Disaster 2013?

Here's hoping that this was the worst event of 2013.

I'm really not so naive to think that the first month could bring the worst but a girl can dream.

Yesterday this happened to the Yaris.

There's not much more to say.

I will tell you this.

Jeff was not at fault.

Silver lining.

The kids were not in the car.

Silver lining.

Jeff was not seriously hurt {a mild concussion which pales in comparison to those from his hockey days}.

Silver lining. {The not serious part, not the concussion part.}

We're not sure what the fate of the Yaris will be, though Jeff is fairly certain she's a goner.

In that case I would like to say a few words.

Little Blue Yaris, you were a great car.

Sorry Jeff's friends made fun of you so much.

Sorry I only cleaned you once a year {if that}.

We took advantage of your reliability and you never complained.

Thanks for being such a low-maintenance friend.

And in conclusion, thanks for always squeezing us into those fabulous parking spots.

The Welder in Action

Just popping by today to share some shop pics with you.

As you may remember, we recently acquired some new equipment to make our shop one of the best in the city.

This is our new Pro Spot I4 welder at work.

I should also mention that we have a new bodyman, Gabe.

He's been with us since the beginning of the year and we couldn't be happier to have him on board.

Snow Much Fun

We headed to Sylvan Lake for a 4th birthday celebration this weekend.

As usual Julie put on a fabulous party with great food, decorations and an amazing cake.

The highlight of the day for us though was the activity chosen by the birthday girl.

Tobogganing!

I was not a diligent party goer and obviously did not read the invitation thoroughly.

My family was very ill-prepared for sliding our bums down snow covered hills.

Luckily, there were extra snow pants rustled up for Fiona so she could partake.

Fiona has been tobogganing with my parents before so was happy to go again.

We were a little more apprehensive but at 2&3/4 the little chicken needed a companion.

I stepped up first but it wasn't long before she was requesting that "Daddy 'boggan wif me".

By the end we may have been a little wet but were having a great time.

I even took Cedric on his first trip down the hill.

{Thanks for taking this pic Jules.}

My Evening With Oprah

You know, just an intimate gathering of, I don't know, 10,000?

That's a guess obviously but you get the point.

The seats were packed with Edmontonians but we weren't alone.

There were people that came from out of town, out of province and even out of country.

All to catch a bit of the magic that is Oprah Winfrey.

I didn't even consider buying tickets.

As you know, we are not in the position to be spending on such luxuries.

Then out of the blue {though Oprah says there's no such thing} my Mom calls me up, informs me that she's going and invites me along!

{Thanks Mom, extra thanks since I just now noticed the ticket price.}

I wore tights you guys, a skirt and tights, any excuse to get dressed up you know.

Wonderful Husband came home early to give us lots of time to get settled.

We took a back route and made it to Rexall Place in record time, leaving an hour to get settled.

I thought at first that this would land us in a deserted arena.

Not the case.
At all.

The place was buzzing.

Bottlenecks were forming at the doors.

Line ups were forming at the ladies restrooms, prompting some of the mens to be temporarily converted.

Either everyone was really excited to see Oprah or the punctuality was due to the abundance of X chromosomes {sorry guys, it's a little true though right?}.

Maybe a little of both.

I mean, this was an important night.

As she herself remarked, Oprah has raised many of us.

I have memories at ten years old of my Mom quickly making an instant coffee, grabbing some social teas and settling in for Oprah after work.

I can't count how many times she or I have said, "On Oprah..." or "Oprah says...".

Too many "aha" moments to count.

Now, I promised a little inspiration.

This was mine, I do not expect it to resonate with everyone.

The beauty of this event though, was that there were so many great moments that it would be near impossible to walk away without your own "aha{s}".

~Your life is defined not by how successful you are but by how significant you are.~

This is not a direct quote since I couldn't get it in my iphone fast enough and continue to listen to the wisdom.

I just love the idea that we could measure the "success" of our company not by how many dollars we make but by how we put those dollars and our time back into service in our community.

This very idea came up in a recent planning meeting.

We all had this same sentiment but you can count on Oprah to put it so eloquently.

Back in Commission {Warning: Possible TMI}

I couldn't wait to get blogging yesterday.

I was full of inspiration that I just had to share {courtesy of Oprah}.

Then the unthinkable happened.

Well, not unthinkable, really. 

I should know by now that the following will happen at least once each winter.

I started feeling "off" while soaking in Oprah's wisdom.

By the time I got home at 10pm I couldn't wait to get myself to bed.

At 11pm I just knew.

I popped up out of bed and headed straight to the bathroom.

Feeling much better after ridding my stomach of it's contents, I went back to sleep.

Like clockwork, midnight came and back up.

This unfortunate routine continued, at least hourly, until 6am.

The next morning brought exhaustion, a pounding headache and no appetite.

In other words, I felt amazing.

I was just so thankful to not be violently nauseas.

It's that whole hit-yourself-with-the-hammer-so-it-feels-better-when-you-stop idea.

Today I'm back to the land of the living.

I'm actually doing dishes, cleaning and I even put on make-up.

{It may not sound like much but this is big ok?}

A special thanks to Christy for dropping off a care package and to Jenna for offering to do the same.
I really have the best friends!

So back to it, lots of catching up to do.

Hopefully tomorrow I can find the time to inspire you.

The Pursuit of Their Happiness

I really want my kids to find their thing.

You know, the activity that you can't wait to go to.

Not the one that you like but you fake sick once in a while to get out of.

The one that you go to anyways and try to cover up the illness.

I liked playing soccer as a child {for fun} but didn't enjoy the games.

I played the flute as a pre-teen and really enjoyed playing {for fun, at home, by myself} but lessons were a drag.

When I found my "thing" {at 15 years old} it changed my life.

I thought about colorguard everyday all day and couldn't wait for rehearsal nights.

{For those of you who are all "color-whaaa?" check this video out.}

That's what I want for them, whatever it may be.

Now, confession time.

Although all of the above is true, I also really hope that one of them choose ballet as their "thing".

We started a parented dance class and the moment I put those little pink slippers on Fiona I was sunk.

The world of ballet is so appealing to me, from this outsiders perspective at least.

I am well aware of some of the negatives to this art form, particularly body image issues.

It just warms my heart to think of her little body achieving such beautiful movement.

So far Fiona's a much bigger fan of hockey and gymnastics but I'm not throwing in the towel yet.

Besides, if she opts out I can always hope Cedric has a mini-Baryshnikov waiting to jete out.

Post-Christmas Detox

No, I am not going on a cleanse or starting a juice diet, promise.

{I am interested in doing green smoothies though, mental note.}

I'm not the only one in this house who needs to detox.

And, I'm certain that submitting a toddler and baby to a fad diet is a form of child-abuse.

You know how it is.

The month leading up to Christmas is chock full of goodies.

And don't even get me started on the hoard we have afterwards.

As far as I'm concerned we can't eat it up fast enough.

This is part of the problem for me.

I justify gorging on gifted chocolate by telling myself that it's better to rid our house of it quickly.

We all know this isn't true though.

It's worse, much much worse {says my stomach}.

One of my Mom{the dietitian}'s great lines is "better to waste than to waist".

As in, if it's not worth it toss it.

Every year I try, I really do, but it doesn't happen.

It's all gone to waist.

And not just mine.
This was the first year that Fiona really was old enough to be aware of the "treats".
It's not that she's completely deprived for the rest of the year but the moderation I usually try to practice goes out the window during the first and last months {despite my best efforts}.
Now the post-holiday slump has left us with a treat-addicted-sugar-withdrawing little girl.
I hear mention of "tr-eats" multiple times per day and don't know how to stop it.
I'm guessing that this will have to be one of those "time heals all" afflictions.

In the meantime, anyone have a good "green smoothie" recipe they want to share?