Sometimes I Get Tired

Sometimes I get tired.

Sometimes I get tired of freezing my hands off from digging through the freezer to find the cherries I need to bake muffins, only to discover that I dug out sour cherries, when I needed sweet cherries, and have to go digging again.

Sometimes I get tired of having to walk out to the barn in the rain to get shredded zucchini from our "overflow freezer".

Sometimes I get tired of picking up the fabulous dude's dirty clothes, of putting them in the hamper, of washing them, of drying them, of folding them and then of doing it all over again.

Sometimes I get tired of menu planning, grocery shopping and cooking week after week.

Sometimes I get tired of taking 10 minutes out of a busy day to process the stale bread crusts to make bread crumbs.

Sometimes I get tired of working on my thesis day after day.

Sometimes I get tired of wiping up muddy paw prints off the floor.

Sometimes I get tired of life.

But then I stop to think.

And I realize how blessed I am to have such a vast assortment of chicken, pork, venison, shrimp, fish, fruit, vegetables and baked goods in the freezer that I literally have to dig to find what I need.

I become aware of how spoiled we are that we needed to make use of the extra freezer in the barn at the end of the summer because we couldn't fit everything we have into our regular freezer.

I think about how blessed I am to have a husband to pick up after, clothes to wear, and a washing machine and dryer that were given to us for free.

I think of how incredible it is that we have the means to eat new meals each week and how blessed we are to have enough food in our home that we could eat for weeks without buying a single item.

I consider how abundant our blessings are that we have enough bread that we can afford to let the crusts go stale to become bread crumbs.

I remember that the privilege I have to become educated is one that many do not have.

I think about how comforting it was when Nika cuddled up with me to have a nap when I wasn't feeling good, and when she came to check if I was alright when I burnt my hand with boiling water (even though I'm pretty sure she was trying to see if any ribs fell out of the pot). And I think about how nice it was when she licked the brown sugar I spilled off the floor so I didn't have to sweep.

I realize that I take for granted that I am healthy and blessed beyond compare.

And then I am no longer tired.

Then, I am ashamed for ever being tired.

Then, I realize how selfish I am.

Then, I am humbled.

Then, I am grateful.

November Goal Review and December Goals

I'm a few days early on my monthly goal review, but I figured we're close enough to the end of November (can you believe that?) to be safe.

1. Get the bulk of the Christmas shopping done. For the sake of objective goal setting, I am going to say, get 75% of my shopping done. It should be possible because we have schedule a shopping day in Toronto with my family! Yes - I am nearly done my shopping. I just have a few little things to buy. I should actually be done by tonight, hopefully.

2. Secure participants, schedule focus groups, conduct focus groups and transcribe. Um, this is clearly way too ambitious. But we'll see. I have gathered participants and am working on scheduling. It is proving to be quite difficult. These girls are busy! So, I haven't been able to get any focus groups done and of course, that means no transcription. I'm still hopeful to get at least one, perhaps two, done before the holidays. Please pray for that.

3. Finish the Love Dare .... or should I just give up on it? Remember when I only got three days of it done all through October, putting me to Day 15? Well, I'm still on Day 15. Apparently The Love Dare is not getting the attention it deserves. I've decided to put it away and pull it out in the New Year sometime.

4. Make a homemade Christmas gift for the FD's family name draw. Yupper! I may show it to you in a few weeks, but at this point I can't because the person who is going to receive it may or may not read this blog.

5. Clean and organize the freezer to make room for the new meat from hunting season (assuming the FD gets a deer, of course). Yes - I have spent the month trying to eat up as much food from the freezer as possible to have it reorganized. We will be filling it with meat on Sunday.

6. Complete theory chapter ... or drop out of school. My theory chapter is finally complete and has been sent to my adviser as of yesterday. I was totally not serious about dropping out of school, but somedays ... oh ... somedays.

7. Visit the in-laws. We're heading there this weekend.

8. Begin counting down to Christmas :D I actually have two count downs! 14 days until Christmas with my in-laws and 29 days until Christmas day!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

December Goals - my goals for this month are short and sweet.

1. Finish all my grading by December 9th.

2. Conduct at least one focus group and transcribe it by December 18th. My goal is for my Christmas holidays to start on December 18th. I want to put away school on that day and not look at it again until the New Year.

3. Survive Christmas - this includes, celebrating/hosting Christmas with the in-laws in two weeks, hosting and attending a few other parties, heading home to my parents house on the 20th to help Mom get ready and then spending time with my family between Christmas Eve-Boxing Day.

4. Completely inundate my blog with Christmas material so you all know exactly how much of a Crazy Christmas person I am.

December is a crazy month for us all! What goals do you have?

and we're done...

I just returned home from leading my last seminars of the semester! It is so hard to believe how quickly it went by.

Although some of them will come see me in my last few sets of office hours over the next few days with frantic questions about their final proposal, and I will spend about 572 hours with them on paper marking their proposals, our face-to-face, in class interaction is done.

I always feel a bit sad on this day. I feel like by the time we reach the end of the 12 week semester, I am just at the point where I am really getting to know my student's and am in a position to really provide them with the assistance they need, and then the semester is over, I say goodbye to them, wish them luck and get ready to meet a new batch of students in the New Year.

I was lucky to have two great classes this semester. One of them, especially, made waking up before dawn every Wednesday morning just a little bit more enjoyable.

As much as I sometimes hate marking their work, and sometimes want to shake them when they do their assignments wrong, I love my students and have had a blast with them this term! After a night of restless sleep, a very early morning, and a largeeeeeeee coffee, I sent them off with well wishes and good luck for the remainder of their papers and exams and I felt a little twinge of sadness.

Oh ya - and I'm also ready for it to start snowing. I'm pretty sure I have never said those words before but seriously - enough with these warm temps, bring on the white fluffy stuff (but only in the middle of the night when I don't have to be out and about, please).

Weekend Recap

We had such a wonderful weekend!

On Friday night we had a quick dinner, did some errands and rented a few movies. We watched "The Ugly Truth" and "My Sister's Keeper. I had been waiting for months to see My Sister's Keeper. I didn't finish the book in time to see it in the theater so I waited until it came out. I cried like a child. It was definitely a different story than the book, but I still enjoyed it. I won't spoil anything for those who haven't seen it yet but I will say this ... Don't worry, Shaina, the lawyer has a dog. If any of you have read the book and/or seen the movie and want to chat about it, shoot me an e-mail, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

On Saturday the fabulous dude got called in to work pretty early in the morning (barf) so I slept in a bit and then got the day started right by baking some yummy cookies. When the dude got home, he helped me clean the whole house. Then we got cleaned up and headed out to Walmart to grab a few things. On the way home, we stopped and picked up OUR CHRISTMAS TREE! Yeah, you heard me. So, we came home with the tree and spent the rest of the evening decorating the house and the tree. The fabulous dude made a decadent supper of french toast and bacon. Breakfast for supper on the day we decorate for Christmas? Sounds like a great tradition to me. Just what I need - another Christmas tradition (more on that in a future post).

Anyway, you might think it's too early to decorate for Christmas (which it probably is) and I am fairly certain that my BFF would roll her eyes if she knew I decorated so early (she has a tried and true December 1st rule) but I have a perfectly good explanation. Roll with me here.

We normally decorate the house and the tree on or around December 1st. That is 25 days before Christmas. This year, Christmas with my husband's family is here at our house the weekend of December 10th. Which is now 20ish days away. So, actually, I am behind schedule. The thing is, we were supposed to visit the in-laws this weekend and do our decorating next weekend, but our plans had to change and we'll be going to visit them next weekend. So, that meant that we couldn't decorate and the fabulous dude will be gone from December 1-6 ... so it just made sense to get it done now. Now it's done and I can enjoy it and not run around like a chicken with my head cut off (speaking of Chicken - read on) a few days before his family Christmas. After we finished decorating, I wrapped a few gifts and called it an early night. I will definitely bombard you with photos of my decorations, wrapping and everything else Christmas in the coming weeks but here's a sneak peak...

I realized I have way too many decorations. But I love it that way! This year I am so excited to use my Christmas dishes for the first time. And our tree is definitely the prettiest one we've had yet!

On Sunday the dude got up early to go to the shop to do an oil change on my car (yay - love having a handy man hubby). When he came home, he announced that one of our chicken's finally laid an egg! They took wayyyy longer to start laying than I had expected. In fact, last week I gave them an ultimatum. I told them they better start giving me some eggs or I wouldn't buy them anymore food. I think they listened to me!

So, the FD enjoyed a breakfast of farm fresh eggs - er, egg - and then we headed to church. It was a great service. We recently got a new second minister and he presented a really unique lesson. He gave us a first person account of Peter's life with Jesus and challenge us to be a people of faith who truly believe that God is mighty and powerful.

After church we came home for lunch and then the dude went out to work up at the shop for a bit and go hunting. I enjoyed a quiet afternoon of rest, making soup, bread and catching up on blogs. While doing so, I was so ecstatic to discover that I won Jane's amazing giveaway! A $100 Target giftcard ... can you believe it?!?! Go ahead, be jealous. And when you're done - help me decide what to buy! I actually jumped up and down when I found out. This means I can take another trip to the states and hopefully convince all the Americans I encounter that I can read the proper way! After bringing my heart rate back to normal after being so excited, I took a wee nap, wrapped a few more gifts and spent the rest of the evening relaxing... watching HP and the Order of the Pheonix, a few episodes of Lost Season 1 and eating some good ol' Wendy's.

I love weekends like this where we can have fun spending time together and rest up to enter a new week feeling refreshed and energetic.

Happy Monday!

Menu Plan Monday

Last week...

Chicken, Bacon and Spinach Alfredo
Greek Style Nachos with Baked Pita Chips
Bannoffee Pie

Sunday
Slowcooker Pot Roast with Potatoes, Carrots and Onions

Turnip
Green Beans
Mushroom Gravy

Monday
Beef barley soup (with leftover pot roast)**
Whole wheat biscuits**

Tuesday
Chicken Scallopine**

Wednesday
Brown Sugar Chicken**
Rice
Shaina's Squash Bake
Dinner Rolls
Something for dessert - any suggestions?

Thursday - company's coming!
Ribs
Baked Beans (does anyone have an amazing recipe they could share with me?)
Twice Baked Potatoes
Roasted Broccoli
Corn
Dinner Rolls

Friday
Out of town

Saturday
Out of town

Baking
Apple Butter Banana Muffins** (also didn't get to this one last week)

Peanut Butter Oatmeal Chip Cookies**
Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

Breakfasts
Yogurt
Clementines
Smoothies (it's been a long time since I've had my smoothies! I am going to re-introduce myself to them this week)

Lunches
Greek Salad
Leftovers
Beef Barley Soup

**Recipes to come on Lucy's Kitchen

Check out Laura's blog for more menu planning ideas.

Show Us Your Life - PETS

I know you probably all know who Nika is because I talk about her often enough, but because today Kelly is hosting a Pet edition of Show Us Your Life, I thought I would take this opportunity to formally introduce you to the furry black lady who stole my heart nearly three years ago.

Name: Nikita Lou Contessa
Birth Date: January 12th, 2007
Breed: Black Lab and Border Collie
Hobbies and Interests: Running very fast, protecting the farm where we live, digging large holes in very inconvenient places, wrangling chickens,

driving

blogging

swimming

working out

sleeping

working with my dad

fetching sticks

Favourite Foods: Mice, rabbits, curry, meat, bananas


Least Favourite Foods: Seafood, onions, ketchup
Fears: vacuums, mugs and cups, chapstick
Hopes and Aspirations: To be a professional dog sled dog

Even though she loves to get herself into trouble, we love her to to death!

Family Photos

Last weekend while we were visiting my brother and sister in law, we headed out to a park to take some family photos for our Christmas cards. BFF was also there, so we got some good ones together as well. Thanks again to my brother for being such a great photographer and to Logi for having an eye for great locations!

Here are a few of my favourite ones (including some goofy ones):

Please disregard my husband's scraggly beard. If you think it looks bad in these pictures - you should have seen it two days earlier ... before he had trimmed it and cleaned it up. Oh the joys of being married to a hunter in the fall!

Random Dozen

1. If you could master one sport, what would it be?

I wouldn't really care. If I could master one sport, instead of failing miserably at every single one of them, I'd be happy.

2. When you make a major purchase, do you go with your gut instinct, or do you do research to make an informed decision?

Hmm ... half and half. It took us months to decide on what car to buy for me last year. We spent so much time researching and figuring and analyzing. But then, two years ago when we bought Evan's truck, we saw it, drove it and bought it all within two weeks. Overall, I would say I'm more prone to doing the research. I like to know where my money is going.

3. There is an old kids' game that says you can find out what your movie star name would be by using your middle name as your first name and the name of the street you grew up on as your last. What is your movie star name?

Marie Maple

4. Would you rather give up your favorite music or your favorite food?

Are you kidding? Do you have any small doubt as to what my answer will be? Favourite music obviously. Take my food and die.

5. There are two types of banana preferences. One is pristine yellow, almost to the point of being green; the other is spotty and more ripe. Which is your preference?

I like mine more ripe. They aren't as noisy that way, right Randell?

6. Your favorite tree is?

Christmas tree ... I am counting down the days until I'm allowed to put mine up. Yes, I said allowed. I would put mine up in August if the hubby would let me.

7. On a scale of 1-10, how tech savvy are you?

6.23564

8. Has H1N1 touched your family?

Well, my frousin had it a few weeks ago, resulting in me not being able to go meet my brand new nephew because I was afraid I was going to catch it from her. And also, another cousin and her little girl had it, too. So, yes. It has touched my family but not our house.

9. Are you an analytical person, or do you just accept things the way they are without questioning or scrutinizing?

Analytical. Sometimes.

10. Is your personality more like that of a dog, cat, or Koala?

I would say I'm more like a Koala. I like to hang out in trees. And you should see how sharp my fingernails are.

11. Do you keep in touch with friends you made years ago?

A very select few. My BFF has been my BFF for about 10 years. But I don't see many of my childhood friends, except if I happen to bump into them when I'm visiting home or the occasional e-mail or Facebook message.

12. You are checking out at a grocery store. In the express lane, there are more people than the regular lanes, but of course, their load is less than those in the regular lanes. Which lane do you choose (assuming you qualify for the express lane) and why?

I would likely stand in one of the other lines. Even if the people in the express lane had fewer items, it would probably take just as long by the time they all use their debit cards, get their groceries bagged and so on. But most of the time, I just try to go to the grocery store when it's not very busy.

adanaC ni "ereH revO" daeR eW woH

I have mentioned a number of times in the past that I live about 20 minutes from the closest border into the USA and that I occasionally go over to do some shopping. On Friday, my brother decided to take the day off so he and his wife could go get some Christmas shopping done and they offered to take me along with them. I jumped on the chance to go with them!

We had a great day of shopping and from that day, this story emerged.

I'm sure you are all familiar with the common stereotype that Americans don't know anything about Canadians.

Well, I know that this stereotype is not true.

I have more than enough American friends who realize that I do not live in an igloo, that I do not drive a dogsled to work and that I even wear shorts in the hot summer months.

I know most Americans are fully aware that day-to-day life in Canada is not very different from day-to-day life in the states.

But, unfortunately, as with all ill-founded stereotypes, there are bound to be the select few individuals who provide evidence to suggest that these stereotypes do, in fact, exist. And what's even more unfortunate, is when this evidence comes from someone who lives close enough to Canada that they could almost walk there.

I came into contact with one such individual on Friday while shopping in Buffalo.

I was all set to check out at Marshall's and took my merchandise up to the counter. While the lady was ringing my purchases through, she said to her coworker, "I finally figured out why Canadians always enter the line wrong."

(Background: it's the kind of line that has a sign that says 'Please Enter Here' and requires you to walk through a maze like line to get to the checkout, whether or not other people are in line.)

Obviously as soon as the checkout lady said this, I was intrigued to find out what her reasoning for this claim would be. But I kept my mouth shut.

"Why?" Asked the co-worker.

"Well, because Canadians learn to read right to left and bottom to top, so they can't understand our sign."

I could hardly believe my ears!

"WHAT?" I exclaimed.

"Yeah, I found out today that Canadians read right to left and bottom to top so they can't understand the sign and enter the line from the wrong way."

"Well, I'm Canadian and I don't read that way. Where did you get this information?" I asked her.

"A Canadian lady, an older lady, was here this morning and she tried to butt in line and I explained to her how the line worked. She told me she didn't understand the sign because she reads right to left and bottom to top."

I could not believe how serious this woman seemed.

"Well, I'm sorry. But either that woman was crazy or she was trying to yank your chain." I informed her.

What I didn't inform her was that likely the lady was trying to yank her chain, since I know lots of Canadians who like to see what kind of things they can make Americans believe about us.

A look of relief crossed the checkout lady's face and she said, "Good. I was so upset about this all morning. You know, my poor nephew lives over there [sidenote: I love her use of the terms 'poor' and 'over there' as though Canada is some distant land where one should not dare to venture] and I was afraid he was going to learn to read all wrong."

I assured her that her poor nephew would likely fare just fine as a result of being brought up over there in Canada and that he would, luckily, learn to read from left to right and top to bottom just like he should.

I laughed about this for the rest of the day. Actually, the rest of the weekend. No, scratch that, I'm still laughing about it now.

So this message is for all of my dear American readers, please continue to send me comments and e-mails in left to right, top to bottom format ... I'll figure it out. Somehow, I am sure I'll manage over here in Canada.

My Heart is so Full

Today my heart is so full.

Over the last week, there has been a lot of excitement around here. Well, not around here, exactly, but in the lives of some of my dear friends.

Last Sunday, my sweet frousin (that's friend/cousin) Caley got engaged to the man of her dreams. I am just oh so excited for them. The first second time I met him I knew that he was the one for her! I'll admit, the first time I was just scared because he was so tall. They are a perfect match. They go together like peanut butter and jam.

And then yesterday, I found out that my other dear friend, Becky's time has finally come! She and her husband just found out that a sweet baby boy has been chosen to become a part of their family.

Simply on their own, both of these events are extremely exciting. But what's even more exciting is the knowledge of God's hand at work in both of the situations.

You see, Caley and Becky are BFFs and have been for a number of years. They have gone through a lot with each other and have constantly been there for each other, lifting each other up in prayer and pleading with God to make the desires of their friend's hearts become reality.

It is no coincidence that both of these events took place in the same week. It is nothing if not a testament of God's mighty hand and his perfect, and wonderful timing.

You see, God know the deepest desires of our hearts. Whether it be to become a wife, to become a mother, to have a certain career, to live a certain place ... God knows. And he delights in making these desires become a reality.

All day yesterday and today there have been two verses floating through my head repeatedly.

"Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!" Isaiah 30:18

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28

Today my heart is so full.

Full of thankfulness for this reminder of God's perfect timing.
Full of excitement and happiness for my sister's.
Full of hope that blessings will come when we wait upon the Lord.
Full of admiration for a great and awesome God.
Full of praise that God has made the desires of my dear friend's hearts become reality.

Today my heart is so full.

Menu Plan Monday

I'm a little behind with getting recipes posted. I have some from a few weeks ago that I still haven't shared but I'm hoping to get caught up this week.

Last Week...

Cider Pork and Vegetable Soup

Pumpkin and Sausage Penne (with some adjustments - updated recipe coming soon)

Pumpkin Curry Soup (recipe coming soon)
Root Vegetable Soup
Chicken in Garlic Sauce (not our favourite)
Chocolate Chip Cookies

The Pork Stew and Pumpkin Soup were both new recipes and are being added to our family favourites. I love it when I find a recipe that the dude raves about. I mean, he always eats the food I make, but when he tells me he wants me to make it again, that's a great sign!

Sunday
At E&Ls

Monday
At M&Ls for dinner
Taking Banoffee Pie**

Tuesday
Greek Feta Burgers
Pitas
Tzakiti
Cucumber Dill Salad

Wednesday
Chicken Tortellini Bake

Thursday
Crock Pot Brown Sugar Chicken
Shaina's Squash Bake**

Friday
Visiting the in-laws

Saturday
Visiting the in-laws

Breakfasts
Apple Butter Banana Bread*

Lunches
Leftovers
Beef Barley Soup**

Snacks
Tangerines (yum, yum)
Apples
Chips and salsa

Check out more menu planning ideas!

**Recipes to come on Lucy's Kitchen

Kids Say the Darndest Things

Between my nieces and nephews, cousins and friends, I get the chance to spend time with some pretty cool kids.

Last night was no exception.

I was hanging out with my friend's 2.5 year old, Baby B. Baby B has a very wide vocabulary and has for quite some time but is now at the point where she is really starting to form some unique and creative sentences.

While she was playing with her toys, I will flipping though a magazine and found a recipe I wanted to copy down. I grabbed a pen and a piece of scrap paper and sat back down. When I tried to write out the recipe, the pen wouldn't work, so I made a little scribble with it in the corner of the magazine page. You know how that goes, when the pen doesn't work, you scribble and then it works, right?

Anyway, Baby B saw me do this and walked over to me with a very stern look on her face.

"Why you do that, honey? No colour on books! You colour on paper!" She said to me.

Then, as I apologized profusely and assured her that my colouring in the book, was in fact, a very poor decision, she continued to scold me, while jabbing her pointer finger onto my scrap paper and saying, "Colour on paper only. Colour on paper only".

Next up, when I was done copying out the recipe I absent mindedly put the pen into my mouth (bad habit, I know). Again, she saw me do this and came over to correct my horrible behaviour.

"Not in your mouth. Not on your teeth, honey. Yucky!"

Apparently, she's learned these lessons a time or two.

I nearly died. I woke up this morning still chuckling over the incident.

And the runner up for the funniest thing she said last night....

She was sitting next to the Fabulous Dude, studying him very curiously. And let me point out, that they have a very precarious relationship. Ever since the incident* things are a bit touch and go with them.

As she studied his face, she slowly brought her tiny hand up to his face and began stroking the hair on his beard.

Puzzled, she asked, "What's that?"

He said, "It's my beard. It's hair."

Well, this explanation sure threw her for a loop. Her puzzlement increased as she reached up to his head, feeling the hair there and realizing that whatever this growth on his face was, it did not feel like hair.

Again, "But, whaisit?"

"It's hair. It feels different than most hair. It's prickly, right? But it's still hair."

We're still not convinced that she believed his crazy story that this untamable growth sprouting from his chin, his cheeks and his upper lip is, in fact, hair, because she kept poking it and touching it and comparing it to her own hair.

*The incident: When Baby B was about 7 months old, I wanted to take her Mama out for dinner so the FD offered to babysit. Unfortunately, Baby B was asleep when her Mom and I left and when she woke up she was frightened to discover that she had been left alone, in my house, with this horrible man. She cried all night for him and did not forgive him for more than a year after that. Eventually, she started to come around and now, is finally at the point where she will almost always agree to be in the same room with him, and usually play with him.

Ahh ... kids. Gotta love 'em!

Am I The Only One?

Lately I've been wondering...

Am I the only one who only showers if I know I'm going somewhere that day?

Am I the only one who sometimes gets to the end of the day and wonders what on earth made me say the things I did, do the things I did and think the things I did that day?

Am I the only one who doesn't pray often enough?

Am I the only one who wears PJs at all times while I am at home?

Am I the only one who wishes my boobs were a bit bigger and my tummy was a bit flatter?

Am I the only one who doesn't know scripture well enough?

Am I the only one who sometimes says things like "I wonder how hard it would be to hide your body if I killed you" to my husband?

Am I the only one who feels like they do the same thing day after day and yet gets nothing done?

Am I the only one who is afraid of not living up to worldly expectations?

Am I the only one who would rather boss people around rather than getting off my butt and doing things myself?

Am I the only one who fears rejection?

Am I the only one who sometimes runs out of things to talk to her husband about?

Am I the only one who is too stubborn, too impatient, too quick to get angry, too judgmental?

Am I the only one who sings at the top of my lungs in the car even though I know my singing voice can make a child cry?

Am I the only one gets envious of people who have gorgeous homes, expensive cars and designer clothes?

Am I the only one who only shaves my legs if I know I am going to be wearing something short?

To go with that, am I the only one who selects outfits according to the shaved-ness of my legs?

Am I the only one who catches myself measuring my value based on other people's lives and thinking that "I'm okay because I'm not quite as bad as her or him or them" or "I need to be more like her"?

Am I the only one who usually chooses chocolate over fruit?

Am I the only one who is sometimes a really crappy wife?

Am I the only one who has the messiest car in the history of the world that only gets washed/vacuumed/cleaned when my husband gets sick of looking at it?

Am I the only one who thinks I might die if I can't have a baby?

Am I the only one who drinks way too much pop?

Am I the only one who sometimes wonders if I've made the right decisions in my life?

Am I the only one who wonders if I will live up to the life God has called me to?

Am I the only one who really really really loves hot dogs?

Thanks to my girl Britt and her brave post about honesty, I am pretty sure that I am not the only one. That knowledge is reassuring.

So next time you are in that place, in the midst of a bunch of people have got it all together, where you wonder if you are the only one, please know that you're not.

I'm right there with you, girlfriend.

Random Dozen - Dr. Mario Addiction Edition

I had so much fun with my Random Dozen last week that I decided to join again. I just might make this a weekly event. Any one else care to join? Thanks to Lid for hosting!

1. What was the last song you listened to?

Praise You in this Storm - Casting Crowns

2. Have you ever had “buyer’s remorse” over anything?

Many many things. Unfortunately, I can be a somewhat impulsive shopper. Although, I am getting much better in my old age. I can't think of any major purchases I've had buyer's remorse over but I've certainly regretted an ice cream cone or two.

3. What is something in your life that you are thankful for now that you didn’t think you would be at the time of the event? (Something that seemed ill-timed, inconvenient or hurtful which turned out to be a good thing)

My first real break up.

4. Do you watch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade every year? If so, do you have a favorite float or balloon?

Considering I'm from Canada and our Thanksgiving was about a month ago - now. The closest I get to watching the Macy's Parade is when I watch Miracle On 34th Street - although I think that's the Santa Clause Parade. So, never mind. The answer is just no.

5. Share a quote, scripture, poem or lyric which has been an inspiration to you lately.

Can I share three four? (I couldn't stop after three!)

"And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" Esther 4:14b NIV

"And if I perish, I perish" Esther 4:16b NIV

"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." Psalm 46:10 NIV

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates" Deuteronomy 6: 5-8 NIV

6. This is meant to be a fun question, and this is a G-rated blog, but please share a “guilty pleasure,” something that you enjoy that’s probably not the most edifying, time-worthy or healthy thing you could be indulging in. Did I mention--G rating?

Chocolate, Pepsi, Potato Chips ... unfortunately, I don't stop there ...

7. What Thanksgiving food are you looking forward to?

Seriously, folks ... Thanksgiving was a month ago! But... when Thanksgiving is approaching, I look forward to the stuffing and gravy. Oh boy. I might have to come over to the states in a few weeks just so I can do it all again.

8. What is your favorite book to read to children, or what was your favorite childhood book?

The Twelve Dancing Princesses. I'm not even sure if I have a copy of this book again. It was my favourite when I was a child and my parents hated it because it was SOO long. I also knew the entire story by heart, so they couldn't get away with trying to skip a few pages here and there. My poor parents. I guess it was payback for the many hours of lonliness I endured because of #11 (see below).

9. Do you collect anything? (Feel free to post a photo.)

I used to collect Zebras. Those were the days. All of my zebra paraphenalia is packed away, waiting to make it's second debut someday. I now collect roosters and olive things in my kitchen and dining room. I also collect Christmas decorations. And friends. I collect friends. They are the best collection.

10. Gift bags or wrapping paper?

Wrapping paper! Opening presents with gift bags is NO fun. My mother-in-law used to wrap all of her Christmas presents in gift bags until I came around and starting wrapping all of her presents for her - in wrapping paper. Unfortunately, that meant everyone else got their presents wrapped in paper and mine were always still in bags. Last year, I put my foot down and told her I'd only do her wrapping if she promised to wrap my gifts with paper. She agreed. Just wait - in a few months, I'll show you how much I love wrapping Christmas gifts!

11. Share an after-school memory from when you were younger. What was your routine like on an average day?

One time in grade 2 or 3, I remember coming home crying, because the kids in class had seen my white undies with red hearts on them sticking out of my pants during story time and had teased me all day. I never wore those undies again, yet I still remember exactly what they looked like.

As for my daily routine, I would come home, my mom would give me a good ol' bowl of melted cheese and she and I would sit down to play Dr. Mario on Nintendo for a few hours minutes. And then I'd tell her I was hungry for supper and she would shoo me away and tell me to wait a few minutes while she played "just one" one player game .... six hours later we would eat supper. This is an exaggeration but my mom has a small problem with addiction to video games, like Dr. Mario. Sorry for sharing your problems with the world, Mumma! ha ha ha!

Also, in grade 6 I remember coming home after school with my BFF almost every day and eating banana chocolate chip muffins that my mumma had made. This happened on the good days - when she wasn't playing Dr. Mario.

(Sidenote: My mother was actually a very good mother, despite her Dr. Mario tendencies. She read me The Twelve Dancing Princesses on a very regular basis...after I broke the Nintendo. Just kidding. Maybe.)

12. True story: Once, in a job interview, I was asked this question and told there would be no clarifying; I simply had to answer the question: “When you’re fishing, do you feel for the fish?” So what about you? When you're fishing, do you feel for the fish??

Fish are slimy and gross.

A Year From Now....

A few conversations I have had recently have got me to thinking about where we will be a year from now and what I will be doing.

• For the first time in my life, I will no longer be a student.
• For the first time in my life, I will need to have a full time job.
• For the first time in our married life, we will not have to live in this area due to school commitments.
• For the first time in our married life, we will be able to start thinking about exactly where and what we want to be doing and actually take steps to do those things.

I like to live in an oblivious denial that we will ever have to make real life choices. I like to pretend we'll always live here, I will always be in school and things will stay just like they are.

But they won't.

These are scary thoughts for me.

Hmm ... Where will we be at this time next year?

Menu Plan Monday

After a week off, I am ready to get back on track and back into the kitchen. Aside from the fact that I've been battling a cold, I am good to go.

Here's a recap of what I've been making in the last few weeks...

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Dip

Black Olive and Basil BreadsticksPork SouvlakiCabbage Soup

Cake Balls

Seven Layer Nacho Dip

Roasted Tomato Fettucine

Lazy Lucy's Cabbage Roll Casserole

Seared Scallops with Saffron Aioli and Beer Boiled Shrimp

as well as Chocolate Chip Cookies** and Root Vegetable Soup**

Sunday
Spaghetti
Garlic Bread

Monday
Pork Chops
Roasted Vegetables
Roasted Potatoes

Tuesday
Chicken in Garlic Sauce**
Peas
Turnip

Wednesday
Sausage and Pumpkin Penne (with some variations - updated recipe to come)

Thursday
Pork and Cider Stew**

Friday
BBQ Chicken Pizza (or leftovers if needed)

Saturday
Christmas shopping day

Breakfasts
Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Apples
Nectarines

Lunches
Cabbage Roll Casserole
Roasted Vegetable Soup
Leftovers

**Recipes to come on Lucy's Kitchen

Head over here to see more menu ideas

Mad Parenting Skillz

While the dude has been away, it has just been me and Nika at home. (Sidenote: You might remember I said that he was taking her, but since I didn't end up going to the states, it was easier for him to leave her at home).

I have learned a few lessons about my doggy parenting skills over the past few days. I am beginning to wonder if the way that I parent my dog is any reflection of how I will parent my future children.

Two examples.

Example One: Bribery.

I've mentioned before that Nika is a good ol' farm dog. She goes inside and outside as she pleases and just runs loose. For the most part, this is just fine. Except for that one time....

Anyway, she generally goes outside in the early morning, comes back in at some point during the day, if I'm home, to have a nap, goes back out in the late afternoon, comes in while we eat dinner and goes back out in the evening.

It's the fabulous dude's job to go outside and call her in when it's time for bed. She usually comes in around 9:30-10, eats her food and crashes.

Well, what we have discovered over the past 2.5 years is that she doesn't really listen to me very well. So, when I'm by myself it's a bit tricky to get her to come inside.

During the summer months, I just make sure to bring her in while it's still daylight. The problem is it now gets dark around 5 pm and she would NOT settle with being inside all evening. The reason I have to bring her in in the daylight is because once it gets dark, she knows she can hide from me because I won't be able to see her. Sometimes she just lays down on the grass and stays very still so I can't see or hear her.

Anyway, I realized that while the dude is away, and darkness sets in around 5 pm, I would need to find a new way to get her to come inside for the night.

So, I bribed her.

When I was ready to get her to come inside, I put on some shoes, grabbed a tin of peanut butter balls that my friend had made for me and went outside and started shaking them, yelling, "Niks, come get your treat. Come get it, little puppy".

Miraculously, within seconds she came leaping and bounding towards me like a kid on Christmas morning. As soon as she leaped with excitement into the garage, I closed the door quickly so she couldn't get back out and ushered her into the house. And yes, I gave her a piece of one of the peanut butter balls.

It worked so well, I did it the next night, too. Except this time I blind-sided her, and shook the tin of milk bones instead of peanut butter balls. I got the same reaction except I think she was disappointed that all she got was a measly dog treat instead of a delicious peanut butter ball.

Example Two: A Me-First Mentality.

One of the nights the dude was away, I awoke around 2 am to hear Nika barking and growling like crazy in the living room, right by the patio door. I'm sorry to say, but this makes me scared. In the middle of the night, while I'm all alone, it makes me wonder what, or who, she might be barking at out there.

Of course, logical-coherent me would assume that it's a racoon, a squirrel or a cat. But 2-in-the-morning me assumes that it's an axe murderer just waiting to prey on a innocent victim like me.

And then, of course, I "hear" (notice the quotations) a bang on the window and scratch on the wall and all sorts of other noises that indicate that the assumptions made by 2-in-the-morning me are, in fact, correct.

I burrowed myself under my covers, squeezed my eyes shut and willed myself back to sleep. The only problem was that I have this crazy habit that I cannot wake up in the night and get back to sleep without peeing.

For 20 minutes I lay awake weighing the risks. I could continue to lay here, try to fall back asleep without peeing and risk wetting the bed. OR, I could get up, run to the bathroom, do my business and go back to sleep. The second option clearly seems better except I do believe we are forgetting something ... OH YEAH, there is a killer on my patio.

So, I tossed and turned for 20 minutes, listening, hoping I could determine whether or not someone was out there. And finally, as I glanced out my bedroom door and saw Nika laying in the doorway - which also scared me because it implied that she felt the need to place herself between me and whatever was out there - I made my decision.

I would make a break for it towards the washroom and on the way I would glance at the patio door. If I did see a killer there, I would throw Nika in front of me for protection and run upstairs to my landlords for safety.

What a perfect solution.

Of course, as I sprinted towards the washroom and glanced behind me to the patio, I saw nothing on the patio. Nothing but some leaves blowing around and an old dead autumn mum.

But, as I peed and crawled back into bed, I couldn't help but feel a small twinge of guilt about the fact that I had planned to sacrifice my sweet pup for my own safety.

What kind of mother am I?

So there you have it. If I can employ half as much bribery, trickery and me-first-mentality with my future human children as I do with my four-legged child, I think we can all agree that I will be one fantastic mother.

Random Dozen

I have seen a number of my blog friends participate in Random Dozen, so I decided this week I'd join in.

1. It's early morning, about 2:00AM, and you're driving home. You come to a red light and sit there. There is no one in sight for miles around. Do you wait it out or run the light?

Oh, I wait for it. This very question has come up with my husband on more than one occasion. He may or may not be tempted to run the light at times. I am a law abiding citizen and I will wait for the light to change!

2. If you had the chance to re-do the last 24 hours, would you change anything?

I might have let myself sleep in a little later because I completed all the tasks on my to-do list earlier than expected.

3. When you reply to someone's comment on your blog, do you reply in your comments or go to her blog and comment? (Or email her)

I like to e-mail replies to the comments that are left on my blog. But, some people don't have it set up that I can do that. I have actually had this conversation with a few readers lately ... so, this gives me the perfect opportunity for a tutorial.

Here's the deal:

If you want to allow people to respond to your comments via e-mail, log in to your blogger account, click on edit profile, under privacy it will say "Show My E-mail Address" - make sure that box is checked. Scroll down further to where it says "Identity" and ensure that the e-mail address you want to use is entered in that box. Please do this.

I have to admit that I often forget to respond to comments when there is no e-mail option. My bad.

4. Your favorite Disney movie is:

Beauty and the Beast

5. Do you recycle?

Yes - like crazy.

6. Games of strategy or games of chance?

Strategy

7. Do you have any recurring dreams?

I often dream that the brakes in my car stop working. And I dream about snakes a lot. *Shiver*

8. What did you learn from your first real job?

That no matter how stupid I am, my dad could never really fire me.

9. Do you buy or borrow most books?

Borrow.

10. What fashion trend of the past did you say you'd never wear again but did?

Hah - more like what fashion trend of the past did I say I'd never wear again and actually NOT wear again?

11. When do you start Christmas shopping?

Septemberish usually. Although I occasionally pick up an odd gift here or there through the earlier part of the year.

12. Have you ever been so happy that you literally jumped up and down for a few seconds? If so, what was the occasion?

When I found out I got federal funding for my first year of graduate school after originally being informed that I had not been selected to receive it.

Never Too Old

Remember yesterday when I said that you're never too old to go home to Mama?

Guess what else you're never too old to do?

Dress up for Halloween and go trick or treating with Mama.

It all started so innocently.

We decided to dress up in costumes to hand out candy to the kids.

So we dug out the old dress up bin from when we were kids.

Things immediately started to go downhill from there.

We tried on many different costumes before finally settling on the perfect attire.

Then we looked at each other and said, "These costumes are too great to go unnoticed".

So me, my mama, and her suspenders decided to hit the town.

The Manager at my parent's store (who also happens to now own the home I grew up in - long story) enjoys decorating our his front yard for Halloween and hiding amidst the ghost and goblins to scare the little children. He had told my mom that we should come by and see his display.

So we went.

And I let a group of little children go up the driveway before me so that if Shawn was crouching in the bushes waiting to jump out, I would not be the one to wet my pants. It was the first time I've been in my childhood home since we moved out just before my wedding. It did look pretty spooky.


And then we went to my grandma's.

And then we went to our friend's house.

And then we went to another friend's house.

And at each door upon which we rang, we stood there in silence until they realized that the little boy behind the clown mask was my mother and that the crazy nasty ugly faced person beside her was me.

And it was fun.

And then we came home.

I tried to convince Nika to dress up as Little Red Riding Hood and join us on our adventure, but apparently, Halloween is her least favourite holiday. This is what I went through until I finally got a decent photo of her in her "costume".

She also attacked our faces anytime we put a mask on. Hmm, if she's still around when we have children, I guess we will have to come up with entirely mask-free costumes.

I am pretty sure that since I had so much fun, I will be going trick or treating again next year ... and the next ... and the next.

Who's says it's only for kids?