I’ve had a lot of trouble seeing beauty around me these days. There are lots of contributing factors that I won’t bore my lovely blog readers with. Needless to say, I’ve had to search in some new places to find my daily dose of beauty and joy. The strange thing is, as I was looking in new places, I found beauty in things I am extremely familiar with.
Day 236 –
TUCKER
Meet Tucker. He’s my hairstylist’s (and very good friend’s) puppy. I’m not a fan of big dogs by any stretch of the imagination, but this dog is the sweetest thing ever. He is so gentle and wrinkly, he makes me melt.
Day 237 –
Storytime
Meet my Dad, the best grandpapa in the world. I love how in love my girls are with him. They have an amazing connection. And why shouldn’t they? He’s awesome.
Day 238 –
The Wheel
Meet the wheel, a stone thingy located in my childhood park. I remember doing a school project about it, though the only detail I can remember is that it’s from an old local mill. I never used to be a big park kid, but I loved sitting on the base, resting my back against the wheel. I was a loner. But I liked that.
Day 239 –
Best Family Photo Ever
Meet my family. I believe this photo was taken when we went to Canada’s Wonderland many moons ago. It’s be hanging in my living room for years now and I barely notice it. For some reason, it really struck me today. I still remember putting the costume on and taking direction from the photographer. A budding performer in the making.
We had AJ’s birthday party and the concept was simple: being crafty. I left coloring books and markers and crayons and paper on the dinning room table so the kids could color if they wanted to. Though, most of them chose to duke it out over the two mini-strollers we have. The best part though was the “cake”. Being a lazy, I mean, creative Mom that I am I decided to let the kids decorate their own cupcakes. It was awesome.
To be honest, I don’t know who was happier… the kids or the adults.
Day 234 –
My sis is in town with my two nieces who are fantastically adorable.
Three smiling cousins and a snarky baby.
When my sister is around, she is a pillar of amazing support and care. She’s no lounging around the house type of gal. She’s cleaning, doing laundry, cooking and putting the girls in time out… sometimes all at the same time. She wanted to roast a chicken for dinner the other night, but Stewart came home with a turkey instead (?). Well, it was a blessing in disguise. There’s nothing quite like a turkey dinner to make you feel all warm and fuzzy and loved.
Day 235 –
I adore this building on Elgin/Queen/Sparks. It always looks like something out of a comic book to me. The contrasting colors… the geometric patterns.
Lil B broke my last cheap, glass, Ikea bedside table lamp. So I was stuck with nothing to read by, until I remembered that I had another slightly-more-expensive Ikea lamp stored in my basement. The beauty of it all is that I much prefer how this one illuminates my bedroom.
At the time I write this, my blog is only 50 views away from hitting the 5000 mark. That is just incredible to me.
I started writing this blog as a way to express myself and rediscover the world around me. I could have written in a journal, on paper, and kept it private. But like many plans, unless you’re held accountable to them, they can fall apart. I assumed my Mom would remind me if I stopped posting and that would be motivation enough.
But I realise now that people are reading this. Not a huge amount of people, but more than I thought would nonetheless. That makes me smile.
Since I started my blog, I made my Twitter profile public. I have around 150 followers now, many of which are people I’ve never met. These are people who I now talk to on a weekly or even daily basis. I still prefer face to face connections, but social media has really opened up possibilities to connect with people and learn new things. I can’t have coffee with my friends all the time, but I can still discuss interesting topics. Or read about important firsts. Or get advice. Or have a laugh.
If my little blog has contributed even the smallest amount to this big world of new connections, new ideas and renewed smiles, that’s a beautiful thing.
Apologies for the HUGE blog post delay. The majority of the past ten days have not been fun (for the most part). In a nutshell: serious migraine + stomach bug + teething toddler + potty training pre-schooler. But, on a good note, my days of ick ended with my Mom’s 60th, um, I mean 35th birthday weekend. So let’s just say my beautiful observations ranged from very simple things to be thankful for to more the complex.
Let’s go!
Day 220 – I grew up in St-Isidore which is a small town about 45 minutes east of Ottawa. It’s not in Québec, though probably 99% of the population is francophone. There’s not much for kids to do in St-Isidore, except for the requisite running through fields, playing/watching hockey at the arena, goofing around at the video store, riding bikes, etc. Since I was raised as an only child (I only met my half-sister 12 years ago, which is a whole other beautiful story for another day), my parents drove me out of town many nights a week for dance lessons and community theatre rehearsals.
I spent a lot of time in a car growing up and wasn’t much of a fan of commuting, especially since I get motion sickness really easily. One of the things I would do to distract myself and pass the time during a rainy day drive was watch the beads of rain as they slid across my window. I would pinpoint two separate drops and place bets as to which drop would get to the other side of the window first. It was like a dance, each bead of water collecting more and more water as it was pushed by the wind as we raced down the 417 or 138. It was exciting for me. Not knowing where the stream would go. Being surprised by which path it took. It still fascinates me now.
Day 221 – Toast with butter. That is all.
Day 222 – Tomato soup. That is all.
Day 223 –
Introducing my new favorite bath toy. I don't have a name for him yet, but I adore his floppy rain hat and matching lifejacket.
Day 224 – I complain about my job sometimes, but being a mom is pretty freaking cool. On a daily basis, there is laughter and surprises. Just when you think you’ve got your kids figured out, they change. And as annoying as that can be (I’m looking at you, Miss 3-year-old that’s still awake as I type this at 10:26pm), watching tiny people grow up into not-so-tiny people is completely fascinating and mind-boggling.
Day 225 –
This totally made my day. Luxury? I wonder what is so luxurious about it?
Day 226 – As I said previously, my toddler was teething. In this particular case, that meant cutting four teeth at the same time. She was not a happy camper. And though I shouldn’t take pleasure from her pain, there’s nothing quite so beautiful as the cuddles given to a Mommy when baby isn’t feeling well.
Day 227 – My Mom is one beautiful lady. Inside and out. She’s funny, kind, caring, gentle, outspoken, intelligent, silly, a great grandmother, a fantastic actress and a special friend to many people. Plus, she can rock white linen pants and peasant-style blouse like no one else can. I wish I had a picture to prove it. You’ll just have to take my word for it.
Day 228 – I finally got some strength back, enough to start cleaning the house. The most beautiful moment of the day: the squeaky sound a mirror makes when being cleaned with Windex and paper towel.
Day 229 – I am a particular fan of politically incorrect, subversive, dark humour. Here’s an example: (definitely NSFW… and not suitable for people who are easily offended.)
AJ is not a baby anymore. She is a big girl and she knows it. She’s asserting herself by whining. She goes out of her way to protect her baby sister. But my favorite “growing up” thing she does right now is come up with excuses as to why she can’t say certain things.
My darling soon-to-be 3-year-old is learning two languages at once and she’s definitely taken to English more better. (teehee) She understands me completely when I speak French, but she still has a hard time saying many of the words. So she’s come up with an excuse that she uses all the time to get away from speaking French. The funny part is that she now recognises this as being “funny” so she uses this line to try to get away with anything. Cleaning up her toys. Holding her own cup. Going to bed.
It’s on days like today… when I feel like ick… when life seems so hard… when I don’t know what to do with myself… that I try to remember that I’ve got it pretty good. The biggest debate I had with myself today was trying to figure out the pros and cons of a) hiring a cleaner to tidy my house once a month and/ or b) buying a Dyson vacuum cleaner.
I can’t really afford either option. Though really, I can. What I mean is, I don’t usually make choices to spend my (family) money on things that I will use most. I didn’t hesitate to buy a new air mattress so AJ could have a comfy place to sleep when we camped. That made sense. And I guess buying a vacuum, or hiring a house cleaner, also makes sense for the family, but I feel ever-so selfish considering either option.
Strange how mum-guilt works its way into my brain?
Anyway, at the end of the day, there could be much worse issues for me to be contending with and many sadder debates to be had. Life is good.
I love watching these two. They work so amazingly well together. Not only are they supremely talented, but they genuinely love what they do. This is something my Mom often jokes about when talking about doing theatre: “If it ain’t fun, I ain’t doin it.” I firmly believe that my mom is loved so much by the audiences that watch her is because she truly enjoys every moment she has on stage. That kind of love and joy is contagious.
Now I know this might seem like a silly thing to have as a post subject but there are many reasons why this is a beautiful thing:
1) It was a gift.
2) It came from my husband.
3) It was given to me out of the blue, with no holiday or special event attached to it.
4) It’s meant to be a case for a DS and some games. Probably trying to appeal to the female gamers. But Stewart got it for me because he thought I’d like to use it for makeup.
5) It’s pretty.
A New Year of Joy 