Post-Shower Post....

Its 1:00am and I am awake. It was a wonderful day.

The bridal shower went off without a hitch. There was lots of food, drink, gifts and laughing people. There was a sense of joy and peace about the whole thing and I didn't feel stressed once.
My new house is a great place to entertain. There was enough room for many, many smiling faces to gather and only a few had to find a perch on the fire place or floor once all the seating was taken.

When throwing a shower, or any party...its hard to know who to invite, and worry about who will show up. After the shower, the bride-to-be said, "It was great to have so many people who love me together in one place." That is the best result I could have asked for...not just tons of people, but people who really know the guest of honor and love them up. Now THAT is a party.
Besides, my friend is wonderful and deserves to be celebrated.

I should go back to bed now, tomorrow is another day...I have to go SHOPPING (aw...too bad!) to find something to wear for the wedding.
Everyone who knows me, knows how distressed I feel about spending the day in the mall!!!
Valhalla here I come!

In Thompson...

We arrived in Thompson yesterday afternoon. It was an okay drive (eight hours) and the kids did very well.

Our hotel has a pool, an exercise room and a continental breakfast bar. So far, the kids think it is awesome. They go swimming whenever they want, and they have their own "little house" to live in for the week.

They think Thompson is "awesome" and "so fun". We arrived, and they got to go swimming at the hotel, then went for Chinese food, jumped on a trampoline, got gifts from Papa and Grandma, and played at the park. So far Thompson is "super fun."

Reading other blogs, it seems it is still hot in Winnipeg. Here is only 17 degrees, cool and overcast. Definitely NOT hot!

We'll be returning to the heat in a few days! Until then we'll be in our "little house" (hotel suite).

Feeling Better...

I am now on the mend after having seen my doctor, who is wonderful.
She got rid of the first set of anti-biotics (not-working) and gave me stuff
that gave me relief in about 12 hours.

Its good to be back in the land of the living.
Thanks Rebecca and Sean for praying, you guys are clearly "connected" because
I'm feeling MUCH better.

Blog Pause...

I have not blogged in the last few days as I was basically asleep for four days.
I have been very sick and I hope to be better very soon.

Please pray for me, if you're into that kind of thing.

Steroids and Starvation...

As I was riding my bike the other day, I got to thinking about exercise and the idea of the perfect beach body. We hear a lot about "bathing suit" season and working out or dieting to look decent on the beach in the summer.

The point of this goal is the way things LOOK. The goal (for most people) isn't necessarily to be healthy but just to look good. Its about appearances.

That got me thinking about all the people pumping iron and using drugs, or starving themselves on unhealthy diets to get thin focussed on a facade.
It hit me, that the whole "fitness" or "fashion" industry does not actually care what is beneath the facade. There are some pretty friggin neurotic skinny people in the world who need some serious therapy but as long as they are thin they have achieved their goal and feel no need to look deeper.

What's my point? Do I enjoy pointing out the obvious?
No.

I think this whole thing is just a symptom of culture that cares what things look like but not what is real. I think the pressure to succumb to caring about the facade is so strong it pulls people into it, before they even understand what is happening.

Even if a person were brilliant, wise, kind and had solutions that would save the planet....if they happened to be fat....who would listent to them.

So we are left with the social command to advertise. In order to be happy, and make friends, you must advertise yourself. Your tools are your body, your hair and your clothes.
If you achieve perfection there, then people might listen to what you have to say.

These make-over shows on t.v., teen movies abound where the ugly duckling becomes a princess...suddenly the girl has value because she looks nice now. WHAT????

So we all labour under the societal command to advertise this elusive perfection, which doesn't actually exist. Talk about being set up for failure!

At the cabin, I sit on the beach in my average size body, with no make-up and my hair pulled back. I have so much fun with the people there, and we chat about our kids personalities, the weather, politics, and what we're making for supper that night. And guess what? We are all perfectly happy. I think that is closer to real life than what I see in stores and magazines.

Is there some way to transport the freedom of the lake back into my city life?

Hello Again...

We returned from our holiday at the lake. We had a great time, and ate a lot of sm'ores.
The girls have great tans and I look slightly darker than white.
DJ looks fabulous!

We fished, and ate fish. We went canoeing, and swam alot. We did not eat spam alot.
We played on the beach.
We entertained my brother's family and my sister.
We went for walks, visited a museum, and went for lots of bike rides.
I fell off a bike.
You know that saying, "easy as falling off a bicycle"? Well, its not as easy as it looks and its quite painful. But that's another story for another day.

We went strawberry picking. We went to an old beach where DJ found some real arrowheads.
It was a wonderful week.

We got back Sunday evening, so I spent yesterday weeding the garden, doing laundry, grocery shopping and planning a bridal shower.
Phew!
I need another vacation!

Bridal Shower???
Yes! My lovely friend Cindy (aka Come on Barbie let's go party) is getting married!
Soon!
So we're whippin' up a grand party for her.

I better get crackin! Time's a wastin!

Hanging out at the Cabin...

Here is what we were up to for the last week.
Becca learned how to jump off the dock.
Bella hung out on the beach and got a great tan.
Rebecca learned how to cast like a pro.





Dj caught a big fish that made an excellent lunch.

Strawberry Picking...

We took the girls strawberry picking, and Rebecca was very diligent. She took care to put every berry into the box eating only two. Bella ate 95% of her harvest and put the odd one into the box. Her shirt and face was covered in strawberries.














Even funnier, here she is showing us a strawberry. We were standing in a huge field filled with (literally) millions of strawberries and she kept standing up and shouting, "Look! I found a strawberry!"

I silenced my sarcasm and just said, "Good job! See if you can find another one!"
But inside I was laughing my head off.

Mini-Golf...

Yesterday after getting all the post-cabin work, it was time to take a break.
After supper we went mini-golfing for the first time.
The girls totally had a great time.

Happy Birthday Ness!!!

One of my best buddies in the world turns 30 today!

HAPPY 30th BIRTHDAY NESS!!!