Instead of beating a dead horse (Who would actually beat a dead horse? And why would they do so?) about my disdain/apprehension of winter I thought I would talk about something different.
My hatred of rain.
There are those that love the rain and I am honestly curious as to how that is even a possibility. Rain is wet and cold and damp and did I mention wet? And cold? I’d use the term “moist” but it’s on my “hated words” list.
I spent the first nineteen years of my life on the North Coast and the following six years in Vancouver. I KNOW RAIN. It’s good to know your enemy, I suppose.
When we moved to the Okanagan nearly nine years ago I rejoiced about the fact that I would be living in desert country. People here don’t even own umbrellas. As a girl who always had at least three umbrellas in her possession (One at home, one in the car and one at work) the idea that you could live somewhere that did not require an umbrella was absolutely fascinating. Also, absolutely wonderful.
These past few weeks have been filled with rain, rain and (Guess what?) MORE RAIN. Yes, we need it, blah blah blah, yada yada yada but I don’t care. I suffered through enough rain in my first twenty-five years of life to have made my lifetime quota. I am done with precipitation.
Wednesday morning there was a break in the clouds. Before I knew the sun was shining. The sun! Was shining! It never ceases to amaze me how the sun’s rays can bump my mood up ten (or twenty) notches.
Needing a break from work (Three hours completed by 9:30 a.m.), I asked the kids what they wanted to do. They replied in unison. “Go to the park!” I called Amanda, threw my camera into my new purse and bee-lined it to the park of their choice.
Can I just point out that those letters are raised? And that my kids would stand up, rub their butts and say, “OW” every time they slid down? Then they would start all over? Even though there were three other slides with no bumps? My children are considered intelligent and yet often make no sense. Kind of like their Mom.
A few more, since it felt so good to actually take photos.
I would have taken photos of all of the pretty leaves but my fingertips were turning blue (Really) and I didn’t want to take my hands out of my pockets for the last half an hour we were there. Amanda told me that her brother suffers from the same “condition” but that it’s nothing to worry about. I’m not worried; just annoyed that my fingertips go numb when the temperature hasn’t even gotten down to the freezing mark. I may or may not have dipped my hand in my coffee to thaw out my fingers.
You might have noticed that a certain child by the name of Graham is missing from the above photos. It was a school day for him which meant that he was busy completing assignments such as this one:
That one’s getting framed and hung on the wall.
*Lyrics from U2’s Beautiful Day. It had come on the radio the other day when the rain was reaching Ark proportions and I laughed at the irony. It came on again as we were driving to the park and thus, a title was born.
Over at Work It! Mom: Would you marry your spouse again?
Well, hello there.
I felt a wee bit guilty writing such a somber post and then going so long without an update but (I live a life outside the Internet, and) I was busy. Or “Busy” as stated in that last post. I’m joking, people. I threw up a quick post of my kids in their Sunday best to knock the Depressing out of the number one spot and let you know that I wasn’t crumpled in a heap in the corner. Also, to show off my ridiculously adorable children. I have no qualms in saying so, as they all look remarkably like their Daddy.
In all honesty I am good. Better than good, really. It was like I needed to get it all out so that I could clear my head of the nonsense and just purge the chaos. The only crying I have done since then was due to sweet comments, emails, chats and phone calls. Anyone who hates on Internet friendships needs to be smacked upside the head. Or possibly have the Grumpies hugged out of them by a bunch of kamikaze bloggers.
This is not to say that I won’t go to my doctor for a physical (HOLD ME) or take other steps to keep my equilibrium balanced. In the meantime, I am holding my own.
Part of the freak out of last week had to do with the unknown portions of my work life. I just plowed through week one of eight and it was fine. I’m back in a course I have done for the past five years; I know it like the back of my hand. Twenty-five students is busy, yes, but the stress is only time-related, not content-related. I also talked to the firm I’m returning to in January to discuss the details. Not only will I be working with people I’ve known for eight years (and adore), I’ll be doing a job that’s in my comfort (and knowledge) zone. There’s a (more than) decent salary and benefits to boot. Big, deep, exhale.
I have been on the happy side of life and thought sharing what is making me happy might make you happy. Or at least happy for me. Here goes:
I hold the iTunes conch in our household. Matthew asked me to download some songs by the Jackson 5. Watching the kids shimmy and sing “ABC” is pure awesomesauce.
In the whole “shimmy” vein, watching Emily’s ballet class is a highlight of my week. She does everything that the teacher tells her to, and seems to have a knack for it. She’s also ridiculously cute.
Seriously.
I have always liked gel pens (still do) but recently tried a Sharpie pen. I am in love.
After numerous months and years bragging about the fact that I have neither read Twilight nor watched the movie, said movie showed up on our free movie channel this weekend. We watched it and…liked it. Prepare yourselves, for apparently there will be pigs flying in the near future.
My friend Amy (Amalah) mentioned me in a video over at MamaPop and it brought me no end of laughter. (Amy – I’m pretty sure it was $30, not $70. As I said before, don’t worry about it. You can buy me a bevvie (or two) in New York next August and we’ll call it even.)
The first sip of Diet Coke each day. What can I say? It’s the simple things in life that make the day better.
Footed pajamas.
I asked Kerri Anne for a book recommendation and she told me to buy Neverwhere. I did, and have been engrossed ever since I turned the first page. By “engrossed” I mean “reading in five minute increments while I’m stirring dinner/refereeing bath time/sitting on the can.” Shut up. Don’t even try to tell me you don’t do it as well. (I’m referring to number two and reading on the loo (That rhymes!), in case you were wondering.)
Speaking of Kerri (Cheerleader EXTRAORDINAIRE), she made me sign up for NaNoWriMo. 30 Days. 50,000 words. One novel. It may seem a little, I don’t know, INSANE in light of my recent freak out. If you (I) stop to think about it, I will be “busy” until the end of time (or so). Why not make an attempt now? If I fail, I fail. At least I’m trying, right? Other things may have to give that month, this website included. I’m totally OK with that. If you’ve joined the NaNoWriMo craziness as well, add me as a friend. My user name is…wait for it…Angella. I’m nothing if not original.
Glee.
Graham has started saying phrases such as, “What the…?” “Seriously?” and “Sweet” in context. I laugh every time he does it.
After over a week of rain and fog the sun finally peeked out from behind the clouds. A little sunshine goes a long way. This is a good thing, because it only lasted for twenty-seven minutes. Not that I was timing it or anything.
How about you, friends? What’s making you happy these days?
The Daily Grommet ladies sent me a copy of the book Cake Wrecks (based on the Cake Wrecks blog, but with more!) and I got to interview the author/blog star Jen. The interview is up if you want to check it out.
Over at Work It! Mom: Does more housework equal more sex?
When fall descends I get into the habit of taking photos of my kids in their cute clothes before (I yell at them to GET THEIR SHOES ON ALREADY, and) we walk out the door to church. I usually just post them to Flickr but it takes just as much time to post them here. I thought I might do so this week to mix things up a little. Look at me, walking on the wild side. Added bonus: Nana and the other Grandparents can see them.
Take #1:
Look at Emily’s expression. When the teenage years hit I am doomed, people. DOOMED.
Take #2:
I know that they’re mine but those are some seriously sweet kids, there.
My, uh, disdain for our dog is well-documented. I don’t hate him or anything; he’s just not my favorite. I wrote a blog post over at the Daily Grommet about today’s featured item. I’d totally get these if we didn’t have enough pets already.
