Pretending to be a Blogging Book Critic...

Taste by Tracy Ewens
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I usually like to read second chance romance stories and this one had a lot of good parts that did pull me in but I had a hard time warming up to Kara, never really did and I found the romance did a slow down in the middle of everything. I did really like the idea behind the story and will most likely pick up another book by this author.

Feels like Spring

I always find my spirits seem to lift just a little when the sun turns warmer and the crocus flowers start poking their way up from the dirt.  The kids on our street start to appear outdoors on bikes, scooters and skateboards.  The soccer balls and baseball gloves get dusted off and boom Spring has arrived!

We are heading off to Kelowna next week for a little bit of fun with the kiddos for Spring Break.  The kids can swim and horse around for a few days before my daughter's soccer tournament on the weekend starts.  Looking forward to a break from the regular routine.  I plan to do some walking around on this leg, the more work I do on it the stronger it will get and with summer so close I don't want to be out of shape and struggling like I was last year.  I have now had this prosthetic just shy of a year and although I am so much more confident right now on it then I was this time last year I know that its going to be an ongoing challenge each and every day but it's one I am up for!

Happy Easter to you!

Small Steps Big Changes

I have been a pop drinker/lover for as long as I can remember.  Growing up it wasn't as accessible to me as it seems to be for my own children.  For me having a pop with a meal while out for dinner was a huge treat.  My dad would pick up a flat of Pic a Pop for the beach on our way out.  That to me was bliss but never did we have pop with a meal at home nor was it bought for us kids to consume at will, it was usually meant for my parents friends when they would be entertaining.

It was almost as exciting as dessert...almost...but I find that my kids are living in an age where pop, chips, candy you name it are average everyday occurrences.  Its in their school vending machines, its at the gas station where they get off the bus everyday after school, its almost impossible for me to limit or try to reign in this pop addiction.  Our son loves his pop, he will mindfully drink one and then hide the can behind/under/ or buried in the couch.  We have talked to him, tried to punish him with only allowing pop on the weekends but it seems nothing really works with him.  

In trying to change his pop habit I had to look at myself.  I can honestly say that Diet Pepsi is my drink of choice, when I am thirsty instead of a tall cool glass of water I will grab a can of this dark cold enticing elixir from the fridge...again almost like dessert to me and this finally got me to thinking about just what exactly are the long term effects of drinking soda and I didn't like what I came up with.  I won't get into the details of what has long been debated, that is out there for you to research if you feel so inclined, but I needed to make a change for me and my children.  My first step away from soda pop was trying Talking Rain Sparkling Water

and this was gooood but it was hard to find in Canada so when I would run out before our next trip back to Costco in the good ole USA I would fall back into the Diet Pepsi trap, which is baaaad.  While watching Dr. Oz he talked about changing your pop habit by cutting it with club soda to which I thought "absolutely gonna try that" and I did and it helped but I still knew I needed to make a break with my BFF DP.  Enter stage right SanPellegrino in all its glory.  Sparkling water at its finest and its readily available in Canada..double yes!  Another benefit of this wonderful product is that they also produce flavoured waters which make my son happy and that folks is the triple threat experience for this family.  We have taken our soda pop addiction down a notch and that makes me one happy mom.  Just recently we purchased a Soda Stream, another step in the right direction,

 

And the greatest part about this purchase is it uses our plain ole filtered water straight from the tap...the best news yet!   

Now while I do admit to enjoying a DP now and again at BBQ's and such I find that I am not craving it anymore and really do prefer a sparkling water in my hand instead.

 

Reading and blogging...blogging and reading

I just finished a book that I could not put down or at least not while my eyes would cooperate and stay open.  Wonderful read and one that I definitely recommend if you enjoy romances with little to no verbal communication...which I surprising did!


Transcendence by Shay Savage
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Amazingly different and utterly unique. What can I say about this one that hasn't already been said by others in their reviews...not a whole lot as I went into this story with both the good and the bad to go on but was interested enough to find out what the fuss was all about myself.

I can honestly say I have never read a romance story set in this time era. Prehistoric romances aren't usually hot topics or delved into quite so deeply. Do I want to get into the caveman looking guy vs the modern hip young lady attraction debate, nope not really because in all honesty I saw Ehd as a rugged virile man living a life in harsh times and doing what he needed to do to survive and Beh as one lucky woman to have fallen into his path, without him she would not have survived to see another birthday. Ehd to me was no different than today's mountain men living alone in the woods and fending for themselves.

It was a love story pure and simple in its clearest form. There was no spoken language to misdirect them or to set up misunderstandings, no yelling matches or words of lust or nonsensical debates over trivial issues. It was as clear and to the point as could be when Ehd and Beh were communicating wordlessly. The few words they did share were heartfelt and meaningful, exactly the way our words should be used today.

Will absolutely recommend this story and continue to talk about it for days/weeks/months possibly years to come.

View all my reviews

 

Great answer to a hard Question

Are you Santa?

I have long struggled with how to answer this question and this year my 13 yr old son came right out and said he doesn't believe in Santa.  He was being surly and curtish but truthful none the less.  A few days later he told us he regrets saying it but now I am wondering how best to turn this into a better moment, a moment of understanding and not just one of too bad you don't believe cause now you don't get a filled stocking on Christmas morning.

I came across this post while surfing around the internet today and feel like it suits my situation. 

You asked a very good question: “Are you Santa?”
I know you’ve wanted the answer to this question for a long time, and I’ve had to give it careful thought to know just what to say.

The answer is no. I am not Santa. There is no one Santa.

I am the person who fills your stockings with presents, though. I also choose and wrap the presents under the tree, the same way my mom did for me, and the same way her mom did for her. (And yes, Daddy helps, too.)

I imagine you will someday do this for your children, and I know you will love seeing them run down the stairs on Christmas morning. You will love seeing them sit under the tree, their small faces lit with Christmas lights.

This won’t make you Santa, though.

Santa is bigger than any person, and his work has gone on longer than any of us have lived. What he does is simple, but it is powerful. He teaches children how to have belief in something they can’t see or touch.

It’s a big job, and it’s an important one. Throughout your life, you will need this capacity to believe: in yourself, in your friends, in your talents and in your family. You’ll also need to believe in things you can’t measure or even hold in your hand. Here, I am talking about love, that great power that will light your life from the inside out, even during its darkest, coldest moments.

Santa is a teacher, and I have been his student, and now you know the secret of how he gets down all those chimneys on Christmas Eve: he has help from all the people whose hearts he’s filled with joy.
With full hearts, people like Daddy and me take our turns helping Santa do a job that would otherwise be impossible.

So, no. I am not Santa. Santa is love and magic and hope and happiness. I’m on his team, and now you are, too.

I really love this answer!

 

 

Back in the Kitchen

I think its safe to say Fall has arrived, the birds are back at the window feeders, the leaves are starting to fall to the ground and the night holds a chill.

I had the urge to pull out some canned pumpkin and do something with it, by something with it I mean "bake".  So off to Pinterest I went and started looking up recipes.  One of the ongoing challenges of my amputation is that for the two months that I was in hospital and then 3 months that followed I wasn't able to stand in my kitchen and prepare meals or bake treats which also means my pantry supplies are sadly lacking.  Happily I still had pumpkin sitting waiting for my return and I opted to make dog treats for my puppies, the first time I have baked anything for them since my surgery in January.  The kids were also on my list but when I went to grab some chocolate chips, the cupboard was bare...need to restock those little morsels of goodness.

I made a few jars of plum jam with the bounty off our backyard tree, I thought about making some fruit leather too but laziness got the better of me and I decided to just be happy with the jam.

From this do to that do

We have been fighting/scrapping/pleading with our son since hockey season ended in March to get a haircut.  I tried negotiation, begging and even bribing but to no end.  Finally this August while we were on holidays we succeeded in convincing him.  He walked into the Salon in a mood...pouting/angry/very unhappy with his parents but to my amazement he walked out with a smile on his face, even let us take a picture of the new do.  Said he wished we would have done this at the beginning of summer...hmmm...boys!

Before

 After

Now we are ready for hockey season again, too bad we skipped soccer season!