[make: Meal Planning to the Rescue]

I have so much to blog about.  I have no time to blog ... 

So, why am I here?  Because life spins around and a crazy speed and if I don't meal-plan, my kids are liable to resort to crackers and tins of tuna ( ... mmm ... there's an idea) for dinner.  SO.  I have a friend who asked if I would start doing these again, and you know what - I was thankful for the reminder.

My hubby and I are both watching our weight right now - so that's a bit tricky.  The meals are more like "duo-meals" starches/carbs for the kiddies and protein and greens for us *cough* adults ... 

Monday:   dinner @ my parents

Tuesday:  cauliflower soup, salad, buns with melted cheese

Wednesday:  avocado, goat cheese, candied almond salad for potluck @friends for Halloween

Thursday: maple pork tenderloin, cous-cous, steamed broccoli with slivered almonds

Friday:  butter chicken (low-cal version), jasmine rice, salad

Saturday: dinner @friend's

Sunday: pizza @church

A pretty easy week, definitely not the norm for us being out for dinner ... and you know what?  All I did was go to my MAKE recipe site and chose things from there ... 

I love it when my hard work pays off and makes life easier.

Ok ... I'm off ... 

But before I do, a shameless plug for you to head over to my RedHanded Photography blog HERE ... *grin*.

Have a great one!

[talk: nineteen.ninety.two.]

It's Sunday night ... so much going through my head today.  It was a great day, a great weekend - so much to put down into words.  I think I may just babble - but I'll try to stay on topic *wink*.

Well ... on Saturday night, it was my twenty-year highschool reunion.  Yee gads and little fishes.  MY TWENTY YEAR REUNION.  Just typing that seems like there must be some massive mistake.  But alas ... it is not.  I'm just getting old.  But guess what?  I'm not alone *grin* ... oh no - there was a room FULL of people, just like me - wondering where the time had gone.

Oh dear.  I'm already ahead of myself.  Let me try and start from the beginning ... 

I actually went to a few schools growing up.  A private school in Vancouver that no longer exists, until grade three.  Then in grade 4, I attended Devon Gardens Elementary ... a school that I have such amazing memories of.  I loved that school ... playing "chinese skip" with elastic bands, being chased by boys with their "lego cameras" (don't ask) and trying to get onto the Fort - where the grade 7's made life extremely difficult.  I made some great friends, friends that I thought would be my besties forever.

Well, after grade 7 - I headed to Delview Jr. High ... where I would spend two very different years at.  My grade 8 year was fantastic.  I had a great group of friends, I loved everything about junior high - the lockers, the binders, the new friends from all the other elementary schools.  I loved the smell in the school, wandering the halls and bumping into people I knew at every turn.  I loved .... I LOVED grade 8.  I wasn't popular ... oh no.   I certainly wasn't the pretty one, or the althetic one ... I wasn't on the honour-roll ... or had the lead role in the school play.  But I was so very happy.  Life was good and I looked forward to every day.  Truly.  

Then ... during the summer going into grade 9, everything changed for me.  My friends started partying and I drifted away, bit by bit.  I would spend so much time, cryig in my room.  I could peek out my window, watching my friends hang out in the ravine behind my house ... doing stuff I just wasn't wanting to be a part of.  They weren't bad kids, but I just felt so different than all of them ... I wasn't interested in being a part of what they were doing - but they were my friends.  By Monday morning they all had new memories together.  And I didn't.

Grade 9 was a lonely year for me ... and I don't think anyone really even noticed - not that they should have.  My friends were never mean to me, they never made me feel like I was no longer their friend.  But I knew that everything was changing.

Gosh.  Just typing this has me feeling choked up ... 

Why?  Because I made a really difficult decision at 15 years old to leave Delview and to go to Pacific Academy starting in grade 10 ... which changed everything for me.

I had loved Delview and the people there SO much.  They never even knew how much I did ... people there would have no idea how much I still think about them, how I pray for them ... and how saying good bye to them all almost broke my heart.

*blush*.  And none of them really knew.

Starting Grade 10 at PA was tricky ... it was a much smaller school, MUCH smaller (my grad class was 47 instead of 800 like it would've been ...).  I was the new girl - some people liked me, some didn't.  But I eventually made good friends there - friends that are still in my life (saw many of them just today ...).  And truth be known, I miss many of them that I've since lost contact with ... So I'm thankful for all of them, but missing out on heading to North Delta Senior Secondary (NDSS) after Jr.High ... it was strange.

Oh wow ... this is long-winded.

Anyway ... flash forward a few years - and I decided that I would try and arrange a little reunion of my grade 8 friends from Delview.  I was 20, I guess ... and would you believe - I found a lot of them just by using the phone book and we all met for dinner one evening.  And the whole thing was really special to me.

Then ... out comes facebook and I started to connect with so many people from those jr. high years.  Obviously, it was superficial ... but still.  It was pretty cool.  And because of FB, I have ended up photographing a couple of weddings from past classmates, and  even family shoots as well ... it's all been a bit mind-blowing.  So when rumors of a NDSS reunion started up ... I wondered if I would be brave enough to go ... or if I even should.

I had ended up connecting with a few girls - girls that I had seen over the last couple of years - and we braved our fears, and headed into the reunion.  It was held in New West - and apparently something like 170 people had tickets to come ... 

We arrived ... and my heart was pounding.  I mean - I didn't ACTUALLY graduate from NDSS.  I left these people at the end of grade 9.  And you know what?  I was SCARED stiff.  I had fears that no one would remember me ... that it would be like, "um - who's THAT?  Why is she here?"  ... how jr.high can you get??  I felt like I was 14 all over again.

But now, 24 hours later, I can say that I am SO SO happy that I went.  I saw so many people, so many that I truly cared for ... people who I have memories with that I think about - not just here and there - but often.  I am someone who loves people with my whole heart, and when I look at someone and say, "Oh my WORD - I am SO excited to see you!!"  ... I mean it with every cell in my body.  I did that so much Saturday night.

I saw people who were my friends back at Devon Gardens Elementary - the place where I was the "new kid" in grade 4.   And it was a funny thing - sure I didn't share my life story in detail that night ... I didn't talk about Shalom's death, about events in my life that made me who I am today ... but in those moments, those ones where my grade 4 "I'll protect you, friend" EP says, "TANIA!!!" and picks me up and hugs me like we were separated at birth.  Man.  It was just the best.

What surprised me the most - is that people remembered ME.  I mean - I knew THEM ... (well - at least the Delview-ers ...) first names, last names, phone numbers, locker locations ... but they would smile, throw their arms up and say my maiden last name (my jr.high nickname) ... and I was shocked.  Seriously.  SHOCKED.  

And the cool thing?  At reunions, there are no status'.  I mean - everyone was mingling with everyone.  I mean, I'm sure that there were many people who chose not to be there, people who didn't enjoy a moment of high school ... but for those who came out - at least for me - it will be a treasured memory that I will think of often.  I didn't feel like an outsider at all.

Did I take photos?  Would you believe ... no.  Just one - of the chandelier in the hall *grin* - taken with my IPhone.  Why?  Well - I was going to bring my camera - but then, I knew what would happen to me.  I would miss the moment ... I would be in "work" mode.   And this may sound strange ... but those moments, when I saw Janice or Keith or Loui or Daniella ... those moments when I literally knelt in shock ... they're in my brain forever and ever ... 

Now, in a few weeks, I have my PA reunion.  It will be so, so different from what I just experienced.  We're going to a classmate's place, having potluck appys and dessert ... it will be far more cozy and intimate - maybe 20 or 25 will come ... 

But I'm excited.  REALLY excited about that ... especially now that I know how amazing reunions are.

Phewf.

Does any of this make sense?

I just read through all of this - and so many emotions are running through me ... but I guess, I can't put any of those feeling into words.  But if you're reading this - if you and I ever knew each other in school ... know that YOU are probably one of those people who's face scans over my mind over and over again.  

Have a great one :-)!

[talk: Debrief.]

I'm supposed to be working ... it's 9:30pm on Monday night ... and I should be working.  On what?  Oh, I don't know ... a gazillion photoshoots that I've done in the last 10 days, including two - yes - two weddings.

I'm drowning.

Oh - don't get me wrong - I LOVE it.  But I need more time.  Always more time ... but as I cross things off of my list this week, I'll be able to breathe.

I should be working.

But I feel like I need to debrief a bit ... so here seems like a pretty good place to do so.

1.  Carrie Underwood.  I saw her.  Live.  Last week ... along with a stadium full of other Carrie-lovers.  It was pretty incredible.  In fact, the whole evening was.  A fantastic dinner out with old and new friends ... a crazy-impressive concert ... and a whole lotta great memories.  If you haven't seen Carrie in concert - you should.  But don't expect banter and spontaneous jokes.  No, instead you should expect song after song, all sung at the absolute peak of what they could possibly be - over and over and over.   Amazing.

2.  Our home.  It's a home ... feeling good, not drowning as much.  The weather has been FANTASTIC, so I'm sure as it starts to rain we'll feel the smallness of our place.  But we are happy here ... and we've put the "building" plans on hold for a bit.  We're going to just relax and enjoy where we are at.  We are in no rush ... at least right now, we're not *wink*.

3.  Church.  I love my church ... you know that.  But this Sunday is going to be a bit of a sentimental thing for me.  Why?  Because my brother and I are leading together - for the first time EVER.  I'm excited ... Sunday morning, Christian Life Assembly, 9am and 11am.  

4. Running.  I will run again ... but I've bailed on the halfer.  I feel ok about it.  Really.  At first, I felt like a failure ... but something had to give - and it was that.  I will do one again - but when I don't do things like, oh - I don't know ... MOVE.  *laughing*.

Ok.

I should be working.

I've debriefed ... I feel good.

Off to work ..

Have a great one!!

[new house: Our New Old House.]

It's Sunday night as I type this ... the house is quiet - kids fast asleep.  It was another spectacular, sun-shiney day ... another wonderful day of exploring and creating at our new place.

No, we're not living there just yet.  But we got the keys yesterday (Saturday), and so we've started the process of moving things, getting cable/phone/alarm ... you know.  Moving.

Our "official" moving date is a week from today - the day the movers come and carry off all of our furniture and hopefully plonk it down in the correct room at the new place ...

New place.

It sounds so strange - considering that it's 38years old.  But I can tell you, that in the last 24hrs I have already learned so much about this home.  It's a good home.  It feels nostalgic, not dated ... you can tell that it was loved by the previous (and the only) owners.  It has enough space for the whole gang of us ... although the big challenge will be where all of our stuff will go.  The storage space is the biggest issue ... we'll just have to figure it out.  And we will.  And it will be home.

In fact ... today, as the kids jumped on the just-moved-to-this-location-from-our-other-house trampoline and playground, I said, " ... come on kids.  Time to go back home."  To which Mattias tilted his head and replied, " ... but mom.  We ARE home."

Oh man.  I loved that.

It's a strange thing to downsize ... it doesn't take you long to realize what space you're going to miss, and what space was a waste.  I think this change is going to be so valuable as we plan to design and build our home behind this house.  We may not build for years, we may start in the upcoming spring - so many factors will decide that.  But the time in this space will show us how we live in a different space, other than the 3600 sq ft house we've been living in for the last 8 years.  You can see all about our love for our current home, the renovations etc -  HERE

But it's all about to change - and I'm excited ... 

So.  This is our entrance (I used my 10mm lens, so it appears MUCH larger than it actually is) ... but it is definitely a good size.  We've decided to not paint ... we really don't want to put $$ into a place that will be eventually be thrown down or sold and taken away.   Painting was a bit of a debate - what if we live here for 5 years?  Will we regret not taking the time to make our home, "home"?  

Naw.  It' just fine the way it is.

The entrance from another angle.  Nifty flooring, eh?  *smile*

This is the unfinished "rec" room.  The basement couches and TV will go in here, toy storage, a craft area - once the drywall and super cheap carpet go in.  We won't paint in here either ... 

Again - the 10mm lens makes it look massive ... love that lens *grin*.  From this angle, you can see where all of our storage units are going to go all along that back wall.  They will house our kids games, our office supplies, our winter coats ... I'll figure it out.

So, apparently I skipped the two bedrooms and bathroom downstairs - and this next pic now shows the upper level. This is the "living" room, I guess?  A good space - and lots of walls to hang things *grin*.   Wow ... that lens ... 

The other angle ...

This is the dining room / eating area.  I never understand why people have carpet in these rooms ... but, alas, we have dusty-rose now *grin*.  The previous owners kept it immaculate ... they must not have raised boys LOL ... 

"Hi, mom"  ... my mother-in-law was diligently cleaning out the cupboards.  Man, this lens is amazing ... makes that kitchen look huge.  Can you see the stacked laundry in the back?  I thought that was interesting ... and I guess convenient - so you won't burn your soup while throwing stuff into the dryer ... *wink*

I wish the cupboards were about 4inches longer.  But they aren't ... They're really sturdy, though.  

Our bathroom is VERY blue.  With a teensy mirror ... we've got one that will replace it nicely without having to buy a new one ...

And Katia's room is a wee bit too "pepto bismol" for me.  I'd like to tone it down a bit.  We bought her a new Hello Kitty bedding set for her new toddler bed, pale pink and purple.  I'll choose the pink from there, if this doesn't match *wink* ... 

... the master bedroom ... this closet is the best one in the house.

... and the "furniture" room, as our only our king-sized bed will fit into the new bedroom.  So this room will house our other furniture, and our our kitchen pantry storage.  It'll work perfectly.

OH!  Here they are ... the two other bedrooms ... 

Our deck off of the kitchen that wraps around to the side ... 

In the last 24hrs, this is the place where our kids have explored and rode their bikes.  They've dug gopher holes and jumped off the swings from bigger heights.  They've taken their shoes off and not complained once about stepping on twigs or rocks ...

I am so so happy here.  It's quiet, it's cozy ... it has history - in a very 70's sort of way *grin* - but I know that I know that I know ... we're supposed to be here.  And THAT is what "home" is.  The place where those you love are safe and where you feel that God has placed you.

Preeeeeeetty sure that once it starts raining, I won't be feeling all "rainbows and ice cream" about living in a smaller space ... BUT.  It's home.

Have a great one!

[cakes: Hello Kitty Birthday Cake.]

HELLO KITTY BIRTHDAY CAKE.

Oh boy.  Here we go again.  

Katia is in LOVE with Hello Kitty, and when she decided on a Hello Kitty theme for her third birthday party - I spent the next few days on the internet trying to come up with a cake idea.

There were a LOT of really great ideas ... so, as always, I mixed a few ideas together and added a couple of my own.  And this time?  I completed the cake in under 30 minutes (not including baking the cakes ...)

Here's what I did.

I baked two 9x13 cakes.  ( I actually baked a chocolate cake recipe from scratch first, then decided I'd rather have white-cake.  I ate an entire row of chocolate cake within 20 minutes ... that recipe's HERE.)

I placed them on the cake-platter-thingy (oh yes, I know all the baker's lingo ...) ... and I stared at an image of Hello Kitty on the computer while did my best to cut out her head-shape out of the two cakes.  Very nerve wracking, I assure you ... 

I made some buttercream frosting, with added lemon flavouring ... covered the cake.  I should've done the sides, but I ran out of frosting and I couldn't be bothered to make more.  Sue me.  *grin*

I bought the fondant ... this time, I actually got it from Michael's and it was over $10.00.  Super pricey, yes - but considering that was the only "cost" to this cake, pretty much, it was all good.  One day I'll start making my own - but for now, I'll let the professionals do it for me ... 

I rolled out the fondant super thin, placed it over the cake, and fiddled with it.  But because there wasn't any icing on the sides - it didn't stick well.  

I made a bow out of pink ribbon.  This took me a while.  I'm not a girly-girl ... bows are not my thing.  But it turned out ok ... poked it into the fondant ... 

I was going to use liquorice for the whiskers, but I didn't have any and forgot to buy some.  I found some pipe-cleaner stuff from the craft box ... 3D whiskers - perfect.

I rolled some fondant into little balls ... made two black ones for the eyes, and a yellow one for the nose.  Hello Kitty doesn't have a mouth for some reason - but no mouth just means an easier cake *grin*.  I used tooth picks to stick the details in - and then covered the hole up with more fondant.  Then I took the pic - only to realize that you could see the "fill".  So - I re-did them, put the toothpick in the cake FIRST, and put the fondant balls on top so there wasn't a hole you could see.  And then - I forgot to take another photo from above *grin*.

Added some writing and VOILA.  Done ... 

The next morning, Katia got up - and the boys were waiting for her.  THEY knew how this worked - but this was really her first cake where she actually understood what was going on.  The boys knew there was going to be a big "reveal" ... so they were cheering her on.   She was getting mad and telling them to stop *laughing* ... 

Josiah wanted to do the big "Reveal" ... so I let him, and I took the pics.

And she just stared at it and said, " ... is this MY Hello Kitty cake, Mommy? Did you make this for me, Mommy?" over and over ... it melted my heart.

Happy birthday, Boo Bear.  And thank you for choosing something simple this time!!  Your brothers need to learn that *grin*.

Have a great one!!