Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree

Christmas Funny Bone

We have been communicating with each other through e-mail about our Christmas plans. H ere is an exchange between Rhiannon and Drew that just cracks me up! Andrew wrote the original e-mail and Rhiannon answered in the large italics and then Drew responded again. Don't be drinking anything while you read it....

edited to add: for those of you who don't know, Rhiannon is 8 and Andrew is 15.

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Hello family,

there's not much that i want that is under the budget, soo,

Hoddie's what is that ? a Hoodie, a zip up sweater with a hood , socks , boxxers , jeans ,you want clothes for christmas,get real.i am being real rhiannon i need clothes handle grips for my bike ,of course you wan't that. cellphone minutes for telus thats a bit expencive for me to buy for you.don't you think?and no it is not to expensive because it can be as little as $5, gift card for sun country cycleand where would we get that ?and you would get that at suncountry , any cunninlynguests C.D ,i'm not gonna get it if it has screaming music.its not screaming music rhiannon it is rap money umm,andrew thats not really a christmas present and you can earn it yourself.its always nice geting free money rhiannon .... i cant really think of anything elsoh come on.

Hi My Name is Andrea

And I have a compost problem. I started suspecting it when I started mowing things that didn't need to be mowed just to have grass clippings to put on top of the Burdock in my compost pile. But it was undeniably confirmed with I caught myself fantasizing about mowing the ditches along Hwy 6 with my wee mower with grass bagger to take home to my compost.... Isn't there a support group for this? I'll probably need to get all new friends because I think most of my friends have the same addiction - most have multiple addictions that include extreme gardening....

Getting Cooler...

Okay, so I told my friends that it (my hair cut, of course!) wasn't going to be that dramatic and probably no one would even notice... okay... so maybe 3 - 4 inches is a bit dramatic... My good friend Cyenthia who owns Styles on Mane downtown lopped off my locks last night and waxed my legs, eyebrows, and lip over a bottle of white wine... My hair simply bounced up after being relieved of all that weight. I tell you, it is fun having a friend who owns her own salon and hanging out and playing with all the stuff when everyone else is gone!

In Search of Cool

No one who knows me well would say that I am cool. Maybe my children when they were younger - before they are old enough to know what cool means. Maybe then they might have thought I was cool. Not to worry, they soon grew up to understand otherwise... But I am not and I know it. And I never was, really. Growing up in Terrace, I would rather be warm and dry than cool and I always cared a lot more about comfort than looks. And hey, I grew up in Terrace! Even if I thought I was cool then, I would have just been a small town hick. My style now is a cross between hippie and sporty. I often wear the same thing for days on end because it is warm, comfortable and hey, it saves on laundry. I get my hair cut once a year.

But.... the big day is coming. There is a CD release party up on Silver Star next Saturday. This CD is a really big deal. They have gone about it as professionally as possible. I have heard a few of the songs in their rough state and I think this CD is going to be awesome and a really good representation of where the band is at right now and the talents of its members. So on Saturday I need to look like the wife of a rockstar. My 'dress up' clothes are sadly depleted through lack of need. Most of what I have makes me look like I am ready to go to work in an office...

Of course, when I ask Dean what I should wear, he says "wear something you feel comfortable in..." Nevertheless, I don't think my jeans and sweater would be a big hit. So I have an appointment to get my hair cut and my legs waxed and I'm meeting a friend at Value Village to find myself something to wear. Oh c'mon! You didn't think I was going to get THAT cool, did you?

Forgotten Supportive Under Garments Story

So, Laura's post inspired me. After Phil and I had split up, I was devastated - really, really devastated and it took a loooooong time for me to even start to climb out of the pit of my own self-judgement. I thought that I never deserved to ever even date a guy again. But eventually I got over it and started to think that maybe I could be happy again and that life could still be good for me.

After about 2 years, I started to think that I was ready to get out there on the social scene. There was a local bistro (closed now) that used to get in live, original music on a regular basis. I had been once with my (married) friend when her brother was playing. (now he plays on a regular basis and I've been to almost all of his local shows and he plays around with guitar effects in his office downstairs and is the father of my youngest child but then he was just my very good friend's brother) I thought I would go out by myself.

This was a big deal for me. In my previous life as a mormon, I met people at church functions in a very tight community and putting this kind of effort was really not necessary. Although I had been married (and divorced by then) twice, I had not dated much and I had little experience being a single person 'out in the world'.

I arranged it all. It was a Friday night. Erin was babysitting. I put Kaetlyn and Drew to bed before I left. I showered and did my hair and put on my new dress. I called a cab because I didn't have a car in those days and the buses here don't run at night. I was so nervous. The place (Pandoras) was almost empty. There was a band playing country/rock. I sat at a table by myself and ordered tea or juice and when I sat down, there, by myself, I noticed that in my very nervous state, I had forgotten that certain supportive undergarment. Luckily my dress was of the loose type but I suddenly felt half naked and ridiculous!

So there you have it, in sister solidarity! Now, I often go about braless on purpose - at least 1 day a week since my friend, Denny forwarded this article to me. Check out the links - the science seems real to me and it makes sense.

Blessings to all Moms and Dads!
I found some really good links about how bras are linked to breast cancer and fibocystic breasts- I have to say I found this info out about a 2 months ago- I'm experimenting myself because for the last year or so my breasts have become really sore and swollen a week or two before my moon time,sometimes even longer! I'm not a coffee drinker, although I love organic raw cacao =) I haven't worn traditional bras for about 10 years, only the shelf bra types that are built into shirts, but they too cut off circulation with the elastic stuff on the bottom. Just check and make sure that there is no imprints or red marks on your skin after wearing them, because that would be a sign it is cutting off the circulation. Acording to the studies and unlike popular western belief you are suppose to let your breast bounce around especially while you are dancing, running,Yoga, Pilates ect... because it is healthy for your breast circulation and your lymph nodes in that area to be flushed
out!
I'll tell you my story...It's only been a month since I've officially gone totally braless (i'm a small B cup) but it seems it has only taken a few weeks to adjust to not wearing half my shirts with built in shelf bras =( and so far I can't believe it- no soreness! I'm serious! I'm not sure what the answer is to women here that have big breasts by I think women in other cultures have big beautiful breasts too but dont' wear bras either, I'm not sure how they deal with it with sore backs, although I would recomend a good Pilates and Yoga instructor to help strenthen your core and back to support the extra weight. I'm putting this info out here because the bra industry is so HUGE just like the sugar industry and they have a big invested interest in making sure women feel that they have to wear these things, and I'm sure they will tell you that there are no links to bras and breast cancer and fibocystic breasts- just like in the olden days with corsets, and it seems to
have evolved into bras. Even if you can't go cold turkey, try just as soon as you get home take them off... There is a book written about a scientist (I heard him on the radio) who discovered these links and wrote a book and he talks about his journey to try and educate people of the dangers of bras- very interesting story-and how controversial this is! The name of the book is Dressed to Kill :the link between breast cancer and bras by Sidney Ross Singer and Soma Grismaijer...

here are some more links...
http://health2us.com/bra.htm

http://www.007b.com/fibrocystic_breast_pain.php

http://www.all-natural.com/fibrocys.html

http://www.susunweed.com/An_Article_Bra-disease.htm

Much Love, Peace and Blessings,
Laura

Feeding the King (don't tell Dean...)

Last night having a delicious dinner of lettuce wraps and strawberries and whipped cream for dessert (lettuce from the garden and strawberries picked that morning). Tigger absolutely loves cream and he smelled it from outside. Soon he was sitting on a chair looking longingly at the table - maybe he was wishing we would leave the room so he could jump up on the table and help himself. We couldn't resist his orange cuteness. So we fed him whipped cream from a spoon.... Isn't he cute? Doesn't he look so polite there, sitting up so straight? Don't tell Dean....

Last Minute

I spent the day today at the Inner World School as I did yesterday preparing for my dance recital tomorrow (Thursday at 5pm). A friend dropped by around lunch time. Looking around the room, she says, "this is a little last minute, isn't it?"

I answer blithely, "This? No, starting tomorrow would be the last minute..."

Saturday Morning

I'll update about Kaetlyn's starting ceremony tomorrow. It was wonderful! But for today I leave you with this horrid picture and this bit of morning conversation.

Rhiannon: But you haven't cut up my pancake
Me: (cutting up pancake) You could always cut it up yourself. When I was your age, I was cutting up my own pancakes...
Rhiannon: That doesn't impress me ...

And here is me this week. I have entered every room lips first. That weird little cold sore on the inside of my bottom lip? It spread and spread and spread. Can you see that it starts just below my NOSE?!? and goes below my bottom lip? A cold sore that spans two lips! Its the worst one I have had in years!

The Last Christmas Decoration

Every year I play a little game with the Christmas decorations (you think they are inanimate and incapable of playing this game with me? Well, wait until you hear my tale...) My game is to not miss a single one as I put them away. Somehow they seem to conspire and trick me into leaving one of them out, unwittingly. And it hangs for weeks unnoticed until...

This year I left the box out for 2 weeks after cleaning up. I got all the usual suspects - the stocking hanging on the front door... the stained glass decoration hanging in the kitchen... the Christmas hand towels in the bathrooms... the tea towel that hangs from the stove... All these usual suspects that have tricked me before - being utilitarian I stop noticing them or by hanging in unusual places I don't see them... Not this year! I was smug. I was so sure I got them all this time. I WON! And then... and then... and then... (I can barely admit it...) I found this hanging on the cupboard door in the kitchen. This little mouse. Once again, the decorations won... The last Christmas decoration...

Gosh, Mom! You are so talented!

Isn't it wonderful when you child is 6 and all it takes is a couple of cut potatoes for them to think you are awesome?

Rhiannon was so eager to wrap the presents she has made for people so today I set her to making her own wrapping paper. I made a couple of potato stamps - a whimsical star, tree, candy cane and Christmas ball (looks like a pumpkin to me). As she watched me do this, she was SO excited and in her exuberance she says to me, "Gosh Mom! You are so talented!"

And look at that beautiful wrapping paper she is making... I think she is pretty talented, too!

Funny Stories From My House

Story 1 - Getting Babysat by Big Brother

Okay, so I am helping Rhiannon clean her room and I ask her how her brother was at babysitting her the night before. She says he was good and then tells me some stories about their evening and happily tells me that instead of reading her a bedtime story (as I had admonished him to), he promised her a slurpy instead.... I don't think she was supposed to tell me that...

Story 2 - The Bathmat Saga

So, my family has this thing about bathmats. They seem incapable of picking them up when they are wet and hanging them over the edge of the tub or the shower door so they dry thoroughly and don't get all moldy and stinky and so they are dry for the next person or so you don't get your socks wet when you unknowingly step on them... Anyways, Dean was stepping in for a shower and was straightening out the thoroughly damp bathmat in front of the shower, left there by Andrew. I tell him to hang if over the shower door when he is done so it can dry. "Hang it?" he says incredulously like it was such a weird and unheard of thought. "Yes, over the door" and he agrees.

That was yesterday. This morning I step into the shower after Kaetlyn. And there is the bathmat hanging in the shower from a little hook. Yes, I mean inside the shower. Obviously Dean had hung it there. And what is even weirder is that Kaetlyn had showered WITH the bathmat hanging IN the shower. And this is not a bathtub with a shower head above. This is a little shower stall. Isn't that kind of gross? To shower with a bathmat? Now the bathmat was really wet. I gave up and put it in the laundry....