Pip and Mommy Duet

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-mZJnL6cguY

Here's to Perky

Pic is when I was 19 and working with immigrant children new to Canada.
I am presenting info on diversity in Education next week in class. I've unearthed a few old photos of that summer for my power point.
This has been the worst winter for flu bugs of all sorts. It was the winter I received 2 flu vaccs and yet also the winter I have had 3-4 different bugs in the last 2 months!
Mist has a very busy weekend planned with volley ball practice, sleepover party at a friends and then dance video practice. That girl keeps us so busy!
Tabs and Pip will hang with their folks and of course want their cousins over!
I have to meet classmates for a presentation practice on Sunday and plan to take it easy Saturday.
I will be so grateful when flu season is behind us! It will be so wonderful to be myself again after the last 2 months of yuck.
Tonight I think we'll take Tabs and Pip to "Tooth Fairy" or Sunday--depending on how perky we all feel tonight.

Ying Yang

Pip and Artemis and their many uses of a faux leather, pink cowgirl skirt! I made the skirt for Tabitha and a matching one for Mistaya years ago. Tabs was only two. She knew a thing or two about fashion though. I brought her the finished skirt and asked her if she liked it. She held it up to her face looked down the waistband and yelled, "Hello down there!" She was bang on! The skirt resided in the dress-up trunk from that day forward until the twosome above unearthed it as a new fancy "crown."
Torch relay in down town Kelowna last night. As I reported already on facebook, the experience was both ying and yang. I took my 3 girls and my 2 nieces. We couldn't find parking so we parked at the Grand Hotel parkade. We ran like crazy down water street to make the relay in time. Just as we reached the parade, the torch bearer ran by. We lucked out! The girls were thrilled. Then we decided to walk several blocks to a coffee house. On arrival I made the discovery that I'd left my wallet in the van. No worries though. A dashing gentleman offered to treat all the girls to whatever they wanted! It turned out Mist had ten dollars so we thanked him for his kind offer but declined.
Finally we made it back to the van to discover a note written to me on the side of it, "Nice parking asshole!" Such  is life!
Busy day. Cupcake tour with the tots this morning. Mist is at a friends and Tabs is just home from dance.
And I received a lovely bag a chocolate covered macadamia nuts from Miranda who has returned toady from her Hawaii adventure.
Will devote time tomorrow to finishing my presentation as today was a work right off. I have come up with a tres exciting plan be for my future career. It feels very good to have an exciting plan A & B. I feel good about my job prospects and artistic fulfillment now.
Booked our 3 nights in Kamloops next month. Peter had a conference so we'll relax in a hotel and visit my parents. We have all these free coupons to use up for the Fairmont this month. Yet I just don't feel like driving to Banff or Vancouver to use them. I hate long, mountain car trips in the winter. And I would push for a tropical trip to use them up but if we're going to Asia, we need to save all our flight points. Letting Fairmont points go to waste hurts.

Go Canada!

Mist on her way to a '50's party. The shoes are mine (purchased years ago at a garage sale)--original AAA 1950 saddle oxfords, never worn--they fit Mist and I perfectly. The dress I made for myself when I was 19 and the sweater I bought for myself from Esprit when I was 18. It pays to save great fashion.
Tonight the Olympic torch comes to Kelowna along with many celebrations at City Park. The girls really want to go but I am also looking after Artemis and Nemi and I don't know how to manage five little girls, downtown at night in -1 C weather. It would be fine but they are closing all the roads so we'll have to walk a long way to get to the park. However, Mist and Tabs have tattooed themselves red with Go Canada! and maple leaf motifs.
Took my gals to Opa for supper as Peter is in Vernon at a supper.
Finally back at the gym--spinning and weights--it felt great! I forgot how much thinking one can do while lifting weights. The good news is I only have to get up at 5:30 AM on Mondays and Fridays now. The rest I can sleep in until 6:01 AM, yay!

Birthday Baby

Tabitha's 10th birthday party. Pictures from top: 1.Tabby's cake she decorated herself (the centre part) 2. Tabs and Nem Karaoke 3. Mist and friend Karaoke 4. Musical chairs.
The party was a great success. The two 3 year olds (Pip and Artemis) found musical chairs too much stress for them. They were the first two out and the tears...oh those little tears!
A busy weekend. Friday night Tabs party. Saturday I had class and Pip had a party to attend and Mist attended a party Saturday night. Today I took the girls and Nem to H2o Centre for an afternoon of swimming.
Thank goodness Peter is now our weekend chef. I LOVE not cooking on the weekend. Peter has again made his specialty of burgers and home made fries. I give him complete autonomy to make whatever he wants even if it doesn't meet my nutrition standards.
I watched "Cairo Time" the Canadian movie. It was VERY good. I loved it.
Tuesday I have the good fortune of taking Pip and Artemis to "Cup-ccasions" field trip--a tour of a cup cake bakery. It will be a busy week as I have to prepare a presentation for Friday.
Feeling good about my new workout style. I am no longer all about PUSHING myself harder, farther, faster, heavier, steeper, longer. NO more. I am doing my usual weekly exercise but on the weekend it is Saturday completely workout free and Sunday I only do a family sport with the little gals. No more having to do a major hike or run on those mornings. YAY! I am looking forward to having much more fun and laid back weekends.
I also must devote myself to more meditation. I have slacked off and my mind is weaker because of it. I love Buddhism. It makes the universe make sense to me and it is quite comforting to read Buddhist philosophy.

January at the Duck Pond

Pip and I out and about yesterday afternoon.
Tabs Birthday party tonight. Twelve little girls. Karaoke, piniata, musical chairs and hot potato. Tabs insisted on an in-house party. She also insisted on a DQ cake with yellow and blue roses around the edge. She is going to decorate the rest of it herself using icing tubes and gels.
Beautiful sunshine today. Spring seems to be here rather early--but I am not complaining! Rented "Whiteout" last night partly because it is a Canadian film and partly because it is supposed to take place in Antarctica. It was entertainig enough. Made me realize that I have lived through -60 oC with the wind chill! I remember being so grumpy (as a sales associate at Filenes Fashions) if anyone dared come into the store because I thought the entire city of Saskatoon should have shut down and was irritated that I had to go to work in that weather. Oh, those prairie winters--what doesn't kill you makes you stronger--they never leave the psyche.
School for me tomorrow. I had too big a break from it. My mind isn't there. I am nervous to start again as I feel so removed from my Masters at this point.
As for travel...Tibet is a no go for me. But it looks like Peter and I will do Malaysia and South Asia--if we can find a babysitter! My dream is to visit the orang utan refuge and photograph the orag utans and then paint a portrait series of them.
I am still leaning toward doing a PhD after this MA. But of course, these are big, hard decisions.

Granny and Ganddad's

The girls hanging out at their grandparents this past week.
Back to the drawing board. Starting a new year a little late due to emergencies. However, I found I could not get back into my old routine of jumping out of bed at 5:30 to head to the gym. That is going to take some prodding.
Theresa arrives this afternoon and she is treating us to a Spa day at The Delta Grand Spa. Miranda can't join us as she is working and is extra busy because she leaves to do research in Hawaii on Wednesday morning (I want to go with her next research project!).
Tabby's party is this friday night. She is having a karaoke themed event for her 10th birthday.
The house is a mess. I never seem to have the time to clean it. Any spare time I have I have to work on my Masters.
Peter and I went to "It's Complicated" last night. Entertaining. Meryl Streep was great. The kids they cast to play her children were a bit wussy and Alec Baldwin had mean eyes. He looks like he could be a really mean, selfish man.
*my spell checker isn't working so please forgive the mistakes!

Hiking at Lac Du Bois

The pics are from this morning. I found an agate rock on our hike.
I pray that the two most stressful weeks of this year (life) are behind me.
As I have blogged, I have been stricken with gastritis for a month (most likley a duedenal ulcer) and to compound matters, I caught a gastric virus. The combination made me bedridden in agoney for a week. My mom took the bus to Kelowna to help me.
Just as I turned the corner, we received a phone call from my father. He had a rapid heart-beat and was admitted into emergency. My mom decided to take the bus home early the mext morning. However, we received the worst phone call of our lives at 4AM Wednesday from the hospital. The drug they gave my dad to slow down his heart had stopped it. Lucky for him, he is in incedible shape and the hospital staff were able to use their hands and chest-compress his heart to start again.
I loaded up our van with the kids, my mom, Peter and Fernando and drove straight to Kamloops on a very dark, and thickly fogged morning. Peter was flying to Vancouver for a conference but managed to change his flight to fly out of Kamloops.
Mom and I arrived at the hospital to find out he needed to have surgery the next day for a pacemaker. He is incredibly fit, thin and healthy but he has a syndrom that causes his heart to beat irratically on occassion. Thursday afternoon he had the surgery and we brought him home Friday, He is doing well and has his incredible enthusiasm and energy back already--he wants to teach next week.
The greatest story he tells is how the sedative drug affected his mind--he was in Bangkok Thailand, wearing skis and having great difficulty getting around!
Peter came back to meet us in Kamloops and my family drove home today. My sis Theresa is now in Kamloops visiting.

Maniac Returns

Me age 8.
Slowly returning to my preacute gastritis self. The one that had chronic gastritis but not acute! Oh yay! It takes a serious illness to make one appriciate the low grade ones!
On a good note, I took my mom to one of my thrifting haunts (hadn't been in months). And my, oh my....the thrifting maniac returns. WOW! The treasures! I found two golden hand blown Canadian 50's glass --a bowl and a vase. They are big, ornate and beautiful. I also picked up 2 (mint) 1950 orange appolstered swivel stools for my kitchen bar--orange is my new favorite colour. And a pounded-aluminum chocolate fondue pot and lid.
SO, there you have it. I felt a little weak after the trip but it was good to be well enough to go out again.
All 3 girls are home today--headache and tummy trouble.

Princess Pip on Christmas Morn

Our darling littlest princess on Christmas morning. She loves to be glam!
Recovering slowly from the worst gastritis know to human kind. Missed my first class. My darling mom is here to help with the house and kiddies. I need to her to stay forever!  Must take meds to control digestion and stay on a simple bland diet for a long while. In fact I may never eat as carelessly as I have in the past--Strong tea on empty stomach with a piece of dark chocolate on the side were regular activities for me.
I don't want to loose any weight. I really need to be able to eat again!
I rest with DVDs of Friends, Seinfeld, Full House... and hot packs on my abs.
Who knows how this gut irritation happened to hit me and become so inflamed. It has been building for a month with several trips into emergency for help--none found. Waiting 6 hours with no doctor in sight and having to go home again in agony.   Put more money into our Med system BC government!!!
WIll rest up.

Thud

Mistaya on Christmas morn, trying out a Harry Potter style jelly bean (must be toothpaste rather than vomit flavour--she's smiling).
Peter's Birthday was on the 2nd and Tabitha's yesterday. They both had good days. Peter and I went to Avatar--a beautiful and engaging fantasy world. Definitely worth a watch. Although it was a little long and too much video-game style violence near the end.
Tabs had a great day doing whatever her heart desired with the family and her big "friend" party will take place in a few weeks. She received a digital camera from Peter and I and has not stopped excitedly snapping pics of everything!
A New Year. It's started out with a thud. I am not feeling well yet.
 My posts will be painfully boring as I am not up to doing anything. However, my vet thinks it is an ulcer. Why go to a human doctor I ask? Vets know so much more.
My girls started school today. I am looking after Pip and Artemis and I start school on Saturday.

Happy 2010!

Dance, Dance, where ever you may be...
To celebrate the New Year I treated myself to this uplifting photo series taken of me by Peter. I have had a bug all Christmas holiday and as my dearest confidents know, I don't do sick very well. My mental health starts to go south when I am ill. Boredom starts and then anxiousness and then panic.
So, to perk myself up, I fooled around with this photo series and posted it because it is New Years day and it is time to have fun again!
New Years Eve was a family night watching Imax movies on the LCD projector in our family room with appetizers. Thank-you Grace and family for the amazing Imax movie collection! What a great gift! We are so excited to have Friday night Imax nights at our place with homemade pizza and the LCD projector. We watched one about Antarctica and let me tell you, those male elephant seals are horrid! They fight, not caring if they suffocate and kill any pups or females in their path--how the female elephant seals can tolerate them is beyond me!
My darlings have all been out skating with their dad. Even the Maplelea Dolls put on their skates and took to the ice.
Skiing is for the birds--if I can get out once a season I'm lucky--the time, money, and organization it takes to accomplish a day at the hill with the family is no easy feat and then add winter bugs to the equation and it leaves very little time one is even up to doing it. I say this yet as soon as I am better , I'll be singing a new tune!
Thank goodness they are all having fun with their dad. It is Peter's birthday tomorrow and Tabs on Sunday. Yes, birthday fever time at our house!
I am taking Mist out with me to get a few items even though I still have that blasted low grade fever!
I'm beginning to believe it is an odd virus that is taking its sweet time leaving my system.
Anway, this holiday has reinforced my true career desires and I will tackle them. I believe I may even start to paint asap again. At least I will go  tramping through the wilderness doing the photo shoots I need. I do love photography.