This June, my firstborn turned 10 years old! It was a difficult milestone for his mother, without a doubt. I can’t believe how fast the last decade has flown by, where did the time go? I mean, I know that everyone says that..but I am certain that something strange has happened to the space time continuum in our family. Never have I been more anxious to have an encounter with Doctor Who and his TARDIS, than I am this year. What I wouldn’t give to slow down the hands of time, even just a little bit. Or better yet, rewind my son’s life just a bit to ensure that I really have enjoyed every.last.moment to the fullest.
This kid I gave birth to is amazing, truly one of the Lord’s works of art. He is brilliant, handsome, talented, athletic, creative, quirky, energetic and imagitative. He makes me laugh regularly, he makes me cry often and sometimes makes me more frustrated than I could ever have imagined! And yet I wouldn’t change anything about him. I love him so much sometimes I actually feel a little pain inside.
So for his big 1-0 he asked for an Angry Bird birthday party, so that’s what we gave him. Angry Bird Cake, balloons, bobbing for apples, jelly beans, pinball, submarine sandwiches, and a life sized Angry Birds game….and THIS is how it turned out!
I try to be very open and honest about who I am in person and in my blog…but there are some things that maybe you don’t know about me. So in the interest of full transparency, here are some things that I bet you didn’t know.
My hubby and I had an engagement ceremony where we both exchanged rings, he actually has an engagement band as well.
I always use the SAME stall in a bathroom that I frequent often. I am not OCD but I find that unless it’s occupied, I will always choose the same one.
I can’t stand getting my hair cut…I don’t enjoy having it unkempt or in a perpetual ponytail, but I actually prefer that to having to get my hair cut again, fake contentment with the results so I don’t hurt the stylist’s feelings and then come home, cry, and pull out my basket of scrunchies!
I started writing my first book at 10 years old…still not done….I guess some things never change.
I can’t stomach anything to do with cotton candy or bubblegum. I won’t eat either, don’t like creams or bubble baths of those flavours and I definitely stay away from cotton candy and bubblegum flavoured ice cream.
I often wake up with night terrors…my poor husband has been startled out of a restful sleep more than once by me hitting him or screaming at him to get the spiders before they drop on me! Fortunately this instances seem to be connected to stress in my life and do not occur every night.
I love pie.
My Mother used to buy me strawberry babyfood as a treat once and a while when I was feeling sad or down…crazy I know, but it always made me feel better even as a teenager and into adulthood….once and a while when I really miss my Mom, my hubby shows up with a jar to help me down memory lane…
My fear of earwigs, maggots and pin worms all come from close personal encounters with these disgusting things. I can’t talk about it though, you’ll just have to take me at my word.
Except for the first two chapters; I read the rest of the book “Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix” in one sitting.
I check the mailbox every time I step out my front door, even on the weekends, no matter how many times I have already checked in the previous hours. Every time.
I couldn’t stand the book “The Catcher in the Rye”, I don’t know why it is so well regarded in the world of literature, but it strikes me as a sort of “Emperor’s New Clothes” phenomenon, no one wants to appear uncouth or uneducated, so everyone pretends like it was some literary masterpiece. I found it boring, with a dragging story line and entirely too self indulgent. Sorry, if it’s your favourite book.
Popcorn is the perfect food. Movie popcorn is the Rolls Royce of popcorn.
I think every bank, grocery store, department store and doctors office should be equipped with a ball pit/play centre where we can drop our children off. Imagine a safe, fun environment, with bonded staff, so we can get on with our shopping/business unfettered by our children. I’m just saying that I would spend more money and leave with a much better attitude toward the stores.
I have never successfully done one single chin up in my WHOLE life…even as a kid.
Despite their cult-like following, I did not make it through any of the following movies: The Blair Witch Project, Borat, Interview with a Vampire, American Pie, The Matrix, The Rocky Horror Picture Show or Dazed and Confused. I don’t feel the need to defend this list, if you’ve seen the movies and you know me, you don’t need any explanation.
There…don’t you feel like we know each other just a little bit better?
Do you ever think about the things that you have in your home and use on a daily basis, and wonder if everyone else finds them as imperative as you do? Are they quirky things? I was going to give my bathroom a quick clean today and realized that I had run out of the cleaning wipes…as I pondered the likelihood that my world would come crashing to an end, it got me thinking about some of the other things that I can’t live without.
Clorox Wipes – essential to keeping on top of the bathroom…who has time to do a full cleaning as often as needed. Clorox wipes make it easier.
Gum – between drinking coffee several times a day and chronic migraines that make it tough to brush my teeth sometimes, I cannot live without access to a pack of gum throughout my day.
Popcorn – I am possibly addicted to all kinds of popcorn, cheesy, movie, dill pickle, buttery, spicy….mmm love it!
Large Coffee Mug – if I’m going to have a regular cup of coffee, it might as well be a big one. Plus I use sweetner and if the mug is too small, the coffee ends up being way too sweet.
Multiple Pillows – I have several pillows that I sleep with each night and I love to have the bed covered with decorative pillows.
Books – I think that I have been fairly clear in many posts, just how much I love books.
Flip Flops – Any kind of sandals really but I am partial to my Birkenstock sandals. I wear them all year round as long as I can get to the car with dry toes. I only wear closed shoes when it rains or there is snow on the ground.
Keurig Coffee Maker – if you love flavoured coffee, THIS is the way to go. We even took our Tassimo machine camping last year, this year…Camping with Keurig!
Water – I drink about 5 litres of water a day and I have found that since I started that routine, if I don’t drink enough, I end up feeling dehydrated and my lips are super chapped by the end of the day.
Sunglasses – Even in the winter I find I rely on my shades to keep out the sun. Although experiencing headaches on overcast days means that sunglasses can be necessary to even leave the house sometimes.
Chap Stick – I feel like my lips are on fire without a regular application of some menthol or fruit flavoured chap stick.
Camera – my husband rolls his eyes incessantly when I get out my camera. I think somewhere deep inside, I am worried that if I don’t take photos of everything, I might forget the memories. Regardless of the reason why, I enjoy snapping pics of all the things we say and do.
PVR – I don’t have a lot of time to watch tv and I am typically busy during regularly scheduled programs. I have found that the PVR machine allows me to spend less time channel surfing when I am free for a little while and allows me to sit down and watch something that I enjoy without commercials whenever I am free, which is usually after 10:oopm.
Elastics – I cannot describe the irritation that I feel when my hair falls in my face constantly. No matter how nicely I can style my hair, there inevitably comes a time when it no longer hangs nicely and must be wrangled into a scrunchie or hair elastic for my peace of mind.
We all have things that we can’t live without on a daily basis…what are your Must-Haves? Don’t be shy…
I was sitting on the edge of our bed chatting with my channel surfing husband, when he left the room to have a shower. I didn’t think anything of him leaving the television on, until I realized it was on a Christian Music Video channel and the song that was on the screen was one that makes me sob uncontrollably EVERY time I watch the video. So while I desperately searched for kleenex, I watched Steven Curtis Chapman dancing across the stage with his little girl, lamenting the fact that he knows she’ll soon be gone and he needs to take time to spend with her now while she is asking.
It’s very sad on so many levels, not the least of which is the fact that not too long ago, his own little girl was tragically killed and I can only imagine how the depths of his grief have forever changed his view of these lyrics he once wrote. Not nearly as heart breaking as losing a child to death, is the fact that the song saddens me due to the fact that my children get older and pull farther and farther away from me in imperceptible ways every day. It grieves me to think that my little ones won’t always want to snuggle and spin to the music with their Mommy, and so these kind of songs directly affect my tear ducts. This moment, courtesy of Mr.Chapman, started me thinking about all the other songs throughout which I have had difficulty maintaining my composer.
So in a sort of follow-up to the previous post Moved To Tears, that referenced various movies that were hard for me to watch with any dignity, here is my list of songs that move me every time I hear them.
1. Steven Curtis Chapman – Cinderella
Of course this song is the impetus to this entire blog post…if you have children, go ahead, I dare you to watch it and keep it together!
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2. Jeff Buckley – Hallelujah The lyrics are messed up and somewhat nonsensical but the sound is haunting and to be honest, listening to it always reminds me of when Shrek and Donkey were fighting. *sniff
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3. Snow Patrol – Chasing Cars
This one isn’t so much sad in the lyrics, it probably makes me cry because like most people, the first time I heard this song was on the show Grey’s Anatomy. I don’t watch this show anymore (too much bed-hopping for my taste) but early on Izzy fell in love with Denny and then he died. In possibly the most heartbreaking grief sequence I have ever seen on t.v, this song was playing.
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4. Mark Dinning – Teen Angel
“They said they found my highschool ring, clutched in your fingers tight….” so moving and heartbreaking!
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5. Micheal Buble – Home
Of course, we can’t forget the inspiration for a previous post called Home.
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6. Sarah Mclachlan – Angel
Although the lysics in this song are sad and speak of lifes difficulties, my tears are probably more to do with the movie City of Angels with Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan, and the sweet haunting voice of Ms.Mclachlan.
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7. Eric Clapton – Tears in Heaven
I am not even going to try to explain why this one makes me cry, I’m guessing that you cry too when you hear it!
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8. Green Day – Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)
I have never been a fan of Green Day and I probably couldn’t tell you what this song is about, but I remember an episode of ER years ago, had a young woman singing this song at the funeral of a teenaged boy and it was melancholic and sad…maybe that’s why I cry…who knows…?
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9. I’ll be Missing You – Puff Daddy
Again it’s someone else singing of their loss and grief and I remember this song was released back when I was going through something difficult in my personal life.
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10. That’s the Way I’ve Always Heard it Should Be – Carly Simon
This one is a bit strange, my mother used to blast this song on the hi-fi stereo when I was a kid. Not sure if my emotions are tied to sad childhood memories from that time or the singers evident hopelessness throughout the song…
I have been excited to discover the website “Pinterest” and have lost many hours delving into the crafty consciousness of all the people who “pin” their favourite pics and websites. It got me thinking about some of my favourite projects and crafty-type things that I have done over the years. At the prodding of a great friend of mine, I decided to post some of the things we have done that were the most popular with my family. Most things were found online or in a magazine, and a few of these even came out of the recesses of my quirky brain. Based on how addicted I am to the amazing projects on Pinterest, I anticipate a tonne more pictures coming soon…
I recently sat down with my 9 year old to watch the movie “The Passion of the Christ”, a poignant and important movie to anyone in the Christian faith and specifically those who are devout followers of Jesus Christ. I have only seen it once before because it affected me so deeply, I remember sobbing almost uncontrollably in the movie theatre. I am an extremely sensitive person and this particular movie cut me to the core because I believe it illustrates the truth about what God did for me. But to tell you the truth, I often cry when movies are sad. It started me thinking about how many movies have moved me to tears, each for individual reasons. *possible spoiler alerts*
1. Sommersby – my BFF would say that the fact that Richard Gere is the romantic lead in this movie is enough to make her cry…but the truth is I thought that the premise of the movie was sad and very moving. Unfortunately I have to turn the movie off for the last 7 minutes, because it is so sad that I become overwhelmed with grief.
2. Shindlers List – similar to “The Passion”, this movie is especially sad because it is a true story and that is even more heartbreaking than any fictional movie. The atrocities committed during the Second World War cut me to the core and overwhelm me with feelings of injustice and heartbreak at the human suffering.
3. Hotel Rwanda – the strife and genocide in Rwanda is such a blight on human history that one can’t help but remember the news coverage in the 1990′s. Perhaps it is because I remember the graphic news images that affected me so deeply during my teens when I was developing a social conscience, or perhaps the events were so awful it is forever imprinted on my heart and mind.
4. Spirit – this movie is actually forbidden in my home because Mommy has a nervous breakdown every time I watch it! Again, the knowledge that the heinous treatment of early Native Americans and “breaking” of wild horses actually happened, is heart-breaking and I don’t want to watch it for entertainment.
5. P.S I Love You – a movie about a woman who loses her husband to cancer and he schedules letters to arrive after his passing periodically to help her through her grief. I still have my husband fortunately, but I think this movie is cathartic for me in that I know what it is like to grieve my Mother intensely. I believe that crying through this movie is a healthy way to tap into my “Walking Grief” without hurting as much. It’s like a cleansing cry.
6. Steel Magnolia’s – Sally Field’s portrays the over-protective Mother so well that the viewer cannot help but feel her pain as she loses her daughter. The frustration and despair that she feels is contagious and I cannot help but feel my own heart-wrenching loss right along with the movie.
7. The Notebook – this incredible timeless love story reaches me as a woman and wife. And the incredible devotion of the male protagonist to his wife suffering with Alzheimers is the kind of thing that love story legends are made of. Every woman dreams of a man that will love her that much.
8. Braveheart – again a man devoted to the love of his life and so filled with righteous passion it is truly inspiring. So much so that one cannot help but feel devastated at his death and the manner in which he is executed. This is another movie I can only watch up to the last 10 minutes. Just knowing how it ends is almost too much to bear.
9. The Lion King – I don’t have a problem with the whole movie, but the part where King Mufasa is killed is very difficult for me to watch…especially since I can barely see the screen through all my tears. I remember watching this (as an adult) and sobbing like a big toddler, while surrounded by a theatre full of unaffected children. See, I am a cry-baby.
10. Green Mile – although completely fictitious, the concept that an innocent man could take upon himself the evil and sin of unworthy people with whom he comes in contact, cuts me to the core. Micheal Duncan Clarke beautifully portrays this messianic character to perfection. I find the injustice represented and his beautiful sacrificial spirit so compelling that it requires me to consider my heart and my need for a Saviour.
Which leads me right back to the inspiration for this post. Unlike the Green Mile which is not real, The Passion of the Christ portrays something real that happened and reminds me of how grateful I am that God sent His son to die for me. This understanding of His incredible sacrifice for me, moves me to tears of sorrow over my sin and tears of gratitude that such an amazing was gift offered to me so freely. Awesome.
So I FINALLY managed to watch the 54th Annual Grammy Awards celebrating achievements in the music industry. For fun, and to justify the time I spent watching this 3 hour extravaganza, I have made some observations on the show. Feel free to comment, disagree or share any of your own thoughts on this years Grammys.
I can’t believe how OLD the Beach Boys are, I half expected them to start singing a remake of California Girls….”I wish we all could be in our fifties…” Perhaps they thought it was the 2012 “GraNNy Awards”…although considering they shared the stage with Sir Paul McArtney, Tony Bennett, Glen Campbell and Bruce Springsteen, I can see why they were confused.
Nikki Minaj…blech….’nuff said.
What exactly is the difference between “Record of the Year” and “Album of the Year”??
Adele made me laugh when she was crying and laughing and “got a little bit o’ snot come out” ha ha ha…so genuine and real!
I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the Bruno Mars performance. Very clean and artsy, loved the big band aspect and real old school soul dancing, without over-sexed gyrating. Extra points for the pompadour hairstyle, even Ryan Seacrest sported a similar hairdo…thumbs up Bruno!
The camera continually panned to Marc Anthony and his companion…yeah we get it, he moved on…Jennifer Lopez was absent otherwise he probably wouldn’t have gotten any face time at all.
Speaking of missing stars, it was nice to have a Grammy Awards without Kanye West, no wonder Taylor Swift was so relaxed on stage. Actually I didn’t see very many of the usual gangsta godfathers like Jay-Z, 50 cent, Puff Daddy or Kanye…maybe THAT’s why I enjoyed it so much this year. hmmmm….
Beautiful gowns…Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift, Hillary Scott (Lady Antebellum) and Katy Perry.
It was great to hear the opening monolgue by LL Cool J that included a prayer to “Heavenly Father…”, they may not all believe in Jesus Christ and they may not all really have been praying to God, but it was sweet to hear His name lifted high in public in front of millions of viewers around the world!
Loved the Kelly Clarkson and Jason Aldean duet…too bad his microphone gave out near the end of the performance and instead of singing along anyways with grace, he felt the need to make a big deal about his mic being off…ok we get it, no one can hear you….doesn’t matter ’cause we were only listening to Kelly anyways. Nice hat though…
DeadMau5…Dead Mouse? What is the deal? And I wonder if Walt Disney will be soon bringing a lawsuit against them for the black mouse ear hats they give out to audience members…
Was so excited to see the Civil Wars “open” for Paul McArtney…ha ha so cute….love this couple too, such a lovely simple sound that really evokes a lot of emotion. And in case you didn’t hear her the multiple times she told us, they are friends with Taylor Swift…got it?
Too many men with open shirts for my taste like Charles Kelley (Lady Antebellum) and Chris Brown.
Did not enjoy Sir Paul McArtney and Bruce Springsteen attempting to remain young by having a 10 minute electric guitar jam session….holding the audience captive with their annoying self indulgent ripping…sort of like watching a child’s comedy routine…it’s cute for the first minute of too, then you are just smiling to patronize them.
Pretty Sure that Chris Brown was just singing along with the canned music…doesn’t matter, it was a boring song and I only listened to half before hitting fast forward on the pvr. I mean, I am still bothered that he performed twice on this years show and won a Grammy. I believe in second chances, but I think this guy has been ushered into music industry royalty despite his abominable behaviour towards Rhianna right before the Grammy’s 3 years ago…what kind of example is this for the youth today?
Taylor Swift’s performance was refreshingly wholesome compared to Rhianna, Katy Perry and Nikki Minaj….but I found the depression era set/costumes and banjo’s a little boring and old for a young lady like that. I also found her giant microphone distracting because I couldn’t see her mouth while she was singing. I’d give it a 5 out of 10…too bad, because I was really looking forward to Miss Swift…
Katy Perry’s blue crimped hair was so fun!
Love Adele, and I am SO happy that she won so many Grammy Awards…she is talented and lovely and she doesn’t need to be outrageous and vulgar or perform half naked to be recognized for her artistic achievement. They really should have left a chair up on stage for her…well done Adele.
