My PSA after a day of shopping....

I am not a fashion maven. In fact I only get as fashionable as Banana Republic will let me, but I do have some insight into what is not ok to wear when out.

1. Track suits and Up-do's- If you feel inclined to clad yourself from head to toe in parachute material that is your prerogative but to do so with an up-do is wrong. A track suit denotes a pony tail at best. A backcombed french twist complete with rhinestone barrettes is not a look you want to flaunt. As well, if you choose to dress like a hot air balloon you should probably do so without the diamond earrings and over the top french manicure.

2. Boner pants- I know we have discussed this before I would like to take the time to reiterate the importance of not wearing boner pants while out in public. I am willing to go even further and say that boner pants in the privacy of your own home should also be outlawed. The last thing any man needs is to brush by the sales rack in the wrong way and declare his satisfaction to the rest of the shoppers.

3. Tapered jeans- Another favorite of mine is the need of people, especially women to sport the tapered jean. I am going to tell you right now you don't look good in them. I don't care if your husband says you do, you don't. Those who wear the tapered jean also like the look of the too short tapered jean. I guess it really completes the look? I am here to tell you if you can see your ankle bone when you look down, your pants are too short. Take them off, throw them away and back away from the trash.

4. Thongs and low rise pants- I am not sure what more I need to say about this one. If you are wearing a low rise jean then you need to either be selective in your choice of ginch or don't bend over, especially right in front of me in the food court. Even more especially when you have zits on your hairy ass. I could not finish my sandwich today because of you.

5. Displaying the family jewels- I am not sure if there is anything more disgusting than a man in tight jeans showing off his package. We all know you have a penis, we don't want to see the outline of it. I am not sure if this is a white trash mating call or what but I will say it is gross.

6. Bras- I thought this one was a no brainer but now stand corrected. Let me shed some light on this one for those of you who are in need. You need to wear a bra. Period. A little tip that I am offering is that if your boobs are swinging back and forth while you walk, your bra sucks. If you wear a button down blouse that is two sizes too small and gaping at ever button hole, you need to wear a bra because I saw your boobs today and it wasn't good. Not good at all.

7. Denim- I enjoy denim, who doesn't? But.... denim is a one article of clothing kinda deal. You cannot wear a denim jacket, a pair of jeans, and a button down denim shirt. It doesn't look good. Adding those rockin' Nike's circa 1997, does not complete the outfit and doesn't make it better.

8. The Wife Beater- If you know of anyone who wears the 'beater I suggest you cut all ties to them. Immediately. It is only a matter of time before they accessorize with a beer hat and introduce you to their girlfriend-cousin Sheila....

9. Free Clothing w/Purchase- I want to let all of you know that your local liquor store is not a clothing store. If you buy a 12-pack and it comes with a really cool t-shirt you need to dispose of it.

10. Animals and Clothing- Regardless of how much you love your weimaraner you should not wear his face on your shirt. People who wear animal motifs on their body are not normal.

The Bachelor

Last night in the most dramatic fashion our dear Jason sent four girls packing...

The one on one date was with Molly who to me looks like a pug. They had the excitement of staying at his place, eating crappy fast food, and then shagging in the tent in the backyard. They so got busy. Did you hear the weird noises coming from the tent when they went to commercial.

I am kinda indifferent about the pug, as she seems sweet but not that bright I do feel a bit sorry for her. I think she will last another week and then she is outta there.

Then came the two on one date with Stephanie a.k.a "the man" and Niki a.k.a "burns". I am not sure if I have ever seen anything that awkward in a long time unless you count the attempt at Niki and Jason kissing last week which was more than just comical. They had some weird ball dancing lesson, ate some dinner and then Jason had to choose between the two. Burns was sent packing which is no surprise considering she for sure has OCD and more than likely more body hair than he does. Jason decided to keep Stephanie which I am assuming was only to see if she really does pee standing up. Did anyone else notice how sweaty they all looked? Maybe the threee of them had a tent set up too?!

Then they had some lame date on the set of General Hospital, which proved to just be a giant make out session. Is it me or does this guy kiss everyone? I would sure hate to be last in line on any given day...blech. And did you see the pig Megan go in for the kill? She looked to be searching his larynx with her tongue for lost treasure, very becoming of a lady.

No one vomited this week at the rose ceremony but it was not without bodily fluids since every freakin' girl was crying about something or other. At the end of the night Jason in typical Bachelor drama could not bring himself to give out the final rose. So Shannon, the buck toothed psychopathic hygienist went home along with bitchy Lauren, and slimy Megan.

Oh and Lisa, Dee-Ah-Na has not yet resurfaced....i am sure when she does it will simply be .....THE MOST DRAMATIC ROSE CEREMONY IN BACHELOR HISTORY!!!

A few more....

Blame Sarah...

For those of you that do not want to here about cabinets, floors, paint, and more, I suggest you skip over this one. The rest of you can blame my wonderful friend Sarah for the following....

Ok, I am thinking hardwood is the way to go. I went to the kitchen place today to preview the choices before our appointment next week. In part to help provide some clarity to myself and in part to spare the poor sales person from my incoherent rambling and indecisiveness. I was on a hunt for nice wood cabinets, not super dark and not maple, which is what we have now. It was not a simple task. I picked a few and got some samples to come home with. I think I hate them all. One is too dark, one is too weird, and the other isn't even wood color, it's cream. I hate kitchen cupboards now.

I have decided to try and choose something less stressful and have moved from stain color to cabinet style.

These are a few that I like. The top piece is the drawer fronts and the bottom is the cupboard. The one that has a flat drawer piece can be altered to have a matching raised drawer front if we want....These are just done in a natural finsih and I will pick the finish after. The ceilings are nine feet in the kitchen and the cabinets will go right to the ceiling. They will be normal cupboards and then the top will be glass fron smaller cabinets. I need to decide on which glass fronts I like as well.....

Trivial Post

I am working on something more significant but as of right now this is my burning issue...

Hardwood Vs. Ceramic Tile

As of next week we have to start making the choices for our new house and as shallow and trivial as it may sound, I am actually losing sleep over what to pick. Yes, I am fully aware people are starving, and the world is an unjust and nasty place, but humor me....

Here is the issue. I love wood floors. I love the way they look, feel, etc. They are lovely and warm and make a house look homey. They don't make my back ache when I stand on them, they are definitely more "me". The down side is with five kids, a messy husband, and a cat, they get scratched and dented and need more maintenance. They show dirt more and I have to sweep at least three times a day (after each meal) and mop at least 1-2 times per week.

The tile option is nice because they are essentially indestructible, require little maintenance, and even if you were to run across them in shoes I would not have a complete meltdown. Sadly, they aren't as pretty and I think they feel kind of cold. So what do I do?

Another thing to add to my quandary is that the floor will also determine my cupboard selection. If I go with wood I will be more likely to go with a cream colored cabinet. I think that wood floors and wood cabinets may be too much? and want to avoid Woodfest 2009. If I go with tile though I would be more likely to pick wood cabinets... For the record, I like both. I do think though that the cream color would be a bitch to keep clean with five kids, and a messy husband.

So if it were you, what would you pick? The appliances are stainless steel if that helps and the wall color is a taupe-sand color. The baseboards and window/door casings are cream colored and the granite is probably going to be light, maybe cream with a bit of brown/gold color in it.

Bullet Post

I have very little time as of late to write much of anything here but I will give it a try...

* Sam is sick. This may not sound like a big deal but let me tell you when that blue eyed, blond haired baby is sick-WATCH OUT! The kid becomes what we affectionately call Little Stalin. To say he is miserable and grouchy would be a gross understatement, what would be more accurate would be to say he is a cantankerous dictator. We went to the doctor last night and he is now on antibiotics to clear up what we are assuming is a nasty chest infection.

* Today we start the arduous and stressful process of picking out all the new stuff for the interior of the new house. I am feeling more than a bit overwhelmed with the amount of things that need to be decided upon and am hoping that I don't pick wrong and end up living in an unmatching horror story.

* I have developed a new hatred of my fellow Y work outers. This week it is the one's who choose the treadmills with the TV's in them and then do not watch TV. If you are going to listen to your IPOD and not watch TV then head over to the TV-less treadmills. I actually felt my fists clench when this annoying woman took the last good treadmill and then proceeded to read a magazine.

* I also have decided that to those of you that feel the need to pass gas while running and think that the rest of us don't hear it or smell it, well let's just say there is a special place in Hell for you.

* Kelsey is writing midterms right now and because she attends a semestered school she has a whopping two to write. Then she gets almost two weeks off school to allow the grade 12 students to write their diploma exams in peace and to have extra study time. What a joke. I attended a non-semestered school, had five exams to write at a time and didn't get a day off for anything. I don't think we even got extra study time in University!

* Wil has foul poop again and without going into too much detail I am seriously considering have the nerves that conduct impulses to my nose surgically removed.

* Then there is this....

This is Freda. The woman has been an icon in our neck of the woods since I was in junior high school. At that time she could still walk and would frequent the community shopping center that myself and all my friends worked at. Freda is not handicapped per se, she is simply too big to walk now. Years ago we would see her waddle her way into the stores and we would all call each other to let the other know that we had a sighting, it was probably cruel and most definitely immature, and I would like to say that we have grown up since then....Sadly as evidenced by my husbands recent cell phone pictures we have not. In this shot Freda, in her electric chair, that she rides side saddle in, decided against going in to get her coffee and instead went through the drive-thru. Freda is probably the rudest and most foul person I have ever met. Freda does not think twice about ramming you in her chair, cutting ahead of you in line at Walmart, and seen here, butting in line at Tim Horton's. Up until recently there was a Facebook group dedicated to Freda sightings, but sadly it got taken down because these shots would have been perfect.
I should also add that Freda is married to "Lurch" you know the guy from the Adam's family? Although, no one has seen him recently and we are thinking Freda may have eaten him.

YMCA ramblings...

I have now been going to the Y for five months. In that five months I have not only lost a few pounds and surely made my heart happier, I have also noticed that some of the weirdest people on Earth go there too. Take for instance this one guy who I have seen on numerous occasions, who walks the track in jeans and a leather coat. What's with that? Then the other day I saw a woman not only walking the track with her coat on but carrying a Safeway bag full of groceries?? What is she doing?

There is another real star of a guy who looks like he stepped directly out of his Delorian and onto the track of our local YMCA. The guy wears boner pants, which should in itself sum him up. I run on the treadmill and the track circles me. I have made the mistake of looking up numerous times right at the exact moment he runs by me. I am pretty sure that now he thinks I am trying to pick him up which couldn't be further from the truth. I have noticed that he goes out of his way to warm up beside me. I am hopeful his boner pants don't give him away.

Then there is this weird old guy who is trying very hard to emulate Stevie Wonder. As he works out on the elliptical he listens to his music and closes his eyes, swaying back and forth to the beat. I cannot help but laugh out loud at him. I try to be subtle but find myself pointing and gawking. I wonder if that is wrong?

Then there is the group of girls who come to "work out". They arrive in full make-up, short black shorts and never break a sweat, not even a hint of dew forms on their overly made up faces. I noticed yesterday that one of them wears these weird lace up boot runners, kind of like a wrestler. I think she may be the ring leader.

On a side note not directly related to the people at the Y, I sunk to an all time low while working out yesterday. I was listening to my music and flipping through the channels on the TV when I came across something I have never seen before, and like a car wreck I stopped to watch. It was a competition for the strongest man. I swear, I have never seen anything so stupid as long as I have lived. Here on national television these weird looking men with no necks compete in events to be considered the strongest and possibly stupidest man on Earth. I tuned in just in time to see some neanderthal man lifting kegs above his head and throwing them up and over a banner like thing. After he was done and the white trash crowd was done cheering he would tear off his shirt and be interviewed by some reported who obviously drew the short straw that day. I am willing to hedge a bet that if you were to take the mean IQ in that crowd it would hover somewhere around 35.

I got nothing....

I have been a little light on blogging material as of late, no reason really. I guess i just don't have much to say.

The Bachelor~ Part 2

Well, did you watch? I hope so. I recorded it and then booted the little and loud kids to bed and watched.....

The Losers.....

Freaky medical student, Raquel got the boot last night. I wasn't surprised at this one, she didn't really seem like his type and what was with her getting into his limo and waiting for him? Did you see the look on his face? The poor guy is not the best at hiding his emotions and I couldn't tell if he was more appalled or scared of her sitting in wait. Anyways, she was gross, maybe they don't have shampoo in Brazil because she was greasy and gross.

Weird and elf-like Sharon also hit the pavement last nigh which is of very little loss. She was part elf and part mute and I honestly don't recall her stringing more than three words together in the four hours the show has been on for. I didn't think she would take it as hard as she did considering her crossed and beady eye's, I wasn't sure she saw much more than the bridge of her nose the entire show.

Then in a dramatic (insert gagging sound here) turn of events another girl left the show voluntarily to be with her ailing Grandma.

Lisa, A.K.A Olive-Oil, left the show with about as much flair as when she entered and for those of you wondering, that was with zero flair. The girl was as boring as they get.

The Nuts that Remain...

I still don't get this one, she is beyond weird. How in the heck can he not see that she is a complete stalker? I really hope little Ty doesn't have a pet bunny if this girl ever comes over. I am willing to bet that if I went into my basement right now and went through all my old textbooks I would find her picture on numerous pages of the ole DSM IV. She is absolutely certifiable and what is with her teeth? She says she is a dental hygienist and is obsessed with good teeth and yet hers are sticking out all over the place. Reminds me of when old people push their dentures forward to scare young kids, oh wait, maybe that was just my Grandma, whatever you get the point. This one needs to go.




I am not sure what bugs me most about Stephanie. Is it the fact that the show is trying to pass her off as 34, which is clearly not the case since she appears to be about 40. Is it the weird plastic-ness of her face and the fact that it doesn't move, no matter what. Is it her freakishly long eyebrows that go from the bridge of her nose to her temples. Side note- can you imagine if elf-like Sharon had those brows? She would always have a hair in her eye! or is it simply that this woman...has a penis!! She is not a woman. She is some state of transition and I am going to guarantee you that when Jason and her choose to forgo their individual rooms and stay together as a couple in the fantasy suite, his intention wasn't to play a game of pitcher/catcher.



Then there is Megan, looks cute, right? Well I think she is a complete loon as well. You wait, she is going to get in some kind of cat fight before the show is over and who leaves their baby at home to come to do the show? Megan is the type of girl that even at the beginning of the night when the party is just starting and you are supposed to look good and put together, looks like she has been on a two day bender. Every time you see her she looks disheveled and drunk. Megan fits the eloquent statement said by many "she looks like she has been ridden hard and put away wet".

Then there is Natalie, A.K.A Sunkist. Does anyone else notice that this girl is actually orange? Has no one the common decency to say "Hey Natalie, you are looking exactly like a freakin' Sunkist and I think you should lay off the tanning beds/creams/sprays?" I am actually worried this girl may have some weird form of jaundice and may be in need of a liver transplant. In my opinion this girl is a complete dud and will go home soon.

My Fave Thus Far...

I am picking Jillian as my favorite so far. First, she is normal. Second, she is a good Canadian girl so I am being patriotic. Third, she doesn't have a penis.

Teens con't...

Well, Kelsey is 15 now closer and for the most part is a good kid. To this point there has been about 3 or 4 parties this school year that she has gone to in which I know alcohol is available. Parents are usually home but I am not sure that reassures me much since they letting underage kids drink in their house....doesn't exactly lend itself to responsible parenting in my opinion.

Before I had a teenager in the house I was adamant that I was not going to provide them with drinks or be OK with it, after all laws are made for a reason and at the age of 15 or 16 you are simply not mature enough to handle drinking and the decisions that accompany it. After a while I realized that all my ranting and raving about laws and underage drinking were simply making the idea more and more tempting and we all know what teens do when they are told not to do something!

A while ago she and her friends got vodka from another parents house and between the three of them drank the entire bottle, in about 45 min, needless to say she did not fair well. She had enough sense to call us and ask us to come and get her, which we did. I was very torn as to what I was supposed to do next, she made a bad decision but then chose to not make it worse and called home. After a lot of thought we decided to ground her but to also explain how proud we were that she made some good decisions as well. Since then I have had a change of heart.

Now when she is going to a party we allow her to take a couple coolers with her and and have since had no issue, in fact on more than one occasion she brought them home without drinking them. It seems that making the act less taboo has taken away some of the excitement and has lent itself to her not really being that interested in it. We also insist that we are the ones to both drive and pick her up from all parties and no sleep overs at other friends post party, which makes her far more accountable since she knows she is coming home at the end of the night.

We drink in our house, not til the point of a lot but we are known to have people over and have a few drinks. We don't make it a big deal, all of our friends have a designated driver, and no one acts irresponsibly. If one of the older kids asks for a sip, I give it to them, Ty asked for a cooler one night and I gave it to him, he took three sips, told me it was gross and threw it out. I truly believe that by taking the mystery out of it they are less likely to over do it later.

I have the same way of thinking when it comes to sex. While the triple locked chastity belt sounds intriguing I realize they will probably hire a locksmith before their wedding night and have that bad boy removed. I have sat with Kels for a long time and talked about birth control, what is effective and what is not, where to get it, etc...I have made it very clear to her that when she decides to have sex I want her safe and if that means driving her to the doctor myself to get it I will. I am crossing every possible appendage that day is still far off....

Teens

Kelsey is obviously our first run at teenager-hood and for the most part it has been a good run. Being a teen today is so much different then when I was one. I sometimes think I am being over protective and other times feel like I am far to lenient. I can't seem to strike that perfect balance between wanting her to be a kid and make mistakes and wanting her to stay a little kid. It's hard.

We are very open in our house about pretty much everything, nothing is really off limit when it comes to what I will talk about with my kids. We talk about sex, drugs, drinking, etc...for the most part they seem to be very open and are hardly ever embarrassed when asking something, which to me is a good thing.

Here the drinking age is 18. Many of the parties she goes to are ones in which alcohol is present. I struggle with letting her go. I know that she is a good kid with a good head on her shoulders. I know none of her friends are yet driving so the drinking and driving part isn't as much of an issue, although we have drilled it into her head at any given chance.

We were talking on New Year's about kids, alcohol, sex, etc and the views were as different as night and day. Some of our friends were absolutely against their kids going to parties with booze, other's were willing to give their kid a couple coolers as long as they were the one's doing the pick up and drop offs. A few others wanted to turn the 'ole blind eye to the entire thing and figured if they wanted to get a few drinks underage they could do what we all did and sneak it from their parents. Some taught abstinence only and left it at that, other's would drive their child to get birth control if needed, and still other's chose to ignore it was even an issue.

My question is...what will you do? or what have you already done?

Back-Handed compliments...

The other day one of Grace's friends was over playing. The little girl is nice enough and I have met her parents several times at various school functions or during pick up/ drop offs. The other day she was waiting inside the house for her daughter to get her stuff together to go home when she said to me "you keep your house really clean, I only wish..." I sort of smiled and replied with the standard "well, I like a clean house". She kind of smiled and then said "imagine if you didn't have to clean so much how much free time you would have, to play with the kids and stuff...." I didn't really know what to say, not knowing this woman enough to tell her to screw off and being too polite to spit on her, I simply smiled.

While I know this should not bug me and should not merit a rant on the blog, it's going to get one. I like my house clean and I am not sure what exactly is wrong with that. I stay home with my kids, drive them to every sporting event they have, host their friends at our house almost daily, tuck them in every night, eat dinner with them every evening, and I don't spend enough time with them??

I grew up for several years with a single mom. She worked full time to provide for us and would then come home everyday and cook dinner, play with us, read to us, tuck us in, make our lunches for the next day, wait for my Grandma to come over and then go back out for another few hours to clean office buildings while we slept to make extra money. I had no idea while growing up that we had no money, in fact I thought we had plenty. We had nice clothes, lots of toys, a nice clean house, etc...I can remember being small and my mom cleaning up, she would play the music loud and we would dance around the house to Tina Turner and Lionel Ritchie. We were always told that we should never take things or people for granted. We should tell the people we love that we love them, we should spend time with our family and friends, and that if you were lucky enough to own something it should be taken care of, this went for our house as well. My mom was proud of our little house, she would always say that it doesn't matter how much something cost, it should be taken care of.

When my mom remarried she married a man with a great job, a big house and money to spare. This didn't change her, she made sure the house was always clean. She would tell us to live in a mess was in a way showing disrespect for the time it took her earn the money to pay for the item. I guess it just stuck with me...

Phil and I work hard both in and out of the home and we feel that to live in a mess models a sense of disrespect for our kids. I am the first to acknowledge that people and time are far more precious than material goods, but to not care for what you have is a slippery slope. I want my kids to value things in life. I want them to value their bodies, to do this we as parents eat healthy and exercise. If we simply sat around eating crap food and then wondered how our kids joined the ranks of the growing childhood obesity epidemic, we would be kidding ourselves. If we left piles of dishes in the sink and garbage laying around and then wondered why our kids didn't take better care of their toys, we again would be kidding ourselves.

Now don't get me wrong my house is not in prefect condition, far from it. There are dings in the wall that have been filled and sanded but lack paint. There are toys on the floor in various rooms of the house, and I think I may have left the tub toys in the bath after last nights scrub down. I don't spend hours on end cleaning and I don't miss out on the activities of my family simply because my house is tidy...I think next time I will just tell her to screw off.

I am not ashamed....

...to say I watch "The Bachelor", in fact I am proud! I officially make Tuesday "the day after Bachelor day" around here. So if you are not a fan I suggest you become one....

So last night was the season premiere and our darling single dad Jason was back. After being ditched at the alter last season by Deanna, and remember that's De-AH-nna, he is back to find his one true love. Well the pickings are slim. Here are my top three of weirdest bachelorettes....

This is 29 year old Shannon, a dental hygienist. Shannon is definitely a stalker, knowing everything about the bachelor from his birthday and his brother's names to who his siblings are dating. I am willing to bet she has gone through his garbage and watched him from a parked car. She is obsessed with teeth and as my husband so eloquently puts it, hers are able to eat an apple through a barbed wire fence.


Now meet Erica, I am not sure why he has kept her in the running as she appears to be quite gross. I am willing to go out on a limb here and say that this girl can not only belch the alphabet but is probably in the running for being the world's best armpit farter...

Finally we have Stephanie, a 34 year old single mom whose husband died in a plane crash. I am pretty convinced not only is Stephanie not 34 like she says but is also not a woman. I am thinking she is still in the "transitioning" stage. Again, I am willing to go all out and say that she may have boobs but below the waist it is "The Crying Game" for sure.....

Anybody have any favorites yet? or am I the only one brave enough to admit I watch???

Weird

Did anyone catch 20/20 on Friday night? Were you not completely weirded out by these people? For those who were not so lucky and missed it, here's the synopsis. The show was about "Extreme Motherhood" and it showed and discussed some weird and in my opinion slightly twisted aspects of motherhood, birth, and trying to become a mother.

The first segment was on orgasmic birth. Yup you read that right. These women report that not only was birth pain free it was pleasurable-orgasmic! I am sorry, I have had four babies, three with no meds and it was far from orgasmic.

The next was about women who bought these weird and slightly creepy dolls and then pretend they are real babies. They are called "reborns". One woman goes so far as to take her "baby" out in a stroller to the park as if it's real. They have nurseries for them, name them, have Birthday parties for them....I am thinking these women are in need of some serious psychiatric intervention.

Then they profiled woman who act as surrogates for infertile couples, great right? Well the ones they profiled were surrogates to the maximum, having carried 12 or more babies for childless couples. They self admitted being addicted to it. One of the nut jobs inseminates herself at home with a syringe using the man's sperm, very scientific I am sure. So scientific that she actually got pregnant, gave the baby to the awaiting couple only to find out later it was actually the baby of her and her boyfriend.

If that isn't weird enough, what about women who breastfeed their kids well into their elementary school age years. Like let's say 8 or 9...I am all for breastfeeding. I am all for breastfeeding toddlers, but 8 or 9 years old? That is weird, very weird. I really think that woman needs to ask herself who is benefiting more from that relationship, her or the child.

Finally, they looked at home births. I am a big advocate of having your baby at home, but these women not only gave birth at home they chose to do so with NO medical help. No midwife, nothing, just them. Is that not a bit absurd to you?

Trying to figure out my new lens...

Sledding fun...

I was born and raised right here in Canada and yet I still have not gotten used to cold temperatures. In fact, I hate Winter. I am not sure if hate is even a strong enough word to describe the way I feel about it....


Yesterday I decided to go against my love of warmth and join everyone in tobogganing...and it was actually fun! Sam is a complete daredevil and just jumps on and goes, without any fear of personal safety. I was curious to see how Wil was going to do since he has not quite acclimated to the frigid temperatures yet....but, he LOVED it! He does get this look on his face when we go outside and it's really cold out, kind of a "what the hell is wrong with you people" kind of look....

Sam was in his glory on the hill. He flew off more than a few times and not a tear was shed. He just grabbed his sled and ran right back to the top to go again. It was pretty funny considering how nervous he usually is about stuff like this. That night when I was laying with him in bed he said "I got a good 'dea (idea), let's go get me my own sled tomorrow!" I told him we would go out and see if any were still on the store shelves. This morning we found a nice shiny, red sled. Sam is thrilled. Wil was way braver than I thought he would be. He sat on the sled with a perma grin on his face the entire time. About half way down each run he would start laughing. After one wipe out he was still smiling.
As per usual in my house when I went to get some Winter gear on, everything of mine was nowhere to be found. I ended up in Kelsey's jacket, a spare toque, and Grace's gloves.

Grace loved it as usual. She is the kind of kid who finds fun in pretty much anything. Taking Wil down the hill was her favorite part of the day. Check out his grin!

My sister looking ever so stylish in her matching Winter ensemble and me in my potpourri of clothing.

Sam and Wil taking a break.

Phil wearing a hat that everyone including myself think is underwear.

My niece Audrey, was not too thrilled about the experience.

My nephew Jack, was a complete tard on the hill and in typical boy fashion loved every second of it!

Resoulutions...

Do you make them? I am not a fan of New Years resolutions....First because they almost always get broken, so why bother. Second because I think if you really want to make changes in your life and if you are really serious about them you wouldn't have waited til New Year's to do so...

I have decided to not make resolutions but to make "continuations"...to build on things I have already started, to refine them or make them better. Some are important while others are completely superficial. There are quite a few, so here it goes...

1. To continue to go to the gym at least three times per week. To continue building up my speed at which I run on the treadmill and to finally find my bum.

2. To learn more about photography, which is something I am really interested in. I bought a nice Nikon D60 back in the Spring and recently bought a Nikor 50mm f1.8 lens to go with it. I may try a self learning approach or maybe a class or two.

3. To learn some new recipes for dinner. It has only been in the last few months that I finally begun cooking dinner, a task that up until then has been Phil's. I am going to try a few more creative meals this year and conquer my fear of a horrid dinner.

4. I am going to continue taking better care of my skin. I fear wrinkles like the plague and have been very anal lately about which products I use. My skin feels and looks great, so I want to keep it that way.

5. I think the only real "change" I am going to make this year is to slowly become a vegetarian, with the exception of fish. I really do love a good ole juicy steak but after a lot of reading I have come to realize how grossly unhealthy most of the meat we eat truly is. For now I am cutting out red meat and pork and will slowly cut out my yummy chicken. Wish me luck, I have a very meat loving husband.

What about you guys, any resolutions?