Count Down Is On!

Wow! Hard to believe a month today is Christmas day! Where I live we are definitely having a white one as we have had several large snow falls and I am very grateful I have strong, generous young men who push the snow blower and shovels for me.




It's been a crazy month while my husband (and the rest of us!) have been adjusting to his new job and schedule. Going from a 9-5 job to a hmmm... gone 2 days? Maybe 10? has definitely been a different way of life for all of us.

It seems like 2013 has definitely been a year of huge changes for our family. Medical ones, jobs, family & friends moving, additions to our family (furry & people). All of them have shaped and changed our little world into a different entity than it was 11 months ago, that's for sure!

I know that this time of year is hectic for everyone. My American friends are bustling around getting ready for their Thanksgiving weekend, and on top of that we are all shopping & baking and decorating for next month.

I'm very grateful for the Internet when it comes to doing my shopping! Never knowing how my cranky body is going to behave it is a relief to be able to click and order. Ha! Also, with all the snow we have received it's really nice not to worry about trying to park at the Mall or stand in busy lines.

Well hopefully most of you are more organized than I am and have at least started your shopping and baking. Like I said before, it's a month away people! I can't believe I haven't even started! But with all the craziness this past month time seems to have slipped through my fingers.

But now that I have a week to myself while my hubby is working, and I have realized how little time I have until Christmas, I plan on using this time to get caught up on some of my holiday 'jobs'.

Hope your count down is exciting and stress free!

Happy Turkey Day USA!

Happy Thanksgiving to my friends to the South! I'm sure by now many of you are either in the midst of preparations or already at the table enjoying a wonderfully prepared meal.  I hope all of your family and friends have arrived safely to their destinations and someone out there is saving me a piece of pumpkin pie! Ha!!

I like Thanksgiving. Granted, in Canada, we do it in October when the weather is way nicer! The leaves are changing colour, the weather is just hitting the Fall coolness. I love coming in from outside and smelling the turkey cooking and feeling the warmth of the fire in the wood burning stove. The best part for me though, is that Thanksgiving is just Thanksgiving.

Okay....I see the puzzled looks. What I mean is, the main focus for Thanksgiving is 'Thankfulness'. That's it. You don't need presents, or decorations. I'm fortunate my children live at home and working dinners around girlfriend's families hasn't been difficult. We just enjoy this super yummy meal together. Share memories, laugh, eat pie with real whip cream like it will never run out. Its not hard to be thankful.

I am sure you are all being asked what you are thankful for today and I am sure many of you all have your standard pat answers ready and waiting. You are thankful for you families, jobs, health, wealth....and don't get me wrong, those are great things to be thankful for. But how about a can of cinnamon buns in the fridge when you have a sudden huge craving? Let me tell you...my son's girlfriend is extremely thankful that tin is in there today! Ha!!

I think sometimes we get to caught up in the moment of holidays. We think everything has to be perfect, everything has  to be deep and meaningful. But is it worth it to be so stressed over a day?

I think at the end of the day, we need to step back from all the hustle and bustle of these very high stress and high expectation days and just be thankful for the little things that really matter. Like yummy warm cinnamon buns when you reallllly had a craving! And I know I am very thankful that I can share moments in time with all of you on such a great day!

Happy Turkey Day!! 

Calm Before The Storm

Good evening friends and family! I can hardly believe that the calendar is saying that it is the end of September. But the leaves are turning to thier warm Fall colours and the evenings have a definate crispness to them that was not there a few weeks ago.

I love this time of year. Everything is so pretty. Kids are all settled back in school so the house is nice and quiet. Its kind of like the calm before the storm.

"Storm?" You ask?

Well...I kind of pause and look at it this way. Most of the year has flown by. Our family has had losses and had fabulous additions. We planned and enjoyed our first road trip of such grand proportions. 2012 has flown by very quickly so far.

I just looked at the calendar and realized next weekend is Thanksgiving. And that also means.....Christmas is around the corner!!! STORM!!!


The baking, the shopping, wrapping of presents, school concerts, family dinners, work parties....and I am sure you can all add to the list. It will just start getting crazy! Not bad...just crazy! Ha!

So for right now, I am enjoying the beauty around me. The pretty coloured trees, the crunch of the laves under foot and the cool Fall nights. We will chat next week after the craziness has started!

Hope your weekend is filled with jumping in leaf piles, some warm cider and maybe some friends gathered around around a fire pit. Remember...this is the calm before the storm!!
 Enjoy this weekend!