What Would You Do?

Good Saturday Morning!! Hope you are enjoying a nice big mug of coffee and your Saturday newspaper funnies. Actually...I kind of wonder how many people still get morning newspapers anymore? But how ever you kick back and enjoy your Saturday morning before the 'Honey Do List' gets whipped out, I hope its been nice and relaxing and we can squeeze in a few more minutes together to chat before the chores and business of life squeeze in.

Well...I'm going to warn you, I am having one of those weird brain wanderings. One of these silly 'me' moments that I'm sure isn't unique to me, but my family is sure I'm crazy and no one else thinks of this weird things but me.

It all started yesterday morning. I got up in the morning, fed my dogs, made my tea, grabbed my cereal bowl and went to my pantry. So far so good, right? (boy,  my dogs and I are such creatures of habit!! ha!!) Well, I grabbed my ever exciting box of Raisin Bran....yes...I am that old! and poured it into my bowl. Was I ever disappointed to only have half a bowl of cereal come out of the box!!

Now here's my silly me moment....what do I do now? I'm hungry...I'm programmed to have my Raisin Bran...I'm out of Raisin Bran...so I looked in the pantry. I do have other cereal...in fact I have another brown cereal. Chocolate Cheerios....can I mix the 2? Do I have a bowl of just the Cheerios? Is it ok to mix cereals? What if it tastes gross?  Will it wreck my day? Oh the PRESSURE!!!

Then I think....Come On Mickiee!! Go For It!!! MIX IT!!!! Live in the moment!! 

And you know what? It wasn't half bad. I don't know if it would be something I would recommend everyday, but if I'm ever that situation again I wont hesitate to grab that box of Chocolate Cheerios.

So now I have to ask you...how many of you out there mix your cereals? Or on the flip side, how many of you would rather die before your Cheerios touched your Lucky Charms? I remember as I kid, my mom would mix the almost empty boxes of cereals together to save room in the pantry, and all of us kids would act like she had thrown poison in the boxes. Obviously as an adult the idea has still stuck with me because I did think a bit before I convinced myself I wouldn't die some horrendous death by mixing. Ha!!

So let's hear some mixes...good and bad.... 

Hope you enjoy your weekend everyone! Time for a refill on that cup of java!! Chat soon!!

 Looking forward to the cereal stories!

Safe & Unthawed...For Now!

Happy Tuesday afternoon! I can't believe I let a whole week escape without an entry! I think this is the longest I have been away, and with out any real good reason!

Like I said last week we were in the middle of a very gross deep freeze which lasted until the day after my husband finally got my truck going. ( I think the truck finally roared to life on Wednesday, which was day four of my deep freeze imprisonment.) Yes, you read that right. I refused to even step outside my door for anything! I figured until my little dog could walk outside on more then 3 feet, I didn't need anything outside that badly!!

So what did I do all those days inside? Why did they fly by so fast I didn't even get a chance to post on my beloved blog? Good question!! Well, I found some inner energy I didn't know I owned and cleaned out some rooms in the house. Usually I hole up in my bedroom but it was so cold every where in the house I just wanted to be by the wood stove.

One day my oldest was home and we curled up in the  living room and kept the fire going and just enjoyed the day together. Got some odds and ends done that day, and just kept warm. Then the next day   my youngest got to stay home because the schools closed due to the cold  so we kept the fire going and did some more odds and ends. ( ok, he played video games...and oddly braved the cold and shoveled the driveway and refilled the wood bin)

I also decided that I since I am starting to feel a bit human thanks to my new medicine concoction I would try my hand at a small home based business and have spent this past week researching new doggie treat recipes and having my 'quality control team' test the new treats out. From the pacing in the kitchen when the treats are coming out of the stove I'm assuming I'm doing good so far. ha!!

So thats what I did while I was in my deep freeze. Felt like I got tons of dusting and cleaning done, laundry and doggie biscuits baked. Emails caught up, phone calls caught up, some studying, and basically kept warm. And in all those days I can honestly say I never ONCE left the house!! I figure if I have to push the largest dog out the door to pee, it is too cold to be out there!

Wow...I almost sound like I'm super mom....Ha!!

 I'm not...I'm just..

Hope you are all warm and enjoying the start to your week!! Keep warm and busy! And to my mom enjoying the Dominican warmth and rum...I still love you....sorta...heehee!!

Who Ticked Off God This Week???

Good Afternoon my friends! Hope you have an extra warm mug of something tasty and  maybe a fire and cozy blanket to be cuddled under because holey moley!! Its freaking cold out there!!! All I want to know is who ticked off God?

Last week out here in what I thought was 'God's Country' we were enjoying a rather balmy winter for a rather northern city. I think we even hit 10c several days with nice sunshine. The air smelled of spring, hardly any snow patches to be found...ahhhh....the wonder of it all. Now don't get me wrong. Our family has lived in Alberta long enough to know that winter is going to hit at some point. And usually very quickly and very harshly.

But come on God! This was awesomeeee! I wore shorts and a sweater last week to drive my kid to band. In January!! Now I have long johns and sweat pants, t-shirt, sweat shirt, a vest, fluffy socks, slippers...and that's just to get out of bed!! The doggie door is frosted over so my poor dogs have to wait for me to let them out. Some mornings that can be a long wait if mom has taken her medicine a little late like today and slept in an hour (or so) But let me tell you...they sure run out real quick and do their business when its this cold and they had to wait to get out there! Ha!! And I have to keep an eye on the little one as her teeny paws start to get real cold she lifts them and she starts to tip over. It doesn't make her come in faster mind you, but it lets me know when she should come in!

Well God, I guess what I'm saying is, who ever ticked you off and caused this deep freeze, my Bestie (you know who you are!!) and I have decided You can go Old Testament on them and smite or smote them or what ever You think is best so we can all go back to enjoying that fabulous winter You had blessed us with. Because we are all soft now God...we can't do this hard core winter stuff...ok I can't...and my husband is sick of my whining! Cuz I'm cold...and at this rate I probably wont thaw out til August...

And to all you hard core winter nuts...shhh...I don't care how much you love this and how strong it makes you. You are nuts. It is cold. My truck wont start. Its officially too freaking cold. So I am protesting this cold snap. I am snuggled under a cozy blanket by my wood stove, drinking warm tea, wearing layers of flannel and long johns (only Canadian girls can rock this outfit!!) ha! and I am staying here til one of 3 things happens. I run out of wood, I get hungry or my truck starts meaning it finally warmed up!!

So I wish you all a toasty warm afternoon where ever you live! And thanks for spending some time around my kitchen table with me today. Keep warm.

Just Checkin' Up On You!

Good day everyone! Hope you have a mug of something warm and low calorie to keep up with those New Year's resolutions you may have made. Heehee! I have been puttering around my very quiet house enjoying the peace and quiet of having everyone back at school/work after the holidays. I must admit the time did go by quite quickly, but it was definitely time for the house to get back on schedule.

So its almost half way through January and I am wondering how many of you did make resolutions or goals for this new year? I figured I was not going to make any this year as its supposed to be the end of the world, so I didn't see much point. Ha!!  Just kidding actually. I didn't make any big goals, but I did make a few. I want to see myself get a little more active ( I know..how cliche!) and I want to finish my online course I started hopefully sooner then later.

They say it takes about two weeks to make a habit, so that why I figured I would start checking in on everyone who had decided to set some resolutions this year. I figure you are almost at that 2 week mark. How are you holding up? Were those resolutions viable or a little bit lofty? A lot of people decide to reach for the stars..they are going to rock their worlds, only to be disappointed a few weeks into January when they don't see immediate results or they realize how much work is involved.

I'm always impressed with people who quietly make goals or resolutions that take work but are attainable for them. Obviously my goal of eventually walking my dogs around the block every night sounds laughable to most people, but to me that's a big goal. Someone else may go back to school this year, decide to change jobs, lose weight, gain weight (yes women...this is a goal for some people!!) ha!! There are so many different resolutions...just as there are so many different people.

I think we shouldn't get hung up on January 1st being the start of change in your life either. I know for me, I decided some changes in October last year, this blog being one of them. I am so glad I did not wait til Jan 1st to start it or I may have found a bunch of reason to talk myself out of it.

So...congrats to all of you who are still pulling it off!! High five to all of you still making an effort...and for the rest of us humans...here's a piece of chocolate cake. Remember there's always next year....or is there?? heehee!!

What If.....

Good afternoon everyone! Happy 2012! Hope you all enjoyed a safe and wonderful New Year's Eve. We had the privilege of enjoying the evening with friends. You know you are getting older when you watch the ball drop in New York City which is 2 hours a head of where we live and call it a night at 10:30! It was a fun evening, kid playing, dogs running around and actual grown up conversation.

Our year has started off so wonderfully. Nothing spectacular has happened, just life seems so warm and cozy. I know...sounds sappy, especially to any of my close family and friends. Ha! But to be honest, it just is like that. Bills are paid, my kids are happy, in school, they have jobs, my husband has a great job....at the end of the day I curl up to go to sleep and I just feel so blessed and content.

One thing I have really been trying to do is not dwell on "what if's". You know those dreaded thoughts that eat at you. "What if  that cheque doesn't make it in on time?", or " What if my son doesn't make it in to college?" Those "what if's" can steal so much time from you. I have figured out to do the best I can, try to make dead lines, and then let it go.

Letting it go is hard. I am a die hard "what if's" and "worry this til I'm driving everyone around me crazy" . But then I really thought about it. Where was I going with all that worrying and fussing? Was I accomplishing anything? Was I fixing anything? Only thing I was accomplishing was stealing my days from myself and my family. How many weeks probably months or unfortunately years wasted on things I had no control on.

I read somewhere you can't go forward if you are always look back. How true!! Being sick has also shown me how precious time is. I can waste it on things I have no control on, or do the things I can, and then live in the moment and enjoy my life. I find contentment now in things I would have missed before because I was so busy worrying about things I couldn't do anything about. Something as simple as going out for a coffee and sitting quietly on the drive home with my husband is so enjoyable where before we would have been busy heatedly discussing "what if's" over something we couldn't fix or change. Funny how a change in mind set can affect so many people.

So next you feel yourself getting sucked into a "what if" moment, stop yourself. Ask yourself if you have done all you could have done for the situation and if the answer is yes, try and let it go. It is beyond your control. But your life, your immediate moment your are living in, IS in your control. Enjoy it! You only get this moment once. You can enjoy it, or "what if" it away. Its your choice.

I wish for you all the peace and contentment that I feel when I lay down to sleep at night.

Good Bye 2011!

Good morning everyone! I can hardly believe today is the last day of 2011. Where did this year go? How many of us will be sitting around with family and friends saying those exact same words?

Its always amazing to me how time moves. You can be doing the same event at different times in your life and they will move at different 'speeds'. My youngest son participated in what was probably our last Christmas pageant for one of our kids to be in. I remember our oldest being in his first one and it was so cute and sweet, and then I remember after attending several different recitals and pageants and having to bring younger siblings to each one how long and slow each one seemed to be. Then fast forward to sitting in the church this year watching my son on stage for his 60 seconds of fame and realizing that's it for my boys and wondering how all those years had gone by so fast.

I'm sure everyone one of you reading this blog can share a story or moments that where time stood still (like baby's first smile) or flew by (your wedding day). Moments you thought would never ever end (that last month of pregnancy! ) or days that would never come. (your child's graduation day) But all these moments in time arrive and speed by and become treasured memories that we share with family and friends and wonder how in the world they went by so quickly.

So I guess I'm going to be a bit cliche and do a quick look back on 2011 for myself. I had the opportunity of those endless moments of waiting in many hospital  and doctor offices this past year doing what seemed like endless testing. Pokes, prods, x-rays, and scans and eventually we were given a diagnosis. Playing with different medications we also finally seemed to have found a mixture that is working really well.

All 3 of my boys have made me so very proud of them this year. My oldest is working hard at University and just got himself a part time job. My middle son has really applied himself this year in high school and is coming home with fabulous marks that he is very proud of. His football team won  City Championships this past season also. My youngest is having a fabulous grade 9 year. He is doing an almost totally unmodified program which was unthinkable 4 years ago, he's in Air Cadets, and he finally got his bag pipes this Fall. Surprisingly....they are sounding really good! Ha!!

My husband started a new job at the start of 2011 which has been a real blessing. One of his goals has been to be able to  go back to school. About 5 months working with this company, my husband found a project management course that fit perfectly into his schedule and his company was willing to subsidize 75%. He has been doing so well and been so excited. We are all very proud if him.

And for myself, I set a few goals. This blog was one of them and it exceeded my vision already. ( I already have had over 1000 views in less then 3 months which surprised me!! Thanks everyone!) I started an online course on herbology. And lastly I'm starting a small online business selling homemade doggie biscuits. (If anyone is interested just email me at mickieemail@gmail.com)

2011 has had its ups and downs...its endless moments....its 'where the heck did those go' moments....moments that made me laugh...moment that made me cry. Moments where I hurt so much I wondered if time was even moving, and moments when life was so perfect I never wanted it to end. I guess every year is kind of like that in the end. The amazing thing is at the end of each year we have these amazing memories that we hold onto and treasure.

So good bye 2011! Some of you may say good riddance...some may have a fond farewell...but either way...good bye...and welcome to 2012 and welcome new moments and memories!

End of the World?

Good evening my friends! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas with your family and friends. I also hope Santa filled all those stockings in time and put the right presents under the tree. I know at our house Santa was very generous as usual, and we also had a wonderful time visiting with new friends and old ones. It was a wonderful day!

Then, being Canadian, we did the mandatory thing and we braved the crowds in the afternoon and went shopping on Boxing Day. For those of you who do not know what Boxing Day is, essentially its just another excuse for Canadians to go shopping!! ha!! Its the day after Christmas, and stores open super early and slash their prices really low. Its would be a comparison to Black Friday in the U.S.A. So we shopped for a few hours, got a few deals, and came home with our wallets  even lighter then I thought they could possibly get after  Christmas.

House is a bit tidied up, the excitement seems to have been diffused from Christmas and now I find a lot of discussions have turned towards  the countdown for the end of 2011. Different theories abound from things based on the Mayan calendar saying that the world will end in 2012  either by natural catastrophes or aliens will take over the planet (if I understand what I've been told so far!) People have started talking about their personal resolutions for the coming year, and my personal favorite, are predictions for 2012.

The fun thing about this coming year predictions are, what if the Mayans are right? Then Dec 21, 2012 we better party because that will be our last day here. But how many 'Last Days' have we had predicted? I remember Y2K...all the people that hoarded all those supplies, convinced computers were going to shut down and the world would be thrown into chaos. And yet the clock clicked over past midnight and not a glitch to be found.

My guess is that there will be a lot of people who believe the Mayan calendar will be doing a rush of Christmas shopping when the world doesn't end on the 21st next year. Heehee!!

So any predictions for 2012? Any wild and crazy ones? ( E.T. finally coming and making official contact ) Any serious ones? Lets hear them folks...grabs a refill on that warm mug and send me your predictions for 2012. They can be funny or serious. Then next year we can look back and see how many we get right!

So thinking caps on everyone and enjoy your evening!