Monday 25 February 2013

Dan Griffin - Stars and Satellites



  It's a beautiful Monday as I gaze lovingly out my window at giant heaps of sparkling snow.
I've been out for a run, sent the boys to school, and now as I prepare for the rest of the day I'm thankful; the sun is up, the air is warming, and the snow is melting under my feet!

  I love this song.  It tells me a story and as it does it tells me about myself.  That's the best kind, isn't it?
  Well whether you like a dose of thinking to go hand in hand with a new tune is up to you!
I hope you enjoy, and as always it's available and can be all yours for only a few sparkling coins!

Have a fantastic day, friends!

Friday 22 February 2013

  I had the complete joy this morning of being entrusted to watch over a friend's baby.  She is everything a baby girl should be.  Sweet smelling, tiny, with a sparkling smile and eyes that trust completely.  Spending those short hours with her were an absolute delight and when she fell asleep with her little face pressed to my chest....sigh!

  It's hard for me to remember what those days were like with my own babies.  Having that far off remembrance is both sad and happy mingled together.  Sad because the days pass so quickly and, though that is cliche, they are so grown and self-sufficient already.  Happy because, the obvious!! they are so grown and self-sufficient already!

  I'm sure every parent is geared to excel more naturally in different phases of rearing their children.  I confess that though the sweet-smelling baby days were a treat, I do enjoy the phase I'm in at the moment!
  I have it pretty good.  Yes my boys, if I can generalize, are rambunctious and typically male, but they are also sweet, sensitive, and not completely embarrassed to be associated with their mom!
   
Here's What I Know

1~ a little love goes a long way
2~ chocolate bars make little boy's eyes glow with delight...(it's the small things)
3~ family values cannot be taught at school or daycare
4~ the first years are hard work, but hopefully with a little luck and a truck load of prayers,
      a foundation that is strong will be built
5~ your attitude goes a long way to telling people who you are
6~ snow days are a treat and cousins are the best
7~ snow drifts as deep as your waist were made to dive in to
8~ hot chocolate warms everyone up
9~if you have the space, the time, the ability, or a smile....share it with someone who could 
     use the boost
10~ hugs and kisses from my growing boys are not ever taken for granted

  It's not much on this beautiful, sunshiny, February afternoon, but it's What I Know!
  
  Have the best weekend you can muster, folks, and we'll catch up next week!

  Hip hip hooray and three cheers for the weekend!

Tuesday 19 February 2013

TWO DOOR CINEMA CLUB | NEXT YEAR





  You would think being snowed in would somehow increase creativity, or in the least
push me to tackle the small things around my house with an inspired gusto.....well, it didn't!
Yesterday was a holiday here.  The kids were home, the husband was hangin around, and I did a whole lot of laundry and nothing else!
  Okay, that's not entirely true, but I did play it as a holiday should be....slowly.  We're still snowed into our crazy little corner of the world this morning.  School is cancelled due to impassable roads, the windchill is a whopping -40 (that's Celsius) at the moment, and the boys are curled up watching cartoons; they're super-pumped they have super-extra-long-weekend!
  Today will be an unplanned day of more laundry, cookie baking, craft painting, staying warm, extravaganza or homeness!
  Oh wait!  I forgot about the dancing....this tune may be the most fantastic way to kick-start a dance party! If you have a minute or two to spend trolling your fav music website today, spend it checking out these guys, they're worth the listen!

  So here's to SNOW DAYS and the adventures that are waiting for us!!!

Friday 15 February 2013

All Is Well

  I said if I got ubber creative I'd set up a photo for y'all.  Well I wouldn't exactly call what I've got to share with you creative, but it's a mishmash of photos nonetheless....and besides it's about the kids, right?

  The shots are not edited, though I did put them into a cute collage and frame.  What you see is what the kids got...
   I made cream cheese, whipped cream, chocolate ganache icing, and for the record (and in the spirit of true confession) the package I dumped into the bowl to whip up worked just fine!!
  I hope you had a day that oozed with love and has left you feeling dreamy and content!

  Happy Friday everyone....and a big hearty sugar-cheers to the weekend!

Wednesday 13 February 2013

Mid-Week Confessions

Hey, All!!


  I'm going to attempt, against my better judgement, to be that fantastic mom; you know, the one who brings treats to her kids class, the one you all wish was yours, the one I AM NOT!


   Here's the deal....(and it's not that big of one either).  I didn't sign up to bring treats to the 2nd grade Christmas party...BAH, what was I thinking? I could have had this things over with months ago....plus Valentine's Day...yuck!  I'm not a fan.  I'd rather be loved every other day of the year but this one...anyway, that's my issue so I'll try not to bore you with the oddity of my quirks. 


   Anyway, I don't know if I've told y'all before but baking is my nemesis.  No Joke.

I love to cook, but baking? Measuring all those ingredients? Frankly, I don't have the patience or the discipline for it....hence....my nemesis, (plus there is no therapeutic chopping involved).

   Okay, so my intentions are good, grand even.  I scrolled through all the cupcake and cake recipes on Tastespotting, and I found a few that seem to require a normal amount of work.  The problem is time.  Where will I find it, how will I fit in the mixing, pouring, baking, cooling, waiting to be able to frost them steps?
  Not sure, I think while I'm out and about today, racing, chasing, and making sure the bills are paid, the skates are sharpened, and that we are where we need to be on time, I might just stop at the shop and pick up a box mix....shhhh, don't tell Little Bear!
   Wish me luck! If I find myself completely overcome with creative ability I may even snap a picture or two....look out!


      

Monday 11 February 2013

August Rush - August's Rhapsody (SoundTrack)



So much to say about this one.

sweetness...yes
laughter...yes
joy...yes
inspiration...YES
tears...a plenty
hope...in spades


"The music is all around us, all you have to do is listen."


Friday 8 February 2013

What I Know/Top....

~ to get what you want you may need to alter your approach.  Different goals require
    different characteristics....

~ the best of friends asks how you are, not what's going on, and they wait for you to want
    to share

~ small things, like a card or a letter, are more often than not the biggest game-changers,
    (oh how I would feel like I could fly on a puffy-cloud day if I got a written letter in the
     post......just sayin!)

~ your dream world can make you stop and ask some pretty bizarre questions....

~ take time to roll in the snow and giggle with your kids; it can change their life

~ is there anything better than sharing a cup of tea, from a fancy cup, with a friend who
    knows you better than anyone?  Strawberry rhubarb daiquiri anyone? thanks, 
    friend, xoxo

~ I glanced across the room this week to see my children reading together, (a mother's
    delight) but what I saw in my oldest was something new.....he no longer looked to me 
    like a boy.  I don't want to say he looked like a man, because that is surely not the case,
    but he was more than the baby I held in my arms and I had the fleeting thought that
    he would not be mine for much longer......yikes....sniff sniff

~ spending time with the older women in your life is often the best education the world
    can offer you.  The laughter is richer, the emotion is deeper, and the love flows abundantly
    because you never know if there will be another chance

~ winter is nearly behind us, or that's what I'm telling myself!  The days are longer, the light 
    from the sun is changing, and you can almost smell the promise of warmer days in the air

~ I finished my project!  Whoop!  Yet mixed with the pleasure of the final words is also a
   bizarre sense of loss.  I will miss the 'friends' a spent the past year with, and I will confess
   I don't relish the idea of putting together the package to send it away.....sigh....(that brings
   straight back to my first point!)

   Well Friday has wound its way back to the present...how do the days pass so quickly?
I imagine I will ask this question for a long time to come.
   How are all of you?  Exciting plans?  Big adventure?  Are your casual, cozy, comforting weekend plans taking shape?  
   Here's my challenge, if you can slip in a few minutes of work!  Send me your top.... or a short list of things you know.  I'd love to hear about your favorite things, or have you share with me your infinite wisdom!
   If you have a minute send me mail!! the electronic sort.....   jodiechartung@gmail.com
I'd love to hear from you, maybe this friendship has been one sided for too long.

   Cheers to the weekend, y'all!

Monday 4 February 2013

Laura Mvula - Green Garden



   I'm loving everything about this; the clapping, the bell/chime/piano
accompaniment, and Laura Mvula!  Ahh, Green Garden; delightful, fun, 
warm and cheery-dreamy on this cold-cloudy-dismal Monday morning.


Friday 1 February 2013

Here's What I Know.....wrapped up in this week's Top Six

~Patience- is not an easy lesson.  Patience, to me anyway, doesn't come easily, nor am I an eloquent waiter, or equipped with characteristics to sit unfettering as time agonizingly passes.  Patience is, simply put-hard.  But everything worth going after requires it....in bunches! 

~Love- is a choice.  Feelings come, go, change, transform, grow or fall away.  But love isn't something that you feel, it is an active and daily decision that you make.  Will you share it, embrace it, allow it to help you grow, or will you decide it's not worth the time or worth your energy to work for.

~It's an incredibly productive lesson for your kids to hear the word NO.  (It probably wouldn't kill most of us to hear it or use the word more often either)

~Quality time and plain old hard work poured into anything will show results.  Apply that to your relationships, your work, your children, your friendships.....you get the idea; apply it and you will see rewards, (silver lining? maybe!).

~Cookies fresh from the oven make everyone happy! Yes, EVERYONE! And there's nothing wrong with having more than one! 

~Knowing your boundaries is tricky, asserting them is another thing entirely!

   It's not much but it's what I have to offer today.  You all may be sick of hearing this by now, but I'll say it anyway, and I'll keep saying it, because I need the reminder as well!
  The small things are what count; watching your children laugh, mixing up a batch of cookies for the ones you love, pancakes drowning in a lake of syrup, cracking the spine of a new book, a quiet house and a glass of wine, being thankful.
   The things to cherish are in the everyday, take time to enjoy them!

Happy Friday and a fantastic first weekend of February to you all......

Cheers