Saturday chat

Well, it's Saturday morning, and I haven't slept much all night because of a cold I got from work. At least that's where I assume I got it, since none of my family members have it - well, not yet ;) 9 times out of 10 when I get a cold, it's my body saying "please slow down!" and yes, I've been a very busy bee recently, and my body just wants to sit down and have a lazy weekend. Trouble is, it's my husband's birthday soon, so I jam packed today with activities, and we've got a fun day planned. Also the house is in a tumble. We've been painting lots of rooms, and so much of the furniture is in piles in the middle of each room. So tomorrow, yes, I will be relaxing, but I will start putting the house back together. So still lots of things to do around here, but I'll slow down a little, and make sure to have some tea and keep hydrated too. And maybe take a nap here and there!

We are heading out to the Interior Design show this afternoon. You're all like wha? The design show is part of his birthday activities? yup. I really don't know how I got so lucky as to end up with a guy that would rather go shopping for a couch than hang out with the boys watching a sports game. I'm sure this leads to many assumptions about him, but really! He's very manly! He races cars! He plays the drums! It's just that he only emigrated to Canada as a ten year old, and he never grew up playing sports at school, so it was never a part of his life. It's so funny that over the breakfast table he can be looking at his favourite magazine, Grassroots Motorsports, and then put it down and pick up his next favourite, Met Home. :) The Design show should be fantastic, it looks like there will be lots of contemporary design companies in town there.

So, after the Design show, we're heading out to go go-carting! Woohoo! There's an indoor place where the carts go really quite fast, and it's a load of fun. I'm not sure I could pick another activitiy that is more disparate than the design show! hahah. After the fast cars, we are meeting up with friends and family for a big loud dinner downtown at a southern-style seafood place, which should be a load of fun too.

As I mentioned, we've been doing a lot of painting around the house. We recently did several rooms in the house and once the house is all put back together I will take pictures and post them. I think we even have enough "before" pictures from when we were buying the house last year to do some good before-and-after shots.

I'm usually a pretty crafty person, and am always either sewing, or gluing, or cutting, or constructing some pretty thing. Since we started looking for a new house, selling the old, buying the new, moving and unpacking last year, I haven't done a single thing. I set up my craft room months ago, but without the rest of the house looking more like I wanted it to, my energy wasn't into crafts. I'm looking forward to being able to come home from work, relax, and head up to my craft room for an evening of sewing and playing with paper. I know, I know, I could do it now! But my virgo self does not work like that. EVERYTHING needs to be organized before I start something. God I hope this doesn't mean I have to redesign the landscape as well, before I can make my next little journal! Although virgo, and love things to be pretty and organized, I've also spent my whole life pulling back and forth between an "organized" life and and "chaotic" life. Even though I like things in their place, I can live with a very high level of chaos before it bothers me. I am able to ignore the chaos in some cases, but in others, it sends me into fits of need for clean. Aah the conflicts of life ;)

Since my office isn't set up, my "real" computer isn't set up, so I'm just using the laptop we have. This means I don't have access to my "favourite links" for all the blogs I love. I've read tons of blogs over the last few years, and still go back once in a while to some of them. However, recently, I'm spending much more time away from the computer and so have only been reading a few really good ones. Many of my new favourites are crafty blogs. My absolute most favourite one right now is Rosy Little Things. Alicia owns the cutest little shop in Portland, and writes about her business and her favourite crafty things. She's very inspiring to me - she left her job years ago and remembered that as a child she used to sew and design things. While on sick leave, she started sewing again, and loved it so much that she never went back, and opened up a studio instead! Now she loves being a shop lady in her own store, and sells all sorts of cute things, as well as the things she creates. The aesthetics of her shop and handmade goodies and blog are so cute, and actually, really quite different than a lot of the things I have in my own home. But they remind me of things I used to love as a kid, and they are bringing out the girly side of me which has been neglected over time. And they remind me too of spending time in the south of france when I was younger, for some reason. Anyway, I love this shop too cuz I think Alicia is the bees knees. I bought a handbag from her a couple of years ago, and spoke with her on the phone and she was so nice. Then I got an email from her about a year later, saying she was seeing a new dentist with my same last name (pretty unique name), and wanted to know if we were related! Now that's knowing your client list! I'm not related to her dentist, but I still think she's a cutie-patootie. She's also inspiring me to finally get the house back in order, and start making some fun crafty stuff.

Ok, time to wake up my boy and start our day-o-birthday-fun! I'll have to remember to pack some kleenex and Halls though... Have a great weekend!

More than a thousand words

Since I really don't feel like talking out loud these days, some pretty pictures to keep you happy:

my recent bliss and gratitude

• having the only house on the street that sells in 5 weeks. all the others that were for sale at the same time are still on the market
• having a closing date for both the old and new houses that fell into place perfectly
• having enough friends and trucks and beer and food to create a smooth and seamless move on the hottest day of the year
• birthday suit suntanning on the balcony completely hidden from the road
• a place in the country that feels like you are heading out to camp every night
• early coffee on the balcony, where my husband says "i think mornings are now my favourite time of the day"
• a change in mindset - from everybody cares! to who cares!
• a new permanent job that will allow me the time and money to do what I really want to do - to live life fully and out LOUD
• the drive to and from the house - farms, fields, horses, cows, deer, trees, open skies, and wildflowers
• friends coming to warm the new house with guitar licks and laughter
• drum circles at 1am with oscar, my newest 3rd year old buddie, after he had said "one more song!" for the twelve time, and just before he closed his eyes and went to sleep, dreaming in music
• hula-hooping at midnight in the rain
• a crush on a boy with angel eyes
• staying up to watch the sun come up
• the beauty and rarity of my three favourite girls
• a house full of creative, funny, vibrant, fantastic people
• brunch for 10, coffee for 100
• refreshing pool time in this hot and humid summer
• badminton and volleyball on a lazy lazy lazy saturday afternoon
• looking at my legs and arms, and seeing the same thing I did 25 years ago - mosquito bites, shrub scratches, freckles, and brown skin - all reflective of a perfect summer day
• pink toenails against a blue pool bottom
• little linus and his dimples
• meeting new friends and rekindling old relationships
• homemade juice popsicles
• dancing with my eyes closed for hours on end
• healing words and people
• my body, for easily finding those old dancing moves, ones I haven't done in months as I was busy with the "rest of my life"
• signs from out there - showing me the way, showing me how to slow down, reminding me everything's ok
• freedom and letting go
• seeing my husband letting go in the same way