I'm outta here!!!

(Are we seriously the last place in North America to have spring break, or is it just me?)

random cr*p

The Bushman and I were doing dishes together after lunch the other day while the girls painted some rocks we'd picked up at the beach last summer.

Talk somehow steered in the direction of our old toilet, which is, of course, outside since the bathroom reno, and which, due to the mild week we had a while ago, is now lying on its side because the snow melted unevenly underneath it. My dear husband was particularly distressed that it now has a crack in it. How ever will we be able to turn it into a garden fountain now?!

We joked a little about it (Well, I joked. He's dead serious, and maintains it's not cracked all the way through, so IT SHOULD BE JUST FINE.) and suddenly from the dining room comes this announcement:

Peanut: I do NOT want a toilet fountain in the front yard!

Bushman: You, my dear, have little say in the matter.

Peanut: Okay, but I am NEVER drinking out of it!

Wha.....?

And then it dawned on us that she was envisioning a drinking fountain, not a decorative one and was slightly repulsed by the thought of depressing the flusher and sipping from the resulting jet of water!

(And I use the term "decorative" VERY loosely. Remember, we're talking about a TOILET in the middle of a flower bed.)

(Oh, and I use the term "flower bed" quite loosely, too. Haha, "random plant cr*p" would likely be more appropriate. Come to think of it, the toilet fountain probably wouldn't detract from the overall theme of the flower bed...)







(See? How charming is that?! Of course, if this was my yard, the flowers would be dead, giving the impression that we actually used it as a toilet...)




This is what my Peanut is a little afraid her daddy's planning! Totally NOT charming at all.


And my poor friend is shaking her head while she reads this. "Random plant cr*p" is what her beautiful flower bed creation has been reduced to since ValleyGirl Mrs. Black Thumb and The Bushman bought the house from her and her husband.... I think she cries a little every time she drives by our house. But I bet her husband loves the toilet idea. Come on, what man wouldn't?

wellness wednesday

Well, I had a wonderful surprise the day after I posted last Wednesday. The Bushman came home the very next morning! So instead of having to wait another two weeks to start walking outdoors on a daily basis like I talked about last week, I've been doing it already since Friday ~ woo-hoo!! Man, does that ever feel good!! I'm SO hoping he gets the kind of job where it will be possible for me to leave the house every morning for 45 minutes. Who knows, but you can bet I'm going to milk this for all it's worth while for as long as I can!!!

Yesterday and today are the first days since he returned that I've walked first thing in the morning before anyone else was awake, and boy, is there ever a difference! Walking in the afternoon feels like exercise; something I have to make time for. Walking in the morning feels like part of my routine; something I do in the morning that I simply enjoy. It's quiet, it's peaceful, it's solitary. My whole day seems to run more smoothly when I start with a walk, come in while everyone's still asleep, pour myself a cup of coffee, and have my devotions and conversations with God. I have more self-discipline, larger jobs are more likely to get tackled, I'm friendlier to my girls and husband, and I just generally feel more on top of things. If my day starts out later and I don't get that quiet hour or two in the morning, I tend to feel quite out of control -- like I'm just reacting all day long and never being deliberate about anything.

I've done very well with controlling my eating in the last two weeks, although The Bushman's return has undone a little of my success in the evening snacking department!! He's a big-time snacker and it's tough to sit there and NOT eat while he's munching chips or Easter chocolates while we're watching TV. The last couple of nights, I've spent the evening holed up here in the office because I'm panicking about getting an assignment done, so that's been good, but now starting on Saturday, we've got a week away from home, so the challenges aren't likely to fade away!! Overall, I'm happy with the way these last two weeks have gone, even though I still haven't stepped on the scale.

How did YOU do this week? What routines do you depend on to stabilize your day and anchor your lifestyle habits?

wordless weekday: your first glimpses of the ice road

Wordless Wednesday

(Every.Single.Day of the Week!)

*Note: This picture is actually taken by my husband, The Bushman, on his recent job up on the ice roads in the Northwest Territories, Canada. This is his parked truck, while he's waiting to unload at the Snap Lake mine.

As for what side of the road we drive on, normally, it's the right side, just like in the US, but up on the ice roads, I'm told you can drive pretty much wherever you want!! The roads are anywhere from about 40 to 100 ft wide and the drivers are instructed to drive as close to the middle as possible. Moving slightly aside when meeting oncoming traffic, of course!

happy RESURRECTION day!!!

like sands through the hourglass...

So are the days of my single motherhood. Except my days of single motherhood didn't just gradually trickle to an end, they came to a SCREECHING halt all of a sudden on Thursday. I was kind of expecting to actually KNOW when The Bushman would return, but hey, I'm okay with this kind of surprise!!

You know, it's funny how quickly time goes by when you look at what's already past! What seemed like FOREVER back in the middle of February is suddenly here. And yet the middle of February -- bathroom renovation week -- sure doesn't seem that long ago. Weird. (And for the record, The Bushman is indeed impressed with the new bathroom. On Thursday a couple of times I heard him say, "Man, it's like walking into a different house!" Granted, he'd only had about four hours of sleep in the last 36....)

But having him home also means he will be looking for yet another new job. He REALLY wants to quit trucking (and obviously, the girls and I are in favour of that!!), but due to the strength of the Canadian dollar and the weakness of the American housing market, the Louisiana-Pacific mill up here recently laid off half its workers and reduced its wood quota to about half as well. This is basically the largest employer ~ directly and indirectly ~ in this area, so this puts an awful lot of people out of work, and since they've all been looking for work for a couple of weeks already, this really isn't the best time for The Bushman to also need a new job.

So if you weren't altogether sick and tired of praying for us yet, you could pray about that! Hope you're all having a wonderful Easter!!

when i say, "I am a Christian"

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not shouting 'I'm clean livin''

I'm whispering 'I was lost, Now I'm found and forgiven.'

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I don't speak of this with pride.

I'm confessing that I stumble and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not trying to be strong.

I'm professing that I'm weak and need His strength to carry on.

When I say.. 'I am a Christian' I'm not bragging of success.

I'm admitting I have failed and need God to clean my mess.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not claiming to be perfect,

My flaws are far too visible but, God believes I am worth it.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I still feel the sting of pain.

I have my share of heartaches, so I call upon His name.

When I say... 'I am a Christian' I'm not holier than thou,

I'm just a simple sinner who received God's good grace, somehow!

-Maya Angelou

Happy Easter!

aftermath party

It was suggested on 5 Minutes 4 Moms Ultimate Blog Party page that we each host an "after party," listing our favourite new sites. Well, there were just so many!! Some I'm still in the process of discovering and haven't gotten around to adding them to my blogroll and some I found last week, but without the assistance of the UBP.

In addition to those, there are all my other favourites that I think deserve equal mention. So I've decided to feature two favourites each week on my sidebar instead, whether they're new or old, personal "real life" friends or complete strangers. Hope you'll enjoy them, too!! (and I hope you're all okay with me using graphics from your blogs to make your own personalized linky-love buttons!)

wellness wednesday

Ah, here it is again, Wellness Wednesday. I amazed myself this past weekend when my parents were out for a visit. They came Friday for supper and left Monday after lunch and I don't think I overate once!! And there was even dessert! (which we usually don't have around here due to a certain individual's lack of self-control....) I remember having seconds only about three times, and I believe all but one of those times, it was a second helping of salad or veggies. Pretty good, eh? I'm impressed, anyway.

Even though I had a bit of trouble bingeing on the leftovers after my parents left on Monday, I really feel like I've turned a corner with this eating thing, though. I've noticed that I haven't snacked much at all in the evenings or afternoons in the last week or so, so that's HUGE progress!! I noticed, on the weekend, that even though I REALLY wanted more main course or dessert sometimes, I just didn't do it. But the biggest weirdness was that I didn't have to fight with myself, I didn't feel hugely tempted after the decision was made, I just didn't. THAT, my dear bloggy friends, is absolutely mind-blowing!!! That just doesn't happen. Like, EVER.

And on top of the relatively restrained eating, I got in THREE 2-mile walks on the weekend!!!!! I was so excited! I haven't been able to walk the way I like to walk since February 18 (it was momentous then, too ~ that's why I remember the exact date!! And the time before that was January 27, the day before The Bushman left.), so to get in a walk on each of Saturday, Sunday, AND Monday, was just awesome! And, of course, it would have been a good idea to have brought my camera, especially on Sunday when I walked with my dad and we went a little further than usual to the horses coralled just over a mile away. But I didn't, and so there's no use dwelling on that. It was just above freezing, so likely the batteries would've co-operated and everything! Dang. Right, I wasn't going to dwell on that....

It just felt SO good to get outside and stretch my legs and lungs. I could sure tell on Saturday that I hadn't been doing it regularly though, that's for sure! I look forward to being able to resume my daily walks in just about two weeks!!!!!!

wordless wednesday: the promise

...of more dandelions.

(But at this point in the year, I have to admit I'm excited at the prospect of those pesky yellow weeds!!)

More Wordless Wednesday
(regardless of which day of the week it is!)

ready for some SHOCK'n'AWE?!! (finally!)

I decided I couldn't wait any longer to post before and after pix of my bathroom renovation!! My dad put up the finishing touches on the weekend, and while I'm still waiting on a couple of items that The Bushman will hopefully be able to pick up at Ikea on his way home, for all intents and purposes, the bathroom is DONE!! Are you sitting comfortably? Then we'll begin.

This....

Has become this:

---

And this disgusting close-up of our rotten shower doors....

can be replaced with this close-up of my delightful new shower curtain:

---

This corroded sink faucet?

Gone. And now it looks like this:

---

And the free-standing cupboard filled with all sorts of garbage and other useless clutter?

Gone. Just gone. This is actually where I'm waiting for my Ikea packages. One towel bar and a narrow metal wall cabinet with a frosted glass door.

Interestingly (as a total aside), the Winnie-the-Pooh potty is also gone. Well, the potty part. The base is still being used as a stool so Fidget can reach the sink, but I was informed all of a sudden last week that she was old enough to use the "grown ups' potty." Fine by me!

---

And REMEMBER THIS HIDEOUS PICTURE???!!!!! I just can't resist posting it again! I was going to promise to never subject you to this view again, but I may post it from time to time to remind myself where I've come from....

Anyway, you remember it looks like this now:

WHEW!!

But let's see some other pretty pictures to try to obliterate that last gross one anyway:

So? What do y'all think? I can't stop going to the bathroom, I love it so much!! And you know what's really cool? I paid all of $14 for the shower curtain and hooks, I bought a $3 foam placemat and cut it up to line the little wire shelves, and the bath towels and hand towels were found at two different stores ~ they're two different styles of towel and I didn't even have one along when I bought the other ~ and they're EXACTLY THE SAME COLOUR!!! I was impressed with myself, anyway, even if no one else is. I'm not exactly talented in the decorating department, if you know what I mean.

Now my only problem is that I don't want to LEAVE the bathroom. You see, my tiny little bathroom....

...is now the nicest room in the house!!!

winter 'activity menu' challenge debriefing

Well, I have to confess, shortly after signing on to Andrea's "beat the dreariness of the long dark days of winter" challenge, I forgot about it. In fact, I forgot so soundly that I did absolutely NOTHING on my idea menu!! (at least, not on purpose!)

But despite that, this is the first year in, like, FOREVER, that I didn't totally and completely LOATHE winter. It took me a long time to figure out why I never really had the 'blues' this year -- even in February, when I usually have trouble with it because I'm just so.dang.tired.of.snow.and.cold.weather and I know I've got at least another month of it left yet!

But you know what it was? It was getting out there and taking pictures of what really can be a beautiful season, even if the batteries only survive long enough to take one or two pictures. It was describing how prairie Canadians deal with winter. It was being outside in impossibly cold weather and realizing that I can handle this, no problem! I have taken more pictures this winter than ever before. Believe it or not, I've actually taken almost as many pictures this winter as I generally take in summer, which is traditionally overloaded with pictures of sunsets, flowers, beaches, sunsets at the beach, flowers at sunset, flowers by the beach, flowers by the beach at sunset, and clouds, clouds, and more clouds... and oh yeah, a few pictures of my girls!

It was bragging about my ability to survive in what some consider unbelievably harsh conditions without giving it much of a second thought that brought me through these last four months with nary a bout of the blues!!

So thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou, my warm, toasty bloggy friends from regions far south of here! It was YOU who helped me see beauty, strength, endurance, warmth, and fun in a long, dark season.

...and thank goodness that's on its way!!!!

I am SO Much MORE THAN READY!!

man, if i NEVER have to paint again....

...it will be too soon.

6-word memoir meme HOOPLA

Linda, a new bloggy friend from over at Sandpiper's Place tagged me for this quick hoopla. (That's what we call 'em around here because a few of us hated the "m" word and so my cousin Andrea came up with an alternative.)

What would YOUR 6-word memoir say?

(does that count as six words if I used the same 1-letter word three times?!)

The HOOPLA rules are:
1. Write your own six word memoir
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post
4. Tag five more blogs with links
5. And don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

So now I'm off to tag some more new acquaintances. Bahama Mama, Born'n'Bred Country Girl, Mama Bear, Mrs. Jones, and FireMom ~ TAG, you're IT!!

wellness wednesday

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body."

~ I Cor. 6:19-20

Well, my friends, I was a little afraid that I was completely tapped out. I thought I'd used up my last bit of brilliance on Monday's post. After a string of half decent LWW posts, I just couldn't think of anything to write this week. Plus, I've been inhaling all sorts of noxious sealant and paint fumes. I'm pretty sure the few good brain cells I had are writhing in the throes of death by now. But then I remembered reading the above passage a few days ago.

Now granted, Paul is talking about se*ual sins in these verses, but I think we can use the same verses to determine how we choose to treat our bodies with regards to eating and exercising as well. The phrase "you were bought at a price" just hit me square between the eyes when I read it. It blows my mind and makes me feel like dirt all at the same time.

When you buy something ~ for whatever price ~ you expect that it will be exactly what you purchased. You expect that it will be the best that your money could buy. And what happens when you pay good money for something and upon bringing it home, you discover it's damaged? You're disappointed, of course, maybe even ticked off, and you exchange it for one that hasn't been dropped off the forklift. The new box isn't dented or split, and the contents are pristine. Exactly as they were intended to be.

Jesus paid for us WITH HIS LIFE. He didn't just pay a few bucks denarii. He gave everything to redeem us. And ALL of us were broken when He paid the price. Some of us still are. But He paid anyway and because of His great grace and mercy, instead of returning us or throwing us away, He gently, lovingly repairs and restores us. Just like a home renovation.

He WILL give us the necessary self-discipline to change our lifestyle habits, but we also need to work at it. It won't just happen overnight and sometimes the repairs will take a very long time. This is where perseverance comes in again. Stop believing that it's possible you'll fail ~ that God can't, or will cease to work in you ~ and keep plugging away, allowing God to reshape your habits. Making our bodies an honour to Himself.

We were purchased with His blood. Not just our souls, but our bodies as well. We'll never measure up to His standard of perfection, but He knew this and bought us anyway. And I want to make more of an effort to remember that the next time I'm tempted by a 3-burrito night snack or I'm too lazy to get out of bed half an hour early to spend time on that blasted elliptical.

My body isn't going to change from a double-wide trailer into a stately temple without some serious renovations! Good thing I've got an 'in' with The Best Contractor in the biz!