Two Pink Monkeys

Down the rabbit hole...

2011-04-28T09:37:00.001-04:00

That's where I was...in case you were wondering.

I think I got sucked into a late, late winter funk of sorts. Not a true funk. More like a lazy, don't feel like doing much funk. Add in a little friend drama (cause really, I think we're all teenagers trapped in adult bodies). Dashes of mad organizing and spring cleaning. A birthday (mine). A major change in how I'm spending my leisure time (more on that later, maybe). All adds up to my not being here.

I'm back now. Things are going to get even busier for me in May. I'm still trying to catch up on my One Little Word assignments, as I started a few months late, and now I've signed up to do the May Layout a Day with Lain Ehmann.

So exciting! So nerve wracking. I'm going to hold myself absolutely accountable for this. Hence the blinkie over there to the right. Flashy, huh? While I was at it I added one for One Little Word as well. It actually didn't take me long to figure out. But then I chewed up an hour of my life playing with the template settings. Gah. Still not loving them, but I'm calling it good for now.

It's raining here AGAIN today. What is it doing in your corner of the world? I am craving flip flops, t-shirts and flowers. Sigh. I'll leave you with this, my garden....last summer. It was a HOT night and we were enjoying a bonfire. Again, sigh.

It's so quiet.

2011-03-05T07:16:00.000-05:00

It's early. I love the quiet in the pre-dawn hours at my house. All that I can hear right now is the humming of the furnace, the clicking of the keys on the keyboard and the soft snoring of the puppy who is never far from my side.

Chloe and Terry are at hockey. The game today was at 6:30am. Which means I have just a little over an hour before this quiet is shattered. When they come home and the day really begins; loud requests for help getting dressed, Hannah waking up and needing me NOW, my Dad and Vanna coming over to take the girls to Tim Hortons, Terry wondering when I'm going grocery shopping. I love them all so very much, but man are they loud. But they are mine. And, I am theirs. And I'm so very lucky.

I have high hopes for this weekend. Hopes that I get into that craft room and continue plugging away at it. I should have a new picture for you by mid-week. Shall I promise?

I struggle with staying on task, as I'm sure every person does from time to time. It's only gotten worse since having children. It's far harder to immerse yourself in a job when you know you're going to have to meet a need at any given moment. And just when you forget the world around you and dive into things, you remember that it's 4pm and you haven't even thought about dinner yet.

I have a secret weapon that helps me stay on task. That keeps me from ending up in the bedroom folding laundry and wondering how I got there when I'd started out sorting spices in the kitchen, or scrubbing a toilet, or doing dishes, or...you get the picture. I wander. And some days it means I get a lot done, but most days it leaves me feeling scattered and unaccomplished. So yes, back to the weapon. It's not unique. I think I first heard of it on Flylady. Actually, just yesterday I stumbled upon an article discussing it and I think it says it so well. Check it out.

Chugging along

2011-03-03T10:16:00.003-05:00

I stayed up far too late last night and feel a bit like I'm swimming in sand this morning.

But my coffee is starting to do its work. And I'm listening to my beautiful, though sick with some gastro-bug, daughter talk to the television beside me and it's making me smile.

Since I'm going to be housebound for a good part of the day I'm going to buckle down and work on this;

Yep. This is the picture sorting I mentioned in my last post. I have been memorizing Stacey Julians book Photo Freedom for a couple of years now and slowing working on setting up my own Library of Memories. It's a long process and along the way I get lost. Last summer I sorted a mountain of pictures into bankers boxes, by decade.

I then began putting them into albums, where they will sit until I can either scrapbook them or slip them into normal 4x6 sleeves to put into my scrapbook albums along with layouts. Then.....six months passed and very little was done.

I'm back at it now.

I also have one follower here (yes, you!) and I've promised her I will give her something to read when she stops by. Which is keeping me motivated right now. If you can't commit to yourself, can you commit to someone else? Find that someone. And go for it!

Oh my! Oh yes!

2011-03-01T06:50:00.002-05:00

I am fully in love with Liz Lamoreux right now.

Every morning I get up early to help Terry out the door. I've been doing it for years now. Some people think I'm nuts for doing this, but the truth is, I'm a really light sleeper so if I didn't help him I'd just be laying awake in bed watching him. So I get up. I make his coffee and bagel, pack his lunch into his cooler and kiss him goodbye.

Sometimes, if I'm ferociously tired, I go back to bed. Though that never seems like a good idea when it's time to get up with the girls. So I try not to do that. I stay up and have some time to myself. Mostly I watch PVR'd shows or surf. But that isn't very productive or fulfilling. It feels like I've wasted precious alone time.

I've been reading a lot of posts on Leo Babautas site lately. One post talked about creativity and how to make it a habit. I have clicked through so many posts, reading and nodding, that I can't pinpoint which one said to do something creative first thing in the morning. Before you do anything else.

I figured I'm already up, why not try this. So instead of vegging yesterday morning while I waited for the kids to get up I worked on sorting photos (more on this later).

Now, an odd part of my personality is that I crave solitude and silence but often find being alone a tad eerie. Hence spending so much of my alone time surfing or watching telly. Or, yeah, eating.

But I wanted to do this. Which brings us back to Liz. I remembered that I'd been wanting to listen to some of her recorded messages on her site. But good lord does my attention wander at warp speed in front of the computer. This girl can barely sit through a YouTube video.

Solution? I turned on a video and worked while I listened. Brilliant. I got so much done with a soothing voice in the background. More than I've done in months.

Then it happened. Liz said something so brilliant, so true, that it literally made me yell YES! As she was talking about "your corner" and making it beautiful she was talking about bits and pieces of stuff. It could be anything. Doesn't matter. What she said was "Those stories can't sing if they're in Tupperware boxes".

Isn't this so true? So true. The fact that I have my grandmothers camping journals doesn't matter if I don't know what bin to find them in. The fact that I have pictures of my beloved childhood toys doesn't help me if they're in a jumbled mess and there is no journaling beside them to say that I actually loved those toys and wish they were still around. And all the pretty paper in the world is only clutter if I'm afraid to cut into it and it's just sitting there.

I am resolving to finally let go of my fears, and more importantly my inertia, and empty those bins. Clear my corner and make it sing.

Perhaps if I show you an embarrassing picture it will help to motivate me to clear it up so I can show you a pretty picture.

Here you go, the ugly truth. It's kind of colourful and treasure-seeking-ish but the truth is, it's dysfunctional. To even find something I know I have takes so long I give up, turn off the light and go away.

Good morning, Saturday.

2011-02-26T07:37:00.002-05:00

It's almost 7:30 and it's still dark outside yet I've been awake for over two hours now. Sigh. Terry had to work today so I got up with him and woke Chloë to get her ready for hockey. She wasn't feeling well at all and decided to miss today. Funny, though. Now she's behind me playing ball with the dog. No sign of illness at all. Conveniently, it is now too late to get to hockey. Hmmmm. Duped?

Looking at pictures of her in all of her hockey gear makes me so happy for her. And so proud. I think it's amazing that she is getting so many opportunities to explore herself and find the things that move her.

Spring is coming! Right?

2011-02-22T12:48:00.002-05:00

Valentines Day is over. Groundhog day was weeks ago. We had a winter thaw last week and had temperatures of 15C. They didn't last though and this morning it was -16C again.

I've dealt with it fairly well this winter. We've been super busy with Chloe having hockey four times a week, both girls in swimming and ballet too. Plus, being forced to go out daily to walk Angus let's me enjoy weather I'd normally hide from. But here is the cold, hard, late February truth; I'm done. There you have it. No sugar coating, no rose colored glasses. I want flip flop weather and I want it now.

Please?

2010-11-26T20:19:00.011-05:00

A long week. A cold for me and nobody else. But there is just soooo much to do to get ready for December. So much that I did...nothing.

Well, that's not entirely true. I sat down last week and made a list. A monster TO DO list. I was feeling scattered and like I had one million things I should be doing but couldn't just pick one and do it. So, along came the list. And, it's big. But I find it so much easier to have something to look at and tell me what to do. It's too bad that a stay at home mom can't have a boss that assigns daily tasks.

I also took time out to do this on Thursday;

I got the inspiration from one of my favourite bloggers, Meg and she wrote about it here;

http://megduerksen.typepad.com/whatever/2010/10/craft-thursday-12.html

I love Meg. I love her positive attitude. I love the colours on her website. And most of all I love that she remembers to take pictures of her Craft Thursday. Cause I didn't. ;)

Well, then....

2010-11-14T16:17:00.002-05:00

Clearly I'm not all that great at this blog thing. Which is rather curious, seeing as I spend HOURS every week in front of this computer.

This year, like very year, has gone quickly. But my word stuck with me and I'd have to say it was one of the more productive years. Instead of putting things off, I managed to stay with TODAY a lot. Not all the time. Let's not get carried away, now.

I was painting the playroom/massage room AGAIN today. I keep repainting that room and never liking the colour. I hope I'm happy with this one. I went way out on a limb and painted it...are you ready for this...white. Well, off white. Swiss Coffee to be exact.

So looking forward to working in the room now.

Whhhhheeeeeeee!

2010-01-27T11:12:00.001-05:00

I did it. That was easy. :D

Now, how do I add stuff on the sides?

Sick babies....tis the time of year.

2010-01-27T09:19:00.003-05:00

Interesting. Same time as last year, both girls have been sick on and off for weeks now. Hannah had the worst of it, having some bizarre hive outbreak for two full weeks before it ended in two days of fever. Chloë is home sick from school again today, which she doesn't seem too sad about.

As for me and my TODAYS, well, some are better than others in terms of focus and getting stuff done. My oh my, do I have attention problems. I start something and then find myself in another room doing something else. Sigh. I wonder if I could nail my feet to the floor until I finish what I'm doing? I've found using my timer (a la Flylady) works quite well. I set it for 15 minutes and something in my brain knows not to move from that task until the timer rings. Must do this more.

Thanks so much for those of you that commented on my Word of the Year post. It really meant quite a lot to me. More than you'd think. In fact, Jerries comment last night prompted me to get my butt in gear today and post.

Now...my goal for TODAY is to spruce up this little blog. I think a new picture is in order, don't you? Now if only I could remember how I did that.....

Oh my.

2009-12-30T09:43:00.012-05:00

Well, it would seem that , like with most projects, this got tossed aside. Sigh. Two posts in one year. Is that a record? It has to be SOME sort of record.

I'm not even entirely sure WHY I don't post here. Lord knows I spend enough time on the computer. But then I surf around and get lost in all the eye candy and then feel inadequate when I even think of posting. Surely I can't have anything interesting to say. Right? But wait....I do. So why don't I?

The idea of my word for 2010 is floating around in my brain. My word for 2009 was COURAGE. And though I didn't do a whole lot with it physically (I didn't blog about it, I didn't buy a necklace with the word on it, didn't scrap it) it was with me all year. As I struggled to begin running, as I struggled to keep with it, as I let go of some unhealthy friendships, as I forged new ones, as I did my best to be patient and be a good mother. It all took courage.

But I'm super excited about my word for 2010. Cause it's going to take even more courage to work with and live with this one; TODAY. Oh boy is today a problem for me. I am the Queen of Procrastination. And if that wasn't bad enough I never live in the moment. I'm always thinking about the next thing; the next moment, the next chore, the next meal, the next day, the next....everything. And I lose precious moments that I should be embracing. Should be taking in with all my mind, all my attention.

And so....TODAY. Get it done today. Enjoy today. What can I do with THIS day? To make it a great day. Not just a day I muddle through and then promise myself at bedtime that tomorrow will be great. Tomorrow I will finish a project, clean that closet, read more books, get out the clay and let them make a mess. I want to spend 2010 doing it TODAY.

2009-01-26T10:01:00.002-05:00

Deep in the middle of winter. Sick kids, taking turns at being sick, days and days of temperatures that keep me hiding inside, so much snow we've run out of somewhere to shovel it. Terry is still working away and only home weekends and we miss him.

Along with being stuck in winter I'm knee deep in a creative rut. I have a ton of started projects but seem too tired to work on them. Ack. I'm planning on doing a little painting today, will see if little Hannah co-operates with that plan.

2008-12-02T21:47:00.002-05:00

Whoooosh! That's the sound time makes when it flies by. Wow. December. Already. Seriously? Seriously!

I have been incredibly busy running the house and tending to my girls while Terry works like a dog to bring home the bacon.

I did have time to slip out last Sunday to take a Scrapbooking class. It was based on Ali Edwards' 25 Days of December or December Daily album. I just LOVE how it turned out and tomorrow I'm going to attempt to take some pics of it and post them here. I also need to actually put stuff IN the book....the last two days have been a whirlwind.

For now, I have a date with my pillow and my television converter.

2008-10-15T08:44:00.005-04:00

I found this fabulous idea while clicking around in webland. I got there from here. I find such inspiring things while just aimlessly clicking. Of course, some days this is just too great a way to procrastinate.

Want to play? Here are the rules....copied directly from Nonsuch book blog cause I reaaaaally should be in the shower and getting ready to go to the Pumpkin Patch. I hope that's okay.

Are you ready to Pay It Forward??? Here are the rules:

The exchange focuses on doing an act of kindness without expecting anything in return other than that the recipient will, in their turn, pass the kindness along and pay it forward.

This is how it works: I agree to send something fun, cute, & nice to the first three blog owners who post a comment on this entry. In turn, those three will post this information and pick three people they want to send something to and on goes the giving!

If you are interested in participating, be one of the first three blog owners to leave a comment! The little something you send can be something you made, bought, were given or found. Just a gift that will make the person smile and really brighten their day.

Again, if you'd like to join in be one of the first THREE people to leave me a comment with your email on this particular post. You have to PROMISE that you will then post about this on your blog, link to me, and then send something to the first three people who sign up to play along through your blog. I hope people like this idea. It's a small way to bring a smile to someone's face and little thank you to all who are faithful readers and wonderful web friends!!!

2008-10-05T14:05:00.002-04:00

Wow. What an incredible week. No, I haven't posted any of my "week in the life" pictures here. Simply because I don't know how yet. ;) But I have been very diligent about taking my camera everywhere and taking tons of pictures. I can't wait to put it all together. Thanks so much, Ali, for doing this right alongside all of us this week.

I can't even tell you how much it's opened my eyes. It didn't just show me "my life right now", it showed me what to cherish, but also what I'd like to change. I realized I've been a bit insular in the last year and don't get out a ton socially. I'd like to change that. It also opened my eyes wide to see my surroundings, my home, and what I like and what I don't like so much. And I've already begun to make some baby steps toward sprucing up what I'm not liking.

September 29th, 2008

2008-09-29T13:21:00.002-04:00

Ack. Really? Easter? Wow. That's kind of......pathetic. Although I did have a fantastic summer so I can just say I was busy living.

Anyway, I've signed on to do the Week in the Life project over at Ali Edwards' blog. It's only Monday, but so far I'm doing okay....let's see how it goes.

Easter weekend

2008-03-22T10:12:00.002-04:00

Well, as usual I got all excited about starting something new and then got bored fairly quickly. I suppose it is because I don't know how to make the blog look the way I want to without investing some time and my time is quite precious. I have a ton of other things that occupy my time and I often feel scattered trying to decide what to use the time doing and then I end up doing nothing but sitting here surfing and looking at the blogs of other, far more creative people and thinking of projects to do.

What I need to do is start making myself get down to business and create. One could literally spend hours/days/months looking at the wonderful creations of others and never get their own things done. Or even started.

The girls are wonderful. Just wonderful. Daily I feel guilt that I am not documenting every second of their lives before they move on to the next stage and the memory slips away. Already Chloë is becoming a little girl and all traces of baby are being erased. It makes me gleeful because she is becoming so much fun. But it also makes me sad. Is this only a mothers conundrum, or does Terry feel the same?

My little monkeys

2008-02-21T11:31:00.005-05:00

A woman on a board I post on made this for me for Valentines Day and I was so happy with it. I was actually on the ball enough to have it printed, in envelopes and mailed in time for Valentines Day!!
I'm really in to trees right now in art work that I'm drawn to, so as soon as I saw this as one of her design choices I knew I wanted it. I'm not sure if other people find a tree as inspiring. My mom wanted to know what the tree was for...

Well, colour me confused!

2008-02-21T09:54:00.001-05:00

Oh, boy. This is going to take a while to figure out now isn't it? Hmmm, has this just become yet another reason to avoid creating?

Testing, testing, one, two, three....

2008-02-20T16:29:00.000-05:00

I have been thinking about starting a blog for ages now, so I'm just going to jump in with both feet and see where it takes me.