Back in Action

After a short cold winter, of which I spent most of it on the couch feeling like a bag of dirt, I can honestly say that Spring has brought back all of my desire for photos and all things outside. The weather this week has been fantastic. Lots of sunshine, warmth and drying up of the parks and backyard. We spent a large portion of the day yesterday outside. We walked to my favorite grocery store, played in the backyard and then took a trip to the finally dried out park. It was wonderful. In addition to all that I was snapping photos like crazy. I have been for the better part of the week.

Funny how I barely wanted to open my computer for a while, let alone take some photos. Now, I feel like I am back in action (hence the title) and raring to go. Now, I just have to plan some fun little trips to places other than my backyard. I hope this weather holds for a while, or better yet keeps getting nicer. I feel the sun lifting my spirits by the minute.

ROCKSTAR

Although Hubby is a guitar player, and a good one too, I just don't know where J picked up his rockstar antics. Yesterday he put on his Backyardigans Cd, asked me to "Crank it, Mom" and played away. Complete with actions and jumps. He carried on like this for a good half hour while I was making dinner. I sure hope he can learn to play the guitar as well as he acts it out.


And yes, he is playing a yukele. He had a small guitar, but it got smashed in one of his rockstar moments. All we could find after that was a yukele. He doesn't know the difference at this point, it makes music and looks like a guitar. It's all good.

**And please note, the Lego peices on the floor.

Seven Songs For the Rest of my Life

I was going to write a post today about how awesome my Dad is. Why you ask? Because my Dad didn't even blink when he was searched at the airport after borrowing my travelling golf bag. Apparently my golf bag, which had been stored in our garage at the old house, was covered in chemicals. Chemicals that set off all the alarms and bells. It was just fertilizer or limestone for the grass, but apparently those are pretty popular for creating things that explode.

Poor Dad doesn't even golf, he borrowed the bag so that he could bring an odd shaped box containing a Barbie castle to Regina for my neices 6th birthday. What a trooper. I have thanked him over and over again because who would be the next person to travel with golf clubs? Me. And do you think I would have wanted to be searched and had strange peoples gloved hands down my pants? NO THANKS.

So, on to the Seven Songs Meme. Undercover Angel tagged anyone that read her post. And I just feel obliged when I get a tag like that, plus it will be fun to see what my seven songs would be. They are to be seven songs that I would listen to, if I could only listen to seven songs for the rest of my life. So here it goes...

1. Boys of Summer - Don Henley. This is my all time favorite song and has been since I was fifteen.

2. Minutes to Memories - John Mellencamp. Not sure how this ended up being my favorite John Mellencamp song. I do love them all, but this one just makes me really happy. An oldie but a goodie. JCM is also my favorite artist of all time.

3. Cuts like a Knife - Bryan Adams. Need a little Canadiana in there.

4. Pride in the Name of Love - U2. Have been a fan for almost 25 and this song is one I can hear over and over again. U2 is my favorite band, so I have to include one from them.

5. Good Vibrations - Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. Aka. Mark Walberg. Something about that song just gets me going.

6. Summer Girls - LFO. This was a one hit wonder, but it always makes me think of summer whenever I hear it.

7. Life is a Highway - Tom Cochran. Ok, will add another Canadian in there. I just love Tom Cochran, and I loved it when he played with Red Rider. I can listen to his music anytime. And seeing him in concert is awesome.

There you go, not so hard after all, actually I could have probobly added a few more, but those will do. For now.

Real Moms

I was tagged last week by SAJ to post a photo of 'Real Mom's'. I tried really hard to be clever and think of something really fun. But, truth be told is that I spend most of my days building Lego. So I have to say that Real Mom's spend hours building space ships out of Lego, knowing full well that they will be destroyed in a matter of minutes.

Right now, J is really into the Star Wars Lego that I don't know if I can take much more. Everything is about Star Wars. His old foam swords are now lightsabers, everyone is a character, mostly I am Yoda, go figure or Anakin.

His brother didn't get into Lego until he was at least seven. And we are already playing with the stuff, what will he play with when he is seven?

The good side is that this is the longest he has ever played with one particulart toy. So, all in all, I will take it. Packed away are the Thomas, Rescue Heroes, and cars and trucks. It is all about the Lego.

Although I can think of a few more 'Real Mom' posts this one is just describes my life so well right now that I had to post it. It might change now that the good weather is here, he just dropped his Lego to go outside while the sun is out.

Spring is here!!

Welcome first day of Spring. Your are holding so much promise. You blessed us with lots of sunshine,above freezing temperatures and melting snow. You are promising a much bigger jump in temperatures for tomorrow and the coming weekend and week. Please don't turn your back on us. We are so happy to have you here.

One Word Meme

I was tagged by nancy for this one word Meme. Haven't done one in a while should be fun.

1. Where is your cell phone? Purse
2. Your Vehicle? dying
3. Your hair? sad
4.Your mother? Love
5. Your father? Rock
6. Your favorite thing? J
7. Your dream last night?none
8. Your favorite drink? Wine
10. The room you’re in? Cozy
11. Your ex? Pass
12. You are? Tired
13. What do you want to be in 10 years? Mom
14. Who did you hang out with today? Family
15. What you’re not? Sad
16. Muffins? Meh
17. One of your wish list items? SUV
18. Where is the ______ ? Party
19. The last thing you did? Drive
20. What are you wearing? Clothes
21. Your favorite TV show? Friends
22. Your pet(s)? Furry
23. Your computer? Necessity
24. Your life? Full
25. Your mood? alright
26. Missing? Sisters
27. What are you thinking about right now? Snack
28. Your Shoes? Heels
29. Your work? Hard
30. Your summer? Favorite
31. Your favorite color? Purple
32. Tag? Whomever

**Join in if you want to!!

And thanks to everyone on the info about Facebook. So far so good, my Sister seems to be enjoying it and my other Sister says she will keep an eye on her :)

Here I sit

Eagerly awaiting the onslaught of snow. Last night they were forecasting only 5cm (about 2inches) but this morning they have reforecasted 15 in total between tonight and tomorrow. And to think I can see all of my backyard! There is only a tiny bit of snow left where the sandbox is becasue it doesn't get the sun this time of year.

I can only hope that we don't get anything they are forecasting. One good thing is that we are supposed to get those warm double digit temperatures back next week. Which of course will melt anything we get.

I am also wondering if any of you out there have heard of Facebook? Two of my Sisters and lots of other relatives and friends are all into this Facebook thing. To me it looks like a glorified MSN where you have a homepage and can talk to your friends but you don't have to be online for it. The weird thing is that anyone in your invite list can read all these conversations and you can read theirs too if you are on their invite list. Most people use real names and give a lot of info out. I know you have to be 'invited' to read about other people, but I find it kind of strange. Just wanted to get take from others out there if you had heard of it. I like to investigate new things out there, and since one of my Sister's is not exactly the most computer/internet savvy kind of gal, I wanted to check it out for her.

Waterfull Wednesday!

The melt started on Monday. I could see a tiny patch of grass along the side fence. I awoke to large patches of grass yesterday. And today with the rain, this is all that is left! Can you believe it?? Three days, that is all it took for the snow to melt, even without the sun. I can only imagine what it would have been like if the sun had been out and shining.

The grass really suffered this winter with the dogs. I think it was because of our late start to winter, but a little tender lovin' care and some good old fashion fertilizer will get it back into shape in no time. In the corner, there was a Japanese willow, the neighbourhood rabbit thought it would make a good snack, so it looks like I will have to replant that one. It was gorgeous too. The new leaves would come in pink, then turn green and it would have grown up past the fence this summer. Otherwise all else made it through the nasty winter. If only it makes it through the possible snow on Friday!

And this, is my novel. All 223 pages of it. I felt the need to print it off and reread it with red pencil. I felt very much like an author last night going through my draft. My ultimate goal is to almost double the legnth from 50,000 words to 90,000 words. I have so many more ideas to add that I finally felt well enough to get started again. Just starting the reread last night made me feel great. I got right back into the characters, I saw where I went one way when I originally wanted to go another. Hubby bought me a few books at Christmastime so I started flipping through them as well. It should be lots of fun.

Don't tease me now

I can see the grass. Lots of it. The snow just kept melting all night long. We had a BBQ last night. It is supposed to rain today. And tomorrow is supposed to be +12 with more rain, which means no more snow.

Until Friday apparently. The forecast is for -4 and snow both Friday and Saturday. Don't trick me like this again. Please.


p.s. I am getting ready to break out my novel for the rewrite. The time has come.

What Inspires Me?

There was a photo contest over at An Island Life asking you to post a photo of what inspires you. Apparently I am a day late, but I took this photo yesterday with the intention of entering. I am posting it anyway because this photo represents exactly what inspires my days right now.

J has truly been the sunshine of my life right now. If it weren't for him, I would have most likely given up on having children after all the grief of the last two years and would not be sitting here pregnant right now. If I did not know the joy of having him in my life and knowing how wonderful it is to be a Mom I would have surely given up a long time ago.

Ouch

The training session went very well yesterday. Other than feeling a little off balance and out of shape, I was able to complete the whole circuit. I definately was tired after and hope to remember all the cool new moves she showed me.

The only down side is today I am aching. All the muscles I haven't used for the last few months are crying out in pain. And to top it off I was awake for a good portion of the night. Wide awake from 2am until 5am. And no, I didn't get to sleep in to catch up. I didn't even get a nap after breakfast. J keeps wanting me to fix his Lego.

So today, I will be walking around in a fog trying desparately to hold my head up and not fall in pain.

A Bright Sunny Day

Ahh... the sun is shining, the air is warmer, no Spring isn't quite here yet, but... I actually almost feel normal again!

Yes, I haven't shared it much really, but I have not been feeling like myself for the last few months. Last week I was actually starting to get worried. I had absolutely no motivation. I did not even want to shower! I never go without a shower.

I talked to my midwife about it and she suggested I start taking some iron. I wasn't super low, but low enough for me. I was also starting ween myself off the Diclectin. I was afraid to cut it off cold turkey for fear of getting sick, so I started to cut out one of the four pills each day. I have been off them for two days and on the iron for five. And amazingly I don't feel like I am dragging my feet anymore. And I actually feel like doing stuff! I know it has been kind of boring around here, but I just wasn't doing anything exciting. It was all I could do to keep J occupied all day long.

It also has helped that I picked up a doppler on Monday (for rent) from Fetal Assure. I thought I should get one for a couple of months so I don't have to constantly be wondering if there is a heartbeat or not. It has only been a couple of days, but I feel reassured.

And today is trainer day. Good thing I feel better. I was wondering on the weekend if it really was a good idea to go see her as I wasn't quite up to it yet. But, this morning I feel like all is well and that I will benefit from seeing her today.

So happy Wednesday all, let's hope this renewed feeling lasts with me at least until July or August.

Wish List

Since my laundry room is clean and the shelves organized, thanks to another visit from my Mom, I have nothing better to do on this Saturday than to surf the net and look at all the wonderful things I would love to have, if I had a large amount of cash at my disposal. I should say that Hubby is finishing some of the painting that has been waiting for him to finish since the fall. So, I am more than happy to sit here and surf.

Wish List (you should sing "If I had a $1000000" by the wonderful Barenaked Ladies while you read it, makes it more fun)

**Note, most of the following will be shoes, now you know where I would spend my money if I had lots of it.

1. Anything Kate Spade. I would love a Kate Spade Diaper bag, but would settle for a wallet, handbag or even a pair of shoes.

2. A (yes, I will not be greedy and stick with one pair) pair of Christian Louboutin shoes. Holt Renfrew is now carrying them, and they start at abou $1500 cdn for a pair. I just love the telltale red sole and the sleek beauty of his shoes. I would feel like a million dollars if I was wearing a pair of these.

3. To go along with the foot fetish, I would love a pair of Jimmy Choo boots. And since the season for boots appears to be over, so I will put a link to sandals, any one pair would do me just fine.

4. Since I will be wearing some fancy footwear and carrying a beauty of a bag, lets put down one of my wishes of all time. To own a Chanel Suit. Since the days when I wore a suit at Cineplex, I drempt of owning a Chanel. When I used to walk around Montréal with my Grandmother, I would make her stop at the Chanel boutique so I could look at the latest and greatest. I did have a Chanel-like suit (still have it actually, but really I was a size 7 when I wore it, so I won't be wearing it again for a while) and it was my favourite. I did feel like a million bucks when I wore it.

5. So, now that I am dressed to the nines, no sense in driving my Nissan, which by the way, I totally love even though it is now almost ten years old, yikes! I should be driving around in a little more style, like perhaps a BMW SAV. Since I first got my licence, I dreamed of owning a BMW convertible. I did get part of my wish for eight years when I had a Geo Metro convertible, but sensible they are not when you have kids, so I would kick it up a notch and go for the SAV, then agian. If I have a million dollars I could afford one of each.

6. A pair of Seven jeans. I love these jeans, but just cannot justify spending almost $200 on jeans. Not to mention that my butt isn't quite that skinny anymore, so maybe I should put that down as an incentive for after this baby is born. Get skinny, get Seven!

7. I would fill my closet with sweaters from the Ralph Lauren Cashmere collection. I don't think there is one sweater that I wouldn't love to own in that collection.

8. Not that anyone would see, but I would so love to fill my drawers at La Perla.

9. For casual days, I would definately want to be wearing some lululemon. My girlfriend swears that one of their tracksuits takes ten pounds off you, just by putting it on. If you can call them tracksuits they are definaetly stylish and comfortable looking, but again I can't seem to justify spending the money on them. It could definately be a picker upper for after baby arrives.

10. And last of all, really is it the last? Just the last for today, trust me... I would put a pair of Coach sunglasses on my face. I tried a pair on similar to these last summer. But the $250 price tag (and this was at the outlet) almost sent Hubby running for cover. I settled for a pair of Ray-Ban's, that I love as well, but the Coach just had a little something extra.

So, there you have it. I spent my millions today... what would you buy for yourself if you had a million and were treating you, just you?

Spring, what is that?

So as our week was getting so promising, warm sunshine, above average temperatures, patches of grass in our backyard. It was just too much to ask for really. Today we are getting hit with a so undesirable winter storm. Complete with freezing rain, ice pellets (that pounded our house almost all night last night, so we woke with headaches), wind and now snow. And it is only 11:30am!

The storm is supposed to continue all day and into tomorrow, dumping a total of 20cm of snow. That will make it our biggest storm we had all season. The saddest part is that if it would only warm up another three degrees it would just fall as rain.

On a good side, it is supposed to warm up above freezing for Sunday and Monday and it could all just disappear. It was so good while it lasted.

At least I have the tulips my Mom brought by to cheer me up.