happy christmas eve eve

the day before the day before christmas. the gifts are bought & mostly wrapped. groceries are in the fridge. a few small stops tomorrow, then the party begins.

as usual, I am feeling sick [always the christmas sore throat & cough!], and at 841 on sunday evening, I feel like I should be in bed. how totally sad is THAT?

it's almost as sad as not mailing out a single christmas card.

I had some cool, interesting thoughts to share [okay, so cool & interesting in my brain!] but I can't seem to get my words sorted. perhaps I can unfog my brain tomorrow over a cup of coffee!

have a happy christmas eve tomorrow and try not to get too bogged down by the craziness that can be christmas!

bad blogger, bad friend

yup. that's me. let me give you the run down of the last week or so.

1. teach full time
2. sick kids
3. christmas shopping
4. going-away scrapbook for a colleague
5. christmas concert/carnival
6. a 4-year old pooing his pants at my school
7. cards for nearly everyone but the people I should have mailed them to
8. 3 trips to london drugs to drop off and pick up pictures
9. pick up my replacement wedding ring
10. hair cut
11. me sick
12. christmas party for our church group [at our house]
13. staff christmas party [at our house - 2 days later!]
14. john sick & snoring
15. wash the floors - after 2 parties
16. remember to send a bit of a gift to oregon
17. secret santa gifts all week [LOVED the bailey's I ended up with!!]
18. and tonight - feed, bathe & bed 2 boys, make 3 tins of cards & make 7 doz cookies for the school cookie exchange

AND just one more lone day of school. phew. a busy weekend, but rest is a coming! please forgive me for being a delinquent friend...christmas cards, calls & coffee's will resume very soon. I promise.

making a list, checking it twice...

I do well with lists. always have. it has taken me until the 9th of december to make a list of all the gifts I need to send & buy and all the cards that need to go out in the next few days. I have been buying random gifts, thinking that I am sorta on the right track. yeah no. I did some on-line shopping today and I am hoping that things come in on time. how many days left??

and on a totally other note...nate had his recital today. the pictures say it all. he did such a great job and I was so proud of him! I have video footage as well...will take some time to figure that out!

random tuesday thoughts

december is going a bit too quickly for my liking. I know it is only the 4th, but it seems crazy that monday is the 10th already. I need to get my christmas card pictures done. I need to get my christmas cards done. I need to buy some gifts. just seems a bit nuts.

I have some happy things though [mainly because the cold is making me rather miserable...the backs of my arms are cold...grrr]: I ordered an ipod touch. hehehe! I really like my ipod nano - the wee thing has done me well over the last year, but I do use it a lot and I was wanting an upgrade...SO, after consulting my brother [who has one] and my husband [who still was needing to buy me something for christmas], I ordered one. it should be here on monday. secondly, turns out that the whole lost ring business is all going to be okay. I am going in to get my finger sized for the new ring...turns out that the insurance company works with the same jeweler who originally made the ring. it is all going to be okay. AND, I was hoping that my new phone would be here today [long story about how and why I am getting a new one, but it has to do with john losing his at a football game], since john got his last week already. I am a bit bitter about mine not being here yet. alas, my husband just walked in..

stay warm & dry everyone!

so many complications

1. our computer is broken. this makes me sad, since it was like an old friend. reliable, safe, predictable. the things I needed were there. although about 95% of our stuff had been backed up, my contact list in outlook had not been. grrr. we have since moved steph's computer from her office into our space, since she is not using it. I am really wanting a mac. we're going to start saving.

2. school is good. school is busy. I am not liking busy. I create my own reality - my own schedule. in doing that I have WAY TOO MUCH on my plate. too many commitments, not enough time to do coffee with my friends. too much fluff, not enough qt with my boys. as a result, I have gained 15lbs in the last few months. I am not feeling good about myself and am therefore not taking care of myself. I took a day off this week and had some me time. that was a good, good thing. I need a plan. a real plan. a plan that will force me into submitting. a plan that will kick my fat ass. SO, this week I will track my points on ww everyday. I will drink 8 glasses of water every day. I will go to exercise class on monday. I will do these 3 things and be okay with that.

3. christmas. feeling okay with the busyness here. I have lots of things I still have to do to get ready for christmas, but here, on this first day of december, I know I have 23 more days to get them done!!!

4. the weather here sucks right now. it is SUPER cold. that just makes me grumpy.

5. huising family christmas get-together tomorrow, parent-teacher interviews on thursday, gingerbread party for the kids on saturday, nate's music recital next sunday. jam packed. I can do this. I can be busy and be okay.

6. blogging is therapeutic. so is stamping. must do both more.

hurry, hurry!

quickly!!!! head to erika's blog - she's giving away treats and it's the last day! quit reading here and GO!!

a little bit of this...and a little bit of that!

I think I have lost all 6 of my readers with the lack of action on my poor blog. sorry everyone. school is going well; it's that crazy-report-card-never-ending-pre-christmas time of the year, but still it is good. I like good.

I haven't really felt like I've had a ton of stamping time, but I made some super-fly paper bows [check e's blog...she's got a picture and a link to the tutorial] and I did a scrapbook page. we are having some fun computer issues as of late, so taking & posting pictures is a bit trying right now [grrr!].

let's see...other new things. john & I had a date night last night. some christmas shopping at THE mall, dinner at earls [espresso love martini, baby!] and a late show - american gangster! the best part was sleeping in this morning...since the kids were having sleepovers at various grandma's houses!!! love my kids. love them more when I've had uninterrupted sleep.

and one crafty-type note/picture...altered clipboard/countdown to christmas dealy! felice is coming over to stamp tomorrow...happy!! I am starting to get into a bit of a christmas mood. I really love christmas, so regardless of no snow, I'll be happy to make some christmas cards tomorrow and begin all those christmas fun things!

phew!

wow! a long couple of days. I am feeling pretty good about everything though. got through a rememberance day with flying colours - I think we did good! it was really nice to see so many of our community members out to support our kids. lots of stress for yvonne & I...but it's done and it's all good.

and, I went to exercise today. I hurt. the good hurt.

all sorts of things

1. lost my wedding ring. it's kinda been a bad week on that level. I am just consoled that the big guy knows exactly where it is - and is the guy in charge of me. it's all okay.

2. ipp's are done.

3. remembrance day stuff is pretty much done. I can seriously rock a powerpoint presentation. supah cool!

4. have some stamping to do - will do after thursday!

5. school has been stressful - halloween week SUCKS at school. plus a time change - BRUTAL!

6. I started weight watchers [the online version] yesterday. 10 lbs by christmas. I am FINALLY feeling a bit motivated.

7. my house needs to be cleaned. if you come over, please ignore the dustbunnies.

8. I am feeling bad about my inability to answer the phone & emails. the last 2 weeks have been nuts and I am finally feel like I am recouping from it all.

9. computer is going nuts. viral issues. does that sound really pussy & icky??? well it should - this whole virus issue is ANNOYING!

10. when you eat your smarties do you eat the red ones last?

grrr

I know I am the worst procrastinator in the world. I totally get that. did I think I'd be pulling an all-nighter tonight? nah. I always get it done. always. why not this time? brain overload. that's my story and I'm stickin' to it!

grrr. so. it's all IPPs until they are all done. good thing it's an okay tv night!

irene rocks

irene is an amazing photographer...love the pics she took of us! check her out at www.ireneausten.com

sorry about the last post

I couldn't get my blog to come up and I had a thought in my head and then it was gone by the time I got it working...hence the GRRR!

so john & I started going to a small group. very brave and bold for the fraser family. we're reading the book of isaiah and it's really kinda interesting in a historical/prophetic/crazy kind of way. there was a verse tonight that struck me...isaiah 1:16 & 17: "stop doing wrong, learn to do right! seek justice, encourage the oppressed. defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow." words to live by, on many different levels. gotta love new perspectives. and on that note...off to bed!

grrr

this is having issues...

my ty

okay. I just cannot get enough of that face. [be warned...mother bias and general gushing coming up...read at your own risk!] he just has this smoochy little, totally kissable face that I adore. in these pictures he is pretending that his wooden "play" knife [yes, the kid has a knife...it came with velcro veggies!] is a camera. so as I am taking pictures of him, he is "clicking" pictures at me! I had a very difficult time getting a picture of him without a knife stuck to his eye. he finally came and tackled me over and tried tickling me with the knife. he really makes me laugh. so much more so since he's been talking...love it. love him. my sweet baby.

sore legs...

but feeling better. MUCH better. of course, I was at an inservice all day today...a WHOLE day of social studies. I LOVE it!! I am so pumped for school tomorrow!

back to the sore legs. I finally went to my wee exercise class tonight. should have gone 3 weeks ago, but alas. better late than never. off to find my camera - took some great pictures of ty today!

blah!

yeah. me and blah in the same sentence. something is amiss with my body. I have been abnormally tired and unable to even carry out a meaningful conversation with people I like. then there is the teaching I do in my day. I have been at about a 4 out of 10 as of late. not liking that at all. and NO, I am not pregnant. that is a "I-peed-on-the-stick" definitive NO. gonna fiddle with my diet, drink more water, start taking some B vitamins and keep an eye on things. the next 6 weeks are going to be a bit wild...ipps to do, remembrance day to finish, report cards and a ton of inservices. wild & crazy, dudes! I feel better already tonight. not sure why, but just a bit better. we'll see what tomorrow brings...!

turkey, telephones & thankful hearts

I am in charge of hosting dinner tomorrow. mmmm. not enough chairs, not enough dishes, but the fridge is full & the turkey is spending some time chillin' in the fridge. I made pies last night - 4 pumpkin & 1 cherry [for brother ben & rae!]...and yes, they are from scratch...especially the crust! then today I got the bright idea that I need yet another dessert, so I made a tiramisu type dessert thingy. should be yummy!

our telephone isn't working [so if anyone has tried to call...SORRY!]. I have been on the phone [cell phone, that is] for 2 hours listening to: our customer service representatives continue serving other customers. please remain on the line and your call will be answered as soon as possible, in the order it was received. your patience is appreciated. yeah...I have heard that message 3 times since I sat down at the computer. grrr. the worst part is that I have been on hold for 2 hours. do I continue holding, knowing my turn has to be coming up soon? or do I hang up and try again...only to go to the back of the line? grrr. I actually had to plug my phone back into the recharger...gotta LOVE that! and really, I just almost want john to come home so I can also be on hold from his phone and then see what is quicker! too bad my home phone just doesn't start working.

BUT, regardless, I am thankful for many things on this lovely thanksgiving saturday:
1. family [nate says to me today, "mom, I sure love our family" and I thought, "yeah, me too!"]
2. good friends [will not name everyone, but y'all know who you are!]
3. a job I love
4. all the opportunities that SU! has provided for me - even just in relationships.
5. a God who loves me regardless of all my crap
6. a house over my head [even if the phone is broken!]
7. a fridge full of food
8. a car
9. a brain that works most of the time [LOL]
10. health - mine, my family

what are you thankful for? canadian or not, it always puts things into perspective.

hockey & pics

gotta love the oilers. and the season openener against san jose. it was ALL good. loud, unpredictable, crazy, fun. all good!

and then irene sent me some [ok, four out of a kazillian] pictures that she took on sunday. they ROCK!

the way I see it #263

run when you can, walk when you have to, crawl if you must; just never give up.
~dean karnazes, runner

current status: crawling.

this week

this week, I will eat no meat [according to the skinny bitches, meat is BAD!]...or at least just try it for a week and see how I feel. I will drink a load of water. and I will only drink 1 cup of coffee per day. that is this week. AND...and this is the tough part, considering what this week is looking like...I will walk 3 times this week. wednesday after school, friday after school & saturday. I really miss walking.

my mom & dad get home from bc this week. yippie!! and this will be the first long weekend of the school year. double yippie!! things are crazy busy this week, but for the first time I am not feeling exhausted. BUT, in a real effort to take better care of me, I am heading to bed right now [yeah, sounds good, but really there is no other good tv on tonight!!].