Preteen is over for the summer.
We had a good MOPS morning, and that's finished until October.
Tomorrow evening Ladies' Retreat starts at Pigeon Lake,
But
I looked at my calendar
And next week?
No. Dots.
At this moment, there is nothing on my calendar next week.
No meetings.
No medical appointments.
No procedures or blood tests.
Unplugging the phone and avoiding the Internet is a consideration...
I'm thinking this is a timely, well deserved week off,
And I can't believe how much it excites me.
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Tomorrow Is The Last MOPS Meeting Until Fall
So, you know what MY day is looking like.
For the last MOPS (Mothers Of Pre-Schoolers) meeting we usually try to send them into summer with a good creative activity (crafty thing) and enough inspiration and encouragement to get them through to autumn.
And food.
A special brunch or, as in the case this month, lunch is also in order.
My day, then? Will be a flurry of preparation. The menu: baked potato bar with chili, a vegetable platter and cheese biscuits. Brownies and fruit platter for dessert. Coffee, tea, and iced tea to drink.
There are two of us making the chili. I got mine done yesterday evening and as I don't have a 9 quart slow cooker, I put the big pot in the oven at 250*F overnight. When I'm ready to start baking brownies I'll take it out and crank up the heat. Also on the to do list today is homemade iced tea, washing about 70 potatoes and pre-baking them, and getting the dry ingredients for the biscuits mixed together.
That's all.
I will also think through the menu and make a timetable for tomorrow so potatoes get crisped up, biscuits get baked and chili gets reheated all at the right time in the morning.
But preteen class is done for the summer, so if I get on a roll I don't have to take a break at 3:30.
Planning and organization.
My watchwords for the next two days.
Sunday, May 27, 2012
Thursday, May 24, 2012
On Second Thought...
I didn't go along to Edmonton.
While I was falling asleep last night and pre-constructing the day in my head, he was rearranging things to accommodate more shopping time for me.
So, this morning when he came out ready to go with a new plan to drop me at the mall between his appointments, I'd already decided to stop running from the dress I cut out last week and stay home to sew.
Also I was tired from all the driving and worrying about restaurant food on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Almost I regretted my new decision.
Almost.
It IS, though, another cloudy, cool day in The Field, and Radio Classics is cued up on the Satellite Radio, and the windows in the sewing room will be opened a crack to let in the lovely, fresh smells of the country in the rain and the cheerful chatter of the birds. There's a turkey in the freezer that's waiting to be plucked from the frozen depths and popped in the oven for supper, and at least two more cups of half hazelnut coffee in the thermos.
Edmonton... home...
Yup.
Good decision.
While I was falling asleep last night and pre-constructing the day in my head, he was rearranging things to accommodate more shopping time for me.
So, this morning when he came out ready to go with a new plan to drop me at the mall between his appointments, I'd already decided to stop running from the dress I cut out last week and stay home to sew.
Also I was tired from all the driving and worrying about restaurant food on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Almost I regretted my new decision.
Almost.
It IS, though, another cloudy, cool day in The Field, and Radio Classics is cued up on the Satellite Radio, and the windows in the sewing room will be opened a crack to let in the lovely, fresh smells of the country in the rain and the cheerful chatter of the birds. There's a turkey in the freezer that's waiting to be plucked from the frozen depths and popped in the oven for supper, and at least two more cups of half hazelnut coffee in the thermos.
Edmonton... home...
Yup.
Good decision.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Perks
We got home in good time today.
In case you missed it, Randall and I left fairly early Tuesday morning to get to Kindersley for a memorial service. The wife of a pastor friend we knew from Prince Albert passed away last week and we wanted to be there.
It was a good service that, as always, left me wondering what people will say about me when I die. But that's another post.
There were a couple of highlights for me; One was catching up with people from Prince Albert who came down for the service.
Another very fun thing was meeting an Anglican Priest and his wife who've been followers of Randall's blog for a few years. When we remembered that they were in Kindersley we thought it would be fun to connect with them.
Good decision.
We had a really good visit with them. It was so very cool to share our stories and see how often our paths have intersected and criss-crossed, and how similar our outlooks on life are. I was very blessed by our time with them.
The other very fun thing was meeting Annette! I'm afraid I wasn't as vocal as I should have been, but it's not often (has it ever happened?...) that someone who reads my blog recognizes me and seeks me out. I was so surprised that I was a little tongue-tied.... (Yes. It happens.) But it was so encouraging, and I'm very glad she sought me out. This space has become a little self-indulgent of late, and I forget that there might be actual people with actual pleasant, friendly, smiling faces reading what I write.
So, thank you Annette for introducing yourself to me. It really did make my day :)
And now Wednesday is pretty much done.
Preteen went well. It was our last meeting for this season. We let them play their two favourite games... "Capture the Flag" and "Touch the Pole". I hope they had a good year with us; I had a good year with them.
Tomorrow I'm considering tagging along with Himself when he goes to his breakfast meeting and hospital visitation in Edmonton. I've promised to sit at another table and read a book while he's doing his thing (in fact I'd prefer it). I'm hoping that we'll have time for me to do a little grad outfit shopping. I'm planning the default get-up in the back of my mind just in case, but it would be nice to have something a little newer and sharper to wear for our last graduation. Besides, I don't want to make the new suits look bad.
I'm feeling like it's going to be an early night. This is what my crusty eyes are telling me.
I think, perhaps, I will listen to them.
In case you missed it, Randall and I left fairly early Tuesday morning to get to Kindersley for a memorial service. The wife of a pastor friend we knew from Prince Albert passed away last week and we wanted to be there.
It was a good service that, as always, left me wondering what people will say about me when I die. But that's another post.
There were a couple of highlights for me; One was catching up with people from Prince Albert who came down for the service.
Another very fun thing was meeting an Anglican Priest and his wife who've been followers of Randall's blog for a few years. When we remembered that they were in Kindersley we thought it would be fun to connect with them.
Good decision.
We had a really good visit with them. It was so very cool to share our stories and see how often our paths have intersected and criss-crossed, and how similar our outlooks on life are. I was very blessed by our time with them.
The other very fun thing was meeting Annette! I'm afraid I wasn't as vocal as I should have been, but it's not often (has it ever happened?...) that someone who reads my blog recognizes me and seeks me out. I was so surprised that I was a little tongue-tied.... (Yes. It happens.) But it was so encouraging, and I'm very glad she sought me out. This space has become a little self-indulgent of late, and I forget that there might be actual people with actual pleasant, friendly, smiling faces reading what I write.
So, thank you Annette for introducing yourself to me. It really did make my day :)
And now Wednesday is pretty much done.
Preteen went well. It was our last meeting for this season. We let them play their two favourite games... "Capture the Flag" and "Touch the Pole". I hope they had a good year with us; I had a good year with them.
Tomorrow I'm considering tagging along with Himself when he goes to his breakfast meeting and hospital visitation in Edmonton. I've promised to sit at another table and read a book while he's doing his thing (in fact I'd prefer it). I'm hoping that we'll have time for me to do a little grad outfit shopping. I'm planning the default get-up in the back of my mind just in case, but it would be nice to have something a little newer and sharper to wear for our last graduation. Besides, I don't want to make the new suits look bad.
I'm feeling like it's going to be an early night. This is what my crusty eyes are telling me.
I think, perhaps, I will listen to them.
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Accentuate The Positive
So, in hopes of not becoming a grouchy old bag, I'm trying to think happy thoughts and put forth any and all positive aspects of my new (for the time being at least) diet.
For example: in lieu of toast, I find that peanut butter tastes good on rice crackers, or just plain eaten off a spoon. Also, I like rice crackers. I can totally justify fried potatoes at breakfast because I'm not having the toasted bread. Although my favourite way to eat an egg is by dipping the buttered toast in it's over-easy'd middle, my second favourite way, when I've overcooked the middle, is to eat it with salsa. Over-hard eggs just take a minute or two longer. Oatmeal cooked with a tablespoon of raisins and eaten without milk can be served on the same plate as the scrambled egg with ketchup. Although you can't buy French onion soup that doesn't have wheat/gluten in the mix, I make a fine French onion soup from scratch. It doesn't take very long to make French onion soup.
Maybe the most important thing to be positive about is that the Celiac Disease test came back negative, so even though I'm trying gluten-free for a couple of months to see if it makes a difference, I don't have to stress about being uber-vigilant with regards to the gluten and eating out.
*sigh*
There was cherry cheesecake at the wedding supper last night... you know that's my favourite dessert...
BUT the pineapple and strawberries were delicious.
For example: in lieu of toast, I find that peanut butter tastes good on rice crackers, or just plain eaten off a spoon. Also, I like rice crackers. I can totally justify fried potatoes at breakfast because I'm not having the toasted bread. Although my favourite way to eat an egg is by dipping the buttered toast in it's over-easy'd middle, my second favourite way, when I've overcooked the middle, is to eat it with salsa. Over-hard eggs just take a minute or two longer. Oatmeal cooked with a tablespoon of raisins and eaten without milk can be served on the same plate as the scrambled egg with ketchup. Although you can't buy French onion soup that doesn't have wheat/gluten in the mix, I make a fine French onion soup from scratch. It doesn't take very long to make French onion soup.
Maybe the most important thing to be positive about is that the Celiac Disease test came back negative, so even though I'm trying gluten-free for a couple of months to see if it makes a difference, I don't have to stress about being uber-vigilant with regards to the gluten and eating out.
*sigh*
There was cherry cheesecake at the wedding supper last night... you know that's my favourite dessert...
BUT the pineapple and strawberries were delicious.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Living In A Dream
"What does it mean if you dream that you're eating glass?" I asked Himself after supper.
"Journal it," he said. "It would be unique to you. If you sit down and write it out, you might get clarity on it."
It's strange, really.
It's been a long day coming off a short night, and maybe the levels of fatigue combined with a physically stressful lactose test (a two hour ordeal which required fasting, involved four samples being drawn, and gave me wonky blood sugar until nearly noon) contributed to weird dream segments during my two hour nap later in the afternoon.
Whatever it's about, this space is, if not a place where I pour out the deepest, darkest secrets of my heart, at least a place I can use as a journal or think tank if need be.
So... what I remember about this dream was the eating of the glass. It seemed a fairly natural thing to be doing, but I can't remember the context/place/situation now. I just remember eating the glass. It crunched up nicely, and I remember that I realized I was eating the glass, and that I was dreaming, and that it was maybe a dangerous thing to do; it struck me that crushed glass in the victim's food was once the method in a murder mystery I read.
And as I was processing this in my sleep, I realized that it's not the first time I've dreamed of eating glass.
And so I wondered if it means something.
Maybe it has something to do with deciding to go gluten-free until my next doctor's appointment in July/August. Maybe that, combined with the lactose tolerance test and the possibility of having to give up coffee cream and cheese triggered the glass eating dream.
think...think...think...
Maybe it does have something to do with giving up gluten. If I start to feel better in a week or two, I could conclude that gluten/bread is the glass: a natural, normal thing to eat that is actually dangerous for me to consume.
If a gluten-free diet makes no difference I'd have to come to another conclusion.
Anyway.
That kind of makes sense. The sheet of glass in my dream was a delightful, perfectly normal thing to eat, (as are Gluten and possibly lactose foods) that didn't hurt my mouth or throat as I ate it (so, not allergies that show up on the outside as rashes or hives) but was dangerous when ingested (like an intolerance could be).
Makes sense to me.
Time for a cup of Splenda sweetened tea without milk...
Feel free to jump in on this one.
"Journal it," he said. "It would be unique to you. If you sit down and write it out, you might get clarity on it."
It's strange, really.
It's been a long day coming off a short night, and maybe the levels of fatigue combined with a physically stressful lactose test (a two hour ordeal which required fasting, involved four samples being drawn, and gave me wonky blood sugar until nearly noon) contributed to weird dream segments during my two hour nap later in the afternoon.
Whatever it's about, this space is, if not a place where I pour out the deepest, darkest secrets of my heart, at least a place I can use as a journal or think tank if need be.
So... what I remember about this dream was the eating of the glass. It seemed a fairly natural thing to be doing, but I can't remember the context/place/situation now. I just remember eating the glass. It crunched up nicely, and I remember that I realized I was eating the glass, and that I was dreaming, and that it was maybe a dangerous thing to do; it struck me that crushed glass in the victim's food was once the method in a murder mystery I read.
And as I was processing this in my sleep, I realized that it's not the first time I've dreamed of eating glass.
And so I wondered if it means something.
Maybe it has something to do with deciding to go gluten-free until my next doctor's appointment in July/August. Maybe that, combined with the lactose tolerance test and the possibility of having to give up coffee cream and cheese triggered the glass eating dream.
think...think...think...
Maybe it does have something to do with giving up gluten. If I start to feel better in a week or two, I could conclude that gluten/bread is the glass: a natural, normal thing to eat that is actually dangerous for me to consume.
If a gluten-free diet makes no difference I'd have to come to another conclusion.
Anyway.
That kind of makes sense. The sheet of glass in my dream was a delightful, perfectly normal thing to eat, (as are Gluten and possibly lactose foods) that didn't hurt my mouth or throat as I ate it (so, not allergies that show up on the outside as rashes or hives) but was dangerous when ingested (like an intolerance could be).
Makes sense to me.
Time for a cup of Splenda sweetened tea without milk...
Feel free to jump in on this one.
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