a decades-long love affair

As I mentioned the other day, we were without a computer for almost two weeks. Not being able to blog, I spent a fair bit of time thinking about blogging, and more specifically what my goals and motives are for this blog. As amazing as it would be to actually make money blogging, I am one in millions in this big bloggy pond and I'm no Heather Armstrong. More importantly, I started this blog as a place to record our life and store some of our memories.

Trying to "market" it kind of takes away from that. Plus it takes too much time (and I already spend enough time online). I want this blog to be a place where I can write for me and where I can tell stories that I think my boys will like to read someday. Stories about themselves, stories about our family, things we went through, events that got us to where we are, and the little things that will give them insight into who they are and where they came from.

Like the story of their grandpa and his love affair with Apple computers.

* * * * * * * * * *

My dad was a huge Mac fan. HUGE. Addict even. We often heard him proudly tell how, in 1984, he bought the first Macintosh computer ever sold in the province of Saskatchewan (That would be the original Apple Macintosh. The one with the 9" screen. NINE INCHES!). He lined up for it.

While it wasn't necessarily marketed as a "portable" computer, it did come with a carrying case. A carrying case that my 6 year old sister and I (at 4 1/2) could both sit in comfortably. Convenient, I suppose. Impressive at the time, I'm sure. Portable? Not so much.

This is the same computer that I took to college in 1997. It was a dinosaur even then.

In the early 90's, he bought a Mac PowerBook (I'm not sure which one), one of Mac's first professional line of laptop computers. This ergonomic breakthrough had -wait for it- PALM RESTS. And a track ball. Be still my heart. It was a heavy little beast too.

I have fond memories of driving through West Glacier National Park in '96, not starring at the beauty around me, but intent on making it to the next level of Tetris on my dad's PowerBook. And feeling rather cool to be playing a computer while driving in the van, no doubt.

The old PowerBook was put through its paces for most of a decade -my dad taking apart the tracking ball and rebuilding it several times- until he brought home one of the clamshell iBook G3s in 2000. Although the blueberry Bondi blue colour was somewhat less professional than what he was after, his three daughters were pretty mad about it. The fun shape, the bright colours paired with clear plastic, THE CARRYING HANDLE... what more could you ask for?

That same year, he bought my just-married sister one of the newly introduced iMac desktop models. The first all-in-one computer (it was the grape colour) with its matching keyboard and hockey puck mouse, he just couldn't pass up the deal he found one day on a floor model.

Sometime in '03, after unsuccessfully attempting to replace the keyboard himself -and frying the motherboard in the process- the iBook G3 was succeed by a gleaming white iBook G4. My dad opted to have an AirPort card installed, and thus ushered in the era of wireless internet for our family.

With its happily glowing white apple logo on the back of the case, this laptop drew high praise from the then-toddlers in the family. This was also the Mac that introduced our family to two of the boys' now-favorite games: Gold Miner Joe and Tasty Planet (or "Grey Goo" as it's known around here).

In 2006, my dad purchased the last Mac computer he would buy before his death in Dec 2008. It was one of the original MacBook Pro laptops. This was Mac's first laptop designed with an aluminum body and it's sleek design seemed lightyears away from that old blueberry clamshell. It's a shame that he only got to use it for, really, a year and a half before he became seriously ill. Four years after its introduction, it still seems impressively brand new. Great design never gets old.

In the last 25 years of my dad's life, he bought and loved six Mac computers (there might even be one I missed somewhere in the '90s... I seem to remember one with a little green rubber button thing between the 'G' and 'H' keys in place of a mouse? Anyone remember that?).

Quite the love story. A boy and his toys. A man and his Macs.

* * * * * * * * * *

So now after almost 10 years of marriage and two PCs ("slumming it" as my dad would say), this iMac purchase feels like I've come full circle. Back to my roots. Back to that happy little apple with the bite taken out of it that was daily a part of my childhood.

And I'm pretty sure that, where ever my dad is, he's smiling a little bigger right now.

it seems we have the attention spans of OH LOOK, SOMETHING SHINY!

And that something shiny just happens to be a shiny, lovely, amazingly designed and artfully crafted brand spanking new, iMac.

The general busyness and hubbub of the holiday season notwithstanding, it's been pretty quiet on the ol' blog front as of late. This was certainly due in large part to said general busyness and hubbub of the holiday season, however it was also very much to do with a certain laptop computer that suddenly gave up the ghost. What we hoped was a mere (mere!) corrupt Windows file turned out to be more of the your-hard-drive-is-completely-toast kind of a problem.

Even before the Mighty Crash of 2009, we'd been scanning the fliers weekly and reading various online review sites in an effort to prepare ourselves for what we felt was quickly coming (ie. our computer dying). This premonition of pending doom did not, however, lead us to backup our files. No, that would've been too proactive. at all since early October (related: BACKUP YOUR STUFF, folks!). Opening your computer to a screen void of anything except a simply yet ominous error message is enough to strike terror into the heart of even the most seasoned computer user. ESPECIALLY ONE WHO HASN'T BACKED UP THEIR FILES FOR MONTHS.

For those who don't know, I take lots of pictures. I know I'm lazy about posting them, but trust me, I take them. A lot of them. I'd even done a few photo sessions in that time -for friends (of the non-paying sort *wink*), but still. I should have backed them up. I should have known better.

Lesson learned.

All that to say that we found ourselves faced with buying a new computer a bit sooner than expected (ie, before getting our tax return). We did a bit more reading, visited a few stores, talked to friends and sales people, then sat down to crunch some numbers.

At one end, the more basic PC model that was suggested to us that would have easily met our needs, in (what we thought was) the middle a PC with upgraded memory and video card, and at the far end of the spectrum -tantalizingly out of our reach- the iMac.

The something shiny.

We knew it would be easy to talk ourselves into a Mac and all the delicious features it has to offer, but felt the price difference was just not justifiable. Although we did manage to pay off all of our non-house/ non-van related debt last year, we are always conscious of how important it is to be good stewards of our money (we are a one income family after all). But because a PC purchase would also require the purchase of the MS Office suite AND yearly anti-virus protection, the difference between the budget model and the iMac ended up being less than $100.

In a lame attempt to make this already long story less long, it is suffice to say that we are now the proud and loving owners of a new iMac. The honeymoon period is still in full swing and we are head over heels in love with this beauty. No sooner did we plug this baby in than our old faithful Dell was completely forgotten amid a chorus of oohs and aahs and is-it-my-turn-yets.

Clearly we are a fickle bunch.

And to prove it, here's a love letter drawing I found in Liam's notebook yesterday:

We're all smitten.

Now back to blogging.

finding the time

Today is December 30th and, now that I've awakend from my turkey-induced tryptophan coma, I feel like I'm in a race against the clock to get my holidays blogged. But first I need to get all my photos downloaded and editted AND THAT TAKES TIME. Time that requires I take time away from all the turkey-eating, picture-taking, cookie-consuming, friend-visiting, Playmobil-playing, Lego-building and general merry-making that's been going on. AM BEING PULLED IN. SO. MANY. DIRECTIONS.

But it's been a fun, fun holiday so far and I really want to document it all. For you, my lovely readers, and for me and my family.

Let's pray for a long nap time...

and to all a goodnight

It's 12:22am, so officially Christmas.

The soup has been eaten*, The Other Wiseman has been read (the little boys have giggled at the word "naked"), the Christmas jammies have been donned, the kids have been put to bed, the stockings have been filled and hung (or in this case laid on along the wall... there are 13 of us this year! I'd like to see the mantle big enough to accommodate thirteen stockings!), and this tired mum is ready for bed.

But before I go, I'd like to wish you all a very, VERY Merry Christmas. I am so thankful for all that I have. My awesome husband, my amazing children, my loving family, my wonderful friends, and my adoring fans loyal blog readers. In french the word for "thankful" is "reconnaisance". I love the word. It seems to imply an inherent consciousness of that which we have to be thankful. It seems more deliberate. A conscious thankfulness. Nice, eh?

And so, to all a Merry Christmas and, to all, a good night.

*My dad used to make corn chowder every Christmas Eve. For as long as I can remember. I'm not even sure how the tradition began, but it is unique to our family. It's not cultural or religious or ethic. It's just us. My dad was not here to make it this year, so my mom took up the torch. It was not quite like his, but it was still good.

Delicious.

Full of love (but not quite enough corn).

(Love you mom.)

TWO!

This last week, I was given two blog awards. Two. Awards! TWO!

What is a blog award? I'm not entirely sure, but it sure does make me feel special, so I will gladly accept!

The first is from Mama Jade at Strained Peas and the second is from Elizabeth at Confessions of a Working Mom. I'm thrilled that you'd think of me, and a little bit... well, really? Me? *blush*

Mama Jade's award came with a quiz and since NaBloPoMo is kicking my butt  sucking my brain out my finger sapping any creative writing juices, I figured I would take advantage of this excuse to not have to write a proper post (thanks again, ladies). The trick is that you can only use one word to answer each question. Those of you who know me AND HOW WORDY I CAN BE will recognize what a challenge this will be. But I'm up for it.

The Survey
1. Where is your cell phone? dead

2. Your hair? messy

3. Your mother? strong

4. Your father? missed 

5. Your favorite food? chocolate

6. Your dream last night? dragonslayer

7. Your favorite drink? OJ

8. Your dream/goal? travel

9. What room are you in? family

10. Your hobby? photography

11. Your fear? criticism

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? Africa

13. Where were you last night? bed

14. Something that you aren’t? organized

15. Muffins? please!

16. Wish list item? camera

17. Where did you grow up? Regina

18. Last thing you did? breastfeed

19. What are you wearing? pyjamas

20. Your TV? off

21. Your pets? none

22. Friends? appreciated

23. Your life? content

24. Your mood? lazy

25. Missing someone? horribly

6. Vehicle? van

27. Something you’re not wearing? makeup

28. Your favorite store? Vistek

29. Your favorite color? orange

30. When was the last time you laughed? recently

31. Last time you cried? remembering

32. Your best friend? Peter

33. One place that I go to over and over? Regina

34. One person who e-mails me regularly? inlaws

35. Favorite place to eat? anyplacewhereIdidn'tcookthefood (that's one word, right?)

Thanks again, for the bloggy love, ladies. Hopefully I'll find time to pass on these awards later this week.

putting myself out there... and being melodramatic

Being one who prefers to subscribe to blogs rather than follow, I've never bothered to add the Followers widget to my blog.

Until now.

I find myself feeling kinda left out when I see others' followers. So I'll just say it...  I want followers, too. *stomps feet*

There. I said it.

And if you scroll down to the bottom of my blog, you'll see the Followers widget. But don't click on it just because I whined about it asked you to. And don't do it because I'm hosting a big giveaway (because I'm not). I'm hoping you'll do it BECAUSE YOU LOVE ME.

Why else?

stay tuned

I have a new blog to share with you later today (hopefully). I'm just waiting on the blogger to make it a bit more annonymous because of the nature of the blog. I will say this, however, that I'm pretty sure it's subject matter is unlike another other blog out there. At least nothing I could come up with using Google's blog search.

It is not a mommy blog.

It is not a review blog.

It is not a techie, or product blog.

It is a blog about an industry that WE WILL ALL DEAL WITH at at least one point in our lives, but one that very few know anything about... Ah, the intrigue! The mystery!

So check back later today and I'll let you in on the secret.

(No, I did not start another blog. I did give this particular blog a much needed makeover. It is fun to read AND (now) fabulous to look at.)

is new always better?

Any thoughts on the new blog design? Those reading in a reader, click through and let me know what you think. I love the Flickr widget that shows some recent pictures. Neat cloud effect, eh? I'm also thinking it's about time for a new header image...

are you one of the sixty-one?

Last night was a looong night.

I've been in denial for some time that Andrew might have some of the same food sensitivities as Simon, but last night confirmed it. I spent half of the night (until 3am) sleeping (ie. NOT SLEEPING) on the couch with a sweaty bundle of wriggling, writhing, crying-every-fifteen-minutes, hardly-letting-my-boob-out-of-his mouth, baby.

Somewhere around RIDICULOUS O'CLOCK 3am, I woke up (yes, woke up) and realized that I'd been sleeping (yes, sleeping), so I dragged myself up the stairs to bed. I laid Andrew in his crib and crawled into bed, trying not to wake Peter. At some point, Andrew must have started crying again because I woke up to find him in bed with us, although I have NO RECOLLECTION OF GETTING HIM from his crib.

His crying started back up around 6:30am and this time nothing worked. Not patting, rubbing, rocking, hushing, singing. Not laying him on his back, his stomach, my chest, my legs, or in my arms. His soother (pacifier for you Yankees) made him cry harder and even the all-mighty boob was rejected.

This morning I have a bit of a headache and a bit less patience than normal, but Andrew has been slept from 9am til almost 11:30am, and the parents of one of Liam's little girlfriends offered to come pick him up to play for the afternoon (bless them!) so I trust we'll all survive the day.

The one thing that buoyed my cranky self this morning was refreshing my blog and seeing that I now have 61 readers!* Squeee! I don't know who you all are, but THANK YOU! Dooce may have a million followers on Twitter, but I have all of you! So a big "Mwah" to you all!

(That's "mwah" like a kiss, not like an evil "mwahahaha". Don't want to risk any misunderstanding.)

* * * * * * * * * *

*By "readers", I'm talking about those who subscribe to my RSS feed. Those who do subscribe are like, "Yeah, that's me. Feeds are old news." Those who don't subscribe (hi, mom!) are like, "Huh? Subscrib-a what? Feed who??" My current subscribers can go back to their reader and carry on catching up on their other favorite blogs now. The rest of you, this next bit is for YOU (mom, you might want to get a paper and pen and take some notes).

So RSS stands for, among other things, Really Simple Syndication. In Oprah speak, RSS stands for Ready for Some Stories. Basically, it's a way for you get to get updates of all your favorite blogs or websites all in one place.

Say, for example, that you have a daughter and three daughters-in-law who all have blogs (*wink* hi, Craig and Mora!). With RSS, you can "subscribe" to each blog (or other websites) and get "fed" all the new posts in one list. Subscribing to RSS feeds will save you time by bringing all of those blogs together in one place -in your reader- and save you from having to visit each blog each day searching/hoping for new posts. This way you will instantly know which blogs have updates and which do not.

That one place where your RSS list is created is called an RSS Feed Reader, and it gathers all the headlines from all the websites and blogs you have subscribed to. The first thing you’ll want to do if you’re just getting into reading sites via RSS is to hook yourself up with an RSS Reader.

There are many feed readers going around with various approaches and features, however a good place to start is with one of the free and easy to use web based ones like Google Reader and Bloglines (I use Google Reader). If you currently use any of Google's other services (ie. Gmail or Blogger), then you already have access to Google Reader.

(To find out, go to www.google.com and look in the top right corner. If you see links for iGoogle, Sign In, then you'll need to sign in and/or register. If you see your email address, iGoogle, My Account and Sign Out, then you already have an account with Google.)

Both of these feed readers work a little like email. As you subscribe to feeds you’ll see that unread entries from the sites you’re tracking will be marked in bold. As you click on them you’ll see the latest update and can read it right there in the feed reader. You are given the option to click through to the actual site or move onto the next unread item, marking the last one as ‘read’.

For a quick tutorial on how to subscribe, here's a quick and visually informative video on subscribing to RSS feeds:

Internet: Useful Tips:
RSS In Plain English

So now that you know why and how to subscribe to your favorite blogs (*cough, cough* Like mine. *cough, cough*), hopefully I'll see my numbers numbers sky rocket. Or at least go up by -let's see... mom and my younger sister, older sister, father/mother-in-law, three sis/brother-in-laws, and a couple friends- six or seven?? Maybe?

I've been meaning to post this for a while now, mostly for the benefit of my family and extended family, especially since my lovely sister-in-law, Susanna, unleashed the monster and got me going on this whole blog thing.

(I'm still working on my own sisters...)

don't mess with a good thing I guess

I put things back to how they were.

(note: Always save your blog templates. You'll thank me.)

I do love to be able to post BIG pictures, but maybe I'll widen my practically defunct photo blog in the header above and widen THAT one. It'll mean jumping around a bit, but I don't want people to have to scroll over here and I agree that all text post would look a little lonely and sparse with all that extra room.

Thanks for all the feedback! I ♥ my readers.

(That means you.)

a little feedback, if you would?

As you can see, I've changed my blog template once again. I want to be able to post full sized photos from my Flickr account, and to do so I need a wider blog. But I don't want my readers to have to scroll side to side in order to read and see everything. Using Firefox it looks okay on my monitor, but mine is pretty wide.

I haven't added any of the wider pictures, so I know it looks a bit empty in its current state. To show you what I mean, here's one of the pictures from the engagement shoot I did.

the biggest I could post before

REMOVED DUE TO LARGENESS

the full size I'd like to be able to post

Would you mind leaving me a comment and letting me know how it looks? Too wide? Do you have to scroll to see the main content and the sidebars?

spring is (finally) here

I decided that my blog needed a new look, something decidedly more spring-ish. I'm still not completely happy with it, so will continue to make small changes

Hopefully summer won't be as late in coming as spring was and I'll be able to update my design with a summer-y header before September.

Let me know what you think.

after a record breaking 40.3 million votes...

The winner is... LOUKIA! Congrats Loukia. Let me know which of the two prizes you'd like so I can put in an order on Amazon for two (one for me and one for you).

The Dave Ramsay book really is amazing -- although he might make you give up your purse habit ;) -- and sounds like you and I could both benefit from the Shred. However if you're prancing around parks wearing Lulu's, I likely have much more work to do than you.

Whichever prize you choose, I hope we'll have fun doing it "together".

Anyone else want to join??

would you rather lose weight or get ride of debt?

Happy Blogoversary to me!

This wee blog of mine was started a year ago, May 19th, 2008. We'd recently moved across Canada from Calgary to the Ottawa area and didn't know a soul. We had no family or friends around and were living in a hotel in downtown Ottawa (for FIVE WEEKS). I was ten weeks pregnant and suffering from A.W.F.U.L morning sickness. I was sick, bored and more than a bit lonely.

A blog was born.

I wasn't sure if I should celebrate my one year anniversary today or wait until February 5th which was the first time that someone other than a family friend or family member left a comment on my blog (it was Noreen from 5K--Live Love Laugh).

That fateful day. I was hooked.

But having to wait until NEXT February wouldn't be any fun. I'm too impatient.

So to celebrate a year of rambling blogging, I'll be giving away a copy of EITHER the 30-Day Shred with Jillian Michaels OR The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsay. You can read more about my reasons for choosing these two prizes HERE. Because of our commitment to paying off our debt, this prize will be coming to you courtesy of the SwagBucks I've been winning.

In order to enter, here's what you have to do:

• Leave me a comment here on why YOU would like to win either the DVD or book (feel free to also include how great you think I am).

And because I'm a lemming and most other blog giveaways include the following ways to get additional entries, I'll include them too:

• Blog about this giveaway, and then come back here and leave a link for me to check out.
• Twitter about this giveaway (or RT my Twitter feed post update thingy), and then come back here and leave me a link to your tweet.
• Subscribe to my feed, or let me know if you already do.

Leave a separate comment for each entry.

Rules, regulations, and other important stuff: This giveaway ends Saturday, May 23rd at 11:59 PM, EST (at which time I will be passed out after Liam's Lego Clone Wars birthday extraordinaire). Winner will be chosen the following day via Random.org (or we'll cut all the names out of paper, tape them to the wall and throw darts). Winner has 48 hours to respond to my notification email, or a new winner will be chosen in their place. Giveaway is open to Canadian and US residents.

But remember, there's a catch...

I wish I had hundreds of prizes for all my hundreds of readers at least a couple dozen prizes for each of my handful of loyal readers (hey, I'm all about quality over quantity and I have some QUALITY readers!). If you've never left a comment before, I'd love to hear from you. De-lurk yourself! I really do truly appreciate everyone who takes time to read this blog.

What originally began as a space to share stories and pictures with my family and close friends has become much more. Still a place to record my thoughts and memories, it's now also a place where I can connect with other moms (or stay at home dads... hi, Ryan), explore parenting issues, work through feelings about my dad's death, seek accountability and vent and complain about bugs.

Thank you for sharing your time and lives with me. It means more than I can say.

a different kind of giveaway for my blogoversary

Earlier this week I asked what most bloggers do for their blogoversary. After an overwhelming response 3 comments (thanks Kami, Sab and Loukia!) I've decided to have a little giveaway.

But there a twist.

Most giveaways I've seen around the blogosphere are the result of a marketing campaign focused on mommy bloggers and the power of word of mouth (unless you're Pioneer Woman and can afford to give away cameras and KitchenAid mixers and the like. Oh, to be PW. Oh, to have a stand mixer...). I have nothing at all against those who host giveaways or have review blogs, but I do sometimes get tired of feeling like I'm "being sold" each time I visit a blog.

What makes this giveaway different is that the winner will have their choice of prizes, the prize chosen will not be "sponsored" (nor will it come out of my pocket), AND there's a catch. Of course.

Up for grabs next week will be ONE of the following (one, people. ONLY ONE.):

- the 30-Day Shred with Jillian Michaels














- The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsay














The prize will be shipped from either Amazon.com or Amazon.ca (depending on where you live).

How am I able to do this without spending any money out of pocket? Thanks to SwagBucks! Since joining about a month ago, I've won enough SwagBucks for $20 in Amazon gift certificates. Like I said in my initial post about SwagBucks, no one will get rich using them. $20 in a month is no winfall. But it's giving me that chance to say a little thank you to all of you who read my blog. It's worth it.

Peter and I talked about getting Starbucks gift cards and taking advantage of free babysitting the opportunity to go out while our parents are in town, but knowing I wanted to do something special for my anniversary here we decided to go with the Amazon cards.

Peter knows how much I want to start doing the 30-Day Shred and he also knows me well enough to know that I'm going to need some accountability a buddy threats a kick in the rear lots of encouragement to do said video.

I've heard it's HARD. And I'm scared.

But it's also only 20 minutes so I think it's totally doable.

In theory.

So if you win and chose the DVD, you have to commit to doing the Shred with me and keeping me accountable/listening to me whine and cry about how much I'm hurting after not having excercised much in the last four years while I was busy growing THREE human beings. Deal?

If the winner opts for a copy of The Total Money Makeover rather than listen to me curse Jillian Michaels, we'll read the book "together" and be eachother's sounding board for thoughs, questions, and ideas about how to live debt free. TOTALLY DEBT FREE.

Be sure to check back next week to celebrate me! my blogoversary and for your chance to win. It's sort of a Choose Your Own Adventure giveaway.

what to do?

What's the status quo/protocol for ones blogoversary? What have you done? Leave me a link in the comments so I can read your post and get some ideas!

did ya notice?

I added two little bar graphs to the right hand column of my blog.

See 'em? Aren't they pretty?

The first shows our progress on paying off our debt ($7000 in 3 1/2 months, thank you very much!). Hopefully we'll be able to throw another huge chunk at that when the rest of our tax return is paid out.

The second is my progress -or current lack of progress- in losing the weight from this last pregnancy. For me, the real benchmark will be when I can once again fit into my pre-pregnancy clothes, but the scale is a good reference point in the mean time. I thought about posting before and after pictures, but I don't think I can bear to take the "before" shot.

Why is it that, although the baby grows in my stomach (okay, I know it's not my actual stomach, you know what I mean) it's my thighs and hips that take the brunt of the weight gain?

Sheesh.

Although it's going to feel AMAZING to have our debt paid off, I might be more excited to fit into my "skinny clothes" again.

way to go, adsense

Not sure if you noticed the ad space I added to my blog recently. Google AdSense is designed to search your site for content and find relevant ads to post. RELEVANT ADS.

So what ads have been popping up on my blog this week?

How about ones for "how to repair a toilet", "auto sensor flushing toilets", "waterless toilets" clearly thanks to this post and this one.

in response to my mention of cereal, there are ads for cereal diets and All-Bran. Not overly offensive EXCEPT THAT I HAVE A GROWING AVERSION TO COLD CEREAL OF ALL KINDS.

And since my last post about breastfeeding, there are now FOR FORMULA -argh!- and for NESTLE, a company that I consciously boycott (see wikipedia's article on the Nestle boycott or just Google it).

So now I'm rethinking the whole ad thing. Maybe I'll give it a month or so to see if it's worth it. Maybe I'll do a little experiment to see what kind of ridiculous ads will appear based on my content... hmmm...

If you're reading this, leave me a comment and let me know what ads are being displayed? Anything good??

weekend watch

I thought I'd start a fun series to share some of my online discoveries.

I've been getting to know some other Ottawa-area bloggers. Here -in no particular order other than the order I found them in- are some great capital city blogs.

a peek inside the fishbowl

Postcards from the Mothership

Life is Good at the Beach

A Crafty Mom's Blog

Turtlehead

Two Hands Full

Loulou's View

Hopefully you'll enjoy the writing of some of these great Ottawa ladies.

(If any of you are visiting me here, hopefully we'll get to meet someday. What say we leave the kids with the men-folk and meet for something that isn't served in a sippy cup or as part of a Happy Meal?)

If you're an Ottawa blogger that I've missed (I'm sure there are loads that I don't know about since I only started looking a few weeks ago... You mean I'm not the only one?? Here I thought I was all original.), leave me a comment and I'll add you to the list.

about me

Welcome to my blog!

(cracks fingers to warm up for the flood of inspiration that will ultimately follow)

And?





*crickets*


Nothing?? Nothing.

(sigh) People are TOTALLY going to want to read this blog.

Why is it that I have such a hard time with these? Maybe I'm just too much of a perfectionist that I know I'll never be happy with it even after the 100th edit. Maybe I'm suffering from flashbacks of all the testimonies we were forced to write in Youth Group growing up ("I grew up in a Christian home..."). Maybe it's the pressure that people may make their decision about whether or not to come back based on how clever I manage to come across in this post (HA. Is this thing even on?). Maybe I'm afraid that any effort I make to try to make my mommy life sound exciting will come off as trying too hard.

Or maybe sitting down to describe myself will confirm what I already suspect... that my life really ISN'T all that exciting...

But isn't it? I guess it depends on your definition of exciting.

Last May, with two days notice, my husband and I packed up our (then) two boys and moved 4000 miles KILOMETERS away (this is a Canadian blog, yo). From oil-rich, ranch-heavy Calgary, Alberta, to the capital region of Ottawa, Ontario. Since Peter's job with the Canadian Foreign Service requires him to be fluent in both of Canada's official languages, he started right away into an intensive French language course. Because we wanted to immerse ourselves in the language (read: couldn't afford a house in Ottawa), we settled across the river in Gatineau, Quebec.

(For those of you not familiar with the region, there's kind of a St Paul-Minneapolis thing going on here. Except that St Paul and Minneapolis would be in different states AND HAVE DIFFERENT OFFICIAL LANGUAGES.)

Even though we're only about 10 minutes from Parliament Hill, we're technically in a parallel universe different city and province entirely. It's been quite the culture shock adventure at times.

I have to admit that I'm not entirely sure what I want this blog to be. It started out as a private family blog, but is beginning to grow into something more.

I enjoy writing. I enjoy connecting with others online. I enjoy sharing the crazy, sometimes destructive, often funny (at least in retrospect) antics of my boys, who I think are pretty great.

I also enjoy -and NEED- this blog as an outlet. Not only as a place to record the life of myself and my family, but also a place to put my thoughts "to paper".

I suppose you could describe this as yet another mommy blog. Other areas I have or hope to post about would/will include:

- spirituality, God, grief, musings on eternity and the after-life (I can FEEL my subscription numbers soaring)
- crafting (mainly my sewing attempts... I'm great at STARTING projects)
- cooking (whole foods and issues relating to Simon's many allergies)
- photography (and my half-a$$ attempts to master my camera -a Nikon D40, if you're wondering)
- life in "the Nation of Quebec" (Seriously. That's what they call it.)
- frugal living (which will be my excuse to hit up garage sales every weekend come summer! SO. EXCITED.)

Are ya hooked??

So yeah, maybe not the most super exciting line up, but I'll try to make it a fun ride. And for those who stick with me, you'll be able to follow my family when we get posted overseas... hopefully somewhere in Africa.

The name of my blog, "muddy boots", came for the lyrics of a song I listened to as a child off the album, Bullfrogs and Butterflies. The premise of the song is that there's always sunshine after a rain and that, as followers of Christ, we have a "different kind of sunshine". One of my favorite lines says,

Rain's spreading blessings here and there.
My boots may be muddy but I'm going somewhere.

Living, loving, learning -blogging?? It's all a journey. Hopefully at the end of it all we'll be able to look back and say that we were better off for it.

~ Amy