Better late than never, Wordless Wednesday

Teaser...

For the last few weeks, actually since September 2007, Kitty has been preparing for dance competition. This year she will be competing in ballet, jazz and tap as well as a performing a ballet solo. She doesn't necessarily love all the "prep", but now is her time to shine. I recorded her solo practice with Ms. Carmen this weekend as well as her dress rehearsals for the big three. I submit the following and ask you to use your imagination to envision Kitty as a squirrel... :-)

A Newborn's Conversation with God

With Mother's Day fast approaching, I received this from a friend today. After reading it, I had to pause and reflect on several families that I know of that are going through trying times at the moment. Please be strong and retain your faith in the Lord. He knew what he was doing when he made you someone's angel... God Bless You

A baby asked God, 'They tell me you are sending me to earth tomorrow, but how am I going to live there being so small and helpless?' God said, 'Your angel will be waiting for you and will take care of you.' The child further inquired, 'But tell me, here in heaven I don't have to do anything but sing and smile to be happy.' God said, 'Your angel will sing for you and will also smile for you. And you will feel your angel's love and be very happy.' Again the child asked, 'And how am I going to be able to understand when people talk to me if I don't know the language?' God said, 'Your angel will tell you the most beautiful and sweet words you will ever hear, and with much patience and care, your angel will ! teach you how to speak.' 'And what am I going to do when I want to talk to you?' God said, 'Your angel will place your hands together and will teach you how to pray.' 'Who will protect me?' God said, 'Your angel will defend you even if it means risking its life.' 'But I will always be sad because I will not see you anymore.' God said, 'Your angel will always talk to you about Me and will teach you the way to come back to Me, even though I will always be next to you.' At that moment there was much peace in Heaven, but voices from Earth could be heard and the child hurriedly asked, 'God, if I am to leave now, please tell me my angel's name.' God said, 'You will simply call her, 'Mom.'

Parlez Vous Francais?

Our kids speak French! What an amazing feat from two parents who struggle with the English language from time to time - lol. Their accents are beautiful and I could not be any prouder of my three babes. Yesterday, Jack and Kitty had a French Oral Presentation at their school and we were lucky enough to be able to attend. It included kindergarten through grade three students and ranged from songs to nursery rhymes to poems. Here is a sample of the great job that was presented by the second graders - no translation necessary - Enjoy!!!!

Take me out to the ballpark

Even though there is snow on the ground and more forecast for tomorrow....baseball season is preparing to begin. Jack has played for three years now and really loves it. His team this year amalgamated with another team in the city and they will be the Saskatoon A's. In previous years, he was a Redsock (which was actually super cool as the "real" Redsocks won the World Series!). He and Dennis and Corey and Matthew all had a guys night out, including a supper at McDonald's, to pick up their uniforms and any new equipment for the season. I haven't been feeling great this week, so I was already in the bathtub when they got home. A modeling session of the new goodies was in order, of course, so I watched the parade of fashions from my warm water perch. If good looks have anything to do with winning, I predict it's going to be a season full of home runs - Go A's!!!!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Date Night

Yee Haw! Dennis and I had our first date night in far too long last night :-) We were looking forward to some quiet time alone at dinner and a movie, when we received an e-mail on Wednesday night offering us concert tickets to see Brooks & Dunn and Alan Jackson! We immediately snapped those up without a second thought and changed our course for a night of entertainment! We are truly blessed by our friends and family and their "connections" which they so generously seem to always remember us when opportunities arise. Thanks y'all!!!!

Dennis picked me up from work and we had a wonderful meal at The Ivy. Our quiet time was well spent talking and laughing and enjoying not having to remind three children of their table manners! We got on the road for the venue in good time and actually managed to avoid a lot of the traffic back-ups due to my husband's expert driving skills. We were quite pleased once inside the arena to find that our tickets were actually in a box and we had bar service just two steps away - another rum and diet Pepsi, please!!

There was an opening act, Jesse Faraday, I think. She was cute and sang well, but definitely just a time filler. Brooks and Dunn started around 8:30 p.m. and sang their hearts out for an hour. We really enjoyed their performance and they seemed to just energize the crowd....here is one of my favorite songs from their act -


Alan Jackson didn't arrive on stage until around 10:00 p.m. and his stage was much simpler. He commented that he was just a guy with a guitar and that he hoped to play a few songs we knew and encouraged us to sing along and dance if we felt like it! He was genuinely humble and tipped his hat to the crowd in gratitude for the support of his music over the years. He did an amazing video of images from around Saskatoon set to his song "Where I Come From". The crowd went crazy when they saw images of Timmies, Canadian Tire, Our Armed Forces, Gordie Howe, and of course, the Maple Leaf! I love pride and patriotism in any fashion and this was truly a highlight of my evening :-) Here is, however, my favorite song, and I have no idea whose voice you hear in the background - could it have been too many rum and diets - nah, it's 5 o'clock somewhere.....



As Dennis and I left the concert, we realized that snow had started fall - it was predicted, but we tried to push the idea out of our minds that we could actually receive 50 cm of snow in mid-April! It was a wet, but peaceful drive home. We had a wonderful evening and it was such a joy to be able to spend quality time with my best beau. I will relish this outing until our next; whenever that may be!

And I wasn't even wearing yellow....

It was a beautiful day here yesterday and I was having an "excellent" day (more on that to follow in another post...). I was working when a man entered the store with a rose. I had just answered the phone and we had several customers milling about. I was not thinking this gift was intended for me. I was indeed taken aback when he handed me the rose and said, "a beautiful flower for a beautiful woman." As quickly as he appeared he was gone. I hung up the phone and had a stunned look on my face when I peeked inside the package and saw that it was a YELLOW rose. How did this stranger know that I was from Texas, first of all and secondly that I have an affinity for yellow. Bizarre!

Well, my boss and I and a few of our clients had a good giggle about the incident and I pretty much didn't think about it again for the next few hours. As part of my daily routine, I had to go to the tailors, which is just about a block away from the store. Much to my surprise, my flower man, was waiting outside our building when I returned. As I was entering, I hear a , "hey, hey" but completely ignore it because who the heck knows me downtown. Then as I am opening the door, he is right beside me speaking quickly and saying, "Hey, can I buy you a cup of coffee?" To say I was caught off guard is an understatement. I stammered, "No, I am still working." I kept walking and he followed. He said again that I was beautiful, I kept walking.

He didn't follow me into my store, but he obviously knows where I work! I do not like the feeling of looking over my shoulder or feeling as if I am being watched. I am sure the sentiment will fade over time, but I realize I shouldn't let my guard down either. I am off to work again this a.m. and I will probably weigh my clothing choices carefully. Not that I think that we should allow others to dictate what we wear, but I am conscious that other people are watching my choices closer than I would like.

Wordless Wednesday

It's the simple things

While Dennis and I were watching our current fave show, "New Amsterdam", on the PVR this evening he enlightened me with what makes him happy :-) It's the simple things he said, "A clean garage, warm banana bread and listening to my wife laugh." (that would be yours truly). In response, for me, it is also the simple things - A beautiful spring day, our first BBQ of the season, working together as a family to get a job done, loving my husband more with every breath I take and being able to blog about him while he is in the next room!

Banana Bread

Who knew that banana bread could be so pretty?! After having several of these tasty loaves in Texas over Spring Break, I finally had the opportunity to make it myself. It almost looks too good to eat, but I have several anxious children and a husband who has a fork in hand...yummmy! Thanks, Linsey :-) Here is the recipe for anyone else who wants to give it a try:





Ingredients:
1/2 cup margarine, softened
1 (8 ounce) package low fat cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups white sugar
2 eggs
1 to 1 1/2 cup mashed bananas (about 3 bananas)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)


Directions: Cream the butter or margarine and cream cheese together. Gradually add the white sugar, and continue beating until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the mashed bananas, vanilla, brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts. Add flour, baking powder, and soda; mix until batter is just moist.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 1 hour(plus, depending on the size of the bread pan), or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
I baked mine in a bunt pan for 45 mins and it was perfect!

The posts that could have been....

Good Sunday morning to every one! Over the past 24 hours I have had some amazing post ideas, unfortunately, none of you will read them. I am a in the moment type of idea maker and if I don't do anything about it right then; it is gone. I had a great idea dropping off my daughter for a play date yesterday, as I was laying my head on my pillow last night - brilliant idea -, and this morning as I was preparing coffee, tidying last nights popcorn bowl and picking up three children's stray socks, another moment of inspiration lost. I think I will start carrying a notebook to help me jot my ideas down so that I may expand on them later. In theory this sounds like it may work, but since I can never even find my cell phone, when it is ringing and flashing, in the bottom of my purse, a notebook will probably get consumed within its depths as well. I guess I will just have to get better at trying to document things/ideas/notions/moments in time as they happen. Stay tuned, as I never know when the post that could have been will become a post that is! Have a wonderful day y'all, eh?!

What?!

I can not believe that Michael Johns is off AI. We had an AI marathon this evening with the Top 8 show and then Idol Gives Back taped from yesterday and watching live tonight to see who was leaving. I am shocked that it is Michael. I actually enjoyed his version of Dream On. I thought David C. was off, Carly sounded angry, and everybody else is just way better than Kristy Lee. Jason Castro (shout out to the Texas boy) was awesome last night and Somewhere over the Rainbow will always be one of my favorite songs - Judy Garland's and IZ's versions both!

I'll miss you Michael and the dimension you added to the competition. I know, however, that we will hear from you again. Good Luck!

Alison's Confirmation

Alison was confirmed at St. Anne's Parish on Tuesday, April 8, 2008. It was a lovely ceremony and quite a blessed evening. Dennis, who was acting as her sponsor, was on his way home from Texas and was delayed at the border (paperwork!) At 6 p.m. he phoned to say that he was 2 1/2 hours away :-( We took it in stride and said that I would stand in his place and that we would all be fine. To say we were disappointed, was an understatement. I set Jack and Kitty up as the official photographers and Ali and I took our place in the processional into the church which began at 7:30 p.m.

We celebrated with a full mass and lots of joyful music. Alison was the 7th confirmand to be called by Father Paul and literally within 20 seconds of our approach, Dennis arrived! There were a few tears and then Dennis and I were able to walk with Ali and place our right hands on her shoulders. It was awesome! Congratulations Ali for continuing your walk with God. May you be ever mindful that Dad and I are with you every step of the way!

The pics that follow are from Jack and Kitty's perspective:

Alison before donning her red cape

Jack and Kitty's self portrait in the church, while waiting patiently, of course!

Jack reflecting during a quiet moment of prayer - is that an angelic face or what?!

Ali and I in the processional

Daddy arrived just in time - priceless!

My New Yellow Top

Good morning! Spring is here and yellow is the color of the season (according to all the fashion magazines and store front windows). Yesterday, I decided to wear my new yellow top that I bought with my step-daughter two weeks ago. Now, for those of you who don't know, I work in retail and we do carry yellow tops; just not my yellow. See... yellow is very specific. One cannot wear just any shade they desire, it must be their yellow! My quest had begun even earlier when Tannis and I were in Las Vegas in February. I tried on dozens of yellow tops, but to no avail. Just not my shade.... I kept thinking. Well, my yellow happens to be a shade just shy of mustard versus lemon, for those of you wondering, and I found it at a shopping party in some one's home, no less. (This story has a side note in that the owner of the company, that runs the shopping parties, happens to be the daughter of the man that dates my Mom, whom I had never met. It is such an amazingly small world!)

My top proved to be a hit and I had several comments yesterday on its cuteness. Even some unsolicited testimonials from the homeless guy on the corner as I walked past him more than once! "You look like a ray of sunshine" was one of my favorites, I believe. Yellow is a color that lifts the mood and makes you smile; you cannot have a bad day in a yellow top. I urge you all to find your shade and wear your own yellow top as soon as possible! I am wondering now, however, if I should have corrected my admirer and indicated that my yellow was indeed more dijon than sunny, but I have decided to save a fashion lesson for another day, hand him some change and keep on smiling.

My First Post :-)

Well, here I am, just home from a Mexican Fiesta in honor of my Daddy. Today would have been his 73rd birthday and I miss him something terrible! My girlfriend, Tannis, knew today was going to be a challenge for me. She has this amazing ability to read my emotions and know my heart. Her inner Martha pulled through with a Mexican extravaganza that would have made any restaurant jealous. We had homemade salsa, guacamole, queso and mojitos (which are Cuban, but substituted nicely for margaritas!) Then came the beef tacos with all the fixin's and Mexi-fries for the kids (in Canada that means tater tots). We finished off with a birthday cake for Daddy and coffee with Baileys. Ay Caramba, muy delicioso!!!

Thank you Tannis, as always, for being there for me when I needed you most. I probably don't tell you often enough, but I count you as one of my many blessings :-)

The kids were all awesome today as well. They said a prayer for Grandpop and then went outside and shot off canisters of confetti towards heaven while shouting Happy Birthday (oh yeah, did I mention it was snowing like mad and they were in their pajamas?!) It was a beautiful site to see and one I will have to keep to myself as I did not have my camera handy at the time!

Okay, my friends, this is the beginning of what hopefully shall be a long and productive relationship. I plan on documenting the day to day from the mundane to the extreme and pretty much everything in between. I hope y'all will sit and stay awhile once I get a few more posts logged on. I may back track a bit and try to catch everyone up here and there while staying current too. This is most definitely a work in progress and I hope we can grow together.

Off to put the babes to bed and get an early nite myself. It is Monday tomorrow after all! More to follow, so stay tuned... Happy Birthday Daddy. I miss you and love you with all my heart. Always,