A grey, rainy last day of August.

When one has to spend copious amounts of time in front of a computer, sometimes one can get distracted by links. Today I read a blog post that almost made me wet my pants. Which would have been unfortunate in an office setting.

The whole post was funny, but the one line that got me laughing was this:

It made me feel slightly uncomfortable that I'm the person making all the decisions about my life.

You should check out Hyberbole and a Half here.

Song of the day

Often when I find a song I like I listen to it a lot. Like 18 times in one day. Today was one of those days.

Though I liked the rocked out version of this song, this clip was pretty good too.

Gomez ~ Little Pieces

Today

Still thinkin' on yesterday's post...go read it. Posted on my other blog, click HERE.

Here's what I read today:

More teens becoming 'fake' Christians...

Another summer wedding...

In my late teens and very early twenties all my friends got married. Seriously. I went to 11 weddings in the span of 3 years; the last one being my best friend. It should not have been a shock to anyone that I left shortly after...there was something both depressing and disturbing at being called both an Old Maid and a seductress at the age of 21.

A seductress. That one still makes me laugh!

So it's been kinda fun to attend 2 weddings this summer of good friends. 2 totally different weddings, but both so completely unique in their own ways.

This is the story of today's wedding...

The setting was a home nestled in 2 acres of lush gardens, a fish pond, a secret tree house and miles of grass. It was informal and relaxed. There was activity bags for kids filled with games, colouring, bubbles and funky sunglasses. There was homemade lemonade and ice tea for drinking during the ceremony. Music and readings included Sesame Street and beloved kids' literature. (Sounds hokey, but not at all. It was spell binding) The vows were beautiful and poetic. A record of witnesses was a hand drawn portrait of a tree where we all placed our thumbprints and names as leaves on the tree.

The food was cooked by friends and fed both our bellies and our souls.

There was a dance party, and teary tributes by family and friends.

There was birth family.

There was chosen family.

There was old friends, new friends and everything in between.

There was abundant love and laughter.

It was beautiful.

It was our friends, C & J, two women who Love God and Love each other.

I know that this is a controversial issue, especially for Christians. I get that. I wrestle with it myself. It wasn't a hard decision to go to the wedding, it was hard to decide whether Pookie and Bear should go. C was the girls' nanny one summer and was amazing. We have known these women for years, journeyed with them through the good, bad and ugly.

But.

The girls are at an age where they are VERY aware of relationships. Disney princesses notwithstanding, they get giggly when we show affection, when our neighbour's kid kisses his girlfriend etc. I thought it would be confusing and distressing for them to go. The reality is that kids get the whole 'love everyone' rule that Jesus has so much better than we do. Will the girls have questions? Yes, I hope so. Am I glad that they witness this wedding with us? Yes again. Given a choice, I would always have the girls witness life, in all its confusing and beautiful forms with us. And I would have us wrestle through it together.

My real fear is that when the girls share this experience with others, they will be mocked for it. I fear someone beating them over the head with the bible for a choice that we made for them. I'm OK with being called into the Pastor's office or Principal's office to have a discussion about it. But I don't want my kids to suffer for it. I can only trust it won't happen.

Do I regret it? Not one single bit.

Date night...the movie!

Continuing on with my winning streak of picking good movies, this was a perfect movie to laugh till you cried. Watching the outtakes shows the pure comedic genius of these 2...maybe I should watch the TV shows that they are on....

A realization

For the next 3 months, I've been lucky enough to be hired for a full time contract. It involves lots of computer work, phone calls, writing and researching. It is all good except for one thing. Every day I come home with a raging headache and sore neck and back muscles.

Apparently hunching over and staring at a computer is not so good for the body. Plus I'm a little worried about the potential size of my butt after all this time. The sad part is that I seem to remember mocking Hubby when he had a desk job. He would gain a significant amount of weight during the year and have horrible posture...then he'd lose all the weight over the summer while at camp.

So, I need a plan. A plan to keep my body functioning and my mind unfried.

Suggestions?

Random fact

Sunflowers may look all pretty and summery in a mason jar on your kitchen table...

But they smell like rotting death....

Kinda takes away some of the joy of having them.

Other blogs

One of the very cool and addictive things about this there world wide web is all the other people that write witty and wonderful things on blogs.

Here is one of my new favourites: inside-out underpants...Her blog post on a certain aspect of parenting made me fall in love with her.

Check it out here!

Another harvest

Due to the craziness that is working full time, my veggie gardening has gone by the wayside. Tonight I dragged the girls over there with threats of early bedtime if there was whining. Though I still harbour dreams of deep thoughtful conversations around growing food with the girls, I really just need to settle down and enjoy the fact that they ate a 1/4 pound of raw beans whilst I was harvesting the rest.

Today's haul: 5 pounds of green beans, 1 pound of purple peacock beans, dozen orange and purple carrots and 1 green pepper.

Should make for a great dinner tomorrow with some my fresh potatoes and grilled BBQ chicken.

12 years baby!!!!

Hubby and I have been married twelve years.
12.
1/3 of my lifetime.
Momentous no?
Yes. Especially since I never pictured myself married.

I could get all soft and mushy about this. How great Hubby is...what a great dad he is...all the good qualities he embodies...etc, etc. And it would all be true.

The nitty gritty is this, he is the perfect man for me. He loves both the light and darkness that is who I am and continues to woo me.

And I love him.

In honor of 12 years, we decided to share with the world our true identities!

Kooza!

Tonight was date night for our anniversary and we went to Kooza, a Cirque du Soleil performance. Hubby and I used to go on a theatre date every anniversary...then we had kids. So the girls went to the grandparents and we renewed a beloved tradition. It was great! Skytrained in, sushi by the water and a night under the Big Top.
Two of our favorites(pictures not mine)

The wheel of death!


The Bendy Ladies...(all sorts of inappropriate comments come to mind here, but I'll refrain!)


It was a great night!

A really bad movie...

We rented this tonight. We really shouldn't have, it was horrible. The worst part is that we debated about whether we should get this or the British version.

Always get the British version.

Food theology continued...

VBS---Dance party style.

Tonight the girls were invited to a friend's church for a 'Superstar Rally', code for Vacation Bible School. But not a typical VBS at all. First off, it was primarily run by youth and young adults, which I'm a bit fan of. Their energy was pretty infectious and there is just something really hopeful seeing young adults passionate and serving about God.

But the crazy part was when the lights went out and the worship time was really a dance party, complete with strobe lights and choreographed dancing. The girls were pretty wide eyed, but relaxed after a while. Then they went into small groups, chatted, ate a snack and watched a funny skit. Then an earnest young man came up a preached a 3 point sermon. To his credit, the kids were pretty tuned into what he was saying. Then they got a lollypop on the way out.

I didn't grow up in church, so I don't really have as much baggage around kid programming as some of my friends do. However, I am pretty resistant to 'canned, bible in a box' programming for kids. But I realize that it is not about me, but about my girls' experience. If it works for them, great. If they come home complaining or if I see that they are disconnected from what is happening, I don't make them go.

Why would I? I've taken some flack for that stance, but I want the girls to engage faith in a way that is authentic to them. Pookie doesn't want to go to a program that is competitive and rewards based. She is not motivated by it, she is motivated by relationships. Bear doesn't mind being challenged to memorize scripture and playing big group games, but she needs to feel safe and taken care of. It is our job as parents to be attentive to that and to make sure that opportunities are there for them. Our goal is to encourage the girls to develop a faith that is their own and not just a mirror of ours. (In truth, their faith is often superior to mine)

Will they go back tomorrow? Maybe, maybe not...

Childcare

We have been really lucky in terms of childcare for the girls. They are primarily cared for by my mom and sister and people who have known them since birth like JD and others. (JD is moving in with us in the fall to help with the girls and we are all beyond excited!!!!).

But, now that I'm working more, we needed to hire others to help with childcare. Today we had a first timer with our girls. And she was lovely and I came home to happy girls and a smiling babysitter.

Then I found out why the girls were so happy. They had managed to convince the babysitter to get them Slurpee's (right after breakfast) and to take them to the local ice shop after lunch.(usually a special treat for special occasions!).

Those little sneaks! Somehow we failed to realize that:

A. Our daughters are smart and cute.
B. How incredible bold they are in asking for stuff
C. That we obviously didn't prepare our babysitter well enough with boundaries, having been used to the amazing JD and other fabulous adults that help with our kids.

The babysitter felt bad, but this really wasn't her fault. It is actually kinda funny. Of course the girls got a stern talking too, but Hubby and I definitely had a little laugh about the whole thing.

Lesson learned.

Working mothers unite!

I am a working mom rookie. Even though I've worked since the girls were born, it has been mainly part time with really flexible hours. In fact, I haven't worked full time since 2 days before Pookie was born, seven years ago.

So imagine my shock at how very hard it is to figure out life when you are away from your house nearly 10 hours a day. And there are kids waiting for you to feed them, play with them, have clean clothes ready etc...

Don't get me wrong. Even when I was home full time, there were days where I still had no idea what I was making for dinner at 5pm. It just seems a tad more overwhelming now that I get home shortly before 5.

Even now as I type, I am wondering if there is actually enough food for my kids and their babysitter tomorrow. When does one go grocery shopping or do laundry? Am I supposed to be doing that instead of crashing on the couch with ice cream and a really good book? (cause I may not have any other food, but I got 6 tubs of ice cream in the freezer!)

This is the book I'm reading right now. I love books that make me laugh out loud...cause I think I'm going to need it these next 3 months!


***Check out her blog, Adventures in Chaos***

Life in the village

When you live in a village, you get to enjoy lots of interesting festivals, markets and celebrations. Here is the one for today:

An interesting fact.

Apparently when I don't eat some sort of protein with dinner, it has a direct effect on what I snack on after dinner.

Of course I only realized that after I had eaten a half of a chocolate bar and was in the midst stuffing the second handful of jelly beans in my mouth...

One package of edamame later, and I'm good.

Lesson learned.

The saga of the unfortunate injury.

This post may very well be the straw that broke the camel's back in terms of Too Much Information. So, here is your chance to jump ship.

Go ahead. I will wait.


Seriously. I won't judge you.


Don't say I didn't warn you....


So, through a curious combination of genetics I am a person who bruises and bleeds easily. I could be having a perfectly normal conversation with you and my nose will start bleeding. A lot. It is a real conversation stopper. AWKWARD. Or, when changing, I'll look down and see a bruise the size and shape of Africa on my thigh. Or I'll be making a perfect normal salad and realize that the Feta cheese is now bright red because somehow my finger is bleeding.

The crazy part is that I don't feel and/or remember what has happened to cause the bruise or cut. Freaky high pain tolerance. Except when it comes to paper cuts and giving birth...then I'm a wimp.

So it took me a while to recognize the slightly uncomfortable feeling I was having on my chest. When I finally took time to look, I realized that there was a fairly deep cut between....ummm...'the girls'. (Honestly, if you are still reading this and don't know that I'm NOT talking about my daughters, stop now.)

How I got the cut is a mystery. The reality is that I am neither petite or mother earth enough to go without support, I needed to figure out a way to take care of the wound. So I did what any self respecting mother of daughters would do. I got a princess bandage and applied to the area. I won't lie. It has been a bit disconcerting to look down and see pink down there, but it worked. Until today. Today I hit the stage of unbearable itchiness....and it is not a place you can easily scratch without drawing attention. (Sorry to Niki and Hubby who happened to witness an attack of itchiness.) Turns out that the princess bandage, while awesome for protecting the area, gave me a horrible rash.

Yep, I'm allergic to princess bandages. The irony is not lost on me.

Just doing my part.

Today was Miracle Treat Day for Childrens' Hospital at Dairy Queen. Eating ice cream to save kids.

We all gotta make sacrifices in life, giving till it hurts...that is what we are teaching our girls...through the strategic use of ice cream fundraisers and cute fire fighters.

Too much on my mind.

Some times when the noise and chaos of my mind gets to be too much, I cannot form a coherent thought.

Tonight is one of those nights.

On the bright side, my Facebook status generated many amusing and thoughtful comments that made me laugh.

Birthdays

13 years ago, when Hubby and I had just started hanging out and getting to know each other, we started finding some quirky parallels in our lives. The biggest one was the shared birthdays between our families; our fathers have the same birthdate, Aug. 10, but my dad is 9 years older. Hubby's brother and my mom have the same birthdate...I won't say how much older my mom is!

The other quirks? Well...we'll save that for another day.

Not what I was expecting...

When I first thought of posting early today, it was either gonna to be about how I have a bad cut in an unfortunate place...or how I just finished the last of the Stieg Larsson trilogy books.

But then I came home to this:

If you can't tell by the picture, both girls have a face full of makeup. Yep, the full deal. Mascara, eyeshadow, blush, lipstick and nail polish. When I went to kiss them Hello, Pookie told me not to mess up her face! Bear reeked of perfume, so much so that I gagged...and when we got home she had to have a bath so that my stomach would stop churning.

That's what happens when 2 cute little girls and their Oma get together...sheesh!

My arteries are hardening as I type...

When I was pregnant with Pookie, I craved deep fried food. Mostly I wanted McDonald french fries. EVERYDAY. It got to the point that Hubby would refuse to drive a route that involved McDonalds to avoid my whining. (A great learning tool now that we have kids!)

Then one day, in a fit of hormonal overload, we bought a deep fryer.

OH. MY.

Now, when all the stars align, and there are chicken drumsticks in my freezer and oil in my cupboard, I make deep fried chicken. Crispy goodness with a sodium rush. I love it. Now some of you may not know the secrets to a good marriage, but here is one:

Acknowledge and affirm the different ways of seasoning fried chicken.
I am an old school seasoning salt and corn flake crumb fried chicken kind of girl. I like the dry and salty taste. Hubby is a sauce guy. He likes hot, spicy saucy fried chicken. Of course we peel off the skin and just give the girls the meat...no need to harden their arteries quite yet.

Now here I sit, typing this quickly before I fall into a post fried chicken fog...but it was so worth it.

Rainy day baking.

I've come to the point in my life where cooking and gardening magazines are appealing to me. And when I find an interesting article, I'm liable to rip it out...hence the stack of unorganized papers on my desk.

BUT, today was the day I put one of those recipes to use: Lemon Poppy Seed Sour Cream Loaf. The best part of this recipe was the first direction to blend sugar and lemon zest together. Massage them together so that the sugar becomes fragrant with the smell of lemon zest. Not only did the sugar taste and smell great, my hands were baby soft.

I'd forgotten that sugar can act as a natural exfoliant. Not so great if you want to think of your dead skin cells in the batter...but great if you ever want to exfoliate during a non baking time.

Skin cells aside, the mini muffins (easier for little mouths) are super tasty and will probably become a staple in this household.

First month of summer is gone

As I was talking to my boss today about the first month of summer, he stopped and said, "You have a beautiful and interesting narrative with your kids".

Huh.

Yes, this first month has been about broken toes, fevers and vomit, ferocious battles of wills and whining...but it has also been filled with birthdays, family visits, hot days, garden food, water fights, movie nights, camping weekends, food and friends.

It is a beautiful narrative. It is a beautiful life.

Snapshots of my commute today...

I'm going back to more full time work these next 3 months and part of that is a drive into the city. For the most part, I don't mind the drive because it is quiet and I can play whatever music I want. Plus there is the added factor of seeing interesting things on the drive...here are a few examples:

1. It is berry season in these parts, and the berry of choice right now are blueberries. There are signs everywhere encouraging you to buy these little nuggets of goodness. But the few signs I saw today were troubling. For Sale, Fresh Blueberry. Blueberry? Blue berry? As in just one blueberry is for sale? Is it a giant blueberry? Why just one? I happen to like eating blueberries by the handful, multiple times. Am I only allowed to buy one? And what is with the signmakers? These are all professionally printed signs. I think the sign printer has an obligation to point out the faulty wording. As in, 'Excuse me dear blueberry farmer, shouldn't this sign say Blueberries for sale?' But no, they just print the sign and the farmer sticks it in their field and I drive past and ponder these crazy things.

B. I followed 2 gentlemen in a convertible today. At every stoplight, they both rearranged their hair challenged heads. They would get their comb over back in place just in time for the light to turn green again. I wanted to pull up next to them and say, "Don't worry, just make sure you do it when you park!"

3.F. I don't wear makeup for several reasons, 1. I am lazy. 2. I don't know how. 3. I am lazy. So it always amazes me to watch a woman put make up on in a moving vehicle. She curled and painted and plucked all at one stop light. It was pretty impressive.

IV. Listening to slow songs on a muggy day at 4 pm is not a good idea...makes me sleepy...

It will be interesting to see if I love this commute in October still!

Dear Internet, I love you.

There are some days where I lament the disconnect between people due to technology.

Then, there are days like today where I love, love, love the Internet and all it gives me.

Here is a sample of what I looked at today:

Funny church signs (scroll down on the right)

A fun coffeemaker

Caught up on friends blogs.

Checked Facebook and connected with friends around the world

Planned a fun field trip for me and the girls

Checked work and personal emails

Researched a new phone

Read a fun magazine and considered submitting an article

And read a totally inappropriate joke that made me giggle all day.

It is a slippery slope, this Internet...but sometimes you just gotta enjoy the ride!

Family pride

One of the joys of marrying into Hubby's family is the delightful assortment of personalities that came with it. Hubby has one slightly eccentric uncle who loves to give unusual gifts at Christmas time. This year we received a package of seeds. Sunflower seeds to be exact. With the call to competition...and family bragging rights.

When I opened the package this spring, two things became apparent. One, this package of seeds is old. Like found in the back of the first ever dollar store old. The second was that every seed in my package was crushed, except for one.

Behold my sunflower that stands approx. 10 feet tall, with one glorious bloom!

Let the bragging begin!

***You reading this uncle C?***

The 3/4 meal

Today we sat down to a dinner that was 3/4ths produced/grown by me. Since I'm not going to be raising and killing my own chickens anytime soon...the meat was the lone interloper of the bunch. We've had a couple of 1/2 meals before...but I'm getting close!

HOWEVER, now that I have friends in the chicken biz, and based on my garden's production, I predict that I can have my first 100 mile/locally grown and produced full meal in about 3 weeks. Start to finish.

Now...if I could only find guests to share it with me...

2 Events, one thought.

When we live in Vancity, we went to a very 'arts' oriented church. There were tons of musicians and different medium artists. Which meant that we sang homegrown songs, read specific liturgies to our church and always had the sanctuary adorned with meaningful art. There was space during the service for contemplation and participation. Scriptures were read by folks from within the congregation in a multitude of different ways. Communion was served often and in very communal and visual ways; ie: actually breaking of a loaf. Prayers were offered up in people's native languages. Worship was a full sensory experience.

Tonight we watched a movie full of Catholic reference and I was struck again at the imagery, art and rhythm of faith present there. The paintings, buildings, sculptures and prayers again are full of sensory experiences.

I was reminded of a comment I'd heard at a gathering in early July of leadership at my work.
"The Church has a deep history with art. The Renaissance, arguably the most prolific time of art production in history, was primarily funded by the Church. Somehow we've lost that connection. Now is the time to re-establish it."

As I sit in a church with its blank pink walls and its relentless driven programmed service, I feel a disconnect. There is nothing (outside of God) that draws me into worship. I still remember that epiphany during my early years of pastoring when my mentor taught me that as a leader, we need to guide/draw/encourage people into worship. We cannot expect it to 'just happen', but rather create both an atmosphere and give space for people to enter in. We need to be a voice of welcome at the beginning, calling people into this time and space of worship. Not just to sing catchy songs, but to remind our hearts of why we are here in the first place.

To acknowledge God in this place. To invite the Spirit in. To be a voice of welcome. To connect the community of believers. To lift our voices in prayer. To have space for silence.

I miss art in my worship...more than I ever thought was possible.