Erica online

Friday, March 31

Cute Little Idea...

I thought this was cute.
If its a little blurry, just click on the text and that will make it readable.


Erica at 2:17 PM
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Thursday, March 30

Tagged...

I was tagged by Cindy awhile ago but it has taken me awhile to respond. I just couldn't take the pressure but I figure by now, everyone who reads her blog and knows I was tagged has forgotten all about it. Now the pressure to perform is gone as they have lowered their expections of my responses and just think that I am unreliable...that's much better!

So here goes Cindy...

Four Jobs I've Had:
1. Research Assistant for Psychologist (NOT as a lab rat)
2. Receptionist for Chiropractor
3. Cook in Nursing Home
4. Childcare worker in a Day Care Center

Four Movies/Shows I've Been Addicted To:
1. Pride and Prejudice (BBC version)
2. Friends (that Chandler cracks me up)
3. Naked Archaeologist (still love it!!)
4. So I Married an Axe Murderer

Four Places I've Lived:
1. Winnipeg, MB
2. Wabowden, MB (look it up)
3. Lynn Lake, MB
4. Sexsmith, AB

Four Countries I Would Like to Visit:
1. Israel
2. Jamaica
3. Cuba
4. France

Four Popular FALSE Assumptions About Me:
1. I am a ditz (don't get that one as much any more)
2. I am an extrovert
3. I can dance (soooooo wrong!!)
4. I am confident

Four People I Look Like:

1. My daughter Rebecca (then)
2. My cousin Lara...3. My dad...but without the beard.



4. My sister Cheryl - whose picture I will not post without asking her permission- she knows where I live!!!

Four Things I Hope to Do Before I Die:
1. Watch my children excel in their chosen fields of whateverness
2. Watch my daughters fall (and stay) in love
3. Travel alot
4. Buy my husband a smart car

Four People I Tag Next:
1. Rebecca (because her answers will entertain me)
2. Mom (because she'll have nothing to do in the next 10 days)
3. Lynne (because I'm curious to see who she looks like)
4. Gail (because she needs to update her blog)
Erica at 7:32 AM
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Wednesday, March 29

Did It Work?

I tried editing my profile on blogger so there is a picture when I comment on people's blogs.
I tried it once, and it didn't work.
What happened to the picture I added to the profile?
Will it show up here when I post?

It is a mystery to me?
Any computer wizards out there that can help me?
Erica at 2:52 PM
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Tuesday, March 28

Mountain of Knowledge...

I imagine life to be like an open field of opportunity. John Locke the English philosopher wrote in 1690 that the human mind is a tabula rasa, a blank slate that is written upon by the experience of life.

From birth we all search for truth and understanding. We learn a little, and then build on that knowledge until we begin to formulate truths that are consistant. We end up standing on our little mountains looking down on those who have a smaller hill or looking up admiringly at those who seem to have built the alps in their time on earth.
I have my little mountain too!

Here is the kicker.
There are things I have spent years processing and I thought I had figured somethings out pretty well. I had my own formulas worked out concerning church, mercy, judgment and love.
Then God comes and speaks in the middle of the night, quiet gentle truths...and what happens???

A tiny eye-dropper of truth from heaven and my mighty mountain of knowledge melts away in an instant and I am left gaping at the ocean of my own ingnorance!

Once again, I am undone and I am loving every minute of it!
Truth is the best drug in the world and I'm high again!
Erica at 1:44 PM
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Sunday, March 26

La Nostalgie...

Five years ago today at 4:20 am, my life changed forever.
I became a parent for the first time.
In one emotionally charged, exhausting moment Rebecca Anne Seales came into the world.
Being the take charge girl that she is, she entered the world with a raised fist and a quiet, squeaky little cry.

Now she is five years old, and nothing has changed.
She is still a demure, polite, quiet girl, unless justice isn't served then she will wail until things are "done right".

Happy 5th Birthday Princess Warrior!!!
You are a blessing to your family!
Erica at 3:13 PM
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Thursday, March 23

Creepy-Crawlies...

Today the girls had a fieldtrip with their pre-school to the pet store.
They touched frogs, snakes, lizards, turtles and other creatures (bugs) that make me feel all....
UUHHHHHHMMMMBRRRRRRR!!!
*shutter*

They also petted cute little bunnies, and puppies and kitties.
That was fun.

I'm just not into the reptile pet thing.
Its too real for me!
Erica at 12:41 PM
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Wednesday, March 22

Thoughts on Friendship...

Fireworks are beautiful. I love to watch them on New Year's Eve and Canada Day, but if there were fireworks everyday, they would quickly lose their appeal. The attraction is the "thrill" of bright lights and loud noises, these attributes over an extended period of time become annoying.

Some friends that come into our lives are like fireworks. Its all fun, and flashy and exciting but the relationship doesn't have staying power. If you were a ship lost at sea, you wouldn't want to be guided by fireworks! That would have you spinning in circles!
When you hit storms in life, you need a lighthouse. Just the one, simple, steadfast light will do the job. It is our "lighthouse" friends that get us home safely when we are lost.

What I love most in life is finding a friend I can trust, who will share their heart and listen to my heart. This can not be every friend that I make. Some people are fireworks and some are lighthouses. I am learning to know the difference and not jump in before I know what I'm getting into.

This is what they call in Christianese "guarding your heart". I think the ability to discern (a word adopted by Christianese from English) the difference will make me a better friend and a better acquaintance, as well as resulting in fewer broken hearts for moi!!!
Erica at 9:04 AM
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Tuesday, March 21

STRE-E-E-E-TCH...

Anyone who has ever grown or matured in any capacity is aware of the feeling of being stre-e-e--e-e-e-e-etched!
Anytime something new or different (even a good thing) is required of a person, the first reaction is to curl up in the fetal position and hang on to the "old" way of doing things. To really embrace change means letting go and feeling the stre-e-e-e-e-tch, no matter how uncomfortable or scary.

It seems this is a season of transition for many people in my life. I am no exception.

Transition (simply put, change in circumstances) requires that we react differently. The circumstance is foreign, so the reaction to circumstance is foreign to us.
I've noticed this strange reaction to a strange circumstance tends to shed light on issues of identity.
eg. If I am behaving strangely, is this who I am or was the way I used to behave really who I am...is one more right or wrong than the other? Which person am I? Which do I want to be?

If that is a confusing paragraph, let me use a more concrete example.

A stay-at-home mom has her youngest child enter school full-time. She has spent the last 10 years caring for small children, running her home and being...well, a mom! Now she has no children to care for, and has all day to think about things she hadn't had time to consider before.
This may cause discomfort or a feeling of emptiness.
This uneasiness is enough to make a person question their identity.
What should she do to ease her discomfort?
Should she begin to take in small children and begin an in-home day-care to ease her sense of discomfort with this loss of identity as "mom" or "care-giver to small children"
OR
Should she use the time, embrace the discomfort/despair/confusion and figure out who this "new" person/identity is?

I tend to side with confusion.
Big Surprise!

So in this season of transition, while I figure out this 30 year old me, I may be a little confused, a little uncomfortable, and perhaps even a little strange(r).
But I'm not afraid, and if part of growth is growing pains...so be it, because what's on the other side of death is life, and what's on the other side of winter is spring!

11Look around you: Winter is over;
the winter rains are
over, gone!
12Spring flowers are in blossom all over.
The whole world's a choir--and singing!
Spring warblers are filling the forest
with sweet arpeggios.
13Lilacs are
exuberantly purple and perfumed,
and cherry trees
fragrant with blossoms.
Oh, get up, dear friend,
my fair and beautiful lover--come to me!

Song of Songs 2:11-13
The Message
Erica at 9:53 AM
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Sunday, March 19

State of Mind...

I have not posted on my blog in the last few days.
Not because I have nothing to say but because I have so much to say.
It seems there has not been a static moment among my neurons in the last 5 days.
Since I am still formulating my thoughts on many of these revelations, I will not put
them "out there" just yet.

Rather, I will tell those who read this blog, that I am alive, and not brain dead.
I am processing my tenets regarding the following:
  • relationships
  • the value of friendship
  • compromise
  • gender issues (the limitations of femininity esp. in area of authority)
  • true (God-given) leadership vs. position and titles
  • fear of leaders
  • fear of leading
  • religious attitudes vs. freedom
  • fear of intimacy
  • fear of the lack of intimacy
  • the need for validation in pieces of identity that I have owned

So what's this all about...I know I am usually a person who questions and values truth, but this is ALOT of questions...even for me!!!

Does this have anything to do with turning 30 in a few months?

Erica at 5:49 PM
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Thursday, March 16

Fun...

I got this from Rebecca's site.

Your Irish Name Is...
Roisin Fitzgerald
Erica at 4:22 PM
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Tuesday, March 14

Good Morning Sunshine...

My lovely daughters woke up with the sun, literally.
They crawled into bed with me as the first rays of sunshine peaked over the horizon.
So I got up and opened the blinds in my bedroom.
We watched the big bright ball of gas (not my husband) grow from a small orange arc behind the trees grow wider.

It rose in shades of orange and yellow playing peek-a-boo behind our little forest of trees.
After many rounds of "I spy something that is an orange circle" and much cuddling, we got out of bed to do all the stuff that needs doing.
It was a great way to start the day!
Erica at 8:25 AM
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Monday, March 13

Jealousy...

What do you have that I want?
Nothing.
Everything.

The people with whom I have relationships are varied. Some are humble, some are pure, some are clever, some are beautiful, some are artistic, some are wise and the list goes on.
It isn't the existence of these qualities in people that inspire me to jealousy. It is the people who display these characteristics effortlessly and with excellence.

There is nothing more beautiful than a person who has discovered he or she is and begin to live life according to that truth. Watching a person's destiny unfold is a thing of beauty that inspires me. This makes me jealous.

I'm not jealous for the beauty or wisdom that someone else has achieved, that belongs to them, if it was meant for me, I would have it. It isn't the qualities, or possessions of other people that I am jealous for. It is those people that already live in their destiny that I wish to emulate. I want to be living my own destiny or purpose or call or whatever term people use.

I know many people who have no interest in sports at all but they will watch the Olypmics religiously. Why?
Because the games are filled with stories of destiny. Every event has a different althete who had to overcome great odds to become the best or to even qualify for the Olympics. It is tangible evidence of determination, discipline, and passion coming together to create a sense of destiny. This inspires people. It inspires me.

When I see someone who is so passionate about something they align their lives to serve that truth, I am jealous for that kind of life.
Erica at 2:56 AM
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Thursday, March 9

A Quick Note...

To all my fellow Winnipeggers!!!
Hello Winnipeg bloggers, readers and lurkers who live in Winnipeg!

I wish you all a pleasant, warm, happy-snow melting, spring is coming day!
Merry March is Here Hooray Hooray!!!

Image hosting by Photobucket

Think warm thoughts.
Let's see if we can all melt away more of that snow!
Erica at 3:20 PM
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Wednesday, March 8

A New Friend!!!

Today Rebecca met a new friend in her swimming class. She was a sweet little girl from India who was shy and a little afraid at the beginning of the class. Rebecca walked up and introduced herself thus, "Hi! I'm Rebecca, wanna be friends? What's your name?"

Throughout the remainder of the class, the little girl followed Rebecca around, and they giggled and played together as though they'd been friends forever. At one point, the other little girl was even hugging Rebecca instead of doing what the teacher was saying, which Rebecca quickly corrected. (She is very friendly but rules are rules, and rules mean alot to her!!!)

I was so touched watching the scene until we got into the shower room.
Rebecca was not aware that I had been watching the whole class from the observation area, and I already knew about her new friend. So (in a LOUD voice) she introduced me to her little friend.
Pointing her finger at her showering friend she blurted out, "Mom! That's my new friend! That one there! The BROWN one!"

Yikes!
Erica at 10:05 PM
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Monday, March 6

Sunrise, Sunset...

Topol said it best, "I don't remember growing older, when did they?"
It seems just yesterday that we brought Rebecca home from the hospital, a tiny little bundle tucked away in a car seat.
Today I registered her for kindergarten in the fall.
Another milestone.

Pre-school didn't seem like such a big deal because its PRE school as in...BEFORE school...as in don't worry mama they are still your babies school.

But this REAL school. The big K. There is no turning back now. From here we go to school friends, recess stories, school parties and dare I say it? School dances!!! Aaaaaaah!!!!

Excuse me while I go fiddle on the roof for awhile.
Erica at 9:19 AM
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Sunday, March 5

We're In...

I'm now floating on a sea of boxes in my new house! Now comes the task of discovering where everything belongs.
Happily, my husband has taken the week off so he can help me puts things straight.

(Mom, I'm taking it slow and stopping to rest...how is that for progress?)
Erica at 9:18 AM
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Friday, March 3

Happy Happy Joy Joy...

We are moving into our new house tomorrow morning!
YAY!!!
Finally! Moving day is almost here!
Erica at 2:18 PM
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Thursday, March 2

Recipe for Lassitude...

Ingredients
2 energetic pre-schoolers
1 chaotic house full of boxes
1 move (add cleaning and scrubbing to taste)
1 half-time job
1 week of sleepless nights
Dash of multiple emotions may be added to vary taste
(avoid anger as it can cause a bitter flavour)

Directions
  1. Take all ingredients and stir into one tired mommy, let simmer.
  2. Be careful not to discuss money issues or lawyers --anything stress related may cause the mommy to boil and burn --keep at a slow simmer
  3. If the heat rises above a simmer, release the pressure using repeated "Help me God!" prayers --this should produces tears, lowering the temperature of the mix--
  4. Place in pressure cooker and leave on High for 2 to 3 weeks.
Yield
Recipe should yield one viral bronchial infection and inflammation of the airways in the left lung, causing lassitude and prostration.

Bon Appetite!




Erica at 8:11 AM
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Wednesday, March 1

Judged Harsh and Hasty...

After a good night's sleep I realize yesterday's post about the bedding was harsh.
I am just tired and I'm sure there is something lovely out there.

All I needed was sleep and now I can be nice again!
Erica at 6:59 AM
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