New Camera

I got a new camera...a Canon Rebel XSi.

This is my first time shooting with a DSLR and I love it. My previous digital camera was a little Kodak EasyShare point and shoot that has done me well for over 5 years...but it was time for an upgrade.

I spent a long time deciding on which camera I wanted to buy. Nikon or Canon? A higher end Point and Shoot or SLR? Video? What model? I read review after review, and asked people lots of questions (so many I'm sure some were tired of me asking). I've never spent more than $200 on a camera and I wanted to make sure I made the right decision for me. In the end, I went with my heart's desire...an SLR...and a Canon. Nikon has a superior warranty compared to Canon, but in the reviews I'd read and photo comparisons I'd seen, Canon had better image clarity. (I can already hear protests from all the die hard Nikon users...but that's ok, we can have different opinions and still be blog friends...right?)

C has been looking forward to the day I purchased a new camera so that she could claim my old camera. I purchased my new camera just before leaving on our 18 day vacation out west (stories to come soon), so C was able to use the old camera on our vacation. It was pretty entertaining to see what she chose to take pictures of....close up of toys, candid photos of me (need to be promptly deleted), dogs (whether on magazines or lease when the owners aren't looking). Our plans are to eventually print and frame some of her better pictures and hang them in her room.

Conquering the Jungle

The previous owner of our home was an avid gardener...we are not. We had no clue when we purchased our home the amount of effort and time it would require to maintain the gardens. We put little energy into them in the first couple of years, so it didn't take long for the backyard to turn into a jungle.


Weeds and plants were growing into the lawn, the Black Eyed Susans were crowding out all the other plants, and we discovered that we had a few rather large ant nests in the garden.

This is our rock garden, except you can't see it because of all the weeds.

After 5 years of letting the gardens go wild, I'd had enough. I was determined this year to get them under control. I spent hours and hours digging out all the weeds and unwanted plants from the gardens around the perimeter of the yard. Then we laid down 7 yards of mulch.

We are done for now, but not finished. We plan to rip out the middle garden and re-sod. We would like more grass area for kids to run around in. The rock garden needs a little more attention...we might actually take it out completely and put a shed there.

One of my goals this year too was to plant a vegetable garden. So I ripped everything out along the left side of the yard and planted corn, zucchini, peas and lettuce. Everything is growing really well...except the lettuce did not sprout at all.

I'm quite pleased with how the yard looks and I love looking out the window at it or checking in on the vegetable garden. I used to hate every second I was out in the garden, but now I enjoy it as I see the fruit of my labour. Next year we hope to take on the front yard where an evil plant we tried to dig out of the garden has decided to grow in the lawn instead and is creeping closer to our neighbours perfectly manicured/weedless lawn.

C's Softball Season

Back in the winter, C requested that we sign her up for baseball. She had been reading the junior Nancy Drew books and discovered that Nancy Drew played baseball, so she wanted to also. I was a little hesitant as soccer last year wasn't a big hit. But she was adamant that she wanted to play baseball, so we signed her up for a girls minor softball team.


C has never played baseball before, so we were quite thrilled when after a few team practices...she hit her first ball and made it to first base. C liked softball because of the variety (catching, batting, running bases) it offered compared to soccer...and she improved each week.

Partway through the season she had an amazing game...playing first base she got 2 players out, and then playing the pitcher position, she caught a line drive off the bat. She didn't mean to catch it...she was standing in the ready position and the ball slammed into her mitt...she didn't more her arm or drop the ball. She then threw to first (which I didn't see because my jaw was still on the ground) and got the player at first out. Four outs in one game...who's kid is this? Funny thing is, it was this game that she finally started to understand the game as she said to me..."I didn't know you could get people out. I thought it was just a bunch of standing around. I want to do that again."


And then...the very next game she got hit hard in the cheek with the ball. It was all I could do to get her back out on the field. And if that wasn't enough...she kept getting hit at the following practices. She was now very nervous of the ball...no longer wanted to play bases, catch balls in the air...or get anywhere near the girl who accidentally drilled her with the first ball.

As a parent, it was very frustrating to sit and watch the downward spiral...to see little to no effort put into the game...to listen to her say how she disliked baseball so much and couldn't wait for it to be over...to hear the coach say that she thought C was just batting to get out.

It was time for a talk.

We sat down with C and explained to her how we understood that she didn't want to play baseball next year, but she needed to fulfill her commitment this year and not let her team down. We couldn't go out and celebrate a successful season if she refused to participate on the team. We also gave her a little example of what it would look like if other kids were letting her down and how would that make her feel?


C seemed to understand...and made a great comeback...even the coaches were surprised. Part of it could be the "incentive" I implemented for the last week of practices and tournament games...gumballs for getting on first, bottle cap candy when you cross home plate, and gum to chew on the way home if you've participated well. Some people would call it a bribe, but I call it an incentive...I knew she was really nervous of being hit and I was hoping the candy fun would help her to push past her fear of the ball. And it did work...by the last few games, she was back to trying to catch the ball in the air as opposed to only wanting to catch grounders.

C had a couple of really great moments in the end of season tournament too. Playing catcher, she caught a foul ball to get the batter out. I asked her if she had planned to catch the ball, she said..."Not really, I just put my glove out and it dropped in". Then in the semi-finals, she was up to bat with the bases loaded and 2 outs. It was a tie game and the bottom of the last inning. She made the hit that got the winning run home.


C's team won second place in the end of season tournament. She loves her medal and thinks 2nd place is pretty good since she "only got 4th place in soccer last year and 2nd is better than 4th."


Will C do softball next year? She has said "maybe". I'm kind of hoping she does.

C's 8th Birthday Party

Last weekend, we celebrated Chloe's 8th birthday with some friends from school and church. Her birthday is not until next month, but we have found that celebrating it mid June prevents it from conflicting with family vacations.

We decided to do something a little special and different this year. Normally we just do a house party (I'm all about being cost efficient), and we had already planned well ahead that this year we would do tye-dyed shirts at her party. But a friend of mine told me about another great idea that I knew would be really special for C. So we went for it. Horse riding at a local Stable...Tye-dying can wait until next year.

C was very excited. The day of the party she followed me around with a clipboard. She was making a list of things we needed to take (with little check boxes beside them to mark off), as well as a list of what we would be doing there.

C invited 8 friends, and for the first hour, they took turns riding ponies around the arena, and down and back a path outside. They all loved it. They even allowed Hubby to lead C around on her pony, which I know she was thrilled about.

After the rides, there were snacks, cake, ice-cream, presents and a few games too. To go along with the horse/pony theme, I made C cakes in the shape of a horses head. I found the idea on the Kraft website here. It was really easy to do and turned out looking great. I did however modify the recipe and use my own icing instead of the suggested one.

C loved the cake, and so did her friends.

All in all, it was a great success. It was a beautiful place and I know some of the parents were thinking of doing their next party there too. C loved the day, except for one small part...I had been telling her it was horse rides, but it was actually pony rides. She had been hoping to ride big horses and not ponies. I told C that the ponies were safer for the kids and that maybe when she turns 12, she could pick a few friends and come back and do a real horseback riding party. She was quite pleased about that.

Lots of Lego

Like most kids (and adults too), C loves Lego. I have been looking for more Lego to add to her small collection, but Lego is so expensive and paying an arm and a leg for it was not in our budget. I figured I would bide my time and hope that something would come up on Kijiji or at a garage sale.

And it did.

Our neighbourhood recently had their community garage sale and I thought this would be a good opportunity for me to find more Lego for C. I was a little anxious before leaving as I knew Lego was a hot item so taking the correct path through the neighbourhood was very important. Before leaving, I thought..."God, it would be nice if you could direct my path...tell me where I should go to find Lego".

And he did.

C and I set out on bikes...headed in the direction of a street I thought we were to go to. This was the street where I had missed out on Lego the year before. But for some reason, we turned away from that direction. Within a few minutes we stopped our bikes in front of a garage sale with a teen (the age I figured would be selling Lego). I asked if they had Lego for sale. To my surprise, the teen said Yes...that he had not brought it out yet. He returned in a few minutes with a large Rubbermaid bin filled with Lego. When I asked him "How much?"...he said..."I don't know...$10?"...TEN DOLLARS? I thought ...the stuff is worth WAY more than that...so I took it all.

C is ecstatic about all her Lego, and so are her friends when they come over.

Me...I think it's pretty cool that God directed me within minutes to such a great deal. But I'm also wondering if maybe she now has TOO much Lego...especially when I see all the pieces on the floor that seemed to have wondered away from the main pile.

Wedding Dress Blog Tour - My Dress

This coming August, it will be 11 years since I wore this dress on my wedding day in 1999. Hubby and I were engaged for less than 5 months, so I didn't have a long time to look for dresses, especially if the dress had to be ordered in. I went to every bridal shop in the city and tried on lots of dresses. My hearts desire was to have a dress with a crinoline skirt, so I was quite happy when I found this dress in one of the local shops. They even had the dress in my size so I did not have to worry about time lines for ordering one in.

My favourite memory of that day...my dad singing me down the isle. My dad used to travel in a gospel singing group, so he can sing. Being the proud daughter I am, I still love telling people what he did that day.

Funniest thing from that day...probably the "instructions" the groomsmen wrote in marker all over my hubby's chest and back the morning of our wedding. Nothing really bad...hand outlines, arrows and some words. Fortunately it didn't bleed through his shirt that day.

Worst thing from that day...actually it would be the day before and that would be my car breaking down. I was 45 minutes from my parents house and the city I was getting married in. By the time I got a hold of Hubby (who would now have to be my ride home) and got the car towed, I was 4 hours behind on a day that was filled with appointments, decorating, last minute details and rehearsal. I had amazing bridesmaids who helped out and it all worked out in the end.

Have or would I sell my dress? No. I loved it too much to sell it. I also knew that I would only get a fraction of what I had paid for it. My daughter loves my dress and has told me she wants to wear it on her wedding day. She's not even 8 yet, so I have a feeling she will change her mind before that day comes.

Here is one of my favourite pictures of Hubby and I.


If you want to take part in the Wedding Dress Blog Tour, post a picture of your wedding dress (then and now if you still have it) , tell about a favourite memory and/or funniest/worst thing that happened that day, and whether or not you have or would sell your dress and why...then link your post up on my friend Shash's blog (who is hosting the tour).

Name that Plant

We have been in our current home for almost five years, and this is the first year I've noticed this plant growing in our garden. You might wonder how I could possibly miss it. Well...our garden/yard normally turns into a jungle of weeds and plants that reproduce like rabbits each year. This year I'm determined to get our gardens under control and these pictures were taken after I had dug up a ton of plants that would eventually hide it from view. The leaves that grow out of each bulb/root are in a straight line (giving it a flat look), so each plant looks like a sailboat with green sails. Does anyone know what this plant is called?

Mother's Day

Mother's Day was special.

This is the first year that C did not hand me her Mother's Day gift as soon as she got home from school. Instead, she hid the present under her bed and told me she had a lot of work to do. She then spent part of the afternoon preparing other Mother's Day items.

On Saturday night before she went to bed, she said she had to give me part of my gift. I was handed a large home made card that said....

Happy Mothrs Day
I love you. you are the Best MOM I evre HaD.

I turned the page to see...

Breckfist in BeD and we are goning...

That was all I got to read. As soon as I read the last line, she took the card away and said the rest was for tomorrow. She just wanted me to know that I needed to stay in bed.

Sunday morning, I was served heart-shaped peanut butter and jam sandwiches, toast and coffee along with fresh cut flowers (that she ran outside and cut from our garden) and presents.


I was then able to read the remainder of the card...

and we are goning to eat at a restront. you will get a bocay of flawrs. you will asow get presints and I will red a Bed time story to you.
Love C

A bedtime story...that made me smile.

My presents were a a home-made jewellery box and newspaper bead necklace that she had made at school, along with two of her paintings.


Before she went to bed, we had to crawl into my bed where she read me Max Lucado's You are Mine and Dora's Happy Mother's Day.

It was so special for me to see C make all these plans on her own, and watch her carry them out with such love and excitement. A child's joy is so sweet to see and I felt very honoured and blessed to have such a caring child. Partway through the day C said...I can't wait until Father's Day when I can do this all over again.

Who's the Boss?

The other night when I came home from band practice, I found a rather large message written in sidewalk chalk across the entire driveway. It made me laugh at first, then curious as to why it was there..and then a little nervous about what possibly could have transpired between Hubby and C while I was gone.

It says..."I'm the Boss!"...and the big black rectangle...that's where she wrote her name. There would be no doubt in our neighbourhood as to who wrote the message.

I learned it was something minor that prompted her to write this message, something that did not go the way she wanted it to. I'm not completely sure why she chose to write this phrase, but I can tell you that she has learned that phrase from us. We have used it a few times on her when we want an argument to end...so I think she was just writing out what she had wanted to be.

We talked about it and the next day I found another message in our driveway.


I don't mind the messages in our driveway...it allows us to see what she is thinking/feeling so we can talk about it. I'm not so sure I'll use that phrase anymore on her...but I do know I'll be saving that picture for the day she gets married.

Bean-It-Up Salsa Chicken Combo

The first time hubby cooked this recipe, I took one look at it and thought..."This is dinner?" Mixed beans, salsa, tomatoes...these are low on my list of tasty food and here they were all mixed into the same dish. It didn't look appealing to me at all, but I tried it and loved it. It has become one of my favourites dishes. C loves it too but we have to leave the peppers out or she complains its too spicy. We eat it wrapped in a soft tortilla with sour cream, but I sure it would be excellent with nachos.

Ingredients
1 lb ground chicken
1 can of chick peas
1 can of black beans
1 small can (14 oz) or 1.5 cups tomato sauce
1.5 cups salsa
1 tsp chili pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1 clove garlic
Parmesan cheese

1. Cook chicken in skillet over medium heat until fully cooked.
2. In a large casserole dish, mix chicken with all ingredients except cheese.
3. Cover and bake at 350 F for 40-45 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese.