Hello there winter

Posted on November 27, 2010 by Sherry

Winter has made a low-key arrival here. We got freezing rain yesterday which made everything quite icy. Because of that I actually didn’t mind when I woke up to snow this morning. I am not winter’s biggest fan but I figure that snow is the lesser of two evils; at least I can walk in it without landing on my head.

Hayley went to a birthday party (we caught up after supper and joined her) so I decided to take Breanna out to play in the little bit of accumulation we had. It wasn’t a ton or anything. You could still see the grass through the snow. As far as she was concerned though, it was perfect and so with the sun shining through the window we set about getting ready.

In the time it took to make sure she peed, followed by getting all the winter gear out of the closet and onto our bodies, the sun completely disappeared and a ridiculously cold wind kicked up, blowing snow in every which direction. There was nowhere to stand without getting wind in your face.

Tell a five-year-old that it’s cold though. They don’t feel it. I managed to stay out with her for 40 minutes before I lured her back inside with the promise of a cup of hot chocolate and a nice bubble bath. Whew.

Joy!

Snow angels

Crazy wind blowing snow off the roof

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After supper George, Breanna, and I went out to the birthday party and that was a lot of fun but it’s rather late and I’m quite tired so that will have to wait until tomorrow.

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Apropos of nothing else, it saddens me to know that one day Breanna will realize that your heart BEATS, so in the meantime I refuse to correct her so that she keeps telling me about how her heart is beeping.

Portrait of a Friday

Posted on November 12, 2010 by Sherry

I am so tired and nearly forgot to update for NaBloPoMo so I’m going to give you a bullet point portrait of a Friday.

Breanna always hears me when I get up for Breakfast Club mornings which means she’s awake from 5:30 am onward. In order to give George a break from super-early-morning-Breanna I took her with me to the school. She enjoyed a waffle for breakfast and then played in the gym before curling up with some of the books from daycare while I finished cleaning up. She then spend the rest of the day being EXHAUSTED. This kid needs to learn how to sleep until at least 8 am because the lack of sleep will either kill her or turn me into a raging alcoholic.
Hayley went on a field trip to the Cosmodome where the class got to build a Newton vehicle for a rally, watched a film on the solar system, saw models of the solar system, and even looked at the sun through a special filtered telescope. When she first brought the permission slip home I was SUPER excited. Then I read that they didn’t require volunteers. I’m highly jealous. (I went for a job interview on the space camp side several years ago and it was the best interview of my life, no joke.)
I had fully intended to put the kids to bed early. Usually they stay up until 9 pm on a Friday or Saturday night but between Breanna’s exhaustion and the fact that Hayley was up at 6 am and on a field trip almost all day, I was thinking the usual 8 pm bedtime. Then at 7 pm Hairspray came on TV (the 2007 version) and I had never seen it. Being a musical loving girl the songs immediately caught my attention, the kids were being SO good in their room, and I ended up watching the whole thing and getting them to bed at 9:30.
In related news, why can’t we burst into song at random like they do in musicals? Singing and dancing would be awesome.
I sat and enjoyed a beer and some chips while watching “Blue Bloods” and I have to say that as much as I love “The Walking Dead”, I think that “Blue Bloods” is my favorite new fall show. The fact that Donnie Wahlberg is in it is only part of the reason. It just really is a good show.
Since I was also up at 5:30 am I am really sleepy. I think that’s it for now.

However, one last thing. As I was looking at all kinds of things to do with Remembrance Day, I found this video which – I fully admit – brought tears to my eyes. It also made me really proud to be a Canadian. “Eyes right” is a command used by marching troops that is usually reserved for dignitaries who are present. It’s an extremely high compliment to have troops do an “eyes right” for you.

A young boy in Belgium was watching a parade at a memorial service when the Canadian troops passed by (aside: How CUTE is that little boy? He was so excited and I love his repeated thumbs up to – I assume – his parents!) and when they saw this little kid saluting them they did indeed give the “eyes right” command for him. What an honour and what a special moment. I love Canada.

Can’t keep a dry eye when I watch it.

Beautiful day for a family outing

Posted on November 8, 2010 by Sherry

My poor sister is on the verge of a) drowning, b) floating away, or c) building an ark with the ridiculous deluge of rain that it currently soaking the Maritimes. It started on Thursday and hasn’t stopped yet; it’s a total downpour with places further out having to close roads because of the flooding.

As a result I felt a little bit guilty when I was looking out my window on a very beautiful Sunday morning. However, Hayley asked George if we could go as a family to the big nature park we had visited with friends awhile back and we had absolutely no need, reason, or desire to say no. We bundled up accordingly since it was definitely crisp outside (4C or 39F) and headed out just after lunch for a couple of hours.

Although being in the shady sections were chilly, the sun was wonderful, the air was fresh, and it was just gorgeous out there. It was unfortunate that the goat pen was locked up, but we still got to look at them through the fence and we spent some time watching the deer as well. The latter became my subject du jour since they weren’t the least bit camera shy. I tried to figure out how to sneak one home but I decided George would probably have a problem with that.

On our way to the grocery store on the trip back home we thanked Hayley for giving us such a great idea. I figure that we’re kicking into the second week of November, this is Canada, and more importantly it’s EASTERN Canada. This beautiful weather isn’t going to last forever.

Winter will bear down on us soon enough (and I hear that it’s supposed to be a doozy, gah!) and going out will require head to toe coverage in the form of hats and mitts and snow pants, so it was definitely worth our while to head out on a nice day while it lasts!

(More photos here)

A day in the life

Posted on October 26, 2010 by Sherry

It had been ages since I had done a photo day in the life post so I thought I would do one on Sunday. I had intended to post them all on Monday but Hayley stayed home from school because she wasn’t feeling well (fever and sniffles, etc) so I put it off until today.

Here’s how my Sunday went.

As much as I’d like to say I slept in until this time on a Sunday, well, no. I had been awake for awhile but I managed to stay in bed by tossing some books to Breanna while I laid there and…

Checked my mail on my iPod Touch. It’s a bit of a compulsion, I have a habit of doing this first thing in the morning before getting out of bed.

Once I finally got up it was time to let Winnie out of her crate and take her out for a potty break, as well as a trot around the (big) block to stretch out her legs.

Reward for stumbling around the block with my eyes at half-mast? Coffee!

Breakfast time! I made waffles for the kids, and that’s my toast you see in the toaster. George took care of his own breakfast, he rarely eats first thing upon waking.

Once we’re all done eating, it’s Winnie’s turn. I rarely need to feed the dog since both kids love to do it, especially Breanna.

I made a quick call to my mom; we were going to see my parents in the early afternoon so I just wanted to let her know when to expect us.

Okie dokie, time for me to hop in the shower and get all cleaned up.

I am so low-maintenance with my hair. It’s a bit of a miracle that I use gel at all, and I almost never dry it all the way because my patience levels for fiddling with my hair are way down there. This is why I get the cut I normally do, because it’s very wash and wear.

Bed, all made. It was getting cold at night and I don’t like to leave the heat up overnight, so I threw this sleeping bag over the comforter and it keeps me toasty while I sleep.

Once I was done with everything else, it was time for some primping. This probably looks like a lot but in reality it takes me all of five minutes to put my contacts in, throw on some eye shadow and liner, curl my eyelashes, and slap on a coat of mascara. Again, pretty low-maintenance. More than five minutes of prep time requires a special occasion.

(Alas, the picture I took post-primping was SUPER blurry so I didn’t bother.)

The girl who gave me Winnie said that she loved driving around so we took her for her first drive with us when we went to see my parents. They were very excited to meet her and she was pretty good. She was a bit agitated on the way out but then I realized it was because she wanted to lie down more towards the back, so the drive home later on ended up being much better.

It wasn’t a particularly great day but at least it wasn’t raining. It was pretty chilly though!

One of the reasons we were going to visit my parents was because they still had Hayley’d birthday present waiting for her; it’s just gotten too hard for my dad to manage the four flights of stairs at our place so they weren’t able to come for her party. They got her some plush toys from Club Penguin – both the kids LOVE to play Club Penguin. Hayley was very excited and based on Breanna’s interest, my mom knows what to get her for her birthday next month!

We had a nice visit for a few hours. Then on the way home we stopped for some groceries.

George and Breanna went in the store while Hayley and I waited in the car with Winnie. Winnie was not pleased that two of “her people” went in the store, she seemed very nervous as to where they were. She was very happy when they finally came back out.

Putting stuff away.

Clearly visiting people is EXHAUSTING because as soon as Winnie got upstairs she did this for quite some time.

I threw some vegetables into a pot and got some water boiling to make rice so I could get supper going.

Nom nom nom! General Tao Chicken on basmati rice with some vegetables on the side.

After supper I took Winnie for a good walk and when I came back I found that Hayley had borrowed George’s guitar to practice what she had learned at her guitar lesson last week. I think she’s really going to enjoy this course.

Meanwhile, George and Breanna played with the new foosball game my parents gave us. They had bought it a couple of years ago and only played it once so my mom thought we’d enjoy it more. I love that Breanna’s right up on the table to play!

And while everyone else amused themselves I … well, I washed the dishes and cleaned up the kitchen. Whoopee, talk about exciting!

Once the kitchen was cleaned up it was time for Hayley to hop in the bath and have her hair washed (they get a bath on alternating days because putting both of them in the tub at once usually means more water on the floor than in the actual tub). Then I dried her hair, gave them each a snack, and sent them off to use the bathroom and brush teeth. THEN it was time for them to get into bed.

George had gone to the store and if no one is around to supervise while I put the kids to bed I always put Winnie into her crate (just like I do when we go out or overnight). This saves our shoes, the garbage bag, and the kids’ toys. It’s just a better way to set her up for success – she can’t get into trouble this way. She doesn’t mind the crate and all, and I let her out as soon as I come back out to the living room. Where I get the Crazy Face.

I hate putting school lunches together in the morning so I do as much as I can the night before. I got her drink, snack, and dessert all ready and put them in one spot in the fridge. Her actual lunch was going to be leftovers in her thermos, so I left that for the morning (and then she ended up being sick on Monday so it didn’t matter anyway).

With everything tidied up, the kids in bed, and George back home working on some music down the hall, I decided it was time for me to relax with some refreshments, some television, and some blog reading.

Winnie snoozed a bit longer (still worn out from visiting!) but then she rolled around and gave me this face and she was too cute to resist so I played with her for awhile.

Fluff explosion! I went to the kitchen for a minute and in that time she managed to completely un-stuff her brand new toy that my parents gave her. What a goofball.

After one last trip outside to do her business, I put Winnie to bed for the night. Then I headed to the bathroom to take out my contacts, remove my makeup, wash my face, and brush my teeth. Sometimes I wait until I’m so tired that it feels like a huge chore.

I should have gone to bed a little earlier than this since it was a Sunday night but c’est la vie.

Good night!

Memories captured on video

Posted on October 22, 2010 by Sherry

As you’re probably already aware, I took a TON of photos in Halifax this summer. This is not surprising at all considering I can easily snap away without realizing it. Just the other day when I was at the nature park, it was just a three hour afternoon and yet I completely filled up my card, taking over 250 pictures – and that’s a place I go to semi-regularly!

Anyway, on top of the photos both George and I shot some video as well. We both have some up on YouTube and we had many just sitting on our hard drives.

While we were there George’s cousin had a deck party which ended up being a “hooray for surviving Hurricane Earl” party. There was a lot of music all night long courtesy of an iPod being set to shuffle but one song in particular stuck out. “I’m So Paid” by Akon came on and it sparked some dancing and singing and the video became a hit among our group over the next few days. Somehow that one song became associated with being in Halifax.

Earlier this week I was walking the dog and had my own iPod set to shuffle and that same song popped up. I stopped right there on the sidewalk, thought for a second, and immediately knew what I wanted to do as a little personal, fun project.

I’ve used Windows Live Movie Maker in the past to add some music and credits to my yoga videos but I’ve never really played around with it and there’s a lot you can do. With a bit of poking around I took some of my favorite pictures from Halifax, cut out a few clips from our videos, and spliced them all together with “I’m So Paid” as the soundtrack. I fiddled a bit, moved things around, got the timing I wanted, and in the end I had a video that serves as a great reminder of all the fun we had during those last three weeks of summer vacation.

Here it is:

I can’t believe I didn’t put in anything from the video I took during Hurricane Earl, but that’s okay. I got some of the best stuff in there anyway and I had a hell of a lot of fun doing it. I have to say, if you ever want to revisit some good memories, putting together a video like this one is a great way to do that.

Enjoy!

(If you’re curious, my video channel is over here and you can feel free to subscribe. I have a feeling I’ll be using it more and more often.)

Thankful

Posted on October 13, 2010 by Sherry

This past weekend was Thanksgiving up here in Canada* and with Hayley being off school for the Friday and the Monday we had a wonderful long weekend and there was a lot to be thankful for by the time it was over.

We basically spent Friday getting to know our new dog, and we took her for her first walk in the woods. On Saturday our friend was the unknowing guest of honor at her surprise birthday party and that was a lot of fun. I went over early to help decorate and get everything ready, and we didn’t leave until midnight. I had such a good time that I may have to re-think my stance on surprise parties. I’ve always said I wouldn’t want to have one, even though I enjoy attending them for other people, but maybe it would be fun for someone to throw one for me too after all.

Even though Monday was technically Thanksgiving day, a lot of people celebrate with the big dinner on Sunday since many people have Monday off (and can thus recuperate from all the turkey, stuffing, and pie!). We went over to George’s parents’ house and visited with them, as well as his sister and her husband. We had a great time and enjoyed a huge meal.

George’s sister suggested that after saying grace we should go around the table and have each person share something they’re grateful for. When it was my turn I said that I spent my whole life having big family meals for holidays up north at my grandmother’s house but since she passed away several years ago, I don’t have that now. I said I was grateful that I still had the good luck to be a part of that with George’s family.

The kids both fell asleep pretty easily that night, which was a good thing since I got a phone call from one of my friends on Monday morning. She said she was going with our other friend to a big nature park with the kids and they wanted to know if we’d like to join them. I’m so glad I was able to say yes. It was a beautiful day – possibly one of the last before winter hits – and we spent a wonderful three and a half hours walking around, looking at the trees, petting goats, checking out farm animals, having pony rides, and eating a picnic lunch.

By Monday night everyone was pretty much wiped out. There’s something wonderful about being completely tired because you had so much fun over the past four days.

You can see the full Thanksgiving set over here and all the photos from the nature center over here.

*I mentioned it being our long holiday weekend over on JoliePittWatch and thanked my readers for their kind wishes. Hilariously I had someone email me about how I’m an idiot for thinking it was Thanksgiving because DUH, that’s in November. I had a fun time replying that although the Internet is very US-centric, many of us actually live in other countries, and thus have different holidays. I included a link explaining Canadian Thanksgiving and implied that perhaps it takes a bigger kind of idiot to have no clue about the world outside their own little dot on the map.

He rocked us like a hurricane

Posted on September 6, 2010 by Sherry

It was dark and mildly humid when I went out. A layer of fog settled over the neighborhood just like it did a year ago. There was a bit of wind but no real sound, the true calm before the storm. I stood on the deck and stretched and did some Pranashama yoga for a few minutes, breathing deeply and enjoying the breeze as I twisted and lunged. I joked that it was Hurricane Yoga – yoga to harness the powers of a huge storm for good.

By the time I crawled into bed at just about 2 am the night was still windy but quiet and I drifted off to sleep easily and quickly. When I woke it was with a bit of a jolt. A glance at my iPod told me it was 9 am but it wasn’t the time that woke me, it was the noise. Wind whistled loudly through the tiny crack I had left open in my window. Pulling my glasses on I peeked out through the blinds and saw that while Hurricane Earl hadn’t arrived yet, he had sent plenty of rain and strong gusts ahead.

About two hours before the eye was due to pass this general area George and I decided to try to see some water. The original plan was to drive down to Point Pleasant Park, the same place where we had gone swimming in the ocean only days before. As we headed closer to town though, there were too many big branches already down on the trees. Many of the streets of Halifax have beautiful, big, old trees. That wasn’t the best idea for driving because odds were good that a branch could have hit our van so we turned around.

First though, we did stop near a boating club and pulled into the parking area so we could enjoy a little view of nature in all her glory as the wind tossed the boats up and down and pelted people with heavy rain.

Humour me by forgiving me for my cheesy and fairly obvious choice of soundtrack.

By mid-afternoon we had the windows wide open, finally allowing some cool and fresh air into the house after a full week of stifling heat and humidity. We struck out around four o’clock once more in a second attempt to get down to the water. I had hoped to film some impressive post-storm waves out past the harbour but the entrance was closed off, complete with police blocking the way. The drive there and back showed a great deal of fallen trees and branches. Sad destruction to be sure, but it could have been so much worse and I think that all of Halifax heaved a collective sigh of relief that Earl was not another Juan.

Once evening rolled around, you would be hard-pressed to really tell that there had ever been a hurricane at all. Other than the branches dragged to the side of the road it was like nothing had ever happened. Earl roared up the coast, blew into town, and just as quickly blew back out. A party was held here with friends and family and just like Earl we rocked it like a hurricane.

The party was just for fun but it was still a pretty good way to celebrate making it through a hurricane that was the size of California without sustaining too much in the way of damage.

Chaos Theory

Category Archives: A life less ordinary