Stylin' My Way! (SBC#30)

My Wedding Day Rocking the whole bathtub in a field look. I love my wedding shoes... just not too practical for everyday wear.

My usual, yoga or track pants with a fleece hoodie. *Note: Date is wrong on this photo, this photo was taken in May of 2008.

Jeans and hoodie for my everyday look (when not working). *Note: date is wrong on photo, this photo was taken in May of 2008.

My extreme special occasion, pre-kids get up.  (it takes too long to put together for my liking but it is very me!)

I love stripes and polka dots but stripes more.  My style is relaxed and casual.  I'd post a picture of me in my work gear, but I don't have any that I can find.  For work, I wear a beanie or bandana to cover my hair, a long sleeved shirt (usually a denim button up one) with a t-shirt underneath and a tank top under that so I can take layers off.  Then I wear a pair of thin stretchy pants (in the summer), long underwear (in the winter) and cover it all up with my favourite Carhartt double knee Dungaree fit pants (*Note: pants=slacks for the British, I know underwear are called Pants in England).
I don't think I would change my style, I like several vintage pieces that I mix in with my general jeans and shirt looks and I love scarves and bandanas.

How To... (SBC#29)

How to Dress a two and a half year old...

1. Get her out of bed.
(Mine usually calls for me to get her out of her room or she will be standing on her bed waiting for the door to be opened as she has yet to master turning door knobs.)

2. Convince her she needs to take her nighttime diaper off.
(insert whining here)

3. Wrestle her to the floor and remove pee soaked nighttime diaper.
(insert screaming here.  Somedays it takes both me and DH to get her to stay still enough to remove the diaper.)

4. Try to catch half naked child making a break for the door who escaped while I tried to put dirty diaper in the diaper pail. 
(insert squeal of joy here)

5. Catch child half way down the stairs and carry back upstairs and put on clean diaper.
("Oh, its a Owl, its a green!  NO, I want its a ORANGE!" So the orange diaper gets put on, she freaks out because it isn't the owl diaper, insert more whining here.)

6. Convince kiddo to pick out some clothes for the day.
(insert evil laugh as she runs out the door and heads for the stairs again.)

7. Choose some clothes from the clean hamper (to be put away this afternoon... if I get to it!)

8. Chase after child and try to put clothes on, as she is stripping off her remaining shirt from overnight.
(insert squeal of joy for being mostly naked.)

9. Catch up with child in living room while she is trying to turn on the TV.
(negotiate TV channel in exchange for clothes... answered by a big fat NO!)

10. Try to wrestle some clothes onto child just to have her fight it.
(insert more screaming and No's and a stop!)

11. Give up, let child be mostly naked... It's not like I have anywhere important to go today anyways.
(and if I did, a bribe might work!)

Squirbo in her Happy Heinys "Owl" diaper.

12. Have a cup of tea and think about the workout I am getting doing this 6 out of 7 mornings each week.

Now to try to get her to brush her hair... now that is a whole other war in itself.

Mount Washmore (SBC#28)

Laundry... the never ending cycle of sort, wash, dry, fold, put away and repeat.  I love doing laundry!  As crazy as it sounds, I have always loved doing laundry. 

My laundry routine consists of gathering the laundry from the strangest places throughout the house.  Sorting into piles of colours, whites, reds/pinks (there is way too much pink in the house now that we have 2 girls), towels and bedding.  Then I get started with the washing process.  With my HE machine each load takes about 33minutes on the wash cycle. Then so long as it isn't raining out or snowing, the laundry gets hung on the line to dry.  I usually do four to six loads each week with diapers getting washed every second day and they are a whole different washing process (but that is a whole post on its own).  Once dry, the laundry then gets piled in hampers until it starts to fall over, then I finally get to folding and putting it away but not before half of it gets worn and washed again.  At the moment, we don't have anywhere for Furia's clothes to be stored, so they stay in the laundry baskets and bins until Anomantia gets moved into her new room. 

For soap I use Tide free for regular stuff and Dr. Bonner's castile soap for diapers and things that need to be extra cleaned or sanitized.  Nothing special... I really want to try soap nuts but Laurence's skin and nose is quite sensitive to changes and scents. 

I guess my laundry tip is to avoid it until it is a giant pile then do several loads consecutively to tackle the mountain.  I then feel a sense of accomplishment seeing the ginormous pile disappear.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gvu5Vdk26XA&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PL7574AF4DE2CAD79

I remember this from when I was a child... I saw her perform it live at the Vancouver Children's Festival. 

Best Gift Ever (SBC#27)

The best gift I have ever received was just last week when my husband decided to spend his birthday money and the family fun funds to purchase a bike trailer to tow our girls around.  I love the freedom it has given us.  I wanted to get one last year but it didn't happen.  I researched them tons and finally found a used one that would meet our needs.  It is a Burley D'Lite trailer that is compatible with one or two children and has enough storage space that I could do my groceries and have the girls in tow.  It also converts to a jogging stroller and regular stroller too.  I am looking at the winter attachments right now and I was thinking about getting some skis for it for the winter months.  Have this trailer will allow us as a family to make new memories and enjoy the time being outdoors no matter the weather conditions.  I am so excited to see what adventures we can go on with our bikes now.  The possibilities are endless.

Squirbo and Squirmy trying it on for size when we first bought it.

weak in the knees (SBC#26)

Summer Blog Challenge June 26th Prompt: What does your Significant Other do that makes your heart melt...

This prompt has my mind going... what does he do that makes my heart melt?? I was totally baffled until I actually asked his opinion on what goes on.  Laurence's reply was take it another direction!  So here it goes:

Laurence is far from a romantic, he never gives me flowers (only once in eight, yes 8, years have I ever been given flowers from him), they only die and he is terribly allergic to pollens.  We don't exchange gifts for our birthdays or Valentine's day.  Mother's day and Father's day aren't usually observed as we try to teach our children that we should cherish our parents daily and treat them in the way that they want to be treated (a little difficult for a toddler and a baby to grasp but with time I am sure it will take).  The number of times I have done the grocery shopping and running errands without him since 2008, I can count on both hands.  He is always there and we do everything together as a family.  The one thing he does do that kind of makes me shake my head is when he sings AC-DC's Thunderstruck, off key and really loud, just to make me smile and laugh at his self humiliation.  It usually ends in both of us playing air guitar and laughing til we cry.  But the most sexy thing my husband does is the dishes.  I don't know what it is but seeing him wash the dishes makes me weak in the knees.  He loves his girls and would do anything for us anytime of the year.  And for that I wish I could eradicate all the cottonwood trees in Gurneyland and vicinity just for him.  

Anomantia's 2nd Birthday/Christmas Party hosed at our neighbours' house because I was 37-ish weeks pregnant with Furia (December 16th 2011)

Banff Trip (February 16th 2010)

I am so grateful that he has chosen to work from home so that he is there for his daughters and enable me to have smoother transitions back to work after maternity leave.  34 days left until I return to work full time again.  I am dreading it but not as much as I was after Anomantia. 

I love you Pants!

I wish... (SBC#25)

My Ideal day of "Me Time" would consist of an early morning rise with a work out followed by copious amounts of Earl Grey tea with a splash of milk (without having to boil the kettle several times before actually getting the boiled water to the cup).  I would then take a shower ALONE!  Hot water without any little busy bodies telling me to move when I am trying to rinse my hair.  No banging on the door just me and the water.  The afternoon would consist of sitting in the yard gardening or reading or knitting or a combination of all three.  Some quality time with my girls cuddling or playing with them is a necessity to let them know that they are loved.  I would love to have lunch with my sisters at the beach (if only teleportation worked in real life, sigh...) and then spend the evening at home with my girls and husband, maybe take a walk or bike ride with my family before getting ready for bed.

It's not easy being Green! (SBC#24)

Here is Gurneyland, we have a very good recycling (blue box) program with the city.  My favourite Eco-Friendly thing to do would be my laundry.  I love doing laundry!  I have a HE machine (hate it for washing diapers but otherwise is totally awesome) that I wash in and every chance I get even in the winter when there is over a foot of snow on the ground and in sub-zero (degrees Celcius) temperatures, I still dry my clothes on the clothesline.  We also cloth diaper our girls (I'm not addicted to buying diapers, I actually prefer plain prefolds or a fitted with snaps (for Squirbo) with a wool cover.  We also compost and grow a large garden to reduce our Carbon footprint.  I was reading on the most eco-friendly household options at the library last year and one source said that staying married is the best for the environment because you keep one footprint instead of splitting it into two.

My favourite Blog Post (SBC#23)

http://gurneyland.blogspot.ca/2012/02/this-morning-step-by-step.html

It was written by Laurence and I together... we had a really rough few days when Furia was cluster feeding all night long.  It is a step by step view of our morning (and afternoon). 

Either that or the post before it which is Furia's birth story (quite graphic).  It is so hard to choose just one post.

When I grow up... (SBC#22)

As a child, I could never decide on one thing to be when I grew up.  I wanted to be a doctor, a teacher, a marine biologist, etc... it changed weekly (and it still does).  The only thing that I knew I wanted to be was a mum.  The week before my mum died, she told me to never settle, always dream and then she said that she never did decide what to be when she grew up but that being a mum to us girls was the best job in the world.

I am teaching my girls the same thing.  Right now, Anomantia wants to be a princess-batman (those are her words).  There are days she wears her Batman costume around town.  I have no intention of making her conform to any standard especially when it comes to character building choices. And there are days when she is a mad scientist too.

words of wisdom (SBC#21)

The most recent words of wisdom that stuck with me were " Be you, for you.  Don't try to change for anyone, it'll all fall apart."

All that came about in my struggle to figure out who I am and how I want to live my life with my identities of mum, wife and welder all mashed in with being me.

Retro Photo (SBC #20)

This is me.  The photo was taken in June 1985... I was 3 and 1/2 years old. 

SBC #19

Blog Prompt: Something you are proud of from the last few days.

I am proud of the level of communication I have with my husband.  This is what makes our marriage work.  We talk about everything and anything.  This week, I have been suffering with who I am as a person.  I feel like my identity has been completely overrun with being a mother that I have lost sight in who I am.  I have always identified who I am with what I am but now more than ever feel like that is a mistake and somewhere inside me there is an individual screaming to get out.  I am the welder, the mum, the wife but I am also ME.  I am proud that I have  his advice and support in all that I do.

01 September 2007

Summer Blog Challenge Day 18- Food

Today's challenge is to post a recipe that I love.  That is a hard one for me because I have a few that I keep in regular rotation at home and then there is the special occasion recipes that require more prep time.  So I decided to give the following:

Carlee's version of Jamaican Jerk Chicken (very Spicy)

• 1 Tbsp Ground Allspice (15mL)
• 1 Tbsp Dried Thyme (15mL)
• 1 1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper (20mL)
• 1 1/2 tsp Freshly Ground Black Pepper (20mL)
• 1 1/2 tsp Ground Sage (20mL)
• 3/4 tsp Ground Nutmeg (7mL)
• 3/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon (7mL)
• 2 Tbsp Garlic Powder or Freshly minced (30mL)
• 1 Tbsp Sugar * (15mL)
• 1/4 cup Olive Oil (60mL)
• 1/4 cup Soy Sauce (60mL)
• 3/4 cup White Vinegar (185mL)
• 1/2 cup Orange Juice (125mL)
• 1 lime - juice only
• 1 Scotch Bonnet Pepper (habañero) or 3 Thai Bird Chilies - finely chopped
• 3 Green Onions - finely chopped
• 1 cup Onion - finely chopped (250mL)
• 4 to 6 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts

In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients (to the *) then using a whisk slowly add the olive oil, soy sauce, vinegar, orange juice and lime juice.  Mix well.  Then add the Scotch bonnet peppers, onions and mix well.
Take the Chicken Breasts and "Jerk*" them.
Add chicken breasts to the mixture and let marinate at least one hour if not more (I usually marinate for 8-12 hours).  Grill or bake chicken until done.  If grilling, baste chicken with the marinade.
Bring leftover marinade to a boil and serve on the side for dipping.
Goes well with grilled vegetables and rice.  I have also diced the breasts and added veggies to make jerk kabobs which were a hit as well.

* Jerk means take a sharp object and make holes.  In this case, I use a fork and and make holes all over on both sides.


This recipe is my husband's favourite.  I make it so rarely because it takes a lot of prep time but have never had any issues with it.  I will save my other recipes for another day.

Enjoy,
Carlee

I am ME (SBC #17)

Today's Summer Blog Challenge topic is a difficult one for me... Identify the 3 personality traits that I am proud of.   When it comes to analyzing my own personality, I avoid it at all costs.  I am able to write about other people and things but when it comes to me, I run and hide.  I can write my feelings but not about personality very well.  So, I try to put it off as long as possible but inevitably I have to face the fact that I like to be the one heard but not seen .  I like to live in the shadows and put forth my two bits then disappear again.  Now on to my personality.

1.  I am easy going and go with the flow.  I hate confrontation and being put on the spot and avoid it at all costs.

2. I am independent.  I have always pulled my own weight and can get by on my own.  I don't need my husband but I want him, it makes our relationship healthier because I know I can get by without him if need be.

3. I am virtuous.  I think that sums up the loyal, trustworthy and honest bits.  I am incapable of lying, I have never been able to lie and I can't even bend the truth.  My husband says that I avoid conversations sometimes because I have information that he wants and I don't always want to divulge everything... it takes away the mysteriousness. 

AND

4. I am quirky.  I hate conforming to the norm, I dance to the tune in my head and quite often dance instead of walk and will burst into song at the most random moments.  And that is why I am me.  The not so typical, off beat and unique. 

This is me, Jenn (my midwife) and Anomantia yesterday afternoon

us being serious! HA!

the girls are...

... Getting Bigger!  The last two weeks have been crazy!  Someone did a hit and run on our Jeep (had both car seats in it) and damaged the rear end.  Ironically enough, I was in the insurance company paying my premiums for the next year when it happened.  Then there was the challenge of replacing the car seats. We decided to upgrade so we wouldn't have to buy more seats in the next few years unless we have another baby (I am hoping for a bigger age gap between Furia and the next one).  We had to take the two hour drive to the city to get the new seats as no one in our small-ish city (~100,000 people) carried the seat we wanted and they told us that to order it, it would be mid-July before it got here (no way am I waiting that long for safety things for the girls!).

June began with Miss Furia getting her first tooth, followed by a second four days later.  It looks like it will be awhile before another tooth breaks through, but she is still drooling as much as Hooch from the movie Turner and Hooch (my leg is currently soaked with drool). She has discovered her feet and every time she is on her back, she is grabbing at them, kicking or rocking holding on to her feet.  She never stops moving.  I mean NEVER!  Not even when she is sleeping, she is still moving or kicking.  She is definitely my squirmy.

Furia Eevul Obsidian at 5 months old

And then there is Anomantia who is exactly two years and six months old today!  I can hardly believe that my first born is six months away from being three.  We are finally getting 'real' words out of Anomantia.  Late last month we took her for a speech assessment at the health unit's Speech Pathology department.  She has troubles with pronunciation and was only saying the first syllables of words instead of the whole thing.  She has improved drastically in the last few weeks and is getting better with the overall communication process.  She has started telling us when she needs a diaper change and I have my fingers crossed that she will soon start to communicate when she needs to go, that way the toilet training might be less of a fight like it has been until now.  Today, I have been unsuccessful in getting her dressed, so she has been walking around in her stylish pocket diapers (mostly Bum Genius and Happy Heinys).  Other than that she has developed a LOVE for our bathtub.  She asks to take a bath about four or five times a day.  I try to let her have one or two a day but all she wants to do is be in the bath.  She is meticulous when it comes to food or dirt on her hands, clothes or anything, she has to have them washed right away otherwise it is the end of the world.  She loves wearing dresses (she doesn't get this from me) and anything pink, purple, flowers, butterflies or sparkly (again NOT from me).  She loves her bracelets and purses that she fills with pink golf balls or beads and other miscellaneous toys and topping it all off with her cell phone (my old dead motorolla flip phone from when we first moved out here).  She is very loving and gentle when she wants to be, but a force to be reckoned with when mad. 

Anomantia Soleil Mowton at 2.5 years old

These girls are growing so fast and time feels like it is passing me by.  Today, we want to wish The fantastic D-wiggle a Schmaffy 28th Murfday!  I love you sister! 

Summer blog challenge Day#16

Fitness Guru or Couch Potato??

BOTH!  I love being able to veg with my family, but I also love working out.  One of my guilty pleasures is ZUMBA, but before I had my girls (and in between pregnancies), I trained in Muay Thai Kickboxing three days a week, and the other four I would run or do weights or a kettlebell workout.  Now that I have my girls and going to the gym isn't always feasible, I use free weights and do a cardio routine as often as I can.  I am trying to recondition my post baby body to prepare for my return to work (at the beginning of August maybe?).  Being a trades person, we are required to maintain a certain capability for lifting and pushing and moving into awkward positions, I have been off work since August 2011 and need to be prepared so I don't injure myself when going back to work.  When I was in my early 20's, I trained A LOT, I practically lived at the gym.  I was a group fitness leader (aerobics instructor), a personal trainer and trained to compete in fitness competitions.  I have a huge love for Yoga and studied at the Yasodhara Ashram from the time I was 13 years old.  I would go to the Ashram for a 2 week program until I was 16 when I moved there for a 2 month intensive program.  I learned so much about myself and was the healthiest I had been in my life to that point.  I continued with my yoga studies through Radha Houses (affiliates of the Ashram) until I was 21 and my life took me in other directions. 

For now my exercise routine consists of Zumba in the mornings when I get the chance and playing with my girls.  With the occasional trip to the pool to go swimming. When I started working out post baby, my sister sent me the following video... so funny!

Enjoy!

Summer Blog Challenge Day 15

I love the contrast from the mountains and water in this photo, it reminds me of my dad.

Summer Blog Challenge Day 15: Post a Picture that you took and are proud of.

This awesome house is build entirely out of glass embalming fluid bottles.  The guy that built it was an undertaker (and an artist by the looks of it).  It is in the Kootenay region of BC.

I love the contrast of soft mush of the Red Jelly Fish on the hard Rocks.

I know the challenge called for only one photo but these three really stood out for me.  It is all about contrast, colour and texture.  I love the way each photo has a very unique subject that stands out because of its surroundings.

15 tips for LIFE! (SBC day 14)

15 Tips for Life

1.  It something is broken... try to fix it before you toss it.

2. Smile, Often and lots, smiles lead to happiness.

3. Come up with a life mantra, I have two one for good days and one for the not so great days.
for good days: Smile till your face hurts
for not so great days: If you can't eat it, or hump it, Piss on it and walk away (at the worst of times, it becomes JUST BREATHE!)

4. Be mysterious, leave a little to the imagination.

5. Do what you LOVE!

6. Cut the Crap... in other words SIMPLIFY!  It makes everything easier.

7. Keep your promises.  If you say you're going to do something, DO IT!

8. Read lots, question everything, remain skeptical and debate often.

9. Think Deeply (think before you speak, everything is deeper when thought through first).

10. Speak gently (if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all!)

11. Love much (hug with an open heart, it changes everything)

12. laugh aloud (don't forget to share the joke)

13. work hard (and leave work at work)

14. Give freely (give 'till it hurts, then give a little more)

15. Be kind (treat others as you wish to be treated)

SBC Day 13- Year End

How do I see myself by the end of the year?  I am still trying to figure out how I will see myself by the end of the summer.  I will probably be working again and hopefully have a few more renovations finished around the house.  I don't have any weight loss goals, I am happy where I am at and I hope to have Anomantia potty trained (we are still working on her communication, it is still choppy and she isn't really sure what her body is doing so it is a slow process).  I hope to have finished a few of my knitting WIP's that are ongoing, but mostly, I hope to be able to spend lots of time with my girls and my husband.

My worst Injury (SBC Day 12)

My worst injury, would have to be the c-section I had with Anomantia.  Recovery sucked!  4:30pm, December 15th, 2009  I went into labour naturally (I thought I was 37weeks 1 day pregnant, but was probably closer to 36weeks).  I laboured at home until 2:30am on the 16th when we moved the labour party (me, Laurence and my friend Elise) to the hospital.  I was excited that I was going to finally meet my baby.  I got to the hospital and was stuck in the assessment room on a bed to be checked and see that all was good.  I had been to see my doctor on the morning of the 15th and he had said that all was looking good, the head was down and labour should start on its own within the next couple of weeks.  In the assessment room, the nurses kept on whispering and going out to the nurses station and bringing other nurses in and in total, I was checked by 6 different nurses!  I was 4 cm when I came in and by the time they figured out that there was a bum and a foot instead of the head, I was 6cm.  By the time the OB on call came in with the ultrasound machine, I was 8cm.  By the time I was wheeled to the OR, I was 9cm... No drugs yet.  I got to the OR and was ready to push by the time the spinal block was in and I was cut open, I was so mad, I was vibrating!  I had hoped for a drug free labour and delivery and my doctor messed that up for me.  Needless to say I was very skeptical of his judgement after that.  When I confirmed my second pregnancy, I sought other care and other options.  I had the worst experience with my first birth and that is my worst injury ever.  The spinal caused permanent damage to a nerve in my back and I had a constant pins and needles feeling in my back and down the right side of my body that are still present today.  I have since realised that I NEVER want to be cut open again, and definitely no more needles or anything in my back.

Summer Blog Challenge Day 11- Best Day

The best day of my life, is hard for me to pin point.  My life has been a rough road, but even though I have had several good days, the best day, would have to be the day my Journeyman ticket arrived in the mail.  I did it, against all the odds, made it through in my trade. 

A close second would be the fishing trip I took with my family as a young child when the dog got sick, the seas were rough, and we caught a 10 foot long six gill mud shark on a salmon hook. 

And tied for third place are: 01 September 2007, 16 December 2009 and 08 January 2012.  Which are my wedding date, Anomantia's birthday and Furia's birthday.

Summer Blog Challenge Day 10- ART

Cost Aside, the famous art piece that I would have in my home is a hard one for me.  I love European art!  But I would take the entire collection, or any part of it, from Centre Pompidou, Musée D'Art Moderne, in Paris in a heartbeat.  The year 2000, I spent every spare moment in museums and seeing the countries in Western Europe.  I had year long memberships at the Centre Pompidou, The Louvre, Musée Rodin and a couple of other art galleries.  But I also loved Rodin's work, particularly the sitting room in his house, the sketches and sculptures. 

Summer Blog Challenge Day 9

Now to play catch up for a crazy weekend of net being able to be online.

Day 9: Worst Cooking disaster

My worst cooking disaster happened this winter, I was making Chicken Cordon Swiss (from scratch) and everything was going great and all the side dishes were going to be ready at the same time as the chicken should be pulled from the oven, but with 10 minutes left in the oven, the pyrex dish I was using to cook the chicken exploded and the chicken fell on the element sparking and burning the crust (combination of ground cornflakes, spices and rice flour with xanthan gum) making a giant mess of the oven and completely making the chicken inedible.  Needless to say, we ended up eating take-out that night.  I was less than impressed but at least I have an awesome husband who cleaned the oven mess for me (I was very pregnant at the time and the whole ordeal made me cry).

My Favourite Guilty Pleasures...Blog Challenge#8

 These are my guilty pleasures, they are the things that I treasure the most in my life and I wouldn't change them for the world.  This entry made me really think, guilty pleasures... are we talking about food or are we talking about life?  So I went with what felt right for me... LIFE!  Yes, I love food too, but not as much as some of the little things that I truly appreciate when I get to experience them.  Some come weekly, others rarely but they are what I really love.  

Well, I have four that were all tied for the number one spot!

A. I totally love the sound of a clean tipped Oxy-Acetylene cutting torch... yes the sound it makes gives me goosebumps (I love what I do!).

B. Getting up early and doing an hour of ZUMBA before anyone wakes up.  It is great to have time for myself at the beginning of the day. Followed by my daily cup of decaf earl grey tea. (I have been banned from drinking coffee because I am already high strung enough and I start vibrating and bouncing off the walls when I get caffeine into my system... it can be quite funny to see but if you are not a morning person BEWARE!)

C. Sitting down and watching TV or a movie with the biggest glass of ice water (more ice than water), and my knitting with Laurence after the kids are asleep (doesn't happen very often that they sleep at the same time).  We have been watching series on DVD lately.  We just watched ROME a couple months back and now have started in on Season 1 of Sons of Anarchy.  We love watching Discovery or History Channel documentaries that the kids would totally be bored with. 

and

D. Standing knee deep in the ocean during a storm and letting the huge swells hit me as they break on the beach (best is usually in October or November) and just having the salt water splash all over and the salty air in the wind hitting my face.  (I grew up on the coast and loved doing this but since we moved inland six years ago, I have only done this twice and I miss it a lot.)

Summer Blog Challenge Day 7

These three smiling faces make my world spin.  They are my everything.  They are also the ones that make me the happiest... yet drive me the craziest!  My Squirmy, Squirbo and Pants.

Summer Blog Challenge Day 6

Nicknames and Why I have them:

#1.  Mum or Mami
I get called this by my 2 year old.  Mum when she is saying something serious and Mami when she is trying to be cute and get my attention or wants something.

#2. Wonderwoman
I get called this by DH almost daily.  He is still in awe at the things I am capable of doing and how I can pull random tricks out of my hat with no notice and can save the day when all hell breaks loose (which is almost daily here).

#3. Sister or Other Sister
My sisters and I always seem to refer to one another as sister or as in "have you heard from the other sister lately?" when talking to one another.

and last but not least

#4. Whaaaaa
I get called Whaaaa by Furia, my 5 month old.  When she needs me, I am Whaaaa. :)


I am not really sure if these are all classified as nicknames, but they are what I am frequently called.

Summer Blog Challenge Day 5 -Goals

My short term goals for this month... are to finish the tile work on my upstairs bathroom floor, get the planting finished outside (the seedlings are still in the greenhouse), and go camping with my family.

1. I really need to finish the floor tiles in the bathroom upstairs, that way when I get up to pee in the night, I am not stubbing my toes on uneven tile work.

2. My seedlings are getting roots out the bottoms of their pots so now is the ideal time to get them all planted before the external root systems get intertwined or damaged. 

and

3. I want to go camping with DH and the girls.  I love being outside and sleeping in the cool air.  This time of year, the house gets so stuffy.  We camp the rustic old way... in a tent.  DH and I went camping on our honeymoon, it snowed on us.  I guess that is what we get for camping in the mountains in September.  Plus DH wants to get Anomantia used to being around campfires.

They are all doable but I am still hesitant about #3, as I have a special needs lizard that I can't leave longer than overnight.  I have several lizards but one leopard gecko in particular that needs to be hand fed as she was severely neglected before we got her and she ended up blind due to shedding problems and head sheds being left on for too long, one eye is completely gone and the other is not functioning, so I hand feed her crickets daily or every other day alternating with fruit.  She has improved since we rescued her a month ago, at that time, I had to bathe her twice a day to remove old sheds and feed her a cricket puree from a syringe (so gross).  Last night, we isolated her from her sister and gave her several crickets to see if she could catch them by sound.  It sort of worked.  So today I am off to clean up an older terrarium we have kicking around for her to live in.  Her sister was in similar condition but so malnourished that she dropped her tail.  Glad to say the sister has made a full recovery and is full of spunk, and funny looking with a pink tail growing back (she is an albino blizzard colouring Leopard gecko).  So with all the rescues we have done, we have gone from ZERO to 6 creatures in the last 6 weeks.  Our tally is now at: 3 Leopard Geckos, 1 African Fat Tail Gecko (the only male of the lot), 1 Costa Rican Zebra Striped Knee Tarantula and 1 Theraphosa Blondi (aka. Goliath Bird Eater) Tarantula.  And DH is talking about getting a couple new hatchlings (more spiders... shudder) in August at the Reptile Show/Sale.

I am sure I have a million things on the TO DO list but these are the ones I have put into the short term goals because they NEED to happen sooner rather than later.

Summer Blog Challenge Day 4

The meaning behind my blog name... is because we are a family of Gurney's living in Gurneyland.  It allows us to share our home with a bit of anonymity of actual geographical location.  DH an I actually discussed that if/when we buy an acreage, we will name the property Gurneyland on the land title, that way we actually will be living in Gurneyland.  Originally, I was thinking something totally different but settled on Gurneyland when I thought about how often homesteads, ranches and acreages are named and have said names posted somewhere on the property.  I have, for as long as I can remember, wanted to live on a farm (for an extended period of time).  Growing up, we moved LOTS!  The house (note it still isn't a home) that DH and I bought the year we got married, is still the place we live, but it is the longest I have ever lived in one place in my life, we have been here for five years now.  In the five years of being here, we still don't have any pictures or artwork up on the walls.  We have painted a few rooms to get rid of the awful pink that was here when we moved in, but nothing on the walls.  I still have boxes to unpack after all these years, because this place just isn't our eternal Gurneyland.

Test

Whoot!  I finally got it figured out in time to go to bed... GAH it is 1:30 in the morning and my poor 5 month old is still sleeping on the living room floor.  Time for bed for us!

Summer Blog Challenge Day3

15 Interesting Facts about ME:

1. I am secretly terrified of spiders, but we have 2 pet Tarantulas (and if they escape, I am exterminating the house to kill anything that moves!).

2. I am a full blown, fully certified Journeyman Welder.  I make metal for a living and LOVE it!  (When not on maternity leave that is.)

3. According to my DH, I am almost as beautiful inside as I am out.  He would know because he saw my guts when he was watching my c-section with our first daughter.  And this doesn't bother me at all.

4. I have stretch marks!  Yes, I admit it, after 2 pregnancies, I have earned my stripes.

5. I speak French and English fluently, and enough Spanish to get by.

6. I am addicted to knitting and spinning fibers.  I love making my own variations of patterns.

7. I love being outdoors... don't care what the weather is doing, I love nature and everything about it.

8. I love playing sports, but can't stand watching them (unless it is row 1 of WHL hockey with DH and a beer!).

9. I try to convince (sometimes even bribe) my 2 year old to sidewalk chalk the back walkway with me every nice day we have because I LOVE CHALKING! That and drawing with oil pastels.  I let the chalk decide what we will be creating and just go with it. 

10. I own ONE, yes only one small thing of eye shadow.  It is a very pale shimmery neutral colour.  And that is the entire contents of my make up bag.  Aside from my essential Burt's Beeswax Mint Lip Balm that is usually in my pocket or in my purse.  I'm the wake up, pull my hair into a pony tail or bun and go for the day type of girl. 

11. I have a HUGE girl crush on Lori Petty, I wanted to be her growing up and can quote word for word the entire movie, Tank Girl. (Okay, so this is weird, but true.  I was the girl that followed the rules, well most of them anyways and secretly always wanted to be bad and do crazy wild stuff.)

12. I am an orphan.  My parents both died when I was younger.  I was 13 when my dad died and 20 when my mum died.  I do still have 2 awesome sisters with whom I am really close but I wish we were geographically closer.

13. My favourite foods are Fruits (in season) and anything DILL. Especially peanut butter and dill pickle sandwiches (even when not pregnant).

14. I have a vast knowledge of fishing and anything to do with Pacific fish.  My dad's family were all commercial fishermen (and women) and I grew up with a love for the water.  Now I live in the land of murky rivers that I am kinda leary of, but learning to love ice fishing on the lakes in winter.

15. And for the piece de résistance:  I saw Johnny Depp (or at least I think it was him) Naked on a boat in Southern France.  I was swimming in the Mediterranean Sea while he was on a yacht. 


* Sorry if I make being pregnant sound like a 10 year bit (as DH puts it) but we have our 2 girls, Anomantia is almost 2.5 years old and Furia is almost 5 months old and I really miss being pregnant.  I am still on maternity leave (thank you Canada for the huge leave time) but I will be returning to work sometime this summer :( boo hiss! 

Summer Blog Challenge Day 2

Today's challenge is to post a picture of yourself smiling.  Well this is a picture of a picture, one of my favourites.  It was taken January 7th 2000.  I am on the left and my mum is on the right.  I have carried this photo around with me since my friend Suzanne mailed to me while I was living in France.  This photo was taken two days before I left for France in her kitchen.  Every time I look at this picture, I think of my lovely mum who died two years, eight months and seventeen days after it was taken.  I miss her everyday but I love the smiles in this photo.

June has arrived!

June has arrived and so has the rain here in Gurneyland.  Yesterday was an awesome start to the month.  Furia's first tooth broke the surface, she got her first mosquito bite and Anomantia used her first SIX (6) word sentence!  Since that, she has now astounded us with 8 word+ sentences and saying the funniest stuff.  Including copying her dad's expression of ummm hmmmm at a cute girl walking past the truck while I was picking up a computer for his work.  Hilarious and I am bummed that I missed it! Anyhow, I have decided to unofficially try the Summer Blog Challenge and partake in 90 days of blogging... we will see if I can do it.  The purpose of the challenge is to post one blog post each day from June 1st to August 31st (Yes, I know that I am starting this a day late).  It seems like a fun challenge and allows me to keep better tabs on my blog.  So with that, I have to go post for day 2.