A Sharpe Life

Bringing the Drama

2012-02-01T14:10:00.002-07:00

I was just on a site where a woman posts her ideas and by the way the site is set up she probably makes some money from her blog. There was a post on there about how to make a certain craft that she had made up out of her head. So then it must have been a totally original idea that no one else could have ever possibly thought of...ever. At the end was a disclaimer that went something like this *Please don't copy or post as your original idea, give the creator some credit, link to this blog*

I read in the comments that one of her faithful and devoted readers stated that another blogger, also a woman, had RIPPED OFF this oh so unique craft idea and there way a link to the offending bloggers page where she had posted the same...but not so much the same craft. I mean the basic parts were there but other than that it was her spin on it. She also claimed it as her own and was quite proud of it in a modest kind of way. The linked blog was not as flashy as the first so of course they had to have ripped the idea off of the flashy money making blog because who could not possibly know of this semi popular first blog...right?

There was an onslaught of reader support. HOW DARE this insignificant blog take this idea that was just so awesome and claim it for her own. comments like "She will be stopped" and "This is unthinkable" where in the queue all for the support of the first blog. Didn't she know she would be found out and HOUNDED? 80 or so posts later the Blogger was victorious and had said she know knew that this 'copy cat' would be banned or blocked or something for the big meany copy catty thing that she did. Funny words coming from a blog that states things like inner harmony, personal growth, spirituality and kindness towards all humans and furry creatures on earth and on the moon.

I couldn't believe it. I kept reading each comment with wide eyes. I understand that if you make money based on the ideas on your blog it's a nice feeling. You have a persona, you are marketing your personal brand of ideas, you think you have original ideas and so on. But sometimes other people do have the same ideas with little spins of their own on them and this could be without ever seeing or knowing if there was ever an 'original' post somewhere out there.

I think it is quite possible that the second blog didn't know about the first blog's post. I find it can be a bit greedy of the first blog to attack the second blog so viciously over an idea like this. Even tho an idea can make or break your wallet I think a little understanding is in order and to believe in the concept that more than one person can have the same or similar ideas.

Thinking that she is innocent, I wonder how heartbroken this 'offending' blogster feels with an influx of nasty comments under her craft post. How would you feel if it were you? unassuming and thinking you genuinely have a great idea and want to post it on your personal blog only to have a big 'corporate blog' come and strip you down and humiliate you? The thought is terrible.

Its all interesting to me and I have the view I do because when my Mom was younger she had a treasure trove of amazing ideas. Organizational and DIY and Craft ideas by the hundreds. She wasn't in a position to start a blog because there was no such thing as internet when she was a young mother but as these blogs started coming up over the last few years I would look over a few and be happy and think "Oh, I knew that, my Mom did that!" I realised here are women making thousands of dollars over ideas that I grew up with because my Mom did them in her home and here these blogger women are claiming them as their own original ideas. So...does my Mom have the right to sue for copyright?...do you get where I am coming from? I'm sure that women my Mom's age and women older and women growing up now have had and will continue to have similar ideas. What is an original idea any more?

Where is the love people? Where is the understanding? Are you only out to make a buck?

Breakfast Cookie

2012-01-16T09:42:00.000-07:00

Breakfast

Cookie :)

A sprinkle of cinnamon, a big tbsp of peanut butter, some chia seeds for the omega 3 factor and enough brown sugar to suit your taste. Mixing these all together in your plain, cooked oatmeal for breakfast will make you feel like your having a sort of peanut butter oatmeal 'cookie'. Add raisins if you like them or nix the raisins and add some sweetened cocoa or chocolate chips for a chocolate peanut butter oatmeal 'cookie'.

I knew I made something good when my 3 year old asks for this not only at breakfast but for a bed time snack too.

Use plain oats or steel cut oats. Make the oatmeal first then add the other ingredients. Usually one big handful of dry oats with enough water to just cover them all, in a microwavable bowl in the microwave for around 2 - 3 minutes works out to the perfect amount.

Book of Mormon Lego

2012-01-13T18:27:00.001-07:00

This site has scenes made out of Lego depicting stories from the Book of Mormon, among other things. Check it out.

Treasury

2012-01-11T22:34:00.003-07:00

I Love Etsy.

I have discovered how to make treasuries.

I have spent too much time making them.

Jane Eyre

2012-01-10T00:13:00.000-07:00

The new 2011 film from BBC

It's amazing. I loved it. If you are a fan and haven't seen it make it next on your 'to watch' list :)

Sarah + Abraham

2012-01-09T13:49:00.001-07:00

Daughter #1 got her own personalized plate and bowl

From Here

Very durable and Very cute!

Pillows and pictures might be next!

One Word 2012

2012-01-01T17:11:00.000-07:00

Attitude.

Because Attitude is everything and mine is in need of tweaking..or overhauling depending on which side of the bed I wake up on.

“Stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight.”
― Gordon B.Hinckley

“Cultivate an attitude of happiness. Cultivate a spirit of optimism. Walk with faith, rejoicing in the beauties of nature, in the goodness of those you love, in the testimony which you carry in your heart concerning things divine.”
― Gordon B.Hinckley

“Be believing, be happy, don't get discouraged. Things will work out.”
― Gordon B.Hinckley

"Remember, a good attitude produces good results, a fair attitude fair results, a poor attitude poor results. We each shape our own life, and the shape of it is determined largely by our attitude."
--M. Russell Ballard, "Providing for Our Needs", Ensign May 1981, 85

"I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances."
- Martha Washington

"Everyone has his burden. What counts is how you carry it."
--Merle Miller

"The state of your life is nothing more than a reflection of your state of mind." Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

"The optimist sees opportunity in every danger; the pessimist sees danger in every opportunity." Winston Churchill

"Happiness is not by chance, but by choice."
Jim Rohn

“What we love determines what we seek. What we seek determines what we think and do. What we think and do determines who we are — and who we will become.”
― Dieter F. Uchtdorf

New Years Eve

2011-12-30T21:42:00.000-07:00

If you haven't asked, now is your chance!

My Baby

2011-12-27T16:00:00.000-07:00

Hanging out under the table, eating an old cracker. They be chillin'

Always crawling under the super saucer

Who doesn't like broccoli?

Sitting in the cart like a big girl with the big girl

The shirt says it all

You want a hippopotamus for Christmas?

2011-12-24T21:54:00.001-07:00

Well that's exactly what I'm giving!

Merry Christmas Everyone :)

hair flower

2011-12-22T16:35:00.000-07:00

Thought I would get in on the trend....
Don't think I quite got it...I'll leave it for the pro's!

snowblowing

2011-12-21T22:35:00.001-07:00

I'll explain...

James was snow blowing and M wanted to help. She went into the garage where there is a toy lawnmower and started following James' path. They did the whole driveway and wrapped around the corner of the property and up the front steps. I only thought at the last minute to get a picture.

Tub scrub tweaked

2011-12-13T16:25:00.001-07:00

We picked up a nice big soup pot on the side of the road. It was in the remnants of a garage sale.

We brought it home and found 4 really nice drinking glasses wrapped up inside *bonus*

The pot was scorched and there was cooked/boiled on food up the sides that looked like it had been scraped at but it scared me away from wanting to try to make it clean as my pots can look similar without a lot of elbow grease and this pot is HUGE.

The thought of other peoples food being stuck in my new (old) pot creeped me out and then it struck me. Martha's Tub Scrub! I nixed the essential oils and made a much smaller batch consisting of baking soda, dish soap and water.

Martha, It worked like a charm.

More Pepper

2011-12-12T16:18:00.001-07:00

I love pepper. I love it on most foods. You would think it was sprinkles on Icecream I like it so much. I would buy it in bulk and use it to my heart's desire. That looney toons cartoon where the chefs are in the kitchen and one is calling for more pepper? that would be me.

I decided to try a different kind
Enter into my life: Club House ground black pepper

I dumped it all over my dinner and was pleasantly surprised at the major kick in the taste buds I received.
I didn't need much at all and had a hard time finishing that plate of food. Where did this stuff come from? why is pepper bought in bulk or fresh ground pepper from mill or restaurant not the same?

I didn't know pepper could deliver such a kick without being spicy hot. It's my new love.

That's a wrap

2011-12-10T09:49:00.001-07:00

I like reading the blog 'Sunshine in my soul' by Holly Brimhall
Her pictures are copyrighted and her blog is set up in such a way that I have to search back for anything I want to see as she doesn't archive or separate sections of her blog by month or year.

For Christmas, one of her traditions is to wrap up all her children's Christmas books and open one book each night to read up until Christmas Eve.

Her photos of the project in her beautiful home make it look like such a fun tradition. If I had the time and more than 3 Christmas books that one could read in an evening, I might try this!

Naturally clean

2011-12-08T22:44:00.003-07:00

my friend V pinned this system on Pinterest. I knew I was going to try it right away. The OCM is working well for me. I used sesame instead castor as I found out that castor oil smells and will stain pillowcases. I mixed up one recipe and didn't think it would last me past 1 week and here it is going on 4.

I also re tried the no 'poo method. No I'm not constipated ;) rather I use Baking Soda and water for shampoo and apple cider vinegar in replacement of conditioner. Searching up the no 'poo method on the Internet will give lots of results and info. I tried this first a year or more ago and took a chunk of Baking Soda and scrubbed it into the crown of my head then rinsed. The result was dry frizzy hair. This time I read more into different ways of mixing Baking Soda with water. I have crazy thick/coarse hair and my magic ratio is 2 heaping tbsp of Baking Soda to 1 C warm water. I swirl it around to dissolve and then with wet hair, I pour the mix onto different sections of my scalp until it's all covered, rub it in, let it sit then rinse it out with warm to cool water. Then I use around 1/8 - 1/4 C Apple Cider Vinegar and add water to it until it's around a cup then dunk the ends of my hair in the mixture and let it sit for a minute or so and rinse with cold water.

After I had done the no 'poo method 4 times my hair was...lighter as in not as heavy as it has felt in forever. I will say it's even soft. My hair is never soft! I'm going to stick with it for a month or so and decide where I want to go from there.

Work Party

2011-12-07T17:40:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Pinterest I saw an idea - put glitter on the bottom of your heels to add shimmer. I didn't put it on the pad because I figured it would just flake off.

Thanks to a great hairdresser I felt so pretty. Thanks M!

I stopped off at a friends and picked up a cool hair flower to complete the hair. Thanks J!

My sister came over and got camera happy right before we left for the party. I have spared you from the more embarrassing photos...haha!

Sittin' at the table having a grand old time...

The most frequent thing that was said to me was that I was channelling a girl from the 50's. I can dig it!

It was a good party. The food was amazing. I chose a vegetarian dish and it was plated so nice.

What did I learn? I might never wear 3 inch heels ever EVER again. O-U-C-H!

December Decorating

2011-12-07T17:39:00.001-07:00

I added a jingle bell S to my twig wreath this week.

I added Little ornaments to each stocking this year. A little mitten is on 'Dad's" and a wreath on 'Mom's'

I like the classic red and green theme. I have never had a fireplace to decorate before. I figure it turned out pretty well. It looks much better at night when all the light is coming from the twinkle lights.

I am no photog... I'll never be able to take a decent picture of a tree where there is no flash but here is our little Charlie Brown!

Tub Scrub

2011-12-05T10:43:00.002-07:00

Another pinterest find is Martha Stewarts Tub Scrub. I tried it and I love it. The essential oil I used was Tea Tree and man did it ever make the bathroom smell good. I haven't used harsh chemicals for years now and nothing I have used has cleaned scummy shower doors like this tub scrub. I scrubbed for 10 minutes and I was nervous and didn't want to rinse it away in case I did all that work for nothing. There is a bit of the hard water staining left and I am confidant that the next 2 or 3 times I scrub that shower - it will be hard water stain free!

Boycot BBW

2011-12-03T11:07:00.000-07:00

I say this in a non protest sort of way ;)
This year instead of the popular choice I am going against the grain and against dried out hands and am washing my hands with the festive smell of vanilla candy cane from rocky mountain soap.

Love this store - you can always get a free soap sample.

http://www.rockymountainsoap.com/webpage/1003154/1000144 (chemicals/ingredients to avoid)

Month of Celebration

2011-11-28T07:29:00.001-07:00

November is great and almost as expensive as December around here.

We have birthdays and we celebrate our anniversary. The years are flying!

When we celebrated our anniversary we hired a baby sitter for the first time ever so we could go out to dinner without the kids. Nerve racking because we had only relied on family until now but the experience was great. I didn't feel the pressure of having to get home earlier than we had planned because we may be inconveniencing family...you know the feeling?

We grouponed the creperie. Waited an hour for our food. 1/2 hour for dessert and 15 minutes for our bill. Thank goodness we had a lot to talk about.

I am older than James so I usually hear him say "I like older women." When he is talking to people around this time of year...har har ;)

For my birthday he gave me a nice breakfast for lunch(yes you read that right). Complete with fresh fruit and home made whole grain pancakes. He made his own version of chocolate peppermint ice cream that included a chocolate bar and a blender - delicious.

I also had a nice 2 hour nap in the afternoon (you know your old when...)

I was looking forward to picking at yummy leftovers from lunch for dinner and was very surprised when our cousins invited us over for dinner. She doesn't care much for baking and she even went so far as to make me cupcakes. Thanks S!

We had some people over to Celebrate James' birthday. He loves Peanut Butter and Chocolate together so I made 3 or 4 PB & Chocolate desserts. We had a great night with good friends and family.

I was so looking forward to November and now that we have finished all that had to be celebrated I can get into Christmas mode!

I am so excited to put up the tree : D

Rememberance Day

2011-11-11T13:37:00.000-07:00

Remembrance Day always touches my heart. I feel so small when I compare the things I do in my life to the great courage of our veterans and troops. Every time I see a poppy on a licence plate, if I let myself think about it for long enough, I could cry.

James listened to a radio program about remembrance day and veterans and our men and women serving in the military.

A woman called in and was upset that people don't remember how hard the wars are/were and what people sacrificed to give us our freedoms today. Her husband is serving in the military today. She is living in it so the sacrifice and remembrance of soldiers who fought and who are still fighting greets her each time she wakes up. She wants other to keep in their minds how important this day is. It's not just a Holiday. This got me to thinking...

People take these things for granted but that is the way it is. 9/11 was remembered and the shock of something of that magnitude happening on North American soil stayed with us for a few years. To those who had family members, friends, coworkers who died because of that will always remember the sting of tragedy when that day comes around just as our veterans and families of our veterans who have heard the stories of war and triumph year after year will remember.

For many people. Remembrance Day is just a holiday, a long weekend. They may pause at 11:11 and think and maybe wish a good word to those who have fought but maybe they are so far removed that they wonder why they have to do this. It didn't effect them and they have never had to sacrifice their freedoms.

I understand the frustration of the Lady who called in to the radio program but I also see how the world is. It's also similar to people who have been affected by a health tragedy; cancers, autoimmune diseases, the loss of limbs, drunk driving. . . They canvas around for money for the cause that has so deeply affected them. They want others on board too but of those who they are asking - if they haven't been affected by the same tragedy either for themselves, or someone in their family or a friend chances are if you don't make them feel guilty about it they will decline because they lack the understanding of the importance to the cause. Within a year if cancer or any of the aforementioned things were to happen to this person who's door was knocked on you can bet they would be out there canvasing and promoting the cause because now it is important to them.

Another ..analogy. A poor man who worked so hard his whole life. He started at the bottom and worked his way up to the top and became a wealthy man. He has since had Children and his children perhaps had seen the hard work their father had done to get all that he has in his life. They respect and understand what their father had done. Then The Man' s kids have kids and make The Man a grandfather. When these grand kids grow up - all they know is easy money and luxury. They don't know the sacrifice that their grandfather went through to make things so easy for them or what it took him then to now give them such a full life of trips and gadgets, large homes and things. On it goes. We didn't live through it so we do forget and to many it's a wonder why this day is so important.

I will also venture to say that if we were struck with a WW3 everyone would quickly come to a knowledge of how important our veterans and troops are and once it ends we will remember so clearly for many years until we are so far removed again that our children will wonder "Why do we remember? life is so good..."

Lest we forget.

Planets

2011-11-08T13:41:00.002-07:00

James and I took the girls to the mall.
Some stores had a Christmas display in their front window. Bath and Body Works had a garland of mistletoe around a large swinging candle. It caught M's eye and she wanted to 'see Christmas in that store'. We walked into bath and body, M inhaled and said "Mmmm it smells totally delicious in here." On our way out she glanced up and saw all the round hanging ornaments on the ceiling. "Wow!" she exclaimed, "Planets!"

Super Saturday

2011-11-06T19:10:00.000-07:00

The women I meet with at church got together to make crafts for Christmas. It's usually pretty cheap or even free in some cases depending on the craft. Any one can go and make them so maybe I'll actually think about it before hand and let some of my friends know so if they want to do it next year, they know when its happening.

This year I did these 2 vinyl decals on charger plates

I think the 'adore' is pretty funny. I know they are going for emphasis on that word but it looks a little...'romantic' to me.

And this shadow box of the nativity.

The little dollar store box I never would have bought and thought I could have made it into this. It turned out really cute. Some painted their boxes straight blue or black with a light wash of yellow inside to get that 'light' look. I saw some clay house numbers on Etsy and they were made with a mix of brown and blue together. I loved the look and right before I started this project I remembered the house numbers. I mixed the blue and brown together and it turned out just right.

They also had paint stick tree ornaments.

Glass jars on top of clay pots, painted to make an old fashioned looking candy dispenser.

A station to etch your name onto the bottom of your Pyrex dishes (no more masking tape and sharpie markers)

A nice antiqued looking wall clock.

And in the kitchen you could learn how to make chocolates.

There were volunteers who brought a really delicious lunch. Crock pots full of soups. Veggie trays and treats.

It was really fun this year. I met some new people and crafted the morning away.

I love that Christmas is not too far away.

Food

2011-10-28T21:07:00.001-06:00

Watching the food network has been fun. Notice they don't follow some standard health food safety rules? Hair net, gloves, and aprons (in some cases). Usually health codes, when preparing food for people, are strictly enforced. Esthetically it's not appealing. I get that sometimes it's just for show yet I can't help but wonder who is going to get a stray hair or band-aid in their fresh, made-in-a-food-truck, burger.

Extreme wondering

2011-10-14T21:10:00.001-06:00

I caught a few episodes of extreme couponing while I was sick a few weeks ago.

Some of the 'extremes' people go to to get all these products, for me, had it's entertaining value for about 3 shows. Amazing yes but also a bit ridiculous.

I wonder if today's extreme couponers will be tomorrows 'hoarders'...

Lunch

2011-10-08T13:58:00.000-06:00

I don't know what you would call this...

I have a grain mix of :
brown rice
quinoa
buckwheat
barley
and green lentils

I made that.

I went to find quinoa at costco and didn't. I searched and searched. Instead I found a sprouted three bean trio from the same company. In it are sprouted lentils, mung, and adzuki beans.

I made that.

Lately I have bought fresh green beans and zucchini, chopped them and either steamed them or lightly sauteed them in: butter, garlic, black pepper.

I made that.

I wondered how they would taste all mixed together.

OH MY.

This is my new lunch.

Cake

2011-10-05T14:15:00.002-06:00

After spending around 1 1/2 hours on this one, James said,

"I didn't think it would look this good!"

He was so impressed that he better watch out.

I may make him a pink princess

cake for his upcoming birthday.

Lovely L

2011-10-02T10:55:00.000-06:00

My girl is 6 months today

It's been a long 6 months and I'm glad we are here

She always has a smile and is happy to roll around

on the floor leaving a drooly streak behind her.

Change

2011-09-23T19:14:00.000-06:00

Always remember that the future comes one day at a time. -Dean Acheson

Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts. - Arnold Bennett

Change brings opportunity. - Nido Qubein

If there is no struggle, there is no progress. -Frederick Douglass

It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg. We must be hatched or go bad. - C.S.Lewis

Things do not change; we change. -Henry David Thoreau

“You have not failed until you quit trying.” -Gordon B. Hinckley

“Mediocricy will never do. You are capable of something better.” -Gordon B. Hinckley

I was asked to volunteer my time to help out the 16 - 17 year old young women in my ward. I have to teach a lesson for half an hour on Sunday then each Wednesday I will go to the church building we meet in where there will be an activity held for the Young Women to participate in.

I have never volunteered in something so demanding. This volunteering isn't even as demanding as some of the other things you can volunteer for. The last time I gave a talk in a congregation was when I was in primary. I have never taught a lesson. Never. I have participated in church classes periodically. I have read aloud from the scriptures in class and even said an opening or closing prayer. But when it comes to teaching I feel a little sick. This is WAY out of my comfort zone.

A wise older brother has been saying to me lately, When you stay in your comfort zone you don't grow. When you have that sick feeling in your stomach when your about to go and do something, go and do it! It's the best thing for you. You will learn and grow. Even if it's awkward or turns out not as you have hoped IT IS EXPERIENCE.

Where are my big girl panties? I'll need them by Saturday Night....

Reality TV

2011-09-22T09:52:00.001-06:00

What a joke.

I have an increase irritation towards it all. It's mind numbing first of all. Yes it's escape TV, I get it. I was caught up in 'The Hills' when it first started. I get addicted to those shows so I simply stay away or I become consumed.

Since staying away or being out of the realm of influence that these shows offer I have come to realize what a waste of time they are and have to think these shows have to be scripted in some way. You will always hear "They are for your entertainment" I also think that they play out they way that do only because some are in on the 'joke' and others are strung along.

I found it funny that even though these shows are filmed and starring cast get to see what they did being played back to them and also all the ' behind the scenes' back talk that goes on yet the continuing shows and seasons go on as if the cast members haven't watched it at all. They surely are not all oblivious to all that is going on yet I might act that I hadn't heard or seen anything if I was getting a multi million dollar paycheck.

Starts are given huge amounts of money to follow a guideline of sorts in their 'REAL' life. Have cameras follow them and have their faithful watchers eat up every second of their ever exciting, never a dull moment life while wasting away their own lives pining after the lives of the stars they wish to be.

Snookie? I don't see how she is Americas Sweetheart. foul language, loose morals, Drunk as a skunk, skimpy clothing, a book deal and paid public appearances are now counting for a great roll model? Where am I living again?

Kim Kardashian's wedding touted to be equal to England's marriage of William and Kate? I just don't see the parallel. What screwy logic. Will all the money that was spent on Kim's wedding be equal to the money she will spend on her divorce sometime in the next 5 years when it is just not working out for the 2 of them?

Joan Rivers...she's on a talk show where she can voice her opinion (I think) about fashion and other things. She has a comedic vein to her words that can also be cutting to the intended target. Her and her daughter have a reality show and I caught a segment of a morning show where they were showing a clip. Before the clip, Joan was spouting off sarcasm left and right, calling out the stupidity of others and you can tell to some degree she has a sharp mind. The clip shown is of Joan barging in on her daughter in the shower and trying to take pictures of her daughter while she is showering. You can hear her saying, over her daughters shouting to "stop and get out of here", that she "had taken naked pictures of her when she was a BABY so what's wrong with it now?!"

Really?

First of all, what a crock. Second of all, If my mother would have pulled something like that I wouldn't of haphazardly tried to cover myself and 'hide' in the corner of the clear glass shower, shouting. I would have been a little more forceful and pushed her out. That is, if I wasn't being filmed for mucho $$
After the clip she wasn't questioned on how inappropriate that was, rather they just carried on like it was normal and 'such a great show'.

Don't even get me started on Toddlers and Tiaras...I can't believe people do that to their little girls!

They are trying to make a reality show out of everything today. Exterminators, hair dressers, buying wedding dresses...oh well

It's all mind numbing to me....OY! Here I am writing about it!

It's better that I stay away.

neem oil

2011-09-10T14:38:00.000-06:00

Neem oil

It stinks like a mixture gasoline and ichiban gone bad.

It is wonderful on any skin rash or zit. I used it on little L's belly button. After 4 months it still hadn't healed. 3 days after using neem oil on it every diaper change it has healed I have covered many a facial imperfection with the smelly oil of the neem...and in the morning it has almost disappeared. I don't use it all the time because I forget, plus I'm not in love with the smell.

On the bottle I bought, It shares the neem oil story and I quote from the bottle

The Neem Story

"For centuries people in India have used Neem oil to maintain beautiful and healthy skin for its antiseptic and antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties.

Neem oil is effective in promoting skin damaged by psoriasis, eczema, dermatitis or extreme environments."

I chuckle each time I read.

the cravory

2011-09-04T08:37:00.001-06:00

French Toast. Pancakes and Bacon. Birthday Cake. Banana Creme Pie. Might be some of the things you crave. May even be palatable as ice cream but would you ever imagine it all rolled up into a cookie?

Imagine biting into an oatmeal pear fig cookie. I am in heaven just thinking about it.

You can Here

nosey neighbor

2011-08-29T15:48:00.000-06:00

I felt like that stereotypical old woman who peeks through the blinds of her dark house out to the lamp lit street to secretively watch the goings on.

I lacked the rollers, night cream, housecoat, slippers and husband named Harold or George.

I heard a squeak and thought it might be a mouse in my kitchen. That mouse turned out to be a young woman outside with 4 young men. Drinking and playing a hakey-sack type game in a circle with a black soccer ball out on the street. They were loud and at first I was assessing the situation. Are they getting rowdy? are they being destructive? would the boys start fighting each other? No on all counts.

Then I quickly realised each roll these kids were playing. All boys wanted the attention of the girl. The girl wanted the attention of just one boy. The girl flirted with all of them. She acted the part of care-free and playful. Dancing around and chest bumping them all. Practicing some sort of gymnastics. Falling over and acting off balanced and maybe drunk towards the one boy she wanted the attention from. He would try to hold her close and she would playfully push him away and run to another boy to make the boy of her affections jealous or to perhaps make him work harder to solidify her question of "Does he really like me?" This kept on and I saw no reason to call police as it seemed like innocent fun...if there is such a thing today. The other 3 boys loved the attention from the girl and would try to hold her close or put an arm around her but she never let them be close to her for as long as she let the main boy be close to her. Then all the boys would try to show off for the girl. Like Mrs. Potts says, "Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme" It's the same game that's been going on forever.

Kids think anyone 5-40 yrs older than they, don't know anything about life or their exact situation. I use to think so to. After you live that part of your life you look back on kids going through that same thing so of course you know what it's like. I picked out in 4 and 1/2 min what game these 5 young people were playing.

Who said youth is wasted on the young?

:)

From another time

2011-08-25T14:57:00.005-06:00

I heaved my baby off to my husband and made my daughter busy with her paints and got lost slowly scrolling through From Me To You's photography blog. I really like the model she is using in the Daily Outfit. Her face seems to come from another time. She nails it at the bottom of the first page with katharine hepburn.

These photos, however, I am still on the fence about. Very Harry Potter esque which is neat in the movie or in my imagination yet when seen here "in real life" I feel like the subjects have a zombie like quality to them. I have kept staring at them with morbid curiosity until I couldn't stand it any longer. What do you think?

days like today

2011-08-19T09:33:00.000-06:00

Hair

2011-08-17T18:00:00.000-06:00

I waxed my legs when I was 7 months pregnant. It didn't start growing back until 2 weeks after I had my baby. Why can't they bottle THAT hormone and sell it?!

Christina Lake

2011-08-14T10:07:00.001-06:00

We took our family of 4 to B.C. this summer. I think we will always end up there at some point in the summer for years to come.

I was hoping not to go this year because of my newest little bambino. It's dufficult for me to feel balanced and sane after a newborn. At least she was 4 months instead of 2 as was the case when we took M for the first time.

We stayed in a hotel Saturday night and arrived in Christina Lake on Sunday. On the drive there we anticipated hitting a bunch of fruit stands and stocking up on fresh from the orchard fruit the first one we went to we picked up 3 nectarines and when we brought them to the counter the girl looked at James and said "Just 3?!...just take them, honestly, take them". We did and they were delicious. We hoped that we would find more fruit at more stands along the way. We didn't find any more that were open. James was so disappointed.

Turning a corner in the mountains looking into a valley I remembered a scene back some years ago when I was traveling with my Dad and 2 younger sisters down in waterton AB. The valley had people riding horses in it and I saw a nearby ranch from where they came from. I remarked to James that whouldn't it be nice to go on a trail ride in BC? He wasn't sure if there was such a thing where we were going.

We had Dinner with James' family Sunday night but stayed in a hotel that night too. Val's house was too crowded and I was not going to be set up for the night in the family room downstiars with all the kids, out in the open, when I still breast feed. We waited until Monday morning to 'move in'. Then we were able to have a room because some family had left earlier Monday morning.

I think we went to the ice creamery on Monday..but it could have been Sunday. I only made a few notes and they all run together.

On Tuesday I went to the beach. I was perfectly fine sitting in an air conditioned house but because it was a cooler day I went with James and M. Sat in the shade with L and it was a good time. We also went to a farmers market and we bought more fruit because we felt let down by the street side fruit stands of BC on our way in :) along with peaches, cherries, blueberries and strawberries I also picked up some zucchini and a pretty yellow squash..pattie?

We were invited to Joy's for a camp fire and I overhear one of her sons on the phone and he said "Trail Ride" I was so happy at the sudden thought of the possibility of a trail ride! we found out it was $45.00 for a 1 hour ride and the ranch was 5-8 min away from where we were sitting. Wahoo! I was really glad I listened in on that phone conversation!

Wednesday I stayed in our room for the most part. I wasn't feeling well but wouldn't let that stop me from my trail ride! just before 3 pm Joy came to pick me up. We, 2 of her sons and a daughter in law went to Owl Mountain Ranch. We all grabbed a cowboy hat, were matched with our horse and away we went. Our guide was the owner of the ranch. He is such a cowboy! we took the Smugglers Trail tour. His land boarders the U.S. boarder and this trail went right along the fence that boarded the boarder Hence the name of the trail. On this trail he had a grove of Hazelnut trees and a huge field full of St John's Wort. There was also an axle of a 100 year old wagon that had been sitting there in the ground beside a little tree. The tree has since grown up and enveloped the axle of this wagon.

I remembered a time when my family went to Utah. The daughter of the woman who befriended my mom when she first joined the LDS church was married to a man who had a horse ranch. He invited me to come down the following summer to work on his ranch. He would teach me how to break horses and maybe even to barrel ride. I was so shy and had never spent much time away from my Mom so when the time came to go down there I chickened out. it would have been such a great experience.

After the trail ride and again thinking of the missed chance to go to Utah for the summer, we all played baseball at the diamond behind John's house. I chatted with Megan on and off. I was asked a few times while at the lake if Megan and I are friends in Edmonton. At first I thought a moment and had to laugh. We rarely see each other in Edmonton but when we get together at family dinners and a few hundred miles away in another province, we like to talk! She is very honest in her expressions and very real. I always feel like I have a fresh perspective on things when I walk away from a conversation with Megan.

We had nachos that night as well, it was a full day and I was toast. Done like dinner.

Thursday, L got sick and I was doubly done. I don't like having sick kids and being away from home. James saw an add in the local paper about a smoothie deal. Buy one get one free. We drove into Grand Forks and found The Nutrition Stop. The girls there were so nice and welcoming. It turns out to be a weight loss center of sorts. They have over 30 flavors of smoothies. We were new to the store and found the smoothies were free! James had a fruity something or other fruit blast smoothie and I chose cinnamon roll...CINNAMON ROLL! it was a cold slurpable version of the gooey part of the very middle of a cinnamon bun. I was so wowed by the taste...how could that be healthy?

That night I sauteed some zucchini in garlic powder, butter and black pepper. Did the same for some swiss chard. Had some of Amy's delicious quinoa salad and some green salad. It was one of the best dinners ever.

We left Friday Morning. Passed an accident. One ambulance left the scene as we were driving slowly passed and another was waiting on some paramedics helping a person onto a stretcher. The truck was in the ditch and all air bags were opened. We felt really lucky to be safe. We stopped in Fernie to feed the baby and to use the bathroom. we were there for maybe 10 minutes and as we were sitting in a parkinglot I saw police cars and an ambulance scream by the town up the road. We made our way in the direction of the police cars only to stop on the highway. We waited a few minutes and a few minutes turned into 1/2 hour. People were turning around and going back to the city. A police man told us to go back to the city as well as a civilian woman who was a little bossy and well to do. People came out of their vehicles. A nice old couple offered us their trailer if we wanted to stretch out or use their bathroom.

We learned there was a fatality 4km up the road and the road wouldn't be open for 3 hours. We researched other routes and found that back tracking and going around to where we needed to be back on track would take 3 hours. We decided not to waste gas and just sit there. I felt strange sitting still on an otherwise fast moving highway. I believe we sat there for just over 2 hours and then traffic started moving slowly. We passed the accident and for 10 km afterwards we passed cars that were stopped and waiting to get through. I could imagine the scene we behind us as vehicles were lining up and was glad we waited where we were so we didn't have to wait in that long line. Then after passing the windmills in the valley we had to turn right. Right at the turn in the ditch was the remenants of a boat or a small trailer that looked like a tornato had ripped through it. There were tiny fragments everywhere. Again we felt pretty lucky that we were making it home safley so far.

Just after midnight we were home. I love coming home.

chocomize

2011-08-12T08:37:00.000-06:00

MYO Chocolate Bar!

Such a good idea and one that can be easily replicated at home but it's so fun to look through all the different combos.

chocomize

punchbowl

2011-08-08T11:37:00.009-06:00

For M's birthday I spread the word via Punchbowl

A really fun site that has great online invites for so many different occasions.

It also lets you keep track of who's read the invites, who's planning on attending and who can't make it

Plus it's way better looking than FB

:)

That's how they do it.

2011-07-18T11:58:00.000-06:00

I like layering shirts.
I hate feeling like I am wearing layers - too hot.
I hate the bunching of multiple layers and the bulk that it adds.

I stumbled on this

Great Great Idea, another one, and another one.

Sleeveless summer dresses here I come!

TOG for Lunch

2011-07-16T15:16:00.004-06:00

Tomatoes, Onions, and Garlic

Heat up some coconut oil in a frying pan on med-hi, add sliced onions, caramelize/brown them to perfection.
Add some fresh garlic. Sliced, smashed or ground it's up to you. turn to med-lo and saute for 30 seconds.
Add tomatoes either sliced, diced or crushed or a pint or 2 of cherry/grape tomatoes. Some cracked black pepper and basil leaves either dried or fresh. cover and cook on med-lo until the cherry/grape tomatoes split or the reg. tomatoes release juice.

Dump it over fresh made pasta, add olive oil and Pprmesan cheese. Toss to coat
Eat while it's hot!

*would have had a picture but I ate it way too fast

Christable Robin

2011-07-13T10:58:00.007-06:00

I think its great how children make up their own words if they don't quite understand what was said.

In this instance, M likes 'whinnie the poopers' 'Christable Robin'

Grandma gave her a small stuffed Eeyore for her birthday. When asked who it was she replied "A donkey named eeyore is his name and kanga and little roof!"

lole

2011-07-11T07:55:00.001-06:00

Low-lee? Lowel? I don't know how to pronounce it.

I found it when I was in campers village trying to find capri's to wear during the summer. I am not a shorts girl and I can't be wearing heavy denim at +26 and up.

I was really impressed with the clothes they have there for women. You say 'campers village' and I image long underwear, lumberjack jackets, wool socks and sleeping bags. Instead of all that I found colorful, stylish, unique clothing. Some come with quite a price tag but now I know where my savings is going :)

I saw this kimono sleeve wrap...I think it's called peony? I tried it on as I had never seen anything like it and I loved it. Original price $90.00 I paid $35.00 Thank to 2 markdowns and a store wide sale.

lole

M's Birthday

2011-07-08T12:45:00.003-06:00

On June first I told M it was June to which she jumped around and said "I am 3, I am 3!"

Sadly I had to tell her she had to wait a few more days for her birthday.

On the day of, we started with breakfast in bed. She picked golden grahams...didn't really like them.

Her 'to share' present was peanut butter chocolate granola bars and her morning present was a skipping rope.

She loved the idea of us coming into her room and singing happy birthday while bringing her breakfast.

She chose to wear her 'Cinderellie' dress

Then once James came home we took her to chuck e cheese. This simulation was weird and she was brave about it...because the look on her face said she was freaked out. It bumped and moved and vibrated at the movie went on. But she stayed on it through the duration of the movie (3 min?)

She won this one. I couldn't believe her aim. Right on target.

Cheater!!

We took her to visit 'Temple Moroni' We went here weekly when we lived closer to whyte ave. The angel on top is Angel Moroni and because we were going to our Temple, she called it 'Temple Moroni'
There are 2 court yards and in she likes to run around and sit in each of the park benches there.

On the weekend we had some family from Edmonton over for a piece of birthday cake.

It was a great birthday for me. I saw that she figured out what was happening and what was going on and that this was her special day. Her cousin had a birthday the day after hers and I could tell she was still in birthday mode because she thought all his presents were for her :)

first bike ride of the season

2011-07-04T13:17:00.001-06:00

A guy at James' work sold us his chariot for $10.

we picked up a helmet and knee pads for M. She put them on and didn't take them off for 5 days...well maybe 3.

Commence the days of summer toting around a toddler!

going private next month

2011-06-26T16:11:00.000-06:00

I'm trying the private side of blogging for a while, say 6 months, maybe more. If I like it it will then be permanent. I'm not so open in real life believe it, it's true. Also, I get a lot of traffic from some crazy places and it use to strike me as cool but now it sort of creeps me out...

I don't mind who wants to read this I only want a little more control over it all and weed out spam followers from real people. Whats wrong with knowing who is viewing your personal info? I say nothing :)

Have any of you received spam messages on here? they use to be funny but I don't like them now. I get them too often and some now are terribly graphic and obscene.

send me an email

asharpelifeblog@gmail.com

and I'll add you to the list, after you complete a 20 question survey that I have made up just to see if you will complete it...

fav etsy shops/finds

2011-06-24T20:24:00.000-06:00

I love Etsy.

Campfire Onsie

That's off the hook yo!

Funky saying disguised as an eye chart

Pretend you have amazing calligraphy skills

Go boho chic

Find a feathered friend

Personalize specific coordinates with style

Branch out and try something new!

Great Deal

2011-06-17T10:10:00.001-06:00

A $1,400 leather couch for $399.00?

Yes Please Mr. The Brick Clearence Center

and

Thank You Very Much!

Miracle Grow

2011-06-12T13:17:00.002-06:00

I have always heard of the amazing things Miracle Grow can

do for a garden and I had an idea so I

used my 2 month old an my test subject

I sprinkled her with Miracle Grow and fed her some

Miracle Grow potting soil and left her in the sun for a while...

I couldn't believe my eyes as I checked on her later

Wow this stuff really works miracles!!

thermometer

2011-06-03T12:31:00.001-06:00

Back in the day when my older siblings wanted an atari, my mom devised a thermometer chart to track good deeds and chores done, progress towards their goal. Always filling in the thermometer and once the red ink reached to top, their goal was met and the prize was won!

I started this type of chart with my oldest girl (I love that I can say I have girlS!)

I'm getting her to fill in 3 sheets of paper with stickers when she does things like helps me clean up her room, and listens really well, gets the blanket that is out of reach for me when I am nursing etc.

I divided the thermometer into 3 sections and when a sheet is full of stickers the red marker line will fill the first section and so on
until the thermometer is filled to the
top and then she will get a surprise! Not an atari,
she is too young for that but maybe in a few years ;)

Dresses

2011-05-31T18:34:00.000-06:00

M loves to wear 'Beautiful Dresses' Any dress is a beautiful dress to her.

Lately she wants to wear 'Cinderellie's beautiful dress'

Which is a white dress with blue, green and yellow polka dots on it.

She wanted Baby L to wear a beautiful dress too and chose

the one that Juan and family had given Baby L.

I cant get over the contrast between these girls!

Amazing salads

2011-05-28T11:30:00.001-06:00

When my mom came to visit my family for the week she made all sorts of salad combinations. She use to do this while I still lived with her before I was married. I loved all the combinations , you really can put anything in a salad - it doesn't have to be a bowl of bland greens with a few chopped veggies. It doesn't have to be greens, croutons and a pound of dressing.

This was an LP-PL salad remix. the base of it all was my mixture of 'rice' I find brown rice a hard to swallow sometimes so I mixed it up and added green lentils, buckwheat, quinoa, and pearl barley to it and mix it in a container. I find that in the rice cooker I have, a 1/2 cup of this grains mixture with 1 cup of water is perfect for making all grains soft and edible without being mushy.

With the grain mixture heated and in the bottom of the bowl acting as the base, we added rainbow slaw which is shredded broccoli and cauliflower stalks with shredded purple cabbage and carrots.
Then we added pumpkin seeds, pomegranate crasins, peanuts, black beans, catalina dressing, Vega EFA oil, and cracked black pepper. *mom used lemon juice and olive oil instead of catilina dressing*

Well it was a hit! we ate it for lunch and dinner then we experimented and made up so many different combinations but always keeping the above as our basics (until we ran out of pumpkin seeds and peanuts) each combination was so good. I have re-discovered that salad can be amazingly flavorful.
pickles
lettuce
taco chips
snap peas
green beans
crushed spelt pretzels
pineapple chunks
blueberry crasins
spinach

We would add one or more of these ingredients to give each dish a new hit of texture or flavor. I really liked the base salad with the crushed pretzels on top when we ran out of peanuts. And throwing in a few slices of pickles in there was a surprisingly good thing.

I choose crazy home made salads to any of the salads on any fast food menu any day.

Arabelle

2011-05-26T14:35:00.002-06:00

Bananas

2011-05-25T11:30:00.001-06:00

Tired of dreading to peel a banana? Do you grab the top and snap it over? or do you grab a knife and cut the top part off?

Try turning it downside up and pinching the bottom until it splits open. It works easily and the strings seem to stay in the peel for the most part.

Laughing Out Loud

2011-05-06T06:16:00.001-06:00

Comical, practical advice

How not to pose for your online profile pic

How not to pose for your engagement photos

Mouth Man Hoodies

2011-05-03T10:17:00.001-06:00

These are so cool! I would buy one for James but he most likely wouldn't wear it.

You cross your arms like it shows on the picture and your hoodie turns into a gator, a shark, a frog, a snake, kissing lips or a skeleton!

If I had found this a few years ago I would have picked the frog :)

MOUTH MAN

A Wise man once said...

2011-04-20T08:20:00.000-06:00

Etsy Page

the meaning of Easter

2011-04-16T17:44:00.001-06:00

I was talking with my daughter about the meaning of Easter. From my religious view it is celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. When I was young mom would tell us the same thing but the word 'Resurrection' to a small child is just a long strange word.

A few hours later I told her about the more commercial kind of Easter. The bunny and the chicks and the eggs. That there will be a basket for her with chocolate in it that the Easter bunny will hide and her and dad can find on Easter morning. I mean, come on, that's what I looked forward to most when I was young. :)

I asked her afterwards what the meaning of Easter is / why we celebrate it in the first place and after much thought she said :

"Oh ya...ummm Jesus gives me chocolate!"

An apple a day

2011-04-14T09:08:00.000-06:00

Mac Vinyl Decals

found this on Etsy the other day, I think I have posted something similar before...

You can get these for your ipod or iphone too.

If you place an order your vinyl 'Prints' will come ;) har har

Baby Girl

2011-04-09T10:22:00.003-06:00

I hear the best place to start is at the beginning.

I didn't like my experience in the hospital with my first daughter. It is a very sore spot with me. That experience started the idea in my mind that I wanted something more out of my next pregnancy and birth. I researched here and there but nothing came out of it. I was pregnant in October 2009. That pregnancy ended 7 weeks after it started. It was after I emotionally recovered from that, the idea of natural birth with a midwife or doula crept into my mind again and this time it didn't fade. When I was 28 weeks with this little one I was very lucky to find a midwife who happened to have one spot open in April. A spot that just wasn't filling which is strange because Midwifery in Alberta is covered and with the small amount of practicing midwives available if you don't get into contact with a midwife as soon as your pregnancy test reads 'positive' you really are out of luck.. I ran the idea of going with a midwife by James and he said yes go for it. I knew this is the way I was suppose to do this - you know when everything feels right and you have a sudden strong unwavering pull to do something despite the opposition. James was really against it once he found out we couldn't go to the hospital, that having a midwife meant having a baby at home. Of course they are medically trained and will get you to the hospital if there are any complications or dangers during labor and they wont be your caregiver if you have a risky pregnancy. Good news is he changed his feelings towards it but only until after She was born.

Her beginning was March 31st. I had a busy day lots of walking around and limited water. Braxton Hicks were strong but never painful. I kept thinking to myself "I need to relax and get some water and then these will go away, I still have 3 weeks left"
My regular Midwife appointment was to have been on that previous Wednesday but a woman went into labor and my appointment was rescheduled for Friday (April First).

April first came and I went to see my Midwife. She said Braxton Hicks, and other things happening are a sign of early labor and normal this late in pregnancy. Labor could start within the next 3 days or nothing could come of it until later in the month. She said she was confidant labor would happen within 3 days. I was surprised to hear that but still thought I would have this baby closer to my due date, April 22nd.

All afternoon Braxton Hicks were still consistently infrequent but strong.
My brother came to stay overnight as he had work to do here in the city. I mentioned to him that night that I was having these braxton hicks and anything could happen in the next few days.

We all went to sleep and I woke up at 3:45 am to go to the bathroom, nothing unusual there! That has been a routine for weeks now. As soon as I lay back down in bed I feel menstrual cramping. Baby is moving around like normal. I tried and failed to go back to sleep as the crampy feelings were getting stronger and more frequent and closer together.

I called my Midwife and she gauged over the phone while talking to me how strong my contractions were and offered to come right away. Me being ...well, me said "I don't want to bother you - what if this settles down? then I'm messing with your sleep!" She decided to head over and got here by 5:30 am. I had since told James she was on her way and had gone downstairs and told my brother the same.

I started the water in the downstairs tub. My brother woke up and headed out for the day. James let the Midwives in. They came and checked on me and prepped the room. Towels, oxygen, medical emergency kit, gloves and all that. My Midwife listened to the baby's heart beat every once in a while and everything was good throughout the whole labor. The difference from out of the water and having a contraction and being in the nice warm water and having a contraction was just that, quite a difference. I would say water birth all the way. It eased the pain of the contractions just enough and once a contraction was over, the water was so nice and warm that it was easy to relax.

James was hanging out with our daughter, explaining to her what was going on, eating breakfast with her. They would come in and see me every now and again. James is not good with anything that involves the possibility of his seeing blood. He was quite content to stay outside the room and be close by when things really started happening. I was happy to have my Midwife there when in my last 4 or 5 pushes I needed someones hand to crush and a little eye contact for re-focusing.

There was very minimal help/intervention from my Midwife. I remember feeling Baby crowning and the so called 'ring of fire', It wasn't so painful. Of course I didn't feel it much with my first labor either. The most intense feelings were the menstrual cramp contractions. At the point where a Dr. at the hospital helps turn and pull the baby out - I asked my Midwife, "Can you just pull her out now?" She explained the baby naturally turns their shoulders in the birth canal and she would come out with the next push. I remember thinking in that moment ... it's natural! The Dr. doesn't need to help with that...who would have known. Its as if at one point in time Women did this without the help of doctors...

At 7:11 am, the last push and she was born I held her close to me and she was a little blue. The Midwife gently rubbed or tickled her arms, hands, legs and feet to give her some encouragement. Not taking her away from me to poke and prod her and roughly rub her body with a towel to make her cry instantly. She took her first breath and looked around...what a crazy moment. I was not letting her go.

We waited for the umbilical cord to stop pulsing before it was cut. James stayed out of the room for this and was handed the baby after I cut the cord while I delivered the placenta...it came out easy when I had the much more mild contractions for it. I didn't need to have a nurse push hard on my stomach to 'shoot' it out uncomfortably. I let my body and gravity work together. Again I kept comparing this experience to that of my first in the hospital. Night and Day.

I went and joined my new baby and James and our daughter on the couch and we talked with the Midwives for while. Filled out paper work. Baby was weighed and the APGAR test was done, She passed! The midwives cleaned the bathroom to a spotless shine and really, it wasn't much of a mess in the first place so it took no time at all.

the 2 other midwifes left and my midwife stayed and talked with us for longer. What a great woman she is. when she left I cleaned up, gave our new baby a bath and put a sleeper on her. Everything was so calm. Everything felt so peaceful. The best part was I was HOME I didn't have to have 30 different nurses and residents file through my room every hour checking me for hemorrhoids that I didn't have in the first place, Looking for the I.V. entry site on my hand and not finding it because I didn't have an I.V. Taking my baby away from me, out of the room to do tests that just couldn't wait. No uncomfortable hospital bed and dry germy hospital air. I held her all morning.

I couldn't have asked for a better experience. I loved every minute of it I listened to my body and did what it told me to - imagine, a woman trusting her instincts and her instincts being right. Women should do that more often.

Baby L

Great Read

2011-04-04T08:33:00.001-06:00

Reading to kids from a book is a great way to explain things that might happen in their lives. Maybe you don't know how to approach the subject so you go find a children's book about it. Great idea! What parent doesn't want to help their children cope with difficult situations or sudden change of life. Reading to them can be a great way to get out into the open what may be happening or coming up, open up discussion afterwards of how the child is feeling through the situation when it happens establishing trust and strengthening the parent child bond.

There are some great children's books out there written for all sorts of coping situations. EVERY family needs this book for obvious reasons.

I would like to prepare my child when Mommy comes home with bandages, bruised and broken skin, having to wear sunglasses and a scarf inside the grocery store. No it wasn't because she just won the UFC championship and it's not because Dad beats her.

"Mommy had PLA-Stick Sur-gur-eeeeey" She was so unhappy with her body and decided to change it all up with a lot of money and a scalpel. So keep telling Mommy that she looks beautiful now and reference how ugly she was BEFORE her 'wonderful' transformation It will make her feel better.

Here is the link on Amazon some of the Customer Reviews near the bottom of the page are great.

Cute as a bucket...or is that button?

2011-03-31T08:41:00.008-06:00

Found this on a side add while blog searching. What a cute idea a great shower gift. I know so many people who would not pay for these but rather whip it up themselves and do a bang up job of making it look great.

Baby Clothes Bouquet

Baby Blanket

2011-03-29T08:17:00.001-06:00

A long standing tradition in our family is receiving a handmade baby blanket from my mom when one of her kids has a baby.

She handmade baby blankets for all of her kids when we were babies and I love that she is still doing it today for her grandkids. What's better than handmade anything/everything from your mom?

I didn't find any material in any fabric stores that clicked. With her living state side, it's hard to get her opinion on fabrics and how they match up or don't.

Enter Skype and online fabric shopping! We looked through a bunch of fabric online and found 3 different patterns that worked together great. I can't link you up to them because they aren't on the site anymore but the collections were Central Park and Sunkissed. The site is http://www.aboveallfabric.com/

We skyped a few weeks ago. The blanket was laid out on her bed and she showed me the progress - WOW! I am so happy with how it looks. She will put her personal finishing touches on and bring it up when this little one is born. I love having a soft and cozy reminder of my mom in my home.

Ahem

2011-03-26T09:11:00.006-06:00

This is the strangest fruit container I have ever seen.

Mom! I want a snack!

2011-03-24T08:32:00.003-06:00

I hear this 8 times a day, Yelled from different corners of the house. Being 8 months pregnant I'm usually snacking right along with my 2 year old (who is almost 3 as she keeps reminding us)
While nibbling on strawberries and chocolate chips or cheerios and raisins has it's good points, I am getting tired of it. What the heck do you snack on?

On a recent trip to Costco with my MIL I found a big box of crackers by Wild Roots called Ancient Origins. I can't find a web site on them or any other info so I assume they are made by a bigger company and put out by Costco under that 'Wild Roots' name. Mmm they are delicious - then I thought "My favorite Hummus is here!" It's 'Sabra' Roasted Red Pepper hummus and it is the best tasting hummus I have ever eaten. Sold and Sold. The two together are my own version of a healthy oreo cookie minus the chocolate induced heart burn afterwards.

What I'm watching

2011-03-18T08:00:00.006-06:00

Not Much!

We have basic cable and have had it for 7 years - all of it was free. In our first place they never shut it off when the old tenants moved out. In our second place the upstairs tenant paid for Internet but got rid of her TV physically yet the line was still hooked up to the house. Often times Shaw would shut off her Internet and would have to come hook it back up...we think they might have been mixed up and wanted to shut off the cable but that never happened.

Now we have basic cable and we pay for it. What a weird feeling. Its analog so James gets a sports channel that is fuzzy but clear enough that he can watch the oilers games.

One morning when I was stuck in bed with sore hips, Miss M and I discovered channel 22 do I hear a Chorus of Angels Singing in Unison? I love the children's programing much better on that network than the other 24/7 children's programming channel Treehouse. The shows have more substance to them. M's favorites are 'Super Why' with it's catchy theme song, 'Sid the Science Kid' (" I love my mom, my mom is cool, and now it's time for having fun at school!") and Curious George'. Once a week and twice on day's that I can't get mobile in the mornings, we watch it together and she is so excited to explain everything that happening on the screen to me.

Other than that, thank goodness for HGTV! some shows are dry and I can't stand them but I like sitting on our recumbent bike at some point in the day pedaling away watching Color Splash, House Hunters, Marriage under Construction, Property Virgins..the list goes on

A visit and some Vernors

2011-03-14T11:44:00.007-06:00

One of my brothers came up to stay when he had some business here in the city. It's really nice to be able to have family and friends stay and not be so crammed into a tiny living space. Here visitors have the downstairs to themselves (unless James wants to go to his Man Cave or M wants to play with her toys)

A few weeks before that my brother and his family went to the USA for a nice vacation. He found some Vernors and was so kind enough to think of us and bring us a pack, what a surprise!

This has been a family favorite since many years ago when, as a younger person our family went to Ontario to see relatives we had never met. Our Nana introduced us to the liquid gold and it seemed every day we would drink the 2 or 3 bottles in the fridge but every morning when the fridge would be open again, magically there were 2 or 3 more bottles.

Thanks for the treat big brother!

an eye for photography

2011-03-12T09:07:00.000-07:00

I want those fresh newborn baby pictures!

Here is a girl who's family I know from growing up down south.

Alli has some breathtaking pictures and I could (and have) search

her web site and blog for hours.

Moved

2011-03-01T10:24:00.000-07:00

February has proved to be more interesting than January and I had a feeling that since November of Last year, Life in 2011 would be full of changes. James = graduated and new job. Car loan = paid off. New baby in April. Maybe I would put up some family pictures on the walls because I accepted we would be living in the basement suite for another 2 years while paying off our student loans...

We were thrown a really awesome curve ball. Last year I thought that if we were to move anywhere it would be Calgary. All but 2 or 3 of the almost 50 jobs James applied for were located in Calgary. Moving was nixed when we knew things were going well with the interview process with a company here in Edmonton. I accepted that we were to stay here in our little basement suite and I could make it work if we had a plan, some short term goals to help me get through another winter in this place with a second child. The good point being we could have our student loans paid off in just over a year if we stayed. This was our plan and we were going to stick to it!

About a week later we got a call. The offer was a bigger place that needed some renters. within 4 days we had signed the lease and I started packing. I don't like living in a dysfunctional mess. Bit by bit I packed everything 4 or 5 days before we moved.

Feb Long weekend was moving day. The Guys that signed up to help us at our church were no-shows. That was frustrating to say the least. James' good friend Josh was there to help then when we really needed help to get things going James' family stepped in. It went by so much faster and I am so thankful for all the help we received during and after the move...How do you thank people who do so much for you? Words don't seem enough and gift certificates for a marble slab ice cream cake for each person is too pricey ;)

More change! I welcome it and consider it such a blessing. We really did not see this one coming and I love these type of curve balls life throws.

Celebrating

2011-02-24T10:01:00.003-07:00

My husband finished School in December last year. He has been working now for a few weeks. It's a welcome but strange change from student life.

I never liked school. If I had to go back it would be to get my Bachelors in French or Italian Pastry not World History or Political Science.

Mmmm pass the cannoli

Alkaline

2011-02-12T18:32:00.002-07:00

Cancer cannot live in an alkaline body. Foods that you eat can be anywhere between acidic, neutral or alkaline.

Here is a free download chart with a list of foods that will keep your body in tip top shape. We all eat ooey gooey delicious foods and I can't imagine cutting those out - a better way is to simply add some more of these really good foods that help alkalise (spelling?) the body into your diet without taking away the ice cream sundaes, the brownies and the mile high plate of nachos from Montana's which I could really go for right now...

Is your restaurant worthy?

2011-02-09T17:17:00.002-07:00

The Gov. of Alberta has a neat-O link so you can scour restaurants in your area. Check if they have had any health violations or if any are pending.

Check up on your favorite place for food...

http://www.health.alberta.ca/health-info/food-restaurant-inspections.html

Radius

2011-02-04T13:54:00.000-07:00

I bought a $16 toothbrush.

After buying and using this toothbrush, I think all other toothbrushes are severely under priced ;)

It has an ergonomic handle..which I find is useless when you have to clean you top teeth.

The bristle part is HUGE. It's been quite a novelty to brush my teeth! Its like I'm done in half the time and my whole mouth feels cleaner. Hmmm well, any time I use a new toothbrush my mouth feels different.

I picked my color at planet organic. Here is the online link

February!

2011-02-01T10:00:00.014-07:00

January sucked!

I was so down with all the snow, minimal sunlight and being house bound - frozen in and not being able to crack a window to get some fresh air.

M was pretty good, she is easily entertained with hours and hours of our 'free for a month netflix trial' cartoons and kid shows while I curled up on the couch wondering when time would go faster the and day(s) would be over.

I welcome February with higher hopes and a little less snow.

On a side note,
I went to the store to pick up some cough meds. At the checkout the greasy long haired cashier was whistling that 'sexy whistle' at old women walking by and laughing high pitched like a crazy woman (obviously on something or had taken something on his brake/before work) *note* he had a feminine flare/slur to his voice.

I put my meds on the belt and the convo goes like this:

Him "HElooooooooo there! Hahahaha"
Me "Hi"
Him "Did you FIND everything you were looking for? HAHAHAHAH"
Me "actually no..."
Him "I sure found what I was looking for!" as he raises his eyebrows, leaning towards me and laughs some more
Me - SILENT- paying for meds
Him "What are YOU doing tonight"
Me "Going home to my husband and daughter" as I grab my meds and start to walk away
Him "Uh-Oh! Time for a DIVOOOOOrce! hahahaha! Tell him you found a cashier HAHAHAH"

I was a little disturbed at first but I can laugh about it now :)

What a way to start off the month.

Cinn-ful

2011-01-25T06:17:00.000-07:00

We stopped by the new I-Hop in town for dinner.

There was one thing I had to try.

Cinnamon bun filling slathered on each slice

and cream cheese

on my favorite breakfast dish, french toast

(or pancakes if that's what you like more)

I was in heaven

Just don't tell me how many calories I consumed...

Little Thoughts

2011-01-20T09:43:00.000-07:00

I love feeling this Baby. She is mellow for the most part, then a few times a day she really gets her stretching in. I haven't been kicked in the ribs yet. But I do feel like I waddle now :)

I get our 2 year old to say good morning to the baby and explain to her where the baby will sleep once the baby gets here, what mom does to help the baby get through the day and I tell her that the baby will cry a lot.

I'm at a wondering stage. I'm not yet in the 3rd trimester...I don't think. I don't have to pee every 10 minutes and I'm not overly huge and uncomfortable (yet). I think a lot about what it's going to be like with 2. Before our first, I couldn't imagine what life would be like. After she came into our lives I couldn't imagine life without her. I'm taking the same train of though right now, What will life be like with this next one? How will the adjustment be? How will I get to the grocery store with 2...TWO kids?!

I dread the sleepless nights, the explosive diaper stage, the making / buying baby food stage and all the mess. Our 2 year old sleeps through the night now, only pees in her diaper and can feed herself without a mess. I feel spoiled in that respect and in a way feel like I will be regressing back to square one. Maybe it will feel different because this new little one will be just that, New.

I wonder If she will look like M or totally different. Will she be a string bean of a baby or a healthy chunk. Devil or angel baby? Time will tell and the end of April can take it's time if it needs too but I'm sure excited for it!

Blessed squared

2011-01-18T09:56:00.000-07:00

While reading, remember it's a parody on Mormon life ...Which is something I didn't get when I first started reading... Haha! I was just confused! especially reading her 'about me' piece. I just didn't understand...but now I know :)

This post today and most of it's comments made me laugh out loud and sadly shake my head at the same time.
search through and read up and have a good laugh :)

Seriously so Blessed

Gender Prediction fun

2011-01-14T10:22:00.000-07:00

Here are some ways to find out what your having before an ultrasound tells you..or the birth of your child :)

I have heard of so many prediction tests, These things are great because 3% of the time it works out to be 100% correct!The ring strung on a necklace - does it spin or sway?

How you are carrying - High or Low?
Some say your beauty is taken away if your having a boy and it is magnified if your having a girl, but I have also heard the reverse is true
But these next 2 I had never heard of

Chinese Gender Prediction Chart

Gender Prediction Red Cabbage Test

Yawn

2011-01-09T10:10:00.003-07:00

You can't have a satisfying yawn after a trip to the dentist.

Poking and pulling, grinding and filling with jaw open wide for an hour = sore swollen bruised feeling for 2 days plus not being able to open mouth wider than a small spoon with a small amount of DQ blizzard on it!

You don't know what your missing out on when it comes to yawns and how good they feel. Be thankful you can yawn!

One word

2011-01-07T19:48:00.003-07:00

The word I have been rolling around in my mind for the last 5 months is the word I'm picking for this year. It's Judging.

Rather, to judge less. Criticize less. Not to jump to conclusions and say they are fact.

What is that old saying, "Believe half of what you see and none of what you hear" ?

My brother once came up for a surprise visit to my work. I saw him walk in, I ran over to him and gave him a big hug. We talked in the area set up for lunch and coffee. After he had left and I got back to work, my co-workers were looking down their noses at me and acting differently around me.

It turned out that some people thought I was going behind my tall red headed husbands back with this shorter dark haired man! How quickly are situations turned into something that they are not. Situations seen by myself or someone else, our minds starts moving and we think one way or another and there is this suggestion stuck in our minds about a person that holds no merit.

This year I will try and fail, pick myself up and try and fail again at this. It's difficult to work on something that no one can peg you for (like the quiet thoughts of your mind) I'm always in for quite a test when I set these self improving guidelines up for myself.

Here it goes.....wish me luck or a whole lot of persistence ;-)

Happy New year!

What I'm eating

2010-12-30T16:10:00.000-07:00

After all the junk food I've eaten since October, these 3 things have been added to my menu and sadly the candy, chips, and chocolate have been nixed or minimized.

Shake & Go smoothie mix

Antioxidant EFA Oil Blend Mmmm delicious. Over the holidays I was told it's great on steamed veggies like peas and broccoli too.

ChlorEssence

Water

I feel thicker today than I did when I was eating cheesecake, chocolate and cookies over the last few weeks. Which to me means it's working. I'm looking forward to getting back to some sense of normalcy.

Mom gave me this delicious oatmeal for Christmas. Who doesn't want to start off the day with some chocolate?!

The Lights!

2010-12-14T10:12:00.002-07:00

Up the street our neighbors put on quite a display of Christmas lights and lighted figurines. He is out there with his friends and family rigging up the mechanisms of some of the displays right after Halloween. Miss M loves the flamingos!

They put so much time and effort into this and I'm so glad as the traditions of putting up Christmas lights seems to be unfashionable.

They should have a Hot Chocolate stand to help pay their electricity bill, I can't imagine what it would be!

We invited some family over last night to come as see the lights with us and then came home to have hot chocolate and cookies. MMmm Mmm good!

1/2 pint

2010-12-08T22:01:00.000-07:00

My sister in law gave us this really thoughtful gift one year.

It's a 1/2 pint paint can. Inside is a small stack of post it notes

Each year after Christmas our family takes one of the pieces of paper and writes our favorite memory from the holiday, taking care to write the year on each memory. We also look through the other notes stashed in there from previous years and recount the memories that we have forgotten of years past.

One of my favotire gifts of all time, Thanks for the memories, SIL M :)

Feel good soup

2010-12-07T11:20:00.001-07:00

My Mother in law gave me a good soup recipe from a company's coming cookbook and I tried it last night. It's simple, cheap and so good and I wanted to share it. I follow the recipe loosely, and I'm typing it up the way I made it.

Cheddar Chowder

4 C Diced potato

1/2 - 3/4 C Diced onion

3 Diced carrots

2 1/2 Diced celery stalks

1/2 of a Diced zucchini

2 C Vegetable stock

1/4 C Quinoa

1/2 C water

A combination to taste of Onion and garlic powder and salt and pepper.

Recipe yield around 5 C

(It said to add 2 C of cheese in the end when the vegetables are soft. This makes up for the 'cheddar' part feel free to add it, I did not)

Set aside 1 diced potato and 3/4 of the diced celery along with the onion. Put in a blender with enough stock to cover and blend until smooth. Put in pot with the rest of the potato, carrots, celery, stock, quinoa, water and spices. Bring to a boil and stir frequently as quinoa has a tendency to stick to the bottom at first. Set at simmer and cover until vegetables are soft.

It comes out as a thicker texture and creamier because of the blended potato. We had penguin crackers and home made buns as an accompaniment.

*Quinoa, pronounced Keen-Wah, can be found at costco, superstore, planet organic.

Listen to Christmas

2010-12-02T19:00:00.000-07:00

Christmas music makes me happy, well, not when the same 15 Christmas songs are repeated at the store you work at starting in early November and you work full time 5 days a week. Christmas music didn't make me so happy then.

When I can put on the music that I enjoy, music that is attached to a memory when Christmas was all sparkle and magic, not having to listen to the latest pop music take on "Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas" or overly sexualized and pumped up techno versions of the great pure Christmas classics, then I am a happy girl reliving the wonder of Christmas.

I've added some of my favorites to my blog so while your here through Dec. I hope you can take a moment and share in some of the Christmas music that helps make the holiday that much more special for me.

The best of the season to you and yours

Love, The Sharpe's

Christmas Craft

2010-11-30T12:13:00.000-07:00

At Super Saturday, A Saturday where women gather to make Christmas Crafts at out church building,

This is one of the crafts I made.

Christmas Coasters

White tile's with a coat of rubber cement on the back. Coat a piece of square cork board as well. After letting the rubber cement dry on both pieces (15 min), squash the back side of the tile to the cork square and let set. The cement should be dry and just a touch tacky.

The tiles were just over 4 inches square and each piece of paper on top was cut to exactly 4 inches. It gives it that nice white edge. Put on some modge podge on the tile then smooth the paper on and let dry (no bubbles!) Then add 2 coats of modge podge on top of paper, letting it dry between each coat.

I left them in my laundry room because they stink like rubber cement for a few days but they are pretty and sturdy. You really could use any paper and make coasters for yourself to have out all year round.

Birthday

2010-11-27T21:53:00.000-07:00

We had a party for James tonight and we enjoyed it so much!

We had a great group of people show up

There was introductions and eating, chatting and eating,

laughing and eating.

I found a fabulous girl via facebook and asked her to make these

The attention to detail is amazing, the fondant is delicious,

The cupcakes are baked to perfection,

The icing is to die for,

The smiles and surprises were priceless.

Spatulas

2010-11-24T19:08:00.000-07:00

James gave me 2 spatulas for my birthday. Loved the thought. Didn't like the spatulas. I've always had the $1.99 set of 3 spatulas from zellers for the years we have been married.

He spent a few dollars more than $1.99 so I took them back to superstore and went to my favorite local kitchen shop, Bosch Kitchen Center where I picked out 2 new spatulas and the quality is much better than superstore they can stand up to 500+ degrees F and they were just under what James paid for the superstore brand!

Happy Birthday to me!

What does it mean when you are super excited about silicone scrapers?

Shhhh

2010-11-19T13:00:00.001-07:00

I hear April babies are pretty special!

*Shirt from Zoey's Attic on Etsy*

The Hardest Thing

2010-11-17T18:57:00.002-07:00

About home made Baking
                  is having to Wait
                                   until the baking has cooled down
                                                                                     enough to EAT it

My mouth is burned and everything has a funny taste now..

Southern Peach Cobbler

Crafty

2010-11-15T11:27:00.004-07:00

In This month's Crafters Anonymous I made this necklace!

You can buy similar kinds of jewelry but this was much, MUCH more fun than typing and clicking up an order on Etsy.

Dishwasher woes?

2010-11-13T17:40:00.000-07:00

I wish I had the type of machine dishwasher problems that others had. for now I can only dream of them. Here's a handy little tip for sparkling clean dishes : )

Kitchen comfort

2010-11-10T11:02:00.000-07:00

For the amount of time I spend in the kitchen making fabulous gourmet meals for my family (har har), I would like to think I deserve one of these mats.

I was a demo girl for Sobeys and we uses smaller similar mats to stand on because standing on hard concrete floor for 8+ hours really hurts your tootsies. They were so much relief. So cushy and squishy. I would love it if shoes soles were so thick with squishy gel.

Next time I have $500.00 or so to spend on a bright red crocodile print gel mat for my imaginary huge designer kitchen, I'll consider my self one lucky duck.

Overheard + Appreciated

2010-11-08T09:12:00.001-07:00

Sitting at a table at a social function, my tables conversation dry and sparse, I tuned in behind me and overhear a woman in her 40's chat with 2 girls, friends, in their early 20's. The girls were venting about the sister of one of the girls and her upcoming wedding and all that she was doing or not doing. How she made changes and told people at the last minute, not giving any consideration to other people who may be or want to be attending the wedding. After going on and on about how rude it was, the older woman said, in the most kind way. "Yes, but we all have our time to be silly, we all have our moments when we are so wrapped up in ourselves that we don't think of others."

She went on to say how she has attended many young girls weddings since her own and how she looks back and remember the silly things that she had done to her friends and family. We are all foolish and we give allowance to those still learning. We support them because we love them.

This made me think of all the silly things I did before during and after my wedding. How family and friends put up with it, knowing it was foolish and inconsiderate and talking to others about it. They still showed up and gave their support. Sure I feel badly about so many silly decisions years later but I have a better understanding now. I hope I have more tolerance and kindness to others during their silly phases.

Vega vs Yoga

2010-11-05T09:10:00.000-06:00

Around every other day I make and share a vega shake with M (I use lots of fruit with it or I wouldn't be able to drink it). M also joins me in morning or afternoon yoga every few days. M interchanges the word yoga for vega and vega for yoga sometimes.

Out early yesterday morning to run errands, M and I walk out our side door. I spot a runner stop across the street to do some stretches and stationary moves ( are they called calisthenics? ) As I'm walking to the car, behind me I hear in M's loudest possible voice, "MOM!, She's doing VEGA!" repeated over and over again. It COULD look like a very fast form of yoga! The runner looked over and smiled then went on her way.

Yay for Libraries!

2010-11-03T07:44:00.001-06:00

If you love the EPL,

Enjoy some good eats this November and know that a portion of the proceeds go to the EPL!

*click on the picture in the link for locations!

Halloween 2010

2010-10-31T19:54:00.000-06:00

We had a lot of fun this year. We made a pumpkin. M put the face stickers on herself as well as all the stars and dots on the hat. I was impressed she put them generally in the correct place!

On Saturday our church had a 'Trunk or Treat' people from the congregation pull into the parking lot and open their trunks. some were really well decorated and others were just there to stand by their trunk and hand the treats out (we were among the latter). They stick the candy in the trunk and kids go trunk to trunk. It's amazing how fast you can accumulate the treats! We went with our cousins, first - to the building they go to church in. After that was over James and I took our tiger over to the building we go to church in and 'Trunk or Treated' all over again. I was pretty surprised at our, I mean our tiger's, haul.

There were some creative kids who had great recycled costumes! they fashioned carboard boxes in such a way that they really DID transform! Awesome! They were a show stealer for sure.

She loved having the treats dumped all over her lap!

Sunday night we 'Trick or Treated' with my sister and her little family. We covered 2 and 1/2 blocks with them and again I was impressed with how many people gave candy away - this being a university/old person area - we 1/4 filled a pillow case! My sister took her little one home and James and I took our tiger up one last street and came home and dumped all the treats on her again!

I can't, I mean, SHE can't wait to eat all that candy!

Next year we are going to try and make it here

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Nice

2010-10-25T11:17:00.003-06:00

Givenchy has a new fragrance, 'Play', I really like it a lot. Maybe you can wear it around me so I can smell it.

Or I can buy it as a really expensive room spray....

I have learned long ago that perfumes and my body chemistry don't mix. I've tried so many with such hope but am always smelling 'sour' within the hour and am left taking a shower.

5 things

2010-10-22T16:23:00.000-06:00

I want to eat a cupcake with a gooey chocolate center.

I feel awkward at small talk.

I have read Max and Ruby's Christmas tree and Max's Rocket Run over 7 times this morning.

I can't wait to eat all the candy/chocolate my daughter gets for Halloween.

Harry Connick Jr. has been playing all day.