Crying Over Porridge

 The other day Rob wanted me to try this oatmeal that he made for himself. He's on a bit of a health kick and he's trying to eat more protein, etc. Whenever he makes something that he knows I haven't tried he always wants me to try it. Even when I'm like, "No, no.. I'm good." He insists that I try it. "Please, oh please, please just try it!" I'm not sure why he enjoys getting me to try food that he likes, but he does.

via

 So he whipped up some oatmeal and had me try it.. As soon as the mush touched my tongue it was like I was teleported (if that's even a thing..) to the past..
 Rudi was a body builder. He ate very healthy and he always ate the same breakfast; oatmeal (that we called porridge) with two soft boiled eggs.

I couldn't find his body building photos- so here's one of him chopping wood years after he was in competitive body building. (Still pretty big.)

 He was a thoughtful man and he would always offer to make a little extra porridge to leave out for me, in the morning. After awhile, I politely declined because who can seriously eat porridge every damn morning for over ten years!? But, there were times when I'd say yes. That oatmeal that Rob spooned into my mouth tasted exactly like Rudi's. It sounds silly but I haven't tasted his porridge for years.. It literally brought tears to my eyes. I was a bit embarrassed, crying over porridge, but that taste triggered instant memories and it brought me back to a time when I was innocent, when my daddy was just being thoughtful and making me some breakfast..
 The secret to this oatmeal was that Rob added honey to it.. and that's what Rudi always ate in his porridge. Honey, cinnamon, some milk and he always added raisins or craisins. (Minus the (c)raisins in mine of course!)
 Once I tasted it, cried and explained that I wasn't crazy.. Rob asked if I wanted another bite. My answer was yes. Who doesn't like tasting memories?

The 11th Hour, on the 11th Day of the 11th Month

Alina's Poppy on her jacket

 Today is a special day. It is November 11th, Remembrance Day. Today we honour those that fought specifically in both World Wars, the Korean War and all of the other conflicts that the Canadian Forces assisted in. 

 I've mentioned a time or two, that I live in a retirement community. In 2011 the average age in town was sixty three. Remembrance Day is taken very seriously in our town because many of our residents experienced real war. They lived it, remember how they felt during it and often experienced the loss of it in many ways. I mentioned in a past post, "Our Fallen Fathers" what kinds of stories I heard often, working with the elderly. The gentlemen with his milky eyes and his shaky hands passed me his prescription for his heart medicine. He slowly opened his wallet and I saw a photo of what I assumed was him, in a military uniform. His face was filled with innocence and youth. Nothing at all like the man that stood before me... I remember the day well, when I saw the difference that age and experience make...

 I feel like a broken record when I write about Remembrance Day because there is no way to put in words, what true emotion is felt today, by so many. I obviously have never experienced war. I don't know what it's like to send my husband off for months, even years to danger.. to uncertainty. I don't know what it's like to feel afraid for my own safety because the town nearest to mine is being bombed and I can hear the explosions in the distance. My step dad and his family immigrated from Germany in 1957.  His father, my Grandpa fought in World War II for Germany. He was shot in the leg and taken prisoner. He lied and said he was a barber to give his life value. He fought on a different side, but he experienced Germany in World War II. Shudder. It's unimaginable. The bits and pieces of stories that I have overheard from the dinner table as a child... Grandma would say something completely shocking, so shocking that Mom and Rudi discussed it on the drive home in hushed tones. War is war, wherever it is fought. Pain and loss happens to everyone involved.
  I get annoyed with the old man that pretends not to notice me in line ahead of him. He just walks in front of me and steals my place. Or the elderly couple that parks in Parent Parking, leaving me in the rain with my little one, far from the front door. I get angry and so annoyed. But, a little voice inside my head reminds me; "Get over it! They probably experienced WAR you brat. So what, wait a little longer .. or walk a little farther!" I'm stereotyping a bit. But, the thought certainly crosses my mind when these situations occur. 

  Instead of going on and on, like I usually do.. I took video of the parade going by our house this morning. Alina and I could hear the drums drumming from inside, so we quickly threw on our jackets and headed out to the driveway to show our support.


(Sorry for the shaky quality and the heavy breathing..!)

 It's important to us that Alina knows what Remembrance Day is all about. Every generation needs to know so that they never forget. Every Remembrance Day I hope she watches heartbreaking videos at school. I hope that someone speaks on behalf of a veteran that they once knew from those times. By the time Alina is in school, there won't be any World War II Veterans left. Every year, we will take Alina to the end of our driveway, to see that small group of survivors get smaller and smaller. She will go with us to the celebrations to pray for others, to keep quiet for the minute of silence at 11:00 and to show her respect for those she will never know.. but hopefully, never forget. 

 I dedicate this post to everyone, that is affected by war; yesterday, today and tomorrow... Thank you for all that you do, so others may live.

Describe Her To Me

 I'm reading a good book right now called; "Walking On Broken Glass" written by Christa Allan. It's about a young woman going through rehab for drinking. In one of her therapy sessions the therapist has her describe her mother, but the way that he gets her to got me thinking..

 "Pretend I'm picking your mother up from the airport. Describe her in a way that I will be able to walk right up to her, without knowing her first... Her features, her mannerisms, the way she carries herself..."

 So of course, that got me thinking about how I would describe my mother. I'm going to pretend like I am laying on a couch in a therapy session with a therapist. No filter, just myself and he just asked me to describe my mom to him.

  Well first of all, it wouldn't be difficult to find my mother. She would be the one talking to everyone around her. It doesn't matter if she knows the person sitting beside her. Just the fact that they are near her, gives her the go ahead to chat them up and oh, she does. It's funny you mentioned picking her up from an airport because it is usually in busy places like that, that she makes 'friends' with people. My sister and her family were arriving from Nova Scotia and we met my mom at the airport to greet them when they arrived. Well, she had already met everyone waiting around her. She says things like, "Oh, that's Jackson. He's five and in kindergarten. His favourite colour is blue and he's waiting for his grandma Milly who is coming from Edmonton. He's with his mom and his baby sister Amelia." It used to unsettle me because I would think; 'Why does she talk to people she doesn't know'? 'Are they annoyed'? 'Should I be embarrassed'? But I honestly don't feel that way anymore.
 She talks to herself. So even if you are sitting next to her and she's not talking to you, she's still talking... to herself. That one can get annoying, just simply because she never stops talking. I usually don't hear her as much anymore. But if you spend an entire day with her.. it does get a bit tiresome. She doesn't even realize that she is doing it. She also doesn't have a filter in her mind that stops her from saying what she's thinking. Not that she says rude things. She's a very considerate, kind person. But she doesn't think in her mind, she thinks out loud.
 Everyone says that my mom and I look a lot a like. The funny thing is that neither one of us sees it all of the time. I do see the resemblance when she was a teen. But even now, she'll introduce me to her friends and they are bewildered by how much we look a like. We both laugh, because we don't see it.

 My mom is a recovering alcoholic and we're all proud to share that. She's been sober for seven years and she actively goes to AA meetings. So there was a time when she was drinking, that she gained a lot of weight. My mom has always had a small stature. She has broad shoulders and is about 5'6 in height. But at this time in her life, she plumped up pretty heavily. (Sorry mom.) She didn't like being overweight and she really didn't like the way she was dressing back then. I think she may have had a sweater with a cat or something equally awful on it. The reason I'm mentioning the cat sweater is because she now dresses better than I do. She's very fashionable and always has something nice on. I also pointed out to her the other day, that it's not that she has expensive clothes, she just treats her clothes very, very well. She never dries anything. Everything is hung to dry, so the colours never fade and everything looks brand new. She always presents herself well.
 She's usually wearing a pair of earrings that I would wear. Her hair is always dyed nicely, freshly cut and styled. She wears big, dark blue glasses, as of recently. Her glasses are always in with whatever the trend is. So big is back and she's got them!

Mom- Younger Years

 My mom is very thoughtful. She has always been a good person but as of very recently she has been very thoughtful. She quit drinking and joined the program seven years ago. But she took a little break from going to meetings for a few years. She didn't drink in that time, but she wasn't super happy. I think the meetings were more important to her happiness than she realized. She is very self aware and reflects on her behaviour every night before bed. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone did that before going to bed? She'll go over the day and think; "Did I offend so and so when I said that?? She seemed a bit off today. I think I'll ask her about it tomorrow and find out.." I like that about her.
 She loves to love. That sounds stupid, but it's true. She will love you, if you'll let her. She lost her husband, my step dad in 2005. So she has a lot of love inside of her that is just waiting to pour out. With all of that love and tragedy built up inside of her, she is also very emotional and sensitive. I have hurt her feelings many, many times in my life. She's made of cotton candy so it's easy to hurt her. (And believe me, people know that and they hurt her all of the time. It's very unfortunate, actually.)
  She's an amazing Baba to my baby girl and to my sister's little ones; Quinn and Sophie. She lights up at their very names and when she's with them I can see that she is truly, truly happy. My mom has had a lot of obstacles and bumps along her path of life, but she is the best she has ever been, right now. I've never been so proud of her in all of my life. I love her to bits and I'm sure if you saw her at the airport she would probably tell me all about you.

Today I am going to  #BackThatAzzUp with Yoga Pants with a tune I really enjoy. Current Swell is a Canadian Indie Rock band that plays a lot around the island. They come from Victoria and are a very talented group of guys. We watched them live at the first Rock the Shores and it was a great show. The song, "Coming Home" is another one of those songs I request Rob play when we're out and about driving around. Happy Friday.


 



 

"Drunken Stupor"

 Tuesday, November 5th stands out to me. Rob's Nonna (Grandma) passed away eleven years ago yesterday. She went in for heart surgery and tragically didn't make the surgery. My mom and my step dad would have celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary yesterday as well. My mom told me that her and Rudi discussed their 25th years ago. Rudi said that they were going to be 'so old' compared to other couples celebrating their 25 years because they were married so late in life. Both sad reminders of two very important people that played very significant roles in my life and Rob's.

 On a much less serious note; yesterday stood out, specifically in the news because of one man. One foolish, reckless man of power. Rob Ford. Ford has been the mayor of Toronto since December, 2010.

  Photo by David Cooper/Toronto Star/Getty Images (Ford) Courtesy of FOX Broadcasting (Quimby)

 Even before he was elected as mayor alarm bells should have been going off for the people of Toronto. In 1999 he was arrested in Miami, Florida for driving under the influence. In 2006, he was drunk and verbally abusive at a Toronto Maple Leafs hockey game. When he was asked days later about the incident, he denied being at the hockey game at all. A month later, he changes his tune and apologizes for his actions and assures the public that he is "only human" and that everyone makes mistakes.
 Okay, so the guy has made a few mistakes. But the people of Toronto wanted him as mayor for a reason. I'm sure now that he is mayor, he'll tone his wild behaviour down..
 March, 2012 is an unfortunate evening for Mayor Rob Ford. He gets intoxicated at city hall, goes to a nearby restaurant after knocking down a staff member and insulting others. After dancing wildly at the restaurant he later returns to city hall after 2 am where he walks around outside with a bottle of brandy. Again he insults another staff member and is called a cab home.
 The following March, he is accused of inappropriately touching Sarah Tompson, a mayoralty candidate while getting a photo together. He is later asked about the incident and again, he denies it and claims that he questioned Tompson's state of mind when he was first introduced to her. (Wow..)
  It is May, 2013 that a video is leaked (to only a few) of Mayor Rob Ford apparently smoking crack cocaine from a glass pipe. There is talk of it, but no video to prove the allegations against the mayor. Again, he denies it and claims that there is no such video.
 August, 2013 he goes to the "Taste of Danforth Festival" and appears "wasted" talking to other festival goers.  He is later assisted by the police and city staff out of the festival. Later on in the month, because of his drunken condition at the festival, he is asked if he ever smoked marijuana. He says, " I won't deny it. I smoked a lot of it".
 At the end of October there is more talk of the video of Mayor Ford smoking crack cocaine. November 3rd rolls around and Ford apologizes for the "mistakes he's made" and he assures the public that when the video does come out, he will explain what the video shows, to the best of his ability.
 Well, November 5th, 2013- a confession is made. Please enjoy and see for yourself, if you don't already know who this beauty of a hot mess is..
 

 So Rob Ford admitted to using crack cocaine in probably a 'drunken stupor'. Ouch, did he really say that?

A status update from a friend.. I couldn't agree more!

My Rob and I were watching the local news last night and we saw Ford confessing to his use of crack cocaine. We couldn't help but laugh out loud at Ford's choice of tie...

Picture we took from the tv.

 It's a good thing Ford woke up yesterday morning fully knowing he was going to have to admit to using crack cocaine to the world and he thought, "Yeah, I think I'll wear the one tie that will really make the people take me seriously." Nothing says classy like an NFL tie.
 I feel like Rob Ford is straight from a SNL sketch. First of all, I'm not sure how anyone took him seriously before all of his 'mistakes'.
 He is really good at one thing and that is deny, deny, deny. Unfortunately the denying is quickly trumped by his confessions and apologies months later. If you want a good laugh check out these Ford Quotes posted by the National Post-Toronto.

 Stay classy, Rob Ford. pic.twitter.com/cfZ7liE36F

— Thomas Bink (@thomasbink) November 5, 2013

**All of my information came from Wikipedia**

iPhones-Tires-Snow

 I had a great weekend with my little family! I don't always like to do weekend recaps because they can be boring. But I couldn't resist because our weekend was worth sharing...

FRIDAY . . . Any weekend that begins with Rob getting off of work early is a great start to the weekend. I had mentioned to him last week that I would really be interested in getting an iPhone for myself one day. I was never into upgrading my cell and my cell phone I had before my Samsung Focus was definitely laughable. But since I've been off on maternity and I have recently taken a big interest in blogging and updating all of my social media outlets; I changed my mind. I joined Instagram last month and realized that I was only able to upload pictures from my Samsung Galaxy Tablet. My Samsung phone didn't have Instagram as an App so it was sort of pointless for me to be sending a picture from my phone, to my e-mail address. Then I'd have to download the picture from  my tablet, blah, blah, blah. My husband Rob is all about the deals and he swindled a pretty good deal over the phone after quite some time. (two separate evenings and one full morning) He ended up getting a new iPhone 5S because he is Mr. iPhone. He's on it 24/7, streaming his sports radio at work and on it everywhere for everything and anything he can think of. I blame and thank Instagram for for my iPhone. (Blame because even after Rob worked his magic, our Roger's bill is ... sigh... pretty big now.
 So! Back to Friday; before driving into the city we grabbed some Extreme Eatz and it was beyond fantastic. I'm so mad that I didn't take a picture of the food because everything and I mean everything about this food is to die for! The burger buns, the french fries, the dipping sauce on the side for the burger, the sauce on the burger.. everything is perfect and delicious. AND- only $10 per meal and worth every penny.
 We got into the city and Rob got his iPhone and I got his. We bought new covers for them so that I'd feel special and not like I just got Rob's old phone. (Even though I did, I'm still beyond excited to have gotten an iPhone for myself!!!) That evening we didn't do too much. We gave missy a bath with tons of bubbles. Bubbles + Baby = Photo Op of course! Alina is rocking her Movember mustache early this month! (More about Movember in a coming post.)

SATURDAY . . . Saturdays are usually my favourite mornings of the week because Rob is home with us, instead of at work. Alina wakes and her dad is eager to jump out of bed and get her. He always brings her into bed with us and we have a fun family morning together all tucked in cozy. Alina is getting to be so much fun that our family time is becoming more and more precious. It was decided that we needed new tires for our Jeep Liberty and so Rob was on the horn again, trying to find the best deal for his dollar. I'm telling you, that man saves us a hell of a lot of money because of the effort he puts into everything he does. I am a very lucky woman. We drove to another city close by to pick up our new tires and then we brought them to a tire guy to install them. While they were being installed we went out for lunch. It was the first time we've eaten out where Alina ate some of the food off of our plates too. Just another reminder that our time with her being so little is precious and going by so fast. We ended the evening watching Rob's hockey team, the Toronto Maple Leafs get annihilated by our most hated team in the NHL; the Vancouver Canucks. But this time I was happy that the Canucks wasted the Leafs because I was the one that objected to us going to the game in Vancouver this weekend. Rob insisted that we should all go because the Leafs and the Canucks only play once a  year. It's the one time that he has a chance to see the Leafs play in person. But I said no, because I'm not ready to take Alina to that sort of setting just yet. Plus I just didn't really want to... He sulked and talked about it for awhile. He declared that if this turned out to be an amazing game he was going to be so disappointed. But lucky for me and those damn Canucks; they ended up winning after  a lot of bad calls were made by the refs, tons of diving was done by the Canucks and a few too many 'bad' goals were scored on the Leaf's goalie. After the game, Rob was happy that I didn't want to go to the game after all. Yes!

SUNDAY . . . Sunday turned out to be such a gorgeous, sunny day. We decided early to take advantage of Daylight's Savings and get on the road while it was still early. We went to Mount Washington to introduce Alina to her first snow! It was a sunny day on the mountain and the perfect time to toss the little one in the white stuff. She wasn't too impressed with the snow or us. She is normally a happy, energetic baby but as soon as we put her in her new snowsuit and plunked her into the cold, damp snow she turned docile and neutral. She wasn't happy, but she wasn't sad either. We ended up taking tons of pictures and videos but I limited myself to the three. After we came home from the mountain and Alina had a very, very long nap; we went outside to the backyard to have our first Fall campfire. It was the perfect way to end a perfect day and weekend.

 iPhones and tires and snow- oh my! It was a busy but successful weekend. Rob reminded me that I only have four months left of my maternity leave. I didn't need the reminder because it's been on my mind a lot lately. Every moment spent full time with Alina is even more important and special now because it's coming to an end soon. So I'm going to try and make every moment count...!

The Day After Halloween

  The day after Halloween... I remember Halloween so well because it was so awesome. Seriously, our parents were nuts because they let us get so much candy. My step dad would drive us all over town to all of the neighbourhoods where we could ..
1. Get the BEST candy.
2. Get the MOST candy in a short period of time. Like at condos where the neighbours were right beside each other.
3. Last longer because we were being chauffeured around.
4. Warm up in between neighbourhoods. It was Alberta in October, so that usually meant that there was snow on the ground and that it was pretty cold.

 After awhile my pillow case would get too full for my little arms to carry, so my dad would just swap me with a new one. People would see me at 8:00 and think I just started out and they would give me more candy because of it. We were candy scammers dressed in adorable costumes. Once we were finished, we'd go home and pour out our piles of candy in the living room. We'd eat some and we'd be so tired that we'd have to separate ourselves from our loot and go to bed. The best part of Halloween? Today! The day after Halloween. Our parents let us stay home from school every year, so that we could just sit in the living room behind our piles of candy. We'd do inventory of chocolate bars, chips, candy and crap that we didn't like. We would barter with each other for our favourite treats. I was a big chip eater, so I would end up most likely getting ripped off for a bag of my favourite chips. It was seriously one of the best days of my life, besides Christmas and other obvious days. I was talking to people yesterday at how barbaric my parent's parenting skills were back then. I love them, they were awesome to us at the time. But seriously, we were left with huge piles of candy all day long and we were free to eat what we wanted. Later I would take my pile of candy and transfer it to a dresser drawer. That's right, I would take clothes out of my dresser to replace with my candy. I had candy in my drawer until Easter. How disgusting! But, like I said; it was awesome to us at the time.
 I also heard a really cool idea.. The Switch Witch. For all of you parents and people that plan to be parents, it may intrigue you...
  The Switch Witch comes every Halloween night. She takes your entire pile of candy in exchange for that toy you really want. But the children have to be careful not to eat too much of their candy the night before because if there isn't enough candy for the Switch Witch's present, you won't get it.
 How insanely clever is that!?!?!? I think I'll be using the Ol' Switch Witch on Alina, when the time comes and then I'll keep all of her candy for myself. I have a very hard time throwing left overs after supper out, I wouldn't be able to throw out perfectly good candy!!
 I know Halloween is over and everyone is probably sick of Halloween Posts but I watched Ellen's Halloween episode and I have another video of Andy and Amy going through another haunted house. This haunted house would seriously freak me out much, much worse than the first haunted house that they had to go through. Enjoy. . .


 Here's a quick look at our Halloween last night . . .

  Alina was a cute elephant. She got two pears from her GG for Halloween. Which is just perfect because she loves to devour her some sweet, soft pears!

My little savage pear defEATer.

  We took her to the town bonfire and fireworks after her bedtime. She was a little trooper and only got a little bit upset with her surroundings. The firetruck's lights were flashing, the fireworks were blasting through the air and there was an annoying dog, barking along the entire time. So she was a touch overwhelmed but did really well considering! We had a really successful First Halloween with our baby girl.

  Happy Friday and I'm linking up with Yoga Pants with a song that I love listening to when we're driving.. Rob has it on his playlist and I always crank it up. These two can sure harmonize beautifully. "Barton's Hollow" by the Civil Wars.

The Ouija

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 It all started when the oldest of three received a Ouija board for Christmas. No one thought twice about the game, until it was played that evening. The Christmas excitement had cleared. The youngest was sleepy, despite her objections to go to bed. The oldest sister was eager to play her new game and the middle child; the boy, was very reluctant to be involved. He had always sensed strange things but rarely spoke of them. Nothing too obvious, but little dreams when he'd stay at his grandparent's house about people that had long since passed. Or strange noises in the night that he didn't believe were just the soundtrack of a creaky house.
 The game was brand new, freshly unraveled from it's packaging. Candles were lit and the instructions were read. Ask the Ouija board a question and place your finger tips on the planchette and "it" will give you the answer. At first, everyone joked around. The boy pushed it to spell out "Uh-Huh-Huh" like it was channeling Elvis. But, something happened. The planchette moved on its own, with the six fingers hovering over, as before. The mother and her friend were enjoying the show and eventually decided to get involved. The friend was someone they all adored and loved, but the family didn't know her all of their lives. She was a new friend and because of that, they didn't know about her family life. They didn't know that her sister went missing. They didn't know that their friend had always wondered where she went. The friend tested the Ouija board and asked a question that she knew the answer to.  A question about her family life, that the three children wouldn't know anything about. She was shocked when the answer was correct. The children were unnerved but for some reason everyone was intrigued and wanted to continue. After a couple of glasses of wine, the friend got bold and decided to ask the Ouija questions that she wanted answered. The results were shocking and haunting, something the four of them would never speak of. Something that would stay with all of them, that Christmas night.

  The Ouija board claimed to be channeling the great grandmother of the three children. The grandmother of the children's mother. She had passed years before and was known for being a bit naughty. The day of her funeral, one of her granddaughters was talking about her and the handle of a china cabinet hit the back of the granddaughter's chair. Looking at where the china cabinet sat and where the chair was located- made the witnesses believe that the handle would have had to have fallen outwards to hit the chair and then down. A phenomena, really.
 The three children, their mother and this friend had all opened a door that night.. Strange things began to happen after that.

via

 The three children were up late one weekend, watching movies in the living room when they heard a loud bang from one of the doors closing down the hall. Their parents were both in bed, so they just assumed it was one of them being noisy. The mother entered the living room angry and asked the children why they felt the need to be slamming doors and banging around in the oldest sister's room. The children were confused and instantly unsettled. They had all been watching a movie. The door banging was supposed to be their parents. The mother's face grew pale as she realized that she had revealed to the children that there very well could have been something supernatural in the oldest sister's bedroom.
 Another case was an experience from the youngest and her brother. They were watching t.v. in the evening and a suction ball that was sitting on the top of the book case fell onto the floor. No big deal. But once it fell onto the carpet, it kept rolling at least two feet across the floor. The two children were perturbed and the youngest was mostly intrigued because this was the first thing unusual that she had ever seen with her own two eyes.
 The last case is from the brother. He doesn't like to talk about his experiences because they were too revealing. They were too unheard of to automatically be believed without some convincing on his part. He wasn't about sharing and convincing people of his experiences. He would rather just try to forget them. He was standing in the hallway talking to the youngest and their mother in the living room. They were discussing nothing of much importance but during the conversation the brother's eyes grew wide and he suddenly looked quite frightened. It took some coaxing but the mother finally got the boy to explain what had upset him. He was talking in the hallway and could see someone sitting at the dining room table listening. He assumed it was his step father, listening quietly in the corner. After all, the step father was a quiet man. But when the boy saw the headlights of the family car pull into the driveway with his step father behind the wheel, he realized that the person sitting at the dining room table was not who he had assumed it was. The youngest was very interested by his experience and interrogated the brother for more information. But the brother was finished sharing and had never spoke of it again.

 The family moved from that home. The basement of their new home was eerie. Nothing specifically happened, no paranormal activity was ever discussed at that home. The brother, however was uneasy in the basement because he spent the most time down there. But he rarely if ever spoke of any one situation that had occurred. The youngest sister once played the Ouija board in the basement with some friends and was scolded by the brother immediately after. She lent the board to some friends and then when it was returned to the family, she left it in the garage. Years later, after a family tragedy had occurred, the youngest sister came across the Ouija board again. She was packing the family home for a big move and needed to get rid of anything of no use to the family. She threw the board into a garbage bag without a second thought.

Do you believe in paranormal activity?

Would you believe me if I said I was the youngest in the story?

Have you ever experienced anything unbelievable like this?

Happy Halloween BlogLand.

Someday

 Today was one of those days I haven't had in awhile.. I knew it was "Write A Post" day but I hadn't gotten around to writing it. I didn't have any ideas and Alina was fussing a whole hour earlier than usual. Normally she plays for a good hour on her own and that's my chance to finish what I started writing. Today, today I wasn't sure what I wanted to write about UNTIL the Gods opened a big, fluffy cloud and a sunbeam shot rays of sunshine onto my computer. . . Two of my fellow bloggers; Helene and Erin posted the same link-up. Yes! A link-up! No creative thinking on my part?  Yes please!
 Tay from The Daily Tay is hosting a link-up called, "Someday I Will..." and I thank her profusely for saving my brain on a day that it needed saving!

Someday I Will . . .
 .. learn how to drive a standard. That's right! I will try getting behind the wheel of any vehicle that requires using a stick shift. I will NOT get discouraged and angry at Rob because he will be patient, kind and a good teacher this time around.

Someday I Will . . .
  .. be a better than just average musician. I have a guitar that Rob bought for my 27th birthday. I know how to play three or four songs, sort of well. My problem is that I get really excited about something and I have the best of intentions to keep up with it. Then life happens and I just don't have the patience and desire to sit down and try to figure out a new song. Plus, I like to sing along to the songs that I play, so learning to sing the song well and play the song well creates quite a challenge for me. Not to mention that my husband is a ridiculously amazing musician and singer. He is beyond humble about it. So much that I want to scream from the rooftops for people to come and hear him play when he is on a roll, singing up a storm around the campfire. I deserve to be able to brag about this. I'm being serious, he's that good. So it's intimidating trying to learn new songs with him around.. I'm super paranoid that I sound like crap. So I hope to be able to play better than I have been.. one day.

Rob playing the acoustic bass, Me on my birthday in pj's and Us years ago; Rob is teaching me how to play.

 Someday I Will . . .
  .. have a career to proudly brag about. If I had to have a regret in life it would be that I didn't go to secondary school. I wasn't driven enough in high school to get there. I wasn't educated enough to know how to even begin looking into college. (That was all on me though. I'm not blaming anyone for that.) If I could go back and go to school I would, as long as I still got to meet Rob somehow. My step dad passed away in March, my mom and I moved to get away in July. Rob moved in July and we met in September. So, if I was in school I wouldn't have met Rob.. I know that things happen for a reason. But it would be so nice to have a career to go to once my maternity leave is over. I'd like to work with children, but I'm still not really sure what I would go to school for.

Someday I Will . . .
  .. write another children's story. I will submit it to somewhere, once I figure out where.. and  I hope to high heavens that people like it! I pray that it is just so fantastic that "they" want me to write more! Then I won't have to go back to school and I can just stay home and write. Oh, wouldn't that be a dream? I would start with children's stories because they are shorter and once that built up my confidence I would definitely begin that novel I have always dreamed of writing... Someday, someway.. it will happen. It just has to!

My children's story that was published. It gave me the 'writing itch' again!

Someday I Will . . .
 .. go somewhere gorgeous and tropical and NOT in Canada or the USA! I have never been anywhere else besides Canada; Alberta, B.C and Ontario. USA; Louisiana, Florida, (drove through some states on our way to Florida from Louisiana, but that doesn't count!) It's sad and pathetic that I am 28 and I still haven't been on a real holiday. Anytime that we go anywhere is to either Alberta where I grew up. Or, to Thunder Bay, Ontario to visit Rob's family. Those are not holidays by any means. We're going to Thunder Bay for Christmas so that Alina can meet all of her relatives but after that, I wouldn't mind not having to go back for a long, long time. Anywhere gorgeous and tropical will do. I feel so deprived and must, must, must make time to get away, truly get away.

1. In Alberta on my way home. Taking a picture in front of Pocahontas Mountain.
2. At Rob's parent's camp outside of Thunder Bay. A beautiful place to be.
3. A typical scene you'd see in anywhere besides B.C. - beers, ice and snow. Our typical "holiday".
4. Outdoor skating just a block up from Rob's parent's house. A true Canadian Christmas!
5. Rob with a pike he caught fishing at the lake by his camp in good ol' T.Bay

 See!! That is the extent of our "holiday pictures". Rob and I seriously have to go somewhere together. It will be the best holiday we've never had!

Someday I Will . . .
  ..  visit my sister on her side of the country. The East Coast of Canada is always a place I hoped to visit. Now that my sister lives there with her family I am sure we'll end up seeing her coastline. I hear that the people are really friendly over there and that music, fun and beautiful sights are to be enjoyed.

My sister and I with our girls, two pictures of the East Coast that I found off of Facebook. Thank you Facebook Friends.

  Someday I Will . . .
  .. learn to keep my mouth shut! I get together with some girlfriends and I can't seem to keep the very thing I didn't want to mention from coming out of my mouth. It's ridiculous. I just get excited and spill. I don't tell other people's secrets, just mine. One day I'll have better self control.

  I would love to add more to the list, but I have some flu shots to get this afternoon. Lucky, lucky! Tis the season to get the flu and not if I can help it!


 

 

Remember When..

  It's funny how certain objects can make my heart skip a beat at just the sight of them.. Like a favourite toy that I used to play with, that I haven't seen in years. Sometimes I get into nostalgic moods and start googling things that make my heart go boom. Once I get started, I can't really stop.. Soon I'm no longer looking up old toys, but t.v. shows that I used to watch as a kid, then I'm looking up whole episodes of these shows and their intro's. I've tried not to get too out of control with my findings, but I've compiled a little list to share...

//1  Garbage Pail Kids-

 You could buy these from any convenient store in the nineties. I would spend all of my allowance on these garbage bags of candy and a toy. I don't really remember the trading cards. I think in the mid to late eighties the trading cards and t.v. show were really popular. There are another series of toys that my brother collected but I specifically remember the colourful toys, pictured above. I had every one of those toys and played with them often. The Garbage Pail Kids were revolting and just plain gross, but for some reason I was obsessed. I think it has to do with the idea of collecting as many as you can and that exciting feel you get when you purchase your sixth garbage bag in hopes of getting the toy you don't have yet. When I remembered these toys I squealed with delight because I knew I'd be able to look them up and have a flourish of memories fill my mind once I saw my old toys again!

//2  The Disney Movie Viewer

 My grandparents had one of these. I ended up looking into all of the the 'movies' that we watched on this toy. I still remember them vividly because I loved playing in their toy trunk. There's nothing better than someone else's toys growing up. I bet everyone remembers a specific time when they played at someone's house and loved the toys that they played with and didn't have.

  I specifically remember these two 'movies' that my grandparents had that went along with the movie viewer. This collage alone, holds a lot of memories for me..! I love childhood memories, they make my heart swell with warmth. To be a kid again!

//3  Chip and Dale - old school, when they first started out with Mickey Mouse. But then they got their own spin off ; Chip and Dale; Rescue Rangers. I loved that show and had a book that I specifically remember to this day. I don't have the book anymore, but I love the bright colours and shiny pages in this book.

 I loved the Christmas episode with Chip and Dale when Mickey and Pluto cut down the tree that they live in. I also always loved Gadget on the Rescue Rangers. She was all bad ass and good at getting the boys out of messy situations. Mouse Girl Power! (Speaking of "remember whens.." remember The Spice Girls and "Girl Power"?)

//4  I may be dating myself quite a bit, but I just loved these shows as a little kid. Not everyone remembers them. I asked Rob about some of them and he doesn't really remember many from my first collage and we're only fourteen months apart in age. I suppose it all depends on what you watched growing up and what really stays with you as an adult.

  I feel like I'm the only person that ever watched "Zoobilee Zoo" because everyone I've asked claims to have never heard of this show. The fox used to scare me because of his makeup. To be honest, all of them were kind of creepy but I loved it anyways. Pooh's Corner was runner up for my next favourite show when I was little. It just brings back so many memories, the stories and the songs that went along with each episode. I loved it. Are any of these t.v. shows a mystery to you?

//5  Obviously we all have our favourite Disney movies and our all time favourite kid's movies. But this movie was one of my favourites and the difference between this movie and say, "The Land Before Time" (the original, also a favourite of mine) is that it's a movie I haven't seen that often. So the very thought of it gives me "childhood excitement butterflies".

//6  I loved the Goofy "How To" videos that old school Disney used to show. I remembered some of my favourites and then it lead me to remember Jiminy Cricket's "I'm No Fool" episodes. The "I'm No Fool" theme song has been stuck in my head ever since I heard it the other day. Take a look if you want to walk down memory lane with me...





 I left out a lot of favourites of mine; Polly Pocket, Barbie Fold In Fun House, Little House on the Prairie, The Wonder Years, Fern Gully and Dennis the Menace to name a few.. But the idea of today's post wasn't to share all of my favourites growing up, but to share all of those things that get me excited again, like when I was a kid. I loved looking up all of the t.v. shows, movies and toys that excite me and link me to some really special memories.

What childhood memories give you "childhood excitement butterflies"?!

The ABC's of Boobies

  Welcome to Booby Town- population ME! The rumour is that once you have kids your boobs go downhill, as in literally. I have never been a large busted girl. But I have always been a fan of my Twin B's. They've been perky and bouncy since I grew them in the summer of 2000. Well, I had boobs before then but they weren't anything to really brag about until that summer.
 I remember it well.. I was visiting my cousins in Lafayette, Louisiana and it was by far the best summer I have ever had- to date. I turned fifteen that summer and found that the boys were paying attention to me! I left a  scrawny, little girl and came back with curves and a pair of boob-ays. My parents probably gasped when they saw me get off of that plane. I had a nose piercing , hips, boobs, I was wearing makeup and new clothes.. (the kind that may or may not show off a little bit of cleavage.)

 I think it's obvious in the two photos that I changed during that summer. In the first picture, I look innocent and sweet. I'm wearing a plain, lilac coloured tank top that I bought specifically for my trip, with a bathing suit underneath. In the second picture I'm wearing makeup, my shirt is tight and there is some cleavage showing and even the smile on my face is a little bit cocky. In the first picture I am posing with my older cousin's best friend and in the second I have two 'older' boys sitting with me and the one boy that doesn't have his arm around me, (the boy that lived next door to my cousins that I had a huuuuuge crush on) is pinching my bum. (Maybe that's why I'm smiling so hard....) The point is that I changed that summer. I grew me some lady boobies and have had them ever since.

 The one thing that I love about my body without a question are my twins B's. They are were perky and my preferred kind of porridge. (Not too big, not too small; juuuuust right.) I've never complained about them and have always been quite content.

This is me the day after my wedding AKA- the best shape I've ever been in. My Twin B's looked their best that day too. And, yeah I wanted an excuse to show off how smokin' I looked!!!

 One summer day, in July of 2012 I was sitting across from my husband and he was like, "Wow.. your boobs look HUGE today." I was sitting on a patio and could see my reflection in the glass and I saw them for the first time and agreed. My girls had doubled in size. What the hell!!?? Fast forward two weekends later and bingo bango- we find out that we are pregnant. We're having a peanut and that's why my boobies were so big!

 During my pregnancy my belly grew, my appetite grew and my Twin B's were no longer considered B's but definitely C's... As I neared my 39th and final week of pregnancy those puppies were so engorged and huge that I was beginning to get a touch nervous. Alina arrived one gorgeous, sunny March morning and with her, came a whole different boob experience. Now, people are quick to tell you that your 'fun' days are over and that you can kiss sleep goodbye for the rest of your life because babies are hard work, blah, blah, blah. But one thing that people don't really warn the mother about; is how huge and foreign your boobs become to you. I'd like to take you on a ride.. to a place where nipples are always protected inside of soft, cushioned bras or satin material nightgowns. The nipples are just minding their own business, as the rest of the breast is growing enormous in size. They say to each other, " I don't know about you, but I feel like I've gotten bigger, as in my size all around has doubled?" To which the other nipple replies, "Yeah, you and me both and our colouring has changed too... Something's up and I don't like this feeling I'm getting.."
 Well, the poor nipples don't see it coming. Baby arrives and out comes the boobs along with the nipples in public and there is this needy, gnawing, wet mouth suctioning onto the frightened little gals.. Once the ordeal is over, the nipples feel relief. But sadly, it is not the end for them. Oh no, this awful gnawing happens often, very often, nearly every three hours sometimes more! It doesn't help that the creature sucking away and her mother have no idea what they are doing at first. So, things get pretty rough for the nipples.. Lanolin is applied to heal the damage that has already been done in the first three days. The owner of the Twin D's at this point, is crying because it is all too painful and she is just about ready to call it quits..

I'm sure my mom's intentions were to capture Alina but I mean LOOK at those BOOBS! This would be the same time that we were having most difficulty.. (Alina's about 3 days old.)

 Then, something wonderful happens, mother and baby learn around the same time how it is all supposed to work and there is relief on the nipples.. The boobs aren't as engorged if they are pumped and the nipples are much less tender now that they are used to this sort of daily treatment.
 Today, all is right in the world of boobs and nipples. Alina is still breastfed, but not as often as she used to be. She can go for four hours without having to latch on desperately for food. Today marks the first day that I put on a REAL bra again. That's right, a bra that is for a woman that doesn't have to breastfeed, a bra that teenage boys hope to snap off with a couple of fingers, a bra that gives my now Twin C's a bit of a lift!  I still have my nursing bras for at night and for when Alina and I don't go anywhere, but as for today; today I'm just like everybody else.

Yeah, I took an all boob photo shoot .. and then yeah, I made a boob collage. It's my blog.. I'll put my boobs out there if I want to... Ha!

 So today, today is about celebrating Haley's boobs! Hurray to my boobs for being normal again! Hurray for not jiggling like crazy in public because their is literally zero support in a nursing bra. Hurray to me for having a sexy looking bra on today. Finally, I can claim my Twin C's back to their rightful owner. Well, Alina no longer gets them full time, just part time. It's a glorious, booby filled kind of day.

Sick Day

 I read some blogs yesterday morning and felt sorry for myself for bit. I was up a lot during the night, plugging Alina's soother in. Her button nose started dripping heavily a half hour before her bedtime and the realization kicked in, that she had a cold. I felt pretty tired yesterday morning and then my girl decided to wake up an hour earlier than usual. Once she was up, fed and back down for a nap, I decided to jump in the shower quickly. As soon as the shampoo was in my hair she started crying again. I raced through the motions; shampoo, rinse, condition, barely rinse and I was out. I dried as quickly as I could, pulling on clothes that were sticking to my wet body. Suddenly, Alina decided she didn't need me as urgently as she thought because she fell back asleep. S-I-G-H. . .
 So I looked over some blogs and read about a girlie getting up slow, with a cup of coffee and a cute puppy by her side, a blogger reminiscing about a holiday spent eating delicious food and surrounding herself with great weather and history and a young lady that went to a clothing store; bought a bunch of wonderful items for herself and had to ditch looking at the rest of the clothes, to avoid spending another penny. So, after reading I looked down at my ensemble and saw my favourite casual long sleeve shirt from Costco, my dad's pair of Oscar Meyer Weiner p.j. pants and my comfy mocassins on my feet. I like to call it my "Tired Mom Uniform".

  Normally I get up, shower, put on make up and real clothes. Yesterday, I sort of felt like it was my sick day too. Alina and I spent the day, hanging out in our living room. She played with her toys for a bit, but eventually, she couldn't find the strength to keep her head up. So I plucked her out of 'her office' and sat her down beside me. I ended up having to dab at her poor little honker constantly while she played and drooled. She wasn't as busy as she usually is, so it was nice for the two of us to sit quietly together and play nice.
 I snapped a few pictures of her to show how sick she looked. Then, near the end of  her "I'm Sick Photo Shoot" she perked up and returned to her smiling self.

1. My poor girl looking very, very sad early this morning.
2. Oh, enough sad- Alina is not known for being unhappy!
3. Making sure to have lots of fluid in her body- such a good girl.
4. In the evening, playing with her new blocks from Baba. Still sick, but very happy.

  I love being Alina's mom but sometimes it gets tiresome and that's okay. I can admit that and not feel like a bad person. I love my baby girl- every snotty inch of her! I did enjoy our one on one couch-play time today. Plus when she's sick, she cuddles me more and I will always be up for mommy-daughter snuggles.

 Before I know it, Alina will be a teenager that is too busy and into her own life to have time to sit and snuggle her mama on the couch. I'll take all I can get now, while she's still my little baby.

 One of my all time favourite bands is The Tragically Hip. I love so many of their songs but for some reason I am in the mood to listen to this little tune called, "The Last Recluse".

Halloween Link-Up Part II

  I am linking up again with Helene and Sarah today even though I did yesterday. BUT I was watching an episode of Ellen today and I had to share this video with everybody. It is two people that work on the Ellen Degeneres Show that are terrified of haunted houses. Well, Amy is afraid of haunted houses and Andy is afraid of everything. He is really jumpy normally and he always gets mad when people scare him. I was laughing so hard at this video I cried. Please, enjoy... (And yes, I had Alex in mind when I posted this because she is a haunted house queen. I wanted to show everyone how badly I would react if I had to go into a haunted house.. I'd be a combination of Andy and Amy.. no joke!)

The Conjuring Conjured The S*** Out Of Me

Well it's official. I let Rob convince me to watch the scariest movie I have seen in a very, very long time. I don't want to say it was the scariest movie I've ever seen. I still have Pet Semetary haunting me for the rest of my life. (Thank you Dad.) But this movie is definitely at the top of my all time "Scare The Shit Out Of Me And Haunt Me For Days Afterwards" list.
 I have recently confessed to hating it when people ruin movies or tv shows- so I do have to give out a big SPOILER ALERT to any big scary movie fans out there that still want to see "The Conjuring". If you haven't seen it and you don't want to know anything about it before seeing the film; play it safe and stop reading. I don't think I'll reveal too much but everyone is different when it comes to what they consider 'spoiling' a movie. Anyone that hates scary movies as much as me; another warning, the shit I am about to reveal isn't only terrifying but it is also 'pop into your head at the worst moments' scary... You know, when you wake up at four in the morning and have to pee but then for some reason you remember that part in the movie where 'something' is yanking the legs of unsuspecting, sleeping girls..? Suddenly, you don't have to pee in the middle of the night.. ever again.

 The movie is set in 1971 in Rhode Island. The Perron Family moves into a farmhouse and it isn't long before strange things begin to happen...

The Arnold Estate; Copyright Andrea Perron 

 I hate watching scary movies and I can thank my Dad for that. He always liked watching movies, it's what we did when we visited him. We'd go straight from our house, drive two and a half hours to his town and we'd pull into the movie store. He loved scary movies and so did my sister. My brother endured them because he probably just wanted to be included and I whined because I hated them. They scared me and I was young.
 Once this movie was put in, I instantly started feeling the familiar feelings I get when I know the movie is going to be good and by good I mean scare the hell out of me. The backs of my knees get sweaty, I clutch for a blanket or pillow; anything to have something in between me and the t.v. (like the movie itself is threatening to me..) I actually get anxiety when I watch because the anticipation really gets to me and especially the anticipation in this particular film was intense. But, this movie wasn't just your average  horror film, like "Michael" or "Friday The 13th", it was based on a true story. That is what makes this movie so terrifying. The things that were happening to the five daughters actually happened to them. If there is one thing that I am, it's a believer. I don't believe everything I read or hear, but I do believe in paranormal activity. Hell, I've experienced some on a small scale. That is also what intrigued me about this movie and what probably kept me watching it.

 Even though I was totally freaked out by the events that happened to this family in the 1970's I am also very intrigued by the phenomena behind it all. I ended up doing some research and the eldest sister, Andrea has since written two books about her and her family's experience living in the farmhouse. There is a great  Q and A with Andrea where I found a lot of my information about the family and the daughters. 
 The five daughters were; Andrea (12), Nancy (10), Christine (9), Cindy (8) and April (5).  (Those were their ages when they first moved into the house.)  I am 28 and would have serious issues now if anything like what they experienced happened to me. I can't imagine the nightmares and awful memories they all carry with them, after having experienced such horror. 

The Perron daughters with the actress that played them in the movie. Left to Right: Cindy,Nancy,April,Christine and Andrea.

 In the beginning of the movie, Christine is sleeping beside her sister Nancy. She is half asleep and tells her sister to stop pulling her leg. After awhile, Christine is abruptly yanked nearly out of her bed by something and it is then that she realizes that it isn't her sister. She sees something in the darkness behind the bedroom door and when Nancy gets up to investigate, the door slams in her face. Andrea, the oldest experiences her sister Cindy sleep walking in the night. It's a problem she's had before, but it seemed to intensify after moving into the house. She ends up leading her sister Andrea to an old wardrobe in Andrea's room. Later Andrea is attacked by something jumping off of the top of the wardrobe. April is the youngest and actually talks to a boy that lives in the house. Andrea later explains in the Q and A that April was the most open to what was happening to them at the time. She was young and liked the boy that visited her. The mother Carolyn seems the most affected by what happens in the house. While the girls are in school, she is playing "Hide and Clap" with her daughter April. She is blindfolded and April hides. She gets to use three claps, to help find her daughter. She is lead into Andrea's room where the wardrobe opens on its own. She asks for the third clap and a set of hands comes out of the closet and claps right there beside her. As she pulls her blindfold off, she hears April giggling and running by the doorway. Very eery shit, I'm telling you. I'm writing about it now, in the early afternoon alone with Alina and my palms are sweating.

 Later on in the film, Ed and Lorraine Warren are contacted to help. In reality, the Warren's actually seek out the Perron family, but the details of that don't seem to matter much to the story. The Warren's were paranormal investigators that were best known for their involvement with George and Kathy Lutz and the Amityville Horror case. Lorraine was a professional clairvoyant and medium and her husband George was a self taught, self proclaimed, expert Demonologist.  (Not something that most people would nod with approval on a resume...)

Two of the bravest people...! Ed and Lorraine Warren.

 In the movie, they come to the Perron's aid and help exorcise the witch, Bathsheba Sherman out of Carolyn Perron. The entire ordeal is beyond terrifying and at the same time; it's touching how Lorraine gets the demon out of Carolyn in the end. Who would think that a horror movie based on a true story could somehow be touching in the end?
 Andrea Perron decided to write about her experiences thirty years after the nightmares she survived in the old farmhouse. She is a strong believer in; what happens, happens for a reason. She claims that all of those things were supposed to happen to her and her family and she wouldn't change anything if she could. Now that is saying something. She is very protective of her mother's privacy. I get the feeling that Carolyn has put all of the haunting behind her and just wants to live her life in peace. That is what I would want to do. But who knows what anyone would do when faced with something so awful and unheard of.
  Oh and this morning, the day after watching one of the scariest movies I've seen, I am greeted with this creepy scene in the backyard...

There has been a fog hanging over our town for the last few days.. Everywhere else it's beautiful.

 Well this has all been very creepy and I think I've set an uneasy mood .. I had a feeling I was going to do that with today's post, SO I made sure to snap some cute pictures of Alina in a Halloween outfit just for today's link-up. Speaking of today's Halloween Link-Up- check out  Helene and Sarah's blogs to see what spooky, Halloween-related stories they have to share...