Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Dear Santa...

I came across this cute poem on another blog and it made me laugh, so I thought I'd share. I thought it fit best under my "domestic" blog and I know many of you moms can relate to this :)... enjoy!

ps. I'm procrastinating... well technically working on something I procrastinated about since early this year... does that count?

_____________________________

Dear Santa,

I've been a good mom all year.
I've fed, cleaned, and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor and sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground.

I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes:

I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze, but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store.

I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.

If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music, a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals, and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, "Yes, Mommy" to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.

I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting "Don't eat in the living room" and "Take your hands off your brother," because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.

If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season.

Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely.

It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is calling and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back.

Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch cold.

Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet….you promised me last year you would lose some weight with me so next year
I could be a cute size two...ok, some requests go too far, but none the less.....

Yours Always,

MOM...

P.S. One more thing...you can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children, healthy and safe.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Inertia...

Sir Isaac Newton's first law of motion states that every object remains at rest or in uniform motion in a straight line unless compelled to change its state by the action of an external force. This is normally taken as the definition of inertia. In even simpler terms, inertia means "A body in motion tends to remain in motion, a body at rest tends to remain at rest."

Inertia could also be the definition of procrastination, "a body at rest tends to remain at rest", even "a body in motion tends to remain in motion" works here. Basically it's like this... if I start my day sitting on my franny at the computer surfing, chatting and generally not moving outside of that zone for the first hour after waking or launching the boys to school, then sitting on my franny is exactly where I will stay for the majority of my day. Or if I start my day being busy but still not doing anything productive, my day will continue to be effectively unproductive even though it "looks like" I'm actually doing something. To change the state of either of these types of procrastination I have to be compelled by the action of an external force.

So perhaps the trick here is to determine what my "external force" is that will actually move me off my franny or out of the rut of unproductivity... what will it take to "kick my franny" into 4th or even 5th gear instead of neutral, or at best, 1st gear? Really, I'm hoping this blog will be it, but it may just be another form of procrastinating... Join me if you will in my adventures as a procrastinating sahm as I try to kick trick myself out of the rut.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

bloggerama!

Ok, so in my last post I told ya'll about my new found hobby and how it wasn't so much (not at all really) the following of a trend but the genuine love of writing and reading that finally sucked me in. I actually enjoy writing this crap junk blog and thinking of new ideas to post even it does bore the heck out of everyone else... well I'm having fun :D. And seriously, I did put the disclaimer in about operating heavy machinery.

So I have this blog (considering a possible name change) and that's all well and good; But am I content to leave it at that? Nooooo... of course not, because once miss shannon climbs on a bandwagon, well, there is no climbing, we're talking jumping on with both feet like I'm trying win the Olympic High Jump. So... drum roll please.... tada... "domestic adventures in procrastination" has been launched... the latest addition to my blog family :). Pretty sure the name says it all, so let's see if we can maintain TWO of these dang things... lol. Hoping to set up a personal url so I can bring it all together in one place one day... I'll add that to my "to do list" ;).

Continuing with the whole blog theme I thought this would be a good time to mention a blog I've started following with my friends Trish, Chris, Sunny & Angelic... and btw we're blaming Chris for the original link ;)... love ya Chris... muah. "Confessions of a Pioneer Woman" is an amazing adventure in a woman's life from city girl to country wife. I've been following her blog for a few days and she's really a very good writer. But never content to let sleeping dogs lie two night ago I got sucked into the world of "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels". Oh my gosh! Can this woman ever write a tale... this is her love story with Marlboro Man, a real life, honest to goodness tale of romance and love found. If you choose to follow this link, be prepared to set aside a good 3 hours because you will not be able to stop reading once you get past Chapter II. Oh for the next installment... **sigh**.

Friday, September 12, 2008

Trendsetter, Follower or Individualist?

I've never been much of a follower as far as trends go... in high school I'd get harrassed by friends for not wearing much makeup and not having "pour in" jeans on. I'm not really a trendsetter either, tending more towards marching to the beat of my own drum, a free spirit or even a loan wolf if you will. If I do end up appearing to follow a trend, it is because I took time to decide what I really think about something and then if I decide it'll work for me... well I just "do it".

I did finally start wearing those "pour in" jeans, although not sure how that
worked for me aside from the can't eat much whilst wearing them, thus not making them even tighter. Low rise jeans/trousers... well that was one trend it didn't take me long to jump on... they are soooo much more comfy than pants that go right up to your waist and make you feel like you are cut in half... man I put on some old jeans I could finally get into and whipped them right off... sure they fit, but a waist band on my **shock** waist?... yucky! Chances are if that trend dies... well I'll still be searching for low risers. I like my clothes comfy.

When Ty Beanie Babies came out I thought people were crazy, going nuts over a bunch of stuffed toys just because they had a tag and a name on them and everyone else is doing it. I'm not even sure how it happened, but I ended up with two Beanie Babies about 2 years into the Beanie Baby craze and I was hooked. I mostly ended up collecting bears only aside from a couple of others I thought were cute. I'm missing Maple Bear though and that frustrates me... lol.

So when I first heard about "blogging" my first reaction was... wth is a blog??? When I was duly informed of the purpose, my first thought was people that have "blogs" were bizaarely crazy attention mongers. Who in their right mind wants to share their personal life, their private trials, tribulations and triumphs, on the internet? A place where anyone a
nd their dog can read about it! Well I guess the laugh is on me... this is sooo addicting.

The story goes like this... someone either sent me an email or told me in chat about this eBay auction some chick/mom/lady had up for Pokemon
cards. I was... "why do I want to see an auction selling Pokemon cards, we got more dang Pokemon cards than we know what to do with?" Just check it out, I was told. I saved the link to look at later...

Later... I laughed so hard when I finally took the time to read that ad I nearly peed my pants... my low rise, not so ti
ght anymore, jeans just about got a pee bath. She was/is soooo funny! Well there was a link for her blog, "Because I Said So..." and I just HAD to read more... here is the original eBay auction saved on her blog, "Adventures in Grocery Shopping". Thanks to Google-ing for helping me find that quickly :D.

That was over a year ago, but I was inspired and I created my blog name, set up a profile and on 24th of August 2007 I wrote my first blog entry. Ok, so I didn't get regular with it until very recently (but whoever said I was regular???). I really wanted to, but something or another held me back and it just wasn't happening very often. "Oh, I'll get around to it"... so here is my "round tuit" and I have no excuse anymore. I love writing, I really love reading the blogs of others (see my list to the right), especially friends, and I guess I've jumped on the blogging trend with both feet finally (and hands, I don't type so good with toes...). So be afraid... be very afraid...

My inspirations come from various circumstances, something on another's blog post, sometimes an occurrence that day (my kids crack me up, or just some randomness that pops in my head (you'd be scared to see the thoughts that just "pop up" in my head). I have nearly as many drafts sitting in my Edit Posts box as I do actual published posts and that's ok too, because if I start running out of things to write about... well there they are, the ideas sitting there waiting for me. So if you're looking for a little bit of a guffaw, a little bit of inspiration or especially if you are having trouble sleeping some night (please do not operate heavy machinery after reading these posts). Pop on in, read away and leave me a comment and your blog addy. I'd love to add you to my blogroll :D. (Don't you love all these new and made up internet inspired words?... "I 'Googled' that" or "She's a great blogger".)


It's raining here today, pouring now really... here one of my favourite rain tunes...


Supertramp, "It's Raining Again"

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Where Were You? 9.11.2001

Remembering those that died that day, and the family they left behind. My prayers go up for those that lost someone that day and the days following.


My Trip to Ground Zero in 2004























Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Sevens...

So today's challenge from Pastor Ryan @ "this is reverb..." is Sevens... And here is my response, lists, photos, crazy randomness...





Seven books in my Amazon.ca Wishlist (not necessarily in order)...

Seven Things I Can Do

- drive a stick (that's a standard transmission vehicle if you weren't sure...lol)

- fix my own computer issues (most of the time)

- read a good sized novel in a day

- Wii Yoga

- sing (according to RockBand)

- look good in blue jeans & a cowboy hat

- nearly anything I put my mind and heart to

Seven Things I Can't Do

- sit on the floor (well more I can't get back up again very easily if I do)

- climb higher than the 3rd step on a ladder without shaking

- scratch my own back

- write short blogs

- stay up as late as I want on school nights :(

- use acv, which sucks as it can be sooo good for you

- play piano

Seven Things I Love:

- IXOYE (Jesus Christ, God's Son, Saviour)

- making dinner with my boyfriend

- playing Lego with my kids

- 1969 – 1972 Camaros

- 1968 Mustang GT, convertible

- Blogs/Bloggers/Blogging

- researching stuffs online

Seven photos I've taken that I like:

Calgary Zoo - Flamingo taking off

Winter hoar frost (I know I know, no reminders of coming winter :P )

Caleb - August 2007

Alexander - August 2007

Downtown Calgary - from Eau Claire Market

Snicklefritz... yes that really is her name

Canadian Badlands Passion Play - Drumheller

Now it's your turn... as many "sevens" or as few as you like... leave me a link in comments so I can check out yours :)

wordless wednesday...

Life on the farm (pt.1)...











... more next week :)

~Blessings,
miss shannon

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

This explains alot... or very little...




You Are 90% Boyish and 10% Girlish



You have a tough exterior - and usually a tough interior to match it.

You're no nonsense, logical, and very assertive.

Sometimes you can't understand women at all, even if you're a woman yourself.

You see things rationally, and don't like to let your emotions get the best of you.

tackle it Tuesday...

Tackle It Tuesday Meme
Ok, so here is my attempt at "tackle it Tuesday"... no before and after pics but as I was supposed to go out today, I guess this is better than nothing. The weather, as always when it gets stormy, brought me a big ol' case of the blahs, so I basically started my day snoozing once I got the boys on the bus. The joys of being a human barometer... anyway, I digress.

Well once I woke and started moving, albeit slowly, I found I was just in time to listen to Amy Hagberg's interview with
Natalie Grant on blogtalkradio. This really could be listed as one of the items I tackled today as I've been planning to start listening to her show "God Unplugged" for some time now. That was a eye opening and informative interview that I highly recommend checking out.

So, prior to the show I had also decided to deal with my
laundry issues today. I really didn't have the energy to do much else nor was my sore and aching body willing to move enough to take on any other projects... so, I managed to tackle the laundry at least. I have washed, folded and put away 5 loads of laundry (ok, not ALL are put away, but most of it :D ). Now that just puts a dent in what I need to do, but... "Keep in mind, you are not behind: you are just getting started: babysteps", ~FlyLady. Now on to better things, spending time watching a movie with my sweet boys... have a great day!

Monday, September 8, 2008

PB & J Personality Test

Ok, this is kind of silly... yet surprisingly accurate... enjoy!


What Your Peanut Butter And Jelly Sandwich Means



Your eating style is reserved. You are a bit of a fussy eater, and you have very specific ways you like your food prepared.

You don't really have a sweet tooth. If you go for dessert, you tend to go for something light.

Your taste in food tends to be quite eclectic and wide. You are an adventurous eater, and you like many types of cuisines.

You belong to a class that's all your own. You resist rules and traditions of any sort.

You are a tough person who isn't afraid to live life fully. There isn't a lot that scares you.

Precise and controlled, you can be a bit anal retentive when it comes to how you like things. You're definitely a perfectionist.

Sunday, September 7, 2008

National Grandparents Day


Happy National Grandparents Day to all those wonderful people that make our life and our children's life so special... This one is for you Grandma :D

My paternal grandmother is Ella McCann, and she is my hero. Born in Banff, Scotland on the 31st of July, 1915, a middle child with no father (another blog another day), one of 10 children and as strong in character as she is tender of heart, her love for family knows no bounds. Grandma only has 5 grandchildren but we, each of us, love her and can only hope to emulate her. Giving in all ways, loving all and a never ending spirit of forgiveness are just a few of the ways to describe who my Grandmother is.

As tough as iron, Grandma made it through many hardships without ever giving up her amazingly positive outlook on life. Yet with that toughness, Grandma is also the gentlest woman I know. Family is everything to her and she would give you the shirt off her back if you needed it. Growing up going to Grandma's meant lots of hugs & kisses, hot scones off the griddle with butter and jam, her amazing Scottish shortbread and always time to play a game of chinese checkers. The candy bowls were always full of scotch mints or hard candies and her heart was, and still is, always full of love.

Grandma has survived all but one of her siblings, including their spouses, her husband and soulmate (she still celebrates their anniversary after nearly 30 years of his passing) and one child, my own daddy. Her heart broke with the loss of every single one of those family members and she thinks of each one of them all the time. Yet she continues to shine through each day with an unending sense of wonder at the abundance of joy in her life.

At 93 she is of sound mind in an unfortunately not very sound body anymore. However she did live in her own house alone until she was 91, quite an accomplishment and one she can be proud of. Overall a lovely woman that all who know love her.

And although I am often told I am like her in so many ways, I can only hope and strive to be 1/2 the person my Grandma is. Grandma... this day I dedicate to you, my hero! I love you.


Friday, September 5, 2008

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow,..."

"... for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
~Matthew 6:34
So I've been browsing around the blogging world, it's alot of fun, finding new Blogs to read, learning about people, and their passions. I kinda collect Blogs and enjoy reading those of my friends the most. Yesterday, I came across Ryan Detzel's blogger "this is reverb...". Now I don't know Ryan at all aside from being a brother in Christ, but found that I really enjoyed reading his stuff... it wasn't anything significant that I can pinpoint that attracted me other than his obvious love for God & his lovely family, his zest for life and his sense of humour... funny guy :D! Gotta love, Me First and the Gimme Gimme's... lol. Ryan's writing is excellent and interesting... but his teaching? Wow!

Now I really know how I ended up on his blog, I was lead there by God, because God wanted me to hear what He was talking to Ryan about. All I can say again is, "WOW"! God's timing never ever ceases to amaze me... The
message Ryan linked to from today's post was the most significant message I've heard for a long time for me personally and I so seriously needed to hear it. I needed a reminder, and I needed that reminder right now... today. That I am a Princess in the Kingdom, daughter of God, loved by Christ, my King. Take a moment now, or when you're done reading to listen for yourself this life changing lesson.


I have been living in a spirit of poverty, believing that I am insignificant, that I don't really have any value, that I am not good enough; not good enough for my family, for friends, my life partner or for God. God made us in His image - in order that we may love Him. Yet we don't like ourselves very much, sabotaging relationships with ourselves, those close to us and with God, becoming what we believe ourselves to be (self-fulfilling prophecy). Until we can love ourselves as God does, we cannot properly and unconditionally love others or God.


I am going to join Ryan, I'm "giving it up"... giving up focusing on my downfalls; "taking off the spirit of poverty, taking off the spirit of scarcity, taking off the spirit of not being good enough". He who knows the number of hairs on my head**, loves me, chose me, a daughter of God, descendant of Abraham. I will still come up short, I am not perfect, but my true identity, the ultimate truth, is proclaimed by the most High King, I am His Princess in the Royal Kingdom of Heaven. Who am I to disagree with my maker, my Saviour, the God of the Universe, Creator of all? How can I tell Him, "you're not right about me"?

I am going to set my worries aside; for if God feeds the birds in the air, if He clothes the field's in lilies, then what more can and will He do for me? He knows my needs and the desires of my heart, He will be and has been, there for me, moulding and creating me for His purpose; His fingerprints there to remind me He's not done with me, that I am a work in progress...
"Fashioned by God's hand
And perfectly planned
To be just who you are
And what hes been creating
Since the first beat of your heart
Is a living breathing priceless work of art"
~ Steven Curtis Chapman


Take time to see yourself through the eyes of God... God don't make junk! You are a masterpiece, made in His image, "covered with the fingerprints of God."


*Matthew 6: 25 - 34
**Matthew 10: 24 -31
listen to Ryan here
-- and to think this is only part 1... can't wait for part 2 :D
find the book Ryan mentions here -- "The Supernatural Ways of Royalty: How Living Supernaturally Will Take You from the Prison to the Palace"

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Laundry, Laundry and More Laundry


Ok, everyone knows how much I despise dislike enjoy love doing laundry... well perhaps not everyone. But my entire readership of what... three people... I'm sure they are very aware of my love-hate relationship with that wonderful chore. So, being the organized person I am... I decide to go through boxes of hand-me-downs for the boys, a sensible 3 days before school is to start. See, very organized aren't I? I also never procrastinate nor am I ever sarcastic **ahem**. Anyway, so I haul out said boxes and figure, "oh, we'll just sort through it all and put what they can wear in their dresser drawers"... ha... yeah... sure we will.

First box reveals some clothes that will fit, some that they have already outgrown, socks that were not paired PRIOR to storage and therefore missing matches on several, and other assorted items. Assorted items include, lost Lego pieces, a bag of electronic cables (wth?), KinderEgg toy pieces, and a bunch of other crap not even worth mentioning. BTW, this particular box is a lovely plastic rubbermaid type container with a lid and wheels.

The 2nd box is a cardboard moving box, well past it's life, falling apart at the corners and the packing tape is drying out and coming off. Only clothes in here, well... sort of, and mouse droppings.... ughhhh, so now we get to the laundry part. I'm thinking the clothes from the 1st box can just go in the boys drawers... ha.... yeah... sure. So not noticing the aforementioned mouse doo-doo at first, I start adding the clothes that fit to the first piles... then I see those lovely little turds... mocking me and my love for laundry. At this point I've realised that I now not only need to wash the clothes that are in that box, but also from the 1st box because... mice don't just defecate, they also pee and although we can't see it necessarily, oh it's there. Ok, maybe I'm a bit anal and the 1st batch of clothes is still fine... but... ewwww, it's rodent poo, and pee... eeeeek, yuck.

Now, on top of the hundreds several loads of laundry in hampers I had managed to ignore most of the summer as the boys dressed in shorts all summer, I have added an additional 5... count 'em... 5 freakin loads of laundry. And this is in the large capacity front load Kenmore Washer to boot... **sigh**. (There are at least two hampers and two garbage bags of bedding alone that needed to be washed prior to all this as well).

So, I have clothes strewn all about my living room, they are piled on the coffee table, on top my crap junk magazine & book basket, on the love seat, 1/2 the sofa, in the plastic box, a laundry basket and on the floor. Just a bit of laundry, no big deal (whatever)... Then on Saturday, we head into the city to do a quick pack, clean and move of ds21's things... quick... ha... yeah... sure. Well, that's for another blog if I bother, but I managed to bring home 3 more garbage bags of laundry, mostly bedding... will it ever end???

Well, I must say I am frustrated and feeling a tad overwhelmed with all this laundry on top of all the other crap stuff chores I need to do and get caught up on... and then today I was cleaning out emails on my yahoo account (not procrastinating at all, really... ha... yeah... sure) and came across this lovely gem. Please take a moment to read and perhaps you, like me, will not feel so bad about our laundry woes after all.

Washing Clothes Recipe

Imagine having a recipe for this ! Years ago an Alabama grandmother gave a new bride the following recipe: This is an exact copy as written and found in an old scrapbook - with spelling errors and all.

WASHING CLOTHES Build fire in backyard to heat kettle of rain water. Set tubs so smoke wont blow in eyes if wind is pert. Shave one hole cake of lie soap in boilin water. Sort things, make 3 piles 1 pile white, 1 pile colored, 1 pile work britches and rags. To make starch, stir flour in cool water to smooth, then thin down with boiling water. Take white things, rub dirty spots on board, scrub hard, and boil, then rub colored don’t boil just wrench and starch.

Take things out of kettle with broom stick handle, then wrench, and starch. Hang old rags on fence. Spread tea towels on grass. Pore wrench water in flower bed. Scrub porch with hot soapy water. Turn tubs upside down. Go put on clean dress, smooth hair with hair combs. Brew cup of tea, sit and rock a spell and count your blessings.

Paste this over your washer and dryer. Next time when you think things are bleak, read it again, kiss that washing machine and dryer, and give thanks.

First thing each morning you should run and hug your washer and dryer, also your toilet—those two-holers used to get mighty cold! For you non-southerners -wrench means rinse.

And... when you're all done with the wash, it's time to make music...
Washboard as a Musical Instrument ... better than any rock song you can think of I'm sure ;).

Blessings,
Shannon