Lionel Richie - Dancing On The Ceiling

So my husband and kids are gone for the weekend .. we have a trailer about two hours north of us. It's nothing special. It's old .. about as old as my husband .. lol. I actually like the seventies feel of it though! It keeps us warm and dry and it's in great shape for it's age.

I really don't know what to do with all my free time now that they are gone for two glorious days .. ohh .. what to do with all the precious free time!! All I know is I can't get the song Dancin' On The Ceiling out of my head. I don't know how the heck I got this in my head but it seriously just makes me want to dance. Oh yeah .. let's take a trip to the eighties ..

You know .. I get all excited about the idea of having time to myself .. and then comes the guilt. Stupid guilt. Little voices telling me I should have gone with them and that I'm a bad bad bad mom. I hate the guilt.

Dear Guilt Trip:

Go away guilt .. all I want is a little time to myself. I just want to paint the kitchen this weekend. I'm not going to the bar or hanging around with wild and crazy people. I just want to get up tommorow and do a workout tape and be as loud as I want without fear I'll wake somebody up. Heck maybe I'll even clap along when they do on the dvd.

Guilt .. you know I love my kids more than anything in the world. But sometimes I just need a break. Guilt, I am a mom but not a perfect one and sometimes it's just nice to be alone. Alone to read, paint my toenails, watch a movie or two and not have to worry about making dinner for my family.

Guilt, please go and bother somebody else this weekend that is truly deserving of your attention. I really don't need you this weekend!

I am having a midlife crisis?

I was recently having a conversation with my mom about when I start second year of my massage therapy course. The countdown is on .. August 23rd. My daughter was listening to our conversation and decided to put in her two cents worth. She is twelve and let me tell you .. she has no problem voicing her opinion. She get this from her father .. that's it .. her father.

Just look at that judging face.

Mom .. you are just so like .. out of it .. like geeze .. ! Everyone has a cell phone .. you're like a dinasour or like an alien .. like duh!

Basically she told me I was having a midlife crisis and I should have gone to school when I was 22 .. I laughed .. I had her at 22. To be honest I haven't felt like I have really found my "thing" until now. I love massage therapy. I go to the best school ever and let's face it .. what is better than going to school and getting massages from your classmates? It rocks.

My first year was a struggle, with balancing family, studying and everything that comes along with being a parent and student. I'd be lying if I said I didn't have doubting thoughts along the way .. what am I doing here?? I should have done this at 22.

Most of my classmates are either fresh out of high school or in their early twenties. In alot of ways this has it's advantages. They bring out the fun side of me .. they make me feel younger than I am. A few of them are my age, a few have children and are in the same boat as me.

I don't for one second regret having my kids in my twenties but sometimes I wish I could rewind .. why couldn't I have found my lifes passion earlier?? Take for instance my dentist. She is 28 for crying out loud. When did she start university .. 12??

For some of you, maybe your lifes passion is being a stay at home mom. I applaud you. I was in this boat for four years. And I don't regret it. Maybe all this self doubting is societies expectations of women doing their work on my brain. I'm sure you all know what I mean .. It's really not enough anymore to be "just a mom" is it? Personally I think this is a load of crap .. I never understood why women don't get paid to stay at home and raise their kids. But that is a whole other can of worms post.

Does anybody else going back to school have these thoughts or is my daughter right .. am I actually having a midlife crisis?

Thursday ..time to meet some new friends

Well hello there everyone! Today I'm participating in Talkative Thursday hosted by Mommy of One and Counting!Isn't it great meeting new friends in blogland, can't wait to connect with all of you.

Can you taste it?

Okay so I'll probably lose half my readers to this wacky post but I have to do it. If you are trying to lose weight like myself this might help you, if not .. read on .. you might just get a good laugh.

Lately I've convinced myself I can get equal satisfaction from smelling something delicious rather than eating it. Seriously!

Even though I am trying to lose weight there are usually numerous treats around my house. Ice cream, chocolate, chips .. all the bad stuff. My husband has a metabolism of a rabbit on steroids (rabbit on steroids?). He can get away with eating it (damn him) and the kids have their share too in moderation.

When I get the urge to dive into a bowl full of icecream or eat three chocolate bars back to back (true story) .. this is what I do ..

Take the chocolate bar or whatever else it is you're drooling over .. bring it up to your nose. I mean right up to your nose hairs .. you're mouth will probably be watering. IGNORE it.

Close your eyes. Now .. inhale deeply and slowly .. let the gorgeous aroma travel up through your nose... Be at peace with your inner child .. LOL! Okay no seriously .. with your eyes still closed breath in the aroma again.

Now imagine what it tastes like. Imagine you are tasting it. It tastes heavenly. Imagine the texture. The chocolate is melting, the crumbs are crunchy. Now the trick is not to do this too long or you WILL end up eating it. Just concentrate on the smell, breathe it in a few times. Put the food down. Step away from the food.

Wasn't that the best darn peice of cake you ever had?? lol

If you are certain I am a lunatic now .. just think of this .. all the companies that make millions every year off of scents. Food scents in particular. Why do we buy them. Yes they cover up odours .. but they satisfy our senses. French vanilla candles, cinnamon bun candles .. even most perfumes have notes of vanilla, raspberry and chocolate.

Gotcha thinkin'? Try it .. it works for me. But I never claimed to be normal.

The fugliest cake you ever saw

Today was such a weird day for me. The kind of day that you have a list of things to do but you just end up walking from room to room in a bit of a daze. I wanted to go get paint for the kitchen, I needed to make a few phone calls, I really needed to clean the litter box. None of these got done .. and you know what .. I don't give a rats asssss!

Last night my son Griffin asked me if today could be Sliders Birthday. Who is Slider?

World .. meet Slider ..

Normally most of Griffin's requests usually require me to do something that is absolutely out of the question .. did I tell you my kids think I am a millionaire? Mom .. can you take us to the waterpark like every single day this summer?? Can we both get cell phones, and Ipads and whatever else it is they make these days ??

So when he asked if we could make Slider a birthday cake I thought heck why not?

Look at this childs hair. He refuses to get it cut.

I had to tame the Martha Stewart side of me .. she luuurrrkkks inside. While making this cake with Griffin I kept thinking of all the great turtle cake ideas out there on baking sites and blogs. I imagined myself crumb coating and laying a perfect peice of fondant over Slider's cake .. oh Slider ... you are going to be so darn happy.

This is what we ended up with.
I can't believe I'm showing you all this.

Now does that look like a turtle to you??

But you know what .. Griffin was so darn happy and proud of that cake. It makes me happy when my kids are content with simple things. If I have made a memory for him it is well worth it. Fugly cake and all.

Please excuse the sentiment of this post .. I think I am hormonal this week.

Painting Dilemma ..

So this weekend I helped my mom paint her kitchen. Actually she is painting her entire house. We decided to start in the kitchen because we are both freaks and don't like any project nonsense going on in our kitchens. Best to get that right out of the way first. I am aching today from going up and down the ladder .. and I mean extension ladder .. that woman has some tall ass walls.

So this has got me thinking about painting my own kitchen .. as if just getting the bathroom done wasn't enough. Noooo .. let's tack on another project on the list. Honestly I'm not normally like this .. come August 23rd I'm back to school fulltime so I feel a little under the gun for things I want to accomplish before then.

The yellow just isn't doing it for me anymore. It makes me feel claustrophobic. I think I also read somewhere that couples argue most in a kitchen painted yellow. Not sure on the accuracy of that .. but I'm using this rumor as amunition so my husband won't get annoyed that I am painting again. I'm doing for our marriage honey ... yes that's it, our marriage. NOT!

I don't know why I picked this color, look how it does nothing for the cabinets!

Lately I'm really drawn to crisp whites, they just look so clean. I like clean. I was thinking about painting two walls white and two chocolate brown. Mostly because I have half a can of chocolate brown paint left over from another project and I AM CHEAP PEEPS! The kitchen was painted green when we moved in and I didn't like it at all.

Any advice?

Tomatoes

It really is amazing what you can do with a little space. I plant about twelve tomatoe plants along side of my house every year. Usually a few herbs too like basil, thyme and mint.

Cherry

Beefsteak

Roma's

A few of my roma's are black on the bottom .. I'll have to read up on that!

Awwwwee .. look at Mr. Froggy .. missing a front leg .. dumb frog.

weight watchers update .. week 8

I weighed in yesterday and lost 1.8 lb .. that's a grand total of 17.8 lb's in 8 weeks .. I am very impressed with myself! I did workout four times last week so I think this probably helped alot. I'm continuing on with my Kathy Smith step aerobics tapes and walking.

My mom always asks me about my weigh-ins .. like me she struggles with her weight .. we both have a deeeep love of food, cooking, baking and trying out new recipes. When I told her I had worked out four times during the week she commented that she just doesn't know where I find my motivation.
I've never really liked exercise .. sure I like how I feel afterwards .. but do I really enjoy the process ... hell no!

I find if you overthink exercise too much you can really talk yourself out of it in a fast hurry. I have a million and one excuses not to exercise .. believe me I've got them all stored in a file in my brain called 'I like being fat'. I think one of the greatest skills in life is to self aware .. especially of our internal voices. The voices that hold us back from achieving our goals. Without getting too Dr.Phil on you now .. here are little mind games I've been playing with myself to keep the nasty fat girl thoughts out of my head:

1) Fake it till you make it. I pretend I'm somebody else .. somebody else that has been exercising for a long time .. like a real hot, skinny bitch that gets her nails did all the time. She doesn't even think about whether she's going to exercise or not. She has to keep herself up you know. Hotness comes at a price.

2) Just Do It ... get off that frickin' couch and out of that blastard kitchen. Don't think about it .. as soon as you hear the nasty fat girl voice telling you it's a good tv night .. put a gag in her mouth and go for a walk.

3) Remind myself of my committment to myself. I decided to lose weight. I'm not kinda thinking about it .. or doing it half arsed. Why do anything half arsed? If you are going to do anything half arsed don't pick your own self improvement goals ... do it with your housework. Your house is not a living breathing thing .. you are. This can be a tough one .. I am a little ocd when it comes to my house. I've had to practice this one.

Hope this helps somebody out there struggling with fat girl thoughts .. remember to enter my candle contest!

Snuggle Deal (Canadian)

From Friday July 23 - Thursday July 29 you can get snuggle fabric softener sheets for free at Zellers.

The twenty count is on sale for $1. You can find a $1 printable coupon here:

http://snuggle.ca/en/

I think I'll go and pick a few up as we go through these things fast!

Why????!!

We live in an area with quite a few kids .. it's not unusual for there to be at least three of them including my own to be hanging around my house. Normally I don't really mind .. as long as they're not running around. I can't stand the running around. It makes me cringe peeps!
Oh yes .. and the juice drinking. I can literally make a full container of juice only to have it completely gone in about 45 minutes by a handful of these people. Can't stand this either .. I've been cutting them off lately. Sorry kiddo's .. have water or drink your spit. Eww okay that was a little gross.
My daughter has one friend inparticular that makes my daughter act like she is a side show freak. Okay she doesn't make her .. but when she is over .. and she is over alot .. Payton acts like she is a cat rolling around in a pile of catnip.

Here they are .. mine is the one that looks like she just sat on something very cold .. or hot .. one or the other.

Sometimes I yell at them to shut up .. sometimes I find myself laughing along with them. Especially when the start doing the random "heeehee" trying to imitate Michael Jackson.

You can learn some cool phrases off them too that you can use yourself. I was recently called a called a planemo .. what is that you ask? I looked it up .. basically it's a planetary object with no solar system of it's own .. it floats aimlessly through space.

Great .. I'm glad they think I am that insignificant.

note: sorry about the crap picture quality .. I am on the hunt for a new camera .. any suggestions?

Contest

What is it about a candle that can change the mood in a room instantly? I don't know .. but I know I lurrrvve them. I recently purchased a glade jar candle in the scent Angel Whispers .. it is a really pretty scent, not too overpowering. To kick off my blog I've decided to do a giveaway contest. One lucker reader will win three glade candles .. not sure of the scents yet .. it will be a surprise .. heehee.

Here's what to do:

Follow me on google friend connect, in your comment just state that you are following me. Leave your email address so I can notify you if you win!

That's it!

Winner will be anounced two weeks from today .. what is that? August 7th .. time .. whenever I wake up.

Open on to Canadian addresses, no p.o boxes please.

Good Luck!

Can I get a facking minute??!!

Okay so I turn 35 today. Enough said. Don't want to take about it anymore.
I don't know about your kids but mine are very needy. Particularly my son. When I say I am a waitress .. I mean I AM A WAITRESS. This morning he yells from his room that he wants a bagel with cheese whiz. So I get him the bagel. Five minutes later .. he's yelling for another one. So I get him another one. This is not unusual .. in half an hour he'll come in and want a hotdog. The strange thing is he doesn't do this to Keith .. my husband. It's only me. It is so annoying .. so freaking annoying. Especially when I'm in the bathroom .. or in the shower ... or here we go .. the one we ALL love .. on the phone. What is it with kids and needing, wanting, whining, fighting, etc. etc. when we are on the phone? I think my kids actually wait until I am on the phone.

Is she on yet?? Okay .. you go first and then I'll start. And then we can start fighting .. and then I'll pretend you hit me and I'll cry and lets be really loud so she swears again and starts freaking out. And then we will invite all the kids on the street over to eat all the food in the pantry. All her coupon saving will go right down the drain ... ahhhahahahah....

I'm convinced this is how they think. It's hard to admit I think we have made parenting mistakes. We both agree our kids are spoiled. They don't get everything they want but when your kid doesn't even want to go to the mall because you've already told them you won't be buying them anything .. this is a problem .. no?

Oh well .. I still have my cat.

I have to wonder ..

So recently I repainted my bathroom. It was in desperate need. The previous owners thought it would be such a great idea to paint latex over oil paint. Ahhh of course! What a great freaking idea! NOT.
To make a long story short I spent a good three days scraping and sanding, priming and painting to make the bathroom ceiling look like something other than what you might find in a ghetto house and then proceeded to paint the bathroom walls. This also was not without complications. The paint started to drip down the walls. It was sneaky too .. it waited until I had carried on to another section to start dripping. Stupid paint.
Finally the bathroom is done .. well not really .. I think I've just given up. I could go in there and touch things up but while I have put so much effort into this bathroom I have to wonder ... how many other women put their house before themselves? I'm sure alot.
Last night as I was inspecting my work I glimpsed in the bathroom mirror at myself. I looked terrible. The bathroom looked great but I looked awful. I hadn't showered, my hair was greasy, no makeup. Sometimes I wish I was one of those women who wouldn't dare touch a paint brush. I could look up painters in the yellow pages on the way to get my gel nails refilled. Heck .. I could even hire a cleaner ... and a cook, and a nanny ... okay getting carried away here.
The truth is .. this just wouldn't be me. I don't mind doing projects around the house, but seriously after this one .. I looked a mess. Today is a new day .. and here are my plans to make myself feel better:
1) Do a workout .. yes before I shower .. extra grease and sweat is good for the hair don't ya know?
2) Pluck my eyebrows
3) Put a little makeup on
4) Heck maybe I'll even get out the old straightening iron and do my hair.
5) Heck maybe I'll even paint my nails! Whoa .. now i'm getting carried away.

Does anybody else have these thoughts or am I the only nutjob out there?

Finding friends in blogland

So I'm trying to connect with other Canadian bloggers and recently came across Jen. She has a fabulous Canadian site called A Busy Mom. Check out her latest contest!

Also .. check out Tenille's blog Fiesty, frugal and fabulous for a fantastic opi contest

My buns are a burnin'

So this morning I did this workout ...

Let me tell you .. it is NOT easy .. every time I do it I feel like I've been kicked by a quarter horse .. no kidding. I've had this dvd for a while .. I don't think Kathy Smith is that popular anymore but I really like her dvd's. Even the cheesy outfits .. and the music. Exercise is exercise right? I'm contemplating ordering this one ...

I've heard mixed reviews on it .. but the general opinion is that it is quite challenging. I think when I get to a weight loss of twenty pounds (which is only four more pounds!) I might order it and give it a go.

I used to have a membership at a gym and while I really enjoyed going it always seemed to be somewhat of  a job to get myself there. Working out at home also has it's drawbacks however ..

1) There is nobody watching me so I can stop at anytime and not feel like a wimp for doing so.

2) I tend to look at any dust bunnies on the floor when I am working out and they seriously irritate me. Not enough to stop the workout.. but enough to feel overwhelmed by the never ending list of things to do around my house.

3) The timing has to be right .. or my kids will pull each others hair out, they will have every neighbourhood kid in the house .. and might possibly burn down the house at the same time. This usually means getting up earlier to work out while they are still sleeping .. major motivation required.

Nonetheless .. it seems to be working out okay, I'm not paying for a membership or the gas to get to the gym. And let's face it .. I have nobody to impress in fancy workout gear .. no lululemon here! Okay I have ONE lululemon hoodie that my husband bought for me for mothers day.

I think the only catch to working out at home is having a variety of dvd's so you don't adapt to the same tape.  So .. I really need to start adding to my collection. The good thing is dvd's aren't all that expensive. Any suggestions?

Week six weigh in ... and an ice cream review

Just got back from my weigh in .. I don't know what it is about getting weighed by somebody else that makes it completely different from weighing myself. I get soooo nervous! Anyway, I lost 2lb this week! So that makes a grand total of 16 lb's in 6 weeks. I am very happy with myself, my clothes are fitting better and to be honest weightwatchers has given me freedom to eat alot of things that wouldn't be considered on other diets.

Take for example this icecream by Breyers ..

Let me tell you ... it is the best darn ice cream I have ever had. This is the only flavour I have tried so far. It was heavenly ... the kind of icecream that makes me feel like I can float across the room and hear angels singing kind of icecream. I would dare to say it's even better than full fat icecream. Half a cup of this bad boy is 3 points .. well worth it in my opinion. Yesterday I picked up the dule de leche flavour. It was a hard decision because I enjoyed the coffee fudge brownie so much, but variety is the slice of life right?

So tonite Mr. dule de leche and I have a date .. he is hidden in the freezer where my kids can't see him .. yes they are not allowed to eat him. They get the 4 litre pail crap! Call me a mean mom .. but some things are just sacred right?

Cravings ...

Okay so I wouldn't say I get cravings for certain food and drink very often but lately .. omg .. I feel like I could just dive into a vat of chocolate and drown myself into oblivion. Being on weightwatchers has left me with freedom to basically eat what I want .. but not how much .. unless I want to spend a whole days worth of food points on three chocolate bars .. and then feel like crap afterwards .. no thanks. But one can fantasize .. no??

Oh yeah .. I'm talking milk chocolate covered macadamia nuts .. love those things. Or how about some chocolate covered peanut brittle covered peanut brittle?? Can I get a woot woot? Okay back to reality .. here are a few things I do when the urge to binge strikes ..

1) Remind myself how I will feel after eating the chocolate, cake, cookie.
2) Remind myself of all the hard work I've done.
3) Do something nice for myself .. paint my toenails or have a nice bath.
4) Exercise
5) Clean something
6) Eat a sweet peice of of fruit
7) Have just a peice of what you want

I am luckily one of those people who can have a peice of what I want .. let's say a taste .. and feel okay. As long as I know it still fits within the guidelines of my diet. I do know people who can't do this (my mother for example) would enhale an entire cake if she had one bite.

What do you all do to kick the cravings to the curb?

Bento Boxes??

Okay, maybe I have been living under a rock but I seriously had never heard of these things before. When I asked my daughter if she knew what a Bento Box was she just looked at me like I was an alien. She is obsessed with Asian culture. Something is wrong when your twelve year old has tried sushi and you haven't. Yes folks .. I am feeling my age here.

Anyhoo .. if you are not familiar with Bento boxes I think they are really really cool. Basically little boxes that let you get creative with lunches. And yes .. it is only July but in the back of my mind the dreaded school lunch monster hides .. I detest.. DETEST ..making school lunches. Mostly because my eight year old son is the pickiest eater on the planet. I'm looking for ways to get him to eat more fruit and veggies.

The Bento Box community is huge folks. I had no idea people where into this, it is amazing! I love the little two leveled ones like this:

Can't wait to order me some bento boxes!

Weight Watchers

Okay so I have been doing weight watchers for the past five weeks. Over the course of the school year I gained alot of weight .. lets say 40 lbs ?? I know .. terrible. To be honest I have struggled with my weight most of my life. I do not have great genetics! I lost weight on weightwatchers after my daughter was born 12 years ago and I remembered how easy the program was to follow so I decided to give it another go. I have tried every diet out there .. even the "I'm not on a diet, this is healthy eating" diet. Anyway .. here are my stats for the past five weeks:

Week one - lost 4 lb
Week two - lost 4 lb
Week three - lost 4 lb
Week four - lost 1 lb
Week five - lost 1 lb

14 lbs!! I more pound to go and I get another star sticker .. lol. It's really weird how those little stars mean so much! I love talking to others on weight watchers and learning about what their favorite treats are .. is anybody out there on ww too??

I have been exercising .. but not anything drastic .. mostly long walks and the occasional step aerobics tape.

seriously have i been away this long?

Okay .. I've not posted here in .. um let's say a year just to round it up. It's been a crazy year, i finished year one of my two year massage therapy course. Yipee! I'm still all about saving money .. that hasn't changed one bit! The kids and I are off for the summer and we are all in need of a much deserved rest.
I've been trying to come up with things to do that are inexpensive and fun. I don't have an income for the next seven weeks! We went to see the fireworks on Canada day, the kids have been enjoying the sprinkler, and i'm trying to do one small organizing project each day .. yesterday I did the furnace room which took me about half an hour but what a difference! I'm also thinking about painting the kitchen as it hasn't been done since we moved in five years ago .. I think it's time. What have you all been up to?