Monthly Archives: February 2010

Grate-full

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Ooh, it feels like spring outside :) :)  Knock wood – I’m so ready for winter to be outta here!!!
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  • Cupcakes, fudge brownies and cookies from the kitchen
  • Little bugz in pretty dresses, so well-behaved
  • Family farewells to a wonderful lady
  • Good times, stories shared, laughs had and time well spent in Calgary
  • Visiting my childhood home in Airdrie, and reminiscing with my husband about our childhoods
  • Gorgeous, sunshine-y weather, with snow melting and mud puddles galore :)
  • My Sku, and all the sh*t we get into!!  Lolz and snorts abound…
  • An in-cre-dible massage from my friend Suzy; she is re-starting her massage therapy practice, and I firmly believe that if you live in Edmonton, you should EMAIL HER for an appointment!!  Seriously – I have had many a massage in my life, and this was the best one to date. 
  • Wicked fun at Bikram today.  There had to have been at least 60 people in the room!  It was very laid back and relaxed, but I still got a great practice in.  It’s always fun to laugh through the pain :)
  • Did I mention the sunshine??  +6!!!
  • Keeping up the work for my community initiative project!  Every business I ask jumps in feet first :) :) :)
  • Having Leith home every night this week
  • Anticipating the fun we will have for the bugz’ birthday in one week
  • Kickin’ butt in hockey – go Canada go :)
  • Oh, and something about being the #1 country for gold medals at the Olympics?  Do we ROCK or what??
  • Life, in general :)

La Vida

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Oh my heart.
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I love the thrill of driving home on Thursday nights with a fire raging in my soul.  I love the refreshment of stepping out of my office and sliding into my beloved minivan, feeling as though the world is at my fingertips.  I love the community, the family, the oneness of being around my colleagues.
I love the defining moments, and the bursts of clarity, and the not-so-gentle reminders of things you thought you’d forgotten.
I love the journey.
I love the person that my job has made me.  I love the confidence that I feel, the spring in my step, the smile on my face.  I love the support and the foundations I’ve built with those around me that hold me up through the hard times and celebrate with me during the good times.
I love the after-the-meeting drinks, though far too few and far between these days.  I love that I finally have somewhere that makes me want to bring in homemade cupcakes :)
I love the diversity, the backgrounds, and at the same time, the common threads that link us all together.
I love that the entire company is based on the concept that you cannot help yourself until you help others.  We make our living helping others.

Growing others.  Saving others.
In helping others, I help myself.  Give and ye shall receive.  Love, and be loved in return.
It’s beautiful, this work I do.  To take something so bland and impersonal as finance, and to be able to make it into something so beautiful and whole is incredible.  And to be surrounded by people who believe the same thing?
Well, it’s just the icing on the lemon cupcake ;)

She bakes!

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I got a little obsessive today … I did a lot of baking.
See, it all started last Thursday when I promised to make lemon cupcakes for Cam and his family (his response to the “let me know if there’s anything I can do” offer – lol).  But then my husband started whining begging me to make the almond butter cookies in the back of this month’s Clean Eating.  Meanwhile, I wanted to bake something for MYSELF, that being the gluten-free brownies in the same issue.
So today, amidst a flurry of laundry, childcare, packing and napping, I made all three!  Deee-lish :)  I am taking some to the office tonight, and some with us to Calgary.  Hopefully they will all be gone asap, and few will end up in my stomach…
Olive Oil Cakes with Lemon & Thyme:

(this recipe is on The Pioneer Woman Cooks, so just 
click on the title for the perma-link to the recipe ;)
Black Bean Fudge Cakes:
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees; grease an 8×8 baking dish
  • Melt 1oz of dark organic chocolate (I used 85% cocoa) over low heat
  • Combine in  a food processor:  melted chocolate, 1.5 cups of soft-cooked black beans (rinsed and drained; I used a regular can of organic black beans), 2 eggs, 1 egg white, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1/4 heaping cup of unsweetened cocoa powder, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp pure vanilla extract, 1/4 cup unsweetened organic applesauce, 1/2 cup raw organic honey (thank you, in-laws!!), 1/2 cup raw chopped walnuts
  • Pour into the baking dish and bake for 20-30 minutes (mine took 25 minutes)
**I didn’t have applesauce on-hand, so I pureed half a small apple in my spanky little hand-chopper from Tupperware.  It worked rather well!!
**This recipe is gluten-free for all of you with gluten allergies who need a chocolate fix!!  The beans also add some protein and fibre, which I think makes them more guilt-free ;)
Almond Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees; grease a cookie sheet or lay down parchment paper
  • Combine: 1 cup unsalted organic almond butter, 3/4 cup raw cane sugar (Sucanat), 1 large egg, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp sea salt, and 3 oz dark organic chocolate (broken into small chunks)
  • Drop by teaspoonfuls onto your cookie sheet.  
  • Bake for 5 minutes on a low rack, followed by 5 minutes on a middle rack (the secret to cooked-not-burnt cookies!!)
  • Makes 20 cookies!
**I didn’t have Sucanat on-hand, so I substituted 1 tbsp of molasses and 3/4 c of white sugar…
**Parchment paper is the greatest thing in the world.  My baking always sticks, so someone suggested I try lining my pans with parchment paper.  Genius.
The last 2 recipes are courtesy of the March/April issue of Clean Eating magazine.

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A darn good day :)

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Confession:  I did not run today.  I did the BodyRock workout I promised, and 10 hours later my legs are still shaking.  But it felt amazing and I am glad I did it!
But in even more exciting news… :

My stove works!!  Yippee!!
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But why is it that whenever I make a service call, it always turns out to be something embarrassingly dumb on my part??  Picture this:
Me, disheveled and half-asleep from my post-workout nap, opening the door in my ratty t-shirt and my super-hawt-office jeans with no make-up on.  My children, screaming bloody murder and clinging to me with snotty noses, refusing to be put down.  The repairman, walking down the stairs and flipping the breaker for the stove/oven.  The stove?  Fixed.
Classy.  I am ALL about class.  Apparently, being classy kills brain cells.  Oh well, at least it wasn’t like the time I called Telus for internet support in a right tiffy mood, only to have them point out that my modem needed to be plugged in.
Sigh.
But my stove works again, and I made a wonderful, zesty dinner of quinoa, chickpeas, bell peppers, corn and wild salmon with lemon and dill.  Ooh, and tahini.  Oh my, am I ever in love with tahini right now!!  If you have never tried it, go buy some.  It’s what would happen if (real) peanut butter and hummus has a baby.  
And for all of you out there in my shoes: your stove/oven runs on two breakers.  One is for the electrical components, the other is for the elements.  Just because the clock and lights work doesn’t mean the breaker isn’t tripped.  I just don’t want you to look like a white-trash housewife  nimrod  total freakin’ dork classy lady like me.
***
Meanwhile, I scored a total home-run for my community project!!  I met with the owner of my favorite restaurant, and she loved my plan to use my business to give back to the community :)  Yay!  I absolutely love building my company from my heart, rather than from my pocketbook.  It means so much to be aligned with other businesses that are passionate about the same things as me, and that are willing to be a part of this amazing adventure with me!
A few more meetings like that and our goal of facilitating the donation of $10,000 back into our community in 2010 may just become a grand reality!!  It’s so fantastic:  I am building my business (good), increasing my family’s financial stability and future (good), helping out other families in my neighborhood without charging them for the service (good), allowing local businesses to provide their clients and employees with an added value for free (good), and giving money back to the charities in our community so that they can continue to thrive and do good for others (very good!)!!  
It’s such an incredible, interwoven machine that I am so proud to be behind and a part of.  I wish every business owner in the world could wake up in the morning and know that every move they make towards their business will grow the community and people around them.  Profits will happen regardless, so it is so nice to be able to choose to make a difference while walking that road.
Love, love, love :)
And with all that love, I am off to enjoy an episode of Mad Men, and a glass of the worlds’ greatest 2007 Syrah!

This ‘n that

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Happy birthday to Air :) I missed her fabulous Guidette birthday party because I can’t push up in a bra like I used to – ha!!

My bugz purposefully pinch their fingers and stub their toes so that I have to give them “tisses” to make it all better.  Manipulative, much?
You can take the trainer out of the gym, but you can’t take the sadist out of the trainer ;)  I am thoroughly enjoying reading Hethr’s journey through Jillian Michaels’ 30-day Shred.  I love hearing about other people’s fitness-induced pain :) :)  And I love when I inspire it, like I did with Dawn & BodyRock!!
I skipped out on yoga last night and took Leith & the bugz out for an early supper.  Afterwards, we went to our favorite bike store, Revolution Cycle, and picked up 2 Adams RunBikes for the bugz for their birthday :)  Eep!  I am so excited to watch them play with their new bikes!  They had a blast with the display bike at the store.
And I totally did not find a road bike for myself … and I totally do NOT want Leith to continue this trend of bikes-for-birthdays … especially since it was NOT only $1069, and it did NOT fit like a dream when I rode it around the store (without any adjustments) and was NOT white and purple and awesome…

And, FYI, I did NOT love this bike SO much that I did NOT have a dream about it last night: that I bought it the morning of a race, and was thus late racking it in transition, only to find out that the back wheel and rear brakes still needed to be assembled!!  So when I finished my first run, I had to PUT THE BIKE TOGETHER IN TRANSITION before I could start the bike portion of the race!  Obviously, this means that I need to get this bike asap so that I can tinker with it before race season starts ;)

Since I decided to slack off and not go to yoga last night, I must face the consequences of that today.  To make up for my laziness yesterday, the goal for today is to do Zuzana’s Slap Your A$$ workout, followed by a 30-minute run when the bugz go down for their (hopefully-freakin’-soon) nap.
I’m trapped at home all day today, waiting for the service repairman to come and fix my stove.  Oh, he had better be able to fix my stove, because the elements have NOT been working since Friday.  Friday.  Do you know how hard it is to cook without a stove?  Thank goodness I always have so many leftovers in the fridge to microwave!
Okay, my patience with my children is waning – NAPTIME!!
:)

For Today

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A beautiful meme that I have read for a long time, yet never participated in.  It’s a beautiful, frosty morning worthy of reflection today :)
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For Today:
Outside my window … there is a grey stillness as the fog and frost continues to surround us.  It’s been unusually damp this February, but maybe it’s because I’m surrounded by trees and actually notice it this year ;)
I am thinking … about how much time we have before we have to leave for the city today, and running through a mental grocery and to-do list for the afternoon.  Maybe I should blog less and plan more!
I am thankful for … Leith’s new job.  He has a spring in his step when he gets up in the morning.  I love that he has so much unfolding in front of him – it must be so refreshing!!
From the kitchen … not a whole lot this week!  My range is not working (boo, grr!), but I have a service call booked for tomorrow.  We crock-potted stew for dinner last night, which was okay – not my best creation to date, but tolerable.
I am wearing … my fleecy grey pyjama pants and one of Leith’s thermal shirts.  I bought the shirt (and several others) for $6 or so at Wal-mart, and they look really good on him ;)  They are surprisingly warm too, which I why I stole it to wear to bed last night!
I am creating … promotional material for my charity+business work this year.  I need to get it sent off to our compliance department ASAP!
I am going … to Sherwood Park to drop off a client policy (happy paycheque!) and to the office, and then for a Costco date with Sherrie!  Oh, and yoga tonight.
I am reading … a lot right now!!  I have 3 books on the go: The Omnivore’s Dilemma (a-ma-zing), The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari (very insightful), and Animal Vegetable Miracle (thanks to Heather for the suggestion!).  I am also listening to Napoleon Hill’s The Law of Success on audiobook.  Whew!  And still working my way through The Message.
I am hoping … to find some balance, or at least equilibrium in my day-to-day life.  I have a lot on the go, and my organization is slipping in many areas.  I need to find a dayhome for the bugz for a day or two a week so that I can get some hardcore work done!
I am hearing … country music on the radio, and Tinkerbell.  I set Leith’s laptop up beside mine so that the bugz can watch Tink while I work – aren’t I clever??
Around the house … one wall to paint a second coat of blue in the kitchen (must post photos!!), and more renovation odds and ends than I care to think about finishing ;)
One of my favorite things … coffee in the mornings.  There is something so peaceful about pouring it into my cup, smelling the rich aroma, adding the milk and just enjoying the flavor while I do whatever it is that needs doing in my day.
A few plans for the rest of the week … getting our stove fixed, meeting with the ladies at Misella Delite to discuss my $10,000 in 2010, training at the office and a bit of yoga and running!  Ooh, and maybe changing out the back tire on my bike so I can start training again!
Here is a picture for thought I am sharing:
the frost decorating our wild roses

iCovet

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Okay, I know it is totally inappropriate to covet on a Sunday, but I want an iMac.  Badly.  Don’t get me wrong: I love my MacBook.  It has been a sturdy, reliable friend since I flipped a quad over onto my 5-weeks pregnant body ;)
But let’s face it: I am fickle, shallow and materialistic have a short attention span and like sparkly, shiny new things :)  Two and a half years is a record length of time for me to be attached to one computer.  And goodness knows, we have shared some love.  I have converted more people to Mac-lovers in this short time than I can count.  Steve Jobs should be paying me a referral fee!  I live, thrive and grow in the Apple Tree.  I love my Mac, my iPod, my iPhone, my everything-Apple.  
I have been so happy with my little 13″ MacBook.  It has done me well and made me proud.  It runs like a charm, only getting bogged down when I have waaaaaay too many pictures and neglect to transfer them to my external drive.  You see, my laptop only has 60MB of storage.  And while that was a lot in the dark ages 2007, it’s not a lot in 2010.
I blame Sherrie, mostly.  I’ve been harping on her to replace her relic of an old computer for a while now, and I think they have finally cracked ;)  We were looking at Macs this week, comparing notebooks to desktops and weighing the pros and cons of each.  My heart was all a-flutter, and I may have been drooling just a little.  And when we got down to the price, my heart dropped:
$1599.00 for a 21.5″ iMac with 1TB hard-drive.  Ooooh my goodness, oh my goodness!!
No, Meaghan.  No.  Your laptop is perfectly good.  It has years of life left in it, and you are technically still paying off your house renovations.  Plus, the bugz’ birthday is just around the corner, and you are already spending your pocket money on that (super sweet, to be announced later) gift.

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But I waaaant it!!
But you don’t need it.
But Leith’s laptop is a  !#*& useless piece of junk, and he could use MY old laptop (which still has “a lot of life left in it”, and I could use a new desktop, since I really don’t take my laptop ANYWHERE anyway.

No, Meaghan.  Just blog about it, get it out of your system and go sweep the kitchen floor.  Goodness knows you need to do that before you get any kind of treat.

Oh fine.  Whatever.  I’ll just go make do with what I have.

Gratitudes

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…better.
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There is no doubt that the last few days of last week were draining, to say the least.  I slept at night so soundly that I didn’t even hear my alarm clock go off in the mornings, or C-boo crying out for Leith in the middle of the night!!
So here is my (extended) list of things that I am grateful for at the end of a long week:
  • the smell of freshly-washed bugz
  • lunch at Misella’s with my freshly-washed bugz :)
  • higher food bills this month, proving that we are eating healthier and contributing to our environment!
  • safety and stability in our family, and unfailing love
  • a new job for Leith on Monday, and the end of his old one yesterday :) :)
  • sunshine streaming in my office window in the mornings
  • finally getting my bedroom blinds up (rigged with zip-ties – ha!! Classy, hey??) so that I can sleep peacefully without our yard light screaming at me ;)
  • love, love, love everywhere around me
  • coffee in the mornings, and rich crema on my espresso yesterday
  • blogging connections
  • reading time (I have 3 books on the go, and an audiobook!)
  • laughing bugz – hysterically laughing bugz!
  • teaching an extra night of ballet at Celtic Ceilidh
  • hoar frost on the trees
  • pizza with friends when the power goes out
  • emails and iPhones :)
  • last minute babysitting saviors
  • getting to teach a training class at work on Thursday night, with an awesome colleague.  What an honor!!
  • watching the women’s Super-G alpine races yesterday
  • swim dates with my family
  • safe travels home for Leith last night, after a tire blow-out on the highway
  • a shopping afternoon with my mom
  • “learning” how to digital scrapbook, even if I haven’t actually completed a layout because I’m too ADD to plug my external drive in…
  • getting all the birthday invites hand-freakin-made and mailed out on time!!  Yay me!
  • realizing that my almost-2 year old can spell.  Freaky!!
  • potty training successes … we’re getting there, slowly
  • sister kisses
  • organic stew meat and vegetables, waiting to be made into dinner tonight
  • hot-air popcorn poppers :)
  • sweet, comforting comments from my Friday post – thank you so much for your kind words xoxo
Enjoy this beautiful Sunday!

loss

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My head is spinning today, awash in too many complex emotions.  I’m hoping that blogging will help me sort out the dust bunnies from the rocks and maybe shake away some of the cobwebs that are fogging my mind.
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So much good and so much hurt in 2 days … I don’t quite know what to make of it all.  I went for an incredible run yesterday morning.  I felt like I could run for days and days and days, but my IT-band reminded me that I was human, so I had to stop.  But for that brief time, my head was clear and my heart didn’t ache so much.
Dear friends of mine are going through an emotionally complex situation right now.  It’s not my place to blog the details of it, but if you could just wrap them in your hearts, that would be nice.  I take comfort in knowing that they are rational, compassionate, intelligent people who are the most equipped couple I know to deal with these events.
Meanwhile, Leith’s gramma passed last night after a long battle with Alzheimer’s.  I know that everyone appreciates that she is at rest right now, but my heart still hurts for my family regardless of the blessing that comes with someone finding peace.  I know that they loved her fiercely and that the last few years have been incredibly hard on everyone.  I wish I had been blessed to know her, and that she had been well enough to meet her great-grandbabeez.
I am also dealing with those selfish memories of 2 years ago today, the journey from normal pregnancy to high-risk pregnancy, to prematurity and all the guilt that has followed me since then – that which has fueled the fire inside me to be the best mom I can be, to compensate for my short-comings so early in their lives.  Every day I strive to make up for what I couldn’t finish on my own, that which brought them here before they were ready.  This “anniversary” is what shapes most of my parenting decisions on a daily basis.  Ultimately, I am grateful that I had that wake-up so early in their lives, because it has meant that I have not taken my moments with them for granted.  It allows me to enjoy every second that I have with them, because I saw in those weeks in bed, and those weeks in the NICU what life might have been like.  Losing them was very real, and the memory holds tightly in my heart and ensures that I do not let a day go by without loving them from the very centre of my heart.
I apologize for the melancholy tone in my post today.  I promise I’ll be back to my happy-go-lucky self in a couple days!!  Go out and love on your family and kids for me today, okay?

Time

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…is short.
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The moments fly by, beyond our control.  We can grasp at them, but all we are left with is memories.  
Photographs.
Still-frames in our minds.
Love you family, hold your children.  Enjoy the sunshine, the frost, the warmth of your furnace.
Curl up under the covers a little longer with your little ones in the morning.  Read stories.  Tell them you love them.
Love, love, love.  Love all ways.
Don’t wait.  Don’t look to what will be; enjoy what is.  Cherish what was, but live for what is.
Don’t wait.
Love now.