shorten it to Mike, I still like it. Mickey Mouse Micheal the police man? Well.. still pretty cool.

Girl's Name - Mavis. I only ever knew 2 girls with that name. One was a girl from Langham school, whom I don't remember well enough to even remember her last name. Wait a minute. Her name was Avis Blushki. That means I only ever knew one Mavis. The one and only Mavis Braun. My cousin who went to be with the Lord. For all who were privileged enough to know her, she was amazing.

Movie Title - Maverick. A funny Western adventure with James Garner, Mel Gibson and Jody Foster.

Drink - What else would I say, but a Margarita. I don't like them much. I like a Monkey's Lunch. Banana liqueur, Kahlua and milk. You should try it.

Occupation - Musician. I love to sing (even though I'm not spectacular) and wish I knew how to play the piano.

Celebrity - Mel Gibson. I like that he doesn't get talked about a lot in all of those celebrity "rags". He's still married to the mother of his children and to my knowledge, has not had an affair. I'm sure that would be "news" in the Inquirer. Plus the "Passion Of The Christ".

Magazine - Mademoiselle. I have seen it on the racks, but have never read one.

City - Melbourne, Australia. One of the places in this world that I would like to visit some day. My first thought was to say Martensville, but I didn't know if a town would qualify. I would really like to visit there some day, also. :)

Sport - Mud Wrestling. This is a pretty poor excuse for a sport, but I challenge you to come up with something better.

Fruit - Mango. I don't eat them very often, but I do like them. Especially if they are the flavoring in a Screamer at the Beach Hut. Mmmm.

Reason For Being Late For Work - Migraine. I used to get them often when I was in my early twenties and then they stopped when I got pregnant with Tye. In the last few months I have had a few again. I'm not sure if it's stress or age. Maybe a little of both. All I know for sure is that I won't get pregnant again to get rid of them. Advil Liquid-gels is my new best friend.

Something To Throw Away - Mittens. It almost never gets cold enough here to need mittens. This winter is the exception, though.

Something You Shout - MOM!!! OK. I don't shout it, but I hear it. Often!



There you go. I found some of these quite difficult. You probably don't need me to tell you that, the words speak for themselves. I didn't realize how difficult it would be to come up with so many M words. I would tag a couple of people, but when I check my blogs every morning, I don't think too many people even read them very often, let alone post anything. So, I won't. Just . . . I hope you found this entertaining.