The Truth About Forever

The Truth About Forever is a book that I read two summers ago, in July. Every now and then I find a book that speaks to you, and you feel like it understands you. That is how I felt about this one. I recommend it to lots of people, my mom even, and I reread it, especially in July. Sarah Dessen is a 'teen' author, and it is a bit of a teen romance. But I liked it because the characters in it seemed real to me, not perfect and full of flaws, much like me. And it talks about the loss of a parent. 


At the time I read this book, one of my best friends mom had suddenly passed away. Sometimes a book helps you to think through things and sort them out in your own life, simply by absorbing the story of someone else. And I am a just a little bit of a romantic, so it was the right fit for the time.


Novels stick with me. I remember characters and stories, and I ponder about the authors that have written the books, wondering what their life story is that they would write with the feelings and insight into the lives of their characters. Movies, I forget. My husband jokes that I should have three movies and just keep watching them, as I never remember the endings. He is not far off the mark!


I think of writing a book myself sometimes. But all I could write about is my own experience. Would anyone want to read that?! :)

The Outdoors

Cody and I play frisbee on Wednesday nights. I love it for two reasons; I get to run around and it's outside.

I love being active. I love to swim, skate and run if it is for a game or activity. I love that it works things out in my soul, and I feel better and think clearer when I am done. I caught the winning point for our team this week, and although it was a great feeling, it is was still not the highlight of the night for me.

I love being outside. I like playing on nights that it is sunny and warm, and there are few bugs. Those nights happen once or twice a summer. The rest of the time we play in mosquito infested fields, with a little bit of rain and a lot of wind.

But I still love it. I love the smell of the grass, I love the twilight time of day when the shadows are long, and everything seems slower than in the heat of the day.

The outdoors is a part of my heart, my soul. I grew up camping in Bragg Creek, just outside of Calgary in an old trailer with bunk beds and an out-house toilet. I grew up camping at Pine Lake, in the old cabins that had holes in the walls. I grew up sleeping in tents when there were trailers if we wanted. I love waking up to the crisp fresh air, and the sound of birds (not squirrels!). I love going to sleep in the pitch black, with the smell of campfire smoke clinging to me.

We leave in a week for our camping holiday. I know it will be a lot of work, but I want Ella to love the outdoors, I want her to love creation. I want her to experience the joy of life outside our home, and without the distractions of phones, TV, computer, and whatever else we may find. I hope it becomes a part of the fabric of her life that she always loves and embraces.

These Days

What is on my mind these days?

Well, as usual I have a few books on the go. I have had The Finkler Question in my pile of 'to-read' books, and I think I will start that when we go on holidays in a couple weeks. I just finished Olive Kitteridge, which was an interesting read for sure. I don't think I have ever read anything else like it. It is a collection of peoples' stories, and what they have in common is that they know Olive. It was a thought provoking read, and caused me to spend time contemplating how my life weaves in and out of other peoples' stories. I also just finished The Thirteenth Tale which I picked up after reading about it on a friends blog. I loved it, and I think I will read it again. Well written, and a great mystery.

Ella got her first tooth this weekend, it was an exciting event. And somewhat sad for her, but it was not nearly as bad as I thought it might be. She is such a joyful little girl, usually waking up from naps happy and smiling, chattering to herself for a few minutes before she starts to wonder why you have not arrived to collect her from her crib yet. She is army crawling around the house, and I have spent some time rearranging things so that things she should play with are in reach for her, and things she shouldn't are out of reach. It has been such a joy to spend these months with her.

I found that once we started solids, our life took on a nice rhythm and routine. I have enjoyed finding new foods to introduce her to, although squash and sweet potatoes, apple sauce and cereal seem to be her favorites still. She does love fruit (just like her Daddy!) and is not crazy about trying new things. I have found this book to be so helpful in finding new recipes to make for her. It has also inspired new ideas for us, and we have eaten so much better these past few months. Weekly trips to the grocery store for fresh fruit and veggies have made us feel (and look, I hope!) a lot better. Babies add such balance to a home. We are so blessed!

Also, I haven't been able to convince Ella to drink from a sippy cup. I have read that teaching them to drink from a regular cup is just as good, and we have been trying that with much more success the past few days. Yesterday we went to the Stampede, and I found the answer to our drinking questions (well, Ella's sippy drinking question)! We stumbled upon the Tupperware booth at the BMO building, and I found these! My mom had a set for us as kids, and so I grabbed a set of 4 to see what Ella thought. They worked better than anything else! She loves to drink water from them, and they are much easier for her to use than the other sippy's with the mouth part in the middle of the cup. I am so pleased.

We are leaving to go camping in just about two weeks. It will be our first camping trip with Ella, to a campground in BC that both mine and Cody's families grew up enjoying. I am slowly getting a couple meals frozen to stick in the cooler, and have lists going of things we need to pack. We are tenting it, although I have been secretly hoping someone might offer to lend us their tent trailer. We still have some time left! Camping with a baby will be much different, I know. But we are so excited. We love the outdoors, and are looking forward to introducing our little girl to our love of camping.

First Time Blogger!

Well, here I am for my first blog post!

I am a mom who is staying at home for a year to look after my beautiful little girl, Ella Joy, born October 16, 2010. I have a lot of thoughts, interests and crazy ideas,and I am hoping this might be a good place to put them down.

So, a little bit about me. I love to read, since I was a little girl it has been my favorite pastime. I love people, hockey, Heartland, the outdoors,camping, crocheting, and my family, not necessarily in that order!

I have always loved words and stories, and I hope this becomes a place that allows me to share mine.

Thanks for reading!