I am

I AM feeling better at 38 than I did at 28
I WANT my girls to grow into strong, happy women
I HAVE wonderful parents
I KEEP my guitar with the intention of getting going on it again
I WISH I COULD take the girls to Japan

I DISKLIKE eating leftovers
I FEAR loss
I DON'T THINK I’m going to beat my time from last year’s tri (though I’ll try!)
I REGRET not taking the Co-op program at University
I LOVE learning
I AM NOT GOOD AT saying “no” to people who need a favour
I DANCE only when I’m “socially lubricated”
I SING when I’m driving

I NEVER get up the first time the alarm goes off (who invented the snooze button anyhow??)
I REALLY love meeting new people

I HEAR Japanese in my dreams sometimes
I HATE TO THINK that my kids might be bullied at school
I CRY easily
I AM NOT ALWAYS using my time efficiently

I AM CONFUSED ABOUT what to do career-wise
I NEED to have people around me
I SHOULD stop criticizing my body

F is for ...

FRIENDS

Remember your early teenage years? The ones during which you pledged eternal friendship to four or five really close friends and you could not imagine ever not being friends with them? Remember Ann (or is it Ann with an 'e'?) and Diana? "Bosom friends".

As we get older, I think it becomes harder and harder to find those special individuals that we would do anything for. The ones we can say anything to. The ones we can call on when we need them the most. The ones we trust with our children (and our husbands). The ones who could walk into your house without knocking, find you in your tattered pyjamas cleaning goodness-knows-what off of the floor under the kitchen table and help themselves to a cup of coffee leaving you to think only, "I'm SO glad you stopped by and saved me from myself this morning!"

When we had our children in Vancouver, thanks to a great baby group, I made some super friends. Some went back to work, some introduced me to other wonderful friends, some we met on random rock-picking walks. It took a bit of work, but 4 and a bit years later, I could safely say that I had some fantastic friends.

And then we moved.

No university classes to meet people at. No baby groups (whew!) to have to attend. Half the kids in Jordan's class took the bus and I never met their parents. How on earth was I to make friends?? That was a rough first year. Gradually, I met people, but I still felt like something was missing. Bosom friends.

I made connections, to be sure. And then one fall day, a bunch of us were standing around at the school and were, probably, all fed up with mothering. Someone tossed out a, "Hey, we should all go away for the weekend sometime soon...."

And we did.

And it was awesome.

And we keep doing it.

And I have 4 bosom friends.

Whether we show our bosoms or not ;)

Of course, I have great friendships that have endured 25+ years.

Ones left from university.

Ones that I cherish from our time on the coast.

And some new faces, too.

Love you all!

E is for...

EIGHT

Eeeeek...she's eight. Really. Three days later and I still find it hard to believe. I think that the kicker for me is that I really remember being eight. Going to summer camp, moving cities and schools, my grade 4 teacher, my grade 4 art project that I loathed (art was my very very least favourite subject in school), my friends and so many other things.

Never having fallen in love with Nancy Drew, I remember being really into Trixie Belden. Not Jordan - she's completely taken with Miss Drew and all of her fantastic adventures. Not having read the series at all, I wondered if it was appropriate for someone who was only seven. I was told that Nancy was old enough to drive, so she must be a teenager. She also has a boyfriend, Ned, that she goes to dances and stuff with. Innocuous enough, I suppose. Needless to say, the party theme this year was...any guesses? None other than Carolyn Keene's loveable heroine.

The invitations were done as a boot print on argyle paper, written in code.

The cake was just cupcakes decorated with and arranged in the shape of a question mark.

The guests numbered only 3, but they all received an argyle headband and a N.D. book.

Dinner was served on our good dishes, with tablecloth and candles...and argyle napkins (bien sur!)

The difficult task was customizing a "real mystery" for the little sleuths to solve. I decided that "The Case of the Missing Sister" would satisfy Jordan's request for a puzzle and her need ot have Maya out of the way for a bit. Our dear neighbours agreed to feed Maya dinner while Jordan and her friends tried to solve the mystery. I wrote clues out and had them around the house, with the final clue being "It just doesn't compute". They found their clue on the computer in the form of a video message from Maya.

Her hint had them looking on the back of the clues they had collected where the letters written in lemon juice spelled out "IT'S FRANK". I had to candle the clues for them to get the invisible ink to show up, as a house fire was not in my plans. After the missing sister had returned, we went to the basement to play Clue (possibly the longest game ever). One slept over and the other two headed home. Good times.

At any rate, the birthday festivities have drawn to a close with a homemade sushi dinner and "champagne" to celebrate Jordan's turning 8 on the 8th. Maya instisted that it was a "propane birthday", but we don't drink that in this house. Far too cute. Here comes Christmas!!

"D" is for...

DARN IT!!!!

I was happily knitting along when the increase was encountered...6 more stitches...12 more stitches...

My needles are too short.

So are my legs, but that's another story altogether.

Thinking I was being clever, I thought I could squeeeeeeze the stitches on and hold them with my finger as I neared the end of a row. It worked for a while and then I noticed something else. I was running out of yarn. I know I'm supposed to knit a 4x4 swatch to check my tension, but it honestly seems to be a waste of time even though I read, "Even a variation in half a stitch makes an obvious difference in the finished size."

Blah blah blah...darn it. I used more colourful language (to match the wool, you know), but for family readers and almost eight year olds with a propensity for over-the-shoulder lurking, we'll agree that I said, "Darn it!"

I purchased one size smaller needles (yes, they are longer) and will commence frogging this item. "Frogging" is my favourite knitting word...know what it means? Think ribbit ribbit ribbit. Got it? Try rip it rip it rip it. Ahhhh...now you've got it!

Now try to guess what I'm knitting!

"C" is for...

CHICKEN

I love chicken. Alright, I love the versatility of chicken. I don't really love the skin, the bones, the rubbery texture of microwave-defrosted chicken, the wiggly bits that require trimming...you get the idea.

The trouble is, as much as we love chicken around here, I don't have a great go-to chicken recipe. Each and every time I take chicken out for dinner, I spend an inordinate amount of time searching my recipe books and the internet for THE chicken recipe. Part of this problem stems from the fact that I really dislike repetition in my cooking. Many a time we have sat at the table with a delicious meal in front of us - a meal we ALL like - and Mike will comment, "This is so good! Guess we won't be having it again for a while..."

Last night that pile of frozen chicken breasts was magically transformed into coconut curried chicken. With tomatoes. The leftovers consist mostly of a pile of tomatoes, a little sauce, a spoon of rice and maybe if I dig really deep, a piece of chicken. But they all liked it...see you in a few months, coconut curry chicken. But what a great recipe to cook the night before my "C" entry, eh?

The rest of the family adores chicken legs. "Drumsticks, drumsticks!" they beg in the meat aisle at the supermarket. I cannot think of anything chicken I would rather NOT have...well, chicken wings are right up there, actually. I do have some chicken thighs (wiggly bits picked off before being put in the freezer of course) and perhaps I will get them in the slow cooker in time to produce this:

Baked Chicken with Mustard Barbecue Sauce (from 300 Slow Cooker Favorites by Donna-Marie Pye)

12 skinless chicken drumsticks (I used thighs)
19 oz / 540 mL can tomatoes - drained
1/4 packed brown sugar
3 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tbsp prepared mustard
1 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1. Place chicken in slow cooker stoneware.
2. In a blender, or food processor, puree remaining ingredients until smooth. Pour over chicken.
3. Cover and cook on Low for 5 to 7 hours or on High for 2 1/2 to 4 hours until juices run clear when chicken is pierced with a fork.
4. For a thicker sauce, transfre chicken to a serving platter and keep warm. Transfer sauce to a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil gently until reduced by half, or until sauce reaches desired consistency. Serve over chicken.

"B" is for...

BOOKS

I ventured solo to the library yesterday for the first time in ages. I usually spend time with one or the other of the girls while one or the other of them is dancing across the street. Jordan is still too sick to be out in public, so off I went. A full 45 minutes and I didn't step foot in junior fiction, flip through the orange binder of kids' DVDs or touch the carousel teeming with Raffi and his cohorts. Freedom.

I looked through each and every CD and came home with Blue Rodeo's "Small Miracles" and Loreena McKennitt's "To Drive the Cold Winter Away". I checked out the entire "NEW FICTION" section and lingered over some old favourites deep in the stacks without once hearing, "Mom, can we get....?!" Liberating.

In the end, I came home with only 3 books - okay I ordered one on inter-library loan, too. Oh, and I bought one from the $2 used rack. Fairly ambitious for the next 3 weeks, but there are always renewals, right?

Testimony - Anita Shreve

The Bone Cage - Angie Abdou (written by a friend of a friend)

Signora da Vinci - Robin Maxwell

The Sportswriter - Richard Ford (coming soon, I hope)
All Aunt Hagar's Children - Edward P. Jones (a good score for $2 if I do say so myself!)

There were some disappointed faces when I came home without anything for them, but then I pointed out the basket teeming with their library materials and they agreed that it should last them ... until next week.

"A" is for...

ADVENT CALENDAR

When I was little, I was always so excited by the cardboard and chocolate advent calendars that marked the beginning of December. A chocolate with breakfast? Should I save it until after school? The surprise of what shape was hiding under each flap continued to amuse me well into my teen years (though I was far too cool to admit it, I'm sure).

Since Maya is unable to indulge in chocolate, I have been wanting for a couple of years now to make an advent calendar that will (hopefully) become a family heirloom. Sadly, I always think of it around the last week of December. This is what we fashioned last year (not my own idea...I believe it came from Craftzine's fabulous website)

While the idea of chewing a piece of gum each and every day in December definitely appealed to the girls, I longed for something a bit more traditional.

Our local quilt shop has a birthday sale every year where you are offered a one time discount equivalent to half your age the week before & after your birthday. Let's just say that my discount is getting significant enough that I couldn't resist! Along with some great spring fabric for a quilt for myself, I picked up a panel for an advent calendar. With the flu nipping at our heels, we stayed in on Sunday and I managed to get all the little pockets sewn on in one go!!

This still leaves the sashing and quilting to do, but I'll get to that - hopefully before November 30th! Jordan is already planning the goodies we can put in there...