The new math: 1 meteor + 1 window = 1 yummier mummy

Saturday was one of my favourite days, and it all started with being hit by a meteor. Well, that's what the kids say must have happened. Let me back up. I was on my way home in the car when I heard a very loud SMACK/CRASH. For the life of me I couldn't tell what had happened, but was grateful that the car still seemed to be working and it hadn't exploded or anything. I got the car home and investigated. It wasn't long before I spotted the damage: a large hole in my windshield, right at the bottom where the wipers are. I made an appointment for Saturday to take it in, and learned that it would involve replacing the whole windshield...a three hour commitment. You might think that this would be bad news but I tell ya, the old wheels started turning and i started to imagine what I might do with three hours all to myself. It's amazing how perspectives can change...in my 20's I would have been thinking of all the things I was missing out on by being stuck at an auto fixit place for three hours...today? It sounded like a little bit of heaven.

I prepared by doing a driveby. Felt a little disappointment trying to creep in since it seemed to be located in the middle of nowhere, but decided to think positive and figured I could always bring a book, and also my mini-laptop and work on my novel.

Showed up at my appointed time after leaving the kids with hubby, and looked around the "waiting area". No couches, just two hard plastic chairs. Not even a pot of old coffee. OK, no problem. Just needed to find somewhere a bit more comfortable. Like a curb.

Walked south for a bit, discovered a burger joint. Treated myself to a fantastic burger and fries. Walked a bit further, discovered a nail place...the usual kind where not much English is spoken but there are lots of smiles. Peeped my head in and started to say "I don't have an appointment..." and was welcomed in and given a seat immediately...I felt very happy that I would be getting a manicure and greed got the better of me..."Um, is there any chance I could also get an eyebrow wax?" To my delight the answer was an ecstatic "of course!" and I was then made to feel like a long lost friend who also happens to be royalty. What really made my visit to the nailplace joyous was the fact that as I was heading out the door, my lovely nail technician Linda said to me in heavily accented English "You know, you are very beautiful." Whether it was because of the generous tip or because she meant it or even if I misunderstood what she said, it made my day.

I walked out and started heading back to the car place...still at least an hour to kill...walked up to it, saw my car still being worked on, walked past...walked back again, and this time I noticed the pub. I walked by thinking something along the lines of "well it's 2:45 in the afternoon, not exactly happy hour" and then found myself walking back again thinking "well shit, why not! If I order a glass of wine it's not as shameful as a beer the size of my head." So I sauntered in with my French manicured nails and my red and angry (but very nicely shaped!) eyebrows and got myself a winelist.

A few sips of an Australian Cabernet later, I realized with great surprise that the gods were smiling on me yet again and there was free wireless. I felt very smart having brought my little netbook with me, and opened 'er up and not only worked on my novel but also caught up on some Facebook stuff.

I just finished up my glass of wine when I got the call that the car was ready.

It was a picture-perfect afternoon....self-indulgent without any guilt whatsoever! I wonder what the chances are of being hit TWICE by a meteor..?

Back after much laziness...

Well I feel awful for not writing in so long. I have to get in tune with what causes me to just dry up from time to time. Not only have I not been blogging, I've been avoiding my work-in-progress novel too. I'm back on the wagon now though, and ready to go!

Here's what's been going on...the Moksha Yoga studio near my house FINALLY opened this week. I have been on their mailing list for close to two years, waiting for them to open. I used to go to Bikram and Moksha classes a few years ago, but trying to juggle the twins plus driving long distances to the nearest classes...it was too much. So now I have no excuse! It's right around the corner from me so I went to two classes there this weekend. Every muscle I own is in a glorious state of agony and I'm very proud of myself for getting through it (twice!). Anyone who's done hot yoga would understand what I mean. That first class, you spend most of the 90 minutes wishing the floor would open up and swallow you or that the fire alarm would go off. In a somewhat ironic twist, I went to take a shower after class and discovered that the studio's hot water was temporarily unavailable. So that meant I went from 90 minutes in 106 degree yoga-oven, to shockingly freezing cold deluge. Truth be told I loved it. Kinda like racing from the sauna and plunging into a cold lake.

Worked on my book some more. Also started crafting my query letter and researching potential publishers. Something that I'm mystified by is whether to submit just to Canadian publishers or to send stuff to the States too/instead. From what I've been researching, most large publishers in the States only accept material from agents. In Canada, few authors have agents. I guess I've got more research to do.

Kids start back at school next week, or at least, I THINK they do. I'm a little concerned that it's a week away and we've received nothing from the school in terms of schedules/placement/teacher, etc. Today is apparently the first day the school office is open for the season so I will be trying to get some info today.

Well, guess I should get to work.

Y, R & U Are Letters

Y, R & U Are Letters

My dream last night. *Shudder*

I had the goddamn scariest dream last night. My mom, dad, sister and I were on a vacation somewhere and were sitting on some rocks overlooking the ocean. It was very peaceful and beautiful. I noticed a large sailfish-type fin go by in the water just in front of us. Then I saw it turn around and circle back towards us again. Before I had time to do anything more than say "Look at that!", out of the water came these huge jaws wide open, razors-for-teeth glinting in the sunlight. It was like one of those prehistoric sea creatures that ate the occasional T-Rex. It knocked my dad over and he toppled forward right into its gaping jaws and was swallowed whole, shreiking, and then the creature (and my dad) disappeared under the water.

This may sound ridiculous and laughable, but I woke up completely terrified and therefore DONE with sleep for the night. Ugh. I still feel sick, as I keep playing the image over and over in my head of my dad being swallowed face first.

I sure hope my dream isn't prophetic. :)

Wanted: Professional juggler

Must be able to juggle 27 objects in the air, some of them dangerous, and do so with a smile. Must be able to successfully impart this skill on me. How the hell do other working moms do it? I thought it was tough being a stay at home during the two years I did that. And it was. But differently tough. Now my time is split and it's more than my family depending on my ability to succeed. I have GOT to buy some lottery tickets. Honestly it's the only out I can see at this point. Well, I did submit a couple of children's stories to a publisher yesterday, so at least I'm moving forward instead of stagnant. Much more work to do though in terms of putting more stories together, and submitting to more publishers. It feels good to do work that's just for me.

Next stop: published author!

Other than a poem in Quill & Quire when I was 16, I've never been published. However I've always felt that with the right timing and inspiration I would turn myself into a legitimate author. Well, I hunkered down last night and drafted a children's book. It's a picture book, minus the pictures. :) Decided to put it through some rigorous Quality Assurance this morning by reading it to my kids. They loved it! Now, I realize that they are likely to be somewhat biased in this assessment but hey, for an initial take on my target audience, I'm pleased. Now I'm on a mission to churn out stories and ideas on a regular basis until I have some stuff from which to pick and choose. Then I'll start submitting to publishers.

This isn't the first time that I've started up this initiative, but it IS the first time that I feel both the timing and the inspiration are there. So we shall see!

The True North Strong and Free!

Canada Day tomorrow. This will be our first cottage weekend this year! Can't wait to get up there and breathe. I think I'll rig a contraption for the kids to scoop up lake creatures. I know my mom made my sister and I little net thing-ys out of wire coathangers and pantyhose. Quinn and Hazel are at that age where they are equally intrigued and appalled by creepy crawlies. They'll race around the house trying to catch a moth but if it actually lands on them all hell breaks loose. Hazel in particular should be entertaining, as she has managed to inherit my abhorrence of wasps/bees and of course even if it's just a fly buzzing around, she's horror-stricken. We're going to set up the bunk beds when we get up there, which should be a lot of fun for them. I know that was a huge treat for me when I was a kid, getting to climb a ladder into bed on the rare occasion I stayed at a house with bunk beds! Now we just need to deal with the issue of who gets the top bunk. They really ought to make bunk beds that are just two top bunks, and use the bottom for storage or desk space or something. Hey! I think that's brilliant! I'd better go patent that before someone reads this and steals the idea. Offline for a glorious 4 day weekend!!!

The Mummy Gets Yummier!

Proud to report that I am feeling really good with my G.I eating regime. 1.5 weeks into it, the weight isn't really coming off (only about 2 pounds) but the inches are. Plus, I am feeling great in terms of energy levels. It's amazing how you can slip into old patterns and feeling "blah" just becomes the norm. Anyway, I'm now on top of things and really pleased that I got back into it. NOW, if my local Moksha Yoga place would hurry up and have its grand opening I would be SOOOOOO happy! It was supposed to open in June but they had some unforeseen problems with the construction of the studio. Ah well, at least with its opening delayed a bit, I have a chance to get even more on top of my eating, body image, etc so I can throw myself into my Moksha with vim and vigor! Hmm...I'm pretty sure the yogis out there would balk a bit with regards to the vim and vigor thing since yoga's supposed to be all tranquil and stuff but I just gotta be me! Tranquil yoga is just not my thing. Pushing myself to the limits, pouring sweat, swearing under my breath....now THAT's my kind of yoga!

The earth moved....

Whoah. I just experienced my first earthquake. Craziness! I'm sure the peeps on the west coast are saying "pshaw!" to the 5.5'er we just got here but for those of us who are tremor virgins, that was nuts! What a feeling to be completely at the mercy of the earth. Very humbling. Gotta say I have a newfound appreciation for engineers. Thank you very much for making buildings that are capable of bending and swaying!

G.I Sarah!

What a dolt. I managed to lose all kinds of weight and was actually smaller than BEFORE the twins, and now I've gained it ALL back. It's not like it's a surprise, as I've had to buy myself a ton of clothes recently and I don't think the dryer just all of a sudden started to shrink everything! Grrrr....I'm so mad at myself. How could I throw away all that hard work? :( Anyway, as of last Friday I'm now back on my G.I way of life (it is NOT a diet!). The G.I "Diet" is really just common sense. It's low fat, low sugar, high fiber, and portion control. That's all there is to it. Anyway I'm now armed with a recipe book called 500 Low Glycemic Index recipes so at 3 meals a day...let's see here...500 recipes divided by 3 meals a day...about 167 days of NO EXCUSES!! I should be the size of bloody Kate Moss by that point. Anyhoo, the encouraging news is that I took my measurements today and have already lost 1/2 inch from my waist, and 1 inch from my fattest hip spot. Woohoo!! I'm on my way!

Reflections on my dad

Father's Day was yesterday, and I took the kids over to my parents' place for a visit. I find it hard to believe that he's 77 years old. It really makes you realize that every day is something to treasure. I've always felt a bit resentful that my parents were older than was typical back when they were starting their (our) family. But now it's not so much resentment, but rather panic that has set in, thinking about their mortality. The joy of having kids is bittersweet in a sense...you celebrate their milestones and birthdays and yet each event brings a sense of your own age and that of your parents. Anyway, this is getting depressing so I'll change course a bit...here is a tribute to my Dad.

When I was 6, I broke my leg skating. Dad and I were out together, not sure where my sister was but my mom stayed home. I think Dad was in more pain than me when we heard the "snap" of my tibia. Well, maybe not. But he was trying so hard to be calm and gentle with me while he ran across the field with me in his arms, to get me to the car, skates still on my feet.

When I was 10, my dad and I were out cross country skiing together in a remote forest. My dad slipped, fell down, and proceeded to turn whiter than the snow. He'd broken his ankle. I was in a panic. If I left him alone in the snow to get help, I might get lost, and the cellphone hadn't been invented yet. My dad somehow managed to ski on one leg, holding on to me, all the way to the car...which he then drove with his LEFT foot all the way home, with not a word of complaint. It turned out the break was so bad it required surgery to insert pins into the bone.

When my mom went through chemo last year and we weren't exactly sure how things would turn out, my dad was there for her that made me so proud, and so very envious of the kind of selfless heart that he has.

My dad is a very quiet man. He never asks for anything, but he gives everything. And he does it in a way that's so understated. Not to put too serious a spin on him, because he's also got a fantastic sense of humour and can be hysterically funny. His jokes and limmericks really aren't all that great, but he cracks himself up to the point of tears streaming/silent/shaking laughter, which of course gets everyone else going.

OK,well that's not nearly good enough, but for a blog post I think it's a start. I love my dad dearly and hope that the best of him has found its way to me. Happy Father's Day, Dad!

It's ALL about me!

I've been writing in journals in fits and spurts since I was about 10 years old. It's always been a source of therapy, a place to hone my writing skills (I WILL be a world famous author one day, dammit) and if I'm completely honest, provides me the joy of self-indulgence. So it's a little odd that I'm jumping on the Blog bandwagon this late in the game, but here we go.

This is going to take a bit of practice, because I'm realizing as I'm writing this that my journals have always been for my eyes only. Writing with the intention of sharing is a different story! I wonder if letting it all hang out with self indulgent navel gazing is the way to go, or if there should be some attempt at filtering. Hmmm...something to ponder.

OK, so here's the Coles Notes on me: thirtysomething, mom of twins, corporate office dweller, beginner knitter, aspiring writer and lottery winner (ah, that's ASPIRING lottery winner).

This blog, I think, will serve as a one-stop-shop for any and all random thoughts, adventures, and reflections on me, my family, and the world around me. I look forward to catching up on the 21st century technology!