Sunday

Day 1 no necessary post but posting anyway
This week in Diane land:
Xavier ran in the semi finals of the 4x100m track relay. He has speedy feet. His team did not move on but it was fun anyway. Another positive this means that track is over so we don't have to get up so early on Monday and Wednesday to get Xavier to track.

Niles got his new Nintendo DS after showing how responsible he was to earn it. Ask him what he has learned about electronics and being responsible. He is also reading quite a bit by himself but won't let me see it in case I want him to show what he can do.

Patience is super cute as always. She can get into just about everything that she wants to with the help of a stool, tells fart jokes to her brothers and gets by on her looks and stunning personality. A regular kind of week for her. When she gets older she will be a good friend because one of her friends she hasn't seen in 9 months but she still says "Keli my fwriend". Cute.

I am going through a cooking rebellion meaning I want nothing to do with cooking and I guess it means that it is time for some new recipes. Going to try to get to have a peanut butter sauce sundae this week because I have been thinking about them. They are nice and I don't have to share them at all. Finding I am out of touch because I gave up Facebook for Lent and am not getting status updates but still not getting anything extra accomplished. Oh well there is always next week. Rob signed me and him up for the 10km run at the Saskatoon Marathon. Something to do I guess. My goal is to beat Rob but he runs really fast. I saw evaporation this week on the pavement the morning before it snowed again and everything refroze. The roads are great! It is a good time trying to go down the street. A real lesson in patience. Slow and steady wins the race.
I tried to take a picture of evaporation with my camera phone but it didn't really get the misty quality. Maybe when I get a better camera.

Day 30-a dream for the future

Last post of the 30 days! Thank-you to all of my loyal readers, whoever you are because you don't comment.... yes that was for you. A dream for the future, I would like to learn French well enough to speak it to others, not just in my head. Maybe then I will go on cool adventures in cool places and meet differently cool people. Then on to Japanese.

Day 29-hope, dreams, and plans for the next 365 days

Mostly I am hoping to make it through the next 365 days with my sanity intact. I find that I am too busy with the kids to do much planning for me. I dream of increasing my skills at my job but that isn't actually up to me and I would like to do more things but mostly one day at a time. I will live in the moment and learn to appreciate everything that comes with being alive. Dreaming leaves so much to be not experienced because you are too busy waiting for the dream moment and not this moment. My small hopes include seeing Gloria ( we don't get to see her as often as I would like), preschool for Patience (?) maybe so I can have an hour to myself, take a class (in all the extra time I have) and camping for the boys. Small plans.

Day 28-what's in my handbag/purse

I just changed purses today so I actually know what is in there. I have my makeup pouch, containing lipstick for me, chapstick for the kids, batteries for the camera and an emergency brush. Next is my Guatemala bag that has my toothbrush, floss and toothpaste in it. I have my purple eel skin wallet, (it is really nice and so roomy) from Robin, and it has wallet things in it. I have a pack of gum at the bottom of my bag so Patience can't find it and one shopping bag, black and white. I also have my cell phone and the case for it. It is a small purse.

Day 27-my worst habit

Two for one day
My worst habit. Facebook. Love it. Rob bugs me about it but I know so much now.

Day 26-your week, in great detail

Like the french my week starts on Monday and ends on Sunday.
Monday: Sleep if I was working nights, or laundry, playing with Patience and cleaning the messy weekend house and lately I have been squeezing in an exercise class on the not sleep week. I would also start supper so it will be mostly ready. That should take me until the boys get home at 4:07. Leave the house at 4:12 to go to Tae Kwon Do. Niles has class at 4:30 and then we wait 45min for Xavier's class at 5:45. Get home around 6:45 gobble the supper I made and rush out the door for Warman band. Get home around 10. Sit on couch and die.
Tuesdays: The easy going day. If Monday was not a sleep day Crystal is coming to clean so I do a quick put away when the boys have gone to school and grab my work out clothes. Move dining room around so I have room, take out weights, etc. Start one load of laundry. 9:30-10:30 workout with Val then a quick stretch and wash to run to Village time. Have lunch with the village, maybe get some groceries (especially if I worked Saturday because there will be no milk), and go home for nap time. Finish load of laundry and start another during nap time. Purge some stuff when the boys won't notice and start supper. I try to make this one fancy-ish because it may be the only meal that there is time in the week. Boys come home. Ensure piano gets practised, check on homework, and make rooms tidy. Boss some more to get table set, dishwasher emptied and laundry put away. Supper. Clean up and rest for a little. I hang in the living room because I can see everything. Get kids ready for bed. Stories and bedtime. Then more clean up and my bed time.
Wednesday: Recycling day. That means I clean out under the sink and take the bottles in. Some weeks I just clean out the sink and put the bottles in the van because it is such a little return that it is not worth it. Then I clean out the fridge, and run any errands that need to and purge the mail. Too much mail. I hate the mail. Boys home, general after school things (see Tues) and then supper and Weds night church. Home, bed.
Thurs: Easy. Wake up. Make coffee go to work. Come home. Tuck kids in. Go to bed. (Rob takes the boys to piano on this day.)
Friday: See Thurs. If I don't work the next day we may do something. (Rob takes the boys to Tae Kwon Do)
Saturday: Leave house before kids wake up. Unsuccessful take at least one to breakfast and then shopping. Make-up day for Tae Kwon Do if we didn't make a class. No plans for the afternoon. Something, nothing, good. If I work nights I nap in the afternoon. If I work days see Thurs.
Sunday: Wake up. Get ready and go to church. Have lunch hopefully at the Museum. Have naps. Small group but I miss most of them for work.

Day 25-your day, in great detail

Saturday is a good day. I usually try to accomplish some things but I wasn't very effective this time. I woke up at 8:00 but the kids had been up for awhile, so much for sleeping in. They had already gotten breakfast so I just harassed them for a bit to make their beds and clean their rooms then I dressed Patience who thinks running away is so funny, and the two of us went to get a haircut. Patience listened and I explained that she could only have a sucker after her haircut and she thought that maybe she could sit this once to get her hair cut. Lovely place, Beaners. It was really busy there so Patience got to sit in the pink jeep to get her hair cut. Patience now looks less like a scruff and more like a little girl. After we paid, which was an experience in itself because the machine was down, we went home for lunch.
Lunch was bean dip, fantastic although bean dip is better with football but we can't change that right now. There will be football soon enough and then what will we do?
After lunch I had a nap to get ready to work nights and when I woke up I made supper. My new and fancy mac and cheese with pesto. Yum. Then I got ready to work and my ride picked me up and off I went.
Then I worked twelve hours and came home. A full and exciting day.

Day 24-where I live

I live in a house in Saskatoon with a lot of mirrors. A lot. There's the 60's for you. It does make the living area appear to be quite large and it is. Really a lot of space. We truly are blessed. I even found it on google maps. It is not a bad picture because I have never bothered to take a picture of the outside. Many of you have been to my house but for those of you who have not now you have some good directions. (Attach smiley face here).

My house even has a white fence. Cool and strange all at the same time. Makes for some good play time. It is unfortunate that it is not fully enclosed but the kids are old enough to stay in with Patience if I have to run in. There is a sand box, always a hit, and swings, and a slide. Face it. We have the cool yard.

We also live in some killer prairie. What a great place to live. Look up and there is sky. Look around there are beautiful things to see. The grass is cool. I love thinking how the great glaciers shaped this place. Awesome.

As a bonus today you are getting lego scenes. The talent of Xavier made this possible.

Day 23-a YouTube video

I love this video but I can never remember what it is called so I google Lightbrite song and I always find it. You think I would learn but I never waste time learning what I can find so easily in Google.

Day 22-a website

I like to hang out here. It resonates with me as I am trying to raise free range kids as well. It is interesting. FreeRangeKids

Day 21-a recipe

My favourite football recipe;

Bean Dip (by Diane)

Beans lots (two cans, I usually use half a pot, black beans, kidney and pintos are good, but white beans are not)

Onion, 1

Salsa, 1/2-1cup

Old cheddar, 1/2 cup grated

Finely chop onion and begin cooking in heavy pan with some oil until translucent. Add beans. Mash with potato masher until mashed. Add some water to make a soupy consistency. Stir, bring to a simmer. Add salsa, stir in well. Let return to simmer. Bit by bit add cheese stirring between additions. Let simmer until consistency of dip but remember that will get thicker as stands.

Hope you like it.

Day 20-a hobby of yours

I think my hobby is brooding. It is amazing what I spend my time obsessing about and what I do in response to that.

Day 19-a talent of yours

Having thought about it I would say that my talent is being assertive, giving direction well as necessary. That is important to do because everyone just wants to be told what to do. They don't want to be in charge. I can also be talented at taking direction when it is offered. Try it some time, but you better be prepared with what comes next because I have a short attention span.

Day 18-my wedding/future wedding/past wedding

Our wedding was great. We had it in a city park, the tree park we call it. (President Murray I just discovered). An affordable wedding, parks are free as long as you don't rent chairs. We did it in two months, so about 150 people attended because we did not give a lot of time leeway and it was summer. It was a beautiful day.

There were only two attendants , which is sad, but Rob didn't have any friends, so one each. Now if we did it again we could have more because Rob isn't so friendless any more. That would be nice because I have more than one friend.

We went in-line skating in our dress clothes and drank Slurpees. There are pictures of us skating. In fact in the print that we handed out we are still wearing our skates so I am holding on for dear life on the stairs. It was so hot in the morning but it didn't rain and the wedding was in the afternoon so it wasn't too hot by then. Besides it was on the grass and there were trees. A relaxed affair. You got to sit in your own chair and it was near a playground for the kids. Now they have expanded the playground so when we bring the kids we are playing where we got married (or at least where everyone sat).

The nice thing about doing things so quickly that there was not a lot of time to stress out. The details were taken care of and everything happened and we got married. Good that was the point.

Day 17-an art piece (drawing, sculpture, painting, etc.)

Kandinsky Farbstutie Quadrate 1913 (follow the link for more information about Kandinsky and the original link to the picture. Thank-you Word-press.com)

I like this picture. I bought the print in university and had it hung until I broke the frame. One day I will get another and it will hang again. I like the circles in the squares.

Day 16-a song that makes you cry (or nearly)

Since I was a small child I Don't Want to Live on the Moon by Jeff Moss has mad me cry (or nearly). It is really sad when Ernie is looking down on his friends and can't be with them. I even bought the book for Xavier when he was little and it took me months to be able the read it to him.

Another one is You Are My Sunshine performed by Anne Murray. I can't even get through the first line. This version is for Jasmine if she ever blogstalks me. The video is not great but the song so good.

Day 15-your dream house

My dream house is an Eaton's catalogue house. The two story one with a wrap around porch, a big kitchen and room for family but I would make the doorways bigger and make an elevator shaft in one of the closets so I would never have to move again. I would also pimp out the kitchen. Then I would paint it yellow and white.

I love going to the Western Development Museum to check out house plans and look at the model. Too bad you can't go upstairs.

Day 14-a non-fiction book

I See Rude People

According to the cover this book is "One woman's battle to beat some manners into impolite society", and funny all at the same time. I read it because I see them too and I wanted to know what she was doing about it. While I don't agree with everything she does I do think it is great that she is taking on the anonymity that keeps society separate and unwilling to stand up for politeness. It was a good book. Reminds me of my sisters.