Mother's Day

Of course today was fabulous - it's Mother's Day!  I was surprised with flowers yesterday, but knew there was more to come today.  Vaeda had come home from school on Friday and hid "something special" under her bed and wanted to know how many more sleeps till Mother's Day :)  The first surprise was I got to sleep in - YES!  Second, I had my first Mommy's breakfast in bed, and third Vaeda had made a really sweet card and handprint plate for me at school.  I have to say, I'm a pretty lucky mom.  Our plan to go to church this morning failed when baby decided to take a nap 1/2 hour before church started.  We ended up spending the day working around the house - Ryan cleaned the fridge, the van, AND mowed the lawn! - while I started on the junk drawer.  Hmmmm, sounds like someone was a bit more productive than others today! HA!  I took the girls for a quick rip in the bike cart while Ryan mowed the lawn and ended up running into Christine and Molly at the park.  We had a good visit and even got invited for supper which was fantastic, as I also got out of cooking!  We all had a great time.  After supper we came home, got the girls to bed and Christine and I met up for a bike ride.  I love ending the day with exercize!  I also managed to make Christine happy today(really, I mde her cry, but I think it was a good cry?!?!) by giving her a little Mother's Day gift.  It was a charm made by Vixen's Natural Jewelry - three little pearl eggs snuggled in a gold nest.  When I saw it I thought "how perfect three can be" and thought of Christine.  I think she really liked it. :)
Tonight I added two things to my "want to do list":  1. Send in my Post Secret and 2. go salmon fishing.  The salmon fishing was somthing Ryan and I have talked about for a long time and I just remembered today.  The Post Secret is something I have secretly wanted to do forever as well - I just haven't set the time away to make it.  So two great additions to my list.  NOW I must start working on the list! Here is what I have done so far:

• Scuba diving - I decided I would get this for Ryan for his birthday this year (2 weeks away!)  I made the call and got the dates for the training course this year.  2 things make me think this is not going to work - 1. that the training is 2 full days and one evening, which is not really compatible with Everleigh and 2. Uncle Ted's birthday get together is on the weekend of the lake dive.  This one may have to be put off till next year.
• Crocheting something - I have set a goal to have a dishcloth completed by the end of the month!  Sounds hilarious - such a small thing! - BUT after attempting this, I have a whole new appreciation for the crocheted dishcloth!  I amd going to keep going on this one and am convinced I can do it - but I'll need lots of practice!  I plan to do this in the evenings when the girls are in bed, on my non-gym nights.

Here is what I plan for this week:

• Call Arianne to schedule a day to take the girls to the dairy farm, and hopefully this one can be done by the end of the month as well. 
• Finish the junk drawer
• Organize the computer desk
• Fill and take on box to the Interval Store

The last three items are for my MAJOR goals - getting organized and decluttering!  These didn't make my "want to do" list as I see them as more of a goal without an end, something that will happen in small steps (like those listed above) and definately a major focus for me.  I feel that by decluttering and organizing and ridding my life of excess, I will have more room for the things that matter.  And that is my goal.  To have more of what matters and less of the extras, so my focus can be on what I love :)  I think I'll leave the Post Secret till the discloth is complete, as I am going to need every spare moment for that! 

Peace :)

These Days...

Well, yesterday was a hectic day with two cranky kids at home and an early morning house showing.  We rushed out, did our errands and grocery shopping, then headed home for lunch.  Vaeda desperately needed a nap, so I got her to bed and got my 40 loads of laundry sorted.  Ok, not quite 40, but it seemed like it!  My plan was to spend the afternoon doing laundry and playing outside with the girls.  Well, plans are never plans when your house is on the market.  I got a call asking for a showing in a half hour.  Nice.  I pushed it back another 1/2 hour so I could get my schtuff together again and get out of the house.  I scrambled to clean up lunch, put all my laundry back in the laundry basket, and give the floor a quick wipe.  Go figure, Everleigh was ready for a feed and sleep just before the showing time, and Vaeda was still sleeping.  Somehow we managed to get out of the house in time and headed to the Farmer's Market and indoor playground for the rest of the afternoon.  I managed to get a healthy supper of baked trout, baby red potatoes and fresh green beans made for supper.  Ryan got the kitchen cleaned and the girls to bed (what a wonderful man I have!) and I finished off the evening with crocheting - how relaxing and rewarding it is!  I'm getting much better at this!  My stitches are recognizable and it actually looks like crocheting!  I even managed to change colours when I ran out of yarn.  The one thing I am struggling with is keeping each row the same length.  I am not being careful counting my stitches before I start the next row, which is giving my "dishcloth" a perfectly wonky shape! 

Today I AM doing laundry, and well, not much else.  Yesterday was enough busyness to last me the week, so I am taking it easy.  My goal for the day is to have all the clothes washed, folded, and back where it lives and a yummy healthy supper made for my family.  Here's hoping!!

I have been saving little quotes that I see here and there, and am going to start posting them.  Here is one for today:

"We can throw stones, complain about them, stumble on them, climb over them or build with them" ~William Arthur Ward

I love this as it really reminds me that it's really not what challenges or adversities we are faced with, but how we react to them that matters.  I need to remember this!!!

Spring League!

I have wanted to join a regular activity to get out and active this spring, as my time off work is slipping away!  I decided to join a ladies spring bowling league!  Ok, I'm a geek, I'll admit it, but bowling is in my roots.  I grew up bowling in Carnduff and was even part of the provincial team when I was younger.  It holds many good memories for me, as it was one of the few times I got to spend one-on-one time with my dad.  He was an excellent bowling coach!  When I found out they had free (yes FREE) childcare while you bowl, I knew it was meant to be. 

Today was the first day of league.  I was suprised to run into a girl from my office who is also on maternity leave and who bowls.  Who knew?  I ended up on a team with 4 other ladies - Linda, Marion, and 2 women who were absent today.  I was nervous about what type of impression I would make on these women - bowling is a serious sport, you know, and I didn't want to hold back my team.  It has, afterall, been a long time since I was in a league (2002-ish).  I was rusty.  I was nervous.  I bowled a 135 my first game.  Pretty pathetic!  I was a little embarrassed, but started to find my groove in the second game.  Wow, 215!  That was pretty good for me!  And would you believe the 3rd game I had a 299!  What!?!?  Should have been a 300 game, but I blew the 10th frame.  I have only bowled 2 other 300 games in my life, so I was shocked.  Now these women think I'm a hot shot bowler and I have a 216 average to keep up with!! I had better practice up!!

Well, it has been a good day so far.  Everleigh did well at childcare.  There were lots of babies and wow, lots of red heads in the group!  She was super tired when I picked her up, so I nursed her there and she went right to sleep.  Had a quick lunch, came home and I'd better run and get my house together as there is a house showing in an hour! 

A couple more things before I leave.  My crocheting is getting to the point where I can do a few rows and recognize my stitches!  Woot! Woot! Now I just need to keep track of my stitches better, and hopefully I can achieve my goal of having a dishcloth made by the end of the month!  Another goal is to read a book a month for this year.  I have not kept track of what I have read so far, but will start now.  I will add a list to my page tracking my completed reads and my want-to-reads. 

That's all!
Peace :)

Things I Want To Do: (in no particular order!)

• Drive across Canada
• Visit every Canadian province and Territory
• Go on an Alaskan Cruise
• Dip my toes in the Atlantic Ocean
• Visit Greece
• Learn to crochet well enough to make something
• Stay here: http://www.sparklinghill.com/
• Tour the Louvre
• Take my girls to a dairy farm
• Take my girls to a Disney resort
• Feed the homeless
• Attend my girls` high school graduations
• Pick oranges from a tree
• Go scuba diving
• Send in my Post Secret
• Go salmon fishing

Things I Have Done: (in very random order!)

• Shaved my head!
• Rapelled a 22 storey building!
• Raised over $1000 for charity!
• Volunteered on a crisis line!
• Married the man of my dreams!
• Got a degree!
• Landed my dream job!
• Gave birth!
• Gave birth without drugs!
• Swam in the Pacific Ocean!
• Went to Vegas!
• Toured Europe!
• Visited a concentration camp!
• Went to Hawaii!
• Snorkelled in the ocean!
• Went to Mexico!
• Worked in a jail!
• Went to Niagra Falls!
• Got a tattoo!
• Won an award for highest academic achievement!
• Went topless on a beach!
• Made love on a beach!
• Wrote off a vehicle and lived to tell about it!
• Cloth diapered a baby!
• Learned to crochet!
• Arrested someone!
• Slipped someone I had never met a note that said she was beautiful (and meant it!)
• Worked with underprivledged children!
• Performed a strip search!
• Testified in court!
• Rented a hotel room with a heart-shaped tub!
• Saw the sunrise over Greenland from the cockpit of an airplane!
• Drove a brand new car off the showroom floor!
• Went white water rafting!
• Climbed the Eiffel Tower!
• Saw Metallica, AC/DC and Britney Spears!
• Went to Disneyland!
• Bought chocolate in  Belgium!

This is only a 'draft', off the top of my head - there is so much more and I will continue to add to it!

Getting Started

I have wanted to start a blog of my own for a long time now, and well, today is as good of a day as any to start!  The purpose of my blog is to help myself focus on spending my time doing the things I really love, rather than on mindless, senseless activities.  Hence the title "Practice Your Passions".  I believe that just by being conscious of where my time is spent, I can be more productive in my life and get to do more things that I love!  Honestly, I am creating this blog just for me.  If I think it about what I want, write what I want, read what I want and have it somewhere stored where I can not lose it, then I have already focused a lot of energy into what I want, so I have a head start!  If this blog gets followed by others, that would be a nice surprise.  Perhaps by writing and sharing my journey and the things I learn along the way I can inspire others to in turn practice their own passions in their life - no matter how big or small. 

I am going to start today by creating two lists:
1) Things I have already done - this list will include things I have done that I am proud of, maybe were a little crazy, are goals I have achieved in my life, etc.  This list will serve as a reminder that if I put my mind to something, I can accomplish it!

2) Things I would like to do - a so-called "bucket list" - the things I want to do, places I want to see, and things I would like to learn in my life.  It will be my inspiration, my drive, the focus of my energies.

I will do this in my next couple posts so they are compiled in one location and easy to refer back to.

Peace :)