The Crazee Chick's View of Life

...these are the Days of our Lives! 'Days', along with Another World and General Hospital, were my fave soaps when I was in university. I can't count the number of times I blew off classes so that I could watch Frisco and Felicia, or Bo and Hope, endure the thrill/pain of finding long lost, presumed dead, twin siblings that they had really given birth too while in an amnesic state brought on by the horror of seeing their crazed uncle rape their sister (who was really their mother) while in a murderous rage. Yep, that kind of realistic TV really kept me focused. These days as I endure my own personal soap opera, I find myself wishing I'd focused a little less on Frisco (aw, but damn he was so schmexy!) and a little more on my textbooks. I need to be a doctor! Hubby has been put on a medication to keep his heart in rhythm. I don't like the idea. It's the beginning of a slow moving train that has no stops. I wish I could sit down with the cardiologist and total...

All morning I've been singing, "It's been 7 hours and 15 days, since you took your love away" only I'm not thinking about a boy when I sing it, I'm thinking about Facebook! "It's been 17 hours and 3 days. Since I took your love away...." I really wasn't missing it until last night, then I got lonely. Maybe it's the events of the last couple of days that are tugging on my 'heart strings' (no pun intended), but I really missed the support and love that I get from my FB family and friends. I've also missed seeing pictures of my great niece and nephews. I MISS MY FAMILY!!! So, yeah, you guessed it. I'm going back on FB. With restrictions. In moderation. Honest! Okay back to Sinead. You know how she brought in that whole bald look? I seriously wanted to shave my head back in the 80's. It made sense; I don't have a lot of hair, it always looks weird and it would make the morning routine soooo much faster! Well...

It is said that God never gives us more than we can handle, but in the words of Mother Theresa, I reply, 'I wish He didn't trust me so much.' It seems that our lives since April have been one crisis after another. Things slow down just long enough for us to catch our breath and then, WHAM!, along comes another shocker. It was Hubby's turn this time. His heart. He's been having episodes of arrhythmia for quite some time now, but has been dealing with it in his usual quiet, unassuming, and un-acknowledging manner. I love that he is the strong silent type but when it comes to matters of health, I loathe the fact that is like this. He justifies things away...basically hides his head in the sand (sorry Hub, but it is true!) and hopes it will go away. Well, it didn't and the other night I discovered his wild,erratic heartbeat and just about lost my mind! I called the doctor first thing in the morning (because a trip to the ER even with a heart problem was absol...

Hubby and I did it three times this week! The first time we went hard and made it to 36 minutes. The second time was quicker, only 27 minutes, but it felt great. The third time we did it for 33 minutes and I thought I was going to die! We’re going to do it again tonight--and this time we’re going for 44 minutes!! I hope I survive running in this muggy, hot weather. (Yes, running ! What were YOU thinking?!!) Running is the first step towards our triathlon training. We’re following the 13 week walk/run program found in the The Beginning Runner’s Handbook . I followed this training program in 2002 and was pleasantly surprised when I completed the program, injury free, and was able to run 10Km in under an hour. Although I do not have the runner’s build (I wish!!) and struggle with each step, I love the idea of running. I love getting outside, feeling the wind in my hair, the rain (or is that sweat?) on my face and being in control of my muscles and pushing...

I guess there comes a point in your life where you have to let go of the frivolities, the obssessions and the time wasters and really concentrate on what is important in your life. Tonight as I sat here blogging about my multitasking meltdown where I was doing four things at once but only did three of them right (which resulted in me backing into the garage door as it was closing), my daughter approached me for a heart to heart. Amidst her tears she told me that she wanted time to be able to talk more with me. Even though I knew what she was saying was true, my defense mechanisms went into overdrive and I began to justify the time I spend on the computer and on facebook as equivalencies to her 'playdates'. 'This is how I relax. This is where I find my escape. This is my enjoyment,' I told her. And then my defenses dropped, my mind began to work again and I realized the futility of my justifications. What is important? Is it snooping on other people's Face...

Day 1 Okay, okay, so I'm not really a couch potato; more like a book worm. The point is is that I'm sedentary. If I'm not in bed reading I'm on the computer reading. I have issues...I know. Reading is both therapeutic and an obsession for me...dichotomous to be sure...so today, I decided to do something about it; Hubby and I began a training program that will take us from walkers to 10km runners in only 13 short weeks! Yes, we just about died (Hubby vehemently denies this.) Yes, we were grateful it was only 36 minutes of walking and running because 37 would have just pushed us over the edge. Yes, we have big plans to get into shape. No, I am not going to be posting before and after pictures (okay, maybe 'after' but only if I am looking phenomenally buff and can rock a bikini like a supermodel. Oh, I can only hope....) Anyway, so if you'd like to follow us on our journey from 'couch potatoe-ness' to 'triathlete-ness', check back here eve...

I bet you think I'm going to recount a biblical story. I'm not, because what happened in my kitchen today was anything but miraculous. I am personally convinced that demons were involved. I've been making bread for about a month now so that means I'm pretty much an expert (I have such issues of grandiosity that it's pathetic. If 'grandiosity' isn't a word then it should be 'cause it sounds so, well, grandiose!) Okay, so if I can just pull myself away from my little ego-centric digression here then I can get on to the story I'm trying to tell. Note to self: Tell little voices in head to be silent when blogging.... Loaf #1: Unfortunately I didn't know this loaf number one (affectionately named Rocky) was going to be the first of a number of disasters so I didn't take a picture of it, but really, you didn't need your eyes to see the disaster of this loaf, you needed your muscles. So, I'm talking to Mo and measuring o...

I've been de-cluttering. I've already taken one van load of toys and clothes to the thrift store and I've got another on the way. As I pull out each of these 'treasures', I can't help but remember the thrill I had when I purchased them. How I told myself I would love them forever. How I just knew it would bring me pure joy and contentment. Funny how now they are just 'things' that I no longer can even bear to display in the storage room. Matter of fact most of them go directly into a box or bag so that I don't have to look at them. This got me thinking and reflecting on what are the true 'treasures' in my life (and hopefully yours too.) I found this little story: It seems there was a wealthy man who was distraught about the toughts of dying and leaving all his treasures behind. He'd worked so hard and accumulated so much! He somehow made a bargain with a Heavenly Official: he could pack one suitcase full of anything he wanted to ta...

The other day Zee told me that he was ready to start a chapter book. Although I disagreed with him and tried to dissuade him, because I didn't want him to feel discouraged if he couldn't accomplish his goal, I looked through our books and gave him a Junie B. Jones. He started it on Sunday and finished it on Tuesday! And I think he even caught the jist of it! I totally have to thank Hooked on Phonics for this moment. He had no interest in reading (well, he is only 5 years old so maybe it was an age thing) until we started that program. He had a great command of the letters and the sounds they make but he wasn't interested in actually stringing the sounds together. When we sat down to the HOP program, he was reading by the end of the first 10 minute lesson and from that point on his reading just took off! It gave him confidence! So now he's on to novel #2...The Strange Museum....because although he enjoyed Junie B. Jones he thought the chapters weren't long enou...

If.... A powerful, yet insignificant-looking two letter word, that sneakily embeds itself into our thoughts and makes us question our life and the choices we've made along the journey. If.... The word can cause us pain or pleasure... What 'if?' 'If' can cause us to stick to the beaten path or to chose the one less traveled. If... The other night I had my own experience with an ' if. ' While sitting at the computer night after night, editing and digitally scrapbooking my photos and making videos a few thoughts crossed my mind about my life. The first thought that sneaked in was a negative one where I admonished myself for spending hours enthralled in a pointless pursuit (I'm not making the world a better place, I'm not saving a life, I'm not curing cancer...I'm not even cleaning the toilets!!) and then I came to the conclusion that I obviously had NO LIFE! If I could spend days doing this, neglecting my housework, and yes, as much as I hate ...

Prepared with a back pack full of necessities such as toilet paper, ziploc baggies (to carry out the used toilet paper), first aid kit, camera, food, water, whistles,and 4 orange garbage bags (so we could stay dry and be easily spotted when the rescuers needed to find us), we set out to Lynn Canyon for a very serious hike. Imagine our surprise when we found paved trails, a cafe and a million people wearing nothing but flip flops and t-shirts. This wasn't quite what we had planned! We were going to be roughing it; breaking our own trails; forging our own way. Wasn't this unknown territory? Why were all these people here? How did they find out about our 'secret, well researched' spot? Did they purchase the "Great Hikes in Southwestern BC" book too? We had a great time anyway. We spent the day with friends, we played in the infamous Lynn Valley river/creek/rushing stream and didn't drown (although Mo did fall in twice). We got to LOOK at the suspensio...

I'm having sooooo much trouble with my laptop today! I made a video and I can't get it to upload! I've been trying to resolve the problem almost the whole day. This is just a test post to see if this photo will at least load. I'm getting very close to losing my patience!