"C" is for "Corn on the Cob"

C is a fan of corn.

I grew up in a home that was blessed with an abundance of fresh produce in the summer, and in August especially, I got so tired of corn because we would eat it every night!! Now that I'm on my own with my own little family to feed, I am appreciating where food comes from, and it is so beautiful and simple to me to pick food from the garden, peel it, and then eat it...

What is better than warm butter dripping on your chin from a juicy fresh corn cob?

Love.

Hopefully next summer B and I can grow our own!!

~A

looking into the future....

“…remember you are not a stay-at-home mother when you have your own business. You are a mother that works from home. It is impossible to do both.”

So B and I would LOVE LOVE LOVE to be blessed with baby number 2... but we know that until we get rid of the scary evil debt monster, we need to be watching every penny we spend. So there's not a lot of room to plan right now. (But dreaming is free, so I'll keep doing that)

HOWEVER (lots of caps this post...either I'm really tired, or I just want to make a point) I've been looking into mommy bloggers and other online work from home jobs. I'm not expecting it to be easy, and I'm nowhere near launching anything myself, I just found that quotation to be inspiring. If I do eventually start an at-home business, I'm not going to be able to do everything all by myself all of the time, so that quotation puts things into perspective for me.

Happy Civic long weekend everyone!! I'm really hoping that tomorrow after work I'm not too exhausted to make the long trip to visit my extended family at their annual camping trip. I love family!!

~A

PS Once this weekend is over, I have 4.5 weeks until my FINAL year of schooling!! I'm excited to finally get my expensive piece of paper hung up next to the two my wonderful hubby has.

My Link Love

I've been reading Link Loves at Prudent Baby, and I wanted to share some of my favourite links from this past week...

B and I have been trying to downsize our "stuff" and get rid of a lot of the clutter we've been accumulating throughout our marriage (and from before we married) and I've found a bunch of wonderful sites like this one which deals with the journey to get organized and stay that way. Here are ten easy anti-clutter tactics if you find yourself wanting to get organized.

I love making cupcakes and decorating them, and this is a wonderful idea to take cupcake decorating to another level by using special cupcake liners!

Dress up your cupcakes!!

I saw this article on the kLove site this week about a man who live in a 182 square foot home. I love minimalism, and while I cannot say that I am a minimalist (by ANY stretch of the imagination!) I want to be able to use every square foot and live in every part of my home like this man does.

We are not expecting another bundle, but I always love looking at how other people decorate their baby rooms, and here is a site with some really adorable nurseries! Also if you want to create a list of baby names you love, check out this baby name site that saves your preferences and chooses names that are similar for you to enjoy.

I read a post on a friends site last week about writing a letter to your 17-year old self, and this week I found a site where you submit letters to your own body. What would you say to your body if you wrote it a letter?

Another blogger that I love is Sarah London whose amazing crochet work is filled with vibrant colours. I've been looking all over for crochet books and patterns, and finally I've found a crochet-er whose work I adore! (PS is that a word?)

I'm starting to think about the holidays this year. My family chose names of who we're buying gifts for, and so Christmas is on my mind already. On top of that I have a birthday party to plan for my monkey, and also a halloween costume to either buy or make (HELP! I need ideas!!)....well I was clicking around, and I heard about the Jesse tree, and I was ecstatic to find a wonderful new Christmas tradition I'd love to start with my little family!

I hope you enjoy my links! Please send me any that you've found this week that you love!

To Do lists

I read this article today, and it made me smile.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/08/the-funniest-kids-to-do-l_n_599758.html#s95829

What would our lives be like if we focused on the little things like these kids. I hope today that I can delight in the small "to do's " of my life.

inspired by these kids, here is my 'to do' list:

1. make banana chocolate chip muffins and eat one when it's warm.

2. stare at Connor

3. read Harry Potter #5

4. kiss Ben

5. be happy

I wish you all more than enough smiles to get through the day!!

-A

new eyes

this little man knows how to enjoy life. by watching him live, I learn how to see with new eyes.

thank you, C for teaching me.

I love you.

1k, 2k, Red k, Blue k

Bike update!

April 19: 4 km

What was supposed to be a short trip to and from daycare turned into TWO short trips to and from daycare when I got all the way home and realized I left the house keys and the phone in C's bag...it was a nice morning, and he loved the ride!

April 30: 18 km

My last day of class, and I biked to school. It looked like rain in the morning, but what a nice day it turned out to be! Unfortunately I wasn't the best planner and I forgot my lunch.

May 1: we didn't go biking, but we did have a blast at the park downtown! We brought a picnic lunch, a few books, and a few toys for C. There were children everywhere, and C had so much fun climbing and playing and running around. What a great sunny day! We got home, put C down for a nap, and then it rained. Perfect timing in my opinion.

May 2: 11 km

we have been biking to church as a family when we can, and this sunday, on our way back home, C fell asleep.

I wish I'd had the camera, but hopefully it won't be the last time.

So total km right now:

37 + 4 + 18 + 11 = 70 km!! Yay!

testing, testing...

School is officially over for the year.

My assignments are completed, my exams are marked, and my grades are posted. And unlike last summer when we moved to this wonderful city, B and I both have jobs already!

Last summer it took B six weeks to find work, and when he did, it was at a job that he complained about and didn't appreciate. This summer there is a change in his heart. His job now is no more fantastic than last summer. He might make a little more money per hour, and do less physical labour, but it's not a job he went to school for....The change is not in the work that he's doing, but in his attitude. I am amazed at the man that I married. Every day he is growing and changing into someone I am loving more and more and more. He is energized to go and work, to meet co-workers and do the customer service work that not many people enjoy.

B is loving life. Honestly, he's not really sure what he wants to do with it, but he is heading out and trusting that God has a plan. When he told me that after 5 years of post-secondary school, and after completing 2 degrees he didn't think he wanted to actually work as a teacher, a dream he told me he's had since he was 12, I was upset. I was disappointed and, I guess, selfish that he would change his mind....and then I had to remind myself that one year ago, after completing 4 years of university, I did the same thing when I enrolled in culinary school.

So we're both human. Neither of us is omnipotent...(and I am SOOOO thankful for that). At this moment, we don't know where life will bring us. We don't know what will happen in the fall, or next summer, or even tomorrow. But we're trusting God, and so far he's provided all our needs.

I have a job! It's almost my dream job too! I'm working at a fantastic bakery, and other than only working 2 days a week, I am completely excited about this new challenge.

We are blessed. C is a joy (some days more than others) and B is still my knight in shining armour, and I.... well I am still learning.

Today I'm learning patience and trust. I'm pretty sure those lessons are going to continue into tomorrow, but I'm working on today.

And so, here is a verse that came to me the other day when I was getting ready in the morning...

James 1: 2-5, 17

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

So my written exams might be over for this semester, but there are so many more life tests that I'll just have to wait for and do my best to prepare for.

with hope,

A.