Quotes by Knoxy

Nearing bedtime, Knoxy says "Can our next trip be to Polan?"  (And yes, for you spell checkers, that "d" was deleted for a reason).  "Why?" we ask.  "Because Samuel and Oliver (real names, cutest little neighbour boys ever) are from Polan, and their parents speak Polan, and it seems like they're eating perogies all the time."  Sorry for the stereotyping, but kids never lie!  Perogies are one of Knoxy's favourite foods, within his "bland white" category.  Frankly, their Polish heritage is a bit of a relief, as they always seem to have swarthy visitors, drive a Lincoln Navigator, and smoke pot in their garage, making our vehicles smell like weed (or skunk, as we tell the kids).  We thought they maybe be Russian mob, so were always extra friendly, just in case.

Ah Knoxy, our little melting pot.  Bringing our multicultural suburban street together one racial slur at a time.

Being Grateful

There are so many things that can drive a person crazy in life.  Your job, people's personalities...it's so easy to allow things to bother you that are really just out of your control.  Lately, though, I have just been so grateful for so many things in my life.  My husband.  Almost 14 years together and we can still laugh hysterically.  My children.  Many times I wish for just a few moments of silence, but then how would I hear them tell me they love me?  Or have Rogue ask 1000 questions about...basically any topic? Or have Knoxy say something that is so very quotable ("Mommy, did you know that people who can't drink milk are sacralose contolerant?" or "Mommy, can I set my alarm so I can sleep longer like you guys?"  He is always the first up in the household, but wishes he could sleep in.)  I'm so lucky to have everyone near and dear to me be healthy, even after a few scares here and there.  My children are privileged to have 5 grandparents and one great-grandmother to spoil them in the best of ways.  I still have a job that I look forward to every day, rather than resenting.  Overall, I lead a pretty charmed life...and know it.

Fencing 101

We've been on holidays for almost two weeks, and on the top of our to do list was staining the fence and deck.  You know how when you move in and have new neighbours, you want to give a good first impression?  You build a fence with tiny gaps between the boards to provide privacy but still try to appear friendly and not snobbish.  Well, I HATE those gaps.  You have to use a tiny brush and stain each side of the gap, so you don't see the nasty pale lines when you look at the fence at an angle.  So one person (Dan) uses a nice big spongy thing that makes fast, evident process, allowing the person to see immediate, satisfying results.  The second person (that would be me) painstakingly goes behind #1 and "fills the gaps", so to speak.  Oh sure, it's nice to stand at an angle and look down the fence, seeing all my hard work, but overall, that job sucks big time.  Don't even get me started on how stupid lattice is.  I wish I had photos to show you, but I'm still in a resentful place.

So where does everyone summah?

I'm still doing the running!  This continues to be a surprise to me.  I finally made 5 km yesterday, doing 10 and 1's (run for 10 minutes, walk for 1 minute), and did it in 31 minutes.  I'm told by running friends that this is good, but mostly I am improving on my own times and distance, which is what I want.  I'm not terribly competitive, so having other people be faster than me is not motivating.

With all the rain here, it has become beautiful and green.  Our trees have grown more in May than they did all last year.  Very exciting, as our goal is to have them grow large enough to pretend we are not surrounded by neighbours on every side.  Think...suburban oasis.  Turns out we're not too social when we are at home.

This has inspired me to look at summery photos from last year.  And the post title, for those who didn't recognize it, is from Friends when Phoebe is trying to be a fancy pants when she meets Mike's family.  I have been stimming on this phrase since I heard it a few weeks ago, and Dan says it perfectly, and whenever I ask him to.  That's love.

Dan uploaded my photos from last summer (thanks hon!), so I'm going to add a few pics now.

This is looking back from  the dock towards my aunt and uncle's house on the lake in Kelowna.  This is where we go for a week every summer, "the beach house."  The lake was so high there was no beach last year.

This is the beach house.  As you can see, we are slumming it when we are there.  We basically have our own house on a beach, with manicured lawns,  roses scenting where we dine, and a lovely vista to view while drinking wine.  And we are going there again in three weeks!  Thanks, Uncle Elbow for living life well, and sharing it with your family!

I love the tan lines here.  In my youth that would have been burns, treated with Solarcaine and Noxema (reactive, not preventative - hello, it was the 70's!!!).  How I treasure these sweet brotherly moments.

Chariots of Fire

As we do every year, Dan and I took last week off (always the week of my birthday and Mother's day).  And yes, there MAY have been assorted gifts and the time off may have taken shape like Oprah's favourite things (but are Treena's instead).  We like to have day-dates, those activities we used to do as a couple, before we had kids.  Golf in the middle of a week day (we were both a good 40 years younger than all the other groups), and Dan was one of two men waiting to tee off.  I thought it may be a good business opportunity for us, with him taking on a second job of gigalo (how DO you spell that word??) We also biked across part of Fish Creek, then spoiled it grandly by having beer and wings on a patio, with the sun baking us.  It has been a LONG LONG winter.  And not that the kids were neglected.  We played ball, threw the aerobie, went for bike rides.  Basically, the most active I've been in about five years, all in one week.

Which brings me to my New Thing.  I run now.  Yes, me.  I know the three people who read this, and have known me either my whole life or many years, think I must be fibbing or exaggerating at this point.  Jenn feels this demonstrates all the signs of a nervous breakdown, and is coming on the next plane from Saskatoon.  Historically, I do not run.  I do not choose sports that include a running component.  I would speed walk from a fire or mugger. I have mocked people who run, stating statistics that include fun facts like 50% of people who die of a heart attack are regular runners.  Sure, the other argument is that the remaining 50% were fatties with bacon clad arteries.

Speaking of arteries, whipping cream has been present in the fridge this last week, too.  Bought twice, a litre at a time (in the guise of having it on strawberry shortcake, which we did do).  This significantly contradicts any physical gains I have made since starting the running.  Like the old lady in the Frank's hot ads, I put that $^!% on everything!  I heavy handedly pour it over bananas, then sprinkle the contents of the bowl with refined white sugar.  Then I make alfredo sauce from scratch, then drizzle it over enriched white pasta.  I wash it down with a cider, which is not on any diets either.

Back to running.  I'm a bit like Bridget Jones as I embark on this, feeling the need to acquire all the stuff necessary to be successful at this.  Luckily, coinciding with my birthday made it so I didn't need to buy it all myself.  Got new pink shoes, yellow shirt and yellow/black shorts (think flight of the bumblebee), and Dan showed me how to make my nano track all the important stuff when I run, like pace, distance, time.  It's like having a new toy!  And now I'm making progress, so I'm getting addicted!  (to the running not the stuff, although new bras that weren't worn when 4 Non Blondes were on the radio, are on the agenda - gotta keep the ladies limber).  

Coming to the end of the allotted space.  Coming soon:  blog titled "I quit running today."

Here's a few of our recent adventures.  We spontaneously decided to go spend the night in Canmore at a "lodge" (tourist for "small cabin") then went to see the ice sculptures at Lake Louise.  We also saw dog sled races and the boys tried out cross county skiing for the first time.  Rogue bought a 2 piece puzzle ring and Knox bought a lego Chima speeder set (this is written in at Rogue's insistence for your reading pleasure).  Dan and I got each other's company.  We also got to go to a Flames game, thanks to Michelle offering ups tickets, and the boys got new jerseys.  Knox tapped out before the first period ended, but Rogue asked one million questions, resulting in a a new infinite knowledge of hockey.  Finally, there was a photo I felt I HAD to take, and as you can see, the snow was a titch deeper than I had expected, but I was committed by that point. 

I'm back!  For the three of you who care!

Back in business!!!  Had to redo my password to get back at it.  Let's give this a whirl.