Whoops!

I seem to have gotten caught up in the all the busyness of the new year....traveling home, getting caught up on laundry, cleaning, etc., getting sick, trying out a new diet, saying goodbye to some good friends (sniff, sniff). So, without further adieu, here's some pictures to go with my last post...in no particular order...


I like to call this one "Beauty and the Beast." What do you think?




Chris playing hockey...he coulda been a star... ;)




Steph tried, almost successfully, to avoid the camera...we were all playing Dutch Blitz.




Cleo spent a lot of time sitting in the snow....





dissecting Granny's DELICIOUS pirogies to trade fillings...




Joe, the star of Team Bertrand.




Joselle tried to look big and tough, but her team still lost.





Me 'n' Dawn




Acting crazy with Crystal...just like old times... :)

This has been possibly the BEST Christmas vacation of my adult life. It's been (so far) a week and a half of spending really great time with family, reconnecting with old friends and just relaxing.

We started out right away after school on the 21st, heading to Aaron's sister's place in Stony Plain. It was busy while we were there, Joe and Joselle were working and it was an extremely hectic time for Cam and Dawn with their trucking business. We spent lots of time driving, to get groceries, finish up Christmas shopping, running to the shop, etc., etc.. Woo. Even though it was busy, it was SO good to see everyone again. Aaron got to spend a lot of time with Cleo and I spent a lot of time with Dawn. We had our Christmas dinner on the 24th, Gran was up from Wetaskiwin and Aaron had picked up his brother Chris and his fiancee Stephanie from the city. Cam got home just in time to eat, and dinner was FANTASTIC! Aaron and Joselle disected their perogies (homemade by Gran) to find the fillings they wanted so they could trade and Joe and Aaron made a bet whether or not Joselle could eat everything she had put on her plate (she didn't quite make it...I think Aaron lost the bet). After dinner was mostly cleaned up, Aaron, myself, Joe, Joselle, Cleo and Chris and Steph all headed to a pond in Stony Plain to go skating and play hockey. It was a BLAST. Some people had no skates and some people had no sticks, but we played on anyways. We headed back to the house for some Dutch Blitz and dessert....I guess Dutch Blitz is becoming a family holiday tradition...:)

We left late, at about 11 (sorry, Gran) and headed toward Wetaskiwin to drop Gran off on our way to Olds. Our drive had a few moments of excitement and nervousness because we encountered a VERY inebriated driver. We ended up calling it in and he was pulled over just as we drove into Devon. Well, pulled over is a loose term. He actually drove into the ditch, but whatever. After dropping Gran off and getting some gas and coffee, we continued on to Olds and arrived at about 2am....

This is feeling too much like a bland news story, so I'll finish later... :S...and add pictures.

Sleepy, Dopey and GRUMPY

What do you do when you're just plain GRUMPY?? No real reason at all, not hormones, not lack of sleep, nothing that seems apparent...just grumpy? Does that only happen to me? If it happens to you, what do you do? If you live with a significant other, how does it affect your relationship? How do you deal with it differently than you would if you were by yourself? Does your significant other understand your unexplainable grumpiness? These are the important life issues I am grappling with at 12:54am on a Saturday morning.

BeeBeeBeep!

The dehumidifier in the basement is full...it's beeping...it's driving me CRAZY. Awhile ago, the alarm from a watch (hidden somewhere, I couldn't find it) was also going off.....more continuous than the dehumidifier, and a slightly higher pitch. They actually harmonized quite well...but still drove me crazy. I guess I could always go and empty the dehumidifier. That would help. :P

AUGHGHGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In anticipation of our trip to Jamaica in February, I decided to listen to what my body has been telling me for a few months now: "You are not being nice to me." I haven't been moving, let alone exercising, and I haven't been eating...and when I do eat, it's not what my body needs. I don't avoid eating for weight reasons, I just get busy and forget. I don't often FEEL hungry, probably because my brain is too busy with other things...so usually what happens is by the time I realize I need to eat, I also feel like I should eat something healthy. And then I get overwhelmed and confused about WHAT to eat....so I put it off...and then it's either too late, or I'm too tired to bother. Thus begins the body's starvation mode where it will CLING to every little ounce of food it can get.

I went to my gym (Curves) and got weighed and measured. From past experience, I had an idea of where I thought I was and a backup idea of what the very WORST might be. Yah. I'm 10lbs OVER my worst case scenario, my body fat is UP 5% from where it was at my previous high weight. It's up 8% from my most "fit" point back about a year and a half ago. At first I was really defeated, but now I'm mad. Which is good. Cuz now I'm motivated.

So here's the plan:

EAT 6 small meals a day
EXERCISE by going to CURVES 5-6 times per week (varying levels of intensity), going for FAST, long walks with Cathy and some other stuff at home (dvds....I'm waiting for a new belly dancing one to come...that should be fun)
SLEEP my 8 hours a night and
DRINK my 8 glasses of water a day.

Sounds simple, hey? HA. I'm not sure how I'm going to stay motivated yet. Any ideas or advice?

Thanksgiving...a few weeks late.

I've had a peaceful morning.

After a SPLENDID night's sleep, I got up at about 9:45 after a very cheerful Aaron called me to ask me to make a few phonecalls for him and pick up a few things from the store. After that, I turned on the CD player and sat down here on the couch to see what I had missed on the forum and on Facebook overnight (not much. ha.). Our CD player is filled with recent Praise and Worship albums released by some of our favourites (Lincoln Brewster, Chris Tomlin, David Crowder, The Newsboys). As I looked here and there on my computer, I found myself kind of sinking into the music and the warmth of the sun streaming into the big living room window. It's a little cool and windy out today, but from inside, the movement of the tree branches make flickering, dancing shadow designs on the living room. The wind chimes I got from "my" twins last year at school are making light, happy sounds just outside the window.

Listening to theses albums is one of the things that brings me the most peace, the most strength and the most energy, all at the same time. I can play them loud, I can play them softly. The effect is the same. I can play them as background music when we have people over, or as my company when I'm home by myself. The effect is the same. I may choose not to dance around like a crazy person when there are others here, but it still makes me dance inside. It's not the music itself that makes me dance (inside or out), it's all the thoughts of thanks, of praise, of joy that flood my mind as I listen and as my heart responds. It starts with singing the the words in my mind

{Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord}

{Indescribable, uncontainable, you placed the stars in the sky and YOU know them by name}

{You took and You take our sins away O God. You give and You gave Your life away for us}

{You make everything glorious and I am Yours. So what does that make me}

From there, my thoughts move to what this all means for ME. It means I am SAVED. I am SAFE.

{You lived You died. You said in three days You would rise. You did You're alive. You rule You reign. You said You're coming back again I know you will}

{I have a Maker He formed my heart. Before even time began my life was in His hands. He knows my name. He knows my every thought. He sees each tear that falls and He hears me when I call}

{Tell me what kind of man would die for you and me. Tell me what kind of man would die to set us free}

{Your grace is enough Heaven reaching down to us God I see your grace is enough I'm covered in Your love Your grace is enough for me}

It means I have Someone on my side.

{You are the everlasting God. You do not faint You won't grow weary. You're the defender of the weak You comfort those in need You lift us up on wings like eagles}

{Lord You are good and Your mercy endures forever. You are good all the time All the time You are good}

{You are my rock The one I hold on to You are my song And I sing for You}

{If God is on our side who can be against us If God is on our side we won't be afraid Though the mountains may fall and the sky may crumble There ain't nothin' gonna stand in our way}

The next thoughts that invade my mind are thoughts of what HE has given me. A family that loves me...a family that I love. It seems that is almost a phenomenon. An AMAZING husband. A husband who lets God teach him, a husband who God uses to teach me. A husband that works hard at something he loves, who is self-sacrificing for me and for others. A husband who is GENIUS at home renovations...even if he makes it up sometimes...it works!! A husband who shares my passions, my goals, my loves. A great house to live in. Yah, renovations are a pain...but at the end of the day, I LOVE my house. Partly because it's cozy and homey and partly because I KNOW it's the house God gave us. Who can complain about that? I love to look out of my living room and bedroom windows. To feel the sun hitting my face through the living room window, watch the leaves dance in the wind, see the clouds travel across the sky. Looking out the bedroom windows to a nice big back yard. A patio where we can spend time together, or with friends. The memories that are already there and the memories that have yet to be made. The flower beds, the garden, the raspberry patch. Feeling the breeze and breathing the fresh air. My cat. Yes, if you are not a fan of cats (or pets in general), this is hard to fathom...but for some inexplicable reason, I find peace and comfort in watching her, playing with her, holding her. My friends. Every time I take a moment to think, I am OVERWHELMED with how God has provided and BLESSED us, to the point of overflowing, with GOOD friends. I could go on and on...but there are too many friends from too many places and too many seasons of life. I'd be here all day. But what DOES stick out is how He knew we were lonely in the last place we lived, and how He has brought so many people into our little town...and what He is now doing in all of our lives through each other. Music. I don't even know where to begin. To play, to sing (even though I won't be recording a solo album anytime soon) is such a deep expression of what I am inside. It can be praise music, it can be classical, almost anything, really...but it comes from so deep down and spills out to GOD.

{In You I find my peace In you I find my strength In you I live and move and breathe}

{God I praise Thee You amaze me}

{The heavens declare Your greatness The oceans cry out to You The mountains they bow down before You So I'll join with the earth and give my praise to You}

{Lord I love the way You bless me And how You look into my heart}

From there comes an overwhelming sense of praise coupled with a fierce determination to live each day and each moment on purpose to bring joy and glory to Jesus...in gratitude for Who He IS and what He has done...from the moment of creation until this very moment...and to hopefully, in some way have it be obvious, to radiate from the very core of me.

{I'm living my life for You I'm giving everything to You Not holding back But every part I'm giving it all to You}

{Name above all names Worthy of all praise Oh my heart will sing How great is our God}

{I want to live like there's no tomorrow I want to dance like no one's around I want to sing like nobody's listening Before I lay my body down I want to give like I have plenty I want to love like I'm not afraid I want to be the (wo)man I was meant to be I want to be the way I was made}

{I will serve the Lord with all my heart with all my soul with all my mind and with all my strength I will love You Lord with all my heart with all my soul with all my mind and with all my strength}

{Let everything I say and do be founded by my faith in You I lift up holy hands and sing Let the praises ring}

{God I praise Thee You amaze me Take my life and let Your light shine through Jesus Saviour Friend of sinners fill me up Cuz all I really want is more of You}

{What to say Lord It's You who gave me life and I can't explain Just how much You mean to me now That you have saved me Lord I give all that I am to You that Everyday I will be a light that shines Your name Every day Lord I learn to stand upon Your Word And I pray that I might come to know You more That You would guide me in every single step I take and and Everyday I will be a light unto the world Every day it's You I live for Everyday I'll follow after You Everyday I'll walk with You my Lord}

{I will love You And I will serve You And I will praise You}




{Thank You for the cross, my Friend}

It's Not a Deck, It's Not a Step. It Must Be a STECK!

Aaron has been a busy beaver during the past week....now that his cast is off, he's been itching to get something accomplished, I guess. So, he decided to tackle the front entrance of the house. As much as I want the basement DONE, I didn't mind the diversion because, well, as gross as it is, Suki DOES think we built her a giant litter box, and has been "using" the entire basement. Ew. It doesn't smell THAT bad, but definitely bad enough to be noticeable from the back entrance. And THAT is why I was more than happy to have an access to the front door built.

We had wanted to build a veranda all along the front of the house, but when Aaron went to get the permit, he found out that bylaws have recently changed. We basically were now only allowed to build steps up to the front door, due to the fact that our house is already quite close to the street. I was disappointed, but what can ya do?

Well, I'll tell you what we did..ha. Aaron asked "So, how big do you want the front step?" My answer was, "As big as it can be without being a deck." Since we really didn't know what that was, technically, we just went for it....And I'm REALLY happy with the result. The platform is the same square footage as the old platform AND staircase used to be, ending up about 6'x7'. Now we just hope and pray the bylaw officer doesn't come by and tell us we have to take it down or make it smaller...

Aaron did an AMAZING job putting it together. He had no plans, just did it from his head! He called a friend for help with the stringers for the stairs, but other than that, it was all him. Now we have a cozy little place to sit in the sun in the mornings, drink coffee, whatever...The rails are nice and high, and make it quite private, at least as much as can be expected for a front porch! Here's the before and after...

Before


After the demolition


The new "steck"


Obviously, we'll have some landscaping work to do in the spring. Having an entire basement floor's worth of concrete piled on it does not seem to have done our lawn any favours...and then there's the sinkage from the sprinkler hose being left on way back in July. SO, there will be more "after" pics to come...but for now, I have a steck!