26 February 2009

March!



You know those books that you always say you're going to read? The classics that you were probably assigned to read in school and either bought the Cliff's Notes or b.s.'d your way through the test? Yeah....me too...

March is apparently the time to take care of all those little details. In 2005, Kiera Knightly played in the movie "Pride and Prejudice", which I watched, and loved...so I was inspired to read the book...sort of. (I listened to it on CD while driving around in my car.) A GREAT book! Then, we neflixed the movie "The Jane Austen Book Club"...a good movie about a group of 6 people who get together to read and discuss Jane Austen's 6 main works in 6 months. Again I was inspired! I am now listening to "Mansfield Park" on CD. So, I have gotten a jump start on my March Reading...What about you? What would you like to read???

12 February 2009

I'm an Esme

I'm a Esme! I found out through TwilightersAnonymous.com. Which Twilight Female Are You? Take the quiz and find out!
Take the Quiz and Share Your Results!


I found out by taking this quiz that I am an Esme. Although, I think it was a close competition between Alice and Esme because whenever I found myself wavering between two answers, they were the Alice and Esme answers (I know they are supposed to be secret, but come on...everyone knows)...Harumph....I wanna be Alice! Honestly, Esme is such an underdeveloped background character that you don't even meet her until a good chunk of the way into the story. She seems so "just there" as a space holder or something. Alice is fun and perky and all the things I like to see myself as...Oh well...

09 February 2009

Kitchen Fun

As I was taking my pictures off of my camera tonight I came across some pictures that I had intended to post on the blog, but apparently never quite got around to it...so, better late than never, right? Tyler and I had a rare day off together, just the two of us...so what's a mom to do when she has the day off and her kid doesn't go to school? Cook fun things, of course!

We made blue and green pancakes...
Which, as you can see, were a HUGE hit! Tyler has inherited my preference for dipping his pancakes instead of smothering them...
And then, because pancakes for breakfast was not enough, we made brownies too and Tyler had the opportunity to lick the beaters, the bowl,...everything!
Again...a HUGE hit!

Enjoy your coffee...

I receive a daily joke email from guy on the internet named Pastor Tim and included in each of these is a daily illustration. Sometimes these are funny, sometimes more thought provoking. Last Thursday (2/5/09) he sent this one:

"A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. The conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain-looking, some expensive, and some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee.
After all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is but normal for you to want only the best for yourselves that is the source of your problems and stress. Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In most cases, it's just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you consciously went for the best cups and then began eyeing each other's cups."
Now consider this: Life is the coffee, and the jobs, houses, cars, things, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life, and the type of cup we have does not define nor change the quality of life we live. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee.
Enjoy your coffee. Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect. It means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections."

To me this hit home on two different levels. Anyone who knows me is aware of the fact that I love tea and frou frou coffee. Every day I'm at work (at the office anyway, not so much when I'm teaching) I have a huge mug of tea on my desk that is constantly refilled throughout the day. The design of the cup has long been a source of joy for me. Color, shape, weight, size--these are all elements of the design that I look at when purchasing a new cup for tea. I prefer large size cups (because then I don't have to refill them so often) but the color, shape and weight are very subjective. The color/design has to make me happy every time I see it, the shape and weight have to feel right.

On another level, as I move through life and reach each different stage (or situation) I learn something new (Good news, right??) and lately I am learning that happiness doesn't mean that there aren't bad things in life, it just means that I am able to be happy/content in spite of the different things that aren't "just so".

I like this illustration set forth by Pastor Tim (note: not Tim Neufeld) because it reminds me not to focus so hard on the cup that I forget to enjoy the coffee...so, although my blog is currently titled "Living the Life I love" it could also be called "Working every day to Enjoy the coffee"...

08 February 2009

He's in the doghouse!

Tyler that is...His new thing these days is to pretend that he's a puppy...and in his role as a puppy, he really feels as though he needs to sleep in a doghouse rather than his bed. Now, it doesn't really matter to me where he sleeps because even though I know that a bed is more more comfortable than the floor, he seems to prefer the floor...even more so since he now has a dog house.

His other thing that is rather odd for a 3 year old is his desire to have a face mask (or scarf) when he's falling asleep....

04 February 2009

Pick up lines for a yarn lover...

So, Jessie has her "Never-not-knitting" page a day calendar, I haunt her blog...Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, also known as the yarn harlot recently posted a hilarious blog about yarn pick up lines. If you like yarn, or knitting, you'll probably want to check this out...this post specifically or the blog in general. My favorite: "Let's go to my ball winder and do all the things I'm going to tell knitters we do anyway." Hahaha...too funny