how cleaning changed my life....

I know some of you have been interested to hear about my new business venture. I am a consultant with a great company called Norwex Enviro Products. Norwex sells cleaning products and personal care products. The cleaning products are chemical free. I was easily sold on Norwex for the main reasons it fits my life. I save time - tons of time. For the tons of different products I used to have to clean I now have one cloth. I can clean as I go and don't have to worry about my kids breathing in all kinds of nasty chemicals. The products really work so I don't have to spend time just smearing the dirt and dust around. I also am saving money. Norwex is an investment but now I don't need to go out and buy paper towel each week and a bottle of this or that every so often. I have what I need and as long as I take care of it.. I can expect to get years out of my cloths. I am also helping to do my part to save the environment. I am putting less toxic chemicals into the air, garbage and into the water. And the best reason I am now providing a safe and healthy environement for my family. Store bought cleaners can range from irratant to fatal.. why would I want to do that to my family. Do you know what is in some of the stuff we use to clean our tubs? The same place my kids sit and play in the bath. Or what is in those nasty Mr. Clean magic erasers? Or in windex? There is a distinct connection between the increase in chemical use in our homes and schools with the increase of asthma, cancer and allergies.
There is so many products I love and it would take me too long to tell you all of them.. (so you must get to a Norwex party!) Here are my faves:
1.) Norwex is known for it's microfibre.. yes i know microfibre is everywhere but if you compare a cheap cloth to one of our cloths you can easily tell the difference. To be cosidered microfibre the cloth has to be 1/6th of a human hair. Our cloths are 1/100th and when combined with the right knitting process it creates an extremely effective cleaning material. As if that were not enough Norwex has developed a unique techlogy that combines an atinbacterial silver based agent with our microfibre. This then destroys the bacteria picked up by the cloth. It is proven effective on strains of bacteria, yeast and viruses. So that brings me to the Antibac Enviro cloth.. used wet or dry to clean all surfaces. All you need is water. It prevents the cross contaminatio of germs from one surface to the other. It removes dust, dirt, grime and grease from all washable surfaces. I use mine for everything from dusting my furniture, to cleaning my counter tops, my stove, my windows, bathtubs, tile... The best part is that I can use it for days and just clean as I go.
2.) The Antibac Window Cloth - this allows to me to polish and clean windows, mirrors and shiney surfaces with water alone. It leaves a streak free shine and best of all I don't have to breathe in nasty things like windex. You need to see what it does to my faucets.. never been so shiney.
3.) my must have number one the one thing that changed my life was the mop! i have never found a mop that worked.. I hate using a broom (it's disgusting how much you are just smearing around) I mean really have you looked at your mop or broom and wondered how something so dirty can make things clean.. yea it doesn't. I know have the telescopic handle (which is great for cleaning up high and hard to reach places), the Antibacterial dry mop and the Antibacterial wet mop. All made from the highest grade of microfibre, with the silver agent right in. All I do now is use my dry mop which picks up everthing and then use only water on my wet mop and in 10 minutes my whole main floor is spic and span!
I could go on and on.. the antibac face cloths, the kitchen cloth, the micropad (like the magic eraser without the fatal chemicals), the spirisponge, the fresh wash, the bath mat, the antibac hair turban, the dusting mitt, the shea butter and all the organic personal care products, the magnet ball, and odour eliminator, the dishwasher detergent makes everything so sparkley and clean. The cleaning paste makes cleaning my ceramic stove a dream.
Did you know your mattress currently has about 2 million dust mites living there. Did you know that one dust mite produces about 50 fecal pellets daily and that your pillow is made up of 10% of dust mite feaces. Did you know Norwex carries a product called the Mattress Cleaner which is designed to elimiate dust mites and all organic material on your matrress, sofa, bedding, your kid stuffed animals. I know many people who have lived with severe allergies for years and have had their lives changed once they used this to kill that matter that lives in our stuff.
The Laundry Detergent is filler free and best of all you use basically nothing and a bag lasts you a long time. Our Dryer balls replace fabric softener (which I hope you know is so bad for you!) They drastically cut down on dryer time which is also helping to save on money.
So there you go a quick run down on chemical free cleaning. I know it sounds too good to be true and thats what I thought too. You owe it to your family to try it out. Let me know if you want to host a party or just order some product. Or if you are interested in selling Norwex yourself. Its a great way to give back.
And now for the moment you all were waiting for

.. the winner of the Norwex draw who will receive one of my favorite producs the Anitbac Microfibre Dusting Mitt is... Holly! Congrats to you.. I will get you your prize on Tuesday at rehersal. And maybe this will inspire you to have a party :)

feeling the love

Wow.. what a day. If I knew this day would have felt like this I would have wished to turn 29 ages ago. Yesterday when I went for my run in the morning.. I was overcome when a certain song came on my ipod.. it's called.. How He loves you and it always shakes me to my core.. well yesterday I was just praying it would sink in.. I mean I'm already 29.. I just want it to sink in. Today I felt the love over and over and over again. So thanks to all of you who wished me well (who knew facebook could be such an encouragement) and those who went out of their way to make me feel loved all through out the day. I am in awe. So here are some highlights....
It all started Sunday when I was taken to dinner with some friends.. these are not just any friends. We enjoyed a fantastic meal followed by our own "Martha" making one of my fave's kit kat cheesecake with a special Crystal spin.. and it was good.. I mean it was so good. I got some special gifts and a cuddle with the most handsome little guy. Crystal ventured all the way to North Carolina for my gift and was thoughtful enough to visit Anthropologie for me.. I mean really this store was meant for me.. I LOVED the owl tea towel.. not sure if I will ever bring myself to use it.. but it looks really good in my kitchen. Thanks C!
Monday we celebrated with my family.. Steak dinner courtesy of the grill master himself. So good. Ice cream cake. A kicking Loewen family dance party. And a Magic Bullet.. oh my! Been waiting for this one for awhile now. Amoung lots of other good things.


Today has been amazing. My thoughtful husband got me the best gift this year. I will be getting a cleaning lady once a week for October and November.

Just what I need in these crazy couple months with tons of rehersals and other stuff. I can't wait for her to start next week! The above picture is the card he made me. He is just so good!!
I was surprised at work with a couple flower deliveries, pizza, chocolate, bath & body works. Amanda kept me on my toes all day with surprises every hour or so. Although at first I was a bit afraid of how much she appeared to not know me when her first gift arrived. I won't explain it all but go to her blog and read this Hey an owl is an owl right? It felt so nice to have her think of me that way. Among a couple of other things was this Recipe Box I had seen on Etsy.. loved it! It is even better in person. I almost cried when I opened it and found it FULL of hand written recipes. Old recipes.. Like some Grandma's treasured recipes. I couldn't belive it. So amazing. And then as if she isn't already the greatest my partner in crime Audrey at the office surprised me by getting Amanda to make what can only be called the most amazing cake you have ever seen. I mean the picture does not do this gorgous, delicious cake justice... my favorite Starbucks drink a carmal macciato.. and seriously guys it even tasted like it.
Thank you for all the phone calls and your generosity.. I feel like I won the jackpot and Hey Marcy my friends put a dent in your gift cards thats for sure. :)
I also received a magazine subscription to my fave magazine Domino from Audrey. Just fits me perfectly.
I had rehersal tonight and my favorite new friend Holly made sure to solidify in my mind why I seriously heart her already. She made me homemade salsa and gave me a super cute card.
I wish it could be my birthday every day.
I do have a great post on Norwex in the works with a draw for that free gift.. if you want in on it make sure to leave your comment on my last post.
I feel full. Finally full feels good!

jumbles of my brain

so now since you have gone so long without a real post by me.. i decided in my saturday afternoon laziness to bring you all into my inner circle. here is what i am thinking in no particular order (that's how circulation works... at least in my head)
-i need a new hair color.. badly
-if i were not buried under bills i would go out and get said hair color, the thought of coloring my hair from the contents in a box scares me, i have not had the guts to do that in like 15 years.. do i start now?
-my house is clean today. it always feels good to have a clean house
-i love the way ari & noah are talking these days.. they just yammer all day long. they have the cutest little voices and sometimes i just stare at their mouths because of the way they move them. it's fasinating.
-dave is gone to work for the second time today - i hate on call weekends.
-i want a cheeseburger almost everyday. i have a love affair with red meat. it makes me feel good.
-i still am trying to find the perfect fabric to make new bedding for the boys room. i think i have narrowed it down.. well who am i kidding. these are the ones i love. Etsuko Furuya's fabrics are lovely.. love this combo HERE still loving Amy Butlers dots line though and thinking that the lime & slate full moon polka dots would be adorable.
-my brain is filled with so many home ideas and i have NO time.. seriously no time.
-loving fall so i can wear my cute grey jacket and my new pewter shoes and of course loving fantastic scarves.. which i need more of. seriously.
-rehersals are going so good. i am really enjoying it and we have a fantastic cast. it's long evenings with general blocking but i love it. it's going to be an amazing show and you should all have tickets.
-selling Norwex now too for those of you who don't know... i am loving this. it's easy to get behind products that pretty much sell themselves.. i will blog more about this later.. but if anyone wants to have a party and get tons of free stuff (espcially in time for christmas) let me know!
-embarking on my 29th birthday.. feeling ok about it until i go to rehersals and this tiny blonde girl who is probably all of 17 keeps telling me how old i look. ugg...
-trying to stay afloat with this whole parenting thing.. someday s i could just throw in the towel. it's hard and it feel awful alot of the time... I love my kids but feel most days they would be better off without me and all my selfishness... i am working on it. luckily i have a partner who rocks at the parenting thing.
-still dealing with my ever growing addiction to all things ETSY it is a seriously horrible place to go.. i keep buying things and things keep getting cuter.
sorry there are no photots here.. i have not been good with snapping. next time i promise for photos.
Ok if you are still reading this then you deserve a rew ard so here it is:
Leave me a comment and you will be eligible for a free Norwex product... it'll be good i promise.

excuse me

i am living in a land of chaos.. you will have to excuse me in my absence.. just way to much going on to be able to manage it all.. yet. please have patience.. i will be back.

etsy loving..

this seriously is killing me. with wanting to redo the boys room.. make them new quilts. i am so all over this.. now if only i wasn't buried in bills and light enough to just buy buy buy!! happy friday!

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5206901

trudging through

like with everything there is a transition period.. our last few weeks have been just that. life is alot busier for me then it was this summer. i know i mentioned that we were having difficulties with adjusting to our new "routine" well happy to say i think for the most part transition is over (or at least at the tail end) dropping the boys off in the morning has become easy and today i even had to scold myself for feeling badly that they don't seem to want me anymore when i drop them off.. it was a short moment. they have been waking up a bit earlier which makes our morning routine much easier and dropping them off involves a few hugs for me and a wave goodbye. so happy to have found somewhere for my kids to go that they love. it's evident that they are having fun.. they talk about their little friends from time to time. this morning when i said it was time to get dressed they both made mention of Shirly and Ty (he is a boy that goes there as well).
picking them up has been harder only because they don't want to leave :)
our afternoons have their ups and downs but we make the most of it. this afternoon we went to the park.. i concentrated on really enjoying our time together. we did lots of fun stuff. the problems only came when it was time to leave... noah makes life difficult when it comes time to leave anywhere he is having fun. i'll take the bad for the time i had with them their this afternoon.
i am happy i made the choice to go back to work part time. i love my job and the time away.. i know its been so good for all of us.
off to rehersals tonight which is going well.. getting nervous about all the memorizing.. but i am excited about the process.
as per emily's (one and only request from my last blog) you will get an earful on Norwex in a few days... oh and big congrats to Steph over at Adventures in Babywearing. She gave birth to Ivy LaRue in the early morning.

the real truth

well it appears i am completely at a loss... i have no ideas to put down here. maybe its the million things screaming around in my head.. i just can't silence them long enough to blog anything. so unless you have things you want me to blog about..questions, things you are dying to know about me? i am going to have to just take some time to sort my thoughts. coming up with ideas at this stage in the game is killing me. so leave your comments and i will answer your questions... and if not well then i'll be back when it flows more naturally...

is it just this mom?

what the heck??!! it's like i am a monster or something... my kids literally cried for their dad for 30 minutes last night when he wasn't here to say good night to them and then this afternoon we started a repeat of last week... every time something would go wrong they were crying for their dad.. or when they didn't have my total attention they would cry for dad.. and seriously what is that?? it makes me so mad.. it's not like i wouldn't love to give them 100% of my attention all the time but then who would do massive amounts of laundry, sweep and mop, clean bathrooms, fold and put away piles of laundry.. and sure i would love to go through the drive through every day if it meant i could spend more time with my kids instead of cutting up healthy vegetables so they have good wholesome time consuming food to eat.. then i would love to play play play instead of putting all the dishes in the dishwasher so we have clean plates to eat on. i thought i was doing good at balancing but according to my kids i just suck at it all......

you can't live on coffee alone...

maybe life is getting to busy and to full of stuff.. making it harder to blog because there is just too much. this last week was challenging... ok it was hard and it beat me up. i love my job it's perfect.. i have way to much fun there and love the people i work with. being at work is excellent. it's the before work and the after work that have been really hard. as most of you know this year i am taking the boys somewhere (this might change yet) but for now we have been going to a home day care. it's amazing.. they boys love it (when they are there), they talk about their new little friends and i know that they have the best time. but the morning consists of me fighting them to get out the door. poor little guys just want to hang in their pj's. they did really good at first with me leaving them there and each day it got worse.. till friday they were screaming for me to stay.. chasing after me as i ran out the door. uggg worse feeling in the world. of course when i would pick them up they would rather stay there. at home things were not so good either.. after they woke up from their nap it was never much fun.. i am sure they are just paying me back. it hurts though.. i don't want them to hate me or be unhappy with the situation.. i know it all takes time. so by the end of the day i have been so exhausted.. emotionally.
praying for a better week.
i had my first read through at the concert hall for the play... rewind to my announcement that i got a part in our community theatre's production of Little Women... a reminder that you can buy tickets at the City Office or online. Whew this is going to be intense.. the read through was so fun and I remember why I love this story so much. I do realize that it's going to require lots of work.. but I am ready.. or at least hopefully by November I will be...
to make the abandonment of my children even worse i left Friday for the city to stay for night to take in the Multiple Sale on saturday morning. We were selling stuff this year so it had to be dropped off Friday afternoon. i had the best time with M & K friday night.. she made yummy food and we drank Grandpa's killer wine and chatted the night away. felt so good. no one makes you feel more at home then when you stay at Chez Penner. the sale I must say was a major disappointment.. in the 4 or 5 that we have been too this one was the worst. i don't know if it was a lack in stuff or what but i came away with only 6 things!!! I ran some errands in the city and came home to my family. the rest of the day was great.. we played in the sand box with our new neighbours and had good friends for dinner... seriously if the rumor of Superstore not carrying Korean BBQ meat anymore is true.. at the Difran house some tears may be shed.
so now you are all caught up. i have not been taking a ton of pics lately. i will try to post more next time.
oh wait... i wanted to fill you in on my Norwex news. i have done two parties so far and have two possibly three booked for September.. it's going really well. i love it. i am happy to have taken the plunge and can't wait to keep making people happier one chemical free product at a time.

let's play catch up

What a weekend! What a crazy last couple of weeks. I know there has not been much "meaty" conversation coming from Our Life Voyage.. I hope to change all that soon. Now that life is going to get back to "normal" at least with some sort of consistency.
We celebrated our anniversary on Friday with a trip to the city (just the two of us). I had a successful shopping day and found some great pieces that fit nice. I needed a few more work wear clothes.. It was great to feel good about myself. We just had a great time being together.. we even held hands a lot. Something we don't do anymore. We laughed lots and just enjoyed time together. We ate at an All you can eat Japanese restaurant downtown which was AMAZING. not sure if it was just cause we have missed Sushi so much or what but man did we eat. I was so full when we left. Just like old times. Of course no ride home is complete without a stop at Starbucks. I feel content with my accomplishment of 4 years with such an amazing man. Marriage is not without it's difficulties but just like in anything the good usually surpasses the bad and whats bad only makes you grow more and adds strength to life.
I had been preparing for camping all week... not only in getting stuff ready but also my mind. See, I am not a camper. I am adventurous to some degree and not a princess but really who are we kidding.. living in a tent when I have a nice bed at home? Why? But I thought hey lets give it a try. We left Saturday afternoon for Spruce Woods with some friends of ours. We had fun moments... I did enjoy myself but when it came time for bed and all that involved yeesh... the boys did finally settle just in time for the wind/thunder/rain storm of my life... we all cuddled together and just waited for it to be over. I don't think I ever slept... with it being so hot in that tent (my kids were dripping wet) to the fact that by 3am the air in our mattress was gone and I was sleeping on rocks. It was challenging and made me grumpy. I sucked it up and we had a good day. It was on the cooler side and the threat of rain all day. So we decided to stay the day and head home after supper. I am so glad we stayed as long as we did and even happier to have come home a day early. This last night in my bed was one of the best of my life. We even all managed to sleep in till 9 this morning.
So all that to say I am happy I went and glad the kids had fun but so happy to be home. I have officially joined Crystal in saying that I am not sure I ever want to live beneath my means like that again. Although having a camper would make me try it again ;)

the best thing...

4 years ago I married this man. He is funny, compassionate, honest, caring, genuine, loving and so good for me. Best thing I ever did... Happy Anniversary!

Do you REALLY know me?

Thanks to Crystal for giving us all another opportunity to get to know me better. Now I tag Amanda and Everyone else who reads this.

1. The Name you would have chose for yourself if you had any say at all: I would have said Kate but Crystal already said that.. sheesh.

2. Favourite Jelly Belly flavour: Pear

3. If you could trade your citizenship with any other country, what would it be? Ireland

4. Have you ever been skinny-dipping? Oh yea

5. Favourite cocktail: The drink the bartender made me at Morgan & Martha's wedding.

6. Last place on earth you'd ever want to be: Altona

7. Most recent kiss - when and from whom? Today from Noah

8. Three earthly friends you can't live without: Dave, Lisa, Amanda, Jenelle, Audrey (Sheesh and so many more)

9. A meal memory that surpassed all others: Breaking that pinata last weekend was too fun.

10. How many times in your life have you moved? many, many times.

11. We can't all have our own Italian Stallion. But what kind of 'Stallion' would you have? HA I've got him the real life Italian Stallion is all mine.

12. Quick! Right this second, if you could be translated anywhere, where would you go? I'd like to be in Italy with my sil's. They look like they are having too much fun!

13. A toy from your childhood that you would still play with: I loved my barbies.

14. How many boyfriends/girlfriends have you had? Lets not go there.

15. Flip-flops, knee-high boots, or Reebok Pumps? flip flops

16. Ever waxed anything before? Yes

17. Favourite dance move? i do a pretty mean toe to toe spin. yea you really have to see it to get it.

18. Best sunrise you've ever witnessed: Cambodia many moons ago.

19. The one food that you make that nobody else can come close to (in your opinion, of course): hmm this one has got me???

20. Chrissy, Janet or Terry? Terry all the way

21. The band or song you secretly love but would never tell until now: All Abba all the time

22. Article of clothing you wouldn't be caught dead in: bikini

23. Sprawling one-story or multi-storied mansion? multi-storied mansion.

24. Do you dance in front of the mirror? Not really.

25. Weirdest food you've ever loved: Raw Hot Dogs - well not really raw cause they are cooked but I like them cold.

26. On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being very strange, how strange do you REALLY think you are? 4

take a little time

to be thankful...

thankful for summer days
thankful for scrapbooking friends and that time for me
thankful for a husband who somehow puts up with me
thankful for a friendship with my parents that means the world to me
thankful for fabric and pretty paper
thankful for a backyard that we can play in
thankful for a mind full of creative ideas
thankful for this friend that i can talk to many times a daythankful for this friend who is there for me always (in a million different ways)thankful for a great job that i love
thankful for far away friends who take time to keep up with me
thankful for a successful start to my new business
thankful for rain which washes away the dust
thankful for my kids loving there first half day at Shirley's - especially thankful here

eye candy

because I know you all love links... I thought I would compile a list of my new favorite things.. eye candy i like to call it. thats the beauty of online browsing.. i crave these things

for my love of owls...
fruitflypie - Ceramic Desk Owl Vintage Design
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=14387289

The Sensible Owl
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_gallery_18&listing_id=14384709

What should be my new mantra... and would look great in my dining room...
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_gallery_5&listing_id=14386477

For over my bed
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=sr_gallery_6&listing_id=14384965

and why don't i have a girl?
http://www.potterybarnkids.com/room/rom/romgir/romgirwod/index.cfm

amy butler and i were destined to be friends:
http://www.amybutlerdesign.com/products/fabrics_top.php?fabric=august-fields&flid=13


inspired child's play
http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/toys-kids/phil-and-sophie-from-plug-and-play-design-ohdeedoh-in-europe-ha


and for the love of all things just check this out and bookmark it.. so lovely.
http://www.ohdeedoh.com/

falling apart

i feel like i am falling apart... this week brings me back to when the babies were little and i was at my wits end with them. it was so hard to manage... even though physically this is easier.. mentally and emotionally i am back at the beginning where i started.
where did my well behaved little mellow sweethearts go.. i find all day long my most spoken words are "what is wrong with you?" ok ok the white lines on the back of their gums must surely be the culprit i know that but it doesn't make it any easier... with another transition on the horizon (going back to work) we need to figure out a way to make this work. the summer was so good... i was loving the ease my boys gave me..
anyways just feeling uberly emotional and on the brink of falling apart at a moments notice. thankful for good friends who bring me a meal on a really bad day and offer to babysit when they must have something better to do.. for people who ask me if my day got better when we meet in a random place. it's those things that help me realize that for better or worse i won't drown.. i'm just riding the waves.

art journal class

so very inspired by Rachel's art journal class. got the first two done. it's so nice to meld together my love of creating and my love affair with journaling... for so long i have been stuck with journaling and this is a great way to compress my thoughts on a page. tutorial #1 was called "List it" and the second tutorial was "Make it known"....

monday

so clever a title for someone who has not posted in so long... last week was crazy as i was getting ready for my Grand Opening.. it went so well thank you to everyone who came and those who supported me. i was happy with the turn out and had some good feedback.. now to book some shows. anyone interested in hosting a party and getting LOADS of free stuff let me know.
my mil popped by for a short visit which was great.
we took in some parade action at the Harvest Festival this weekend. always tons of fun.
so far i have been loving my online Art Journal class led by the fabulous Rachel over at Blingonmysewingmachine so far we have had two tutorials. its' been fun to use different mediums and also be inspired to really think about journaling again. have not decided whether or not to post my pages on here yet.. so stay tuned.

potty

so after much prompting from my husband and my kids (they beg to go on the potty) i picked up the book "Toilet Training in less than A Day"... still reading it but so far really impressed and willing to give it a shot this summer yet. Only because a.) I am off work this summer so I have time and b.) seriously my kids beg me for potty action.
I admit I have not been reading it much lately only because I have a million other things going on and daily my husband reminds me that I need to get going with it.. ok ok.. after this weekend you have my convinced only because of two things....

Who knew Ari would be so interested in reading about it.. practically carrying this book around all the time; inspecting it, looking at the pictures, looking up at me longingly.



and the clincher... today he asked to go poop on the potty and proudly produced one of the biggest i've ever seen. it was a very proud moment as our house erupted in cheers and clapping. I think I get it now Ari.. so could you please pass me the book?

bloggy business

First off sorry to those of you who were lost without my links.. they have been upgraded.. for those of you who may be confused as to why you are not on there.. I had to draw a line. If you have not posted in a super long time I didn't link you. That does not mean I don't check. I subscribe to blogs via RSS so I still will catch you. If you are a private blog you also get no linky action from me. That being said if I have missed anyone please let me know.. it was not intentional. ok thats all. Back to regularly scheduled programming...

some summer things

I think I have mentioned before but we are loving summer. Ari & Noah especially. We keep ourselves busy...

we got to the beach and say "cheese" alot

we got grass in our backyard.. oh yea that is nice and it was fun to watch all the action from the comfort of my chair with snacks to boot.
scary picture i know but its the look of awe and wonder as I now run.. yep run. personal best so far 4.36km whoa!and we go to the beach again... we are so good at the beach and love to play by the water!

and if only i had some photos the place where we spend most of our time is at C's park... she has the best toys, the coolest pool with slide and it's where we enjoy passing our days...

life

summer is flying by.. hard to believe its almost august. things to do this month:
-having my grand opening of my Norwex business. i would love to send you an invitation.. let me know if you would like to come. it's going to be a good way to just start this venture and you'll get to hear about these amazing products. so yea let me know.
-want to go camping.. am i crazy?? yes.
-doing some sewing projects. will share later.
-doing an online art journal class in august hosted by Rachel. so excited about that.
-reading my script and learning to master the song i have to play on the piano.. tickets are already on sale.. you can check it out HERE
-enjoying two of the sweetest little goof balls who are absolutely madly in love with summer.

faves

I'm stealing a page from Crystal's blog and now bringing you a few of my favorite things in no particular order:

-Polka Dots - especially on fabric and paper
-Ikea
-The color White
-"Hoot" my green owl
-My vintage green chair in my dining room
-Boursin Cheese
-The opening of Pony Party. I have been waiting since I have become a fan of Rachel's blog. It's all handpicked vintage items. Yum! Go check it out and oh my did you see the Owl S&P shakers or the vintage recipe box.. major drooling here.
-Pita Chips
-Fresh Flowers
-Red Wine
-Fresh Salsa
-Coffee
-Love THIS IDEA
-German Salami
-Harry Potter - sad that i am on the final book.. i don't want it to end
-The New Coldplay especially the song "Lost?"
-Diet Coke
-Salt & Vinegar Chips
-Vintage Anything
-LOVE these sites: Here and Here
-I love THIS and would like it even better if it was around my neck.

Not to forgot how much i love my friends.. you have all been so much to me over the last little while. Thanks for sticking it out with me as I remembered who I am..

where the truth lies...

creative goodness

Felt creative this weekend and sat down to scrapbook. Heres a few page shares.

many thanks

many thanks to the old and new commenter's from my last post. i truly appreciate it. i realized it's one of the reasons i love blogger. i have been thinking lots lately and kind of feel silly. why was it that i was willing to allow people who don't even know me to run me down... makes all that i have learned seem for nothing. so no more and in the words of a dear dear friend.. poo poo on those who try to tear me down.. poo poo.

rough

i'm having a bit of a rough time blogging lately... i have lots to say but am so afraid of how i say things and the effect it will have. it has come to my attention that i have some readers who don't like what i say or who i am or whatever.. this has been hard for me to "get over".
it's hard for me because i am feeling like people are expecting my life to suck or me to fail so that they can be happy. this puts tremendous pressure on me. and makes me afraid to blog.
for so long i have really put alot of weight in vulnerability and just being raw and real.. i don't want that to change. its part of who i really am.
i know who i am is a good person.. i know i have wandered off the path in my life. i know its me who puts the biggest expectation on me. i know i need to just rise above and remember who i am and all i am meant for. so be patient with me... i'll be back. i just need to heal a bit first.

words fail me

scrappies

lately thursday nights has been my only scrapbook night. some of these go back to May. did finish the first two just this week. love preserving memories this way. i also uploaded more to my webalbum that you can always check out here if you get bored :)

Prairie Love

coming to a stage near you.....

ME! A couple weeks back I did something I don't normally do.. well actually I used to do it but never thought I would in this capacity. I went to open auditions for our Community Theatre.. Flatlands Theatre Company presents Little Women this fall... And yes yours truely will be gracing the stage in the part of Mrs. March or Marmee as she is so warmly called.


I am excited and just so thankful. I loved auditioning... it was so fun to be on stage again. I think this will be a great way to get involved in the community and to meet new people and just do something meaningful. Just saw THIS which makes it so official. So make sure to head over to the concert hall at the end of November and take in a good show. See you there!

the difrans family vacation

well we are home again which is good news on this trip as it means we didn't get lost again.. yeesh. it was a good time. we went with some friends to minneapolis. four adults and three 2 year olds makes for some crazy times. the boys did really well. driving was not as much of a nightmare as i had expected. they did manage to sleep a bit.they had moments but dave kept them occupied and entertained mostly by making up games which involved throwing things around or sticking out his tongue. i know i know they are easily amused.
first day involved getting lost a couple times - mostly when we stopped for "breakfast" in Fergus Falls. all we were looking for was a mcdonalds with a play place so the kids could burn off some steam... yep none of those between home and wherever. finally we settled on just good old rotten ronnie's and let them run laps of the restaurant.we made in to Albertville and hit the outlets - well we didn't really do them justice but i did stock up on clothes for the boys. hit the road for our hotel which was near mall of america. found it. freshened up and then went to MOA for supper at Famous Dave's which in our books was not so famous - hair in food, crazy tired kids, and a really spicy bean incident for a toddler (not mine) did not make for a great time. can't really blame the kids they were done before we even got there. wandered lego land for a bit and headed back to put the kids to bed.
noah & ari did great. our hotel was amazing and we were so thankful for the suites. we put the kids to bed and still could watch tv in our room. there was an attempt at target that night that ended in tears and total failure. got miserably lost due to some poor directions and missed exits.. ended up in the ghetto asking directions at a sketchy gas station. it was horrible... bought beer which was a highlight after all that. gotta love being able to buy beer just about anywhere.

sunday we took in the buffet breakfast at the hotel.. so good and easy and convenient. even managed to stock up for lunch for the boys. we decided to hit up Como Town. So armed with our mapquest directions we set out... this was get lost mistake number two.. why wouldn't mapquest have taken into consideration THE BRIDGE COLLAPSE... yeah no alternate directions. it was horrible cause once again we were lost and we went south and then north and then we went east and west.. the worst part (sorry to any minnesotans who might read this) NO ONE KNEW WHERE ANYTHING WAS.. seriously no one knew two streets ahead of them or behind them. It was horrible. After fanagaling the horrid directions we kept getting and in total melt down mode (my meltdown) we found Como Town. It was fun. It's an amusment park and zoo aimed at 2-12 year olds. We bought tickets and set out to find the rides our little guys could ride. They wouldn't have it. Nope. Terrified. Noah managed to ride one although I think he was in total shock. We did ride the train a few times. Dave says they really are having fun.
There was an awesome playground that the kids had alot of fun playing at. We should have just plunked them here the whole time.After lunch which included Noah falling and banging his head we decided the heat and tiredness would be best put to bed.. we packed up and drove on. less than a minute later they were sound asleep. We stopped at Northern Brewer in St.Paul. Wade gave Dave a magazine from there and he has drooled over it ever since. Dave says it was awesome but really overwhelming. He did manage to buy a couple things and got his buddie James to purchase a whole starter kit. We plan on opening a little brewery here in the West part of our city.
After getting bad directions and getting a bit lost again we ended up finding our hotel....
Kids didn't nap too long and after we got back we decided a trip for me was in order and we entered the Ikea Zone. I LOVE ikea. I miss Ikea. I used to go to Ikea just for fun in Vancouver. Dave entertained the boys with fun cart rides while I shopped. It was a great time. The boys were so good and I got all the stuff I wanted... TV unit, Shelf thing for my dining room, end table, lamp and some small stuff. I felt refreshed and ready for more. We ate mexican that night which was pretty good. We also played in the pool that evening which Noah & Ari loved.
Getting to the Minnesota Zoo the next day was EASY and we didn't get lost. The Zoo was amazing. It was alot of fun. The boys liked most of it especially the water.. all the water. There was water everywhere. We saw Grizzlies, Foxes, Tigers, Moose, Birds, Fish, Sharks, Dolphins, Monkeys and visited James' favorite The Farm.. where we saw pigs, cows, goats, chickens and bunnies.
It was really hot that day and the kids were pretty tired after the morning at the zoo so we ate lunch there and decided to head back.. We managed to keep them awake till we got back to the hotel and from there Dave and the boys had a nap and I got in some shopping at MOA. Really happy when I am shopping.
We decided to use the grills at the hotel in the courtyard for supper and it was alot of fun. Just letting the kids run around and not having to make them sit quietly somewhere. I have realized I just need to give my kids dump trucks and dirt and they can be happy for hours.
So thats our trip in a nutshell.. Drive home was a bit more tiring. The boys were just so tired. Towards the end they wanted to sleep so bad they would shut their eyes as tight as they could and then cry cause it wasn't working. I felt bad for them. They sure are troopers.
Well that was our trip.. of course so much I didn't write about. We had fun. I am so glad we went and made me realize my kids are much more flexible than I give them credit for... Although I must admit an adult vacation is in order.

home again home again..

well we are back from our vacation.. a mini one at that. i have lots to share but need some time to write and collect my thoughts.. other new things on the horizon too. so stay tuned. its going to get better.. and i am NOT pregnant so don't even go there :)