may goals.

here we are. another month. another list.
yes i know we are half way done the month. better late then never i always say! {and those of you who just received a christmas card from me know that's the truth! the rest of you don't worry - it's on it's way!!}
my list is a little different from when the month started as we are now not in a panic to sell our house so i have removed a few key items that will be peppered in as we go along {paint the bathroom and the hall, change out some doors, paint the bedroom, some new light fixtures etc...}.
to me this months list is now more fun than to-do.
i am feeling in a fun mood this month!

mastered.

last weekend cooper mastered his two wheeler.

cooper is a funny apprehensive little guy. he's so gung-ho to try things out but usually at the last minute he chickens out. that's just how it is. and some days it's up to us...his responsible parents...to give him just a little shove push.

that's how it was with the bike.

i think if it was up to coop he would have the training wheels on it forever. he didn't care. he felt secure and for him that's tops. if it was up to him he would always just sit on the sidelines - the ultimate spectator.

this spring {except is this summer already? sure feels like we just dove right in!!}, we took it upon ourselves to give him that push. now i am not talking that we took him to the top of the backyard hill on his bike with no training wheels and no concept of riding a bike, pushed and sent him down full blast like my dad did to me {true story - surprised i ever got back on!}, no - we did it our way.

as the snow flurries got fewer and fewer and the road was becoming more and more visible we decided to pull the bikes out of storage and get those wheels on the road. but...before coop had time to protest, those little side security-blanket wheels were gone and in the garbage - oops! if he wanted to go out and have fun with his sister - who took off like lightning mcqueen once those wheels touched asphalt - he had a choice: 1) sit on the front stoop and watch aydan have a blast biking around the neighbourhood or 2) figure it out and join her.

after some whining and a slew of i'm bored, and me saying you are more than welcome to go bike riding with your sister {we live on a circle type road that caters only to the residents.} he got on and gave it a shot.

attempt 1: disaster. nothing going in his favour. bike put in the garage awaiting the cobwebs.

attempt 2: a little better but not much. more confidence. a little....just a little...less whining about it. a couple fights a long the way and again a bike destined for the back of the garage never to be seen again.

attempt 3: THIRD TIMES THE CHARM!!! he gritted his teeth. focused and about halfway through he said ever so casually to tony, who was holding on to the back of the bike , "okay dad - you can let go now." and he was off.
golden moment.

everyday has now been filled with bike riding and i am so happy for him.
wait-a-go cooper!!!

now on to the next skill - swimming....oy.
{not looking forward to that one.}

happy summer spring!! 

intentional intentions.

via ali edwards

i love quotes. i think about them all the time. some by some very wise people. some by the not so wise but poignant all the same. a few favorites of mine are - count your blessings. too many irons in the fire. distance makes the heart grow fonder. moment on the lips, lifetimes on the hips. etc.....
you get the idea.
but the one i hate is things happen for a reason. heard that one? the one people always say to you when you are in a crap situation? really? do you think someone or something out there wanted these things to happen to you? and if they/it did - how horrible are they! no one ever says that to you when you get a promotion, find a $20 in your pocket or score awesome concert tickets. never. that one is always reserved for the crappy times, used in situations of consolation. and i hate it. 3 years ago i kept hearing it over and over coming in my direction and i wanted to just scream. but you can't. you have to smile politely and say back "i know - it will be better soon." when what you really want to say is "yeah? seriously? want to change places???!", which they would say no, 100 percent sure of that.

as some of you may have noticed i did not write up a goals list for april.
this was intentional.
i have not fallen off the wagon, lost my will to my "resolutions".

i also know i promised to have only taken a month off from here and give you my full attention again.
this is no mistake.
i need more time. the reason for all this....march was gone in the blink of an eye!
i don't know how to explain it simpler.
it was here and now it's gone and i am not ready.
i am still working on march's goals but also on something else.

i am working living up to the quote up top there. my new favorite. i am working on living to my width and length around here. more time for kids. more time for tony. more time for me. yes there is still documentation going on. yes there is still picture taking. but the rush to get it out in to the world has slowed down.
i have had that quote stuck in my head for weeks now.
it has shown me that it's okay to allow myself to be present. to help me understand that it's okay to focus on one thing and not have too many irons in the fire. that there is no secret tally going on about how much i accomplish in one go. i am not going to receive a report card telling me how awful i am at something and that i don't have the best of that or that i didn't decorate the fastest or greatest around here. this is not a race. that this life has more to it and to live it. to let go of the little things and grab on to the big.

this has also been a time of reflection and some dreams are starting to be grabbed around here. realized.
someones dreams are starting to come to light. fruition.
my dreams.

so for now i am going to work on those dreams, play board games with my kids, live up to that quote and pop back for a chat & a coffee now and again.
i will be telling you about my table soon and how much i loved working with the hand sander.
just not today.

xo

against the grain.

i am a firm believer that chocolate does not have to be involved in everything.
that one can get by without it. you can curb a sweet-tooth without it.
that given the right ingredients, everything can be lovely and wonderful. it does not always have to include chocolate.
especially in banana bread.
if you have beautifully dark over ripe bananas, the elixir which they contain should be enough.
i have stated this over and over and over. things have enough sugar already and we should appreciate them for it.

then you encounter the rainy day.
that day where darkness hang over and the thoughts of being cozy enter your mind and then that little pest - chocolate - creeps in there too.
a day where you would like nothing more than to curl up with a mug of something hot and a warm hearty baked good.
a day where banana snack cake with a hint of chocolate peeking through hits the spot.
it's the day where i eat my words....for just this one moment.

now this is not an everyday cake. it's not meant to replace our favorite around here. it's meant to be brought out on only very special occasion.
like a rainy day.
today is such a day.

banana snack cake.
it's moments like these where i wish my kids were nut people - biting into a shard of a toasted pecan would be a welcomed surprise - a pleasant little crunch. and if you have some laying around, a dollop of softly whip cream on top wouldn't be the worst either.

preheat your oven to 350. spray a 8x8 pan with cooking spray. set aside.

if you want to add toasted pecans now is the time to toast them. you will add 1/2 a cup plus 3 tablespoons of pecan halves or broken chunks to a pie plate. put in the oven for 5 minutes. toss and check. if not browned enough, put back in for one minute increments till you are sastified - DO NOT LEAVE YOUR OVEN! you will forget about them and have to start over only to find out that was all you have. not that i am speaking from experience or anything....
once they are toasted, let cool and chop into smaller pieces - split into two bowls - 1/2 cup and 3 tablespoons.

add 2 eggs to your stand mixer or bowl and blend slightly. add 3 bananas or one cup of mush to eggs and blend slightly. add a 1/4 cup of canola oil and blend slightly. {are you following the trend here?} add 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract. blend. add in 1/2 a cup of white sugar and half a cup of brown. blend. now add in 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour, 3/4 cup all purpose flour - unbleached!!! - 1 tsp of baking soda and 1/2 a tsp salt. gently blend this in. add one cup of chocolate chips or chunks and your optional 1/2 cup of toasted pecans. once all incorporated scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula and give it a couple turns by hand just to make sure you get all the bits in there. pour into your prepared pan,  sprinkle the top with the reserved 3 tablespoons of toasted pecans and bake for 55 minutes, rotating the pan half way through. let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, remove from pan and serve either slightly warm or room temp.

will keep for 3 days in an airtight container but we all know it won't survive the night.
;)

a little blurb-obessed.

my cover shot.

the other day i poised a question - a very poignant question, in my eyes.

if you were to make another blurb book what would it be about?

great question.
it really made me think. what would i do? {i love blurb books. could sit around for hours perusing it's wonderfully glossy pages but then i love everything about family documentation.}

yes, i could do this vacation or that. yes, i could this birthday or that. one about kids only. our wedding.
there were so many possibilities.
but non struck me as yes. there was no thunderbolt.

this plagued me all day {yes i know #firstworldproblems} but i just couldn't get it.

then i did. it was my aha moment. a "why did that take me so long to get?" moment.

quebec. that was the answer.

three years ago we threw caution to the wind, moved across canada from vancouver to montreal for work and knew not a soul out here. to start again. new beginnings. like the settlers that came over years ago to start fresh and get a foundation. grow their roots. settle.

we took a chance, rolled the dice and it has been quite an adventure.

one i believe worthy of a obscenely large, not-to-fit-on-any-shelf-anywhere, compelation of our lives so far in la belle provence.

this is what my book is going to be about.
it's only going to take me the rest of the year.
we have taken that many photo's. done that many things. lived life that much.
together.


i am up for the challenge.

:)


********************************************************************************************************
the bonus: from now till the end of the month save 15% on your Blurb Photo Book purchase with the code APRIL15. This offer is good for 15% off your product total up to a max discount of $200 USD, $250 CAD & AUD, or 160 Euros. Each code may only be used once per user and on books made by you.  Offer expires at 11.59pm (local time) on April 30th, 2013. Offer may not be used in conjunction with any other offers, volume discounts or retroactively applied to any previous orders. 


Please note : this is NOT a sponsored post, but links throughout are affiliate links which means if you buy a book through one, I will make a small commission on that sale. Thanks! And have fun bookmaking!! 

lately.

as many of you know i took march off from this space to get my house in order, spend time with my kids and breathe. it's been awesome. probably one of the better things i have done. i found myself burning the candle at both ends, too many irons in the fire, run ragged.
i am more refreshed now.

yes i still have too many irons in the fire {i LOVE that saying} but i am finding myself managing them better and letting go of deadlines and i have to get that done more.
sitting back...slightly. {let's not get carried away here - i don't think i will ever find myself as laid back and relaxed as one is on a chaise lounge, fruity drink in hand. ever.....unless i am somewhere where that behavior is required. demanded.}

but i lived. i created. i enjoyed.

+st. patrick's came out of no where and there was no resting around here. cooper won a giant tie in his kindergarten class for having the most shamrocks - he earned them by being a good and helpful leprechaun. good for you buddy!

+aydan's weekend was jam packed with two days of irish dancing! saturday was spent dancing for a retirement home and on sunday her school took part in the annual saint patricks day parade in downtown montreal! she did so well - she's the one in the pink pom pom hat. it was so much colder this year than last year!!! holy smokes!

+the following friday was spent at a cabane a sucre {sugar shack} in the countryside with the brownies. we went at night this time and after dinner there was a dj for the kids and it turned into a real disco! the kids went wild when a certain song came on. can you guess which one?? {it has a style all it's own! ha!}

+the next saturday was filled with another irish dance performance - this time for our local legion.

+last week tony went to a conference in san francisco. there was an award show as well tied into the conference and....far cry 3 won two audio awards!!! the fearless audio director for the game {who we call dad in these parts} went up to accept the two awards! well done tony and the whole audio team from far cry 3!!

+ we decided to celebrate his win with make-your-own ice cream sundaes back home! aydan has been asking for these and was pretty excited when she realized what all the fixings were for! {we may have gotten a little out of control with the whip cream.....}

+while tony was away my mom came to visit for a couple of days. kids love their grandma time!!!

+oh yeah...i re-painted the tv room coffee table. for a while i have wanted to get my hands dirty with a sander and paint and since this week i had a couple extra days off i decided to tackle this. more on this later.....

+create. create. create. i decided that if i want our tv room finished on this side of the decade i have to get my sewing machine in gear. i gave it quite the workout!

+sunday was easter. tony was home. it was a perfect lazy day filled with egg hunts, movies, giggles, board games and a wonderful ham dinner. i made my best stuffing yet!!!!

+for april fools we decided to haul out some christmas decorations to give a little spin to the morning. {thanks for the idea amanda!}

+monday was a day off as well and i found this - aydan quietly working on her lego friends in her room with the sunshine flooding in. awesome moment in time.

+i have been stumbling on scenes like this one quite often lately and it makes my heart happy. this is what it's all about. i live for moments like this. the getting along. the love. siblings.

there you go - that's it! did i get all i wanted to get done this month? no. did i get most things crossed off my march list - not even close. but there is always this month......and lucky for me the snow hasn't melted yet so i can't quite move my efforts outdoors.

;)

first official day of spring.

this is what we got.
unbelievable isn't it?
you would have no idea that *officially* it was the first day of spring.

i am so over this.

i want to dig in the dirt. plant seeds. rake. transform that last section of earth. review my efforts from last year. rip down the dead tree. get the cedar guys in here. string lights. refinish the patio table. create the fire pit base. enjoy the fresh air.

there are so many things i want to do.......outside!

for now we are waiting for ALL of this to melt.
it's still hanging around like a nasty cough.

today was -6 and has slowly clawed it's way up to -1.
it's not fair.......
{yes, i am going to my room to pout. or eat cake - i haven't decided.}

perfecting the stay-cation.

most terrifying photo i have ever taken - so scared i was going to drop everything! but i love the shot!

he's 6 and he's 12!!

so we had spring break.
it was awesome.
we toyed around with the idea of taking off and lounging somewhere.
the plan last year was to take off for this week somewhere hot but between work commitments and lack of vacation $$ we decided to stay put.
then i took a look around and realized we didn't need to go anywhere.
we could have gone somewhere that offered outdoor pond skating or...just go into our own backyard and skate there! complete with fire pit and ice cold beer!
we also headed down to the frozen lake {river?} and went for a walk on it - people travel miles for this kind of adventure and we walked 5 blocks to get to it!!
we could have gone to one of the many ski resorts that are about a 3 hour drive away or....we could hit one of the 6 ski hills a 40 minute drive from our house - so we did that.
we could have done a road trip to toronto {burlington to be exact} to visit with friends or....have them come here! which they did!!
yes we could have gone to a hotel and lounged in the hot tub. we have one here so we checked that off the list. {it was also equipped with the possibility of doing a snow/ice run midway through!}

so there you have it - the perfect stay-cation!

:)