The Summer of Awesome

I have officially declared this summer "The Summer Of Awesome!" 

Please imagine that declaration in an authoritative tone, punctuated by a gavel crashing down onto a desk.

Thank you for your participation in the imagination portion of this blog. (I can't guarantee that there will not be another need for one, so please have your imaginer at the ready)

Why is this the "Summer of Awesome" you may ask. 

Reason #1 I will be celebrating my second year being married to the most amazing man ever

Reason #2 This summer is the first summer that I can remember that I have felt this healthy.

 Energy... who knew?

 Feeling rested? Pish posh!

 Until now these feeling were only distant memories. How distant you ask. Really really distant thanks for asking.

Reason # 3 I would like to announce to the world that I am officially (just over) 3 months seizure free!! oh yah! I said it, no I declared it 3 months people!!! WOOOOOOO

Due in part to these reasons, and many small blessings every day. I am reminded that I have  the most amazing God ever. There were times over the last while that I have been exhausted, sad, lonely and depressed.  There he was, being my shoulder to lean on/ have seizures on. With out him I would have never come through the other side of this.

 

 With the added blessing of being married to my best friend. 

I would love to impart some wisdom, but really I don't have any. None at all really. 

Except what I read on a church sign. You all know what I am talking about. The ones with the little sayings on them. 

The sign read: When life knocks you to your knees, pray while you are down there.

So people that is it... 3 of the many reasons that this summer is the " Summer of Awesome"

Enjoy the sunshine (if you have some) 

Find the reasons why this will be your summer of awesome.

Until next time, enjoy your tomorrow

A little bit of Normal

As I sit here (when I should be sleeping) and I am thinking about who I used to be, before I was sick, before I was married, before I was a teacher.
But most specifically before I was sick. This post is in no way meant to be a pity party. I just got to thinking as most of you know happens a lot. Usually I have to talk about it for hours and explain just how I am feeling.
A friend helped me come to the realization that I am mourning the loss of who I once was. Mourning the ease of what life used to be.. before all the changes and constant alarms reminding me to take pills. Waiting... not knowing what or when a seizure is going to hit, how bad it is going to be.

But after all of that... what I really miss is my memory. I have a hard time remembering even the simple things... case in point my I pod sitting in a bowl of rice. Having forgot it out side on the deck before the torrential rain that soaked it. Finding it today, I mourned for the loss of my memory. I felt silly, I reminded my self that I am human and forgetting is normal. Then I pick up my note book that I call My Memory (catchy I know and original, I was thinking of calling it George but thought Mr. N may get jealous) and I write everything down. Reminders for my reminders.... today I had to sit my students down and explain why I forget to do things, why I have to write down reminders to finish things. Why they may have to ask me more than once to do something. They are quite the understanding little goofers. I am the one that does not seem to be able to be understanding of my self.

So here is the scoop... I am working on being more understanding of myself. Plus getting over my hate for lists... so I did what I always do RESEARCH... Turns out I am not loosing it (any more than usual) the medication that allows me to get back from my couch days to my living life days... also takes my memory with the seizures... Jerk...

But that somehow made me feel better knowing that this was beyond my control.

So here I am not really sure what this whole post is about....
If you are reading this you may be just as lost as I am :)

I guess having read this I now know that the me with the memory is for now gone... my book is now my best friend. And I am going to enjoy being the new me :) Me that is going to enjoy life... and if that means carrying my memory in my pocket will just be for now what it is. My camera will take more pictures (if that is possible).

Because I have a life that I love, a husband I love, a job that I love.
And friends that I love and care deeply for.... and just think of the fun notebooks and day planners I will be able to have (I do have an addiction to stationary) 

I am going to make a list to replace all the things I hate about being sick all of what I have lost. I am replacing that with a list of thankfuls. Starting with #1 I am thankful for the medication that has taken my memory but has given my my life back.

When I started this post all I wanted was a little bit of normal... and I found that I have not changed but my definition of normal has changed...

Until next time enjoy your tomorrow.

First Year of a new House

Being a new home owner I realize that there are things that I have taken for granted in life... Some how in my mind there were things a house always had.... like a shovel and a rake... perhaps a power drill..... You know all those handy things that my dad has just always had... (well always in my knowledge).  Now we seem to have the issue of... "honey we need to do some yard work, you know mow the grass trim the edges... water some things" Then we have to make a trip to the store to pick up some basic lawn care supplies... so an afternoon project becomes a whole day excursion.

Please don't feel that I am complaining... I have budgeted and was ready for these added expenses. But was not ready for the realization of all the wonderful things I have always taken for granted. I have rented so there were many things I just did not need. But now ohhhh my....
So I will say with pride... Mr. N and I now are the proud owners of a battery powered weed whipper... a shovel,  a rake, a lawn mower, and sadly some ant killer....( my deck was crawling with the little guys)

Boy oh boy am I ever glad that we planned for these purchases..

Now for the wonderful parts of owning our own home... it is OURS!! If something breaks we can fix it. If I want to put up pictures I don't have to ask permission....
I have a back yard I can relax in... I have a quiet home (until my dancing starts up again) that I can heal and get better in. A home...

There is nothing like it...
I have yet to have a house warming but Mr N and I are planning it soon.
It is going to be very much fun...

And you can see my shovel and my power drill if you would like :) They are quite nice :) But you have to leave them here... I did not budget for the both of us you know.

Have a wonderful day... I know I will.. I just used my extra strength hay fever meds and weed whipped the edges of my lawn... somehow it is quite fun.

Until next time-- enjoy your tomorrow

A life worth writing about

Hello, to all the people who decide to read my ramblings.
So here I am sitting on my couch ( a very good place to sit if you ask me).  Today was a great day of lazy... I slept in...ahhhh... I played some video game... did a load of laundry... decided to make peanut butter marshmallow squares. UMMMMMMM
and the best part of it all was the smile I got from Mr. N when he tasted the yummy squares.
I know it may not be the right thing to say during these modern times... but I like being a wife and making little treats that make my husband smile..... I would like to lead you to believe that I am the perfect wife... I only do things that make my husband smile.... However that is not true I am still a slug (not a tidy person) I still reheat food instead of making fresh dinner every night.... I still get grumpy.... so the long and short of it is I am still ME. :)

September.... Really???

So I looked at my blog... after my wonderful Father guy happened to mention in passing that I had not written anything in a while... I thought huh... I just wrote a little while ago... then I looked and I had written but not published. You see I just can't seem to write something that I am happy with.

Not much is new.... well lots is new... but not all is something that I would like to share with the entire world... who just happens to stumble across my blog.

As you know I have been struggling with health problems. I was hoping to be back to work in September but that did not happen. I tried and it so happened that I was not ready. I have been struggling with more issues which at this time I am not going into details about. However they have kept me from going to work and even interacting well with others.


But enough about that....

Now on to other things... my question is what makes a good post? For that matter what makes a post worth reading? The grade 2 teacher in me starts saying right away 1- Ideas (we all know you need things to talk about) 2-voice (you should be able to hear me saying the words as you read them... in short it should sound like me)

Phew... I think I have number 2.... because if you were grading my posts things other than voice and Ideas  I would fail in an epic fashion. Poor grammar...poor spelling (conventions have never been my strong point) but I have to say that I fail with Flair (for those of you who are not on my couch with me you did not see the jazz hands that accentuated that last point.

Now for Ideas those I have many of.... however I often talk my self out of writing or posting because when all is said and done I worry about boring you. My loverly readers.  But if you are brave enough to keep going I guess you know what you are getting your self into... and feel free to stop reading when ever you feel the need. Now on to the post for today.....

First for an Idea.... LOVE...
There are all kinds of love you know... I could say "I love socks" and you would really only have to talk to my husband to know this is a true statement.... I have many socks... and I always feel like I need more.... ahhhh warm and snugly toes.... now that is for me :).
No matter how much I LOVE socks it really is not the kind of love that I am talking about....
No sirree bob I am talking about the kick you in the gut make you feel like you can see the world in new and wonderful colours kind of love....

You see I found that... no not in my sock drawer... where I found it is currently mad at some cords going to the computer and now going to pack up his hockey gear...

I found that love in my husband Mr. N.... it never ceases to amaze me how much I can love one person... He sicks to me no matter what my health throws at us... he goes to endless lengths to make sure that my health issues never get the upper hand.
What makes a person love another that much????? I wish I had the answer... no wait... I have to say on second thought this Love is something that I refuse to try and understand.... That is right I said it... complete with foot stomp....

I can't understand it.... the world of tv and media tries to convince me that it does not really happen... that the world is not safe with out a plan B.... without an exit plan when things get hard...

So I say this ....... guess what world things are already hard..AND!!! . I will NEVER look like a model I think my basic bone structure weighs more than they do... I don't have to pretend to be perfect or be high needs and treat Mr. N like there is something better out there and he better know how good he has it or I am outa here.... I don't think that I have or could ever treat someone like that. That is just not "cool".

Ohhhhh WOW that was a rant... I just think that the I love you and think you are fantastic in your sweat pants.... the I love coming home cause my best friend lives there.... that is the kind of love that I think people should strive for.... look for.... WORK for....


I have to say it was a lot of fun to rant....

Well worth reading or not :) thanks for sticking with me... Thank you for your prayers and support. Let me tell you without your prayers... God's love is really the best, sustains me when my legs give out. Thank goodness that there is a God who loves me... a Mr. N that loves me and friends that care about me. :)

Until next time.... Enjoy your tomorrow

Looking.... (origially written in October)

So here I was thinking what am I going to write about.... hummmmm... it really was a head scratcher... and it happened to be a good thing due to the fact that I had an itch about the same time I was thinking.
 ahhhhhh now the itch is vanquished I am still at a loss for something witty and stunningly intelligent to say. Then I thought "hey noodle head this is your blog people are reading, they are not looking for intelligent" and if they are they need to know that is not what they are going find by a long LONG shot.

Phew... now that, that is over
Funny things have been happening to me over the last couple of days. People think I am hilarious.... which is crazy... and if you know me you know that if people laugh well I just keep going. It seems that people all over the place have been needing to laugh... the lady who sold me pants... the lady who sold me ice cream.... the person I had to call at telus to complain.... the random phone marketer that needed someone just to ask how he was doing.

Good thing I was there.... Phew... I am kind of a super hero... Not sure what my super hero hero name should be... Captain Laughter?? Please feel free to weigh in on the topic if you wish.

Now if you need to laugh... I may let you down you see I am not that funny when I try... usually comes off creepy.. but catch me in a moment where you would think I should be normal and experience tells me that you may just hear something to laugh about.

Until next time.... enjoy your tomorrow....

Country in the City...

So growing up in the country we had cats... good mousers, this was essential because the little rodents are planning to take over the world... why else would you need to have that many babies all at once....

Sorry apparently I have some unresolved issues with mice....

Back to my story I grew up with two cats... Patches and Ying they were the kind of cats that got to go outside and come back in when they wanted... Maybe I was naive but I did not think you could have indoor/outdoor cats in the city....


However in my neighbour hood at least this is just not the case... we have many.... I have nick named some of them

1. Duck and Cover Kitty.... this cat comes outside all the time he or she darts quickly from one hiding spot to antoher... always keeping an eye out for its friend

2. Sneak attack kitty... this cat hides above Duck and Cover's favorite spots and pounce... smack...run... really it is always fun to watch this cat in action.... one of the best times was when Sneak Attack was hiding behind the tire of a car waiting for Duck and Cover to come by... and after a while he/she did... then it was all hisss... smack... run....

3. Captain Tubby... This cat never hurries... rarely hides... and is huge... Sometimes it looks like his tummy is going to drag on the ground... and when he walks by.... it is with such attitude... and of course since he is a large tummy cat... he has those swaying roles that swoosh back and forth if on the rare occasion Captain Tubby ever feels like hurrying...

4. Black Panther... Now this cat is a street wise fellow/gang member... he slinks in the shadows and glares down the opponents... I myself get out of the way when the Panther is in town....

5. Lawn Ornament... this cat likes to strech out and bask in every sun beam... however if he feels detected by anything.... he sits stock still... with the whole "nothing to see here... keep it moving... move along..." look.

6. Little Friend... This cat was new yesterday (well new to me) this one came right up to me and looked starved for attention and a little skinny... so my heart melted... well I sat and said hi... (which turns out to be the wrong move for Little Friend then spent most of the night laying on my doorstep...


So as you can see my realization is that there are many outdoor/indoor cats in the city... Now I realize this is not a wonderful deep realization.... but really I rarely have those... so this is as good as it gets for now....



Till next time.... enjoy your tomorrow

You Had Me at Spaghetti....

The story of Mr. N and me....

This was requested... how Mr N and I met.  So here it goes. WARNING LONG STORY...
There was once a girl named Charlotte (oh that's me) and she went out for dinner with a group of friends. (a pasta place that carries GF pasta as well hence the catchy title) One of the friends moved the day before and could not find her kitchen so wanted to go out for dinner. Mr N had helped her move so he also got a dinner invite.

I was in a particular mood... as a couple of the girls and I were going to hang out and have a games night. (so like a regular person I put a deck of dutch blitz in my purse)... so we are chatting and waiting for the rest of the guys to show up....

(now here is where the story will differ depending on what side you saw.... and well if you were inside my head this is the version I am going to tell)

I am sitting at the table being ridiculous (shocker I know) and suddenly I get this tingly warm feeling from the tips of my toes to the top of my head.... (really you can't make this stuff up) Then I turn around and see Mr. N... on the outside I tried to look cool and collected but any wall I could ever think of making was crumbling before formation was possible... So when I got Charlotte... this is Nick... "Hi Nick" I some how kept the fuzzy feeling from my voice... all the while thinking "holy good looking handsome man batman!!"
Dinner came and went... and the poor boy got 100% goofy crazy Charlotte. Once dinner is over and Candy, Stephanie and I are talking about playing games at Candy's later... So I pull out the deck of cards in the resturant (lucky we are all regulars so they just laughed) I think it was the worst round of Dutch Blitz that I have ever played in my life :) (I was having trouble concentrating)
When it is time to take this show on the road Candy invites Mr N and his friend Adam (did I mention he was there?? No?? sorry Adam) over to our games night at her place...

So Candy gives out the directions  and when I get in her car we talk casually and she throws out "so what do you think of Nick??" I was surprised by my gut reaction to her question... my insides went all fuzzy and a little jealous, thinking that she might also be thinking he was charming and handsome and amazing....  So I tucked my emotions in my left sock (safest place you know) When I finally answered her I said something like " he seems nice and he is cute"

When we all finally got to Candy's I made fresh avocado salsa. Yummy and went over well... then we played cards till 5:00am (really I only made it to 4:30 before the couch called my name) Mr. N and I were on a team because we had one extra player.... because of the type of game it is we had to sit close and I kept bumping his arm... he was moving to slow :). I was trying hard not to show my interest but apparently that did not work... the girls knew... they always seem to... but I figured he would never see my as anything but the "crazy" friend. 

Then the conspirisy started.(I really should say the part I knew about).. next week there was another dinner... and games night... this time I made rice crispy squares... ummm so good... and there Nick was again... This time a different friend came to dinner and while I was away from the table I guess he leaned over said something to the effect of "so what do you think of our Charlotte? Do you like her?" yup never excuse yourself that is what i have learned... any ways I come out and the friend has the waitress say to me... "he likes you... you are good to go" I wanted to crawl in and out of my shoes at the same time. Later we are standing outside and I start to shiver.... I always seem to be cold... well my friend turns to me..."oh are you cold?" He puts his arm around me and starts to rub my arm to warm me up... then says Hey Nick you keep her warm and SHOVES me at Mr N.... I was taken off guard and if Mr N had not caught me I would have gone flying into the concreete planter... But he did catch me.... and all I could think was "Blair I am going to kill you and .... boy is Nick ever warm and smells good.

The next day after Church the girls wanted to go to the farmers market and I am always up for that... so we were going to meet another friend there... and once we were there they told me that the other friend was also going to bringing Nick.... And the rest is history... We talked on the phone for hours Monday and Tuesday then went on our first date Wednesday, and the rest as they say is history....

Long story... good story... True story..

Till next time enjoy your tomorrow

A Photo or Two...

 Here is my first attempt at putting up some photo's.... or at least one

Till Next time... enjoy your tomorrow

Rainy day music choices....

So we are all aware that rainy days will happen (or in my case are happening)... and it is a good thing you know.. or the worms would dry out and the flowers would not grow... and really who needs parched worms... poor guys...

I say let it rain... (for now but later please let the sun come on out)

For every day there are perticular songs that just seem to fit... and on rainy type days where I am feeling wonderful... I need (that is right NEED) to crank up the Great big sea most often "Ordinary Day" and dance... and enjoy the looks of those snoopy people walking down the street... really if you don't want to see me dancing "DON'T LOOK IN MY HOUSE!!" Really it is that simple.

Okay and now for the play list by song then artist
1. Ordinary Day- Great Big Sea
2. Black Horse and a Cherry Tree- KT Tunstall
3. Dreams- The Cranberries
4. 1234- Feist
5. Love Me Do- The Beatles
6. Rave On -John Mellencamp

This is just the start of my Rainy day mix if it continues to rain it will get longer...
The only way to truly create a good mix is this.... choose music you like :) Play the music that makes you smile (even if the world does not get it)

Till Next time... enjoy your tomorrow...

Photo Shoot....

So yesterday Mr. N and I had engagement photos taken. EEEpppp really as I was getting ready I was about to have a nervous break down... "pictures of me??!!??" I thought that the best idea would be to take pictures of Mr N cause he is soooOOoooOOOooooooo handsome.... and dreamy... and ..... sigh... Oh HI are you still here.. I got lost there for a moment.

There is something you need to know ( if you already don't) I am a goof... I am talking world class... nerd.  I am not ashamed but to get a picture of me not being a goof is difficult. 

One other thing you need to know I am not a fan of PDA (public displays of affection). Holding hands Okay, arm around waist... o...k... Hug?... ummmmm sure.... but Kisses!!! Yikes... so during an engagement shoot you need to be all cuddly and smoochy and really that is not just passing PDA that is permanent documented PDA... However if you are going to go out of your comfort zone... man-oh-man... what a way to go :)

Our photographer and his wife were AMAZING!! so calm and ready to have fun and get some cool shots...  All we had to do was have fun... and stand together... tough job really... standing close to the man I love... but I am up for a challenge :)

If you want to check out our photographers web page it is www.renkor.ca (shameless plug)

till next time... enjoy your PDA.... um I mean....your tomorrow :)

Complete Honesty

Hello again, and greetings

So today I thought I would be 100% up front and honest about my health issues. What they are and such... believe me as I type this... this is not a post hoping for or looking for pity... it is simply a catharsis (emotional purge) that I feel has been a long time coming.

 Warning this could be a long post..... or maybe it will come in instalments...

When I started this blog about 2 months ago I started with an update... and very casually stated that I had been off work since February with health problems. The whole truth is I have been trying to avoid the fact that my body was slowly giving up on me... and in February it said "ENOUGH"....

You may need some back ground info to make this all make sense. About 4 years ago now I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism (now I take some hormone pills and get regular blood testing and all seems well on that front) a couple of months after that I was diagnosed with seizures.
Actually what I was told was " Charlotte the results of your EEG came in and you have seizure activity in your left temporal lobe" I sat there and thought... you have the wrong Mackin... My brother has seizures... Later I found out that I have a form of seizures that usually only presents in children... I was 24!! not so much a child... so that makes it an "a" typical form.... I guess I have never been "normal" so why start now :)

We then tried some meds to help get control.... when I say that went bad I mean BAD, HORRIBLE, BAD... I was one of the small percentage of people who experience the wonderful side effect of having an increase in seizure (sz) activity.  I am not going to go into all the detail of that experience... some of you were there and you know... I am sure you remember that...

That is around the same time when I got my long list of food intolerance.... and I started teaching full time....
Between then and now I did have a year and a half sz free. I don't know why... and I really don't know why they started up again. But they did and they came back with a vengeance.

I would work all day having about 10 sz in the day (because of the form of sz I have and because I am a demonstrative person naturally my students never noticed). Then I would come home grab something quick to eat and pass out.... wake up the next day and do it all again.

Then I met the most wonderful man in the world... who has undergone a trial by fire when it comes to my health. so there was less time with the couch and more time dating :) (I am not complaining at all on that front)

My sz started lasting a long time and by long I mean 10 min plus... only stopped by emergency medication. Being a stubborn never show weakness person I trudged on and on until my body just quit... It was no longer recovering from the constant barrage of sz. I talked to my principal and the idea was to take a couple of weeks off to recover... the weeks lead to months and months has now turned into the rest of the school year.   There came a time where I was having 50 sz on a regular day with option for more and often all I did was lay on the couch have sz and lay on the couch... But I was not alone... God has surrounded me with wonderful friends and family and my soon to be family and best friend Mr. N.
 My Mom came and stayed with me... because the other option was a long term care facility. If you don't know my Mom then you really should meet her. She makes superman look like a wimp.

But I kept much of this away from others... I did not want them to worry. And by others I mean if you were not in the immediate circle of people around me. I hid it from you.... you all have busy lives and I did not want you to worry.

Thankfully I am on some medication that seems to be working I am down to 1 sz every week or so as long as I don't try to do to much. I still need more rest than I ever thought I could. All I do some days is sleep and write my silly blog.

So here are the things that I have learned....

1. No matter how tough things get God is always there. Just because bad things happen does not mean that He is on a coffee break.
2. I have wonderfully amazing friends and family... I can't thank them enough... they truly are my super hero's 
3. my brother has always made this epilepsy thing look easy... let me assure you it is not...
4. There are always reasons to have a dance party even if it is...."look today I got out of my pj's" or "woo hoo... I stayed awake for 2 hrs in a row"
5. it is okay to say "this SUCKS" because some times it really does...
6. grow in appreciation for those who love you and listen to you vent... (thanks)



This is the abbreviated version of my health but I think I caught up on the major goings on here.

Thanks for reading my rant... I think I just really needed to write it.

Till next time... enjoy your tomorrow

Sandwich in a Bowl

Now you may think that sounds disturbing... pause for a second.... and hear me out.
Okay so here is the thing... I love a good ham sandwich with cheese and perhaps a dill pickle. Well about 4 years ago I found a recipe for ham and cheese soup. I thought it sounded weird...but not as weird as the dill pickle soup. (I have not tried that one)
When I made this soup... it had gluten and dairy (two big no, no's for me now) So I thought it was off the menu. However I tried making it again today... imagine if you will a yummy bowl of soup that tastes like a ham and cheese sandwich. Ummmmmm I would have taken a picture to share but as I was hungrily spooning food into my mouth. So really as you can tell there really was no time.  It was rich and creamy and dilly and hammy and cheezy.... oh my...
You may now think to your self how did she pull it off without the evil.. ahhh hemmm sorry I mean gluten and dairy.
Here is how there is this yummy cheese replacement stuff and I have learned that almond milk is creamy and delicious not to mention if you want to thicken sauces and gravy ... sweet rice flour is amazing....

Put those all together and you get YUM!!
I am now on the hunt to create gluten free bread bowls... and if my stove was working (long story and a ranty one at that) I would make some... I have a french bread recipe that should work... but I will have to let you know...

Okay so it is late and really you should know that I am just thinking about the leftovers and thinking they would make a great snack.... so that leads to a no direction rant with many words that have added "y" on the end.


The long and the short of it is this... just because you have allergies or food intolerance does not mean you have to live with out a sandwich in a bowl.

till next time... enjoy your tomorrow

Rain drops are falling....

in my KITCHEN....
Yup you read right... sorry folks this is not a sunny post of sillyness...
I have a very real and bucket filling problem.... the rain that is soaking the grass is now soaking my kitchen...

There are little drippy sounds coming from my kitchen.... I was thinking I should write or re-write a song... that would make me feel better I think....
here it goes

ahhhh hemmmm... la la la la la....

rain drops are falling in my bucket...
I guess it's better than my floor
it makes it wet
opps just stepped into a puddle
rain drops are falling in my house they keep falling
and its worrying me....


pretty good hey?? No?? oh well it is the best I have :)

Till next time... enjoy your tomorrow

A Million Little Hugs...

Okay now a million may be a stretch.... but yesterday I went to school to visit my students for the first time since I left on medical leave...  as I was walking into the school.... I was spotted by some sharp eyed students... and nothing warms your heart like hearing a chorus of little voices " Miss Mackin is here... Miss Mackin... Miss Mackin...Look it's her it's Miss Mackin!!"

Then I received many little hugs and many questions often being asked right on top of the others.... "Miss Mackin... are you sick?...You don't look sick??... are you coming back... I missed you... you have not hugged me in a long time....are you married?? Did he take you away??..

I received much love... little love big love... even a smile or two from some JR high students...

It was wonderful and exhausting all at the same time. I was able to read some books to the students.... we read "woolbur" and "Charlie's Superhero Underpants" we talked and shared stories...
And just for fun we tried to pronounce my soon to be new last name... oi... that was different.... I think Relkooo was one of favorites. :)

I learned a lot yesterday... 1. I am really not ready to go back (tired after 1 class YIKES) and 2. I love my job....

Ohhh did I tell you?? No I guess I did not as you are just reading this... they wrote me a poem... and it went like this...

Miss Mackin

I always love to hear Miss Mackin sing
she always makes such a zing
We like it when she teaches art
and always makes us feel smart
Miss Mackin asks us to dance
when we have ants in our pants
her jokes are very funny
she makes each day feel sunny.

We love you Miss Mackin!!
We Miss you!!

It was so very cute.

Well I should let you all go... if you need some hugs the fastest way to get one is to give one...


Till next time... enjoy your tomorrow

Confession Time

Now some of you may already know... and right now some of you are speculating... it would be interesting to know what you are thinking right now....
Deep Breath Here we go..... I Charlotte bought a box set of John Wayne movies FOR MYSELF!!....

Not what you were thinking?? Ohhh sorry... but you know it can be a little interesting to tell people about my love for one John Wayne movie in particular. Yes I will admit that I bought an entire box set for one movie.... but you need to understand... I plead with you to understand.... "North to Alaska" is never in a box set.... never I say... and there it was in costco... sitting there waiting for me.... taunting me... so I picked up the box and looked at Mr N and said.... ahhhhhh (accompanied with little kid dancing feet and possibly some mild excitement based giggles and bouncing in a circle) then looked at the price (which was one dollar more than amazon was selling the ONE movie for..... you see I may be strange but also fiscally responsible in my obsessions. Are you proud??... no??.... a little embarrased to know me?... you see that last one is a normal reaction....

Now for those of you who know you could skip this part .... but I thought I would confess to the rest of the world that I have watched this movie so many time that my VHS copy now has entire sections that don't work any more.... so the DVD had to come home with me.....

Now Family types who are reading this may now be saying "Charlotte why do you need to buy the movie when you can and have recited the entire thing??)
My answer to that is...... How can you expect me and Granddad to watch it over the phone together if I don't have a copy without "snow storms" in the middle??

For the rest of you who don't know..... Every time my Granddad and I get together... (much to the dismay of some family members) We watch it together... and quote it... and sing along...
And when this movie comes on or one of us has the need to watch it we call each other and co-ordinate tv channels or queue up our copies and just know that we are watching it together....

So you can see.... why it was a NEED not a want....

In the spirit of true confession.... this is not the first John Wayne box set that I own... You may now question why you love me... but you just know that you can't do with out me and my awesome randomness....

till next time... enjoy your tomorrow

Anyone for a dance party?

So as some of you may know I love to dance.... (however I am not really good at it) but I dance with passion and wonderful creativity. 
When I am at work (grade 2) we would have weekly dance parties (I use them as some of my government mandated daily physical activity quota for the little ones) and I would play DJ as well as dance along with them. The cool thing about grade 2's is that it does not matter how crazy you dance. They love it.... and they follow along....

However as I am sitting a lot on my couch.  So there are not many dance parties... not that I have the energy for one at this point....  
But there needs to be some dancing..... okay everyone.... crank up  some music... and 1...2...a 1..2....3....go
Dance.... Dance...Dance... Dance... *jazz hands*
are we dancing??? Cause I know I am :)

It was  a great dance party thank you so much for coming....

Till next time ... enjoy your tomorrow....

Blissfully Random...

I have come to the realization that just because I think something would be fun... the world may just think it is random. Case in point... yesterday there was a moment of sunshine... Mr N and I were walking into a sports store (did you know they have those cause I sure didn't) and they were playing a fun song on the loud speaker... for all you math people and those who know me well here is an equation for you....

Question: Charlotte + Sunshine + Love of her life + good music= ????

Answer: Dancing in the parking lot... enjoying the giggles and random looks from strangers.....

ahhh really does it get more blissfully random than that? Well we are talking about me here... so.... I am guessing this is not the most random thing you could ever think of me doing.  But it was awesome.

My new idea is to share my bliss with others... so I say... Get up.. and today do something random... enjoy the funny looks of those around you!! (boy am I bossy today)
here are some possible options....
1. dance to the music out side of a sports/hockey store
2. smile at a grouchy person
3. put a random note on someones desk at work (appropriate and non harassing)
4. skip... while the person beside you is walking
5. encourage a car dance party... (for ideas on moves youtube "car dance party Moscow style")

there are many more ideas... but for one blog entry it may be overwhelming.

Till next time... enjoy your tomorrow

Amazing People = Amazing Adventures

Lets start out by saying... I am truly blessed by the people who are in my life. I have some amazing friends. What spurred this post is that my two amazing bridal girls just spent two whirl wind days walking and shopping and walking and walking.... they let me take breaks (cause I need them I get so tired these days) They "forced"me to eat and drink water.... they supported me and helped me gather some of those special little touches that make a bride feel like a million bucks. As I sit here I am still amazed at all the things that got accomplished and that Rea can do it all in flip flops. A quick list of what we found (with out to many details as I am keeping some things as suprizes for MR N)
in no perticular order....

1. Breakfast (ohhh that's a good one)
2. bridal flip flops (for when my feet decide they hate me)
3. the girls found their shoes... funny story... I told the girls as long as the colour matched I was fine with what ever shoes they wanted and we soon discovered they have much different taste in shoes. But then at the last shoe store we went to... there they were a beautiful pair of shoes that they BOTH liked!!
4. Bridal girls... little purse
5. Bridal girls... dress
6. tried on my dress and made the final payment (LOVE IT)

7. Bridal Jewelery
8. bought some lovely blister band aids (that I needed ASAP if not sooner)
9. booked first and final bridal fittings
10. bought some pretty things ;)

then we laughed and talked the way only people who know you well can :)

And just the day before all that started some other of my favorite girls and I got together ... played with a baby and started cutting things for invitations :)
troopers those ones that is for sure.... again... I would need to rest and they would rest with me :) made me eat my veggies... and drink water... ummm water I really like drinking water.


To all the amazing people that have touched my life and helped me grow.... I thank you.... you are amazing...

Till next time... enjoy your tomorrow....

Lost....

Not so much psychically lost (as I am sitting on my couch). Mentally lost... my inspiration has left me.... or I left it in the mountains... watching the snow fall on houses just not inspiring.

ohhh I know VIDEO GAMES! I now play video games!! Well play may be to much hype for what I actually do. It is more like I now loose video games gracefully. I have found I like games geared for children more than first person shooting role playing dragon slaying games... racing in a car as a lion... now that is more my speed.  I still loose but now there is no blood involved. 
Oh and I did find one game that I am good at... and by good I am just saying I picked it up faster than the other more seasoned game players out there.... and that is ..... wait for it.... are you waiting? COW RACING it is on the Wii Play disc and I love it... there is not much to it (guess that is why I can handle it) If you have never tried it really you should!! It is amazing!! (well to me)


Another video game thing that I like is watching other people play Wii Fit. Oh it is so good... and I am guessing that it makes me a little bit evil.

Well I should let you go as I am sure you have exciting things to do today!!


Till next time... enjoy your tomorrow