Music that makes me smile

Most people know I'm a music-girl. I like all sorts of music, I know a million songs about a million things that are usually totally random and rediculous, but still. In fact, just the other day, Em made up something on Facebook like, "writing my own story", and, believe it or not, I broke into a song in front of her with those exact words. She sat at the table dumbfounded, probably thinking I was making it up as I went or something. I also like to think that her laugh was of sheer joy at my amazing skillz, and nothing whatsoever to do with the dance I broke out into. Whatever that dumbfounded look was for, it didn't go unnoticed. Which in itself entertains me, as I used to think the same thing of my father when he'd sing ridiculous lyrics that I didn't believe were real. And no, I was never laughing at anything he did-- it only encouraged him! ;) (love ya pop-sicle)



I mean, who knows a song about chewing gum that loses its flavour? Well... I do!!! *YOUTUBE VIDEO HERE*



Or, without my father, would I have known a song about playing with a chainsaw? Like this one: *YOUTUBE VIDEO HERE*



Country songs are classic for funny words. Like this one!



Yah. I know songs about blue kleenexes, camels named Clyde, and even 'historical' songs about Colonel Custer! ;)



Some silly songs I relate to times in my life. Some I relate to people. Some songs just bring a smile to my face...

A new song I relish:



*YOUTUBE HERE*

So, when you hear a funky song with recockulous lyrics, just sit back and smile. Think of me. Imagine the dance. You HAVE to imagine the dance.

Yay and Boo - 2010 fall edition

Okay,
Nay. seriously, I have NO time to be here on the computer. But I hate not posting for so long! And really- there isn't much 'news' to put up anyways.

Nay AND Yay! I've been so occupied with readings and homework that blogging or all the good, fall TV shows are taking quite a backseat. I have too much to do like laundry and all that. Thankfully everything I'm reading is fascinating and exciting to me.

Yay. Thankfully, I am no longer a 'psuedo'mother to 5 adorable kittens. We managed to off all of them on unsuspecting poor fools who took them from us FOR FREE from the front of the grocery store. Nothing says "take my adorable kitten" like my three little monkeys at the doors, holding them. So yay for no more kittens.

Yay that I'll be taking the cat in this week to be 'fixed'. er.... broken... whatever. Potatoe potahto.

Yay that I handed in my first nursing paper. It was on people of a different culture, so Will to me out to the Hudderite colony where I interviewed a family on their health and cultural beliefs. After writing the paper, I got it back. The teacher gave me 100%!! And even asked to use my paper as an example for future classes! I am relieved that my being out of school for 12 years or so isn't totally kicking my trash. BIG YAY.

SUPER yay that I got out of that horrid English class I disliked so badly. And hopefully there's another Yay coming up in a day or two when I should find out about the Biology. Less work = more time with my family.

Nay. My home renos are stalled, currently. It's a work-able kitchen, with appliances and running water, so I'm doing fine with that right now. Since I'm not home all day, it's not really getting under my skin anyways. And Will has SOOOOO much work right now that I'm happy when he just comes home and chills with me.

Yay. I got a new calling for my church. I am the music director in the Relief Society (women's organization). Will is the secretary for the Elder's Quorum, so he has his hands full with that too. House renos will have to wait.

Yay. I have this gym class at school. They're making us do 21-days of change, where we have to change something about our health, journal it each day, and report on is after the 21 days are done. You guys know me-- I'm a juice junkie. Me and my Redbull have quit our love affair and my 21-days of change is about me drinking WATER and only WATER. Boo. I miss flavour and carbonation. But I know it's a really good change for me... even if it sounds ridiculous to most. You guys know I do NOT drink water. ew. I'm on day 9. .... it's going to be a LOOOONG 21 days!!!

Nay. When I went to get my readings done last night, my little Em came into my room to talk about boys and all that. A few hours later, Will and I were feeling copious amounts of anxiety and frustration and fear.. It is NO fun having a teenage daughter. She's such an amazing young woman, though, I just hope she figures that out about herself sooner than later. I remember being her-- EXACTLY like her, at that age, and my heart hurts just knowing what she's going through. Heartache sucks. Finding a personal testimony with so much opposition sucks. Giving into peer pressure sucks. Feeling like you're all alone sucks. As parents, Will and I are realizing more and more each day our role in developing our children's spirituality. As I heard in church yesterday, these children born to us already have a stronger testimony than we do-- it's just our job to help them unwrap it.

Forget school papers and assignments and all that-- dealing with the knowledge that I'm building a spirit is FAR more work than I'd imagined. And, lucky for me, I have a SUPER partner to do it with. Yay.

Not JUST for kids!

Yesterday, Will and I were talking on the cellphone about the past year of our marriage. I had slept in until 11 am, and he had called me from work to be my wake-up call so I didn't miss picking up Mimi from kindergarten. I felt guilty for being SO lazy while he was off working, but he simply understood that this week was crazy busy and I was understandably tired. We laughed and sighed, and realized the entire YEAR was crazy busy. I smiled, and replied, "Let's make this year a quiet, calmer year, mkay?"

The phone beside the bed rang. It was the 'big city' college. I told Will I'd call him back, and answered the phone.

You see, I applied to school for this year, but I was on the waitlist, and they told me that they'd let me know if a spot opened up before yesterday. So, seeing as it was now the day after the 'deadline', I knew why they were calling. We're sorry to inform you that you are not able to attend this year. Please reapply next year. And the year after that. And the next 4 years after that until you give up and get a job at Subway. Yah, yah, I know the drill.

The lady in charge of my file was on the other end of the line, and told me that "a spot had been made available."

?????

"Are you still interested?"

UM!!!! IS THE POPE CATHOLIC!?!?! Heck ya, I'm interested!! "Yes, absolutely!" I calmly replied.

So, she tells me that I have to go to the college AS SOON AS POSSIBLE to pay fees and pick up my registration stuff, buy my books and get my supplies, because, you see, SCHOOL STARTS TODAY!!!!

I hung up, and called Will back.
"So, ya know how I said we should have a quiet year?!"
He just chuckled, and said, "I guess it's not going to be so quiet, hey?!"


So, I am now a full-time student in the Practical Nursing program at the college! And you thought my blogging routine was bad this past year... just wait for THIS year!! It is going to be awesome. What amazing things lay ahead. I am starting a life-long goal (no word of a lie on that one, I've wanted to be a nurse since I could talk!) and I'm scared to death but even MORE excited.

I will miss picking up Mimi from kindergarten every day. I will miss being home when the kids are getting home from school. I will be the crock-pot queen. I will have an even MESSIER home, LESS laundry done. I will be stressed about assignments and grades. I will be spending an arm and a leg for gas to and from the 'big city' every single day. I will have to travel in snow and blizzards and days I want to just stay in bed. I will not be able to run during mornings while Mimi is in school.

But, I will be living my dream. I will be on the road to financially securing our family with a steady income, health benefits, and options for Will.

First time back in a school fulltime since High School.
What should I wear!!!!??? ;)

Brackets are the new Elipses

Oh Mylanta.

It has been only, like, THE busiest week EVA!!!!

Not ONLY has our awesome, ridiculously NEW desktop computer received a frikken VIRUS again.... (Note to Will: that is enough of the nudey downloads) (*haha TOTALLY kidding- it's usually from the kids' game site (which I hate).) (You know what else I hate?? Too many brackets.) And because of this, uploading photos of our fantastical week has been, well, uh, challenging.

Of course, we could totally do the whole "first day of school" blog, which everyone and their dogs do. (And dogs go to school, so that sentence actually makes more sense than you first realized, hey?! I am so smart. SMRT.) But our first day went like this:

yah. Too cute. Mimi started kindergarten this year. Can we tell she's a bit excited!?
Or, I could blog about the fact that this is only THE BEST EFFIN' WEEK IN THE WHOLE ENTIRE YEAR!! (and by Effin, I totally mean F.... For FAMILY!!) That's right, folks, it's freakin' FAMILY WEEK! A.K.A- little bro "Uncle Kannie" is getting married tomorrow to Auntie Bree, and all the sibs are in town for the wedding partay. Oh, and Auntie Kiki is 9 months prego, so we celebrated "Baby Boy Gaseous's" impending arrival. And lemme just say, that baby can pass gas like it's NO ONE'S business!! He seriously made our eyes water! Good thing Auntie Kiki is so cute-bellied! (She wants to make it known that she, of course, is a lady, and that lady-farts smell like roses, so it's OBVIOUSLY the male-species growing and flatulating inside of her that makes whatever come out with such a potent aroma NOT her fault!) riaaaaghtt.
Yep.

And in the midst of all the celebrations, shopping, singing (Video to accompany next week's follow-up blog) and eating, there were pickles. And peaches. And kittens. Oh my.
WAY cute kittens, no? Want one? Or five?

And yes, as mentioned above... when last weekend I spent watching my sister's 7 kids, I tried to jar pickles for our food storage. 100 jars later- I am SO ready for pickle-eating season. (don't ask WHEN that is... it's sometime between Hallowe'en and Easter, I'm pretty sure.) Well, when you spend that much time pickling cucumbers and bottling peaches, you end up with a food storage room that is phenomenally AWESOME. Other than the resident Mighties. (And, for those who aren't all Debbi-vocabed, Mighties is my name for mice.)

Yah. (haha I just typed yag. Which, is obviously a mixture of yah and gag. TOTALLY how I feel about the whole Mighty sichee-ation) this mouse was no different-- we have two types of traps in the storage room -- the As-IF-you-have-a-hope traps like this:

And the who-are-you-kidding traps. Like this failure:
And guess which one caught a mouse first? Yah. The failure trap. What? Why call it a failure trap if it caught a mouse, oh Debbi, the wise one? Well, young grasshoppers, because Mr. Failure-trap decided that once it caught said mouse, it would then let it go. I KNOW, RIGHT?! I went to the storage room, and saw the mouse in the trap. (first off-- moment of sheer PANIC as you reread that sentence and realize that *I* saw a live mouse in my house!!!!! Do you not remember how I use a shovel to pick up the dead ones?!) I see the mouse, but there's no chance in Haiti that I'm gonna do anything about it! We're all getting ready to leave for church, so I tell Will to take care of the mouse. He leaves to church with us, putting ridiculous amounts of faith in that trap.

We get home from church, and I (ahem) kindly remind him about the mouse. He takes the boys into the storage room to take care of it. (whack it.) (take it out)(exterminate it)(annihilate it)(assassinate it)(liquidate it... although, that makes me conjure really nasty images of ew-ness of liquid mice) Then Taylor comes out to the car, (where I'm still trying to get far enough away from the mouse issue) and tells me, with a giggle, that the mouse got away. NATURALLY, I think he's just trying to play with my tender emotions. It IS Taylor, after all. Twelve-year old boys think making their mothers scream is funny.

Nope.

It really got away. Will apologized. *smiling*

And I really freaked lost it kept my cool and didn't step into that storage room for another month. (okay, a day, tops, but still)

So, alas. I have another Mighty Mouse to seek and destroy. It's on, sucka!!

But, I have a freaking awesome food storage that mice can't get into. And I have family around all week. And I get an entire morning to myself everyday while all the kids are at school. And..
if you didn't remember... it's Will's and my first anniversary in 4 days. :D *bliss*

So, I gots things ta do, homeboys. Laters.

(As a post script-- I'm pretty sure that some sort of top-secret government official is gonna knock down my front door any second because I googled "other words for killing" and sent off some sort of alarm. If I don't show up tomorrow...you know why...

I AM AT THE WEDDING, hosers! Sheesh. you don't listen, do ya?! ;) )

See ya tomorrow!

Today is Two's-Day

I like the number two. Even in reference to 12-year-old boy mentality conversations about bathroom duties. (haha, duties. Doodies. HAHA. See? 12-year-old! ooooh, it never gets old. Reminds me of THIS Friends episode. ROFL!)

I really do miss my dayhome sometimes. Most days I think about those kids in some way or another. I think about how much more I got done around the house-- for who knows WHAT reason. I think about the money. I think about the friendships I still have with their parents. I had so many kids at different ages, but two-year olds are my favourite. They are spunky and fiesty and terrific. They say funny things, they do funny things, they eat really funny things... they are just fun fun fun.

(Jeremy at 2 years old)

We have two hands for holding.
Two lips for kissing.
Two ears for nibbling.
Two arms for hugging.

Two legs for ... um.. nothing G-rated comes to mind so let's skip this one, shall we?!
Two eyes WITH PERFECT VISION!!!
And two cheeks..
er...
cheeks.

Two is awesome.
Two, as they say, is better than one.
I am glad to have my second chance, too. My number two is my first choice!

Not Me Monday- Quiet Summer

It's NOT ME MONDAY.

Where I surely talk about the things I DID NOT do this weekend.

Like, I did NOT do NOTHING! ;) Will and I drove out to Bearfoot Beach to help my grandmother rebuild the dock. Okay, so Will rebuilt it-- I did NOT cheer him on. And, no, I was NOT the 'counter-weight' for the screws he couldn't get in...
don't start, VL.

Other than going to church, I did NOT go over to my S-I-L's house where Sin, Bell and their spouses and us did NOT play cards until WAY past my bedtime!!! Will and I did NOT get to bed last night at 3 am- and did NOT sleep in until 10:45! It's NOT been nice having summer, and having the kids with Chris for the weekend.

Today may be a BIT more productive-- I am off to Cowtown to go pick the kids back up.
Yep. I'm NOT super awesome like that that I do NOT have NOTHING I *HAVE* to do!!! :)

When it all comes together, it's freaking awesome

okay, before I hear about it--

LIFE IS BUSY!!!

I've got lots of little things going on, and, frankly, it's summer and I am outside working on my skin-cancer. (okay, I'm NOT-- I am outside, gardenning and sitting with the kids at the pool and occasionally getting more sun than usual)

There's not much to report to the masses anyways.

I took engagement photos for my brother and his fiancee, my first time doing something like that. I'm no photographer, but it was an honour that they'd ask me and trust my abilities enough. When you're this good looking, though, how hard is it to take good looking photos? Fun kids, I tell ya.

I went to parades and family reunions over the past few weekends. Good times, and Will's family is great.

Went to a lame circus. I am getting laser eye surgery next week-- so I DEFINITELY won't be around a computer to be able to blog. No worries, peeps, I'll either find a ghostwriter or I'll pre-post my blogs. OR, I'll just make Will take funny photos of me in my granny glasses.

In house news,

My countertops came. They're nice.

The installers broke my sink. Not so nice.

The pantry is done, and I've started putting food in it. REALLY nice!

I finally planted something that will flower non-noxiously in my front garden. Maybe my yellow house will look less ghetto next summer! :)

And, that's me.

Off to drop off kids with Chris, play with friends, shop...

you know,

just enjoy the summer.

What I Learned When I Was NOT Instructed.

One time, my Creative Writing (grade 12) and English teacher, Mr. Metcalfe instructed us to "start writing".

He was a phenomenal teacher, and I remember more of his classes in that creative writing course than I remember from ALL my teachers combined. He, unfortunately, retired that year, leaving his legacy with my graduating class.

So, as I sit here with a million thoughts and yet thoughtless, I am reminded of that lecture that day.

"Start Writing", he said.

We all sat there, dumbfounded. We didn't know WHAT to write about. I mean, in a course where EVERY DAY he told us to "write about your favourite family member" or "write an addition to a Robert Frost poem" or "write a sonnet" or "write a letter to a child about death"...
in a day where we arrive and he says, "Start Writing", we all just sat there, looking at him.

Smiling, he said, "I just want you to write ALL the things that come into your head. No matter if it's a poetic or nostalgic piece, or nothing at all, just write it down. If your thought changes, change what you're writing to match. Just. Start. Writing."

So, we did.

It was really a fun, memorable lesson. A lesson that sometimes our "muse" can daydream, too, and sometimes what's in our heads makes perfect sence. And other times, our thoughts can flee with the wind.

For ES and GEEs, I wrote this:

Whatever you want to say,
say it so the man down the street can dance when the moon is only square.
And if you try to run,
don't step on your shadow's heels cuz he'll cry and so will I.
How come
winter only comes at the ends of years
but summer lasts the whole time?
I think if you drink 'till you see straight
and swing 'till you can feel yourself gliding even when you're laying in bed,
then you'll finally dream your wishes but wish you'll dream
of other, more inportant things instead.
And that's how I feel when I walk away from you.
I still feel your arms around me, but sometimes I can't sleep
because the motion is kinda making me sick.
I don't think you listen to me with your whole toe
like all those dumb poems try to analyze me into doing.
You need to learn to give up
on piddlely little card games.
I went for a trip tomorrow,
met a dog with one eye pointed at you
and the other eye was looking at you.
He 'moo'ed, and I kissed his hoof.

So, today, I challenge you bloggers, you journal-keepers, you daydreamers, to just Start Writing. To think nothing about what comes out on the page, and just let the beautiful English language flow out of your head. You may want to share with your readers, and perhaps you may just be surprised at what you're truly thinking.

Being THE BEST at something, also means someone else is the worst! Which means, you're ALSO the best at hurting the loser's feelings!

I love awards.

I should totally be the recipient for so many awards, it's not even funny.

I married the HOTTEST dude. Yep. I win the award for "Best Catch!" although, people who frequent my trophy-case have made comment that my trophy of a fish could mean SO many other things. I assure you, it does not. Sickos. THAT award has already been given out to someone else, so I've been told by Will.

I have received this award because I live in the "Most Comfortable Home"! As everyone knows- a clean house is unlivable. Therefore, my home is VERY "lived-in". To the point that I even have a blanket as a doorway. My hardwood floors are IMPORTED from across the sea. Stamped with the word "Plywood", which, obviously, means they came from Plymouth, UK, or "PLY", as the locals call it. :)

I have already shown myself as many things, yes, but one that is permanently ENGRAVEN on the television, is my "Best Wife" award. X-Weighted was very kind to have awarded me this one, as they so eloquently INSISTED I use the phrase "trophy wife" in every sentence for the 6 months of filming! Charmed, I'm sure.

And finally, I am THE BEST at being charitable (and humble, although I can't seem to understand why every time I look for that award, it's missing!). I don't want to leave you guys without ANY awards. I have two here and I leave this award to a few of you.

And this to a few others. You can title it as you like. ;)

Because I'm seriously THE BEST at so many things, I thought I'd give you guys a little help in achieving such accomplishments as above.

First: Buy this book. It's definitely worth every American penny you own. And then some. Read it, cover to cover, and then look at yourself in the mirror and say this mantra: "I just wasted a lot of time, and I was the BEST at it!" Repeat it three times.

Second: Buy this book. It's definitely worth every Canadian penny you own. Before you give it to your man, rip out all the pages. Insert a page with the inscription "the woman is always right". This will ENSURE that when you SAY you're the best at something, people in the household with all agree.

Lastly, start practicing now for the day you receive THIS award. It's fairly easy to acquire-- most husbands are quick at both acquiring it AND giving it out to their wives and mothers. I assure you, you've probably already been given this award by your man, he may just have forgotten to give you the certificate.

In all seriousness, though,

I *DID* receive a cool award from M at The Woodchips. She said it was because I brought her sunshine! YAY! I like knowing that my ramblings are filled with skin-cancer-inducing love! ;) Thanks for the award, M!

Like all great awards, I want to share it with 5 of MY favourite bloggers of late.. people who bring ME sunshine.

1. Jae at No More Mom Jeans. I found Jae on facebook and then again on a friend's blog, and funny enough, Jae and I actually KNOW each other. We were in the same church congregation for years, and her brother and I were great friends. She's very funny, and today her blog was about wedgies and wedges. I mean, bums and shoes??? Clearly, what's not to love?


2. Pooba at Grand Pooba. I have loved 'poobs' for a while now, and I'm grateful for "Internet BFFS." She's a great blogger. Go find some sunshine over there!


3. Andy at Finding Fairy Tales. Sure, she's got a mouth of a drunken sailor, but Oh Em Gee she makes me laugh every day. The ONE person I didn't "know" whom I invited to my wedding. She's super. Probably because she doesn't care that you think she's crazy. And, those of us who know her best (you know... all 8 of us "Internet BFFS") will adamantly declare that she IS. What other friend do you have who'll hand out Ativans at Hallowe'en. I can't make that stuff up! It's crap like that what makes her great. :)


4. Alison at Inner Thoughts Of A Woman. She writes it as it is. And, I see me in her, just a year or two ago. Although it's a sad tone- she does bring me sunshine, though, as I love honesty and emotion-- both of which are exuded in abundance on her blog.


5. Marci and Andrew at As Newlyweds See It. Sure, we're related-- easy award to give out. But no matter what goes on in our lives or how far apart we are, having a hot sister like her is sunshine to my soul. Andrew is awesome too. I'd cry at his funeral. ;)

So, there you have it. The First Annual Pretty Peas Award blog. Stay tuned next time for the latest one-of-a-kind awards, and the nominee for it. :)

I'd give you some food for thought, but we have nowhere to cook it!

I haven't figured it out yet-

I don't have a job...well, not REALLY. I mean, I'm a mom, and I work very occasionally with my mother-in-law, and I help Will paint some days, and yes, once or twice a week I watch kids.

So, how is my house so messy? How is my journal unwritten for a few weeks? How is my scale moving in the wrong direction?

And how the heck has my blog suffered? Like, honestly, I got SO MUCH MORE done in Cowtown when I ran a full daycare, when I was home all day. I had a clean(er) house, I made money, I got stuff done, I had a meticulous yard (most of the time) and I blogged nearly every day-- sometimes twice.

Is waking at 6am really all that I need to do? Because, as good and well as that sounds-- it's just NOT gonna happen. I wake with Will at about 7:30, groggily pull my lazy butt out of the warm bed, and wake the kids. Then, mom-of-the-year goes BACK TO BED while they eat and get dressed. Sure, I'm up to watch them leave and say goodbye (and make sure they're not wearing mismatched socks or t-shirts in the snow), but it takes hours before I get around to attacking the mess of this house.

Maybe it's just because we're so upintheair regarding our home renovations.

Although it's just a kitchen, it really isn't JUST a kitchen. A kitchen is the heart of a home, usually. It's a homework room. A discipline room. A spot for company to gather, where neighbours gather and families laugh together. A spot for children to play with playdough and crayons. It's a place where we actually SEE our teenagers (briefly) before they disappear again into the abyss of their rooms with their paws full of something fried and microwaved. And since tearing down the walls that separate the kitchen from the front room, our home is one BIG, happy, one-room mess.

And it's overwhelming. I mean, I can keep it tidy. But CLEAN!? How do you clean a mess? And, better yet, WHY would you try? How do you vacuum underlay without it shredding each time? How do you clean a cooktop that burns everything and an oven that starts things on fire? It's just gonna get messy again. Wires hanging from the ceiling and poking out of the floor boards, and floating sinks and dishwashers on wheels...

Why clean it?

So it begs the question- if the renos were done, would I seriously have a cleaner house? Would I get to know my neighbours better? Would I bake or cook more? Would I find time to be outside, tending a messy garden or talking walks? Would I spend more time with Mimi? Would I get into school? Would I stop feeling a horrible twang of 'baby-itch'? Would I make friends? Would I visit with family more, serve more, learn more?

Would I blog more?