Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Married to a Chicken

An actual conversation I just had with Madeleine. It was a result of her reading her vocab sentences to me; her goal is always to make her teacher laugh.

Madeleine: Is the Easter Bunny a boy or a girl?
Me: A boy.
Madeleine: He must be married to a chicken.

Thursday, April 23, 2009

My Mental Health Retreat




This month I left the kids in Jeff's capable hands and went off on what is now referred to as my Mental Health Retreat (yes, the capitalization is necessary). I went to my sister Deanna's in Oklahoma and then to see the Timothys in Phoenix. I'm happy to report that the trip was long enough to cause me to miss my family and I was happy to come home. These pictures are from the Desert Botanical Garden, where they also had an exhibit by the glass sculpture artist Chihuly.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Field Trip





Madeleine was kind of enough to invite me on her drama club's field trip to see Mary Poppins on Broadway. It was a lot of fun but absolutely freezing! And at the risk of sounding old, it took me two days to recover.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

25 Random Things About Me

I know, I know, everyone out there is just begging for more exciting facts about me. I recently got tagged by a couple of people doing these lists, and surprised myself by getting into it. I loved reading about my friends, so here are my 25 random things.
If you're not my friend on Facebook yet, you should be.

1. I love my office. I love having my own space in my house with a door on it - now I just need to take my mother's advice and put a lock on it.

2. I love my computer, I thought I couldn't love a computer as much as my old PowerBook, but the iMac is awesome.

3. I used to wish that I could figure out how to read and walk at the same time, so I could read more often.

4. I'm sad when I finish a really good book because I don't want it to be over.

5. I broke my arm at the growing point when I was four and had to have it pinned together. My parents waited until I was fully grown to tell me that they weren't sure if it was going to grow - I'm glad they waited to tell me that. (Anyone who has been to a baptism where my dad gives a talk on the Holy Ghost knows this story well - I told him to warn me next time so I can buff up my scar before showing it off.)

6. I've spent my whole life not knowing what I want to be when I grow up. I still don't feel like an adult.

7. I had to go to speech therapy for a few years when I was little - no one could understand me except for my immediate family. I am still paranoid about it.

8. I love to bake, but I think most people know that. I just hate to clean up.

9. I spent my life getting out of gym class. I have probably attended fewer gym classes than anyone I know. I now like going to the Y, partly for the endorphins and partly for the babysitting.

10. I like to work on the house, but only if I have good instructions. I have a Home Depot how-to book that I consult. I especially like to paint.

11. I find that I go mental if I don't have a certain amount of time to myself. Suffice it to say, I am mental fairly often.

12. Last winter I hiked out onto the ice to visit my brother's ice fishing hut. It was actually much cozier than I thought it would be.

13. I don't mind cleaning toilets but I hate dusting.

14. I didn't learn to drive until I was 20. I didn't see the point.

15. I have naturally straight teeth.

16. I just learned to whistle a few years ago. I tried all my life, never gave up, and look where it got me! I'm now a mediocre whistler!

17. It also took me about 20 years to learn to make decent pie crust. Of course, I wasn't practicing the entire time, but still.

18. I'm Canadian. Born in Etobicoke, Ontario, lived in Bramalea and Barrie as well. I'm a resident alien here, and in case you're wondering, I have no interest in becoming an American citizen. People like to ask about that. Before you get offended, it's nothing personal, just not willing to turn my back on my birth country.

19. I love Pearls Before Swine. The comic strip. It's the best. I'd like to become Rat someday, he's my role model. Oh, and I love Dilbert and Foxtrot too.

20. I have a dent in my left cheek. On my face, that is. Everyone thinks it's a dimple, but I got it from twirling until I got dizzy and falling into the corner of an end table. (I think I'd better add that I was a small child at the time.)

21. I love Chinese food. And blueberry pie, but it has to be with little blueberries, not the big ones.

22. I love chocolate, and I have produced a child who is largely indifferent to it. That would be Madeleine.

23. I like names with double vowels, hence Madeleine and Claire.

24. I'm a closet Battlestar Galactica fan - but I guess I'm not in the closet anymore. I also love Dwight Schrute; of course, he loves Battlestar Galactica too.

25. I've always wanted to be a writer. I spent most of my life being too chicken to try it, but I've recently discovered that it doesn't matter if what I write is ever published, or even if it's never read by anyone but me. I started writing in earnest this last fall and I love doing it. The process alone is reward enough. Of course, making money at it would be totally great too...

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Deck the Halls



Fortunately for me, this year Malcolm decided to take charge of the tree and its trimming, so he took care of everything! Now if only he could get Claire to leave the dang ornaments on the tree.

5 More Days!

In case you can't tell, I've decided to embrace the philosophy of my good friend Julie and shamelessly promote my own birthday. I used to bemoan the fact that it was so close to Christmas, I used to think that people should really remember with no promptings from me. Well, I'm living in the real world now. 5 more days, people!

Thursday, December 4, 2008

For Informational Purposes...

18 days 'til my birthday! Just in case you wanted to know.